Big Fat India Trip

June was a big month. It was a month of a big trip. Trip to India to visit grandparents. A first for Bobby boy. And a 5 year hiatus for little miss Haana. 

It was 3 week trip split between Delhi and Chennai; with a side of a trip to Kanyakumari. The long flight to Delhi was punctuated with a 6 hr layover. Both little miss Haana and Bobby boy slept a little bit on the flight. But once we got to the airport lounge to spend time during our layover, Bobby boy was certainly in what I call - the energizer-bunny-mode! Running around and very animated, like someone fitted him with brand new batteries! The flights were relatively good, both Haana and Bobby did well, watched their videos, ate their meals, slept for a bit and mostly left me alone to catch a movie or two.. or three. 

At Delhi, nani and nana (maternal grandparents) were delighted to see them. We had delicious food, prepared by nani. Little miss Haana had been looking forward to having aaloo parantha (potato stuffed tortilla cooked with oil) with butter. I had dutifully communicated this to nani before we even left for India. Little miss Haana had her aaloo parantha with a huge dollop of butter right away! And then every single day we were in Delhi (except our last day in delhi, which nani still feels really bad about).

We talked about politics with nana - both national politics (nana is a big Modi supporter) and local (at nana's morning club!!). 

Later we went over to visit Tata, Pati (parental grandparents) in Chennai. While there, little miss Haana got her choicest dosa or ildi every day. While in Chennai we made a side trip to see the great grandmother at Nagercoil and to Kanyakumari beach. 800km distance. Kanyakumari is a town at the southern most tip of India, with beach waters that are a confluence of the Indian ocean, Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. We took a train from Chennai for this trip. 12 hrs, 5pm to 5am. Bobby boy and I were the ones most excited for this train trip. Bobby, because he loves trains, all trains, and platforms, stations, bridges, tunnels, tracks.. everything. Me, because I like the motion of being on a train, and looking out the window to see a glimpse of so many lives for a brief second, like a photograph. I like watching the tracks, how they come together and then go apart. It's mesmerising. Last time I travelled by train in India was Jan 2002 when Papa and i went to Allahabad for the maha-kumbh mela. I was remembering that trip, fragments in my memory, before my life changed so much later that year. I liked that trip. Kumbh mela came to be as the largest gathering of the curious and argumentative hindus, to exchange ideas, learn and share ideas. On my trip I took a dip in the ganges river. What an amazing event.

I did a bunch of shopping at Chennai,  something I don't usually do much of or have a sustained interest in. But boy did i shop this time! Clothes. Almost all of it. 

Back in Delhi, we moved to Softy mausi's for 3 days. It was a true vacation, with good food, great company, and TV in the bedroom to cozy up together and watch movies! It was a great time! Bobby boy was contemplating whether to trust Softy mausi around his cherished blanket. Softy mausi was not doing herself any favors by repeatedly trying to swipe it. Little miss Haana shadowed her Aby bhaiya, they both alternating between cushion fighting (Bobby boy insisting on being in the middle of it) card games and playing pool. 

After this 3 day vacation at Softy mausi, we were back at Nana Nani's. And that's when Deepa nani (my mom's youngest sister) came over to visit us. She came bearing gifts, love and hugs! 

Too soon it was time to head back for our flight out of India. Where had all that time gone! Too much time had passed between our last visit and this one. 

Summer of 18

This summer we did what we haven't done in last 3 summers. Visit grand parents and great grand parents in India.

Unlike what people may usually think, the long plane journey to India is generally quite peaceful with little Miss Haana. She watches her favorite videos, eats what she wants(and not what she doesn't), sleeps once she's exhausted from the video-watching. It's a dream come true for her! And like all dreams this one gets over once we land.

We landed in Delhi, met nana nani (maternal grand parents) at the airport, and headed towards the home where i had grown up. At dinner it was discovered Miss Haana has quite a jet lag. It was past 1am and she had her batteries fully charged and ready to go!! For the next almost 10 days( almost half of our trip), she would sleep between 3-6pm in the afternoon and wake up between 2-4am.

After a few days of steady in Delhi, we continued to Chennai and various other places in the south of India. Visited the great grand mother, uncles and aunts and cousins. Walked coconut and banana fields. Everywhere we went little Miss Haana was the queen-bee! Commanding everyone's attention and channeling everyone's energy.

I had gotten several story books, coloring books, math workbook for miss Haana to spend time on while we were in India. Story books were a big hit! 

We came back to Delhi to spend about a week with nana, nani. This was also the time when we met with Softy mausi (my sister), Aby bhaiya ( nephew who's now 3 times the size of Miss Haana! And still just as sweet as before if not cuter still!), and Sid uncle. Like last time little Miss Haana followed Aby bhaiya around everywhere and they both kept playing games on their phones that no one else was privy to. We met several of nana-nani's friends and Veer nana and Anu nani.

And just like that, it was then time for us to leave and head back. Summer may not be over yet, but the great India vacation came and went. Like all India vacations, it was a whole lot, crammed into not many days.

Grand Parents

For the last 3 months almost, we had grandparents visiting us from India.

In June and July, my parents were visiting.  Little Miss Haana was eager to know what gifts they had for her snuck away in their suitcases. She was not disappointed. There were dresses and delicious indian sweets and even board games like Snakes-and-Ladder.

A friendship was forged between the grand parents and the little girl. And they were in for a constant non-stop entertainment package from 8am till 8 pm. She told them stories, colored cards, educated them on what is right and wrong with the world.

Little Miss Haana also embarked on a mission to educate the grand parents with the latest kids' videos she's currently into: magic school bus! Our usual pact for videos is restricted to up to 2-3 hour per week ( usually over weekend) not counting the 10-15 minutes of video Daddy sneaks in to her in the mornings.  Generally, weekdays mean no video watching.
But, now it was summer! And Magic School Bus episodes are not going to watch themselves. We had gotten television package for the parents for their convenience just before they arrived. But little did we know, the little girl will have a supreme command on the remote and the contents of what comes on the the TV. Poor Nana Nani would turn on the TV to watch their shows but the little girl would take over the controls and in a moments notice, everyone would be watching the magic school bus. Most of this notoriety was of course happening when we were away at work. When the cats are away, the mice will play.  And was the mouse playing it up! If it's making hay while the sun shines, the little girl was filling up the barns!

Soon my parents left and the same week my in laws came to visit.

The magic school bus episodes were now being repeated, since she'd watched through them all once. In fact just before the in laws left, she was watching the episodes in spanish for novelty! And the tv was usually switched off just a few minutes before I would come back from work.

Little miss Haana was the centre of attraction for every minute of every day while the grandparents are visiting. And we all loved it!

Report Cards

I still remember the day when I was in school (elementary, middle and high) and it used to be the report card day! Last month we went to visit grand-parents in India and we saw a different kind of report cards.

Every morning during our stay with her maternal grand parents, my little girl would come out with her own report card: who all are on her good books, and who are not. 

On the first day, Mumma, Papa, Aby bhaiya (my sugar drop nephew) and Sid uncle were Pyaara bachha (lovely child) and everyone else- Softy Mausi (my sweet sister), nana (grandpa) and Nani (grandma) were all declared badmaash bachha (naughty kids).

On hearing her report, Softy Mausi got thoroughly traumatized. She doubled up on the hugging and the agreeing and the bribing. 

Next day, the charms had worked. Papa, Mumma, Softy Mausi, Aby bhaiya, Sid uncle - all of us were on the good books. So who's left? Nana, Nani. Both grandparents ended up on the naughty side. Reason? They came between Miss Haana and her tv shows! :-)

Every day for the rest of our stay, I checked but the report cards stayed the same.

We've just been back for a week and I checked this morning. Nana, Nani and still badmaash bachha! 

Fine Balance

I haven't reported on our two-week trip to India last month yet. It was over like a blink of an eye, and it was like I was  already unpacking suitcases even though it seemed like I had barely just left.

We spent the first one week at her maternal grandparents' place- hobnobbing with Nana, Nani, Softy Mausi and Aby bhaiya. Even though she was a bit shy at the airport at Delhi, by the time we reached her Nana-Nani's place she was already telling Nana she wants cake for breakfast tomorrow. With Softy Mausi she found her love of long hair renewed. We had watched Rapunzel as a play in children's theatre just before this trip- so long flowing hair such as softy mausi's  triggered the perfectionist hair dresser in her! Aby bhaiya and Haana were just as inseparable as they had been last year. And my sweet nephew Aby has grown even more sweeter and thoughtful and perceptive individual.

The next week was spent at try he paternal grandparents' house who were in total surprise and had no idea we had a trip planned. Once the surprise waned, shopping trips were planned and arranged for the little girl. She hung out with her Tata and Pati; and was the little princess there too.

But coming back from India trip is not without it's perils. First, after spending time on a vacation getting back to the routine of daily life is never easy. Jet lag is not thy friend. Family back home always complain how the time was just not enough (very acutely aware that was the case). But the biggest issue happened with Miss Haana's school.

Before we left we were in the perfect sweet spot. She loved going to school, she loved coming back in the evening. On Sunday evenings she was looking forward to meeting her friends the next day. Ever since we came back, she doesn't want to do school anymore!! In the mornings she doesn't want to go and in the evening when I pick her up most days she has the get-me-outta-here expression, like she's had enough! This is such a huge stressful deal! And is totally stressing me out. Talked at school with the teacher and admins but I'm still not quite sure what is going on...

Hope we get back to a happy balance all over again.

Taj Mahal

In the month of November, Miss Haana had been to India to visit grandparents both maternal and paternal. It was during this visit that we all had been to Taj Mahal in Agra, India: http://www.tajmahal.gov.in/.

The Taj Mahal, built in 1631-48, "a spectacle in white marble, unparalleled in grandeur that depicts the sheer opulence of an era. The awesome structure, the monument of love that Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan gave to the world, stands as a testimony of his intense love for his wife Mumtaz Mahal.
It is a romance celebrated in marble and glorified with precious and semi-precious stones and that’s the way to appreciate it!"

I thought the Taj Mahal was amazing. I also thought that the sentiment with which it was made was amazing and crazy. Shah Jahaan was not the first and by no means the last king with the money and means at his disposal for such a structure. So, it was not the means - it was the dream, the love and the will that surpassed what was considered normal and expected thus far and for centuries beyond. A love that knows no barriers of being "correct" or "normal". 

I thought it was amazing that so many people come from all over the world to see this structure of beauty and love over 400 years. Four hundred years! 

I wondered if in our lifetimes if we'll ever be able to do something that great that can be held up for generations thereafter. And perhaps more importantly, I wondered if we will be able to surpass the barriers of the expected norms, the normal and the expected to follow our heart in our lifetimes. 

Back

We are back. We had been travelling for almost a whole month. And even though many people gasp at "A month!!" implying such luxuries of getting to take so much time off from work and travelling at such leisure.. I must remind them- a trip back home with 18-22 hours travelling time is no fun in the park. It's a very hectic and tiring affair. Notice I did not use the word 'vacation' anywhere.

But it was Miss Haana's maiden voyage to India and first meeting with several relatives and places. 

She met her Aby bhaiya (brother) and they both though separated by some 6 years were inseparable thereafter. If Aby bhaiya is around, anyone else's presence or absence isn't really relevant! 

She met Softy Mausi (my sister), who, like me, fell totally in love with little Miss Haana. But unlike me, she thinks Miss Haana belongs to her and looks and behaves just like her- and she should be left with her for the forseeable future. 

Both sets of grand-parents doted on the little Miss Chief Guest! Ever since we've been back my mom calls up daily to ask how she's doing and how much she misses the little baby! And how I didn't spend enough time with them :-)