Lost in Translation

A big business manager came down from the US to meet us a few weeks ago. So, my boss had setup a "Roundtable" discussion between us (a team of around 20 people) and him. As is usually the case, there's a round of introductions. We typically say a few words about our work and what we are doing and how long we have been doing it. Plus the visitor also does the same thing.

This time around, the Business guy (let's call him Jim), wanted one more thing in the introductions. Jim wanted us to add one line about what we do outside of work esp. our hobbies. Call it touchy-feely kind of Management.

So, we all went around with our introductions. A couple of people mentioned Chess, a guy mentioned playing Football (the kind where you play with your foot and not American style), someone said watching cricket and the youngest guy in the team said playing console games. I mentioned my interest in the Violin.

After that is was Jim's turn. His first comment was - "How many of you have kids?". Almost all our raised hands (except the gamer, but that's because he's really young and just out of college). Immediately, Jim said - "I'm surprised none of you mentioned spending time with your kids.". He then went on with his introduction and mentioned that outside of work he liked spending time with his family and playing in the backyard with his 11 year old son.

It really struck me that this was a classic cultural difference. I love my family and I do love spending time with them. But is family time a hobby? Its a natural thing to do and one does it but that doesn't qualify as a hobby, does it? I then put my mind to the various Roundtables and presentations we have had with visitors. Invariably family comes up during introduction time by our visitors, but its not so forth coming from us. I wonder why's that?

What's the toughest thing to buy in India

If you thought about a Rolls Royce, you are wrong? What about a Ferrari? Nope not that. How about a fancy high end music system, that make Audiophiles drool? Nope, you can get that from somewhere.

Basically, all consumer goods save this item are available in stores. They may not be cheap, but if you have the money then you can buy it. If something isn't sold in India, then just pick it up on your next trip abroad. No, the thing that you cannot buy (at least without jumping through hoops, paying a few bribes) is a humble cooking gas connection from the Govt owned petroleum companies. So, if you do have a connection, then make sure its the first thing on your list that you bequeath in your Will.

Today, I stood in line for an hour and a half, then ran to a public Notary to attest a copy of my Dad's Id, my electricity bill and a got a declaration written out in Stamp paper, got back in line (at 1.00 PM), had a cop shout the choicest words at me,  just so that the Govt. have the pleasure of allowing me to buy cooking gas from them. Apparently, all the money that I give them via the various taxes is not enough.

Why not go to a Private company for cooking gas? Because they are twice the rate and twice as unreliable in terms of service. Book a Cylinder today and get a replacement on Mar 15th. Not that the Govt companies are any better. Book a Cylinder today and you may get a replacement by Feb 15th.

This drive to collect information was with the noblest intentions in mind. Weed out illegal "consumers". But given that there are 15 million consumers and the ineptitude of our Govt, a deadline of 10 days was set. Imagine the Govt going through 15 million consumers' papers and removing the illegal ones. Heck, these guys won't even be able to go through 100 different set of  papers. 

Cricket world - Bangalore gets to host stupid matches

If you are a Bangalorean and want to watch the world cup at Chinnaswamy Stadium, then here are your choices -

1. On Mar 2, we can look forward to Eng. vs Ireland
2. On Mar 6, the Irish are back. Its Ind vs. Ireland
3. On Mar 13, the Aussies are here. Its Aus vs. Kenya
4. On Mar 16, the Aussies return. Its Aus. vs. Canada.

This sucks!

The 2 Qtr finals are in Bangladesh, 1 in Columbo and 1 at Ahmedabad. The Semis are at Colombo and Chandigarh. The finals in Mumbai.

Kolkata gets atleast 1 good match - Ind. vs. Eng. Delhi has to make good 1 good matchup - SA vs. WI. Chennai has 3 matches not involving minnows - Eng vs. SA, Eng vs. WI and Ind vs. WI.

I wonder why Chennai gets the 3 test playing nation matches... *cough* *cough*.. I have cement in my throat..

Neravals and the magic of carnatic music

On the way to work today, I listened to a super RTP by Balamurali
Krishna. Not the full RTP but only the Pallavi. My CD player chose to
play the Pallavi first and then the Ragam-Talam.

By the time I reached office the Pallavi was just over. It was
amazing. I had heard this multiple times and I used to like the Tana
quite a bit. However, this time I heard the Pallavi and the Thani
without any interruptions (save the traffic) and understood the
beautiful concept of a Neraval for the first time. The violinist also
was keeping up with Neravals and that made it doubly awesome for me.

I had read before that Neravals are essentially variations of a
Pallavi but this time I could follow the changes.

Keeping the Tala and the Pallavi line, essentially the same, one can
bring in a number of variations. The artist can choose to change the
tone, the speed, the notes although keeping the Raga intact
etc..

Think of your favorite song and one line from that. How many
ways can that song be sung changing its tone, some notes and speed?
Maybe one time we can speed up a few words and stretch out the
remaining words so that the tala remains. Other times we can sing in a
different octave. Even other times, we can change a couple of notes.

A true genius like Balamurali Krishna can come up hundreds of these
variations while keeping both the Tala and Raga intact. The tune
remains the same but the variations are unbelievable.

Once one's ear is tuned to the Pallavi understanding and appreciating
the Kalpana Swara variations sung and the following Thani variations
by the Mridanga artist is easier. The whole effect is just
mesmerizing. This is the beauty of Carnatic music.

Link Express trains

Here's a something I didn't know till today. A Link Express is a train that gets attached to a different train at a intermediate junction. It is an express, so that stops are only at the major junctions. However, the funny thing is that if you search for its arrival, it won't turn up. That's because the train number would have changed.

I came across this while searching for Vasco - Bangalore Link Express. I kept searching for the train and just did not find its expected arrival. Thanks to google, I got a different railways website that gave me a map and schedule. There was a comment on that page which explains what a Link Express actually is. So, The Vasco - Bangalore Link Express train actually gets hooked up to Rani Chennamma express at Londa. This is the train you need to search for when looking for arrivals.

Unfortunately, the train is running an hour late.

A Must have for all F1 Fans

Keeping track of all the races on a calendar is nice. The 2013 season coming to an end, it's time to look for the next year.  Keith Collatine's F1 Calendar is a real must for next season. 

More posting on my other blog

Been busy posting techie stuff on my other blog - Theo-Tries-Scheme and on Twitter -  @shortsightedsid. Drop by some time and leave a comment or two!

The best drive to work

.... today. The reason? Was listening to Chitti Babu play the Veena on AIR 100.1. It was a moving experience. Its been nearly 2 months since I went to Violin class, and had stopped listening to Carnatic music. Just this week, I started listening again while dropping off Dew to work.

Kommalu Koyila or the Cuckoo song is just amazing!

Funny things on the road

Firstly, a TN registered Bus....

Nothing special about that, except that the license plate is in Kannada. I have never seen such a single Kannada letter East of Attibele (on Hosur Road towards Tamil Nadu), and yet we now have a Tamil Nadu registered bus with a license plate written in Kannada. Boggles the mind.

Now, something that's truly inventive, ingenious even. How about a propeller bike? (Sorry for the poor pic quality but it was from my car and my pathetic mobile).

Blue - a cold review

It was late 2007 or maybe 2008, when a meeting probably took place in Bandra, Bombay. The meeting was on the movie blue. The team had money to burn, 120 crores of it and decided to burn it. This was probably a group of people who were floating in moolah and decided to make a movie about floating... In water, that is..

The result? Well, Blue is like a series of ad shots coupled with National Geographic. There's no doubt in my mind that the director is primarily an ad movie maker, because every since scene seems to be right out of an ad film. We get all the actors essentially modeling in various poses with cliched shots. In between the cliches are really beautiful underwater cinematography. You get to see plenty of coral, lots of different tiny fish, as well as several members of the Selachimorpha family.

So, should you see the movie? Here are reasons to see it

1. You are a big fan of National Geographic, Discovery and Animal Planet. Instead of seeing it on the small screen, you want to see some good underwater documentary stuff in a movie theatre.
2. You like looking at Lara Dutta in various skimpy Bikinis. Plus, the cameraman ensures that you get all the various angles and views to observe this animal up close and personal. (Hey' who doesn't?)

Why shouldn't you see the movie?

1. You pay 200 bucks for a action thriller and instead get a long set of ads featuring swimwear and Natgeo. Apparently when scuba diving, men need a full wet suit, but women manage just fine with a tiny maroon colour 2 piece.
2. You see the initial title, and start salivating at the names of Lara Dutta and Katrina Kaif. You know that its a movie in the water and expect plenty of struting by both esp. when KK is credited for a "Special Appearance". You get plenty of your money's worth with LD's double Ds but not even one shot of KK in a swimsuit. Considering that this movie is essentially about selling swimsuits to the Indian public, not seeing KK model in one, is a waste of time. I wonder if the Producers did not first approach Mallika Sherawat. Having large floatation devices would have been useful in this kind of movie.
3. Stupid storyline and plot holes (even for a Bollywood movie) such as having a bunch of sport bikes race each other while shooting guns in a dirt road. Yes that right, if you are the kind who believes that Ducatis and Hayabusa's are to be driven flat out on a bumpy dirt road where tractors used to roam free, then this movie is for you. For the rest of us, we know that there are plenty of dirt bikes for that. This movie uses a dirt bike to jump into the water from a boat and chooses to use sport bikes as dirt bikes. Plus, we get a nice ad shot of the Hayabusa (all with the right lighting, angles, and a well positioned helment) at the end of the said fight sequence.
4. Terrible fight sequences. Consider the following. If you are a good guy who has his back to a wall, the other side of which is a baddie, would you keep your back to wall and shoot 2 pistols not at the wall (made of wood) but at the windows that are away from the wall and perpendicular to the wall? No, you turn around and shoot at the wall, hoping to kill the baddie. Apparently, this doesn't occur to Sanjay Ak47 Dutt, who chooses to shoot to his left and right while keeping his back to the wall behind which the baddies are shooting back at him. 
5. Now, consider you are a real bad assed villian or even a dimwitted henchmen. Would you use your machine gun like a drill to put a single hole through a thin wooden wall, when you know that your enemy is on the other side? No, you don't you shoot through the wall not a single place but everywhere with you machine gun. In this movie, the baddie is so dimwitted that he uses his machine to shoot at exactly one spot and thus create a nice and small keyhole. After that he decides to peep through this machine gun created keyhole while ignoring all the windows nearby to look in. This is when Sanjay dutt uses his pistol to shoot back while the same keyhole and thus ensure that the baddie wins a darwin.

In the end this movie is about bad choices that guys behind the camera make. Do you make a slick action movie or a documentary on sharks, fish and coral around Bahamas? This crew decided to make both but ended up with neither.

Do you want to make a funny movie or just be unintentionally funny? This is easy, be unintentionally funny. Eva and I were laughing throughout the second half thanks to useless dialogue.

Do want a proper villian or get confused whether your protagonist is a hero or a villian. This was the worst part of the movie. Make a proper villian yaar, not a stupid hero who betrays others close to him only for him to chill 2 seconds later and transfer 20% of all the treasure you find into a bank a/c of the guys you betray in the first place.

Sheesh... If I had 120 crores to spend on a movie like Blue, I would definitely include KK in a Bikini and shoot more of LD in a Bikini as well. That's the only thing that works in the movie. Rest of it sucks. From the uninterested "acting" of a pauchy Sanjay Dutt to a pathetic plot (even by Bollywood's low standards for good stories). 

On the whole, the concept is good, but the execution and direction is rubbish. 

I want my money back (and time, cause I missed the first half of the Brazilian GP. :-( )

post race blues

Well, that must have been quite a good GP. I missed half the race because of two reasons - 

1. Stupid Times of India doesn't publish TV times
2. I went to see Blue thinking that the race would start 1 hour later (1030 IST) instead of the actual 930. 

Congrats to Button and Brawn! Its amazing how this team didn't exist even last year and yet they come back and win. This must be one of the most romantic moments in all sport (No... Mr Gill, F1 is a sport and not just entertainment)..

An Inglourious Reveiw

Just got back from watching Inglourious Basterds and no, I will not explain the typos.

This movie has to be one of Tarantino's weirdest movies. I know all his movies are weird but this is unlike any other Tarantino movie. Sure, there is copious amounts of violence, absurdist themes, irrelevance to time and space, but this movie takes the cake. Would I watch it again? Sure, I would. Was I entertained? Sure, I was. But did I understand the movie? Not really.

I went to the movie expecting Kill Bill but what I got was cartoonish Pulp Fiction and mean this as a complement. Deux Machina is the name of the game. This happen because they have to. People appear and disappear as required. This movie does not give answers, but instead does homage to the B-movies of the 70s and 80s. Its almost like an old South Indian movie (pick any - Tamil, Kannada, Telugu or Malayalam.. It doesn't matter). Y'know where the hero is atleast twice the age of the heroine, has a huge pauch, can't dance, but still has a James Bondish role. Funnily, Inglourious Basterds does that as well in a broader scene. Its pure entertainment and yet would please the critics.

I did like? Let me put it this way. I didn't realize how quickly the time passed. The movie is great but as with every Tarantino movie completely different from what you have ever seen.

I'm not sure if Brad Pitt's was acting the way he did, or was it just bad. I didn't like the way he played his role, but Christoph Waltz was pure gold. His portayal of the Nazi Col Hans Landa was magical. I read somewhere that Tarantino thought that the role of Hans Landa was unplayable, but Christoph's rendering of it was just amazing.

Go watch it if you can. Don't expect answers. Don't expect logic but you will be entertained. Govinda-David Dhawan movies have no logic but are highly entertaining. So is this, in a dark humour kind of way.

Kimi's back to the future

There are some thoughts that Kimi will be back at McLaren from next season and how it would pan out. On the whole I think the whole Kimi + Ferrari deal never really seemed right. It may have be a bit of luck that he won the 2007 championship, but it was a bit of bad luck that made him miss out on the 2003 and 2005 championships. 

On the whole, I think he's a better driver in a car which has "stopped development". The 2003 challenge was on the B spec 2002 McLaren with the 2003 car failing to pass FIA safety tests amongst other things. 

If he moves back to McLaren, I buying a Finnish Flag!

Sri Raga Varna - Sami Nine

ರಾಗ | ಶ್ರೀ | ಆಧಿ ತಾಳ
ಆರೊಹನಾ: ಸ ರಿ ಮ ಪ ನಿ ಸ'
ಅವರೊಹನಾ: ಸ' ನಿ ಪ ದ ನಿ ಪ ಮ ರಿ ಗಾ ರಿ ಸ

|| ಪಾ, ಪಮ ರಿಗರಿಸ ನೀ. ಪ.ನಿ.ಸ.ರಿನಿ.|
ಸಾ, ಮಿ- ನಿ--- ನ್ನೆ ಕೊ------ರಿ
ಸಾ,,, ನಿ.ಸ ರಿಗರಿಸ ರಿಮಪನಿ ||
ರಿ--- ಯ----- ನ್ನಾ-ನು

|| ಪಮಾ ನಿಪನಿ ಮಪ ರಿಗಾರಿ ನಿ.ಸರಿಗ |
ಚ-- ಲಾ-- ಮ- ಸೇ-- ಯ---
ರಿಸಾನಿ. ಪ.ನಿ.ಸರಿ ಗರೀಸ ರಿಮಪನಿ ||
ಮೇ-- ಗಾ---- ದೊ-- ರಾ---

|| ನೀ,,,, ಸ'ನಿಪಮಾ ರಿಗರಿ ಸರಿ |
ಭೂ--- ಮಿ- ನೀ ವೇ- ಲ-
ಸಾ,,,, ಮರಿಪಮ ನಿಪ ನಿನಿಮಪ ||
ಯು--- ಶ್ರೀ-ಗ- ರ್ಭ್ -ಪು-ರಿ-

|| ನಿಸ'ರಿ' ಗ'ಗ'ರಿ' ಸ'ರಿ' ನಿಸಾ'ನಿ ಪನಿಸ'ರಿ' |
ನೀ--- ವಾ---- ಸ-- ----- ಪ----
ಸ'ನೀ ಪದನಿ ಪಮ ರಿಗಾರಿ ನಿ.ಸರಿಮ ||
--ಶ್ರ್ ಪ--- -- ತೇ-- ಶ್ವ-ರ--


ಚಿಟ್ಟೆ ಸ್ವರ

|| ಪಾ ಪ ಮ ರಿ ರಿ ಗ ರಿ ರಿ ಸ ಸ ನಿ.ನಿ.ಪ.ನಿ.ನಿ. |
ಸಾ ಸ ನಿ.ನಿ.ಪ ನಿ.ಸ | ರಿ ಗ ರಿ ಸ ರಿ ಮ ಪ ನಿ ||
|| ಪ ಮ ನಿ ಪ ಸ'ನಿ ರಿ'ಸ'ಗ'ರಿ'ಸ'ನಿ ಪ ನಿ ಸ'ರಿ |
ಗ'ರೀ'ಸ'ನಿ ಪಾ ಮ | ರಿ ಗ ರಿ ಸ ರಿ ಮ ಪ ನಿ ||

ಚರಣ

|| ಸಾ',,,, ಸ'ನಿಪಪಮ ರಿಗರಿಸರಿ |
ಕಾ---- ಮಾ-ಕೋ- ಟ----
ಸಾ,,,, ನಿ.ಸರಿಗರಿಸ ರಿಮಪನಿ ||
ಸು್ಂ-- ದಾ-ರ--- ನ್ನೇ-ನ್ನೇಲು

|| ಸಾ' , , , , ರೀ' ನೀ ಪಾ ಮಾ |
ರೀ ಗಾ ರೀ ಸಾ ಸಾ ರೀ ಮಾ, ಪಾ ನಿ ||

|| ನೀ , , , , ಸ'ನಿ ಪ ಮ ರಿ ಗ ರಿ ಸ ನೀ. |
ನೀ. ಸ.ನಿ.ಪ.ಮ. ಪ.ನಿ.ಸ.ರಿ. ನಿ. ಸ ರಿ ಮ ಪ ನಿ ||

|| ಮಾ , , , , ಪ ನಿ ಮ ಪ ರಿ ಗ ರಿ ರಿ ಗ ರಿ |
ಸಾ , , , , ನಿ ಸ | ರಿ ಗ ರಿ ಸ ರಿ ಮ ಪ ನಿ ||
|| ಪ ನಿ ಸ' ರಿ' ಗ' ರಿ' ರಿ' ಗ' ರಿ' ರಿ' ಸ' ನಿ ಪ ನಿ ಸಾ' |
ರೀ' ನೀ ಪ ಮ ರಿ ಗ ರಿ ಸ ನಿ ಸ ರಿ ಮ ಪ ನಿ ||

|| ನೀ ಪ ಮ ರಿ ಗ ರಿ ಸ ನೀ. ಪ. ಮ. ಪ. ನಿ. ಸ ರಿ |
ನೀ. ಸ ರಿ ಗ ರಿ ರಿ ಸ | ನೀ. ಸ ರಿ ಮ ರಿ ಗ ರಿ ||
|| ನೀ. ಸ ರಿ ಪ ಮ ರಿ ಸ ನೀ. ಸ ರಿ ಮ ಪ ನಿ ಪ ||
ನಿ ಸ' ರಿ' ನಿ ಸ' ನಿ ಪ | ನೀ ಪ ಮ ರಿ ಮ ಪ ನಿ ||

|| ಸಾ' , , , , ಸ' ರಿ' ನಿ ಸ' ಪ ನಿ ಮ ಪ ರಿ ಗ |

ರಿ ರಿ ಗ ರಿ ಸಾ ನಿ. ಸ ರಿ ಗ ರಿ ಸ ರಿ ಮ ಪ ನಿ ||

ಸ ನೀ ಪ ದ ನಿ ಪ ಮ ರಿ ಗಾ ರಿ ಸ ರಿ ಸಾ |

ಸ ನೀ. ಪ. ನಿ. ನಿ. ಸ ರಿ ಸ ರಿ ಮ ರಿ ರಿ ಮ ಪ ನಿ ||

ಸ' ರಿ' ಗ' ನಿ ಸ' ರಿ' ಪ ನಿ ಸ' ಮ ಪ ನಿ ರಿ ಮ ಪ ಸ |

ರಿ ಮ ನಿ. ಸ ರಿ ಮ ಪ ನಿ ಸ' ರಿ' ಗ' ರಿ' ರಿ' ಸ' ಸ' ನಿ |

ರಿ' ನೀ ಸ' ಪ ನಿ ಮ ಪ ನಿ ಮಾ ಪ ರಿ ಗ ರಿ ಸ |

ರಿ ನೀ. ಸ ಪ. ನಿ ಸ ರಿ ನಿ. ಸ ರಿ ಸ ರಿ ಮ ಪ ನಿ ||

Predictions for Monzo

Now that the dust has settled over Fisi's move, here are some outrageous predictions about the race weekend at Monza.

1. Fisi will be out qualified by both Force Indias.
2. A Toyota will qualify on Pole. The same Toyota will finish outside the points.
3. Kimi will be seen eating gelato during Qualifying. 
4. During the some tv conference, Alonso will be seen trying to make Fisi look like he has rabbit ears by doing a 'V' with his hand.
5. Barrichello will win the race.

Any takers?

Now its interesting

So.... There are cracks in the FOTA wall. Mad max and his whipping coterie must be laughing. No test for Schumacher! 

Ya! 

I for one applaud this. Schumacher was a great driver and in my view will win atleast 1 if not 2 races this year. However, Haug comment that by letting Schumacher test is the sporting thing to do, is pure rubbish. If anything, Schumacher went very near the edge of what is sporting and what is not. There were times that he did cross that line. Even his most ardent fans will no doubt agree that he revelled in mindgames. Sporting gesture towards him. No way. 

What's in the rules are the rules. They apply to everyone.

Todi si magic

I spent nearly the whole day playing thodi raga on my violin. My back pains and my left index finger has a permanent groove! Time well spent, because I was struggling with raga. After 6 hours of practice, I can finally say, that I getting some bhava (or emotion)

Nobody ever said that Carnatic music was easy, but getting this raga right is really tough. I changed my finger technique a couple times today. The scale being

• Shadja (S)
• Shuddha Rishabha (R1)
• Sadharana Gandhara (G2)
• Shuddha Madhyama (M1)
• Panchama (P)
• Shuddha Dhaivatha (D1)
• Kaishiki Nishadha (N2)

I would normally play R1 and D1 with my index finger, G2 and N2 on my middle finger and M1 and the upper Octave S again with my index finger by drawing my hand up. However, the G2 and N2 were just not sounding right.

I tried to play G2 and N2 with my index finger itself, esp. when they are part of an ascending or descending note procession. Only when I needed to stop the procession at G2 or N2, I tried to use the middle finger.

So, a sequence like S'N2D2 would be played with just the index finger, or even a M1G2M1 would be with the index finger only, relying on my hand and wrist slides. But a sequence like PD1N2 would use 2 fingers. That of course assuming that the song's lyric goes as such.

The impact? Not so good for my neighbours because this bit of experimentation happened during the afternoon siesta but it did sound far better. Played it to my teacher and she agreed that the technique was now correct and what I was playing earlier didn't sound right.

I'm still a beginner but its getting interesting by the day. I wonder what my scary friend would say about this? Scary??

No pain, No gain, eh?

Nostradamus springs to a massive comeback

(sic).. LOL...

Now that Schumacher is confirmed to race as Massa's replacement, here's a list of things to look forward to and a list of predictions (pinch of salt).

I look forward to -

1. Seeing Schumacher and Kimi face off. Kimi was at his best when fighting Schumacher. I hope this will motivate him.
2. Hearing Schumacher pit to car during the race. Ferrari never allowed this while he was actively racing. This time, it will great if we get to hear what he has to say.
3. Seeing Monza and SPA. Will not miss any of the remaining races, but these will be special.

There are plenty of comparisions cropping up between Lance Amstrong's comeback and Schumacher temp'ing for Massa. Here's my thoughts.

1. Amstrong spent a year in preparation for this year's tour. Schumacher has 3 weeks.
2. Amstrong was mentally prepared when he made the decision and he made it for himself. Schumacher's decision seems to be on the spur of the moment.

Predictions

1. Schumacher will outqualify Kimi in Valencia
2. Renault will lose their appeal to race in Valencia. The reason given by FIA - we have a 7 year WDC. Who cares if a 2 time spanish champ cannot race?
3. He will win atleast 1 race this year.....
4. So will Kimi..
5. If he wins more that 2 races, he will sign up full time for 2010.
6. Renault and Toyota will follow BMW out next season, and so we will have Ferrari, McLaren racing three cars....The 3 drivers for 2010 ferrari will be Schumacher, Alonso and Kimi.
7. Schumacher will lapped.... at Spa.... in pouring rain..... by Adrian Sutil
8. DC will replace Nelson Piquet at Renault.
9. Ferrari will finish 3rd or higher in the constructors this year.
10. 2 guys of Indian Origin will come to blows over Schumacher's gamesmanship at the Singapore GP..

An argument

Recollecting that discussion I had with my 22 month old darling.

Dew - Give me Minnie (soft fluffy doll and Dew's favorite toy)

Me - No, Minnie is mine. 

Dew rushes over, snatches Minnie away and gives it a huge hug.

Me - Ok, then Dew is mine.

Dew - No, Dew is Mom's. 

Me - Noooooo, Dew is Dad's. (In a whinging tone)

Dew - Noooooo, Dew is Mom's. .... Mom's baby is Dew.

Me - Then what is Dad's?

Dew - Toys are Dad's. (In an authoritative, school principal type tone)

Me - Which ones?

Dew - Only the Lego blocks. (In a strict, and almost dismissive tone)

Now, re-read the whole post in Kannada and you will have the exact conversation that I had with the precious one. 

LOL. That made my day. 

What a relief

The family is back after their trip to London. Man! The young one has learnt a lot of new words in 10 days. In the afternoon she and I went down to get some stuff from the car. She quickly climbed into the passenger side and said - "Lets go for a round".

So, I took her to the supermarket nearby and told her we will get some sugar as we were out. We picked it up and went back towards home. As I turned into the driveway, she said, "Lets go for a little longer round". I told her that the drive was over and its now time to head home. 

Once we got home, she ran to Eva and proudly said, "We have got some Sugar". 

She's growing up really fast.