Letter

Sometime last month, I had to be away from home for few days on business. Quite expectedly, Anirud was not very pleased with the idea. As I had to leave on an early morning, I left him a note beside his bed. I didn't expect a reply on return, but was very pleased to find one. Nothing of literary significance out here, but a lot on emotional value.

Drama School

Anirud has been going to a Drama School (Perform) since the beginning of 2011. The idea was not to get him trained as an artiste, but to help him get over his shyness and build up the confidence. We were not sure if Anirud would really like the place and had our own concerns on how he would gel in with other children, who might be at various different stages at the drama school. Contrary to our fears and concerns, he appeared very relaxed and every week when we went to pick him up, he appeared very very happy.

Over a thirteen week period, they rehearsed songs, dance etc over a theme to enact a 45 minute play on the final day of the term. Although he used to tell us about the dance movements, songs and dialogues, we were not sure about his exact nature of the role and what he was supposed to do. On the D-day, we were pleasantly surprised to see that this brat had a lead role in the drama and he was one among the two kids to have lots of dialogues. He had a great time being in the middle and delivering the dialogues in a clear, audible way. His dancing was not that great, but he seemed to enjoy every bit of what was happening there.

It is with heavy heart that we discontinued his enrolment at Perform for the following term.

Views, Opinions etc

On the other day, we were watching the IPL match between Chennai Super Kings and Kochi Tuskers Kerala. Normally he roots for CSK but on that particular day, Anirud told me right at the beginning that he liked both the teams and he will be happy irrespective of the team that wins. Eventually, when KTK triumphed he appeared pleased. I pulled him up for supporting Kochi Tuskers while he has nothing to do with Kerala and also that he was a CSK fan until few hours back. He gave a matter of fact reply - 'Appa, this is something I like. I will like or hate something as I wish. If I behave badly, you can correct me. But you should not tell me which team to like'. Ofcourse, he said that in a very polite tone than it appears when you read this, but the statement startled me.

I was quite shocked that he knew to think and speak to this way. On one hand, I am glad that he has an opinion, understands that it is his opinion and stands by it when countered without blindly following the crowd. I was also pleased that he conveyed the above in the most politest of the tone possible that it didn't give any room for thinking that he was being arrogant. On the other hand, I was shocked - which is massive understatement by the way. A six year old demanding that his views be respected for is something that I wasn't prepared to hear.

P.S: It is a different matter that Anirud has come back to CSK fold after seeing Tuskers out of the tournament.

SIXER

If someone asks Anirud 'How old are you?', they are most likely to see him raise both his hands and say 'SIXER' in cricketing parlance. As IPL coincided with his school term holidays, Anirud doesn't miss a single over and it does show in everything he does.

Happy Birthday Mr. Sixer. Here is a wishing that God bless you with enough strength to scale more heights. Six years have rolled by fast. Needless to say, every day has been a real treasure with you. Be the sweetie pie, as you have always been.

Karate Kid

More than three months back, we watched the movie 'The Karate Kid' (Jaden Smith, Jackie Chan; 2010). Never did we think that a movie will create such an impact in Anirud. It is a no-brainer that the movie pleased him that he started mocking the karate poses and till date at every opportunity he strikes a pose with a shrill 'oooh yaaah' cry. In the movie, Jackie Chan would ask Jaden Smith to drop and pick up his jacket several hundred times. Anirud would normally throw away his jacket on the sofa whenever he comes in. Right from the day after this movie, he always looks for a hanger and gets it to its place in the wardrobe.

Few months ago, Anirud was finding it a little difficult to manage certain little things at school. While he could treat the jokes and funny banter as they are, he was clueless about what or what not to say / do when the thin lines were breached despite the fact he knew that they were being breached. Being a kid with high self-esteem, it was very easy for us to spot that he was not exactly happy about what was going on. After due consultation with the school, we took some measures and things fell back in place reasonably soon. It was at this time, we happened to see 'Karate Kid'. I was pleasantly surprised that Anirud watched the movie with keen intent and picked up the right message. By any stretch of imagination, I wouldn't want Anirud to get physical about anythng - but what I mean is, he got the confidence to handle things on his own. When things are not alright, he just knows how to convey that appropriately and come out of it.

Months later, I gently touched upon the topic and enquired if everything is fine and he replied - "Don't worry appa. Everything is fine. If not, I will handle that and sort it out. I am just telling you so that you know".

Versatile Blogger Award

Anitha @ Anisnest seems to think that this blog is worthy of Versatile Blogger Award. Thanks very much Anitha. Much appreciated.

RULES

1. Thank the person who awarded you and link back to them in your post
2. Tell 7 random facts about yourself
3. Pass the award

7 random facts about Anirud:

1. Anirud started to walk when he was 10 months old, but for him to talk we had to wait until his second birthday.

2. As of now, Anirud sleeps for not less than 11 hours a day. When he falls short of that for any reason, he will make us regret for not giving that extra time.

3. Anirud strongly believes that he is really lucky to be in the school where he is studying now.

4. Some of Anirud's strong favourites are: Books, Books, more books.

5. In the recent times, Anirud has been banned from playing games in Daddy's mobile as they have become too addictive.

6. On a casual observation, Anirud will appear to be more of a talker than a listener. Just when you think so, he will swap roles and starts to focus / listen with amazing concentration.

7. The first movie that Anirud watched at the cinema was 'Sivaji' (Tamil) and the last one as of today was 'Despicable Me'. He does enjoys going to the movie with his mom, who takes him for a kid's movie every half term. Apart from the above, he has watched 'Thillu Mullu' and 'Maya Bazaar' innumerable times.

Passing on to all those who visits this site, which will be very few if I am right.

Humongous

During a casual conversation, Anirud told me that he was not scared of ordinary dogs, but only of bulldogs. When I asked him what he means by a bulldog, he replied 'the one that is humongous'. I was a bit taken aback by that word for which he explained 'Humongous means - very huge.. something that is bigger than enormous'. Unsure of the explanation, I looked up in the dictionary and voila.. he is right. I am glad that his learning is not confined to the teachings at home and that he is picking up words like these from other kids.

That aside, it was an interesting lesson for me and he wanted this information to be recorded in HIS blog - "it is my blog appa.. you are only an author, but the blog is mine".

Lessons Learnt

Me: என்ன பிள்ளை-டா நீ?
(What kind of boy are you?)

Anirud: I am a pillai (boy) whose dad is very naughty.

Long back I read somewhere - "If you ask silly questions to the kids, expect an equally silly answer". Serves me right for forgetting this.

Bed time chat & Buddy Bench

Just before going to bed every night, Anirud and I have a chat. What we talk during that time entirely depends on his mood and how early/late he is to the bed. Sometimes, it would be as simple as telling a story followed by a Q&A session. Sometimes, it would be about a TV programme that we just saw. I know that he normally looks forward to this time - as many of the days, he would carry the encyclopedia (a book that is as heavy as him and the one that he handles with awe) to the bed room, turn to some page in random and ask me questions on what he sees in that page as if I wrote that book. Among other things, we also update each other about the happenings during the day, what each other liked / disliked, any concerns etc.

Whenever we have a chat of this nature, it would be funny to see how he perceives things and what the kids think of themselves and their surroundings. Yesterday, he told me about a 'big problem' at school. He was playing some game with his friend, at the end of which they had an argument. He became sad after the argument that he sat on what is called as 'Buddy Bench' at the play ground. If someone sits on that bench, others will know that he/she is upset about something and offer comfort. Keeping up with the above tradition, few other boys enquired with him, got to know what was going on, called the other friend with whom Anirud had an argument and 'sorted out' the issue after which they continued playing together.

Yes... 'sorted out the issue' is the word he used. Two first graders arguing about some thing silly and that is what is called a 'big problem'. Couple of fifth graders brokering peace is termed as 'sorting out the issue', as if Israel - Palestine issue was resolved. If Anirud had any idea about the Nobel Peace Prize, I am sure he would have wanted it to be awarded to the boys who sorted out the big problem.

Tanglish

Ever heard the word 'kaaram-ness' (காரம்-ness ~ spiciness)? I loved that expression despite the fact that the situation in which Anirud used that word was hardly the one to enjoy such expressions.

Despite carefully combing for the presence of chillies, one of them found its way to the brat's plate and from there to his mouth. Even after gulping down glasses of water, he was jumping up and down claiming 'the kaaram-ness is still there in the tongue'. While we laugh at the discovery of such new words, it irritates him to no end as he thinks that we are laughing at his misery. :)

Queen's Language

'Anirud, just write over the grey letters in this book. Ok?'

'Appa, if you want me to do that, tell me to "trace it". It is not writing over. Tracing is the right word to use'.

Sleepover

A close friend of ours was leaving our place after staying with us for a couple of days during the Christmas break. Upon being asked if he would like to tag along with them, he didn't waste a second before answering 'Yes'. Thus happened the first sleepover for Anirud without us. Despite the fact that he had been to that friend's house several times and also that they are just an hour's drive from ours, we felt it odd and different that he was away.

On the other hand he was cool, enjoyed the stay very much and even looked forward to the next one. Perhaps, this is what one means by 'peththa manam piththu...'

India Visit

I had to make a short trip to India and for practical reasons I travelled alone. Anirud didn't like the idea when I was booking the ticket and I expected it to be a problem as we never discussed it afterwards. However, when I talked to him about that a week before I started, he seem to have reconciled with the fact that he won't be travelling with me. "Only five days Appa and you should be back", he said.

I was there for my father's sashtiabthapoorthi (60th year celebrations), which was termed by Anirud as "Sampath thaatha's birthday party". Althrough my stay in India, which incidentally got extended, I talked with Anirud over the phone and it appeared that I started missing him a lot more than the other way round. The sweetest thing was the way in which he used to describe every day affairs paying so much of attention to detail, as if I have never been here in UK. Among other things, I bought him a small carrom board - that he loves so much and a 3-D puzzle.

Dying

During a casual chat with Anirud about his school, friends and life in general, he said with a sort of worried tone "M said that her mom is dying appa. But her mom is coming to the school daily to pick up M. How could this happen?". For a moment, we thought that his friend's mom could have been seriously ill. But then, we know who that person is and more than that, know very well that she was not ill. Upon digging further, it seems that his friend M could have meant 'dyeing'. How easy it would have been, had she used the word 'colouring'? :)

Photos from the Deepavali Celebrations

First Newspaper

Yesterday, I got Anirud his first newspaper - First News (thats the name! :-). Ever since I got to know that there is a news paper for kids, I wanted to introduce him the habit of reading news paper. Very rarely we get to buy newspapers here in UK for most of the news filters its way through TV and internet.

As he has reached the stage of reading fluently and also since he regularly reads the headlines in BBC News website, I thought it is a good time and got a hardcopy version for him. When he saw the headline 'Murray floors Federer' (I wish it had been a positive news about Fedex, the King), I expected him to question about the word 'floors'. Rather he carried on reading and said 'appa, unnoda favourite federer thothu poitaan' (Your favourite Federer has lost!).

Carry on sonny. Lets keep this ritual (of reading newspapers) alive.

In God We Trust

As is Anirud's nature, if he gets interested in any topic he will go as deep as possible and keep pestering us with volley of questions. In the recent times, the subject of his interest is, as you guess it - GOD. Although my wife and I are strong believers, we have never bothered to explore the spiritual side of things. Whether it is rational or otherwise, our tryst with God has never been based on questions, at least so far. On the other day, our brat started firing this way.

A: Did God create everything in the world?
We: Yes

A: Did he create the buildings?
We: He created everything natural.

A: So, who created the buildings?
We: Men built them, but the skills to build them were given by God.

A: How about people? Did God create the people?
We: Yes

A: Then, why did he create some bad people?
We: He created good people.. but some of them become bad on growing up.

A: Ok. If God created everybody, who created God? Did he create him all by himself?

I think we should have rather stopped him right at the beginning.

Lettered Chapathis

At least on 7 out of 10 days, chapathis has been a lunch time success story for Anirud. If the side dish happens to be 'channa masala', we can confidently expect an empty lunch box. He always wanted them rolled up so that it is easier to hold and eat. Being the one very familiar with logos, Anirud is more fond of the 'X Factor' (a popular talent show in TV) logo. Ever since he saw X Factor last year, he wanted the chapathis to be placed like the letter X in his lunch box. Not a big deal and we obliged.

Thanks to the Common Wealth Games 2010 in Delhi, today he let go of the X factor and wanted his chapathis to be placed in the shape of letter 'I'. As that gives an outside chance of him consuming one more than usual, we obliged. Yes, 'I' stands for India.

While wondering what the next letter will be, I am glad that he hasn't got the idea to have those chapathis packed in the form of Tamil letters. If he gets that idea, we would ask him to go without lunch. :)

Endhiran

Watched 'Endhiran' with family and handful of friends. Anirud liked the robot antics very much. During the train fight scene, when it was flashing 'Battery Low' for the Robot, he started shouting 'aiyoh.. battery low.. enna pannuvaan' etc. During the second half of the movie as more violence unleashed, Anirud was clearly upset that he wanted to go home. Whether it is good or bad, he clearly hates any sort of violence in the movies. While he is able to appreciate the typical Tamil cinema stunt scenes, it hurts him a lot when the characters are cruel and the scenes gory. However, in case of Endhiran he was fine when he realised everything was well and Rajini - the hero was safe and unharmed.

Robot, as such has fascinated him a lot and he has been telling stories of the movie to his friends at school. When I dropped him at school one morning, there was a parent who asked me, 'Your son seems to have told my son over lunch time about an amazing(!!) Indian movie and he wants me to take him. Is it a Bollywood science fiction? Can you tell me the name of the movie, please?'.

Pinky Pink and Pink Beauty

Few weeks back I attended a training programme conducted by a company called 'Pink Elephant', after which I brought home couple of pink coloured, elephant shaped stress balls. I expected Anirud to throw them away, as he always considers anything pink as girlish. But to my surprise, he not only liked them immediately, but over a period of time got attached to them very emotionally. They have been named 'Pinky Pink' and 'Pink Beauty'. For the last few weeks, they are being treated as nothing short of fellow humans. Although one of them has now lost its tusk, they still remain Anirud's close associates.