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 360: Kerala Phase 1 - Food's Own Country!

Like I mentioned here, our plan was to spend a couple of days in Kerala before the hubby and I would leave for Bangalore to attend a friend's wedding, leaving the little one with her grandparents. After the wedding, the hubby would return to Singapore while I would come back to Kerala, with my in-laws for phase 2 of the trip there.

But yes, for now, it is phase 1. This one day was pretty much spent on eating as well as visiting a few friends and family. Within a day, I managed to stuff in Kerala Porotta, Varutharacha Chicken Curry, Chilli Prawns, Egg Masala, Appam, Koorkka Upperi, Idiyanchakka (young jackfruit)Thoran, Ulli (shallot) Sambhar,  Vegatable Cutlet, Idli and Chutney. All this on top of a visit to our neighbour's house as well as trip down to Cochin to visit my uncles, aunts, cousins and super fun little nephew there.

So proud of myself!

I must also mention that I thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful, breezy weather here which was a very welcome change from the super hot, sultry weather from March when I last visited. It was also fascinating to see the cute/cranky/intelligent/silly performances that the little one was putting up for the benefit of everyone around, especially her grandparents and great grandmother.

It was a great phase 1 for sure, next up is Bangalore!

Days 357 - 359: "Shilpa Vihar"!

23 - 25 December, 2013

In his last visit to Singapore, my dad had brought along an old sketchbook of mine, which dates back to my childhood (and I mean when I was about 10 or so). It was fascinating to see what used to catch my fancy those days. I had everything from cartoon characters to flora and fauna and landscapes and each sketch was accompanied by a very clear title e.g. "boy", "girl", "naughty boy", "duck", "good boy", etc.

Interestingly, one of the sketches was that of a pretty little house and this one too had a label. It said "Shilpa Vihar" which means "Shilpa Residences", "Shilpa's House" or something of that order. Clearly, that was the picture of my dream house and what I planned to name it whenever it were to happen in the future. 

Now, it is not that my family had no house of our own. We did have the good fortune to live in cozy, comfortable little home but I guess I was probably not fully happy with it at that point in time. And the reason was that I never had a room to myself. What I had was one that doubled up as my room, general study room, mom's wardrobe room, dad's books room, etc. etc. 

As I grew up, I think I started to care less about "my room" or the dream "Shilpa Vihar" and had completely forgotten about it by the time the sketchbook made its way to me after all these years. But what I did have in mind was to some day have a bigger house in my hometown - one which gave enough space to my parents, my grandmom who now stays with us and the hubby, the little one and I when we visit every year. 

And the work on this - a house that has enough space for all of us together - has been progressing for the past couple of years and is now almost completed. And I planned to visit my new home, or "Shilpa Vihar" as the hubby as been calling it ever since he saw the sketchbook. The idea was for all three of us to go check out the new place, then the hubby and I leave for a friend's wedding in Bangalore leaving the little one behind with her grandparents, then I come back to my hometown together with my in laws who will join me from Bangalore, spend a few days there and then return to Singapore with the little one.

In other words, there was a ton of planning and packing to be done. And that's exactly what I did during these few days. Making packing lists, packing, shopping, packing again, repacking because nothing seems to fit in the darn luggage, etc. etc.

And finally when all that was done, we made our way to Thrissur in Kerala, to see that house that my parents have been toiling to set up for so long (My involvement has been financial only while they have been designing and really pulling the weight that's required to be pulled for any construction of a new home).

My parents picked us up from the Kochi airport and soon we were there. The new house perched on a slightly elevated road, overlooking the Brahmaswam Madhom (a temple and a vedic institution, open to the public only once a year during Saraswati Puja) and its adjoining beautiful, serene pond. With a gorgeous view like that, this was already a perfect home in my mind but I was wowed when I walked through the indoors. The interiors (done by a professional interior decorator) had been done up beautifully and I was thrilled that they had even managed to frame family photos and line up on a photo wall. It was all so beautiful! And the best part - there was enough space... more than enough space in fact, for all of us together!

So there it was - after a gap of more than 20 years, "Shilpa Vihar"!

Days 70 - 74: A Few Awesome Days - Of Teachers, Choroonu, Travels & More!

11 - 15 March, 2013

I really do wish I had more time to write these days because doing a summary of the fantastic time I have been having is just sheer injustice! But with a baby on hand and jam packed days there is no option but to write down a quick note or risk skipping the writing altogether. 

So here we go… the summary of some very awesome days that I had the good fortune of spending! 

a) Visit to my old school - After a gap of 6 years, I paid a visit to my old school Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. I had officially parted from the school in 1998 when I flew to Singapore for my Junior College but had visited in 2007 to invite my teachers for my wedding. This time I took the hubby along as well. And I had the most amazing time! It was so lovely to meet up with the old teachers all over again - getting up to date with each other's lives, listening to the anecdotes they had to share about me, taking photos, being treated like the student from all those years ago, and generally feeling on top of the world and also feeling like quite the fool for having missed out on this for all these years! I really should be visiting them more often. Here's my Facebook update right after the visit which pretty much summarizes it all - "Seriously, how do teachers do this?! They recognize you even after a decade, they remember anecdotes about you, they remember which "gang" you belonged to, the details about your friends and even your family, they pamper you like you are still a child even if you have a child yourself now, they give you the warmest welcome, the widest smile, the most beautiful time. 

Dear teachers - thank you! For the great times then. For the best time today!"

b) The Little One's "Choroonu" - Or in other words, her "first rice-eating" ceremony which officially initiates her to cereals. Accompanied by more than 30 relatives and friends, we made our way to the famous Guruvayur Lord Krishna Temple. We dressed her up in the customary kasavamundu and black kohl lining for her eyes and eyebrows, topped up with a little bindi. In my completely biased opinion, she looked absolutely adorable. The function itself was quick and smooth. The hubby and I sat down with her on our lap and made her taste the different items that were served on a banana leaf. It had rice, sharkara payasam (a dessert made of rice and jaggery), kaalan, pappadam and a few other items. We were to take a bit of everything and feed her. While some of the other babies seemed to resist the food and cry, our little one seemed mighty pleased with the whole thing. After the choroonu, we also had her "thulabhaaram" which is making certain offering, in her case it was bananas, as much as in one's own weight. So she was made to sit on a huge balance as she was weighed against bananas - again, an activity that she seemed to enjoy much. Then came my most favourite part of the entire day - the "nadathallal". She was placed on the floor, on her tummy, right in front of the shrine as if she is made to pray to Lord Krishna and made part of his "gang" of children. It was so cute to see her tiny form on that expansive floor, stretching herself out on her tummy, as if she is falling at the feet of the God. Post that, she readily slept off, even as we made our way into the inner shrine in some mindboggling crowd and heat. This was followed by enjoying the sambharam (spiced buttermilk) prepared by my dad's cousin sister who stays right next to the temple, which was then followed by the traditional sadya (feast) for everyone. I had expected it to be a tough day since we have to put up with immense crowds and heat but it turned out to be a pretty pleasant experience. I had also expected the little one to be miserable for the same reasons of crowd and heat, but she seemed to have a good time too. Couldn't have asked for more! Now the little one is a little one who can eat whatever she desires! Big girl already! 

c) From Kerala to Kanpur - It was time to say Goodbye to Kerala and Hello to Kanpur, the hubby's hometown. However, the journey wasn't quite as simple as that. From Thrissur -> Kochi airport -> Mumbai -> Lucknow -> Kanpur, it took us a grand total of 11 whole hours. This again, was not something I was expecting to be easy, given it's the little one's longest journey so far but thankfully again, it turned out to be quite smooth. She slept through the Kochi - Mumbai flight and played through the Mumbai - Lucknow flight. She was a lot better behaved than even her average day, I would say. And I can't be more thankful for it! Now the hubby and I are not only more confident of travelling with her, in fact we quite enjoyed ourselves, spending all those hours with just the three of us. 

d) So much love! - We continued to have visitors, each one more affectionate than the other, showering us with good wishes, gifts and love! Particularly, I was so very touched by my cousin sister who made her way down from Bangalore, just for a day to meet the little one. She was on her last week of classes and would have had returned home very soon but since we wouldn't be around till then, she had to make this extra trip down. Given that she was in middle of her exams, her health wasn't at its best and a trip down from Bangalore over a 12 hour bus ride is not really pleasant, I have to say that this was incredibly nice of her. Like, So Super Sweet! She and her parents and brother came down to our place for an evening and we had the best time ever - playing with the little one, chatting & catching up, enjoying some great food and general merrymaking! 

Awesome days, really! 

Days 64 - 69: Kerala Continues to Excite!

5 - 10 March, 2013

It is continuing to be crazy busy and hence time for another power packed summarized list-based entry! So here we go, what's been keeping me super busy, excited and happy the last few days in good old Kerala!

a) Welcoming the hubby who has finally made his way down to Kerala - His midnight flight was a couple of hours late but it turned out to well for my dad and me. We could have our overdue, peaceful conversation over a cup of awesome tea from a roadside stall. Loved the late night drive, the cool weather, the conversation, the tea and of course, finally having the hubby together with us!

b) Recovery of the little one - She fell sick with abdominal colic and a flu once she got here. Inevitable, given the changes in the weather as well as routine. But it was heartbreaking to see her miserable for a few days. And I was over the moon when she finally recovered, back to her very happy self. The first few times she started to "talk" and laugh again, I felt what was probably one of the strongest feelings of relief and joy till date! Parenthood is indeed interesting.

c) Visit to my dad's place in Tripunithura - But first stop was to try out the famed Kaayikka Biriyani. The rice and the sauces and soda lime that went along were quite yummy! This was followed by visits to my uncles' and aunt's places. It was lovely to meet all of them as well as my cousins. It was also wonderful to meet my cousin's 7 month old baby, who took a fascination for our little one. It was amusing to see the two babies bonding and having their own conversation. I was also absolutely WOWed by my little cousin brother's singing talent! I had no idea that he could sing and when asked to put up a live show for us, he did with no hesitation and ended up blowing us away. So proud! I wish we had more time to spend together with everyone, but I guess this will have to be it for this time!

d) More & More temple visits - I think I have covered more temples on this visit than ever before. More because the little one needs a madatory drive every evening. She absolutely refuses to sit at home past 5pm. And since we don't have too many different places to go to, we ended up covering plenty of temples! One highlight was definitely the Iringalakkuda temple. It was my first time there and I loved the temple with its expansive grounds, a beautiful pond and old world charm. On the way back we also hit a famous eating joint, the Friend's Kitchen in Iringalakkuda which served authentic Kerala cuisine. Yum! I was also taken aback by the breathtaking landscapes enroute to some of these temples. In less that 10 kms from the city, there were so many lovely temples set in pristine locations - surrounded by palmgroves, paddy fields and little streams. It is so wonderful to discover these gems!

e) Celebrating Shivarathri - The last time I celebrated Shivarathri in Kerala was about four years ago. Then I had primarily visited the Vadakkumnathan temple and spent the evening there lighting the lamps and praying. This year it was a bit different. We visited five different Shiva temples and we got a Pulluvan song done for the little one at the Punkunnam temple. Pulluvanpaattu is a dying art done in honour of the Sarpa/Snake Gods as a way of invoking their blessings for infants and I was absolutely thrilled to have it done unexpectedly for the little one! We watched a dance performance near Vadakkumnathan and more interestingly, we saw dancers in full fledged Bharatantyam costumes on the roadside waiting for an autorickshaw after a performance at a nearby temple. What a sight that was! I also saw the elephant procession from Parmekkavu temple towards Vadakkumnathan. I learnt the fascinating fact that there are about 15 such processions from nearby Devi temples and these signify the journey of the Goddesses from their abodes in these temples towards the Shiva residing at Vadakkumnathan to greet him on Shivarathri. How cute is that!

f) Visit by a good friend from Singapore who is currently based in Kerala. He came over with his girlfriend, a lovely girl whom I am meeting for the first time. It was wonderful to have them over!

g) Visit by my filmie fanatic friend who is based in Kochi - He came over with a memento and the final official DVD of his film. Our history is all there in the old blog, so am not repeating it here. But it was lovely to meet him again and receive the tokens of completion of his first film project, which all apparently started from our conversation in Singapore in 2011!

h) Visit to My House - There is an apartment we are constructing on the plot of my mom's ancestral house. This is the first time I had an opportunity to visit the site. It was thrilling and overwhelming to look up at that complex and realize that that house is going to be my house. There is still some construction left together with most of the interiors but I couldn't help but feel that it is my very own house, the place where my parents would be staying in from the next time on. A bigger, brighter, newer place for them after all these years. It was truly a beautiful feeling.

h) And last but not the least, I have been gorging on all the food. From jackfruit dessert to toddy, from beef fry to duck curry, from biriyani to chocolate pastries, from banana chips to squid curry, I have had it all. Of course, it's all starting to show on the body but we shall worry about fitness and such boring issues once back in Singapore. For now, the taste buds get the priority!

Jam packed. Heavy duty fun. More to come! 

Days 60 - 63: Miscellaneous Highlights from Kerala!

1 - 4 March, 2013

I wish I had the time to write detailed posts every day for the duration of my stay in India, because that's how fascinating and eventful each day is. But that's not to happen because I simply do not seem to get the time! So I am gonna make do with a quick list on the highlights over the last few days.

1) Visits to the Agathimandiram old age home and Parvathy bhavan, a home for mentally challenged ladies - Made a quick visit to both the places, something I have been doing regularly over the last few visits to Thrissur. The reality check when you meet the inmates of such places is an absolute must.

2) Visit to Guruvayur temple - This is again a mandatory event on every trip back home. This time, the visit coincided with the Guruvayur annual festival and I was amazed to see how grandly the place was decorated! The shiny lights, the endless number of Krishna idols, the rangoli decorations, flowers and lighted lamps gave the already charming place an added beauty. Loved it!

3) Shooting for Mausams "It's a Wrap" video - My editor who is in town to meet the little one, had this brainwave that we should have a behind the scenes video on Mausams. Given it's the journey from an intended home video to a feature film that did reasonably well in terms of audience acceptance, festival entries and such, he suggested that it would be good to summarize everything into a short video - to tell the story of its journey as well as a tribute to the cast and crew. But this required a shoot with me - an interview style video where I narrate some of the stories behind the making of the film. After a few scheduling issues that cropped up because of the little one's mood swings, we finally managed to get it done. I had a good two hours being in front of the camera, as my dad managed the little one who behaved pretty well during the time.

4) Visits to Maangottukaavu and Pazhayannoor temples - After a beautiful drive through some of Kerala's best untouched scenic landscapes, we made a visit to these two temples. It was my first time at both the places and I really enjoyed myself. I must mention that I was totally amused to see Pazhayannoor temple crowded with... well, cocks and hens! Just as I entered the temple, I noticed there were just too many of these birds around - on the walls, on the deepasthambham, on the donation box - pretty much everywhere! It was then that I discovered that this is something unique to this particular temple. Apparently these birds are  offered to the temple by the devotees. How cute!

5) Shopping - Made the mandatory shopping trip that follows every visit home. Am always amused to see the large number of new stores that seem to have popped up every time!

6) Food, Food & of course, Food - Seriously, with the kind of options available - be it my mom's cooking or the stuff that we get from all the restaurants, Kerala simply has too much good food! I have been gorging myself on everything starting with amazing coffee (Aryaas) to yummilicious chocolate cake (Elite supermarket), from prawns fry (Luciya Palace) to kozhakatta (from neighbour's house), it's all been way too good! 

Eventful and a ton of fun!

Day 59: A Truck Load of Attention!

Super nice day when a truck load of attention, gifts and love were showered!

Not on me, but on the little one. 

I have come to realize (and accept) that absolutely nobody is fascinated to see me anymore and it is really all about the little one. Oh well. So yes, she was hugged, kissed, played with, fought over and super pampered through the day. 

We had several visitors - my uncles and aunts, cousin, neighbours, friends (one friend even came over from Mumbai!) and those who couldn't visit yet were calling me through the day. I was running from one call to another, from one visitor to another, catching up, showing off the little one, and having general merriment. 

The little one charmed everyone for a while after which she decided enough was enough and put on her most frustrated front. And when she does that, all that mummy-baby bond I was talking about yesterday... well yeah, even that doesn't work. She caused utter havoc inside the house. 

Then we realized something. That the frustration melts away when she is outside the house. You take her to the roads, walk her, put her in a car, or do any such activity that involves the outdoors, and she immediately transforms into an angel. She puts on an expression of such serenity and docility that one wonders where the other baby disappeared to. 

In the evening, after a whole day at home that resulted in quite a war between the Little One vs. The Adults, we put her in a car together with her grandparents as well as my friend from Mumbai and we went off for dinner. She was quiet in the car and later in the restaurant. She watched all the proceedings very curiously and after she had quenched her curiosity, she fell asleep on my lap through the rest of the dinner.  

And I must mention the dinner. Dinner was at Indian Wok - a new Indian Chinese place in Thrissur. We ordered quite a few dishes but my favourites were the Jade Chicken Soup - which was sweet corn  chicken soup with a mix of coriander, which I thought was a deadly combination!; their Egg Hakka Noodles, a pretty good lamb dish the name of which I forget now, and last but definitely not the least their "Sizzling Brownie", which is brownie with vanilla ice cream put on a hot pan. Once the pan is placed in front of you, they pour chocolate syrup on it, filling up the entire base. This is what "sizzles" thereby giving the dish its interesting name. The brownie and the syrup gets a bit fried, giving a really interesting taste. Loved it and highly recommended! 

I must also mention how I had very unexpectedly bumped into an old school friend! We were on our way back from dinner when I noticed a guy wearing a helmet, riding a bike, was waving frantically at me with the widest of all grins. I first thought he got the person wrong, because I couldn't recognize him. So I turned my head away confused and well, very unfriendly. Then he sounded the horn, waved again, and the grin got even bigger and then it dawned on me that it was my friend from school! I had not seen him for more than a decade now, so one can't really blame me for not being able to recognize him, especially when he was donning a helmet! After the recognition, of course we stopped the car and I had a very quick catch up with him on the roadside. It was a nice little surprise indeed, bumping into him like that! 

Thus the first day in Kerala with the little one comes to an end. A good day indeed! 

Day 58: The Little One Goes to India!

The day arrived!

The little one's first visit to India, in fact her first trip anywhere outside of Singapore. That in itself is a big deal. An even bigger deal is the fact that I traveled with her ALL BY MYSELF.

Our first stop in this trip is my place in Kerala and it started off with a four hour flight. Even though the flight is only four hours, it meant spending about 6 hours or so with just the two of us. While I was looking forward to this special mummy-baby bonding time, I can frankly say that I was terrified of it as well. One never knows how the little one, a completely developed human with her own strong mind and will will behave at any point in time. So yes, I was nervous, terrified, excited, all at the same time.

But I am very happy and proud to declare that it all went off very smoothly! In fact I think the little one is quite a traveller!

At the Singapore airport, she greeted - which means she smiled, cooed and gurgled - at pretty much everyone - the security officers, the immigration officials, the fellow passengers, air hostesses, everyone. Some of them were so charmed by her that they stopped me for ten minutes at the gate, just so that they can play with her and she readily obliged too. On the flight, she fell asleep immediately and slept through the four hours. Only bummer was that I couldn't place her on the bassinet due to the turbulent weather, so I had to place on her lap for the entire journey which pretty much meant I had no dinner or loo break. But that's a small price to pay for such a peaceful journey!

Upon reaching the Kochi airport, I handed her over to her overexcited grandparents and went to collect my luggage. When I handed her over, she was continuing to exude her friendly charm and things were all rosy and happy. But just after I had collected my luggage, one lady security official came towards me and informed, "Your baby is crying." OK, thanks. I realized that my baby was not simply "crying", it was more like she had pretty much brought the airport down with her bloodcurdling wails and horrified everyone around. Awesome.

But then something actually really awesome happened. I picked her up and she quieted down immediately and cuddled really close to me. I can very well say that this was probably the first time I actually felt, like really felt from the bottom of my heart, that I am her mother. In the sense, not just someone who has to take care of her but someone she actually feels the closest to. In other words, we bonded.

A great welcome to India that was!