The Annular Solar Eclipse

i was feeding chang the last bits of his shukto when deepa (the nanny transformed into the housekeeper) came running in to tell selvi (the nanny who was still a nanny) that she better remove the clothes from the balconies as it was about to rain. i did feel a sudden dip in temperature and the sky did look overcast. all of us fell to the task at hand aided by the little terrorist in tow.

that is when i realised the sky wasn't overcast at all. there was sunlight reflected on the walls of paramjeet's spectacular house opposite ours. but the colour was a strange orange. the sunlight had lost its rich hue and strength like the old colonel who stayed next door. it was eclipse time!

what followed was a kid's lesson on eclipse, which selvi understood better than chang. well, i tried you know, and they say it is all being absorbed by the 1 1/2 year old sponge and will come out of the dormant volcano some day.

the clothes were left alone and i tried getting the best view of the hidden sun from all our balconies after dumping chang in selvi's able hands. of course, i couldn't see it anywhere. so armed with orko's abandoned spectacles (will you believe me if i tell you i do not own a pair of sunglasses?) i rushed upstairs to mrs kapoor, our landlady's landing.

the sun was shining brightly between the leaves of the gulmohar and there was not a dot of black anywhere on it. disappointing eh? wish i was in kanyakumari. BUT, but, the birds and squirrels were unnaturally quiet. the chill prevailed and so did the orange light. and gomti (my maid, philosopher and guide) left the house instructing me to douse chang with water mixed with turmeric once the evil eclipse had left our sight.

The problem of not entrying a blog for two years is

you don't know where to begin. there's so much news from the past that has been hoarded like leftovers in your refrigerator. and if you begin with the beef stew, the shortcrust pastry will complain. anyway, i think to simplify matters, i will begin in medias res like the good old epics just so the pedants who follow my blog (some day, one day) will give it their nods.

so anyway, as i was saying, one morning i found myself sitting in the balcony of my new bangalore home in defence colony and mentally ticking the reasons which justify our relocation.

this is in random order, hence the #s are not numbered.

# a nice neighbourhood. of course, it helps that the neighbourhood has plenty of white houses with red tiles, manicured lawns and gorgeous gardens. so what if i can't see the faces that live inside those pretty houses yet.

# lots and lots of trees or as chang would say, "beeeg trees". and that is my next project, to find out the names of the trees around the house. ok let me see now, there are two coconut trees that are easy to identify, there's a jackfruit tree (and i know this only because you cannot ignore those lumpilicious fruits hanging out of every possible fork in the tree), a mango tree (ok i know this one when i see it), a banana tree (those leaves give it away and remind me of all the weddings in my family) and a beautiful rain tree which nests fetching "birdies' and "quirrels". i apologise for breaking into chang's lingo every now and then.

# the proximity of a veggie market, a fruit basket, a fish market, a delicatessen, plenty of bistros and restaurants and a few all-purpose-grocery stores besides the cornwallas, phuchkawallas, chaatwallas, and other streetfoodwallas that strew the bylanes. i can walk to all these places without giving my bad right heel any trouble and pram chang around when he has the time to get out of the "gur-dden".

# parks and "gurr-ddens". so yes, there is a park for 1-5 year olds just a skip away from the house which has become chang's regular haunt. methinks the park misses chang more than he misses it and sends telepathic signals to him during his afternoon nap. no wonder he wakes up crying, "GUR-DDEN!!" there is also this other park for 1-12 year olds which is nice for a change. i walk around its pebbled path clockwise, 2 rounds, while chang gathers leaves and plays in the mud.

# a tai-chi academy (stop your disclaimers all you cynics!), plenty of yoga and meditation centres, a homoeopathy clinic and a women's place called mother tree. more on this one later.

# a mini calcutta. this is no cr park, but it has some enterprising bengalis who are working hard towards converting the tamil and kannadiga palate to bengali food. there are roll shops and sweet mishti shops and a restaurant that has happily tied up with calcutta's bijoli grill. then there are the regular bengali food chains like 6 ballygunge place and oh calcutta. AND there is this one phuchka guy near mk retail on cmh road who makes authentic calcutta phuchkas, victoria chaats and jhalmuris. all this, just a walk and a pram mile away.

# balconies without grills. yes, we have balconies, 4 of them, and not one of them has grills. yes, it is dangerous for curious toddlers, but what the heck, we grew up in houses with balconies without grills! one needs to be cautious, keep an eye on the toddler when he's anywhere close to a balcony and teach by repetition how to safely use it. i think i'm so in love with these balconies that i'll dedicate one entire post to them.

# living on two floors. not that i am impressed by banisters and stairwells that rise like a  grand zamindar from both sides of your hall. BUT stairs that promise a study upstairs and allow me to say , "let me run downstairs to switch off the gas or the crockpot will burn" bring a smile on my face.

# opportunities for interesting alternative professions. no, i am not going to live my childhood dream of becoming a snake charmer or a fire eater. come to think of it, i haven't seen a circus anywhere close to our house. but yes, there are a variety of institutions close at hand that explore alternate methodologies of teaching/healing. there's a meditation centre that uses drama therapy and a kids' activity centre just waiting for my speech and drama classes for young 'uns. hell! if i am good at it, i can even usurp the post of my tai chi instructress. or....erm....open up a chocolate spa or an embryo room (more about this later) or tea house in a tree house. :-)

# opportunities for learning. i have already mentioned mother tree and the yoga and tai chi centres. did i tell you about these classes that teach you to communicate with animals, held twice a week at a convenient location about 6 roads before ours? heh.

# great coffee. powdered, granular, seeded, aromatic, frothy, watery. i likey!

# loads of carnatic music - to collect, to listen to at concerts, to learn (veena, vridangam or vocals?). and maybe, just maybe, nurture a mini mandolin srinivas in chang.

# own a reva. i know it's ugly and looks like a golf cart, but it's just my size!

# learning a new city. the roads, the lanes, the landmarks, the eateries, the post offices, the governor's house, the museums, the theatres, the aquariums. and the new weekend getaways.

 # because change is always good.

confession

this blog was supposed to be a handbook/manual/memoir of a mother through the early years of her motherhood, but this mother here was so overwhelmed by the experience that she forgot to add her two bits to the universe for nearly two years. so apologies, all.

but the keyboard being more persuasive than her mother, she found herself at the old site again one afternoon, after a really motivating chat with her 1 1/2 year old cub.

PS why am i writing in the third person?