Back after a long hiatus

Hi folks,

It took me a long time to figure out 'kamenka' (Camera) actually takes pictures. I carried the 'toolu' (Step Stool) all over the house and figured out that I can actually reach much higher if I stood up on it. Then I was off discovering other things.

One fine day, amma took me to Library and I found spot's books. Now they are my favorites. I want to see the 'shom' (Spot goes to FARM) and sleep with 'good nigh' Spot. I enjoy looking at the face of appa and amma whenever I pick these books. But they are so nice, they read it every time I want it - may be even (!let me count - one, two thee, fo, fi, sik, eigt, ten) ten times every day.

Writing does not do justice to my speech. Hear out how I say my name. Appa was trying to search for me when I was hiding behind his back and he was calling my name. I had to respond and that ensured the resulting 2 minute fun.

I spend most of my time trying to speak, sing and watching good music videos on You tube. Look at Aruna Sairam's Baaje Mrudunga at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBaEqcUBY0E

I will try and have some videos up for next post.

Bum!, Cut & ER Visit

Night came alive on 4-Oct-2008. It was normal playing time on my sofa. I don't know what happened but I did a major somersault and had as I call it, Bum! or a fall. I hit the door stopper and blood started gushing out near the eyes.

We all went to ER and upon first triage doctors (and there was a plastic surgeon too!!) said it was minor and I do not need stitches. We waited for a few hours before getting a prescription for antibacterial cream and returning home.

Here is a closeup of the cut. Boy! wasn't I lucky - there was no injury to my eye.



Other mischievous activities continue. Hide and seek in the closet, wearing appa's ties and happily eating yogurt when appa and amma are not around. Boy I started liking those colorful Yakshagana DVD's appa plays. I will soon have a makeup of my own.

Ciao,

Growing up comes with responsibilities

Check this out folks.  I have been given special responsibilities to be completed every day.  I clean the restroom and wash my clothes.  My special role as 'gunk' cleaner specialist also comes handy sometimes.

"Come" & "Come On"

That's all I said and off we went to the beach. This time we went to Sea Bridge Beach. Sand, water, amma and appa make a great combination. While I rested in my own "sand kingdom", appa and amma were chatting.

I can say "Come", "Come On" (only when people don't understand what I am saying), "Hi", "Hullo", "trash", "mam mam" (that means food!!), "shoe", "Ta Ta" (means to go out).

ಖಳನಾಯಕ?

ಏನಿದು? ಖಳನಾಯಕನ ವೇಷವೆ ಅಥವಾ ಖಳನಾಯಕನೆ? ಪ್ರಾಣ್ ಥರಾ ಇದ್ದೇನೆ ಅಂತ ಅಪ್ಪ ಹೇಳ್ತಾ ಇದ್ರು. ನೀವೇ ಹೇಳಿ - ಕಮೆಂಟ್ಸ್ ಬರೆಯಿರಿ.

Muddu Krishna

Check out how amma dressed me up for this Janmashtami.



More pictures to the right

Is this Fair?

You guys decide - Is this fair? I get a big bag of dirty diapers to carry and amma takes only two small garbage bags for disposal...

One month with Ajja - Dodda

Folks,

I can't believe even now that Ajja and Dodda are already back in India. I had a blast with them around here with us in New Jersey. They brought such fun and newness to our place. I will try and remember all key events that happened when they were here.

They arrived in a little bit dazed state - that is understandable. Jet lag is a nasty thing. It was so funny to hear ajja say - let me sleep for five minutes and he would snore for half an hour in the evening. Again when dodda went to wake him up, he would say, "I am not sleeping but have just closed my eyes" ( pssst. - as though we don't understand). Anyway, with birthday party approaching, their jet lag was slowly going away and within a week, they had adjusted.

Then came my birtyday party. You can find all the details here. Ajja got a chance to meet Padma ajji, Leela dodda, Vasanta Shashi aunty who had taken care of amma when appa had gone to attend Akshatha Maami's wedding. I think he liked the party as much as we did.

Then it was the trip to Niagara. Appa was not feeling well. Yet, we all insisted that we should visit the Niagara. It was a loooooong drive from home to Niagra. We went to Anaya's birthday part and from there started driving to Niagara. I was counting trees, houses, light poles, what not, the drive never seemed to end. I was fast asleep when everyone finished viewing the falls at night and came to hotel. I thought it was already day break but it was only 11PM. Next day was real fun. We went in the Maid of the Mist ride right into the mouth of the great falls. Everyone was kind of looking funny with trench coats (Now I look at the photos and I also had a mini trench coat). The water falls looked magnificient from the boat. Only hiccup was it was cloudy when we were in the boat and I heard appa saying that we have missed the beautiful rainbows. On our way back we stopped by Leela dodda's place. I have started talking now and I wanted to understand if it was safe to touch the cats Shadow and Flexi. Ashwin never seemed to understand my question. Finally I gave up and decided not to touch the cats.

Following week, it was the visit to Washington DC. Krishnaprasad uncle had come from Raleigh to meet us all. We visited a few memorials, the White house, US Senate and Madame Tussad's museum. It was fun watching Ajja touch and feel the wax sculptures and he wanted to get a good photograph with Benjamin Franklin.

Following that they went to New York city. The usual places Times Square, Broadway, atop the Empire state building etc. Ajja was getting tired in the evenings. So this was a short trip to the city.

Meanwhile Dodda enjoyed shopping with Amma. Appa was even joking - "Amma now does not need company to go to Bharat Mall in Mangalore. She has visited some of the largest malls in the United States". Within a few days, it was time to pack up. Appa helped to pack the bags in the middle of his sickness (he coughs a lot now a a days). Three bags, 50 pounds each and Ajja and dodda were ready to fly back.

Click on the album below to view all the good times we had.

It was very hard for all of us to say bye bye. I am hoping that they will come back again and I can enjoy the moments like holding ajja's nose and help him do his Pranayama. Next time, I will be ready to learn Yoga (I am halfway there - Have you seen some of my yoga yet? I will dedicate a long post for my latest activities)

Ciao,
Saaranga

Boy What a party!

Hi everyone,

I have still not recovered fully from the party fever. Whew! what a party. I was thrilled to see so many people (was a little bit cranky as well - I am not used to so many people you know). All in all, we had a good time.

When I was forcibly woken up at 6AM and pampered all through, I had no idea of what is going to come. I was happily doing early morning rounds with appa. I made the pigeons fly out (Prrrrrrr. Prrrrr ....). Looking at that, squirrels and cats starting to run away from me. I am
getting a lot naughtier now. By 9 AM after the hot shower, I had wind
knocked out of me and slept like a baby (ha ha ha!).

When I woke up, everyone had dressed, appa had gone somewhere and I put on new clothes. I was thinking "Okay someone has called ajja and dodda for lunch". I never told you that ajja and dodda have reached US. More on it in a different post)". It was a short ride and when I got down, there was Vasantha Shashi aunty with "I am 1 today" balloon and in the Milan banquet hall, there were balloons all over the place. I LOVED the balloons.

All people came and wished me happy birthday. I overheard pappa commenting to a congratulation by one of the guests 'Yes we deserve the congratulations. We made it through the first year'. My friends came over, appa's colleagues were there and everyone had a good time.

After one round of talking and wishing, dodda and Padma ajji made aarathi and before I knew it, there was cake all over my face!!!! These grown ups just don't get it - cake is meant to be eaten and enjoyed and not painted all over my face. Anyway, cake was yummy and food was good. Folks at Milan and Michelle's did a good job with food and arrangements.

We thought we had to rent a vehicle to carry all the gifts. Amma is driving all of us back home . I am really excited to open all the gifts once I reach home. ....z z z

Happy Birthday...

Can you believe I am one year old? It just feels like yesterday when I started writing on this spot. Boy am I thrilled or what to be one year old. I am big boy now!!! After teasing my parents for the whole year, I actually helped myself. I went to bath by myself (with a towel up on my shoulder), combed my hair and in fact looked into the Toys R Us bag myself. No trouble at all!!!

Okay - What did we do on my first birthday? It was a personal and close family day. Amma made yummy Badam (almond) Halva a sweet dish. We went to temple in the afternoon. Took Lord Krishna's blessing and then went out for dinner in the hip Mantra restaurant. I got a seat and china of my own (finally a much deserved respect!). Don't ask me what I ate. There were all sort of things that was being put on the plate but small bits and pieces though. I thoroughly enjoyed the dinner.

I have learned several new things
- I can spot an aeroplane from almost anywhere
- Namaste
- I find interesting stuff in a funny place called Trash can
- Not all eatables are to my liking and not all my likings are eatables
- Peek-a-boo (my version is fantastic. You got to watch the video)

Some of my favorite items (and even appa and amma's) over the past couple of months
- Seeing Appa come home after being away for few days
- 'Gakka'
- funny (as amma calls 'chulli') taste, texture and temperature of ice-cream
- Swooooooosh sessions on the swing
- Ball-Catch-Trash
- Jai Jai vittala
- Driving while sleeping (or is it me sleeping while pappa is driving)

While it has been a pretty eventful year, I overheard pappa saying - "Saaranga grew so fast - his college fund didn't move an inch.... Tough times ahead..." I don't know what it means but I assume it meant something. Got to go, lot of preparation to do to welcome Urva Ajja and dodda. They are coming on July 1st.

Namaste,

Back in Lodi

It has been a little longer than expected to start the posts after I came back to the US. I am coming up with a lot of new creative ideas to keep everyone guessing. Some of the things I have figured out
1. A straight line is the shortest distance between me and the item of my desire (geometry?)
2. I can't seem to find the end of toilet paper (time space continuum - Physics?)
3. A bucket full of water is more inspiring to play with than to take bath

4. Hot and cold vessels DO look alike until I touch them (material science)

5. Parents are much smarter than me and they keep me guessing regarding which closet door will be baby proofed... (human psychology)

Unfortunately, no new videos are uploaded as we are waiting for set of tapes to arrive. Lot of new things are happening. I started the official trouble day last week with visits to toilet, rummaging amma's closet and appa's computer bag. I am trying to stand up with no support. It looks so easy when I see everyone walk on their feet. I can chase the ball much faster if I am on my feet. My bottom is hurting real bad because of frequent 'thud' 'thud' sitting while I try and stand on my own.

My birthday is coming up. Don' know what appa and amma are planning to do? Also I overheard that Urva ajja and dodda may come over to our house for some time. We ought to be at the beach some day when everyone is around. Lots of plans for summer fun. Wait and watch this space...

Ciao,

Marali Baruve Munna Varusha - (Will return next year)

I don't know how the time went flying by. I had my josh, good moments, bad moments and all that went by so fast. It is time to say good bye to my India trip.

After Guru Chikkappa's marriage, I was at Sirimane for some time, came back to Urva Ajja's house and spent some time in Bangalore, Pandavapura and back to Bangalore. Just recapping some of the items briefly. Appa said goodbye immediately after the functions. Here I was left alone to play with Amma. I don't know if it is the weather in India or the surroundings, I rolled over, sat down, started crawling, stood up and uttered few words which no one understood.

Saatvik Bhava's walker was not so attractive at the beginning but once I figured out that it actually helped me get to places which otherwise are beyond my reach, it was great fun. I helped in Urva Dodda's kitchen, did prayers with Urva Ajja and had to byte his fingers so hard for everyone to realize that now I have 6 teeth (4 on top and 2 below). One thing I could never let go was Amma. I made sure that would never to leave me alone (Don't know how much she cursed!!!)

You will see all the pictures up on the curent pictures gallery. I met Nalini dodda and the shirts she gave were too cute. Patrode at Bhavana Doddamma's place was like a thing from heaven. Boy - why can't Amma just box it in Formula boxes and feed me the same thing every time? No doubt Indian food is the best food. I will make sure that I get a piece of action every time from now on whenever anyone eats in front of me.

It is so hard to say goodbye to everyone. So here I am saying "see you all next year". That's it. Nothing more. There comes my flight .. Ta Ta...

Josh

My new activities

My first India trip - part 3 videos

My 9th month cry

Football game with Samaahit

My First India Visit - Part 2

As I said earlier, this post is dedicated to Guru Chikkappa's wedding with Sandhyarashmi Chikkamma. The wedding was on Mar 2nd. Amma had thought so well and ordered a nice new dress for me. It was a traditional Indian dress. (I will come back to dress later). Everyone was up so early. Urva Dodda was up at 2 AM and rest of the folks were up by 4AM. I got up in my usual style wanting to create trouble to Appa and Amma at 4:00. Ooops! trouble was on me. Amma took that opportunity, took me to the shower and gave me a real early morning bath and the water in Mangalore has some magic. As soon as I am out of shower, I can't do anything but sleep. So I slept back.

After the initial hustle bustle, everyone was prepared. The dresses were really awesome. Ajja had kachhe, Dodda had a gorgeous Saree, Akshatha Maami was dressed up in special Sari and ornaments as she was the Kalasha bearer which is a special position in the marriage. Appa had a nice Jubba over silk panche and Amma had a green Saree. My top was bright colored and fit me easily. The bottom was a blooper. The tailor had not accounted for the diaper thickness and everyone fought hard to pull it up to my waist. UNSUCCESSFUL!. Amma as usual, came up with brilliant idea, replaced the bottom with a simple white paijama and put the kacche on top of it. It worked and I looked great.

Wedding was about 50miles from our home town. So we had hired a bus. Guru Chikkappa and Akshatha mami along with Ajja and Dodda were driven in a decorated car and rest of us traveled in the bus. We were at the marriage venue by 8:30AM and received a warm welcome from Chikkamma's side. (Don't ask me about the trip because I was sleeping again!!). We all had a nice breakfast and I was with Daya Ajja (My Ajja's youngest brother). I got hold of a tumbler and enjoyed banging it on the dinner table listening to the various voices until Amma came and relieved Daya Ajja to eat his breakfast (Where was Appa????)

The whole marriage ceremony took about 3 hours and there was lot of fun, lot of people. The marriage happens in three stages. First stage is parents of boy and girl sit face to face and announce the intention of marriage of their son/daughter and other party accepts. Second part is the garland exchange and Shiro Dhaare. Chikkappa and Chikkamma exchanged garlands. People made Chikkappa and Chikkamma's heads touch each other (hee hee..) and a small stream of water was allowed to drop through their bowed heads indicating that the two families have united. Third part is the fun filled part where almost every member of both families is introduced to groom/bride through a series of activities, games and religious actions. At the end of the ceremony a grand lunch was served.

As the marriage was happening on the stage, I went around, met everyone (or rather, they came and spoke to me, hugged me and took me around). Once the pictures come back, I will upload them to the albums. At lunch time, I felt really tired and went to sleep. When I woke up we were riding back in the bus back to our home.

We all came early and prepped the home for the first time arrival of Chikkamma. When Guru Chikkappa and Chikkamma's car came, everyone rushed to the front of the door and wished them. Then the realy fun part began. Asha Mami and Akshatha Mami just stood at the door and would not allow Guru Chikkappa or Chikkamma to enter the house. They were demanding money to let them inside. They got support from appa, amma as well. After about 5 minutes of fighting, Guru Chikkappa gave money and Chikkamma was allowed into the house.

After dinner, some more games. Appa had devised a crash quiz program where Chikkamma answered some questions about Chikkappa and vice versa. It was fun. Everyone had a lot of fun and I let them continue to have the fun and dozed away into sleep....

Legend:
Ajja - Grandfather
Dodda - Grandmother
Chikkappa/Mama - Uncle
Chikkamma/Mami - Aunt

My First India Visit - Part 1

Feb 11: My first International flight. Air Hostesses were so helpful, I truly enjoyed my flight. I ate as usual and slept through the night till France. Next leg over to Mumbai was a little nuisance. I wanted to play, people wanted to sleep. However, pappa and myself did play and walked around the plane. I made so many friends with my smile and my 'good looks'

Feb 13: Grand Welcome at Urva Ajja's house

Boy o Boy - I did not imagine that people were so tipping over to see me. Ajja was waiting for my arrival. I got a traditional welcome from Urva Dodda. Evening Asha Mami came to see me but I was in no mood to see anyone as I wanted to sleep. I was awake almost the whole of 'my' night with all people and the bright lights. People just don't get the idea of day and night. (or is it me? It sure felt like night to my body but there was so much light) Later heard amma telling that I have a terrible jet lag. Need to do look up some wiki to know what is this jet lag!!

Feb 14: Trip to Udupi

Appa, amma and myself went to Udupi. The car ride is AMAZING. No rear facing car seats, no seat belts. Sit on the comfy laps of Amma, watch as beauty zoom by and the cold air hit my face blowing my hair all the way back.... It was fun. Another warm welcome from Siri ajja and Ammamma. They have changed a little bit since I saw them last time. Bhavya maama was there and so were Bhamini doddamma and my brother and sister Samahit and Samashrita

Feb 15: Jaataka Karma, Naama Karana

These Traditional events were filled with chanting of Vedic mantras which have special powers. In addition to my common name, I got three other names and got a chance to see around.

Feb 16 to Feb 29

Back to Urva ajja's house and busy preparing for Guru Chikkappa's marriage. I am lending my hand wherever possible. Speeding up the purchases, distributing invitations, entertaining guests and doing whatever I can. Boy one thing I realized - 'Holy Cow' 'Meow Cat' and 'Bow Bow Dog' are all REAL. I had a good look at these animals and much more. I am the busiest person now in trying to make sure that I get as much of India as possible in these two months....

Second part coming soon will be dedicated to Guru Chikkappa's Marriage.

Ciao,

Saaranga

Mami - pappa's sister

Mama - Amma's brother

Doddamma - Amma's Sister

New activities

Hi,
It has been a few days you did not hear from me. I was quite busy you know. First thing was I rolled over by myself. Pappa Amma were waiting with their cameras and I managed to trick them. I rolled over when Appa was trying to call Urva Ajja and Amma was in the kitchen busy cooking. 2 days I was enjoying my roll overs. I rolled over in my cradle too. The picture is in the latest album. Then the second thing was my upper teeth are popping out. Because of that I had diarrhea. So Amma was feeding me electrolyte I caught cold. Meanwhile I forgot about my rolling over. You know what now a days I like sitting and standing. Then Amma got my ears pierced at the doctor's office. Amma says it is a good pressure point in the body. That day was auspicious and Soumya auntie joined us. I got irritated when Mommy held my hands and legs tight to help the doctor to pierce. Then I was OK, when Amma held me out of the table. Last weekend we visited Leela Ajji and met her new family member Flexi(cat). She was so friendly. But Shadow was so afraid of her. Any way I got to play with Flexi.
And here I am busy packing to visit India next week. I am excited to meet all my family members and attend my Guru Chikkappa's wedding. See you....................

Funny face

Take a look.........I have learned something new..............

Welcoming new year with an accident

Sob. Sob. Sob. I had my first accident yesterday. Amma made me sit up and was talking while I lunged forward to snap one of the rings that was rolling away and Boom. I smashed my face and almost broke by nose. But nothing happened. I cried a little bit till the pain went away. Now onwards I will have to be careful while lunging forward and bending back....

Ciao,
Saaranga