Mummy on a Mission!

Everyone in my family and my friend circles would be aware how little my daughter sleeps. It's because I keep complaining about it. You would too, if you had a child who hasn't slept for few hours in a row in the last 2 years and 4 months. There have been many days when the sleep deprivation gets the better of the husband and I.

When I got back from UAE, I realized that the problem has actually worsened, a lot owing to her consumption of large quantities of milk at night. She was going through four whole bottles of milk vs. her usual 1 or maximum 2, which was disrupting everyone's sleep including her own. So much so that the little one who used to wake up on her own everyday at 7:30 - 8am, was now struggling to wake up at 9am. She was clearly sleep deprived.

So I decided enough was enough. Night time bottle feeding was ruining sleep and also probably ruining her teeth. A couple of months ago, her pediatric dentist had asked me to stop it to avoid tooth decay, but we had continued it nevertheless because she seemed to so want it. We just introduced some compensatory behaviours like frequent brushing and cleaning of teeth, but truth be told, that was never in the middle of night, so wouldn't have helped much with the harm caused by night time bottles.

So long story short, I steeled my heart, gathered all the bottles and put them away and told the hubby as well as the helper to not touch them ever again. The hubby went on a business trip during the same time, which was great, because his heart usually isn't as steely when it comes to his daughter. He likes to indulge her once her decibels strike a certain level. So it was all up to me to manage her through the night and I asked the helper - who is the other person with not so steely a heart - to stay put in her own room no matter how much the little one cries during the night.

I braced myself for a few days of major tantrums during afternoon naps and the nights. She is so used to falling asleep with a bottle in her mouth and getting refills throughout the night, so she was expected to put up a fight.

Sure enough, on the first day there was some resistance while falling asleep. She asked for her bottle, I distracted her with stories and rhymes, until at some point in time she fell asleep on her own. And then the magic happened! She slept straight for 7 hours! Not once did she wake up and ask for the milk!!!! She slept through the night right from day one of my mission!

I am grinning from ear to ear as I am writing this because OH-MY-DEAR-GOD I CAN FINALLY SLEEP!!! (Also kicking myself for not having done this any earlier!)

Two days of the mission has now passed with really good results and I can now safely say Mission Accomplished! 

From Ammini Kozhukatta to Mumbai Magic!

My sitcom Athazham's fourth episode was released today! It featured the super yummy snack 'Ammini Kozhukatta'. 

As usual with the release of any of my works, I remained pretty nervous until the release was completed and the feedback started coming in. You always wonder how people would receive what you create! Fortunately, and thank God for that, this episode was well received too and I began to relax after the first few comments came in. 

The rest of the day was dedicated to the Little One. We spent all the time together  - right from after the release until her dinner time - playing and really working up that mom-daughter bonding. 

Sunday evenings are usually kept aside for dinner with the hubby. It is our catch up time about the week that went past and it is also the time we explore one food joint or another. 

Today's amazing discovery was Mumbai Magic, a tiny place on Race Course Road which serves different thalis (set meals) - e.g. Gujarati, Maharashtrian, Rajasthani, Jain, North Indian, South Indian etc. for just $7! 

I ordered a Rajasthani thali and the hubby ordered a Gujarati one and it was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! It was simple, homely, delicious food. We also had panipuri and masala chai which were really good as well - in fact the hubby mentioned that the chai was very close to the famed "Moti Jeel Chai" from his hometown Kanpur! Now, that's really saying something!

To top it all, the service was really good too - the place is run by a family and they were always checking in on us to see if everything was OK. I super loved it! 

So yes. it was a rather foody day one way or the other and a good one at that! 

What My "Stay-At-Home" Motherhood Looks Like!

Alright, I am not quite keeping up to the "daily" writing but am gonna summarize what's been happening over the last few days. Basically, I have been focusing on what I had said I would be focusing on - motherhood & movie making.

Now that I am back home in Singapore and technically pretty free, I get to spend a lot of quality time with the little one. I tell her "stoories", she and I exercise together where she keeps going "MUMMY, YOU CAN DO IT! COME ON, MUMMY! GOOD JOB, MUMMY!", she and I paint together, play together with her stickers, we sing bhajans together in the evening and what not. It's been really nice.

On top of this I have been pretty much working on the feature film - yes, the same one that I went to UAE for. We will be shooting in April and there is much to be done before that.

I rehearsed with the actors, who are based out of Singapore.
It is a conversation heavy film, so I took some time to read out the entire script and record it, sometimes with some reference BGM, just to get a hang of how it would sound once completed. That was a really nice experience.
I amended and embellished the script a couple of times, based on more relevant information from whatever I saw in UAE.
I had several production related chats with the team in UAE.

On top of that, I also caught up with the hubby over dinner at our favourite Swadhisht joint over some Thalassery Chicken Biriyani, Appam, Egg Masala and Neimeen Tawa Fry. We hardly get time to talk to each other, mostly because the little one takes over completely at home, so this was nice too.

Oh I must also mentioned that I have been working out every day. These days I follow the videos from Blogilates. They are led by a really fun lady called Cassey Ho and the workouts are mostly pilates based strength training. What I like is that the videos are not too long each, so I can simply do 2-3 different ones which mixes it all up well.

I most likely am ruining all the effects of the workouts with my daily afternoon siestas, but then how long would you get that privilege. So I plan to continue doing that!

I have also been watching a few movies - Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine, Malayalam movies Varsham and Iyobinte Pusthakam, so far.

So yes, that's it. I spend time with the little one, I have siestas, I work on the film, I spend time with the hubby, I watch movies, I work out.

I have to say that this "stay at home" phase is working out rather nicely! I probably shouldn't get too used to it... otherwise getting back to work is going to be tough! But for now, it feels awesome!  

Day 1 of Sabbatical!

Today is the official start of my sabbatical; last Friday was my last working day at Procter & Gamble, and as of March 1st, am officially "on a break"!

Over the last few days, I had a really good time catching up with all the good friends I had made at P&G over the years and that last day was special too - it was our Chinese New Year celebration which I, as the "Culture" head of the team, organized. The team turned it into a lovely farewell and it was all pretty nice. I ended the decade long P&G chapter with a big smile and lot of excitement for the next phase!

Given that sabbaticals are not always easy to come by, I have decided to make the most of this one. I plan to get back to my daily blogging just like the before-30 times. Something tells me that there are going to be a lot of memories to cherish over the next few months and I want to make sure I capture all of them for posterity. Also, my Type A personality demands that while "taking rest" during a sabbatical is all well and good, I should also make sure that I am not "wasting time". Needless to say, that's a delicate balance to strike. And writing about one awesome thing a day the way I used to, might just help achieve the balance.

So. Today is Day 1.

And, what did I do?

I spent the whole morning rehearsing with my actors for my next full length feature film!

Yup, that's right! I am going to make another independent, low budget feature film - it would be my second one, after Mausams, and am crazy excited about it! This would pretty much be the first film that I am not producing on my own (I will be the writer - director), and even more excitingly, if things go according to the plan, I will be making this film in UAE! Yup, my very first film outside of Singapore! (EXCITEMENT OVERLOAD!)

But I have to admit that it is still too early to say that it's all locked and loaded. There are too many loose ends and open issues to sort right now to say that it is 100% going to happen. 

But what is exciting is that I will be travelling to Dubai tomorrow to meet the team there! The team is headed by my dear friend and co-film maker (he was the editor for Mausams and Inganeyum Oru Katha, cinematographer-editor for Aravindum Aarumughamum and is currently doing the food photography for Athazham all the way from UAE!). Once I get there, we will discuss all the pre production matters after which we will be able to lock the details for this film. I have all my fingers and toes crossed for this one and am really hoping that this goes on the floors very soon! If you have a prayer to spare, do send one across my way!

Separately, I am not sure whether I fit the bill yet, but I like to think that I am a temporary "stay at home" mom. In this new role, I was all over the Little One today, who, by the way, is currently sporting a Halle Berry look with closely cropped hair. I miss her curls but have decided that she looks equally (or maybe even more) adorable in the "Boy Cut". I spent the whole afternoon and evening playing with her, singing our current favourite song "Prabhuji, daya karo" together (a devotional one originally taught by her grandmom, my mom in law), doing "Ogga" (yoga) together, talking a walk and buying groceries together and generally enjoying each other's company. 

So far, the sabbatical is going super awesome! 

Week 9: Rasgueado, Golpe, Efforts for Sympathy & New Feature Film Script!

24 - 30 March, 2014

It was a rather quiet week where nothing much seems to have happened. Or at least nothing BIG seems to have happened. 

But there were several tiny little gems of experiences along the way. 

1) Finally... and I mean F.I.N.A.L.L.Y, the edit for Aravindum Aarumughamum is locked. The full & final edit. Sure, we still have the sound design to be locked before we can release it, but this is already a big milestone so I am happy about that. 

2) After a gap of about a month, I finally got to meet the regular gang. And that always gives me a lot of joy. It was great to catch up and each of them bonded with the little one (yes, she had tagged alone too), in their own unique ways. 

3) I learnt two really cool things to play on the guitar called Rasgueado and Golpe. Both are techniques used in Spanish guitar (Flamenco guitar, specifically) and I was given an exercise where they needed to be used. And I LOVE it! SO MUCH FUN! 

4) The Little One is turning out to be a real hoot. Her new found technique of earning my sympathy is as follows. If I scold her for something, she walks up to the coffee table and very purposefully, yet very, very gently, bangs her head on to the glass top of the table. Then she rubs her head, looks up with puppy eyes fully expecting me to melt and sympathize with her. I told her that the technique would have worked had I not seen her deliberate attempt to go and bang herself. After a few unsuccessful attempts at earning my sympathy this way, she decided to garnish the theatrics a bit. So now, she goes and bangs her head first and then rubs it gently while looking up at me with sad, pleading eyes. And then, for full effect, she goes back to the table and reprimands it, just like the way we do when she falls or hurts herself any way - we scold the object that caused her the pain which quickly seem to make her happy. So now she does that herself. What can I say! 

5) I signed the Little One up at a playschool. Yet another milestone. This place is only a stone's throw from my house and one evening the Little One, my Mom and I walked over and signed her up. She will begin classes from July but for now she seemed rather happy with the bright, cheery place full of children of her age. 

6) I have started to write the script for my next feature and I have completed one scene so far. This is planned to be one with a really small cast but that doesnt mean low budget because it is planned to be set in a location in India (I just don't want to shoot in Singapore anymore!). Because of this thought of an outside location, the working title for the film is "The Destination Film", until I can think of a more sensible one. Talking about titles, I am yet to name my previous feature film script in Tamil. That's currently going by the very creative title of "The Tamil Feature Film". Oh well. 

7) Last but not the least, I have to admit that this event of the helper being away did turn out for good at the end. Sure, it was tiring and quite stressful to manage everything but it did get my mom (and for a short while, dad) down. Once the dust settled down and we got into a manageable routine, we got to spend some quality time together. That was really a blessing in disguise! 

That's about it then. Nothing major. But all good.

Week 8: Dramatic Abandonment, Bioluminescent Planktons, Elephants & Mangroves.

17 - 23 March, 2014

Bulk of the week was spent in Krabi, so I guess I will focus this post on the trip.

So yes, what was initially meant to be a snorkelling trip with my dad, turned out to be a full blown family vacation with dad, mom and the little one, given the recent developments at home. I had already booked tickets and hotel, so decided to stick to the original plan which was to be honest not very toddler friendly. But we decided to make the best of it. And here are the highlights.

Dad, Mom, Little One and I went on an Elephant Safari.
In other words, we comfortably seated ourselves on chairs atop elephants that walked through the jungles and streams, and I realized that the massive to and fro motion as the elephant took each step, was not at all comfortable. The Little One probably felt the same but all she did was sit tight without uttering a single sound. It was probably her quietest hour during the trip.

Dad and I went snorkelling while Mom babysat the Little One.
We were picked up by the snorkelling guys in a fancy wooden box attached to the sides of a scooter which resulted in the most fun ride ever, we enjoyed the fast longboat ride over choppy waters, we explored a ton of corals, saw hundreds of multicoloured fish and once even a crab, got bruised and cut all over when we were dropped off at the wrong end of very shallow waters and tall corals, we walked along a sandbank that appeared between two islands during low tide, walked through extremely rocky waters to a pristine beach, watched the most beautiful sunset ever, got stranded in a boat for close to an hour when the boat got stuck in the rocks thanks to low tide, and the best part of all, we, for the first time ever, saw bio luminescent plankton in the pitch black sea - these fascinating creatures are like glowworms, but in the ocean, and they light up when the water around them moves! Watching them glow as I slapped around in the water, was nothing short of magical!

Mom and I went kayaking in the sea and through the mangroves, while Dad babysat the Little One.
Well, initially it was my mom and I on the same kayak, with me trying to paddle away. But when I, albeit my best paddling efforts, fell behind all the others in our group who were primarily being driven by tall, strong, beefy men, my Mom got cold feet and wanted to get a paddle boy for her kayak. So I was unceremoniously fired as the kayaker and we switched boats. While she lounged comfortably in her kayak being rowed around like a "queen" (words of a fellow tourist), I sat miserably in between two guys in the middle of another kayak, not let anywhere near a paddle. But the experience of kayaking through that maze of mangroves with the constant sounds of crickets and birds, sightings of monkeys (one even jumped onto a kayak!) and cool atmosphere in spite of the blistering heat outside in the open ocean, it was indeed an experience of a lifetime. My mom thought the same too, except that whenever she mentions it, she ends with a "Should have gotten that paddle boy earlier. You could have drowned me!". I did try pointing out that drowning was impossible with life jackets on, but that is simply acknowledged with a "Still, you never know!". Sigh.

Other exciting things happened too.

Dad and Mom went shopping while the Little One and I hit the pool in the hotel. Dad discovered a few tour options as they ventured out, so he left Mom at the beach to quickly get back to the hotel to check my opinion on them. On the way to the hotel, Dad lost his way pretty badly. Mom sat at the beach all alone into the night for a couple hours with no money and no phone. Mom thought she was abandoned by her family (yeah, dramatic). Dad got back to her after much delay and heartache and tension. Dad and Mom got back to the hotel to me and the Little One who were oblivious of anything happening. All we thought was that Dad and Mom were doing a little bit too much shopping.

The Little One made friends with everyone at the hotel. They were all kinda inseparable by the end of three days. She also made friends with everyone at the airport, getting into deep conversations with Russians and Indians and Malaysians and Thais, as we waited for our very delayed flight. In the process, she decided to improve her vocabulary and out of nowhere started saying "Eka" (her name), "apple", "Aana" (elephant), "Dudu" (milk), "eyes", "kose" (I think she means "nose" because that's what she points at), "Kaaka" (crow), and such. I decided that she might just be the scientist that her dad wants her to be and not the actress that I believe she might turn out to be. But then when we got back to Singapore airport, we went to our favourite Ananda Bhavan for dinner, and there, she demonstrated that actress might be more her thing anyway. After feeding herself dosa and coconut chutney, when convinced that she had had her fill, she used the remaining chutney to delicately apply on her cheeks, very much how she does with her (and my) multitude creams, as part of her daily beauty regime. Also, there was one instant when she threw a tantrum and I pointed out to her a bunch of strangers watching her from a distance. She quickly dropped the tantrum and picked her best toothy grin and waved at them. Yup. Actress, it is.

So yes, it was an eventful trip. I did miss the hubby who was left behind (rather, he chose to stay behind because 'work is priority' and all that talk), and was very glad to be back.

The Little One on the other hand, didn't seem all that pleased, and immediately walked back to the lift as we reached the door of the apartment. Clearly, she had a great trip.

And so did my parents.

Except that my mom keeps retelling the story of how she thought her family abandoned her with no money and no Thai linguistic skills in the middle of a beach in Krabi.

I guess we will have to live with that.

Week 5: The Temporary Superwoman!

24 February - 2 March, 2014 

Alright then. Where do I start?

Had things gone according to plan, this post would have been my usual laundry list of "highlights". It would have included some work on Aravindum Aarumughamum, some achievements of the little one (she can now say "Ello", "Na na" (no), "toooo" (two) and "thee" (three) and apparently takes great delight in walking with her hands on her hips in an attempt to ape her mom; I had no idea I walked liked that until she pointed it out...), some work stuff (an event I organized turned out be a great success), the new food joint we have discovered - "PODI" at Raffles City which served some really cool fusion dishes (like linguine aglio olio with curry leaves in it!) and maybe about a Malayalam movie which, in a very rare turn of events, the hubby had agreed to go to but which both of us didnt end up going to in spite of already having bought the tickets.

Instead, am just gonna write about how I feel like Superwoman at this point in time.

You see, because I make films and plays while holding on to a full time job, people tend to call me "superwoman".

But that's a joke.

I am no superwoman and the only reason I could do all those plays and films is because I always had adequate support at home. Either in the form of part time helpers who cleaned and ironed or since 2011 September, full time helpers who cooked, cleaned, did laundry and ironed and when the little one came along, looked after her too. If I had to do all of these myself like how, many of friends have to in US and Europe and other parts of the world where domestic help is scarce, I really doubt whether I could have managed all that I seemingly have.

To me Superwomen are those that maintain their homes and husbands and children and work all on their own. That does take some super power and I definitely do not have it.

So when over the weekend our helper had to return to India on a family emergency, with just one day's notice, I was stumped.

How was I to manage work and the little one?!

I think my confidence in my utter lack of homemaking and childrearing skills transformed into a full blown nightmare that I was up wide awake by 4:30am the night after the helper broke the news.

But I guess it is like learning to swim when you are thrown into a pool. Sure, there is a high chance you would drown, but you might just kick and flap around in such a way that you might successfully stay afloat. Luckily for me, it was the latter. At least, so far.

It is Sunday night now and here's what I achieved over the weekend. Without a helper.

I Cooked. Cleaned. Did all that was to be done for the little one like giving her a bath, feeding her, reading to her, playing with her, taking her on a walk, tidying up after her etc. Went shopping multiple number of times because there were always things missing in the house. Did some work and even managed a quick visit to the office. Finalized and did the subtitling for Aravindum Aaarumughamum trailer (the 1 min trailer took me 2 whole hours to get the subtitles right!). Released the trailer (yay!). Basked in all the wonderfully kind feedback that people gave on the trailer. Missed the Malayalam movie that we had gotten the tickets for because there is no way the little one would sit through that. Compensated by watching my own film's trailer multiple number of times. Felt really pleased that it was the little one who wanted to watch it multiple number of times (for some reason, she was absolutely delighted with the trailer!). Had a nice lunch with the hubby at the Professor Brawn's Cafe while the little one slept off. And now, at 11:01 pm, am very close to completing this blog post as well.

Those of you who can cook and clean and look after toddlers like it's child's play would be rolling your eyes at this. But to me, I am feeling rather good about my "achievement" and as of now, I do feel like Superwoman.

And my respect for women who do this on a daily basis have quadrupled. Or more.

Luckily for me, my mom is arriving on Tuesday morning to help with the little one since I have to get back to work soon and this working from home arrangement is not sustainable.

But till then I shall be the Temporary Superwoman and feel quite proud about it.

Week 4: Coaching, Fights, Sparkz & Highway!

17 - 23 February

Highlights:

1) The terrific training on Coaching at work - I not only learnt a lot, but I had a great two days getting to know a vast variety of people and their lives. The training required us to take turns and talk a lot of real, personal issues that would be coached on, to ensure sufficient, relevant practice for everyone involved and I thought it was one of the best experiences ever. It was eye opening to hear people talk about their problems - you are suddenly thrown into so many other different perspectives and I couldnt help but be amazed by the ordeals some people, especially women, are facing and how strong they are to be fighting it out. I left the training a lot wiser, very much humbled and extremely thankful for everything that I have in my life.

2) Guitar lessons - My guitar lessons continue to thrill me. My tutor had figured out what makes me super happy - being able to play to the songs from the 90s when cable TV, MTV, English pop and teenage years had come to my life in a big way. Last week, it was Wonderwall by Oasis. This week it was "If I let you go" by Westlife. Such joy reliving those days as I learn to play to these songs, invoking a thousand memories!

3) Being the judge at Sparkz @ NUS - Sparkz is a talent show at my alma mater NUS and I was invited to be a judge. I was initially hesitant wondering whether it would be a good use of my Saturday evening but it turned out to be the perfect use. Many of the performances were completely mind blowing! The winners - a quartet who named themselves quirkily as the Lorong Boys - completely blew me away! It was also lovely to meet the other judges all of whom seemed to be such dedicated, genuine individuals with a ton of knowledge in music (I was the judge who handled mainly the "visual" aspect of it, given my theatre, film and dance background). And yes, it was also lovely to see a bunch of students giving it their all and putting up and/or participating in an event of its scale. It was nostalgic, to say the least.

4) Highway - The best film I have seen in a very long time, where everyone seemed to have put in their best. The actors, the director, the music director, the sound designer, the cinematographer, the costume designer, the editor - everyone. It was a treat to watch!

5) Little one - The little one is turning out to be a real Jhansi ki Rani. Apparently her tiny 15 month self has been picking up fights with other much older kids in the playground. Our helper came to me looking rather dismayed and said, "But you see... the issue is... the fault is completely our child's!". Her usual victim apparently is this 4 or 5 year old girl who is otherwise her best friend. They are such good friends such that this girl, at one point in time, had even wanted my little one to be her "real sister". I guess that will soon change. After a couple of days I enquired to my helper again - "Did she fight today?". My helper chirpily replied - "No madam!" Wow. I was happy. It was a passing phase after all! But to further the small talk I rather unnecessarily asked - "How come?". She replied, "Oh, we didn't go to the playground today." Yup, that explained it.

Week 2: Trailer, Cooking, Guitar, Films, Books & Family!

3 - 9 February, 2014

It's been another fantastic week with a lot of new, exciting developments.

Firstly, I got to see the first cut of the Aravindum Aarumughamum trailer, done by the guy who plays one of the lead characters (who also happens to be cinematographer for my previous films). This is the most progress I have seen on anything regarding the film since last December, so that was exciting. It was also exciting to see that with just a few minor tweaks, we would be very much ready with a full blown trailer. Can't wait!

Secondly, I cooked. Yup, these things do happen. I think the last time I cooked was probably two years ago. So yes, it is a rare but not unlikely occurrence. I had a sudden urge to make something on my own. It is probably because one of my fears is that the little one will go to school and all her friends would talk about their respective mother's home made yummy food and my girl would wonder what on earth that means. Another reason was that a friend of mine was turning 30 and I wanted to do something nice for him. And somehow "something nice" meant cooking on my own. Wonder what stretch of imagination that was. Another reason is also that I kinda felt like I missed all those lovely fragrances that waft off the in-progress dishes as the spices meet the vegetables, the fun sounds of the mustards and green chillis cracking and popping in the hot oil (a frequent phenomenon in Indian cooking), and the blast of steam and conclusive smell of a ready meal as you lift off the lid post some slow heat cooking. Like I said, these things do happen. So I made Black Pepper Chicken and Kerala Egg Roast, while my helper made rice and dal. My guinea pigs were the hubby, the friend who turned 30 as well as my brother in law. I had cooked a lot and everything was pretty much consumed. I think that's always a good sign. Oh and yes, the little one seemed to appreciate the black pepper chicken too. There is indeed hope.

Thirdly, I have started to take guitar lessons. I have had one lesson so far - I found an experienced teacher to come over for an hour every Sunday morning. My first class was great! It was great to be back on the instrument, and the tutor seemed rather impressed by my "skill". I think he was expecting a total beginner and the fact that I could read notes and play basic chords took him by surprise. Anyway, I was happy that he was happy. More importantly, it was felt SO good to be playing music! He made me play lead while he strummed the accompaniment and we sounded good! Similarly he sang while I followed with some simple chords and I thought that sounded good too. The guitar is seriously an awesome instrument and I am thrilled that I am back at it! I have to admit that soon the bubble was popped when he gave me a touch piece to work on. I am used to the pick, but he encouraged me to use the fingers for the strumming, which I really struggled with. So that's my homework for this week. Long way to go, but great start. And yes, I am glad that I had that realization.

Some of the other things I enjoyed over the week was the film Hasee Toh Phasee and the book Mango Cheeks & Metal Teeth. The former was a refreshing romantic comedy with some stellar performances and thankfully, completely clean, intelligent and genuine and I was happy to watch at least one such Indian film after a really long time. The latter was something I had picked up from the airport recently and would not have been my cup of tea had it not been based in Kerala, where I come from. The author has used an ample amount of Malayalam words (it is an English novel), had some good character building, and lot of nostalgic references to Kerala of the 80s. Even though the plot was good, the conclusion was pretty abrupt and unsatisfying, but an interesting read nevertheless.

Discovery of the week was Saveur, a French restaurant in Purvis street. That was where the friend who turned 30 treated us for his birthday. While their food was just decent, I found their desserts absolutely top notch! Pistachio Pannacotta, Cookies & Milk (which was literally a cookie drowned in milk) and Caramel Lava cake were all to die for! I definitely do see myself going back in there.

Last but not the least, I am thoroughly enjoying my time with the hubby and the little one as well. The hubby and I hit two yoga classes in a row together during the week, which I believe hasn't happened in a really, really long time. After a hard day of work, it was good to practice side by side with him, just like how we used to all those years ago. The little one has now started to scribble on pieces of scrap paper and when we are not noticing, on books, bags, and also as of today, the bedspread. She has this habit of running towards me with a huge smile and hugging my legs, in true over the top Bollywood style; when I try to put her down on the floor after holding her for a while, she hooks her legs around mine, just like those guys who would climb coconut trees in Kerala, with as tight a grip as you can imagine and when she is overflowing with love, she would hold my face and gaze at it as if it is the prettiest thing in the world. As you can imagine, I am completely floored.

There is indeed a lot to be grateful for!

Week 1: Some Progress and a Lot of Fun!

25 January - 2 February, 2014 

I have to admit that this blog had not been on my list of priorities for the past several days. Of course, this is evident from the grand total of ONE post I wrote for the whole of January 2014.

It is not that I don't have enough things to write about. In midst of all that relaxation, there's been a lot of good stuff happening and I will come to that in just a bit. But the point is that I still didn't get myself to write anything beyond a single post in a month. I believe the reason for that is with this whole moving away from writing on a daily basis (or at least summarizing something for every single day) with each post even counting the days in its title, to this year's of resolution of "not more than 1 post a week", I kinda lost a structure to conform to. And I work best with structures - I like set process to follow, I like organized way of approaching things than otherwise. Without it, am indeed lost.

So that made me think. Do I really want to continue with this blog?  Both my previous blog and this one initially had a clear purpose. The former ensured that the days leading up to my 30th birthday were put to the best possible use and the latter ensured that the first year of motherhood has been maximized (and by that I mean, while I had a fulfilling time with my daughter, I also ensured that I did my best at work, I wrote, shot and edited a short film, I travelled a lot, I spent quality time with my parents and in-laws, so on and so forth). Both were important milestones for me, and the blogs helped me go through them in a way that I am happy with. But now that these are in the past, what next? Should I continue?

I gave it some serious thought and have decided that I should continue. Reason being.... (I will giving this in the usual list format, to further prove how organized I am). 

a) What am capturing here always make for memorable reads later on for myself - be it about a new film I am making, a new place I am visiting, a light moment I am enjoying with my family or friends. Many a time, I don't remember the details had it not been for the blogs. 

b) I still don't want to lose the focus on being happy. Sure, I don't want to stress myself and write blogs on a daily basis, but that stress was exactly what made sure that I do something worthwhile each and every day.

c) Last but not the least, I think it will make a treasure trove of experiences captured of the little one. I can't help but notice how fast she is growing and each day is one of discovery. I would love to capture most of that, and I believe this could continue to be the avenue for that.

So there, my three good reasons.

But then I still don't want to write on a daily basis. Because that really does get me worked up at times. So here is the solution - I will write on a weekly basis. Brainwave, yeah?

Ensuring every week is beautiful one way or the other, is good enough. I can live with that.

So there, that's that. From here on, it's gonna be a Weekly count in the titles. Starting with this week.

Meanwhile here is a recap of what's happened since my last post here.

1) Work - On the work front, things are moving at breakneck speed but I am enjoying myself. There has been some progress on a lot of different projects and am happy with that. On the other fun side, the culture team that I lead organized a super fun Chinese New Year celebration. We had everything from calligraphy contests (apparently am very good at Chinese calligraphy...I thought the characters that I painted looked nothing like what they were supposed to but the Chinese colleagues seemed to think otherwise), to Lo Hei celebration, a God of Fortune who came and distributed red packets with "gold" (chocolate) coins (I didn't even know there is a Chinese version of Santa Claus!), and even an activity of eating dumplings some of which carried a sterilized 5 cent coin - indicating immense amount of luck to the person who got one (I got one!). It was all very enjoyable and I had a great time and felt super proud of my team for having pulled this off!

2) Little One - The little one is a hoot these days. She has progressed to walking with only occasional bouts of crawling. It's almost like sometimes she forgets that she can choose to walk instead. Then all you need to say is "Come, Walk!", and she will be like Oh yeah... and then will get up and walk. Initially she used to hold both her hands high up, to help her balance as she walks but now that she can balance herself without that extra support, it seems like she doesn't know exactly what to do with her hands, so she flops them to her sides and walks around like a drunkard. Which I love. We also celebrated Chinese New Year together. She helped me put up some red and gold decoration on our door (she basically held on to the cellotape and also pointed out where she would like the dangling decorative pieces to be tied up on the gate). Later, she watched the Lion Dance performance next door with much interest. She was the only Indian kid around and the only kid to not cover her ears or wail and also was the first and only person to clap post the performance. She clearly appreciates the Chinese culture. We also have been frequenting her new found favourite place - Spruce. It is a brunch place with decent food but good service and a playground for children. The little one really warmed up to all the staff there, constantly giving them instructions in her baby talk, reading the kids menu with much interest, and enjoying her new found ice cold lemonade with mint leaves (totally an adult drink which the dad and mom had ordered). Am really enjoying watching her as she does her 'growing up'.

3) Writing - I wrote yet another episode for the Malayalam sitcom. I am planning to write another 4 episodes before we start to shoot, which means a long, long way more to go. But still, any progress is good progress!

4) Yoga - Maybe it is an outcome of the "realization" but  I have been totally hooked to Ashtanga yoga. So much so that even during the Chinese New Year public holiday, I woke up early in the morning and did 1 hour of it every day! So proud of myself! In the month of January, I exercised a total of 19 days, most of which was Yoga - Ashtanga Yoga, Bikram Yoga and 1 time of Kundalini Yoga too. I am beginning to see small improvements in my  postures and strength, and am incredibly thrilled about it!

5) Guitar - This one is definitely an outcome of the "realization". I dusted up my old guitar as well as my two decade old books with guitar lessons and settled down to play some of the simpler stuff. It was not easy for sure, but it felt great to get back to it after so long. My finger tips started to hurt very soon from the lack of practice but given that I had a very enthusiastic one-man audience - the little one who encouraged me throughout with claps and laughs, I kept at it for a while. I hope to get back to learning it very soon, from the scratch, but this time never to give up.

4) Friends - Thanks to the Chinese New Year holiday, I also had a great time catching up with several friends. I had multiple dinners and drinks with the usual gang, I had a great time at a lunch thrown for the film gang by one of my good actress friend, in short, we made the most of it! 

5) Hubby - I also got to spend some quality time with the hubby. One day we even took a long 4km walk together, something which we have never done before. Such fun! 

6) Aravindum Aarumughamum - This film is currently in the post production stage and that basically means sound design, music, colour correction, final edit and all that. These are being done by my friends in India. The progress has been slow for several reasons, but over the last few days a bit of the background score has started to flow in. And I love it! I think it is going to take the film to a totally different level and I can't wait to see it to completion! 

7) Holidays - Quite a bit of progress on the holiday planning has been taking place. In May, we are planning to do a roadtrip with my parents and in laws and I have finally managed to shortlist the accommodation options at every stop. That was no mean task - given I had to find affordable places big enough to hold all of us. Then my dad is visiting us in March for  a few days, mainly to see his grand daughter and I am planning to take a short break with him as well. After much research and thinking, the destination has been fixed for Krabi because I want to go snorkelling with him. I think that is one activity he would really enjoy. So that's progress on the holiday front and am really looking forward to it all. 

So yes, it was a remarkable bunch of days that went past. There was progress at work, in yoga, in writing, in film making, in holiday planning and in guitar, even. And of course, there was a ton of fun to go along everywhere! So far, this new year has been great! 

Relaxation & Realization!

This is officially my first post for the year 2014!

And am writing it on 24th January....after 3 whole week in to the new year!  Clearly, that "relaxation" resolution is coming out really well.

Actually I had been incredibly busy, mainly with work and business travel up until last weekend. Still, "relaxation" is on, especially over the weekends when am doing nothing but generally chilling out (which is different from my otherwise busy recent weekends of filming, writing, travelling etc.).

Much has happened over the last few weeks, but before we get into that, you may have noticed that I am not doing any "counting" of days in the title of this post. Given that the frequency of my posts are gonna be pretty low this year, there is not much point keeping track of that anymore. So that's that.

Alright, so what's happened over the last few weeks.
1) I had a super hectic time at work with 6 major presentations over 5 days and while that broke my back, I have emerged unscathed and victorious, even. In simpler terms, it all went well and was well worth the pain.

2) I had a good trip to Guangzhou, one of the few work trips there that I have actually enjoyed (simply because it is one hell of a boring place). It's all thanks to the fantastic cold winter there and my routine walks to the hotel from the office every night in the chilling cold.

3) I am picking up Surya Namaskar (a yoga routine) and Ashtanga yoga these days and thoroughly enjoying it.

4) I even tried Kundalini yoga and I must say it was not something I was expecting. Surprising and fun!

5) I read yet another Vish Puri mystery by Tarquin Hall - "The case of the Love Commandos" and completely enjoyed it!

6) The hubby and I completed 12 years of togetherness. That's 1 whole dozen and we are still going strong & steady!

7) The little one has started to walk and it is so fascinating to see her trying out her new skill set! So when I get back home after these days, she doesn't crawl up to me, she "runs" up to me and hugs my legs. Total heart melting stuff, that!

And on top of all of this, I made a major realization.

I realized what are the things that I really want to do in life.

It all started with yet another hypothetical, imaginative Q&A game, one of those that I love to play with the hubby. Over a long dinner or coffee, I like to throw a random question at him (and then answer it myself after his turn). "Where do you think you will be 10 years from now"?, "What are the three things about yourself that you love? And three things that you want to change about yourself", "What are you 3 biggest achievements this year?", "What are the 3 things that you think you should have done this year but didn't" etc. etc.

I find these pretty fun to do (even though the hubby doesn't share this feeling always), because I think it helps to discover a few things about yourself that you were probably unaware of until then.

Which is pretty much what happened over last weekend.

As we had our 12-years-of-love celebratory dinner, I threw a random question at him.

Me: What do you think would be a few things that you would regret on your deathbed?
He: Hmmm.... uhmmm.... erm..... *clears the throat*.... oh yeah... .I don't know.
Me: Arre... think of something.... like, what is it that if you don't do, you know for sure you will regret.
He: But I might do it by the time I die any way.
Me: Yes, but assuming you didn't.
He: Even if I didn't, I don't know whether I will regret. You know... whether there will be any regret.
Me: Ugh. Can you just humour me and play the game?
He: Hmmm... OK maybe after Teamie (the start up he has founded and is currently the CEO of), I might regret not starting up another one.
Me: Hmm! Interes.....
He: Or....I might regret starting one.
Me: Uh?
He: You know..you get it.
Me: No, I don't.

This went on for a while until he came up with his list. And then it was my turn and I, very sincerely, thought about it.

And interestingly, I didn't have any of the things I thought I would have in my list. For e.g....

I didn't say that if I don't try out my hand at mainstream film direction (vs. the zero-budget, independent stuff I do now), I will regret it. So clearly, that is not my ambition.

I didn't say that if I don't spend more time with my family, I would regret it. So clearly, I think I am at the right balance of work time and family time now.

I didn't say that if I don't reach a top position in my company, I would regret it. So clearly, that is not my ambition either.

If I were to step back and give an opinion on this as a third party, maybe the above could have been some of the items on my list, but they weren't.

Instead I made a few interesting discoveries. Apparently, some of the things I would regret not doing would be...
1) Being a good yoga practitioner - one who can hold the asanas with grace and one who practices even in old age.
2) Scuba diving
3) Playing the guitar or the violin (two of the instruments I used to play while in school but gave up completely once I moved to Singapore)
4) Making a real, tangible, sustainable difference to even a small part of the society
5) Meditating regularly

Wow. I had no idea these things had so much importance to me until this exercise was completed. I think it was a useful exercise because unlike making resolutions where you limit yourself to what you can realistically do within a certain amount of time, here you are basically going beyond those limitations and saying, by the time I reach the point where this life no longer exists, there are these things that are either giving me a lot of meaning or are something I would love to experience. How fascinating!

It was also fascinating to note that there was nothing about films or writing or travel or family or career in there. I shared this a friend and she pointed out that maybe that's because I am pretty content with where I am on these aspects - something which I should feel really GREAT about! Wow.

So what am I going to do about these 5 things on the list? Well, I haven't exactly figured it out, but I will do something for sure. More on that in the coming posts!

For now, am happy and am inspired!

Days 364 - 367: When the Year Passed Quietly but Beautifully!

It was one of those years when I had very little awareness that it was time for a new year to begin and that this one is pretty much done with. Usually, there would be an excited countdown towards the New Year's Eve, some sort of New Year celebration and a volley of "Happy New Year" messages and calls I would be making left, right and centre.

However this year, I was too busy to bother about any of the above, believe it or not. 

So much so that when the evening of the New Year's Eve came by, at 8pm, I was like... "I am not very hungry. But I will have some Kerala Paratha, egg curry, chicken curry and prawns curry. Oh it is New Year's Eve. I should be staying up until midnight. But am too full and too exhausted. What the heck. Am going to bed."

You see, while the hubby went straight back to Singapore from Bangalore on some imaginary "office work" (seriously, who works in the last week of December?!), his parents... i.e. my in-laws, accompanied me from Bangalore to Kerala on a short holiday. And on their behalf as well as mine, I think it was a fantabulous holiday!

Let me summarize all the highlights of the last few days:

1) Housewarming celebration
As soon the we got back to my hometown, we went straight in for the housewarming celebration of our new place. We had guests pouring in to check out the new place (and they had really nice things to say about it, and of course all credit goes to my parents). 

Later, all of us went off to a banquet hall in a hotel where there was a musical performance put together by my dad's friends (let me add that they are all professional musicians... for the unaware, my dad himself is a professional musician!), followed by dinner. The singers sang several Hindi songs especially dedicated to my in-laws and overall, I must say it was a rather nice evening!

The little one was also in high spirits greeting all the guests, even walking around (with support still) in the banquet hall, shaking hands with everyone and posing for numeros pictures with her toothless grin. She had decided that I am her most favourite person after having disappeared for a few days and was all over me with love. I must say, I quite enjoyed that!

2) Poomala
I had written about this place in my old blog, so am not repeat what it is and how and why it is beautiful. But since it is beautiful, it was only right to take the in-laws there to partake the beauty. So we went there, enjoying the Kerala countryside along the way, and spent a short while, taking in the sights, clicking a ton of pictures and enjoying ourselves thoroughly. Am so glad my dad discovered this gem of a place! 

3) Athirapilly & Peringankuthu
Together with the company of my cousins and aunt, we also paid a visit to the majestic Athirapilly waterfalls. The full force of the falls is visible only during the monsoons, but this time wasn't bad either. With three tall falls back to back, they are always a magnificent sight! 

After Athirapilly, we made our way to Perigankuthu a heavily forested conservatory area, that required special permit to get into. 

The proof that this was thick, unadulterated tropical forest in all its glory, was that we spotted baboons, a baby deer and well, the full untouched skin shed by a super long snake. Over much discussion, the snake, which started off as the mighty King Cobra, came down to a poison-less mere watersnake, thereby bursting several bubbles. In either case, am pretty glad we didn't see the snake itself. The folks living there (mainly forest officers) told us that there are even elephants and tigers in the area, but we were not fortunate enough to spot any.  

We made two stops at Peringankuthu. One to take a look at the dam and the catchment area from a viewpoint high above, and another at the dam itself. 

The viewpoint gave spectacular views of the rolling, thickly vegetated hills, the tranquil waters below, the beautiful dam and calming skies with low hanging clouds. 

At the dam, we walked around for a bit, sat on some rocks and had a beautiful music session where my cousin brother and my mom in law sang a few lovely songs! 

It was so perfect! The peaceful atmosphere, the beautiful sights, the wonderful singing! 

And to top it all, there was a swing right in the middle of it all, and after what may be decades, I was on a swing!! I must also mention that so was my mom in law, which was super cute! 

Now, key to note is that, all this happened on New Year's Eve. 

By the time we got back home, we had enough energy just to consumer the Kerala Paratha, egg curry, chicken curry and prawns curry mentioned above. And hence, there was not much of a New Year celebration as per the norm, but how better to welcome a new year other than to be in a beautiful place surrounded by beautiful people!

4) Guruvayur 
On New Year's Day, we set off for Guruvayur, one of the most popular temples of Kerala, and one that we have been frequenting for long. It was the in-law's first visit there and both of them were dressed in traditional Kerala garbs, and looking absolutely stunning in them! 

After an eventless drive (during which the little one insisted on listening to Bollywood item numbers, in spite of the fact that we were on a pilgrimage), we first visited my aunt in Guruvayur. Her house is right next to the temple and after a quick chat with her and placing our request for her famed filter coffee upon our return from the temple, we finally made it to the temple. 

I was expecting a huge crowd and a lot of rush at the temple, given that it was the first day of the year, but luckily for us, the crowd was very manageable and I didn't feel any of the push and pull that usually happens especially within the tiny shrine. 

After a very peaceful visit to the temple, we happened to bump into my dance teacher whose daughter (who is now a dance teacher herself in Singapore) was just about to perform in the outdoor stage in front of the temple. So we settled down and watched a beautiful Bharatnatyam performance! I was not only happy to watch it myself but was also thrilled that my in laws got to watch an authentic performance right within the temple vicinity which adds to the experience! 

Back at my aunt's place, the filter coffee was ready, true to its fame, and we also topped it with some excellent sambhaaram (spiced buttermilk). 

After some rest, we made our way back to Thrissur, straight to my aunt's place for lunch. She, like the superwoman that she is, had single handedly made rice, sambhar, chicken curry, pachadi, kondaattom, olan, aviyal, thoran, pappadom and paayasam! Yummm!

5) Snehatheeram Beach
I guess no visit to Kerala is complete without a trip down to its beautiful and endless coastal line! We went to Snehatheeram, a small park that's come up in the recent past next to the beach. We played in the waters for a while, the highlight being the little one braving the waves. 

She was totally terrified at first by the oncoming waves and the shifting sands underneath her little feet when the waves retreat, but soon, there she was, squealing in delight and not wanting to get out of the water even much after sunset! I am already making plans to go snorkelling and diving with her some time in the future! 

On the way back, we took a round around the Thrissur Round (yup, the circular road around which the city is planned, is very imaginatively called the "Round"), pointing out the key landmarks to the in-laws like the Parmekkavu temple, the Vadakkumnathan temple, etc. etc. 

Oh, and yet another highlight - soda sarbat!! Woot! I just simply LOVE the traditional soda sarbat that you still get in Kerala... no other drink matches it, in my humble opinion! Felt SO good!

6) Thiruvilwamala
Last but not the least, we also made a quick trip to Thiruvilwamala, my dad's ancestral village on his mom's side. It still remains mostly untouched by "development" and commercialization, thank God for that! 

We visited the lovely, ancient temple on the hilltop, walked around its rocky terrain, had dosa, coconut chutney, onion chutney, vada and tea from the quaint, little restaurant  with the thatched roof, sitting at wooden tables, and eating off banana leaves; we visited the only Shirdi Sai temple I know of in this part of the world and we had another round of Soda sarbat, thereby finishing off the in-laws holiday in God's own country!

So that was that! Super hectic but fantastic few days! 

The new year is here and sure, I didn't really pay much attention to the old year passing by and the new one dawning, but I had a fantastic time at both ends! What more does one need?

Day 361: "Romantic" Bangalore!

Thus, after a day in Kerala, we were off to Bangalore, leaving behind the little one with her grandparents. The "leaving behind" turned out to be a pretty smooth process. We were expecting some high quality "please don't leave me mummy & papa!!!" crying, which....well..... didn't happen.

Nope, not even remotely. 

Instead, she decided that focusing on my mom's box of accessories was a much better activity. Just as well. 

So we - the hubby and I, were off to Bangalore! 

Now, naming this post "Romantic Bangalore" has nothing do with Bangalore being romantic. It is just that this is our first trip together after 1.5 years - the hubby and I alone, without the little one or friends or parents... and to me that alone was "romantic". We chatted all the way from the house till the airport, shopped together for books from the airport bookshop (they always have the best collection!), got ourselves chai and patties from the airport cafe, had a long conversation while savouring it, almost missing our flight in the process (see? romantic!), had another long catch up on the flight to Bangalore, got an airport cab and chatted away again while observing the sights and sounds of Bangalore, until we reached the hubby's aunt's place where his parents were also staying on a short visit. 

At the aunt's place, we had a really nice time catching up with everyone and also stuffed ourselves silly with a lot of awesome home cooked dishes (both aunty and uncle are great cooks and cooked a variety of southern Indian dishes and even Biriyani! They also made their own mojitos, which was just fantabulous!). 

Then the hubby and I took off on the last drive for the day - to the Marriot in Whitefield, the venue of the wedding. We checked in and was soon joined by the other friends who had also travelled in from various parts of India, leading to another round of catch ups and fun. 

Oh, we were also informed by my parents in Kerala that the little one had not one bit of separation anxiety through the day. Good news. 

Thus, day 1 in Bangalore came to an end. Tomorrow, the wedding festivities begin! 

Day 356: Finally A Fantastic December Day!

I was really looking forward a day that felt like it was in December - relaxed, festive, happy! Thanks to work and all that, "relaxing" was not something that was happening and I haven't had an opportunity to take part in any festivities so far either.

But today, I felt like it was December. Finally! It was a perfect day. Like, P.E.R.F.E.C.T!

I had just completed the dub sync work until 2am this morning and then went to bed. I woke up late and after getting ready, the three of us - the hubby, the little one and I - set out for our Sunday outing - something that hasn't been happening in the last several weeks.

We went to our favourite restaurant Antoinette on Orchard road. We had a good lunch there while the little one made friends with all the service staff.

After lunch, we walked around in Orchard Road, soaking in the festivities, something that I have been wanting to do for the longest time! This is my annual ritual, something that I really love to do, and this year I wanted the little one to take a look at all the decorations and activities around the area as well.

And we could finally do it!

We walked a long stretch along the road, enjoying the Brazilian Samba Brucata music that was being played (which was AWESOME!), taking in the decor and all the different christmas trees, enjoying the beautiful cool, breezy weather and stopping for a drink at our favourite hangout place Brotziet - during which the hubby and I caught up over a nice long conversation as the little one dozed off. Also, in true tourist style, we even got a picture of us blown up on a huge LCD screen outside a building (it was some Samsung promotional thingy). How cool!

After that beautiful outing, we set off, with great excitement, to meet the baby boy a close friend had just given birth to a few hours earlier. We went to the National University Hospital and welcomed the little one to our world. Our little one also tagged along and had a momentary bout of jealousy when her mom, that is me, picked up the baby. It was pretty cute to watch!

Incidentally the hospital was in the campus of our alma mater National University of Singapore, and we were excited to be back on campus. We decided to have dinner there and walked to our regular hangouts from the yesteryears - the paratha shop at Abang.

As we entered - complete with baby, stroller and baby bag, the uncle and aunty who owns the place recognized us and made quite a deal about the fact that  we used to study there and now have returned with a baby! They told and retold the story to everyone who visited the place! It was so cute.. and really, a very interesting experience. All those years ago, I never would have imagined that I would be back there with a baby of my own! Phew!

Back home I had a long, much overdue, fun chat with the in-laws, after which the hubby and I once again set out for a short night walk to get a drink. The weather was simply gorgeous!

This was the December I wanted to enjoy! This was the holiday season I was so looking forward to!

I went to bed a really happy person. Wonderful day, indeed!

Days 341 - 348: The Bad & Then the Good!

What a rollercoaster ride it has been over the last few days!

On one hand, a lot of undesirable things happened -

a) A riot broke out in Singapore - something that hadn't happened in the last 40 years.

b) I had a messy presentation to the management.

c) The hubby and I had what's probably our longest lasting fight ever, probably because both of us are so overworked and stressed out.

d) The Singapore Air Force came and erased... and I repeat, ERASED all the footage we had shot over one morning (this was the reshoot of one of the scenes for Aravindum Aarumughamum). Their rationale - we were shooting too close to their base. And even though nothing was captured of their base in the footage, they chose to erase it. I did ask them to come and intervene a bit earlier the next time if they don't want shooting in that area, because really, letting us shoot for three whole hours and then coming and erasing everything is not really top notch consideration.

e) I worked past midnight 3 out of the 5 working days, and also had a work call until 8pm on Friday for good measure (yes, work is still crazy).

f) I was constantly suffering from dry, itchy eyes and a headache to go along.

Then things changed.

a) The day after the messy presentation, I gave another presentation - a real kickass one at that.

b) I was extremely saddened by the riot that broke out - especially since the ones responsible for it were my fellow countrymen from India, but then it was heartening to see that there was a lot of good discussion on how to improve the conditions of the labour class in Singapore so that these things don't re-occur. I was particularly happy to note that nowhere in my Facebook timeline did I see a xenophobic or racist comment - at least I know a bunch of good humans.

c) The hubby and I made up after the fight and to celebrate, we even hit a Bikram hot yoga class together. That used to be one of our very popular couple activities but we had not done it for almost two whole years now and to get back to it was awesome! Just like old times!

d) The location we ended up shooting that ill-fated scene in (we were shooting it for the third time now)  was not as nice as the earlier one near the air force base. But we had to make do with it and after hours of slogging in the hot sun, the shoot for Aravindum Aarumughamum was finally done. I guess I am happy about that, in spite of all the pain.

e) When I got home after the long day of shoot and reshoot, I recounted the day's experience to the hubby, in a rather animated manner. The little one caught a whiff that all was no well - her mother was clearly upset about some erased footage. So she came over and tried her best to console me - she patted my cheeks, hugged me, and laid her head on my chest and mouthed some words that sounded almost like asking me not to worry. It was the first time she had reacted to anything like that and my heart turned into a gooey emotional mush. I felt that all was indeed well with the world!

f) Then something awesome happened - The background score for Aravindum Aarumugham started to come in in bits and pieces and I absolutely, completely LOVE it! Suddenly all the frustration evaporated and I was reminded why I go through so much effort to make a film - clearly, I enjoy the process - yes, even including the downs!

g) I realized that I have overdelivered on every single resolution for the year 2013. I had a long list with very clear milestones to be achieved. I had very meticulously prepared it given that it was the first year of motherhood and am happy to say that I am very pleased with the progress. It was tough, but it was good. I plan to do a detailed entry on what the list had and how I fared - but that will happen at year end!

Am still rather exhausted and can't wait for a nice break, but in spite of that, I am genuinely pretty darn  happy!