A weekend getaway to Pulai Springs Resort!!

Every moment in life is spend in cherishing the past or preparing for future. We need time to stop, reflect our life and enjoy the present.We were looking forward for a holiday. Because of Sajeev's EMBA classes and Achu's school we kept it for a delayed gratification. Now that he is graduated we decided to celebrate his achievement and father's day at a quiet destination far from the madding crowd of Singapore.

His convocation ceremony was a wonderful experience. The graduates were all in high spirits and in the graduation gowns they all looked like grown up kids excited about their attire...The speeches were inspiring and thought provoking, especially the one made by the MD of Nestle Singapore, Mr Suresh Narayanan. The best of the best moments was when all the graduates were asked to stand up, turn around and thank their family and friends...It gives an escalated feeling. One that has to be experienced and known...

Back to vacation from convocation...:-) We didn't look for destinations far far away as Kannan is still a baby and Sajeev always wanted to drive to the location. So we decided to look for places quite nearby and site seeing was not in our agenda. Our search ended in the Pulai Springs Resort, Johor Malaysia, quite nearby Singapore. On 19th morning 7:30 we started from Singapore packing all the necessary items; food, clothes, favourite toys, toiletries...and what not???;-) We had printed the routes in addition to setting route in GPS. I do not really trust electronic devices till date as they can go haywire anytime.We cleared the Singapore immigration quickly as it was early morning and we didn't have to wait in long queue. An advantage when driving to Malaysia is that we need not get down at any of the Immigration, just sliding down the window glass is enough. Its after few years that I am visiting Malaysia and from the causeway near Woodlands, Johor just looked like a metro in Kerala. :-) We were driving towards Kota Tinggi and our GPS lead us to E2, getting a sense of wrong direction we decided to ignore GPS. One great fun is to ignore the female voice and move on, and it continues desperately to show us the way :-) There are lot of sign boards and finding way is not a problem at all. Once we had to ask a durian shop owner the way.I had to force Sajeev to ask direction (men are so reluctant to ask direction;-) no offense guys just a fact!!). Kota Tinggi town is a quiet and sleepy town. When travelling from Singapore we feel a sense of vastness,  like a place isolated by people. Its just that the density of population is much less compared to Singapore.

The waterfall resort car park was almost full. We put on slippers and walked towards the falls and the rainforest surrounding it. Coming from the land of the awesome waterfalls at  'Athirappally' (got to see it's exotic virgin beauty recently in the film 'Ravanan' by Maniratnam) and 'Vazhachal' we were not that excited by the small waterfall, but its not the place that matters. Me and Achu climbed down the rather slippery rocks to feel the water and it felt so nice against the feet...so cooling. Right from the origin the water looked so fresh and pristine. Small fishes were happily swimming around and were fearless by the human presence they experience everyday. Sajeev and papa went up the steps parallel to the waterfalls and Sajeev managed to get few snaps of the waterfall from its accessible origin. Kannan was frustrated about standing in the sunlight for long :-) we had no choice but to return. Achu was not that happy as I didn't let her wear the swimsuit and let her go inside the water. There were so many people(locals and tourists coming in groups) and no proper place to keep things safely and I didn't feel like letting her go in. Sorry Achu. Sometimes, amma is like this da...:-)

Aman had prepared Chappathi and karela fry for us. It was so yummy. We finished it off. Aman was of great help and assisted me in packing all the necessary items...We started to the Pulai Springs Resort.In Singapore Sajeev doesn't get to drive above 90km/hr but in Malaysia its a totally different driving experience.We got to see roads with few cars ...unlike in Singapore where we move in walking pace or even slower if caught in usually massive jams over the high ways... Both the sides of the road were lined by palm trees with thick lush green foliage.The way was picturesque and a visual treat... it brought me nostalgic memories of my home town...

(to be continued...)

         One of the highest accessible part of Kota Tinggi waterfall.There are several such small falls and few deep falls.

At the waterfalls

                                                         The Entrance    

                                The Majestic architecture of Pulai Springs Resort

Art in Wood

                                                            Golf Course

http://www.pulaispringsberhad.com.my/psb/pulai_springs_berhad.htm

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This too shall pass

Human mind is a complex system of thoughts, thoughts and thoughts. And the  moment something goes wrong it has the overwhelming power of whining over it, hovering over it, refusing to defocus its attention. At that moment we feel as if its the end of the world, insomnia creeps in and the big question 'Why Me??'  wakes up like a monster waking out of its slumber. We don't see the end of the tunnel...we feel that its not going to end...That's the time when we have to tell ourselves again and again-'This too shall pass'...for it will definitely pass. Instead of grinding our teeth against the person or situation causing the misery we can very well concentrate on our recovery. We can engage in things making us happy. Making someone else's life miserable just because they did something to you doesn't make your life any better. Time to focus all the attention to yourself, your health, physical and mental and make your life better. I have met people in despair, and have found that a word or two with compassion and empathy can bring them back to normal. It may not be drastic, overnight, but strong belief that 'This too shall pass' can do magic. I remember a verse from Bhagavat gita at this moment.

uddhared atmanatmanam

natmanam avasadayet

atmaiva hy atmano bandhur

atmaiva ripur atmanah
 

"One must deliver himself with the help of his mind, and not degrade himself. The mind is the friend of the conditioned soul, and his enemy as well.

The power of accepting the situation and moving on is very well illustrated in Mahabharata by the character of Pandavas mother Kunthi devi. This was recited by Swami Utit Chaitanyaji in his recent discourse about Bhagavat Gita in Singapore and I consider myself blessed to listen it from him in person. Mahabharatha by Veda Vyasa is an Indian epic. It depicts the rivalry between Pandu's sons, the Pandavas and Dritharashtra's sons, the Kauravas. Kunthi devi is the mother of Pandavas and Gandhari is the mother of Kauravas. The story leads to the 18 day war called Kurukshethra where Krishna discloses the eternal truth called 'Bhagavat Gita' to Arjuna.The incidents which are of our significance here happens towards the end of the war. Pandavas by the help of Krishna were defeating the opponents one by one and when Gandhari came to know that destiny is not favouring her pedigree she wanted to give a boon to her Son Duryodhana and asked him to come to her and seek blessings. Krishna on knowing this coaxed Duryodhana to go dressed up and while Gandhari was transferring her power acquired over years to her son, it fails to traverse the dress worn by him. Gandhari knows that its done by none other than Krishna. The war proceeds and in the fight between Bhima and Duryodhana, Krishna hints Bhima to hit Duryodhana on his thighs which didnt receive the power from Gandhari even though hitting below the waist is against the law of war with clubs. Bhima does accordingly and kills Duryodhana. On seeing his son's state, standing depressed in the Kurukshethra, unable to accept whatever happend Gandhari curses Krishna with all her might.

On the other hand, Kunthi Devi had to witness her son Arjuna killing her first born Karna, also by the help of Krishna. When Arujuna comes to seek her blessing after the victory, Kunthi devi could neither cry nor smile for one of her son was killed by another son. Herself and Krishna are the ones who knows the truth and when she sees Krishna, she doesn't burst out like Gandhari, instead prayed to Krishna to give more miseries in her life so that she will grow closer and closer to God. In times of rejoice and happiness seldom do we think about God, but when misery strikes, we seek God.

Here Gandhari unable to accept what had happened , burst out and made her life as well other other people's life horrible. The curse did hit the character Krishna badly and resulted in wiping off his entire pedigree from the face of earth. For Kunthi Devi it was her matured and strong mind which accepted the reality and sought the best out of it in the form of blessing...She knew that like waves in the ocean, things come and go in life, but in the end the wastness of ocean remains and when each wave comes, we have to keep reminding ourselves that 'this too shall pass'...for it will definitely pass.

Life goes on and on.... -picture courtesy Sajeev

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Beautiful sun rise at Changi Beach - By Sajeev

Thamasoma Jyothirgamaya !!!

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my meal is not worth your life!!!

When I tell someone that I am a vegetarian the first question I get is, "is it by religion???" My answer is "yes and no, yes because I am a Hindu and Hinduism advocates Vegetarianism, no because I am not a Brahmin and no one insists me to remain a vegetarian." In fact, I am a vegetarian by my choice and conviction. I am a converted vegetarian, who enjoyed all kinds of food till I was 18. My parents were vegetarians and when I started realising that cooking non-vegetarian food for us was not really comfortable for them, the first stir of emotion rippled in me. Kind of hesitation like being given food in separate plate and washing with separate sponge, keeping the cooking vessel and plates separately. Being a teenager, this made me to think of being treated differently. Not parents' fault, just my thinking when blood was young and boiling :-). Later during my degree I happened to be a member of nature club and used to write articles and poems for its magazines and came across 'People for Animals' by Maneka Gandhi. After reading so many articles against the cruelty towards animals and how ill treated their souls and bodies are when taken to the butchery made me to think that their lives are of much worth than my meal. I wrote to Maneka and she replied to continue to work in my region and fight against the cruelty towards animals. I was thrilled and excited but couldn't go into much of the social activities in between balancing the academic work. One fine day when I was not feeling well, I felt having non-veg and told my mom. She prepared in her usual tasty manner and I had it mindful , stomach full and soulful and decided that its the last time I am having it. In one day I could conquer my mind, thoughts, body and quit being a non-vegetarian. I started feeling much better, lot of lethargy disappeared, body started feeling light and I knew I liked it.

When I see documentaries on how people are struggling to rescue animals I really feel like laughing. How many chicken might have lost its life just for those people's meal ?? And how can one life be better than another life??Isn't the pain of losing one's life same for all the beings?? And when losing life, wont the animals have adrenaline rush?? Wont the adrenaline remain in its dead body and reach the people while having the food?? I am not trying to say that one is good and one is bad or one gives human longevity and other one doesn't.

Biologically, all that goes into human as dead becomes a part of living body and excretes out of body as a non living and again goes into nature become part of a living creature and when it is killed/dead become part of another one's diet....and this cycle continues. This is the inevitable cycle of nature. We humans have the choice of selecting what should be the source of new cells in our body.

World, I am not arguing over whether vegetarian or non-vegetarian diet is good. Please stop pouncing over me with questions and putting forth your reasons that one is better than the other. Its just a humble being's choice and reasons to remain a vegetarian just because she thinks that her meal is not worth another being's life!!!

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I can see you!!....

The growing number of children in Singapore wearing spectacles is bothering me and today I asked Achu:

"Ponni, are u able to see everything clearly?? Please let amma know if you cant see anything."


with an innocent face she told, "amma, I can see you clearly, I can see Kannan also, but I cannot see my face myself!! "

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Master Bedroom!!

In the hustle and bustle of moving house my sweetie heard the name 'master bedroom' several times, so she was curious to know why it is called master bedroom.


One day she came and asked me:
"amma, why is the corner bedroom out there called master bedroom??"


I was trying to figure out a convincing answer for her when she interrupted me and told "I know why amma, its because the master sleeps there!!"

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The uniqueness of human mind and Hinduism!

Today let me write about the uniqueness of human mind. When I thought about it, I found it interesting to connect it with how Hinduism appreciates and celebrate that uniqueness and its delicate nature. Every mind is unique and that in turn result in every human being being different. What human being can perceive in the universe is limited to the physical capacity of his brain and how it control the senses. There is a limit to our audible voice, there is a limit to the spectra of colours which we humans can sense. So there is a limit to what we see, hear and know in this universe. This is different from what animals or other living beings can perceive. So whats real could be much different from what humans see or understand. Yet we boss around telling that we are the masters of the universe.

Our mind tends to believe that hurt, happiness, pleasure etc are bestowed upon us because of other people's actions, which is totally wrong. The story which swami Udit Chaithanya narrated really woke me up. It goes like this. A dog was eating a bone and got hurt in its mouth by its sharp edge. Blood started oozing out and still the dog continued to chew the bone thinking that the blood is really coming out from the bone and enjoyed its own blood. Similar way what we presume as pleasure or pain given by others is just because of our perception and our own body. No body can give anything more than what our mind and body can sense or perceive.

I have heard so many criticisms about Hinduism having so many 'Gods'. But the real Hinduism insists on only 'One God' the almighty which is nothing different from the energy that fills us. The total energy in the universe is a constant and matter and energy are inter convertible and is proved scientifically by Einstein. Matter as we see around us has an origin and end.  So the perishable universe we see around us has a beginning and end.But energy remains the same. This energy Hinduism considers as 'The God'. The ultimate power that has designed the tiny atoms to the cells of our brain which no supercomputer can beat yet.

Sometimes after visiting a shop I come out of it being unable to find things that I like there and tag it as 'not good'. But later I have realised that its just that it doesn't have the collection of my liking which is evolved in me due to the environment in which I am being in and the taste of my parents which later sank in to me and formed as my preference. If a shop owner just collects things of his liking, only those with his taste can buy things from there. So, the vast diversity of likings of human mind is to be taken into account while choosing to serve the public in any kind of business.So as every human mind is different, like every shop owner keeps wide variety of items for different people's liking, Hinduism is offering wide variety of Gods for each person to choose and worship in his nursery stage of understanding the religion. And as he graduates, he has to come out of the form and know and feel the divine energy in its real form. When we worship an idol its not the idol we worship, its the divine master, similar to the fact that we see the person and not the paper or the frame when we see the portrait of a person.

No human mind is same. And we can never know what is really going on in another human mind. Humans does not have the ability to like something which it cannot perceive, either see, hear, touch or smell. So, when the human race was struggling because of desire, lust, want for money, land etc, the spiritual gurus had to device stories to raise it from the puddle and bring it into a higher level. There came the great epics like Mahabharatha and Ramayana. The five pandavas in Mahabharatha are the five senses and the hundred Kauravas are the evils with which our senses has to fight every day. Our mind needs 'bhagavat gita' at times when our mind struggles between its desire to keep or kill the evils. Bhishma is the stubbornness in us which refuses to leave us. Bhishma is dying after being in the bed of arrows for eighteen days. It shows how difficult it is to overcome our stubbornness.

In the nursery stage of knowing my religion I have taken Krishna as my idol as my mother was a devotee of Krishna. As we move on to higher plains of understanding we do not really need an idol to worship. First time when I came across the fact that Krishna is just a brain child of the great guru Veda Vyasa, it hurt me, I cried. But later it increased my desire to learn more about the religion and the real facts about its diversity of Gods.

So, lets celebrate every human mind and its uniqueness, which makes it all the more interesting in this beautiful world which we are given, with the  limitations our senses can perceive, as everything else is not really necessary for us, as our creator knows what is best for His masterpiece!!!

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Communication Gap!!

I was feeding Kannan in the bedroom when my sweetie's voice came from the hall,
"amma, whats papa doing??"
I replied, "he is praying Ponni!!"
Again, "amma, whats he doing there??" (the stress is on word 'there')
I said, "he is praying there da"
Again, "amma, can you tell me whats he doing ??" (stress is on 'tell')
I said, "I have already told that he is praying" (tone is changing)
Again, "amma, are u sure he is praying??" (stress is on 'are u sure')
I said,"I have told enough number of times that he is praying, whats your problem??" (already smoke is coming out..)
Again,"amma,whats he really doing??"(stress is on 'really')
I said,"just wait there, I am coming out, u will get nicely from me"
I ran out like a fierce dragon when she said "amma, why is he praying inside the bathroom!!??"


PS: all the time she knew that he was in bathroom and I was thinking he is in his room....

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The Magic of Amar chithra katha!!!

I was searching Amar chithra katha for Achu for so long and got the feeling that I have found what I wanted when I came across 'Tinkle Digest' which my brother-in-law was reading. From there I got the reference to the website from where we can buy Amar chithra katha online:  http://www.amarchitrakatha.com. Ever since I came across Tinkle Digest, on every trip to India, we collect as many of it as possible. 

Stories and music are food to the soul. At least I can remember my thirst for stories in my childhood days. Mom used to say that when she ran out of stories and made-up stories she started buying books and reading it for me... I would pester her and whoever I found could narrate stories well,  for more and more and when I grew big and could read myself, the magical world of children's comics unveiled a whole new world in front of me. The first line of the first chithra katha I read is still in my mind ...It had the picture of a rabbit getting the aroma of food and saying 'haai nalla neyyappathinte manam'... I would have been five years then. Also a vague picture of a boy holding a lollipop in his hand which was part of an English story which my mom narrated to me is still lingering in mind. The rabbits, cats, elephants, tigers, foxes, crows, flowers, trees, forests, springs, mountains, sun , moon etc were in neat cute sketches and were able to talk human language. Me and my cousin would fight for reading the comics first. Until I finish reading cover to cover, there is no peace of mind and once we know it has arrived,  until it reaches my hand I used to feel uneasy....The ones I remember passionately is the Mahabharatha Amar chithra katha. There is no other appropriate way to explain the wonderful and the best epic ever, from the greatest guru Veda Vyasa, to our future generation than getting children to taste the magical and powerful world of reading amar chithra katha. The beautiful narration and the artistic illustration gets our imagination to fly... If u ask me the history lessons which I learned in school, I wouldn't be remembering it. We shouldn't forget history but its one of the boring subjects I have ever learned. Sorry if it hurts history enthusiasts...  that's a fact.  But if you ask any stories from the great epic, I can tell it with zeal and pleasure....So, long live Amar chithra katha....:-)

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Old Town, New Address...

Bible says: " See the birds of the sky, that they don't sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns......". But they sure do make nests, so do us humans and passionately call it our home, gathering each twig with so much care and love, keeping the comfort and happiness of our baby birds in mind...Recently we changed our nest, to a more 'comfy cosy' one (borrowing Achu's vocabulary). We brought along sovereigns from all our previous nests which delicately links our memories to the paths we have travelled. Unfolding each piece of cloth, turning each page of books all brought lot of memories some of which were forgotten but always lay hidden like fire in ash. I had to be merciless in throwing certain things to which I was emotionally attached, things which have turned useless over time. That's the cruelty of time, those which were nurtured and cherished preciously turns useless over time. After all, man could never make anything non-perishable, not even feelings.

When the dawn broke in Singapore on May 8th we were prayerfully starting a new life in our new home. The pooja was conducted by the honourable priest from Sengkang temple. My journey in Singapore started from Lakeside, one of the western most part of Singapore. Maash, that's how I call Sajeev because all his friends call him so, had given me a clear picture of Singapore in the six months of our acquaintance before marriage. The moment I landed here I could breath a clean air, see clean people and clean roads, everything was neat and clean. Flat-life was not new to me as I had lived a couple of years in Kuwait while I was doing my eleventh and twelfth. Those were wonderful days, the memories of which I hold dearly to my heart. The abode Maash rented to start our new life was a new and awesome five room apartment, the details of which he kept as a secret. It was right in front of the main gate of Chinese garden. My first reaction was, oh my god,its so big, how am I going to maintain it, to which Maash just gave a smile.Our evening walks through the beautiful avenue of Tah Ching Road  and the banks of reservoir are unforgettable. We used to dream and make plans for future. I did my masters degree while staying there and it was very convenient for me as NTU was quite nearby. From that beautiful house we had to move to a house in Clementi, where I could see the hustle and bustle of a city life. I was carrying Aishwarya and came to India for delivery and started working in Motorola upon return when she was six months old, while we were staying there. From there to a JTC apartment in Khatib as I joined Motorola.Thanks to Maash as he always put my convenience before his. From Khatib to Sengkang,our present town.

We are still in the old town, but just changed address. We fell in love with the place the first time we visited here. Its one of the newly developed areas of Singapore, it has lot of empty spaces where families and enthusiasts come and fly kites on evenings and weekends, the houses here are well designed, got a sports complex, well known schools, a fruit park and a river very nearby (evening walks over the bridge, feeling the gentle breeze, is something we love to do as a family). After three years of stay we decided to look for more space for our baby birds to run around, fly around, hop around,crawl around and what not. The moment we saw this Executive apartment , we decided that its ours. We didn't bargain much about the price.Maash never bargains over things he like, a quality I really like in him. It has open space in front, it is facing North, got a couple of tall acacia in front of the house which reminds me of the cypress tree in the courtyard of my mother's house, its in the path of wind and can enjoy cool breeze all the time, and most importantly its a plain house and can view the horizon from the house. We like to craft our house from scratch ourselves. Mash spent hours designing it using google sketchup, each and every room and each and every angle, while I was giving my ideas on how things should be. We form a good team and this time around the designing was easier as it is the second time we are doing so. Once designing was over, we went around looking for contractors. The big names quoted higher prices, so we went for independent contractors and we got one which fitted our budget and personality.

We were on a tight schedule. The contractor was given only three weeks to complete it, which was really a Herculean task for him and they worked overnight to complete our work, hats off to their hard and excellent work. And thanks to my dear papa who was there to see through all the activities. He was of great help mentally as well.He is a great strength and moral support to us, his daughters.I am lucky and proud of being his daughter. Maash had his project submission and presentation. He had to spent nights working over it after office hours in between all these. Hard work never goes wasted. We felt like being tested in all the ways possible.Our new helper, Aman,was also of great help in the process of packing and unpacking. And in between Kannan started rolling over and my sweet naughty fell down from bed taking my breath away.We managed it all, together as a team and we are proud and happy that we did it all not by our merit but by God's grace....:)

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Thought for the Day

Why are treasures guarded by demons and not angels ???

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Gravity!!

20 Feb 2010

Ever since I introduced solar system to Aishwarya, she is much interested in everything related to it. Recently I got a book named 'The Universe' from a book fair.It has lots of colourful images. Now, whenever not watching TV or not having food, she takes the book and starts asking questions.Once when she came across the word gravity, her curiosity increased and started asking questions. I told her the story of Sir Issac Newton sitting under an apple tree during which I asked her, 'do you know why apple comes down to the ground instead of flying?' Answer came immediately: 'because it doesn't have wings'!!!. I was expecting a different answer, so I asked again 'whats that?' she told 'amma, because apple does not have wings'!!!

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Fine!!

20 Feb 2010
Me and my girl like shopping together as we are interested in almost everything in the shops except that she has got a special eye for things in pink. Recently, after one of our shopping spree, we decided to have tea and snacks at Komalas. She ordered her favourite ice lemon tea without ice and I had masala tea and vada. The boy served ice lemon tea with ice and when I pointed it, he just removed the ice !!! I told that the intention was not to have it cold, he told the tea itself comes like that and he can do nothing about it!!! where should I complaint about this??? So, even though she had slight cough she was adamant in drinking the cold 'ice' lemon tea. She was taking her time enjoying it and meanwhile I was done with my drink and snack. I told her 'baby, lets make a move'. She was only half done with her drink and wanted to bring to mrt and have it. I told , 'listen ponni, we cant take drinks inside mrt and we will have to pay fine if the authorities find us having drink inside it'. 'Fine' was a new word for her and as usual she asked 'amma, what is fine?' . I told her that its something which we have to pay in the form of money as a punishment for not obeying the law. She asked 'amma, how much is the fine?' . As I didn't know the exact amount, I gave a rough estimate 'it could be around a 100 bucks' ....immediately she asked me 'amma, do you have a 100 dollars with you?'

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Adieu 2009!!

1 Jan 2010

Adieu 2009!! A year woven by the warp and weft ; joy and sorrow, interlaced with each other to form an unforgettable chapter in my life. It started on a sad note, though progressed to have a happy ending. Grown an year older mentally and physically, realising my time here is getting reduced by an year and at the moment I am still trying to figure out the real purpose of my life...Is it just to live or survive and be in the pedigree of future generations? I feel it should be greater than that...

January started with the tiredness of a beautiful vacation in India.In Feb we had a good news, our second bundle of joy was forming inside me. March came as a black spot, stealing my mother from me. She passed away on the day of her wedding anniversary, a tragic coincidence. April to July was not dramatic and went on with pregnancy related physical, emotional and hormonal changes leaving me a bit cranky at times. Thanks to Sajeev for bearing it all the time. In August my girl turned 5. September kept me on bed rest for few days and on first October we took the oath as Singaporeans. 2nd October, our boy came a month early, which made us to ascertain that man proposes but God disposes everything in our life. In November we bought our new house and in December we sold our existing one and all the while our lives revolved around our new family member. My father-in-law and mother-in-law were here to support us ever since our boy came. I would rather erase the in-law part from them as they are more to me than the traditional,universal meaning of that. Thanks to them, I am really lucky to have them as part of my life. I wish 2010 comes with more golden threads of joy to the whole world and weave our dreams to exciting reality.

So, adieu 2009, u made me cry and made me smile. I move on remembering the smiles and burying the sorrows behind me....

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Our second bundle of joy!!

12 December 2010

After a long time, I am logging in to write. Our second bundle of joy, Ashwin came on 2nd October sharing birthday with one of the great souls who ever lived on this earth, Mahatma Gandhi. Though not planned, Aishwarya was born on Indian Independence day and Ashwin on Gandhi Jayanthi. A mere joyful coincidence. Aishwarya suddenly started to appear to us like she has grown up, physically and mentally. Need to add that a bit naughtier too. She is not satisfied with one little brother and needs a little sister too to share her pink toys. And she believes that there is another little one growing in me.For me, I have become busier than ever. This pregnancy was a cake walk, except some hitches in the last minute and he came a bit earlier than the predicted date.

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Footprint!!

15 June 2009

Yesterday at bedtime Achu was trying to hide something and I just acted ignoring that. But once she was on bed I just looked at the side table and found that she had spilled some water from the cup and was hiding that from me and the spilled water had created a whitish mark on the table and from experience I knew that it will fade off in few minutes time, but she was worried that I will scold her. I acted angry and asked her "Aishwarya what have u done? what is this?" She replied calmly "Amma dont worry, thats just the footprint of the cup!!"

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Off to the country side of Singapore!!

07 June 2009
Last week was a marathon outing week. Covered Riverside fruit park Sengkang two times, Punggol park, Pasir Ris park and as a grand finale visited Kranji countryside on Saturday. River side fruit park is near my home and is great for a good stroll in the evening with family. Its a newly developed park with cycle tracks and a small pond is there in the centre. The hustle and bustle of expressway can hinder the serenity 24/7.Punggol park is just 10 minutes drive from our home. Its frequented by people. There is a pathway surrounding a large pool and is frequented by joggers in the evening. Pasir Ris park is quite famous and it is great to entertain kids. Lot of swings and slides and kids parks are located there.

Inspired by one of our family friends, we set out to visit Kranji Countryside on a bright Saturday morning. We have never been to countryside of Singapore and couldn't imagine a spot in Singapore where we don't bump into people every other minute. Sajeev enjoyed driving along the unfrequented road and I was checking the printed map and giving him directions. We took Mandai Road,Woodlands Road, Kranji Road and Kranji Way to reach there. Along the way there are many sign boards indicating different farms. The countryside gives an 'out of Singapore' experience. There are no HDB flats, no high rise buildings and over all no crowd. Its calm, quite and serene. We drove until the last farm along Lim Chu Kang lane3 which is goat farm, Hay Dairies Pte. Ltd. There are hundreds of goats and live demo of milking goats were going on. Free breakfast and balloons were available for kids due to school holiday promotions. Goats were categorised according to the age and were kept in different cages. It is maintained quite well and Achu badly wanted to touch the lil ones.

From there we went to a farm full of cacti and other vegetables. Since there were no sheltered car parks available we had to park our car under the scalding sunlight. Bought some fresh vegetables which are not available in Singapore markets and I bought one Pistia stratiotes, often called water cabbage or water lettuce and is considered to be a native of Africa.It floats on the surface of the water its roots hanging submersed beneath floating leaves. Got one plant for 50 cents. There was a medium sized pond of Singapore's very own Koi fish and Achu, as usual, wanted to buy fish food and feed them. We let her do it, so that she will be happy. At one instant she put it all at one corner and told us that the fishes are still hungry and they need more food. I convinced her that other people are waiting out there to feed them and escaped to our car.

From there we drove to 'Max Koi Farm' . This farm impressed me a lot. One side was open and had few open ponds with green water. The landscaping was beautiful with bonsai plants on the shore. The other side had lots of deep ponds in which different groups of Koi fishes of different colours and sizes were bred. The ponds and surroundings were surprisingly neat and clean and fishes appeared healthy. Apart from Koi fish there were Arowana fishes as well. We rested there for a while since the breeze from the open pond was cooling and was much welcomed in such a bright weather.

Next was the organic farm where organic product sale was going on. Now a days whatever is labelled organic means expensive. Mushrooms,noodles, dried fruits etc were on sale. We got mushroom and dried olive, mango and prune. Outside there were different plants and veggies grown organically and wheat grass and mushrooms grown under shelter. There was a small creeper plant which caught my imagination and I took a small piece for my tiny garden back at home.

Next we went to Gardenasia ,a secret garden sanctuary,where we were welcomed by Morchoo and Titoy, two cute mascots. There were different events organised for kids and on 6/6/ it was Kampong fishing. It cost S$10 per kid. Friendly staff were helping us. We were given a small container of worms and the fishing equipments which is the old fashioned bamboo stick, a plastic thread and a hook, a bucket of water to put our catch, a

high chair and a round table. Sajeev and me conquered our fears of touching worms by touching it and carrying it in our hand, but Achu was not at all willing to experiment. She managed to touch but was far from comfortable in carrying it in her hand. She made us all laugh when she said worms are 'junk food'. We had to call for help each time we needed to hook the worms. The fishes were very smart and just took the bait and avoided the hook most of the time. We managed to catch three orange Lohan fishes. Even though a bit reluctant initially, Achu managed to pose with her catch after our constant encouragement. That was an enriching experience. She was a bit disappointed because we were not allowed to take the fishes home, instead had to put it back in the pond. There is a museum and lot of plants grown and maintained well. We were strolling along seeing plants when Sajeev pointed to a big dog sleeping peacefully in one corner. Suddenly, I felt hungry and wanted to escape. My inherent fear of dog always brings laughter to Sajeev, but I don't care as far as I am at a non-reachable distance from the dog.

Now, time for lunch and we wanted to find out a nice cosy place. On the way we found a board indicating 'Sungei Buloh wetland Reservoir'. We targeted that and paid S$1 per adult and 50 cents for child. Achu reiterated to the receptionist that she is a child and not an adult and also that she is a girl not a boy. Lots of people were coming out after trekking and photography. We could see lot of professional cameras hanging around peoples neck. We had our Pav Bhaji peacefully and rested for a while. Achu made friends with an uncle from Delhi visiting his daughter in Singapore. Finally we decided to trek for a while and went in the trekking direction. There were lot of wetlands and mangroves were growing on the banks of a beautiful river. We could see lot of life inside the river and a type of fish which was constantly trying to swim against the water current. It appeared to stand still in water, not sure whether that's the whole aim in their life or not. We could see Malaysia clearly. Because of my physical situation we didn't go for much walk and walked back.

Our last destination for the day was 'Bollywood veggies' . The name has an Indian flavour. We could see lot of tropical veggies and herbs plants. We can buy organically grown vegetables and herbs, but I found it a bit expensive. One tapioca root cost S$1. The sun was not merciful and so we sat under the shade of a large tree for a while. Natures ways are always amazing, the cool feeling the tree gave amidst the blazing sun was amazing. For a while we forgot that we are in Singapore. I had an ice cream -vanilla coated with chocolate from the Bistro.

It was a wonderful day. A day of going back to mother nature and its serenity. When we live in a country like Singapore such a retreat is essential for a family to enrich the coming generation and to remind us of our childhood days when we played in the sand and didn't mind getting hands dirty and when we ran after butterflies and grasshoppers , catching it, inspecting it and letting it go!! Yes, it was a true positive retreat for the whole family!!

For more information:

http://www.haydairies.com.sg/hay/

http://www.kranjicountryside.com/

http://www.maxkoifarm.com/

http://www.sbwr.org.sg/

http://www.bollywoodveggies.com/

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Survival is for the fittest, is Earth fit to Survive?

3 June 2009

I have always believed that whatever needs to be extinct has to go extinct. Survival of which is going to be a pain for itself or the people helping it to survive. But when it comes to the survival of Mother Earth there is a second or third thought regarding my belief. Can we let anything to go extinct if we love it? Probably not. So when environmentalist are trying hard to protect an animal or bird species to prevent it from disappearing completely from the face of earth, there is a lot of love and empathy and affection behind their action.

Now, 'go green' is a slogan heard in every continent. Recently, I happened to watch a travel programme on TV. It showed massive parts of glaciers of Antarctica melting and falling down several times a day, baring the mountains of its ice clothing!! That was a scary scene. This is the ultimate result and proof of global warming now. The ice melts and the water level increase. And places which are close to sea level are under the threat of being submerged in water in near future!!. One by one will the continents disappear and will there be a massive extinction of all the species on earth?? Is there a need for a 'Noah's Arc' to be send to space to preserve all the species?

One step at a time, what can an individual among 6,784,247,386 people do to help it? I found few steps from the net and thought of jotting three of the easily doable ones for you and me.

1. Bring reusable bags for shopping. I haven't done it yet. Will definitely start this week

2. Reduce electricity usage. Clean and repair damaged appliances on time to save more.

3. Start using a reusable plastic bottle which u can always refill instead of using single use mineral water bottles.

List is long... but lets start with one tiny step at a time. Join me!! If we can increase the age of mother earth even by a single day, its worth trying whatever it takes!!

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When I was zero years old!!

21 May 2009

My enlarging tummy arises a lot of curiosity in my little girl. Today morning while having bath she was asking Sajeev:

"Acha, when I was zero years old, whose tummy was I in?"

He answered "Amma's tummy"

She asked again,"When Amma was zero years old, whose tummy was she in?"

He answered "Mommy's tummy" (she used to call my mom, "mommy")

She replied "Oh, I see, so Mommy had two babies in her tummy!!"

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Rainy day thoughts!!

15 May 2009

Its raining outside and Singapore-rain is very short lived unlike the rain back in my hometown in Kerala. Whenever I am in a relaxed mood on a rainy day, I walk back through memory lane and become a curious little girl eagerly watching through my window seeing raindrops falling from the roof top with great force on to the ground, replacing sand and making small pits along the borders of the roof on the ground, while some other drops making tiny crowns on the ground which I used to think could fit only frogs!! There used to be tall trees around the house and its different shades of lush greenery used to provide me an unknown sense of security. There was a tall cypress tree which used to bend with the heaviness of water on its leaves. All heavy rains used to bring me a fear that it could just break into pieces, but it never did.

In Kerala, raining whole day is quite common... And, if there is a break during those downpour I used to jump out of the house to touch the wet leaves, to observe if any plant is damaged in my tiny garden. I used to have my own separate garden from the age of 6, where me and my cousin, who had one himself, used to grow different flower plants and we had a great deal of internal competition on whose garden is going to come up healthy and whose plant is to bear flower first. :) We had tiny water channels inside the garden, which were tiny rivers for us... and the plants were majestic trees on the banks of those rivers. Rain used to fill our rivers sometimes making it wider uprooting some of our plants.

 One interesting thing to do after rain was to make paper boats and float it in the pitches of brown water under the coconut trees. We used to get great satisfaction watching it floating .There is a plant which catches the raindrops and retains its shape and its kind of sticky. We used to pluck it out and put it inside the eyes which used to give a very cool feeling. A yummy memory is the cashew nut which my grandmother used to prepare for us after the rain.The mouth watering aroma used to drive me to where my grandma prepared it.  She used to say that this is to be done only during rainy days. The nuts have to be put inside fire under charcoal and when it is cooked properly, only she knows when, it's taken out and the hard husk is removed. That is one of the few things I have tasted with 100% liking. As I grew up I used to get a feeling of sadness when it used to rain, a longing for something or someone...that's the age... Now, still rain amuses me, though not as much as that of a curious little girl who always saw treasures in nature!!

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Fruit cake: Mother's Day special :-)

10 May 2009
Successful Fruit cake recipe: Mother's Day Special; Yes we made it :)

• Caramel ingredients and preparation
  

1. 1/4 cup sugar
2. 1 tbsp water
3. 1/4 cup warm water
4. 1tsp vanilla extract

 Heat 1/4 cup of sugar with 1 tbsp of water in medium heat stirring until the colour changes to dark brown. Once the colour becomes dark remove the pan and pour 1/4 cup of warm water and to this add 1tsp of vanilla extract. Be careful while adding warm water to the hot sugar syrup, it could sputter.

• First Mixing: ingredients and preparation

1. 1 cup sugar
2. 115 grams of butter, room temperature
3. 3 eggs

Blend sugar and butter by adding the eggs one by one.

• Second Mixing: ingredients and preparation

1. 1 cup cake flour (can use all purpose flour too, I came across cake flour in cold storage so went for it)
2. 2tsp baking powder
3. 1/2 tsp salt
4. 1 tsp spice powder (contains cinnamon, spices and nut mug)

Mix flour, baking powder, spice powder together. To this, add caramel water and blend well. Add sugar, butter and egg mixture and blend then all together.

• Adding nuts and dried fruits.

To the above blended mixture, add 1 cup of dried fruits (raisins, cherries, dates etc.) and 1/2 cup of nuts. I added almonds and cashew nuts cut into small pieces of about 5 mm.  

• Final step.

Pour the mixture into a greased baking pan, and bake at 176 degree

Celsius for an hour. Once done we can remove the cake . Insert a toothpick in the middle to check whether it

s cooked properly. If baking is proper, the toothpick comes out neat and

clean. Allow it to cool down and store it in a tight container. 

Our cake came out perfect and yummy!!

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Mother's Day!!

10 May 2009

Yesterday, May 10th was Mother's Day!! Even though I slept very late in the previous night surfing net and talking to some of the friends online, I felt a rush of energy. Mother's day came with the endearng thoughts of mom. The fact that she is not on this earth made me to feel lonely in the voidness of her absence... Though the gallons of energy I used to receive after talking to mom is no more, I am at the giving end now... Time to give back what has been received. Even while going through the most difficult plight she could easily convince me that everything is going to be all right. Celebration is one thing she was very enthusiastic about... After all, life is always a celebration of being alive.

 I hope sincerely that all the mothers in this world had a wonderful Mother's day. And as the saying goes, "You may only be someone in the world, but to someone else, you may be the world." 

On May 8th Aishwarya came running after coming from school with a little, cute chart. It was made up of black chart paper on which the picture of a silver trophy was pasted. Below, there was an yellow rectangular paper on which she has scribbled beautifully in her budding handwriting that "This trophy goes to the World's Best Mom -Aishwarya".  I was so proud to be a mom. It might be prepared with the help of teachers and she might have copied the words form what teacher has written on the white board but, I don't care. For me its something which my little girl is whispering to me. Sometimes ignoring certain things can be bliss ;-)

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