Resurfacing....

I've been away from this space for a long time. Not really, have been lurking around my own blog on an on and off basis. So many things happening at a time - a cacophony of people, events and emotions - too much of all this made me retreat and watch from the side, stepping in to do my part when needed.... I also did not read or comment a whole lot of fellow blogs. Usual excuses - time, inertia, dying computer and a new one - internet speed.

August marked the beginning of the festive season. This was the first time for me to experience Gowri and Ganesha habba with all the works. The girls and me had a good time. The flowers, the sweets, the idols, the puja, the clothes, the festive air - it was a very enjoyable onslaught of colours, food, people, traditions....August was a time when I learnt a dear, cherished one is suffering from a chronic illness and I am praying for their good health and recovery. Also lost a dear relative to an unexpected and mis-diagonised disease. My heart goes out to their family, especially the kids, who've lost their mother at such a tender age.

I had joined a French course to regain my acquaintance with the language. It also felt nice to step out of the house. The course helped me build discipline to my life. I made friends for the first time in Bangalore, an experience I will cherish. We have also a whatsapp group, whatsay! To have someone with whom you can call and talk shop is such a great feeling right? I did not even realise the degree of my isolation until then. On a side note, perhaps subconsciously, most of my new friendships and acquaintances fall in the 'suspended judgement category'. It makes it that much easier, I think.
I also got acquainted with some areas of Bangalore, the workings of the buses, and the notorious auto drivers, etc. Why does this city not have a Mass Rapid Transport System planned much earlier - nobody seems to be able to answer this question.

One decision we've lucked out with is lil G's school. It is different from the other schools, and I am glad she goes here. Each kid is treated like a young adult, kids address their teachers with diminutives of their names, and for someone like lil G who was not used to even holding a pencil before, the school gives the right encouragement without too much pressure. They go for park visits every week and my city girl has observed and realised so many aspects of nature and daily life around us already.

Since knowledge sharing between the girls is a given, she comes back with tamarind leaves for her sister after every park visit. It is also amazing how learning and information sharing happens between 5-year olds. Lil G comes back with how someone taught her to perfectly jump-sit on the swing and propel herself forward. At other times, she tells me how S taught her to write a perfect 5, easy-peasy, lemon squeasy! With Big G having a school uniform now, my clothes battles are limited only to lil G. Some days she gets away with wearing frocks and it is difficult to hold back my smile when she comes back and says, "But everyone liked my frock, even the boys!"

A day before Dassara holidays, the kids were invited to a teacher's house to see the Gollu, girls were given haldi-kukmum and tambula.  Having said that, I am still at a loss to make her write or better still, write legibly. The school is only a pre-school so from next year, lil G will probably have to make do with a factory-like organised education system. Of course, my elder one, probably does not see her school in such light and nor did I experience them in my lifetime. There is always the human angle to it but on the whole, the school systems and administrations, and value for money make it a very commercial experience, nevertheless.

I still can't believe I have not watched a single movie in the theatre since coming here. Plan to rectify that soon. A small journey is in the works. Life is full, life is for living. Looking forward to a break from routine in the Dasara holidays. Wish you all a very auspicious Dassara! Leaving you with some pics from Ganesha festival.