Songs we are Singing Around the House These Days

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Snubnose and I have traditionally gone through mad singing phases where we both latch on to a song, and it becomes our song for the next few weeks or months. I have mentioned some previous songs in some posts here, here, here, and here.

This summer, it’s the turn of the King of Pop himself – Elvis the Pelvis and his famous hit – Love me Tender.

It’s kinda funny that the snubnose loves this song so much considering he died almost fifty years? before she was born. But, she’s too young to be hipster/cool, and it’s a pleasure to hear her warble this song along with him.

I have even written out the lyrics for her in her notebook, and she’s ended up learning the complete song itself .

Another song that we sing around the house these days is much more modern. While talking recently with a friend about Western popular music I realized that I have absolutely no clue about what’s happening in Western music these days. My tastes seem to have gotten stuck around the grungeish phase of the early 90s.

Anyway, what’s youtube for if not to discover unfamiliar artists/music? And I stumbled upon this one by Demi Lovato – Skyscraper. I”ll be honest and say the song doesn’t do too much for me, but it’s easy to sing, the lyrics are simple, and the message is nice. So, snubnose is learning this song as well this summer.

Nothing like her childish, very off-tune voice to bring a smile to my face

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New Experiences for Snubnose and Piglet

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Last week we went on a short holiday to Chennai to spend some quality time with my mom and grandmom.

Chennai at this time of the year is always boiling hot (it’s Agni nakshatram meaning fiery star referring to the hottest time of the year), and we must have been absolutely nuts to try this trip. However, snubnose was getting restless at home during the summer holidays and since I couldn’t take time off from work to go for a longish trip…a long weekend in Chennai it had to be.

Surprisingly though, it was pretty good fun, and chock-full of new experiences for both the snubnose and piglet.

Very quickly we realized that outdoor activities were pretty much impossible. After a miserable trip to Birla Planetarium where piglet all but melted while we waited in queues in almost 40 degrees temperature, we retreated to the comfort of malls where there was enough fun activities for the kids while at the same time maintaining our cool.

Funcity (a chain of games arcades present in a lot of malls in India) is one of the absolute best places for kids to hang out. Tons of rides, games, and rather useless prizes to be won. Since this was already a favorite with the snubnose, we decided it was a safe if slightly predictable option for her.

Snubnose for the first time in her life worked up the courage to go on a lot of rides all alone. Usually, I accompany her on most everything she does, but this time I was occupied with piglet and so she had to try the rides on her own.

I was worried for her, but she did absolutely fine going on the Drop Zone, Columbus, and Bumping Cars without getting hassled or worked up. She’s growing up so fast all of a sudden. During this trip, I could really make out just how much she has matured in the past two years…she was an absolute trooper, a very mature and helpful young girl while still being her fun-loving giggly self.

Here is a rather blurry shot of her driving the Bumpy Car:

As for piglet, his travel experiences were primarily of the culinary kind. During this trip, he sampled most anything that was on offer and it was great to discover his likes and dislikes.

Piglet does not have a sweet tooth for sure. He tried ice creams for the first time during this trip, and he didn’t like them too much, neither the vanilla nor the chocolate flavors could entice him for more than a few sample licks.

He does gravitate towards the carbs though. He happily wolfed down however much he could of the chilli cheese toast (with chilli flakes!), garlic bread, and even was tempted by the bruschetta although he did look askance at the tomatoes on the bread. He even loved the nachos and potato chips. Salt and carb overload!!! Just like mom

Piglet also made his first trip to the beach. We went to the beautiful Taj Vivanta near Kovalam beach, and enjoyed a wonderful non-crowded beach experience. Snubnose and I escorted Piglet into the water…the expressions on his face when the water hit him were priceless…shock and awe is the phrase that slips into my mind.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t take too many photos of our trip. Piglet is super-frisky these days and it was impossible to photograph anything. Most of the photos I took during our trip were at home chilling out at my mom’s place, or shots taken one-handed while trying to hold on to Piglet and stop him from grabbing the iPhone.

Oh well, at least we had a great time

Happy Mother’s Day

Piglet Loves…

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I am thinking of starting a new series on my blog called Piglet Loves…. I realized quite recently that there are so many things going on with Piglet that I just enjoy for the moment, and then forget.

When the snubnose was small, I did not capture so many of the fun things she did. I had some strong reasons for that, but now, with the Piglet I really want to talk about his personality some…hence this series. Let’s see if I can keep it up.

Anyway, one of the things Piglet loves is playing hide and seek. Ever since he could toddle on his fat legs, he would go hide somewhere and we needed to come looking.

Unlike the usual objective of the game (to stay hidden and not get found), Piglet looves to be found. Consequently, he goes off to hide in his usual favorite places – behind the curtain with his feet peeking out, in the closet, behind the refrigerator, and so on. And when we go and find him, he bursts out into peels of laughter and gives a huge hug.

He can do this umpteen times, long past everyone is exhausted and even on the umpteenth time, he is full of squeals and giggles. So much fun, but so tiring at the same time!

Can you spot where he’s hiding in the photo below?

He can’t wait to be found! He comes out running once I start calling out his name pretending I can’t find him

The Source – A Book Review

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The Source by Ursula James

Ursula James is a hypnotherapy practitioner and teacher in the UK. This is her book on how magic changed her life and how we can use magic to change ours. See here for a brief author bio.

And here’s a brief synopsis…

The Source is a book that comes out of time and is of this time. It is only now, after the world of commerce has been in freefall, that we are ready to listen and respond to Sister Moon and to heal Mother Earth. Each chapter has a ritual, rite or journey, to guide the reader on their path to the source of their own power. Part fable, part spell-book, The Source has true magic woven through it for those who read it well.

Synopsis from Good Reads

My Review: I don’t know what to think of this book. People who know me well and my regular blog readers know that I am not that much into self-help style of books.

But, I have been in the dumps lately, and when an offer came from Random House asking if I am interested in reading and reviewing this book, I jumped at it almost like it was a lifeline.

In the back of the book, the author Ursula James claims that during a low point in her life, she was visited by Mother Shipton – a famous witch of mid-16th century England. In return for helping her get over this bad time, she had to write Mother Shipton’s advice and spread the magic.

This book is the result of that action.

I am reviewing this book in terms of readability of the book, and the value that I got from it after reading the book.

In terms of readability, this book was a pleasant and easy read. However, in terms of usage, it could have done with some improvements. This is a non-fiction book explaining the principles of magic that you can use to improve your life (with some amount of anecdotes on its effectiveness). The anecdotes were nice to read, but when it came to actually tracking the rituals I needed to do, I realized that they were pretty hard to find. What would have been nice was a nice little table at the end of the book summarizing the tasks/rituals to make it easy to use. Even better would have been a pull-out section at the end that I could have put up on my wall to remind me what needs to be done.

In terms of usage also, I am not sure how to word my review. I went into the book expecting some Wiccan style rituals (not that I know really too much about it). But, most of the book was about putting out positivity into the world and thereby receiving it from the world.

This is something I believe in anyway, but it was nice to have this reinforced and listed in a very systematic way. The moon rituals are also very interesting. I never actually tried doing some of the circle rituals that she suggested…it just seemed a bit too spooky. But the bed rituals (basically summoning up positive thoughts and actions before you sleep and get up) were nice to do. That said, I am not sure how new these suggestions are. There are plenty of self-help books out there and I would be surprised if variations on this theme are not covered in other books as well.

In short, this is a pleasant book with a lot of positive things to say. Ursula James claims that following the principles and the rituals changed her life in a fantastic way – she seems to have found true love, booming career, peace of mind, happiness…everything following this book.

I am not so sure about that, but there’s nothing in this book that can cause active harm to yourself, or to someone else. So, it is definitely worth a try. If nothing else, you will feel at peace with the life that you do have.

The Homing Pigeons – A Book Review

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The Homing Pigeons by Sid Bahri

In the middle of the catastrophic 2008 recession, Aditya, a jobless, penniless man meets an attractive stranger in a bar, little does he know that his life will change forever…..

When Radhika, a young, rich widow, marries off her stepdaughter, little does she know that the freedom that she has yearned for is not exactly how she had envisioned it…..

They say Homing Pigeons always come back to their mate, no matter where you leave them on the face of this earth. Homing Pigeons is the story of love between these two unsuspecting characters as it is of lust, greed, separations, prejudices and crumbling spines.

My Review: This is an unexpected little gem of a book. This is the author, Sid Bahri’s debut novel and so my expectations starting the book were not high. But, apart from the initial rawness, the book flows smoothly through the story.

This story is told in alternating viewpoints by Aditya and Radhika, and it weaves through the past and present. This technique of writing is not the easiest, but the author has managed it very skilfully.

Primarily, this story is a romance, but quite unlike most romances where the focus is on the girl’s thoughts and feelings, and the hero is merely a prop. Aditya and Radhika are both well-developed characters complete with flaws. Both make massive miscalculations and hurt each other terribly, but both are human and I could empathize with them very well.

If this book were just a love story, then my review would end here stating that this is a nice, well-written love story. But, the book also subtly introduces some harsh realities – the slaughter of Sikhs after the riots after Indira Gandhi’s assassination having an impact on the characters 20 years later, the recession and the troubles of getting a job after being laid off and it’s impact on the psyche…these are just some examples.

The characters are also so well-written. Aditya as a hero is terrible – his self-loathing, frequent binge-drinking, the way he walks away from his responsibilities…they are not what I expected. But at the same time, it’s hard to dislike him knowing his background, and seeing him from both his and Radhika’s viewpoints. He is one incredibly well-written character.

There have been a few reviews online criticizing Aditya’s weakness in choosing his profession (don’t want to reveal more as I want to avoid spoilers in this review), and I agree with them, in part. But, then I thought about it more, and then realized if Aditya had chosen another way of life, then that would be against his character. It’s precisely because Aditya is Aditya that he is in the mess he is. He needs a backbone and so does Radhika and it’s lovely in the end when they finally get together and help each other out, and decide on a new life together.

In brief, this is a lovely novel, very easy to read. A must pick-up if you like a more serious and less clichéd kind of romance.

Thanks to Srishti Publishers for sending me a copy of this book to read and review. I also read this book as part of the Indian Quills Reading Challenge.

Polka Dots, Pony Tails and Purple Pouts – A Book Review

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Polka Dots, Pony Tails and Purple Pouts by Amrita Anand Nayak

This book is a story about three young girls – Jazmine, Tia, and Leena who rent a house together in Pune. The book deals with their loves, life, and their friendship with each other.

This is a light (very light) chick-lit novel that will appeal to younger readers who are looking for more contemporary/modern romances apart from the stereotypical Mills n Boon type of stories.

I remember loving these type of books during my younger years – the formula hasn’t changed much since then. Three girls with very different personality types share a house, and go through their ups and downs while they look for love and sometimes professional satisfaction.

So, when I read this book, I didn’t feel anything really new coming from it. It’s quite possible that I have outgrown this genre. But, I think younger readers will really love this book.

The title is very descriptive of the three characters dress-up style.

Polka dots is Tia who is very sweet and nice, fashion forward, but also a very good cook…all in all, the perfect dream girl.

Pony tails is Leena who is shy and who always hides behind her fringe and pony tail. Some bad experiences in her past makes her lean towards older (and sometimes married) men because she sees them as more stable and less frivolous than younger men.

Purple pouts is Jazmine – the wild child of the bunch. She is the one who loves to party, sleeps around without any qualms, and who generally lives life to the fullest. Until of course, the day she needs to face the consequences of her actions…

The story as such is fairly predictable, even for a non-romcom reader. All the girls go through their share of heartbreak and tough times before they find their respective Mr.Perfects. In terms of story, I liked it, but I wish certain parts were fleshed out more. The story and the characters rush forward in places where it would have done better to think back and contemplate their actions.

Events like Jazmine’s abrupt forgiveness of an ex, Leena’s abrupt love affair with her colleague (without showing any wish to look back and understand her past mistakes and resolve open issues) make the story flow at a very superficial level. Only Tia’s love affair shows some depth and even then it is rushed towards the end.

Basically, I like this book. It was nice, but it could have been even better if the book was a little longer and a little more time invested in giving the girls a little more depth. As such, it makes for a light airplane/travel read when it had the potential to be a lot more than that.

Thanks to the author for sending me a copy of this book to read and review. I also read this book as part of the Indian Quills Reading Challenge.