Small Things#12 – Man Kid!!!

Last weekend, the kids were playing in a park close to baseball and soccer fields. And I was busy finishing some artwork on a nearby bench, when the little one came running towards me at full speed. Excitedly he pointed out towards a bunch of baseball players who had decided to hang out in the kids’ park. I saw my elder one as well as other younger kids stop and look at them with interest.

‘Mamma, look, do you see him? The MAN KID!!!

Man Kid?? It was then I realized he has never dealt with the likes of them before. He has always been with either kids or grown ups. They confused him, hence the words – Man Kid!

I smiled, looked at those dynamic boys and girls, bustling with energy and excitement with care a hoot attitude, and whispered to the little one – they are called teenagers!!!

Images courtesy Google

Small Things#10 – School Jokes

A fortnight back, my older one returned from school with his head full of jokes from a fun riddle book. And the great thing was he had memorized most of them. Here are a few from his mirthful joke telling session:-

Q. How do bees ride home from school?

A. Simple…school buzz!

Q. What did the sloppy student put on his homework?

A. Eeks…Peanut butter and jelly.

Q. Why did the student put a flashlight in his lunch?

A. Because it was a light lunch!

Q. Why was 6 afraid of 7?

A. Because 7 ate(8) 9.

Q. What is a light year?

A. A year with really little homework!

Q. What do you call a vampire with sunglasses?

A. Vamglasses.

Undaunted by his brother’s volley of jokes, my little one made up a few –

Q. Why were the strawberry shoes flying?

A. Because it had superpower!

Q. Why was a cow wearing underpants?A.Because it was an Underpants cow!

Well…ahem…quite a session it was! Lol.

Images courtesy Google

Small Things#7 – Here is why all Ladybugs are old!

A conversation with my son made me look at Ladybugs in a different light. Ladybugs are real old, mamma,” he said observing a Ladybug on a leaf in the patio. “Why, what made you think so?, I asked him curiously.

“There are two reasons,” he explained in his American accent. “First, beee…cuz their name starts with Lady. And aren’t all ‘Ladies’ suppose to be old…? And second, look…how slowly they crawl! Really slow…!” He imitated the cute Ladybug.

All I could say while trying not to smile was – Good Observation!

Image courtesy Google

Small Things # 6 – The Recipe of Lemon9

When my husband returned from office, the little one jumped around him in excitement and shared – “Vava (that’s what he calls his dada or big bro) made something today.”

“I made lemonade!,” declared the older one.

“Great job,” said their father. “And what are you going to make?,” he asked the little one.

“Lemon9, because Vava made Lemon8,” he lisped confidently!

Any ideas on the recipe of Lemon9? LOL!

Images courtesy Google

The Chair and The Pose

I had seen a similar old photo of my now 100-year-old grandmother back in India. Apart from seeing my grandma as a young teenager what had baffled me was positioning of the chair. “Why is the chair turned the other way,” I had asked her. She laughed and said it was the style at the time, back in 1910s. 

The picture was shot for arranged marriage purpose and there was another photo of her younger sister with the same chair and in the same pose. Later, I saw plenty of such photos in an old trunk at my house. I noted another thing – no one smiled in old photos. 

Recently, I came across another such photo and I thought of doing a little research on the chair as props in old photos. This is what I unearthed.

1) The use of the chair was a means to facilitate, relax and prevent the sitter from moving.

2)  It was used at the very beginning of photography  when long exposures were necessary for a successful result. 

3) Perhaps the long exposure and staying still was the reason why people would get tired of smiling. So people rarely smiled from old photos.

4) Posing with a chair was widely used and imitated. It got ingrained in psyche of the people of the time and everyone preferred it because of convenience as well as dramatic effect.

To learn more read this great blog – here. And do share if you know more. As of now, my curiosity got satiated regarding the weird positioning of chairs during portrait photography back in the good old days. Here are some more old pictures of royalty, with of course, the chair!

Images courtesy Google

Small Thing#3 – Memories

I was on a cleaning spree, ruthlessly discarding whatever stuff had not been used since the past six months. I had a huge pile of things around me which others would have found useful. But a useless little plastic bag made me stop. 

Printed on it was the name of my beloved home town and my country (India)….thousands and thousands of miles from here! I tried to put it away but just couldn’t. Finally, I folded it neatly and put it safely in a drawer. 

Why, I still ask myself? Have you felt like this…lately?

Image: Google

Anecdote: Haldiram’s is Healthyram’s?

My five-year-old recently learnt about the difference between need and want foods. He was informed that milk, eggs and green leafy veggies are need while cake, chocolates etc are want.

But recently his one observation left me in splits. He asked me whether sweets like Rasgullas, Pedas and Barfis are healthy? I said, “No, sweets are want.”  He retorted in his American accent, “But sweets come from Healthy-ram’s, Right.” I couldn’t help laughing aloud!

Haldiram’s is an extremely popular sweets and snack brand in India. And it’s snack items are available in US too. We often buy Haldiram’s sweets so, my Kindergartener probably put two and two together and concluded that – Haldiram’s is Healthyram’s!

I guess the advertisers would adore the line!

Images courtesy Google

Anecdote – Lesson by my grandma!

My grandma is a grand old lady nearing a century. If you look at her, she may appear formidable in the beginning and then a ringing laughter would ensue, dismantling the image you had conjured up in your mind. The fact is, she is both formidable as well as light hearted. A unique, delightful combination!

Born and brought up in a royal family ( Kharsawan, Jharkhand), she has always had that regal bearing. She believes in maintaining distance from her kids, grand kids, great grand kids as well as recently added a great great grand kid. And we are all supposed to behave in her presence. We rise when she enters the room and remain respectful in her presence.

During my childhood years, we lived with her, so, we had the opportunity to observe her from the closest quarters. I discovered her lighter side later in life. Initially, I was apprehensive of her. She commanded and the household ran according to her. But as I grew up, I discovered the lighter, fun side of her personality. There have been many instances when she would have us in splits.

Here is one such incident. One of our cousins was going to meet a prospective bridegroom. In arranged marriages in India, girls and guys are introduced by their families, they meet up, chat and then a decision is taken unanimously. 

So, this cousin was both excited as well as scared before her first meeting. Our granny called her and said, “If you like this man, try to do little something to make him fall for you.”

We were seeing another aspect of our grandma. We all asked, “what?”. She immediately showed us how to woo a husband – “Look sideways at him and then look down… blush… look up again at him… look down and blush again. And then smile juuust a little.” We doubled up with laughter!

I don’t know whether my cousin looked sideways at the prospective groom or not but they ended up getting married!

(Sharing a picture of my grandparents)

I look up to my grand old lady because she always had the audacity to laugh at all challenges that came in her life. In her almost 100 years of life, she has seen many ups and downs. All her peers are long gone now, times have changed but she has remained strong.

I adore her because she is quite broad minded, child like and her booming laughter lightens the most serious of situations. A great devotee of Krishna, she follows what the playful God  says – to celebrate life as it is!

Long live my grandma!