2 more days to go and Ocean City..Here we come!

I can hear....

the waves and the roar of the sea
the children's laughter as they run up and down

I can smell....

the fresh mist of morning air when I stand out in the deck
the nice aroma of food when all of us huddle in the kitchen- Who said Too many cooks spoil the broth!

I can...

feel the cold and soft sand on my feet and the hot sun blazing on my back
envision Arya's eyes lighting up when he sees his friends
the light tabla music in the background...
the childlike excitement when we we fought over a game of taboo
feel the ------------- trickling down my throat....and me feeling tough that I'm still steady.

And most of all

...the look on the men's faces when we gave them the slip.

2 more days to go and Ocean City..Here we come!

P.S So the women decided to walk out leaving the kids with the men - Steaming cup of coffee, a long walk on the beach - That sure was fun!

Reading...

One of my favorite subjects in school was English. One of the good things about being in a CBSE school was that we got to read some quality prose. Unlike Maths where I have to make an effort to keep my eyes open(especially after the thaiyir sadam lunch), I would look forward to those English periods.

Ruskin Bond comes to mind when thinking of short stories. I remember one story that touched me immensely - It was about a man who was begging on the streets since he lost his leg in some kind of natural disaster like a gas explosion or something. He is narrating how he was pushed by this other guy who in a bid to survive and get out fast, pulled him down. This man was left there to die and eventually was alive but without legs. He narrates the story to this rich guy when asking for money. The climax is beautiful - The man who pushed was the beggar and the rich man was the man left behind but who still managed to survive.

Then I remember the Last Leaf by O.Henry which was about a girl who is sick with pnuemonia. She counts the leaves of an ivy that crawls outside her window and proclaims to her friend that she will die when the ivy leaves fall down. The ivy leaves were falling down fast and is synonomous to her withering away. After this one storm she frantically looks out to see if there are any more leaves and there's still one. Days pass by and the leaf still stays there giving her hope. She gets better and when she looks closer, she notices that it is in fact a painted leaf. Her friend had told about her fancy to this old painter. This was his masterpiece and he succumbed to pneumonia dying to save her.

Then there were the nice greek mythology stories - Medusa, Pegasus, Pandora, Chimaera...

Nondetail which was pretty detail were good too - Jekyll and Hyde was pretty freaky, Oliver Twist, Robinson Crusoe were all good.

Non-School reading: Some favorites were Swiss family Robinson - I would wish we were shipwrecked in an island and we could survive just like the robinson family and live in a tree house.

I also absolutely adore the goblin-pixie- magical stories of Enid Blyton. I could very well curl up on the couch today with something to snack on and an Enid blyton book (Yeah right! A distant reality with the kids and a husband). Wishing Chair, Hop Skip and Jump, Mr.Meddle comes to mind.

Some heavy novels like Silas Marner, great expectations, Jane Eyre were good too.

I would be scared to sleep alone in the nights after reading Agatha Christie's Evil under the sunshine. Death on the Nile was the best - better than And then there were none.

Rant about not pursuing English in college:
If only we didn't have the taboo of being looked down upon by all the kazhla bolts, mamas and mamis, maybe our country would have people who work to pursue their passions and not have a bunch of useless average engineers.

Nostalgia - Part -2

"Muthalam illathatha idhu mudivum ellathathu
Rayil Sneham...Rayil Sneham"
Rayil Sneham:
I am sure anyone growing up in the 80's in Madras(I refuse to call it as Chennai) remember this classic. I absolutely love watching K Balachandar's movies/serials and this is one of the best. Its about a girl who is pregnant, goes to commit suicide, is stopped by a good samaritan who ends up living with her.



"Kutti ponnu yaar sollu, Amloo. Gettikari yaaru sollu - Amloo"
Amloo:
This was a kids serial where there was a robot. I think his name was Banjo - Refreshingly different. Of Course Baby Shalini's histrionics could be compared to Shivaji Ganesan's overacting.

Evala En Manivi:
This had idayam nalla ennai chithra and Sharath Babu(Trivia: Endrum padhinaaru Sharath Babu who can continue to act as the hero's friend for the past 30 yrs)
I vaguely remember her as walking out of the marriage and an airport scene where the husband thinks she will not come back and she is there.

Iravil Oru Pagal:
Revathi is blind and houses a convict.

En Iniya Iyanthira:
Classic Science Fiction from Sujatha. Very well picturized. Remember the robot dog, the big bananas and the GOD who is actually light and is a figment of imagination. Something in the lines of Matrix about the husband going away to another world and wife(Nila) rescuing him. Pretty IMPRESSIVE.

Silandhi Vallai- A common man does insurance fraud for money.

KB'S impressive serials like Kai azhavu manasu, premi etc.

I remember everyone in our family watching kai azhavu manasu with a hand-kerchief. A middle class dying mom gives away her kids for adoption only to realize she is cured. She goes in search of them some 20 yrs later and ends up leaving them in peace and adopting a kid herself.Prakash Raj and the poet Valee had impressive roles.KB's favorite Geetha was at her best.

Vanna Kolangal:
Hilarious. Great start to Sunday Mornings. Clean comedy. S.VE Shekar, Kutty Padmini.

Also, there was Tuesday drama, Wednesday Chithrahar, Friday (Oliyum Oliyum), Sat (Hindi Movie) and Sunday(Movie).

Impressive variety and any day better than the trash satellite channels dump these days. Plus all these serials were so refreshingly different and does not have any evil plotting MIL'S or DIL's.

Hindi/English:
Believe it or not coming from the anti-hindi state DD definitely helped me learn a little hindi. Now I converse in broken hindi in punjabi/guju parties and talk to my husband whenever I don't want the kids to understand.
My favorite hindi serials:
Yeh Jo hai Zindagi, Nukkad, Buniyaad, Hum Log, gul Gulshan...,Nupur


English: Giant Robot, Fairy Tale Theatre, Different Strokes, The invisible man, Didi's Comedy show.



Tanglish(Tamil+English):
Who can forget Junoon and its weird dubbed tamil version with no respect for passive/active voice. Infact it gave way to a new jargon- Junoon Tamil.

Swabhimaan, Shanti - The soap operas that I watched with a cup of tea when I am supposed to be studying in my study holidays in college.

Ram & Ria - English sitcom

Check this out - Very funny! I am sure all the NRI couples can relate to this.
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