The Great Divide

KP (Known person) 1 (from chennai): so you moved to pune?

Me: Yes

KP 1: So, what do u eat? Do you get RICE there??

KP2 (also from chennai): So you moved to pune?

Me: Yes

KP2: Do you get SUN TV there?

Me: Yes, on local cable network itself..

KP2: oh, I thought u need DISH to view OUR channels...

Everyone knows we get all Indian items in foreign ( I mean USA only since the word foreign covers only the USA , not even Canada can be included )

I say this because a visit to any other country is as good as staying back in India itself! (in the eyes of ur relatives, neighbourhood and the local grocer and carpenter)

Unfortunately, our people fail to understand that within India, most of the time all groceries are available. So KP1 and KP2, I still live in my country and get fruits, vegetables n groceries in abundance and at almost the same rates as in Chennai.

My Hansa

We have a Hansa (Khichdi fame) in our house, only difference is our Hansa is fond of Hindi and here is why she is Hansa

me: Yeh kya hai (pointing out to the glass of milk)

Punch: Yeh Paal (milk) hai

me: Yeh kya hai (pointing out to the slide in the park)

Punch: Yeh sarkumaram (slide) hai

What a diplomatic way to hide the fact that you don't know what to say for milk n slide in Hindi..

Playing with words

I hereby confess that already Punch overpowers me with words at every possible chance..so, she does not take after me in this department too.

e.g.

1. I tell her patiently and lovingly that I am your friend, you must listen to me, I will get you your favourite things etc etc and she retorts back..yes amma, you are my friend, do not scold or hit me, then I will cry no, ok

2. Punch likes shortcuts such as peeing on the floor instead of going to the bathroom when she is engrossed in seeing TV. Inspite of many reminders, she just does not listen to me..but the smart girl she is, she gets up and puts the doormat over the pee area and then comes to me and says amma, get me another dress, this dress is wet and pretends to be deaf when i ask how did it get wet.

Any special tips for me to overpower her?

Want to feel Pampered?

Then come over to our house.. where you can get free service (namely trimming ur eyebrows and a hair cut)

yes, Punch is now in this business..

It all started with a visit to the beauty parlour for her haircut where she had a chance to see the above mentioned services being done while waiting for her turn.

Punch uses superior quality threads for threading i.e. the plastic thread from ur friendly utensil cleaner (brush).. I was subjected to this world class state of the art treatment..so be assured that she uses all hygienic equipments!

and our Mr (remember him) comes back late from work but feels rejuvenated after trimming his hair daily..first Punch uses imaginary spray on him ( with full audio support) and then proceeds with the hair cut and finally shows him the mirror ( and thank god not the main door).. and then the Mr is ordered in English (yes) " All the children, dance"..

So, when are you fixing an appointment? its all free so hurry up..

Ka Hua

This is Punch's first word in Hindi..

I wish it would have been Kya Hua..

and also she would have first asked me..

the lucky recipient of this question was her stuffed toy Doreman.

Now she also says Ye Lo ( take this)

I Had Already Told You..

I had already warned you about this here and here..

Yes, I have moved..

This time to Pune..

Punch is fine and started attending Play Group sessions since a month.

P.S: { Will you believe me if I tell you that a new building is being constructed (about 75% complete by now) about 2 houses away from my Chennai residence?}

Reporting from undisclosed location..

Why am I reporting from a secret location?

Because Punch spared no efforts to make my izzat ka falooda..

We took the biggest risk of taking a one week trip to 5 places in Karnataka/Andhra Pradesh alongwith Punch. Daily showdowns were an integral part of the trip. some izzat ka falooda moments were:

Punch refused to get down from the train..we travelled only through train and boarded 5 trains and each time she shouted and screamed and refused to get down

If you happened to see a screaming toddler at Bangalore's Total Mall and Forum (Whitefield) mall last week, it was Punch of course..she refused to come home from both malls, Total Mall witnessing more footfalls that day due to Punch's free tamasha of rolling on the ground and screaming and refusing to come out of the play area..upar se since it was raining, more people took shelter in the mall and got to see free tamasha

We were on the a 3 hour train journey to Hospet and Punch had skipped her afternoon nap, so it was tantrum time..she screamed and cried and jumped so much for so long that finally a co-passenger told me to console her somehow and make her quiet since it was causing disturbance to all others..this was my izzat ka falooda moment.. thank god myself and the Mr did not react otherwise and many many thanks that my father was not accompanying us! that's because had he joined us that day, we would have witnessed a murder in that compartment!! how can anyone dare to say this about his dearest grandchild..

The only good things being a peaceful and long pending pilgrimage (inspite of bad weather and high water levels in Tungabhadra river) and a visit to my birth place.

Recent Happenings

Punch, me and her grandpa went to buy a small silver plate at a jewellery shop. She was her usual naughty self and insisted on selecting the plate herself. She took one plate and asked the salesgirl "bill". The salesgirl asked her to give money. Immediately, Punch put her fingers inside grandpa's pocket and took out a 5 Rs coin and gave it to the salesgirl..This is how we shop at throwaway prices..

Punch is very fond of travelling in buses and trains and we do that often. She can clearly differentiate between the AC buses and non AC buses and insists on getting into an AC bus irrespective of whether the bus goes to our destination or not. She calls a train as Engine No 9

( from a rhyme of the same name) and does not want to get down from the train.

Mention Happy Birthday and Punch runs and gets her small chair and chota table and sits on the chair and asks for the cake for cutting it and singing the birthday song..We attended a birthday party where we saw a magic show and since then she keeps telling magic magic and simply swings her arms.