Saaranga

My baby Sister pictures

2010-09-20T15:47:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone,

please follow this link to see some of my baby sister's pictures. Tell me if I am being a good brother or not.

Ciao,

Saaranga

I am a big brother now...

2010-09-17T21:54:00.001-04:00

Hi all,

We have a new member in our family now. I am a big brother. My little sister was born on 15 September 2010. For a while amma has been waddling like a penguin. That evening, appa took me to the hospital and there she was, my little sister. She even got me a present. A set of brand new Buzz Light Year Shoes. How cool is that? I am thoroughly enjoying my new pair of shoes. I even showed it to all my friends.

She is too tiny. First day, she was mostly asleep, awake for a little while to be fed and back to sleep. I got to sit there for a little while and when sitting got boring, came back home. Next day was lot of fun. I got a chance to take care of her for a while. She slept on my lap until my lap hurt. She was very calm and quiet all the time. I am being told to be a protector and a big brother. But I am so small. How can I be a big brother? You guys tell me.

Ciao,
Saaranga

I went Apple Picking

2010-09-13T19:46:00.005-04:00

Hi everyone,

We went Apple picking to the historic "Dame Farm" near our home last weekend. Apple picking is so much fun. I get to choose the tree and then get on Appa's shoulders and pick the apples I want. We started with a modest goal of 1 apple from each tree and soon discovered that we will need a tractor to take the apples home and resorted to 1 apple from each row. :-)

We picked macintosh, gala, red cortland, russet apples. Asian pears and pears were not ready for us yet. They would be in the next trip - early October!

The apples really tasted yummy. After finishing off a gala and a red cortland in the orchard, I finished two more after dinner. I will not be seeing the doctor for a while now….

Achoo! aaaah... Guess I spoke too soon.

Lot of action in the next few weeks.

See you later,

Saaranga

Yeoow ! Get well food does not taste good

2010-07-08T21:16:00.000-04:00

Hi,

It is Flu season at our home. First my nose was blocked, then Amma sounded funny for over three weeks and last weekend it was Appa's turn. Amma prepared her trademark ನಿಂಬೆ ಹುಳಿ ಸಾರು (Lemon Rasam) to help Appa regain his apetite. Today, both Amma and Appa ate their salads and gave me rice and this Rasam along with okra. Boy! that get well soon food tasted really sour and just like Caillou I exclaimed "Yeoow! it is too sour". At the end of the bowl of my rice, the natural expression "I am glad my dinner is over" made both Amma and Appa have a nice long laugh....

See you later,

Saaranga

Counting Numbers

2010-06-17T20:17:00.000-04:00

Last week we were on our way to Leela Dodda's place and Appa stopped at outlet mall to pick up some things. There were lots of shops and I started counting them. Imagine the terrified look on Appa's face when I started saying "Uno, Dos, Tres, Cuatro, Cinco ..." Yes, I can count till Diez (Ten) in Spanish.

See you later,
Saaranga

Why - most feared weapon

2010-06-11T07:53:00.000-04:00

Hi Folks,

I have found the new magic weapon to silence my parents. You should see the fear in their face when I ask the question "Why" for any question. Probably they are already afraid of the next "Why" in the series. One good thing is I get an answer for my "Why" question but it comes out very slowly and in a calculated fashion

More on this later,
See you,
Saaranga

An apple a day ...

2010-05-08T22:37:00.000-04:00

... keeps the doctor away". So goes the proverb. But in our case, that will be a very costly proposition. We brought an apple home on Saturday. If you are wondering what sort of Apple, then here it is

The above image is copied from http://store.apple.com

The best part now is now I get my own Laptop. The worst part is I see a blue screen with lots of letters on it every now and then when I watch my "Thomas and Friends episodes". Can anyone please help me to remove this blue screen from my laptop?

See you all later,
Saaranga

ಸ್ಕೂಲ್ ಅಂದ್ರೆ ...

2010-04-28T21:34:00.001-04:00

ನಮಸ್ಕಾರ,

ನನಗೀಗ ಯಾರ ಜೊತೆ ಯಾವ ಭಾಷೆ ಮಾತನಾಡಬೇಕು ಎಂದು ಅವರ ಮುಖಚರ್ಯೆಯಿಂದ ತಿಳಿಯುತ್ತಿದೆ ಎಂದು ಅಪ್ಪ ಅಮ್ಮ ಹೇಳುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಮೊನ್ನೆ ಭಾನುವಾರ ಮುಂಜಾನೆ ನೋಡಿ. ನಾನು ಬೇಗ ಎದ್ದು ಅಪ್ಪ ಮತ್ತು ಅಮ್ಮನನ್ನು ಎಬ್ಬಿಸಿ ನನ್ನ ಕೆಲಸ (ಮತ್ತೇನಿಲ್ಲ ನನ್ನ ರೈಲು ಬಂಡಿಗಳ ಜೊತೆ ಆಟ ಆಡುವ) ಸಾಧಿಸುವ ಹುನ್ನಾರ ನಡೆಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದೆ. ಅಪ್ಪನಿಗೆ ಹೇಳಿದೆ "Appa, please get up". ಅಮ್ಮ ಎಂದಳು "ಸಾರಂಗ, ತುಳುಟು ಪಾತೆರ್" ಅಂತ (ನಮ್ಮ ಮಾತೃ ಭಾಷೆ ತುಳು ನೋಡಿ. ಅಮ್ಮನಿಗೆ ನನ್ನ ತುಳು ಭಾಷೆಯನ್ನು ಉತ್ತಮಗೊಳಿಸುವ ತವಕ!). ನಾನಂದೆ "Oh Sure!"

ಇದಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಎರಡು ದಿನ ಹಿಂದೆ ಅಂದ್ರೆ ಶುಕ್ರವಾರ, ಅಮ್ಮ ನೃತ್ಯ ಕಲಿಸಲು ಹೋಗುವ ಮುನ್ನ, ನನ್ನನ್ನು ಭಾರತಿ ಅಜ್ಜಿ ಅವರಲ್ಲಿ ಬಿಡಲು ಹೋದಾಗ, ಅವರನ್ನು ನೋಡಿ ನನ್ನ Thomas ರೈಲು ಗಾಡಿ ತೋರಿಸಿ ನಾನಂದೆ "भारति aunty मेरे पास Thomas है"

ಕಳೆದ ವಾರ ಪದ್ಮ ದೊಡ್ಡ ಅವರನ್ನು ಕಂಡ ಕೂಡಲೇ, ನನ್ನ ಕನ್ನಡ ತೊದಲು ನುಡಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹೇಳಿದೆ "ನಾನು ನ್ಯೂ ಜೆರ್ಸಿಗೆ ಬಂದೆ".

ಹೇಗಿದೆ, ನನ್ನ ಭಾಷಾ ಜ್ಞಾನ? ಮತ್ತೆ ಸಿಗೋಣ,

ನಿಮ್ಮವನೇ ಆದ
ಸಾರಂಗ

My latest obsession

2010-04-12T20:03:00.003-04:00

Hi all,

Chug Chug Chug . . . You might have guessed it already, yes it is trains. I can sit in front of the computer or TV and watch Thomas and His Friends for hours together. What I have also discovered is appa and amma are more generous during my nap times. What I do not understand is why they keep playing the same video over and over again at that time. If you have any ideas do leave comments. When we went to NJ, Gordon, Skarloie (2 of them) and Rosie got added to my collection of Thomas and Toby. Himanshu uncle - Thanks a lot.

I will be back with more train pictures and videos later.

See you later,

Saaranga

ಹಾಲು - ಹಣ್ಣು

2010-03-14T12:04:00.010-04:00

ನಮಸ್ತೆ,
ನಾನು ಹಾಲು ಹಣ್ಣು ತಿನ್ನುವ ಪರಿಯ ಬಲ್ಲಿರೇನಯ್ಯ? ಈ ಕೆಳಗಿನ ಚಿತ್ರಗಳನ್ನು ನೋಡಿ. ನಾನು ಹಾಲು ಕುಡಿಯುವ ಕ್ಷಣಗಳನ್ನು ಅಪ್ಪ ಕ್ಯಾಮೆರಾದಲ್ಲಿ ಸೆರೆ ಹಿಡಿದಿದ್ದಾರೆ ನೋಡಿ. ಮತ್ತೆ ಪಾಂಡಾ ಕರಡಿಯ ಚಿತ್ರವಿರುವ ಪುಟಾಣಿ ಬಾಲ್ದಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಇರುವುದು ನನಗಿಷ್ಟವಾದ ಖರಬೂಜ (cantaloupe) ಹಣ್ಣು. ನಾನು ಈ ಹಣ್ಣು ತಿನ್ನುವುದು ಬಾಲ್ದಿಗಟ್ಟಲೆ ಎಂದು ತಿಳಿದುಕೊಳ್ಳಬೇಡಿ. ಈ ದಿನ ಬೇರೆ ಪಾತ್ರೆ ನನ್ನ ಕೈಗೆ ಸಿಕ್ಕಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಸರಿ, ಇದ್ದುದರಲ್ಲಿ ಸುಧಾರಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವುದು ನಮ್ಮ ಕ್ರಮ.

ಮತ್ತೆ ಸಿಗೋಣ
ನಿಮ್ಮ ಪುಟ್ಟ ಸಾರಂಗ.

Back from India

2010-02-13T17:13:00.003-05:00

Namaste,

A fitting greeting after spending about 5 weeks in India. This was the trip I was referring earlier and not the San Diego trip!. This time we flew in Luftansa airlines from Boston to Frankfurt. After keeping amma (mom) busy for over 7 hours of wait time in Frankfurt we got on the Bangalore flight. Bhavya maama, Anjali atte and Ammamma had come to airport to pick us up. The temperature was 65 or so, we were sweating while everyone in the airport was dressed in mufflers, shawls and sweaters. They just don't know what cold is!

I spent a couple of days in Bangalore, went to Mysore to see my cousins Sannidhi and Saanidhya. Had a blast with Bhavana doddamma and before I knew it, it was time for the trip to Mangalore. Urva Ajja and dodda where waiting and I was very happy to see all the toys and my other cousin Saatvik. I decided he would be my guide around Mangalore during all the events.

After a few days in Mangalore, we went to Udupi and saw the new house being constructed at Siri Ajja's place. Hoy!, playing in sand was the best pass time. Udupi was in full festive mood when we were there. I saw a few chariots, elephants and the god's procession. All exciting experiences. Also I saw a Yakshagana and had a chance to give High 5's to few characters.

Appa came during the last two weeks to get some testing done and participate in some functions. All in all, I could not believe we had spent almost 5 weeks outside the USA and before I knew it, it was time to pack up and come home. We came back and the the cold winter welcomed us. Bzzzz. it is cold....

Bundle up folks,

Saaranga

San Diego - Animal Wonderland

2009-12-20T13:23:00.005-05:00

Hi all,

It took me a while to get back to the grove after a wonderful trip to San Diego CA during the Thanksgiving week. Non stop flight was probably a blessing in disguise. I slept through most of it when we flew to San Diego. The city is really nice. Unlike Cranston where temperature was hovering around 40's, San Diego had high 60's.

We had a blast in San Diego Zoo looking at all those animals whose pictures I had seen. There was the tall giraffe, the rhino, elephant, lion, deer, antelope, jaguar, monkey, black bear, koala, penguin, polar bear, brown bear and the list goes on. I dozed off for my afternoon nap when appa, amma and Kanna uncle were watching the bird show. With Kanna Maama around I just could not believe how quickly the day went off.

Next day, we took it easy and went to Children's museum to spend some quiet time with my friends. We knew next day would be very hectic at the Sea World. This place is another must see place for kids like me. The dolphins, manatees, beluga whales and the underground shark encounters - wow! all were really great. Every time I started to make tantrums appa was saying that Best is Yet to Come. And it was indeed at the end of the day when we watched the Shamu the killer whale show. The amount of water Shamu splashes to spectators is incredible. They show so much strength yet respond incredibly accurate to the cues of the trainers.

On the penultimate day of our visit we visited the San Diego Model train museum and kid's science museum. My entire year's want of seeing trains was satisfied in the model train museum. There were so many enthusiastic volunteers who were building Lego buildings, Keva plank models day just zoomed by.

Some day again in the future, I should come back and visit San Diego on my own!!!

Well winter is already here. As I write this, a day before the official day of winter, I am looking at 18 inches of snow and complete white out! Gladly, Amma has booked our tickets to India and we are leaving on 29th of December for a 6 week trip. Wouldn't that be fun? I am already getting crash courses in Kannada, recognizing people etc.

I will post some of my videos if possible before I leave and then the travelogues will continue.

See you then,

Stay warm and merry Christmas.
Saaranga

Jagadodharana Performance

2009-11-08T12:42:00.004-05:00

Clap Clap Clap! That was a wonderful performance wasn't it? This is the third time I danced with Amma for the same song 'Jagadodharana'. As soon as amma switches on the music for this song, smile automatically comes to my face. I got hooked into it after the first rehearsal we had for the Janmasshtami celebrations at Sri Krishna Vrunda in Edison NJ. I was so good, amma woke me up from my deep sleep just before the performance, put on the costume and took me directly to the stage. It was a flawless performance.

I improvised in the second performance at NEKK to celebrate Ganesha Chaturthi. As part of pranks, I went and picked up a banana that was offered to Lord Ganesha. Amma had to think fast and let me have the banana for the fear of ruining the performance. Smart thinking from both isn't it?

Third time was yesterday (07 Nov 2009) in Hoysala Kannada Koota of Connecticut to celebrate Deepawali and Children's day. It was a bit too much rotation this time and I felt dizzy (carefully remastered in the uploaded video, you see me only lying down, not the dizzy walk I had). Hope you enjoy it too. Amma was heard saying "I had to pay so much attention to him on the stage this time that I forgot to do few acts of my own!)

Winter is setting in. I hear a trip coming up. Where might we be going next?

Saaranga's 3rd Halloween

2009-11-02T19:38:00.002-05:00

The Hybrid of 2025

I dressed up as a gas guzzler. Someone said looking at the outfit - 'in this world of depleting oil reserves, what more can you be fearful of than a gas guzzler?' - Fitting statement for Halloween - 2009

Saarang the Music Master

2009-10-06T19:53:00.002-04:00

Saaranga identifies musical instruments when mimed

Saaranga the CAR KING

2009-10-06T16:54:00.002-04:00

Saaranga identifies different car brands

Negotiations Begin

2009-09-03T21:21:00.004-04:00

Folks,

Today is a great day. I have learnt the power of negotiation. After dinner, appa was sitting with his legs stretched and I saw an opportunity to engage him better by using those stretched legs as a mini slide. :-) That used to be my favorite game for a while before I started on tricycle, car etc.

Appa did not mind me sliding, and I happily repeated the up and down routine quite a few times. Then appa said - this is the last one and I said "More". Appa said "Okay. Last Two". I took it to the next level and said "Okay Last Three". Appa would not budge and kept saying "Last Two". I also held my ground and kept on saying "Last Three". Lo and Behold - Appa said "OKAY, LAST THREE"

Negotiate my sincere readers. There is always place for that one extra thing you can ask...

See you later,

Saaranga

Yummy I-C-E C-R-E-A-M

2009-08-24T20:36:00.003-04:00

Folks,

How is your summer going on? It is a blast for me. Recently I wrote about the strange language my parents are speaking. After scratching my head for a long time and pulling a lot of hair out, I have figured out two words. One is the summer's favorite ice cream and every Saturday morning's fresh juice.

I no longer need to stare at their faces when they speak about J-U-I-C-E or I-C-E C-R-E-A-M. In fact I have started speaking that language. On Saturday we have a new tradition. This new place Cranston, has a great ice cream place. It is called the inside scoop. Appa chanced upon this place and since summer is short, we decided to visit it every week. Yummy Yummy flavors (strawberry, ginger, snick a ripple, butter crunch, sweet cream to name a few we have already tasted). If you are in the area, please pay them a visit and support local businesses.

See you later,

Saaranga

At our new Home

2009-08-16T21:44:00.003-04:00

Hi all,

Sorry for the delay in posting my new activities. As of Aug 1 2009 we moved to a new place in Cranston Rhode Island. Appa had enough of traveling I guess. So for a few days, our house was full of boxes. Appa and amma were busy putting things into the box and i was busy taking them out and spreading all over. Sometimes, I would get yelled yet when appa and amma's patience ran out. I had lot of fun and I am sure they did too.

On the day of the move, I was really upset that Melvin and Rudi (our movers) took my tricycle into the van and I did not stop crying until I got the tricycle back at my new home. Boy that tricycle in itself is a life for me.!!!

New house is big, I have my own room (I hardly use it though!) and my own potty room! Our new complex has a pretty big swimming pool. I enjoy the splish splash splosh. It is very hard to get out of the water in this hot weather. We are still trying to settle down. I will be posting more details about the new house pretty soon. Until then, enjoy the summer.

Bye,

Saaranga

Back to Ocean Grove

2009-07-19T21:51:00.008-04:00

Hi everyone,

This weekend we were back in ocean grove beach. The weather was perfect but the water temperature was still cold. So I was shivering whenever I came out of water. Check out the photos below

Photo 1

Photo 2

Photo 3

July 10 - New Saaranga Avatar

2009-07-10T10:53:00.006-04:00

July 10th 2009.

Eurostyle Salon

It was a curious place. Paula greeted me and went about cutting hair with such an ease that it was not a traumatic experienec to appa or amma except that I would not sit alone. So appa sat on the chair and I made his lap my seat.

Amma has preserved the first bunch of hair. She has plans of keeping it framed.

Look at the photo below. I do look like a handsome boy now. No more "Oh! how old is she?" "She is adorable" kind of comments.

See you later,

Saaranga

Snip - Snip and there goes my hair

2009-07-09T19:55:00.003-04:00

Hi all,

Today (July 9th 2009) was a special day. I had my hair snipped for the first time. Chowla karma also known as Chudakarana Samskara is one of the 16 samskara's (rites of passage) every person should go thorugh. The first hair cut has to be done on an auspicious day so that both Ayushya (longevity) and Varchas (Aura or personality) can be enhanced.

Day started off with a shower at home (how I hate that shower!!). We went to Sri Krishna Vrundavana and amma changed me into traditional dress. Check the pictures on the right. Don't I look cute?

We had punyaaha, ganapathi pooja and chowla home followed by cermonial hair cut. The scissors appa was using were so small that it would have taken days to cut my loooooong hair. We decided that we will pay a visit to the barber shop later to take care of my hair. Lo and behold, Sri Yogeendra Bhat - the head priest of the temple told me and appa to take bath AGAIN!. Okay I gave my consent and did not make much of a fuss.

After poornahuti (final stage of the homa or sacred fire ritual ) we had a good lunch and headed home. Looking forward to meet Paula tomorrow in my first visit to the barber shop.

Enjoy the photos,

Saaranga

GREAT NEWS - Asha Maami has submitted her thesis for Phd

2009-06-30T23:54:00.006-04:00

Just came to know that Asha Maami has finally completed her doctoral thesis and submitted her report on "A study on the effect of 8MeV electron irradiation on semiconductor devices using microtron". It will take me a few years to understand the title let alone the thesis. However we are all very proud of you maami. This is a fantastic achievement.

Hopefully thesis will be reviewed and we can all call you Dr.

What is this language

2009-06-30T23:41:00.003-04:00

For all the grown ups there, this is a quick request. Of late I have started hearing a new language at home. Appa and amma are talking this way. Please help me understand what they are saying

Appa to Amma: Where did you keep the "C" "A" "K" "E"?

Amma says : In the fridge

Appa to Amma: Can you pleae give me a piece and by the way give me some "J" "U" "I" "C "E"

Amma to Appa: Eat the "C" "A" "K" "E" after you finish eating "C" "H" "A" "N" "N" "A" "M" "A" "S" "A" "L" "A"?

Almost every sentence has a few of these words spelled out. They say it so fast, it is very difficult to understand what they are saying.

Please help me understand what they are talking.

Thank you "ಸಾಗರದಾಚೆಯ ಇಂಚರ" for judiciously following every post.

With Warm hugs,

Saaranga

Splish - Splash - Splosh

2009-06-26T17:00:00.002-04:00

Wow,

What a surprise it was. I had no idea that my second birthday was going to be so much fun. Amma drove all the way from New Jersey to Rhode Island and we spent quite a few days with Appa. Appa was going to the CVS Charity classic on Saturday and Sunday. How can we let him miss my birthday? Not a chance.

The hotel where appa stays had a regular pool and another spa pool. It took amma forever to force me out of the water. I had so much fun splashing water on everyone. Simple trick to enjoy splashing water - "Close your eyes". Check this photo.

On Monday 22nd June, I should have guessed something was up when Appa showed from work early (if you consider 6PM early!). He had that little smirk on his face and he and amma were talking in "sh-sh" language. When I went down with them to play with my basketball, I saw the cake, balloons and Happy Birthday banner. That was a total surprise. Having visited few of my friends on their birthday, this was pretty cool. Appa gave me a new shirt, pant as gift and more importantly sunglasses. I look really cool in it

Check out the photos in Current Album and if you like, leave a comment.

See you later,

Bonjour!

2009-05-23T21:15:00.005-04:00

Bonjour Madame de Monsieur!

Sorry, ever since we came back from France, I am in the habit of speaking French. After a long hiatus, I am back. We went on a vacation to Interlaken Switzerland, Belfort and Paris France. Pappa was losing vacation days (new policy in his office use it or lose it.. dumb ha?) and Murali Maama (my favorite) is moving to India for about 3 years. So Murali maama and Vandana Maami wanted us to visit them. Everything happened in a Jiffy. Appa and amma got the visa in the last minute (see somethings are better for me. I don't need a visa for a lot of countries....) and off we went on Apr 29th.

We flew to Zurich and took the "Thomas Chu Chu Train" to Bern. I met a new friend Nina on the train and played with her toys for a little bit. Murali maama picked us up in Bern station and we drove to Interlaken. it is a beautiful and picturesque place. After a brief shower, off we went to the lake side. We walked, played on the swings and the slide. So much fun.

Day 2: To the top of Europe. Jungfraujoch. We changed so many "Thomas Chu Chu" trains to reach that place. It was cold and cloudy. But we got some break from clouds and saw the entire valley shine in sunlight. Amma learnt a lot of neat tricks to make sandwiches from Vandana Maami. After we came down the mountain and hiked through the city, it was time for me to hit the bed

Day 3: Grindenwald - A small but lively city in the valley. Appa got few great shots of the valley and me looking at the cow and being amused. We had our picnic lunch and started driving to Belfort France. Since I woke up early in the morning and did a lot of running, I was sleeping almost all through the ride

Day 4 & 5 : Belfort France. Murli Maama's place. We took another Thomas Chu Chu train and went into the fort and saw how ingeniously the entire fort was constructed. Amma bought a lot of stamps and started chasing the Euro coins. Did you know that every country in the Euro zone minted their own coins? Amma had to buy special holders for all those countries coins and her sole motto in life for the rest of the trip became to collect all of those coins. No coin reached my hand in spite of me begging, pleading, threatening, crying, crying, crying and crying...

Day 6: Off to Paris. After goodbyes to Murali maama and Vandana Maami, we took a non stop train from Belfort to Paris. France has a very good train system. We landed at Gar de lest station at Paris and our hotel was right outside the train station. We checked in, did some shopping and hopped on a mini bus for the Paris illuminated tour. I slept for most of the time but Appa kept on clicking. Great shots of Paris in the night.

Day 7 Paris: We saw the Eiffel Tower, Musse de Orsay (museum), walked by the Senne river, to the Concorde square. Then started the long walk through the Champs Elysses (Shan Zeleze) to the craziest circle in the world by the Arc De Triumph. Guards were giving their honor when we reached the Arc. It was really cool. Walked down a little bit, had our dinner and went up the Arc to see Paris from the Arc. It was really beautiful. I saw lightning few miles away and suddenly at 10PM, Eiffel tower lit up in those amazing sparkling lights. It was really cool.

Day 8 More Paris: Louvre museum, Galleria LaFayette, we bade goodbye to Paris and hopped on a TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse - literally translated as High Speed Train) to Zurich. One thing I liked (not sure if Appa and Amma liked it) was the Paris Metro. At every station, Appa and amma had to lift the stroller and I had to sing "Ganapathi Bappa Morya..." It kind of became funny sometimes...

Day 9: Flight to Newark, NJ. It was hard to come back. As you can see from pictures, I was ready to live in Paris. But vacations are meant to be just energizers and so it was to all of us. We all had a very good time..

Check out the photos here.

Au Revoir..

I am a Fill In the Blanks person

2009-02-22T20:22:00.002-05:00

Hi all,

Amma and appa make fun of me now a days. I am the fill in the blanks person. I tell the ending words of almost all sentences they tell me. For e.g They say Twinkle Twinkle Little ____ . I say Star. They say Row Row Row your , I say Boat. Get it?

It is not true that I repeat only the last words. I tell lot of other things. I just returned from Leela Dodda's place in Scranton, PA. I was counting steps, as I was going up and down all by myself. (Yes by myself). Sometimes, my backside hurts if I slide too much too fast down the stairs but most of the time, I manage to stay up right !!!

Amma taught me a funny song

Undaadi Gunda

Maduve Manege Hoda

Hattu Laadu tinda

Hotte Novu Enda

Innoo beku Anda

Amma Benne tandalu

Appa Donne Tandaru

Kai Kat, Bai Much

All the words in bold are the words I say. Rest is amma and appa singing!!

Slee you! (I say see you as Slee you)

Saaranga

2009-01-31T10:48:00.004-05:00

Why do these roaches trouble me so much? Amma caught a glimpse of my encounter with cockroach... Check it out..

Ciao,

Saaranga

The Three C's

2009-01-17T14:37:00.002-05:00

I guess, everyone is busy sticking to their new year resolutions. I waited for two weeks. Not even a single comment. :-((

Anyway, the three C are

VC: Vacuum Cleaner

PC: Pressure Cooker

MikC: Mixer Grinder (Mixie... Ha Ha Ha)

I can speak a lot now. The Ned and Fred story book is too good. Soyee (my version of sorry), Thankshoo (thank you), cumee (excuse me..) Funny aren't they? You want more? how about bunny for Bhramari, Sheiaa for Shiva, shome for phone, moishen - very hard to guess moisturizer....

Ta Ta Shee U

Saaranga

2009-01-03T18:13:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year,

I have resolved to overcome the fear of 3 C's. V.C, P.C and MikC. Can you guess what they are? If you do, leave a comment. I will answer in approximately a week's time.

Ciao,

Saagana (as I call myself now)

Back after a long hiatus

2008-12-26T08:14:00.013-05:00

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

2008-10-12T11:57:00.006-04:00

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

2008-09-28T19:17:00.006-04:00

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"

2008-09-14T20:08:00.005-04:00

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?

2008-09-02T11:36:00.005-04:00

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

Muddu Krishna

2008-08-25T20:44:00.002-04:00

Check out how amma dressed me up for this Janmashtami.

More pictures to the right

Is this Fair?

2008-08-14T19:19:00.005-04:00

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

2008-08-09T22:15:00.008-04:00

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!

2008-07-12T19:34:00.020-04:00

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...

2008-06-25T22:24:00.004-04:00

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

2008-05-19T12:03:00.005-04:00

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)

2008-04-20T19:04:00.008-04:00

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

2008-04-03T14:15:00.004-04:00

My new activities

2008-04-03T01:35:00.004-04:00

My first India trip - part 3 videos

2008-03-14T04:14:00.003-04:00

My 9th month cry

Football game with Samaahit

My First India Visit - Part 2

2008-03-09T10:36:00.006-04:00

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

2008-02-27T05:31:00.002-05:00

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

2008-02-04T10:51:00.001-05:00

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

2008-01-09T15:12:00.000-05:00

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

Welcoming new year with an accident

2008-01-06T11:41:00.000-05:00

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

My routine at 6 months

2007-12-29T12:27:00.000-05:00

With me completing 6 months, I thought I should record my daily routine (if there is one :-)).

Morning
I wake up around 7 AM. It takes about 30 to 45 minutes for me to completely come out of sleep. With a little murmur and false alarms, I manage to wake my parents up as well. If papa is around, he entertains me while amma prepares my breakfast. Cereals are my breakfast. I allow about 45 minutes for my breakfast to settle down and go for a bath. Amma's expert hands now massage me and give me a good hot bath that completely wears me down. I sleep till 11 AM in sheer exhaustion.

Noon to Evening
I play for one hour before lunch and until I am tired after lunch as well. The dirty little secret to keep amma around is to cry or imitate crying. Both amma and papa come running whenever they hear me crying. I take a small nap and get ready for evening activities

Evening
Evenings are diverse. If amma has dance classes, I will be with Nidhi aunty and Pranay. If not, I stay at home and play with Amma. I like both Nidhi aunty and Pranay a lot. Pranay is trying to teach me few more tricks. Shhh.. just between us. Don't tell amma. If Prateek uncle comes home early, he sings nice little songs for me. It is a great fun. Little play, little time on the rocker and another quick nap takes me to dinner time

Night
Dinner is at 9:00. No, it is not late. If I eat early, I get up early. So having a late dinner helps me to have a good night's sleep (only till 3AM). I don't like waking my parents up but hunger takes over all the time :-(. After feeding, I sleep again till 7 AM and the whole story repeats.

Merry Christmas everyone and a Very Very happy new Year.

hey hey! fruits and veggies

2007-12-23T10:08:00.000-05:00

Now Amma is feeding me different kinds of fruits and veggies. First she introduced me to Apple sauce. Aaaagrh.. it was sour. Next day she fed me Sweet peas. Take a look at the video. I liked it. It was yummy. Eating prune next day for the first time is unforgettable. I can't explain its taste. My video will entertain you nicely. The one I liked the most was sweet potato. I hear talks going on telling about boiling veggies at home to feed me... Will get back to you after that. . .

My first Teeth

2007-12-22T16:12:00.000-05:00

Hello there,

I can start new trouble now. I have two teeth coming out. It hurts a lot. Appa and Amma are trying all they can do to ease the teething trouble. I nibble at frozen bagle (thanks to Linda Ajji's advice) and my teething friends, as well as anything that I can grab to my mouth.. Amma took nice snap of my teeth. Since it is very special, I have embedded it to this post (Click on the photo to see the big photo)

That's how I laugh . . .

2007-11-28T20:22:00.000-05:00

One of the most memorable moments for all of our family at Leela Ajji's place. I was laughing out loud looking at Shadow (Leela Ajji' favourite cat) and everyone thought that I was laughing out because of Appa's pranks .. A little secret... Enjoy!

Deepavali - Festival of Lights

2007-11-24T16:49:00.000-05:00

Deepavali wishes to everyone. This is my first Deepavali. Traditionally, we celebrate Deepavali with a nice oil massage and a sacred shower symbolising win of Good over Evil. Well in my case, I get the best oil massage every day from amma. She does magic with her fingers. So nothing was special with the bath. But evening was special. I got a Jubba as a gift from Sumana aunty. Appa also wore a Jubba and amma a nice Sari. We all took some snaps (you can see a few in the latest album) and appa savored amma's lentil payasam

Before I posted the Halloween entry, I forgot to write about my New York city trip to see the Incredible India show and also meet some of the legendary Yakshagana artists. Sri Shambhu Hegde, Sri Nebburu Narayana Bhagavata to name a few graced the occasion. I had the best time so far seeing all the color and cultural richness in the event.

Legend:
Deepavali - Festival of Lights
Jubba - Traditional Indian long shirt
Payasam - Sweet Dish

Halloween

2007-11-09T09:52:00.000-05:00

Ok, now I am going to write about my first Halloween celebration. Pappa and Amma were thinking how to dress me up. Pappa wanted to dress me up like casper, the friendly ghost. But Amma was concerned that my face needs to be painted. So she figured out an easy way by dressing me like a butterfly(Chitte Mari). I liked the dress. By the time Amma got me and herself ready to go to Ramya Aunty's place, it was my nap time. Still I managed to go there. Lot of Trick or Treaters came home that evening. My neighbor Sebastian was dressed as a pirate. Amma managed to get some pictures of me and other monsters, princess, fairy, witches etc etc. We came back and within two minutes I dozed off on Mommy's lap. When I woke up I was on the swing with lots of candies on my lap with my little candy basket. When I was thinking Yummy...., Mommy took all of them out. She had put them just to take pictures. Soumya Aunty and Krishna uncle also came and Krishna uncle made me fly in the sky. It was fun. By then it was my dinner time. Amma took off my cap, wings etc and fed me. You know who was missing all this time, my Pappa. He was on a business trip. Amma immediately that night prepared an online album and sent it to Pappa. Here is the video take a look....................

My first manni(Cereal)

2007-11-02T09:59:00.000-04:00

Hey,
Amma fed me the cereals after doctor told it is okay to have solid foods. It is yummy. Sumati Dodda had prepared it at home(Banglore) and gave it to Amma when she visited us. Take a look at the video. Amma puts a little brown sugar and butter for taste. First day I liked it. Now a days I am finding it difficult to swallow as I have sore throat and some nasal infection. Amma is feeding me twice daily. Once in the morning, before bath and once in the night, before I go to bed. Any ways I will keep you updated how is my cereal feedings are going on. . . .

I have to broadcast this...

2007-09-04T06:59:00.000-04:00

I am on the online news site..... Check this Link on ThatsKannada.com out

I will write the details about what happened prior to the photo being taken in the next post.

An evening at the beach

2007-09-03T20:52:00.000-04:00

Gosh! these events are coming quicker and quicker. It was just last week, when I had my first shopping spree. This week it was an evening at the beach.

Saturday, Sri Krishna Brindavana had organized 'Sri Raghavendra Aaaradhane'. We all went there in the afternoon, took Lord's blessings. After lunch, we went to Padma Ajji's place in Englishtown. Padma Ajji has recovered well from her fracture. She is able to walk without the crutches now. My Ajja and ajji wanted to meet them and say bye to them before they leave to India.

From Padma Ajji's place we went to Ocean Grove beach. It was a short 30 minute ride to the beach. I start to ride my vehicle when everyone else gets off from theirs :-) Didn't get it? It is the story of me and my stroller.... Ha Ha Ha! Fun apart, all of us had a good walk on the board walk. The beach was very clean and the weather was just perfect.

Everyone went into the water except me. I was enjoying the sound of waves hitting the shore and the occasional giggle from Amma and Appa. Judging from amma's reaction, it seemed like the water was cold. But all of us enjoyed the outing. You can see some of the pictures in the current album.

Appa and amma ate ice cream while I screamed. Nooooooooooo that was just another prank. They ate the ice cream alright but I behaved like a gentleman until we reached home late in the evening. I was almost asleep when we reached home. I ate dinner and slept off dreaming of those waves and the water splashing against the rocks and the gentle rocky ride on the board walk....

Talk to you later about one of my avatars....

Legend:
Ajja - Grandfather
Ajji - Grandmother
Appa - Father
Amma - Mother

My First shopping Trip

2007-08-27T08:32:00.000-04:00

Long time Eh?

Well, I was busy growing up. I am 2 months old and have learned quite a few tricks. We will talk about the tricks later. First, all the happenings since my Scranton trip.

First was my, ouuuu it hurts even to tell - My first set of shots. I know it is needed to keep me healthy and prevent infections so that I can go out and start enjoying the world. So I have to bear a little pain. It is okay. Funny part was I got Mickey Mouse band-aid that looked cute

Then Sudha doddamma and Sumathi Ajji visited us from Detroit. I quickly became friends with Achyuta and Sucheta (Sudha Doddamma's sons). We watched some cartoons, ate together and slept together. You should have seen the expression on Achyuta's face once when I threw up on him. What could I do? He over fed me. Was it my problem? You be the judge.

Biggest of all is my first shopping spree. All of us went to Woodbury commons so that Siriajja and ammamma can pick some things to take back to India. There we went to quite a few shops (Polo Children's Shop, Carter's, Gap etc.) I lost count of shops we visited. There were so many people and so many shops. I looked around for quite some time and then decided to leave shopping to appa and amma and slept off.

It was dark when I woke up and I was still in stroller and in some store. I decided to ring the bell to say it is time to go home (or time for me to eat? :-)) and then suddenly in a rush we were back at home with a lot of shopping bags!

See you later
Saaranga

Legend:
Doddamma - Aunt
Ajji, Ammamma - Grandmother
Ajja - Grandfather
Amma - Mother
Appa - Father

Scranton PA

2007-08-11T12:34:00.000-04:00

Folks,

Yesterday (10 Aug) I had been to Leela Ajji's place at Scranton PA. Alok (Leela Ajji's eldest son) graduated from Univ of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and is moving to NC State for his Doctoral study. So for the good wishes and blessings from God, there was Ganapathi homa and the yearly Durga Namaskara pooja at their house

We left early in a hurry. It was raining a little bit. Amma and Ammamma tried hard so that I would not get wet in the rain till I reach our car. Pappa had loaded most of the things into the car before I sat in my "seat". I don't like to sit idle in that small seat you know. It makes me uncomfortable. But it was for a short period. Pappa started driving and things whizzed past me at great speeds. I was counting "one tree" "two trees" "three trees" ...zzzzz..

I don't know what happened in between. When I woke up, we were at Leela Ajji's place. It was my lunch time. So Amma fed me and then I sat near the Ganapathi homa. Alok, Megha, Ashwin (Leela Aunti's children) were looking cute in different type of dress. After the homa, it was Kadubu (Coastal Karnataka version of Idli) lunch. I could hear everyone chomp chomp... I also met Raj Ajja and Rohini Ajji. I said thanks to them for their wonderful swing gift. I like it you know. It makes good (sometimes funny) sound in the middle of all cacophony to relax me and make me sleep.

I slept well till evening but then something happened during the evening pooja. I cried non stop for half an hour and wanted only Pappa to hold me before going back to sleep. Pooja was over and everyone had their dinner. Good food. (Gosh - my parents they can't stop telling about how good the food was at every place we go. They talk about food, food and food. Just teasing them. I too should have my moments. Don't you think)

We all started in a jiffy back to NJ. We had two traffic jams, but made it safe and sound back home by 11:30. I was half asleep. As amma was feeding me, I dozed off dreaming of the beautiful day and making a promise that I would go again to Scranton another day.

Ciao

Legend:
Ganapathi - Elephant headed God
Durga - Goddess
Idli - Rice dumpling
Amma - Mother
Ammamma - Amma's Amma i.e. Grandmother
Ajja - Grandfather
Ajji - Grandmother

One month into this world

2007-08-02T17:36:00.000-04:00

Hi there,

So many things happened in the last one month. It is becoming difficult to keep track of things. I had my paediatrician visit. We finally could meet Dr. Sirikonda. He was in India on vacation when I was born. He told amma, something can be given in 6 weeks. I could not hear it clearly. So we will wait and watch.

I had my first outing on Jul 22. We all went to Sri Krishna Brindavana (A temple) in Edison NJ. Dad taught me how to do namaskara to Lord Krishna. First I thought, my head is going to hurt a lot. But that was not the case. All went well. We took God's prasada and drove to Padma Ajji's place. Triveni Kannada koota had organized a send off event to Bhagavathi. I got a chance to see a lot of people. All of them would come near me, look at me and do some koochie koochie things. Some folks would pick me up and hold me for some time and take a walk etc.

When the food was served, looked like pappa and amma forgot about me. Jayanti aunty was carrying me without eating but pappa and amma were busy eating food. I heard pappa comment that the food was really good. So in all, it was a good gathering.

Just a week later, we were back again at Padma ajji's home for ajja's talk. Ajja did a fantastic show based on one of his short story. It was very good. Appa was busy taking pictures, amma shot the video. It was sad to see Padma ajji's leg wrapped in bandage. She apparently has a fracture and will have to use crutches for some time.

Then we met Madhyasta family on Jul 29th. Sri Visveshwara Madhyastha and Smt. Rosemary Madhyastha. Vish ajja is from Siriajja's family and has been in US from 1956. They narrated a lot of their stories. I also met a new friend - Shraavya who is almost as old as I am. Both of us very busy in disturbing our amma's. Amma had to feed me twice while eating her food. But once I ate, I let them eat at peace.

I am waiting for more and more outings now. I like to see new things. Hope pappa's schedule allows him to take me to different places....

Ciao

Legend
Amma - Mother
Ajja - Grandfather
Namaskara - bow to God

Siriajja

2007-07-15T11:38:00.000-04:00

Hi There,

Remember Siriajja? I had told you about him in the last post. He is amma's father. He is my best friend now. Every morning he takes me out for a quick walk and a sun bath. He keeps telling that early morning sunlight is good for my health.

Siriajja's day starts very early in the morning (last stage of my night :-)) He gets up and has his morning tea (Indian Style with lot of milk and sugar) and goes for a walk in our complex. By the time he finishes his walk and takes some rest, I am ready for him. He entertains me all morning. He helps Ammamma (ajji) when she gives me my daily bath (boo hoo... I cry a lot during the bath).

Do you want to listen to the funny part? Siriajja calls me by so many names. All I had heard was putta, pitta, anna, ranga from appa and amma. Suddenly Siriajja calls me Somesh. That is cute! I liked that name too. Then suddenly I hear him calling me "jinke mari".

Siriajja was busy practicing for a solo performance all of last week. We all went to see the performance. They called my name and dedicated the performance to me. I had to give something back in retun. I tried giving some background music to the performance. Then ammamma put the bottle in my mouth. I fell asleep slurping my food..... yawn yawn. feeling sleepy now. more later okay?

Bye now.

Legend:
Ajja - Grandfather
Ammamma or Ajji - Grandmother

My Cradle Ceremony

2007-07-13T10:50:00.000-04:00

Hi There,

Now I have a name and I am able to write myself. I know my dad wrote the first post but I take over from now on. This is the age of connectedness and of community and I want to be part of this as quickly as I can.

On 11th day after I was born, there was this cradle ceremony where I was dressed in traditional dress. Leela Ajji did the the difficult bottom part of the dress and my mother had stitched the top even before I was born ( psst. I was trying to make it hard for her to guess my size but she beat me to it). Anyways lot of people came that evening and I enjoyed the company.

The cradle was decorated and the house was gleaming clean thanks to the effort of Ammamma and Siriajja (Ajja from Sirimane - you know who keeps telling me good stories all the time and keeps watching over me when I am asleep). I like Siriajja very much. He comes up with these names for me all the time. More on that later. Back to the cradle ceremony. House was decorated, I was decorated and mom wore a nice sari and folks gathered in the evening.

Lot of amma's friends, Leela Ajji and her children and surprisingly folks from West coast - entire family of Ram Manohar Ajja came to visit me. That was so cool...

Cradle ceremony is an introduction for me to sleep alone in my own space (Myspace ???). Gundappa went first and then it was my turn to go over and under the cradle in circles three times before I was put on the bed. All that warmth of folks waiting to lift me sizzled out as soon as I was on the bed. I tried to sleep but there was too many things not to miss. So I enjoyed everyone's company. Many people gave me gifts too. Oo La La. I am waiting for papa to open them up and assemble some of them.

Let's talk about Siriajja in next post okay?

Bye Bye
Saaranga

Legend:

Amma - mother

appa - father

Ajja - Grandfather

Ajji, Ammamma - Grandmother

Gundappa - an imaginary person supposed to take away bad omen

XXX - Week 1

2007-07-01T21:06:00.000-04:00

Hi there,

I wanted to start posting my own blogs for quite some time now. The perfect opportunity has arrived with the addition of a new member to our family. Our wait for 9 months is finally over. Bhramari delivered a healthy baby boy on June 22nd at 2:18PM Eastern Time.

It is just amazing to see a new born in the first couple of hours. The first weighing, wash and the Mohawk hair style etc. were very good opportunities for me to experiment on my new digital SLR camera as well. I thanked the nurse profusely for the hairstyle. Our boy looked really cute in it.

You might be wondering why the XXX in the title. We did not know whether we were having a baby boy or girl but unlike most parents, we did not finalize the names. So there we were left wondering what to name our son.

Our logic was simple, name must be unique ( uh! that was simple?), must start from S and must be easy to spell and pronounce. Bhramari's father helped a lot and started to short list a series of names. We finally settled on Saaranga. Don't know whether he will like it or not. But name has all angles to it, common, cultural and philosophical meaning - Common meaning is Deer, philosophically it is Lord Krishna's Bow and we have a raaga called Saaranga in Carnatic Classical music.

He is healthy, at home now, peacefully sleeping for 18 hours, making us change his diapers multiple time and crying whenever he is hungry. We are going to put him onto his cradle on Monday 7/2. I will share more details and photos in the next version...

Ciao.