Handling Criticisms

Despite the fact that Anirud comes out as a well-mannered, nice boy, there are certain things in him that needs changing. One such thing is his inability to accept criticisms, even if it is something very trivial. On the other day, we asked him to write the numbers 1 to 50 on a piece of paper. After a few minutes, he came back to us showing us the paper with all the numerals. Using the recommended way of giving feedback - we ticked all the numerals, scribbled a 'Very Good' or 'Excellent', praised him lavishly on his effort and then added, '.... but, the number five should have be written in a better way and not like the letter S. I am sure you can write it better. Can you try once and make these numbers perfect? Otherwise, you have done a fantastic job'. This is all we said and I am sure we said that in a very amicable tone.

However, Anirud could not handle this and started crying. As this is not the first time we have seen him react this way, we let him finish his round of crying and pretended to ignore him, which brought him back to us after a while. After 'Amma/Appa says these things for good' lecture followed by 'I will never cry again amma' ritual, it was all peace.

We got to know that the above is very common among toddlers. Every week, his football coach picks up three pupils for training well in that session. As you all know it, it works in the round-robin waythat every kid gets praised at regular intervals. Until the time Anirud got his first 'pat on the back', he used to come home in tears. Speaking to one another parent, I got to know that this was the case with quite a few of the kids. I believe that the kids will grow out of it naturally, as they grow older. In case, if any one has better way of handling this, we are all ears.

Politics

The first thing that Anirud asks upon woken up is 'What day is today?'. Today was no exception. When I told him that it is Thursday, he reacted with shock as if he just missed a flight. 'Appa, innikku election theriyumaa?' (Do you that today is the election day?). He is right. Today is the General Election day in UK. When the local body elections were held about a year ago, Anirud accompanied us to the polling booth. So, we had plans to take him to the booth this time as well and explain him about what was going on.

Beyond the word 'elections', I honestly didn't expect him to know anything more on the topic. We do talk about politics at home to a certain extent, but not all the time. So, expecting him to shrug his shoulders and say 'I dunno', I asked if he knew what elections are about. To my surprise, he said 'We have to select the prime minister of UK' and added 'David Cameron is the best man pa. So, I am (?!) going to vote for him'. He was particularly disappointed when I said that I am going to vote for someone else.

All through the morning, as we got on with our morning duties, it was election talk all the way. He was on the mode to persuade me to vote for David Cameron. The reason - he and his friends at school think that he is the best. I really don't know what these brats discuss at school. However much I was shocked at the discovery of his political knowledge, that came to my rescue as well. 'Anirud, if you don't eat your breakfast in the next 10 minutes, I will go & vote for Gordon Brown'. You should have seen the way the breakfast disappeared. Same for wearing the uniform and shoes. The threat of me voting for Brown was too much for him to take. Though I felt sorry for Brown, I really wish there is an election every day.

As politics is my favourite talking point, I asked him what else he knew about the elections.

'There is a Green Party and some other parties'.

'Okay, good. Do you know which party Gordon Brown belongs to?'

'appa, Gordon Brown is from Labour Party, right?'

'Yes, thats right. How about your favourite David Cameron?'

'George (his classmate) said that he is from Tony party. Apdi oru party irukaa?(Is there one such party?) It looks like a funny name.'

'It is not Tony, but Cameron belongs to TORY party. Do you know Nick Clegg?'

'Yes, I know'

'Which party does he belong?'

Shrugging his shoulders, he was like 'I dunno. May be a Birthday Party'.

Birthday Celebrations

As is the practice in this part of the world, irrespective of the day of the the birthday, it always gets celebrated on the weekend for the sake of convenience. Anirud's 5th Birthday was no exception and it was celebrated yesterday at an indoor soft play area with about a dozen of his friends. The brats had a gala time for about 1.5 hours climbing on the rope bridge, going on the swing and what not. It was a bit difficult to pull them away from the play area for cake cutting.


Long back when we were planning the party, Anirud wanted a 'Mickey Mouse' cake. Not an ordinary Mickey, but the one in a standing position. Bakers whom we talked to found that a bit challenging and he settled in for a pirate ship chocolate cake, which was very nicely made. One should have seen his face glow when the candles were lit up. The cake looked very impressive and he was very proud that he chose that one. He enjoyed catching up with his mates from the nursery that he went to earlier on and absolutely loved all the gifts he got that day.

Sleep Talk

At times, Anirud used to talk during his sleep. Sometimes it will be gibberish, sometimes very long sentences. We have even heard lines from stories and nursery rhymes few times. This morning it got intersting. This is what that came out of him.

Heyyyyyy, Here is IPL. Chennai Super Kings are winners.
Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Chennai Super Kings - IPL Winners.

Needless to say, MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina are his heroes now. Seems that Obama has been forgotten long ago.

Health Update

Anirud is doing better now. Thanks much to all your support, wishes and kind enquiries.

He started suffering from chicken pox from Tuesday last week and he suffered a lot especially on Friday, when he had the strong urge to scratch at the blisters and rashes. We used neem leaves to comfort him on those places where he wanted to scratch. Thanks to the airport closures due to volcanic ash, there weren't any more stock of neem leaves in the Tamil shops and the ones we had were just enough until today. We were giving plenty of fluids all through the week and he being the one fond of butter milk helped a lot. We consulted the doctor once in between, when he had rashes and blisters very close to his eyes. As the scratching temptation was at its peak that time, the doc recommended an anti-viral to be on the safer side.

Today, he had his first bath after the chicken-pox, after which he felt extremely tired and drained out (Thanks to my mom, this was expected and hence we didn't get unduly worried). It is visibly very disturbing, as he had quite a lot of rashes than we had imagined. Being confined to bed most of the time, IPL came to our rescue as he enjoyed most of the matches. As doctors advised very minimal physical contact with him due to the risk of blisters getting open, he couldn't even be given a warm hug when he turned five couple of days back.

The past 40 days has been one hell of a ride for him health-wise. May the ummaachi whom Anirud prays every day, please ensure that this be the last of his troubles.

One of the lighter moments recently...

Me: "Anirud, you are a Vegetarian, right? Then, how did you get chicken-pox? You should have only got Vegetable-pox, isn't it?"

A: "Don't be silly pa. It is not a food. It is a disease."

Happy 5th Birthday Anirud!

You are FIVE today and in your own words a 'medium-big boy' now. As always, we are really proud of you, little bugger.

Now, it is...

Chicken-pox. We do hope that the month long poor health run ends with this.

Music Concert

We went to the Carnatic music concert at Milton Keynes yesterday. As we were a little concerned that Anirud might feel bored during the concert, we went there mentally prepared to make a quick exit, should the situation demand. Thankfully to Anirud's credit, he behaved really well - not only sitting through the concert, but also enjoying it at times.

There was a Violin performance by Dr. Jyotsana Srikanth followed by vocalist Sanjay Subrahmanyam. Anirud probably thought each one is being given a turn to perform on the stage. The previous occasion when he has been to an auditorium was during the Diwali party last year, when he recited couple of nursery rhymes. He turned to me and asked 'Will it be my turn next appa? I am ready with my rhymes now'.

His next bouncer was when the main vocalist let the violinist to play for a while. Anirud went like, 'Why is this man not singing now? Has he forgotten the song?'.

Other than that, it appeared to us that he was happy listening at the concert. Encouraged by this, we have booked for the next one in few week's time.

Illness Month

Seems that the chest infection that Anirud had few weeks ago that led to his hospitalisation hasn't cleared off. He fell ill again - with cold, cough and was prescribed the next course of antibiotics. He responded well, but still having running nose. The past few weeks have been very tough on him and all we could do is to feel sorry for his plight. Thankfully, the school has been closed for two weeks on account of term holidays, so that he didn't have to take any more time off.

Quote

நான் சுறுப்பு சுறுப்பா இருக்க போறேன் (Naan suruppu suruppaa irukka poren) - meaning, I am going to be brisk.

Nothing great about this statement, but for the way Anirud pronounced the word 'சுறுசுறுப்பு' (surusuruppu ~ brisk). Thought that it must be noted down somewhere for a laugh at a future date and here it goes.

Sausage Sizzles

Today is the end of Winter term in Anirud's school. On the last day of every term and half-term, his school has got the custom of making sausages for lunch. They did it today and Anirud had his mouthful. Well, there will be left overs only on the lunch we prepare at home sweating out in the morning hurry. Everything else will be taken in happily. :)

Got another problem on hand. The school reopening is little more than two weeks agay and until them, he needs to be managed.

Cricket - CSK

We are playing indoor cricket at home (of course with plastic bat and ball). The batsman and the bowler will belong to opposing teams (obviously), despite the fact that each team has only one player. No matter which team others belong, Anirud's team will always be called 'Chennai Super Kings'.

Thank You!

The fact that Anirud hasn't been attending the school for the second consecutive week seems to be bothering his class mates over there. While they made a very nice 'Get Well' card for him, a teacher from the school called us up today telling us that Anirud's friends want to know how he is doing and when he'll return. Apart from that, quite a few parents (and few other friends in the neighbourhood) have been calling / texting us enquiring about his health and offers for help. It is very nice to know that we have so many people out there who care. Not sure how many will be reading this post, but for those who do, THANK YOU so much for your concern. We are really touched.

About Anirud's health, he is doing very well right now. He hasn't had any fever for the last three days. However, he needs rest for a few more days. He is likely to get back to school later this week.

Off from the school

Anirud hasn't been to school for the last one week. He had severe cold on Monday and Tuesday. From Tuesday evening, he had high temperature as well. While we thought it might be chicken-pox, doctors ruled out that one and wanted to observe him to find the cause of fever. So, he has been admitted to the hospital. Hospital as such is very nice and warm. Though he is having fever, he is well and active - reading books, playing with toys etc. We are hoping that he will be discharged from the hospital today.

While he was at the hospital, I went to the parent's evening at his school to have a one-to-one with his teacher. She said that his classmates missed him a lot during the past week. Seems that he has settled down well at this new school and making good impressions. There were some areas where we need to work with him to tap his full potential. Overall, I was more than pleased with the feedback she gave. As Anirud is fond of books, she gave me quite a few books for him to read while he is at the hospital, which was really nice of her. It is good to know that he is loved, liked and missed by quite a few. On that count, credit goes to Anirud. Thank you, Lord.

World of Sports

Not sure if this is for real. Anirud turned down my offer of switching to his favourite CBeebies channel. Instead, he chose to watch IPL cricket match. Though he hasn't watched cricket before, he likes Dhoni - for he has seen him in few adverts in India. So, Anirud's support is for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL.

Oh yeah... his new ambition in life is to become a footballer. hmm.. perhaps, the effect of attending footie sessions at school.

Oh Jesus!

Anirud's school had their new building inaugrated by a Bishop last week. The students and their parents were gathered in a hall when the Bishop walked-in in his traditional purple robe with a reasonably big metal cross hanging around his neck. The crowd fell silent for a moment and also since Bishop's attire was strikingly different from others, he was clearly noticeable.

At this time, Anirud pulled me and whispered in Tamil, 'அப்பா, யாருப்பா இந்த மேன்? இவரு தான் ஜீசஸ்-ஆ? ஜீசஸ் பெத்லேஹெம்-ல தானே இருப்பாரு. எதுக்காக எங்க ஸ்கூலுக்கு வந்திருக்காரு? இது ஜீசஸ் இல்லப்பா. அவர மாதிரியே, வேற யாரோ.' (Dad, who is this man? Is he Jesus? Jesus will be in Bethlehem, right? What is he doing in our school? No, this is not Jesus. He is some body who looks like Jesus.)

Lunch Strategy

Far from being a nice little chap who always emptied his lunchbox properly, Anirud hasn't been finishing his lunch at school these days. 'If I keep eating, I don't have time to go out and play pa' is what he tells. His teacher has said that every time he finishes his lunch properly at school, his team will get a point. A trick that aims at boosting the team spirit and also achieve individual goals. Not sure if that would cut ice with these brats. Need to work out a good strategy.

hmmmmmmm

One of the easiest ways to wind-up Anirud - not that we want to - is to answer 'hmmmm' for an affirmative answer, instead of saying an emphatic 'Yes'. He'll be even willing to accept a 'No', but 'hmmm' for some reason is a strict no-no. :)

Requests and Demands

As Anirud has got a habit of reading the headlines in BBC News website and also since he is in to reading every word that comes his way, most of the happenings around the world does not escape his attention. So, it is not a matter of surprise that he has some knowledge about the recent earthquakes in Chile and Haiti, poverty in Africa etc apart from what Barack Obama does to earn his daily bread.

As part of his morning ritual, Anirud prays to God - murmuring few slokams and later engages in a monologue placing requests and demands (more of the latter) that are typically like - he should study well, be a good boy, that he should get chocolate ice cream etc. These days, the focus of his demands are in a completely different league. It goes on like - 'all boys and girls, elders should get food in africa', 'there should not be any more earth quake in haiti and chile'. After these demands, the monologue gradually turns in to questioning and chiding. 'Thousands and thousands of homes and roads are broken in Chile. Do you know that? How will people cook food at home? Even restaurants are broken. Do you know that? Okay, no more earth quakes in Haiti and Chile, Do you understand?'.

We mind our tasks, pretending not to have heard this conversation.

Bend it like Beckham

On the first day at the football training camp that Anirud has joined recently, they played a match. In fact, they were playing two matches in the same ground. While the bigger brats knew what it is all about, the younger ones like Anirud were simply running behind the ball, irrespective of who was kicking it.

At the start of the match, Anirud was in 'Green' team playing against 'Red' team. At another corner of the same ground, there was a match between 'Blue' and 'Yellow'. Not sure when that happened, few minutes into the match, he was seen playing in the 'Yellow' vs 'Blue' match. Before the coach or anyone else in the team realised this, he suddenly came back to the original match and was playing for 'Green'. All he needed was a ball to chase and it doesn't matter where he played and for whom. Watching this for about 15 minutes, I simply lost count of the times he switched matches. Funniest thing was when his friend was insisting to his father that this was how 'foot ball' should be played. :)