It all started when I left him in Coimbatore with my parents and left to London for a couple of weeks. He spotted a cow then and used to spend time just watching it.. and ever since the obsession has grown deeper. At the end of our street, there is a vacant land with some huts where we usually find a few cows tied. Sometime back, he used to insist that we take him there so he can just stand and watch the cows. It took us ages to get him off the habit. However, even now, when we drive around in the car, his eyes are constantly searching for them.. and he keeps screaming.. “amma..anga paaru..black and white cow!” whenever he spots one.

So, it is not surprising that his latest pastime involves this divine animal. He is usually found in one of the house corners these days tying the string of a pull-along cart to a small cow toy. The cart was originally intended to carry an apple and be dragged along everywhere but Sid thought of putting it to better use. He calls it his bullock cart and drags it everywhere. On one occasion he was sitting on the cow and riding along! Yesterday, I found him feeding an orange to the cow. Poor hungry cow, he might have thought!

The epic love story between Sid and the cow continues..

Sometime back, I got a copy of the class photo they had taken and I could not stop laughing seeing my boy with his bag on his back gripping his water sipper tight. I, then, understood what the teachers were going through! I’m sure they decided to let him have his way rather than have him yelling and kicking his legs during the photo session.

The latest on the list is he asks for water when he goes to bed and sleeps holding his sipper. If I try to take it away from his hands, he gets really mad! Sometimes he wakes up in the middle of the night and looks for it and holds it tight.

Silly Sid – what are you actually thinking? Maybe you can share with me when you grow up!

Getting admission into a Bangalore school is a mentally draining process for the parents. There are plenty of schools here, but each one beats the other in cost. If they are relatively reasonable, they are not very close to my house. I had shortlisted only 3 schools from my neighborhood as I am not a big fan of long commutes for kids. Or actually for anyone, in any age! Of these 3, I figured, one school only admitted kids born between June-September (Go figure!). I could only mumble that had I known this a few years earlier, maybe I could have planned this better.

So that left me with 2 schools, one of them started issuing their applications in September, but there was no clarity in what the process is, the only thing that was communicated to confounded parents is that you’ll get a call if your child is selected, no email or notice board communication in this era of technology. Either you pick up the call, or you get lost. Which month could I be getting the call – no idea! It could be anytime in the next 4 months! So, eager parents need to clutch their cell phones fully charged up and ensure they do not visit any place where there is a chance one may not receive signal (read: lifts, basements, etc) Apparently they get around 1000 applications for 60 odd seats. All this for Nursery admissions for the next academic year. God, I want to return to simpler times!

So then, there was the final option. They are expensive as well, but one thing I liked about them is their meticulous approach to the admission process. On the day of application, they gave an interview date. On the day of the interview, they clearly mentioned that if selected we should receive a call in a couple of days (which we did incase you’re wondering!). So, atleast I didnt have to hold onto my cellphone for months together hoping for one call.

Sid is not very good with new places or strangers, his reaction is quite unpredictable, and so I dreaded the thought of an interview. Luckily, they allowed me to accompany him (heard they dont let the moms accompany for LKG admissions, yeah, because they mature drastically in a year, you see!) and once we got seated, there were a flurry of questions. There were a lot of objects placed on the table and the teacher asked him what they were, the colors, shapes, etc. Sid answered a few and chose to ignore a few. He was too excited about the new environment with lots of books and toys around and wanted to start playing with them. I was quite surprised that he didnt cry or refuse to sit and answered some questions. Quite sure, he knew the answers to most of those questions, but kids are moody and I just found it hard to digest that they are being evaluated this way.

I mean, what are they going to ask this small kid and then determine results based on that?! Why do we even need interviews for nursery admissions considering this is the starting point of education? There is a serious need for education reforms in the country, and NOW! The government needs to place a cap on the fees levied and ensure the process is fair. Maybe an RTI will help here! It was very disturbing to find out that the fees came close to what I paid for a year of my MBA. How are kids with lesser resources studying these days? Which schools are they going to? I always thought of education as the one thing that would empower the next generation and reduce the difference between the various classes. It is upsetting to see that as a country, we are not tackling education and health and both of these have become too expensive and out of reach for a majority of people. I am going along with the wave here and letting my son be a part of this process, but not sure of my options. I cannot put him in a government school, I want him to get good education, but I dont want to pay such obscene amount of money for it. And I want it to be fair for all kids.

I also find Sid throwing tantrums like he never did before, in that if he doesnt get something he asks for, before he even attempts to finish the sentence, he is wailing loud enough for the apartment to hear, or atleast for the aupair to turn up and ask what the hell happened. Just so unnerving.

Not been a big fan of parenting books, but thinking about getting one now to understand what is going on in the kid’s mind? Wonder if there has been some research on this.. And how to handle this? What do other moms do, I wonder..

We were thinking of a good place to visit over the Dusserah weekend and we picked Chikmagalur, the rains had stopped and the sun was starting to peep out, so seemed like a good time of the year to visit. It is a beautiful hill station sprawling with coffee estates and an ideal destination for trekkers. I don’t fancy the idea of a trek and let me clarify that Sid is NOT the reason, I am just not cut out for it! So, we were supposed to do a relaxed vacation just driving around the place, albeit, it turned out to be more hectic than anticipated.

Greeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen

On day 1, we started around 7am (Gone are the days when we could manage to start around 5am, and let me clarify Sid IS the reason!) and set off towards Chikmagalur. We decided to take a small deviation to Halebid and it was totally worth it – the hoysala architecture with its intricate carvings were very impressive and Sid couldn’t stop gushing over the ‘Nandi’ (cow/bull in any form is welcome!) There were no decent breakfast options enroute (no Kamat, since it’s not the Mysore route!) so we ate something in a small darshini type restaurant in Hassan. Then we drove towards the homestay and reached around 2pm.

The rooms in the homestay were very modest to say the least, but the food was incredible. We paid 3.5k per couple inclusive of food, so we expected more from the place, but we booked just 2 days before and could not get a better accommodation. I would not stay here the next time, but the place scored 5/5 on food, so kept us reasonably happy. After lunch, we drove to Mullyangiri peak and the place looked like a huge green blanket that was wrapped around the hills. It was such a pleasure to the eyes and I didn’t want to leave from there. It got dark pretty soon, so we had to move out. Enroute we stopped by a small lake which had a very filmi feel to it (my way of saying, romantic) but what with the kids, all we thought about was to keep them safe. The silence that prevails in the lake completely bowls you over.

Sunset at the lake

On the second day, after a sumptuous breakfast and checkout from the homestay, we went to Baba Budangiri peak. It’s visited by both Hindus and Muslims – there is a temple and a dargha, though we didn’t visit either. This is one of the most visually appealing drives ever and you’re constantly looking outside to ensure you’re not missing anything. We then went to Hebbe falls in Kemmanagundi and it appeared as nature’s best-kept secret. It’s kept hidden, what with having to take a jeep that breaks your hip for about 45 mins, and then followed by walking through a patch of three streams and some ruddy road, which definitely did not feel like an escalator. I’m such a lazy person and do not like to walk so much on vacations but my friends who had accompanied, inspired me to somehow do this! After I saw the falls however, all my tiredness was lifted and it is nature’s miracle that makes you feel lighter in mind and heart.

We got very delayed at the falls, left around 7pm and only stopped a bit to admire the sun setting, it literally vanished in 3 minutes! And we finally managed to reach home only at 1:30am!

Word of advice:
- Kemmanagundi has hardly any food options, so pack food for lunch and dinner! The infrastructure for food or rest rooms is very poor and I think it is because the place is not as frequented as other locations and that is also perhaps why the beauty is still intact.
- We did a 2 day trip, but if you want a more relaxed trip, spread it over 3 days.

At the top of Mullyangiri peak

Sid had a blast in this trip, a day before the trip I had talked to him about it and so he had gotten really excited…and it was very cute to hear him say the word “Chikmagalur” a million times. The day we started, he woke up and realized we were up earlier than usual and when I mentioned we are getting ready for the trip, he just got off the bed and was all set to leave! He has come a long way from the time he screamed to enter a new room and I could not be happier! Since he had company in another 1 year old, it was great for us parents to see their interaction. It also means we need to entertain them lesser than usual and also atleast one of the four is not tired at a point and can handle the kids.

Back to the grind, but the refreshment the trip provided is going to hold me for a while.. let’s say for another 3 months, atleast.

In his typical second person speaking style, he also adds a “..ah?” at the end implying I need to ask that.. .like the other day I was feeding him something and he goes.. “kaarama?” (Is it spicy?)
And one day while he was eating pasta he also commented “yummy!!” making my heart swell.
There there, my kiddo is growing up!

Just yesterday, he was going to jump from the sofa when I yelled a bit louder than usual to stop him from doing that.. he was taken aback by my sound and immediately said.. “bayandhu poittiya chidhu?” (Got scared?)
A proud sweet moment

Me: “Sidhu, appadi pannadhe..apram ammakku enna varum theriyuma? (Do you know what amma will react if you continue to do that?)
Sid: Kovam varum. (amma will get angry!)
Me: Apram amma enna pannuva? (What’ll amma do then?)
Sid: UUUUUUUhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhmmm kathuva! (She’ll yell aloud!)

Huh! Got me pretty quick, eh? Maybe, hubby has been giving some training in my absence!