A Wandering Mind

There is no better time to explore the Western Ghats than the monsoon, but we rarely get to go anywhere in the rains, thanks to the school schedule. This year, however, we struck lucky, with the school changing its term breaks, and giving us some bonus holidays in August! Which is why, you haven’t seen me online the last couple of weeks. Where did I go? Can you guess from this pic?

Cooped up at home for over 3 months, we were in dire need of a short break. Which is why, we made use of the Holi and Good Friday holidays to escape from the city. Our destination - one which has eluded us for years, which we have booked tickets to, twice, and had to cancel both times. We hoped to get, as they say, 'third time lucky', and we did, heading out to Coorg for a too-short vacation, just to break the jinx!

For the last three days, I have taken you with me along Rampart Row, enjoying the various art installations on display. While those are my main attractions during the festival, for my son, it is the workshops and the activities that encourage him to join me, year after year. 

After a troubled and tension-packed week , Saturday came along at just the right time to brighten things up. Technically, the day began on a cloudy note.. with the rain gods deciding to bring in the monsoon on just the day I had decided to bring out one of my sarees hidden away in the corner of my cupboard! So, in went the saree again and out came the well used Jeans, kurti and shoes.... the best attire for hunting down an auto amidst the downpour. And, will you believe it? The moment I caught an auto driver ready to take me to my destination, the rain stopped!! Well, it was too late to do anything about it then, and off we headed to our lunch date. Yes, "we" - Samhith and me,  were off to the Trident at the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) to join my Lavasa friends for a book reading followed by lunch at the Italian restaurant, Botticino, at the Trident. Samhith wasn't really invited, but I couldn't leave him behind, and so I took him along, wondering how he would ...

This one is for all those of you who had been asking me about Samhith and what he is up to. I am still caught up with umpteen things happening at once, and unable to write, so meanwhile, you can hop over to his space on the www to see what he has been up to! Click on the link below.. http://juniorwanderer.blogspot.com/2011/12/creativity-with-stirrers-and-straws.html

Dusshera has come and gone, but I am not done with my Navaratri posts. There are a couple of interesting golus and lots of pics I still have to share with you, but I am interrupting my Navaratri series to tell you all about an event we attended yesterday. It was so exciting and so much fun that I just cant wait any more to write about it!  Those of you who connect with me on Facebook already know that I was planning to attend the Lego Build a life size Fire Truck Event at High Street Phoenix in association with Hamleys. And all those who have been reading my blog know that Samhith loves Lego. We love to build and are big Lego fans. How could we miss such an interesting event????We set off soon after lunch, and by the time we reached, the Fire truck was almost half done! It was fascinating to see a structure as tall as me built from Lego bricks, and Samhith had to go close and touch it himself before believing that it was indeed built from bricks, and not from cardboard or so...

I have written earlier about how we have become interested in insects thanks to photography and blogging.... Of late, however, there has been a change. These days, Samhith no longer calls me to take a photo of an insect. He simply takes my camera and tries it himself! Of course, many of his attempts did not bear fruit, but here is one of his successful endeavors.....

While in Tiruppur , we decided to take Samhith to his first Tamil movie. It was also his first experience of the old fashioned single screen theatre, and he was surprised to see that there was just one huge screen in such a big place. The gallery surprised him even more, as did the cost of the ticket! The movie was ‘Ko’, one which has received rave reviews for its excellent cinematography and direction, and relates the story of a photojournalist dealing with the current political situation. Since this was Samhith’s first Tamil movie, I was a bit apprehensive about how he would manage to follow the dialogues and if he would actually sit through the three and a half hour long story. I needn’t have worried, for the visuals were stunning and the action riveting enough to transcend the language problem, and Samhith happily sat through the entire movie, just grabbing my hand or hiding his eyes at intervals when the going got too rough! After the movie, he had just one question – “Amma, wha...

Most of you would know by now that I had been travelling for the whole of last month. Just before I left, I signed up for the ‘ International Postcard Swap ’ organized by Zoe of ‘ Playing by the book ’. It was a heaven sent opportunity to get Samhith more interested in writing, and also get in touch with some like-minded parents and kids!

Here is what we saw in the paper, the first thing this morning..... To read the full article. click on the link below... Wall of education attains greater heights So, did you find the name? Hint: Its on the right side of the photo! When we headed over to Phoenix Mills yesterday after a inter-school gymnastics tournament at Wadala, we had no idea it was going to be such a wonderful evening! We had taken along a few of our books to donate to the Aviva Great Wall of Education, which we had been reading about, and they turned the simple art of donating books to an event, taking photos of the people giving the books, making them feel wonderful! Here is Samhith placing his books on the wall... The day was far from ove r, and we spent a wonderful hour at Hamleys, enjoying all the trains and cars, and coming back home with a Lego set we have been looking for, for the last one year! But the best part of the evening was undoubtedly the storytelling session by Blue Fun  Umbrella ...

Friday marked the end  of the exams and we all heaved a sigh of relief! (not that we had worked too hard for the exam, but the fact that it was over was enough for us to rejoice...). The school diary came back full with instructions for the coming week - the last week of the current academic year. We have one week of freedom before we begin the new year...Samhith will go proudly to the second standard...after a much awaited holiday.. But more of that later.... Let me tell you about what marked a beginning of Samhith's free time..... he made a handkerchief for peace! Confused????? To read more about Samhith's handkerchief for Peace, click here .

Samhith has been taking up quite a lot of space on my blog recently.... After all, my life does revolve around him and his activities.....He is the main reason I am at home and have so much time and matter to blog! Well, of late, I have been feeling that it is time to give him his own space, at least on the WWW and allow him to express himself. As of now, he has the least inclination to write anything himself, but then he is just six and a half, and has just about learnt to write......But he loves seeing his name and his work on my blog, and loves all your comments and encouraging words. He knows most of your names, at least your screen ones, and asks about some of you regularly......    Anyway, I have finally decided to start a separate blog just for him and his doings.... As of now, I shall be doing all the writing, and simply putting up his work...... mostly as an encouragement for his creativity.... and an effort to make him sit in one place for at least a little while.....

This is one of Samhith's latest creations - he has just learnt to draw!!! Yes, at the age of 6 and a half, it is indeed a bit late, but he has never been interested in drawing or colouring! "Why should I want to draw or colour?" has been the refrain for so long! He couldn't even colour properly, let alone draw anything! Then, suddenly , last month, he brought back a perfectly coloured sheet from school, telling me that one of his friends had helped him out, teaching him how to draw within the boundaries! I can never thank the little girl who helped him out enough! And then, imagine my surprise when he brought back a note from the teacher, informing that he was to participate in a drawing competition! So, we spent Sunday morning drawing a school bus, which was the topic given. This drawing below is the one he drew by himself, as a sort of trial, and then he drew it finally on art paper, which he has taken along with him to school. I wanted to take  a pic of the ...

This one is for those of who who have been wondering what Samhith has been up to during this vacation, and why there are no pics of him in the last post on our Pagoda trip. Well, I took so many pics of him during the trip, I decided they were worth another post!!! So, let me start with the best one..... Samhith skipping along happily on the path to the Pagoda.... ..and then, here are his many moods as he played happily in the green grass while we waited for the ferry.... He was fascinated by the exhibits of EsselWorld, and with his chitti (my sister) happily posed for the camera.... He then picked up the camera and tried to click pictures... Here are the ones that came out well.... While we waited for our taxi driver, we came across this flock of geese............... .......and you can see for yourself the fun Samhith derived from them!!!! Finally, this part is solely for him.... published on his insistence...his efforts ...

This post is for my son, Samhith. For the past one week , we have been cooped up in the house thanks to the swine flu enforced holiday, and being a bit unwell myself, I did not want to risk going anywhere and actually getting the dreaded flu of the moment. We had no choice but to occupy ourselves at home to the best of our ability. To be fair to him, he kept away from the TV most of the time, turning to it only when we were lost for ideas. While we caught up on a lot of stories we hadn’t read in a long time, and I also managed to teach him how to turn the computer on himself, and even type a few lines by himself. Of course, that kept him occupied for quite a while… (So now you know who is going to contribute next to my blog!!!) But this blog is not about that . This is blog is about something both of us spent time making these last few days… Samhith loves blocks , and they are the only things sure to make him sit down for more than a few minutes at a time. This week, we made qui...