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The Scorpios
Thursday, October 24, 2013
The Easiest Homework
Last week, I encountered the easiest homework possible for the kids.
To write about the brand name, slogan, target market, ingredients of a chocolate of their choice.
I was extremely thrilled getting this done and it was only belatedly I thought that what were jargons like target market, tagline etc doing in a kids' homework sheet?
Next what will they be learning?
Brand Equity? Something that took me awhile to fathom after all!
To write about the brand name, slogan, target market, ingredients of a chocolate of their choice.
I was extremely thrilled getting this done and it was only belatedly I thought that what were jargons like target market, tagline etc doing in a kids' homework sheet?
Next what will they be learning?
Brand Equity? Something that took me awhile to fathom after all!
Friday, October 11, 2013
Thank You
Thank You to all those who wrote to me and commented on my post. I felt extremely reassured that the injury could be in fact healed. People shared their experiences and recommended doctors to who I could go to and it all helped me a lot morally and emotionally.
In fact my neighbours also came all out and helped me with the school drop for Ojas while I was going to the clinic morning and evening.
They took care of Tejas when my MIL would go to school to pick Ojas up.
It broke my heart every time I saw him with a bandage on his eye, yet to his credit, he was very cooperative and never gave me grief on his condition.
Everyone including the cable wallah, milk man, driver, courier wallah, kids in the building asked after him but to my surprise, our neighbour who saw him with a bandage on his eye never asked me what happened to his eye. Such a callous attitude.
i was flooded with calls, whats app and BBM messages asking about Tejas and it gave me a lot of strength and support.
My colleagues, including my regional bosses who happened to be in town were also very solicitous.
We went for the vision test two days ago and the doctor has given an all clear for Tejas' eye.
However I still have to put the tear drops eye drop for him otherwise all is ok.
In fact my neighbours also came all out and helped me with the school drop for Ojas while I was going to the clinic morning and evening.
They took care of Tejas when my MIL would go to school to pick Ojas up.
It broke my heart every time I saw him with a bandage on his eye, yet to his credit, he was very cooperative and never gave me grief on his condition.
Everyone including the cable wallah, milk man, driver, courier wallah, kids in the building asked after him but to my surprise, our neighbour who saw him with a bandage on his eye never asked me what happened to his eye. Such a callous attitude.
i was flooded with calls, whats app and BBM messages asking about Tejas and it gave me a lot of strength and support.
My colleagues, including my regional bosses who happened to be in town were also very solicitous.
We went for the vision test two days ago and the doctor has given an all clear for Tejas' eye.
However I still have to put the tear drops eye drop for him otherwise all is ok.
Monday, October 07, 2013
High Five On Reaching the Age of Five- Sponsored Post
Gondappa is a triumphant person today.
His child has reached the age of five. This is the first child of his that managed to reach this age.
All thanks to Lifebuoy's hand washing program which included a focused initiative in the village of Thesgora to help children reach the age of five.
The initiative was also endorsed by lead actor Kajol who supported the campaign with her voice.
To celebrate his child's fifth birthday, Gondappa does a triumphant hand walk in his village thus symbolising that health and strength lies in our hands only.
The more we wash our hands, the healthier we are and therefore the emphasis on washing hands with Lifebuoy has been the key for the children of the village to cross the age of five, which had been very difficult so far because most of them got afflicted by diarrhoea which is entirely preventable just by keeping the hands clean.
Starting with Thesgora , Lifebuoy aims to reach out to other villages through a series of on-the-ground charity work, to help more children reach their fifth birthday and cross that threshold also.
15th October is Global Handwashing day.
Global Handwashing is endorsed by a wide array of governments, international institutions, civil society organizations, NGOs, private companies, and individuals all of whom believe that children are the best targets to this campaign because they are open and receptive to new ideas and would take them on enthusiastically.
The risk of diarrhoea is reduced by 42-47% just by washing hands.
Please visit the brand website for more information.
Post sponsored by Lifebuoy
Thursday, October 03, 2013
Nightmarish three days
Last Sunday, as Tejas was walking back from his cricket coaching, someone came and poked his finger into his left eye.
He never saw who it was and did not feel much until he came home.
One look at him and I knew something was wrong with him. He was rubbing his eye and looking very serious.
When I asked him, he sobbed that someone had poked his eye and it was hurting. He was not letting me touch his eyes and after the headache medicine I had taken that left me light headed and generally very pleased with the world, I did not suspect that anything would be wrong with the eye.
I gave him warm compresses using a towel soaked in hot water and even ordered a pizza for the kids.
Tejas somehow managed to eat a pizza and went immediately to sleep.
The next morning, he was howling with pain. I made him wash his eyes and hoped that he was feeling better but he insisted he was not ok. Even though the eye looked ok save for some redness. But it is very unlikely of him to cry so much. So I decided to take him to the eye doctor.
While waiting there, he bravely told me that he was feeling better but he could not go to school because he will not be able to write with his eye shut,
The doctor's assistant who is half doctor himself perhaps, gave him an eye drop which helped open up his eye that was progressively getting shut.
He then applied an orange florescent paper strip dye and showed me a green patch that was seen on his eyeball.
'Cornea damage' he pronounced. I have never heard any other two words that could terrorise me so badly.
It will heal he said and immediately sent me to see the doctor.
The doctor told me it was a serious injury and if it does not start healing by evening, we had to think of something else.
They applied a few more drops, antibiotics and some gel and shut his eye and patched him up.
The doctor prescribed Sporidex capsule to be eaten twice and combiflam painkiller, for the next three days.
Monday evening I again went to see the doctor and they put the dye again and saw that it was healing.
Tuesday morning it was better, just a dot on the cornea and by evening the dot had disappeared but a new patch had appeared, perhaps because he had rubbed the eye during the course of the day. So he had to patch him up again.
Wednesday morning the patch had cleared. And he was prescribed tear drops and vigamox every two hours and I need to take him to the doctor tomorrow morning to get an all clear.
The vision will be blurred for a few days because his pupil has been dilated by the multiple eye drops. And I need to review it in four to five days and get the eye test done.
I am so scared.
Pray for my baby please
Three mornings in a row, I have been waking up with a bleakness within me. While every visit pronounced progress, I am still scared. Perhaps I will never be able to relax about my baby's eye anymore.
He never saw who it was and did not feel much until he came home.
One look at him and I knew something was wrong with him. He was rubbing his eye and looking very serious.
When I asked him, he sobbed that someone had poked his eye and it was hurting. He was not letting me touch his eyes and after the headache medicine I had taken that left me light headed and generally very pleased with the world, I did not suspect that anything would be wrong with the eye.
I gave him warm compresses using a towel soaked in hot water and even ordered a pizza for the kids.
Tejas somehow managed to eat a pizza and went immediately to sleep.
The next morning, he was howling with pain. I made him wash his eyes and hoped that he was feeling better but he insisted he was not ok. Even though the eye looked ok save for some redness. But it is very unlikely of him to cry so much. So I decided to take him to the eye doctor.
While waiting there, he bravely told me that he was feeling better but he could not go to school because he will not be able to write with his eye shut,
The doctor's assistant who is half doctor himself perhaps, gave him an eye drop which helped open up his eye that was progressively getting shut.
He then applied an orange florescent paper strip dye and showed me a green patch that was seen on his eyeball.
'Cornea damage' he pronounced. I have never heard any other two words that could terrorise me so badly.
It will heal he said and immediately sent me to see the doctor.
The doctor told me it was a serious injury and if it does not start healing by evening, we had to think of something else.
They applied a few more drops, antibiotics and some gel and shut his eye and patched him up.
The doctor prescribed Sporidex capsule to be eaten twice and combiflam painkiller, for the next three days.
Monday evening I again went to see the doctor and they put the dye again and saw that it was healing.
Tuesday morning it was better, just a dot on the cornea and by evening the dot had disappeared but a new patch had appeared, perhaps because he had rubbed the eye during the course of the day. So he had to patch him up again.
Wednesday morning the patch had cleared. And he was prescribed tear drops and vigamox every two hours and I need to take him to the doctor tomorrow morning to get an all clear.
The vision will be blurred for a few days because his pupil has been dilated by the multiple eye drops. And I need to review it in four to five days and get the eye test done.
I am so scared.
Pray for my baby please
Three mornings in a row, I have been waking up with a bleakness within me. While every visit pronounced progress, I am still scared. Perhaps I will never be able to relax about my baby's eye anymore.
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
1, 2, 3 I Love Chennai
1, 2, 3 is a first of its kind counting book based on Chennai conceptualised by Rupa Jacob.
What does the word Chennai conjure?
The very long Marina beach?
Beautiful and complex architecture of South Indian Temples?
Dancing...Bharatnatyam to be precise!
Aromatic Degree Coffee served in its unique container!
Beatifully and intricately woven, brightly coloured Kanjeevaram Silk Sarees!
And all this and more will be found in this unique, one of a kind book by Rupa Jacob.
Each number is associated with one concept and has a colourful original photograph by Shaun d'Sa and therefore makes the number association for young children very strong, as we know that kids learn using photographic memory.
This counting picture book also teaches about the history of Chennai to curious kids.
There is a lovely 2 pager on the history of various Chennai monuments and specialities as depicted in the book.
And towards the end there is an activity that children would enjoy. A sticker fun activity that matches the picture to the number.
All in all it is a complete book that can be read aloud to children in a story session too especially because each page has a large scope of activity and story or word building session that can be done around it.
I can envision children talking about a day on the beach or the various ways one can enjoy a dosa or dancing a few simple Bharatnatyam steps thereby making it a complete all round activity session.
A note of interest on the author- Rupa Jacob is the co founder of The Science Factory, a science enrichment program for primary children, in Chennai.
Title- 1, 2, 3 I Love Chennai
Author- Rupa Jacob
Price- Rs 499
Publisher- Rupa Jacob
Photography- Shaun D'Sa www.whoamamadesign.com
Buy it at https://www.facebook.com/123ILoveChennai or at Pappadams
Age Group- 1-3 Years
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Our Bodies - Taking Care of the Private Parts
It should be the easiest thing in the world to talk to our children. About various things under the sun. Perhaps as parents, we are able to satisfactorily answer most of the questions that he children throw our way. But the most crucial and the most important aspect that a parent must cover for the children are the basics of our bodies. And parents postpone is as much as possible.
It is important to introduce children slowly and surely to the concept of safety and the basic differences between boys and girls. And it is important for parents to be matter of fact and direct about the entire process and perhaps that requires a good deal of preparation on the part of the parent to be ready to impart sex education without feeling shifty or embarrassed about it.
Also it is important to not make a big deal about it and make it a topic which can be spoken in as generic manner as perhaps asking the children about how was their day.
Has anyone touched your bum or tried to kiss you on the lips?
What shuld you do if you do not like someone touching you?
Whom should you tell?
Simple and straightforward.
Shruti Singhal's book Our Bodies is a well illustrated book about teaching children about their private parts and the fundamental difference between a girl's body and a boy's. It goes on to talk about good touches and bad touches and how they make the children feel. Whether it makes them feel uncomfortable, dirty or happy and loved.
It talks of saying Stop, No, I will tell the moment one feels uncomfortable.
The narrative leads the readers to understand that while some aspects of the bodies are same, their are some parts are different and it is important to know why and what purpose they serve.
I took the children through the book and I agree that some of the illustrations made me a shade bit uncomfortable and perhaps it could have been done in a better way. It was perhaps a new thing for the children too and perhaps we did a little growing up together while going through he book because with the second and third reading, after the initial discomfort was taken care of, it became easier. For it was the first time I was using a book to take them through this.
Title- Our Bodies Taking Care of The Private Parts
Author and Illustrator- Shruti Singhal
Age Group- 5 upwards
Publisher- XYZ Publications
Thursday, September 19, 2013
Ranganna The Elephant Who Loved Colours
He loves colours in all forms, colours of the rainbow, the colourful clothes laid out to dry on the dhobi ghat and the colorful flowers around him.
Two little girls often come to play with him and he is fascinated by their colourful clothes and also their pretty painted nails.
On a whim, he decided that he wished to apply nailpolish too and this seemed too strange for the little girls, however not impossible.
Did Ranganna get to apply nailpolish on his nails?
What colour did he choose among the array of pretty colours?
The book, true to its subject is a riot of colours. A small town diaspora complete with dhobi ghat, temple and the populace is recreated in the illustrations and the story.
Arthi in her unique style churns out this delightful and simple tale of colours and their vibrancy through the loving elephant Ranganna. The language is simple and lucid.
Kavita Singh Kale's illustrations are magical and well defined as usual.
The expressions are well captured from ecstasy of Ranganna upon seeing the delightful colours and shy yet covet looks when he spoke his heart's desire to get his toes painted.
I happened to read both the English and Hindi versions and found that the translation did not affect the flow of the story at all.
Title- Ranganna
Author- Arthi Anand Navaneeth
Illustrator- Kavita Singh Kale
Translated in Hindi by- Sushma Ahuja
Price- Rs 135
Publisher- Tulika
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Nuga Gama Back to Our roots
Nuga Gama or the big Banyan tree is symbolic of ancient knowledge and revelation and is like the hot seat of all activities in a village.
In the Cinnamon Grand hotel in Colombo, they have re created the traditional Sri Lankan village with all detailing of a village reproduced in the most authentic fashion. This includes a pond and a vegetable patch complete with a scarecrow, the traveler's resting place, the village dwelling with traditional implements and tools and thatched roof and a two century old enormous banyan tree under which there was a tender coconut stall.
As soon as you enter the village, there is a wicker gate and a narrow pathway lit up with fire torches and a traditional bullock cart on one side. The village also has a mock village shop with a banana bunch, jars of sweets, cup cakes on open trays, artifacts, brooms etc set up to create the authentic feel of a shop. There are pouches of detergents and shampoos hanging from the roof and one gets a feel of being part of a proper village.
The menu is traditional Sri Lankan fare and the same is served in clay utensils. The main course is accompanied by a range of sambals and chutneys and a traditional sri lankan village woman makes coconut rotis and string hoppers on the side. The desserts are authentic Sinhala and the servers dress up in traditional village style.
In the end, they served us yummy ginger tea with palm jaggery.
There was a music troupe that was performing enchanting music and included even popular Hindi numbers.
I asked for a leaflet on the village and was rewarded with a comprehensive one with the traditional names of all structures and the history about them.
The photographs, unfortunately were taken on my mobile camera and are not much to speak of.
In the Cinnamon Grand hotel in Colombo, they have re created the traditional Sri Lankan village with all detailing of a village reproduced in the most authentic fashion. This includes a pond and a vegetable patch complete with a scarecrow, the traveler's resting place, the village dwelling with traditional implements and tools and thatched roof and a two century old enormous banyan tree under which there was a tender coconut stall.
As soon as you enter the village, there is a wicker gate and a narrow pathway lit up with fire torches and a traditional bullock cart on one side. The village also has a mock village shop with a banana bunch, jars of sweets, cup cakes on open trays, artifacts, brooms etc set up to create the authentic feel of a shop. There are pouches of detergents and shampoos hanging from the roof and one gets a feel of being part of a proper village.
The menu is traditional Sri Lankan fare and the same is served in clay utensils. The main course is accompanied by a range of sambals and chutneys and a traditional sri lankan village woman makes coconut rotis and string hoppers on the side. The desserts are authentic Sinhala and the servers dress up in traditional village style.
In the end, they served us yummy ginger tea with palm jaggery.
There was a music troupe that was performing enchanting music and included even popular Hindi numbers.
I asked for a leaflet on the village and was rewarded with a comprehensive one with the traditional names of all structures and the history about them.
The photographs, unfortunately were taken on my mobile camera and are not much to speak of.
Sunday, September 15, 2013
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