A little nostalgia

Did you know Jurassic Park was released in 1993??? 25 years ago!!

Gosh, I should say, I feel old. But you know what, I actually don’t. I still remember sitting in my seat for Jurassic Park in iconic Eros theater exploring the independence of being allowed to go out for movies with my friends and no chaperone... well one chaperone!

I remember being scared, looking over my shoulders and rationalizing that this could really happen in the future! Dino's felt real, the movie felt real and the fright of the shaking Jello as the Dino walked... felt real. It made me read most of the Michael Chricton books at the time

And it's this nostalgia that makes me go back for-every-single-movie-installment over the past 25 years. Even though its not Steven Speilberg! My husband happily obliges every few years and this time around, we made it to the preview show, sitting in the front rows and enjoying the pop corn.

The movie had too many people and very few dino's. And the dino's that were there were shown locked up for the better part of the movie. There were lesser scary scenes and more empathy scenes towards the Dino. Of course the Dino's were bad, some good, some massive and some cute critters just because! But nostalgia makes me like the movie none the less!

As I sat in the theater on the preview night, I was again a little kid sitting in the theater, but this time with no chaperone.

I am awaiting the 2021 edition of the movie and I imagine, My little dino's holding their hand as they experience the Fright of the T-rex with me as their chaperone of course!

Half Yearly Report

School’s have ended, summer has almost started and kids have hit their ½ year mark, the grand parents pampering has begun… so as always… here you go.

Miss V, the decade old lady with the wisdom of a century old person and the sassisness of a 16 year old!!!

This past school year she switched schools. So though she is adjusting well academically, musically and sportingly.. it has taken time to adjust socially. She has a lot of friends around her new school, she laughs, she cannot get through the corridor without the hellos and good byes, but she misses the deep friendships. And that's where her wisdom kicks in, she knows it takes time. So the wise lady says... lets be patient!

She calls herself a "Ten-Ager" now and that's actually true. Times she is a baby and will snuggle and cozy up and deep meaningful conversations and then there are times she gets all sassy and unreasonable and says "shut up" and gets mean. The dichotomy!

At times she will sit with her little sister and help her with math and challenge her to speak backwards and contrastingly, they will fight over "which lollipop is more pink!"

Miss V a list maker, a planner and her toughest critique. Being your own critique makes very driven- she will keep at it until it’s done! She will also get equally frustrated at times in the process. She is now realizing that the world is not black and white and hates that!

With the world cup now on, there is only ONE discussion for my budding Soccer Superstar!

The Conquerer

Little Lady:

I wonder how I put this nick name for her, she is true for it- Little Lady. She is a charmer, a pleaser, head strong and amazingly caring personality. Her empathy often leaves me dumbfounded and awe stricken.

Her latest obsession is with hair- my hair specifically. She will patiently braid my hair, play with them, and comb them. On a school day, she demands different hair styles for school and has gotten "better" at eating vegetables since I told her- it’s good for the hair. But to be clear, she still is a VERY slow eater.

Can I brag a little? She has started reading Harry Potter- I am not sure she comprehends it all, but has started reading it with ease now! She was Dorothy in her school production of "Wizard of Oz". From the shy kid to her commanding the stage is so amazing.

Oh man, remember head strong, oh well, she is a cute head strong. She knows exactly what she wants and will bat her eyelids, throw in an extra hug and get her way and you won't know what hit you! Ohh- and she can bike now WITHOUT Training wheels

Little Lady

Summer is here now in Chicago and we have sort of compressed them- We have hit the beach, plucked strawberries, drenched in crown fountain, biked Lake Shore, shared picnic in the park and even BBQ'd!

Half year mark has been wonderful and I am excited for the next 6 months of these little wonders until I start the Birthday Planning Cycles.

I heard at a comedy show recently: "The only person who you can love unconditionally is your children" and that is so true.... no matter how annoying, messy, clumsy these girls get. To me, they are MY perfect little ladies!

Chicago Summer

I fought the weather and Won!

It's middle of June in Chicago. We should be at the parks, chilling at the beaches, grilling, complaining its too sunny, drinking cool lemonades and really lathering the sun block on.

But no, here we are.... still complaining, wearing light jackets, being wet and being cold!

That's it, I've had enough. A few of us packed a picnic and decided last minute to go to a Strawberry farm close by on a rainy and cooler day! We messaged feverishly in early am, will it rain, will it be cold, will we survive... and then I said: "You know what, lets just go "

It was the perfect-berrilicious day!!!

We enjoyed the festival, admired beautiful flowers while snuggled in the sweaters, picked gorgeous strawberries under the umbrella.

At the festival, we challenged each other on the obstacle course, raced on the kiddie bikes, played soccer and got our asses kicked by the kiddos and then icing on cake: We played, Lagori or Pitthu or Sitolia or a game which we grew up playing in India in the building compound. We re-lived our childhood memories and passed on the love of this game to the next 'ABCD' generation.
Of course, my team won.

But that's not the point! Point is, the weather didn't relent and neither did we. We got wet, muddy, slushy and we had a blast! The tired and content smiles by the end of the day was the victory against the weather!





I am now using the 10 pounds of hand picked strawberries for new concoctions...
Strawberry Smoothie, A strawberry crumble!

When life gives you rain, you take an umbrella and skip in the water!!!

Bollywood: Cacophony or Harmony?

I am confused by the two movies released this year which are polar opposites in content, in characters, in story, but somehow they both strike cord!

I am not here to say which one I like more, which one was hmm. It's my opinion and I can well "word" it here!

Movie One: Padmavat-i-: The story of valor and courage of Rajput Princess, married to a kind and an honorable king and being the object of affection of a malevolent person! A story of grandeur, Love, sacrifice and above all honesty and grace! Opulent sets and a beautiful and powerful performance by all three stars!

A movie which caused a lot of controversy before its release!!

A movie I coudn't wait to see in the theaters with my mom.

And then

Movie 2: Veere Di Wedding: The story of 4 chicas gallivanting in uber modern clothes and pretty much confused in what they want in life, oblivious to what they have while riding in their Bentley's but for sure displaying the tumultuous relationships of girls! It’s a story of how they navigate through failed or failing or restoring love lives. As for the stars... one new kid left me amazed as the Dairy Queen, one left me quite impressed as the divorcee  giving the nosy Aunti-ji’s exactly what they deserved and then the for the rest I am going to stay quiet!

A movie which is causing some controversy after its release!

A movie I could not even imagine watching with my mom.

And that’s the cacophony, in today's day and age how does such opposite content survive? Are we are audience confused in what cinema is? 

For me, what drew me to the theater for both these movies is the following: 

Movie 1- the story and the clothes!!!

Movie 2- the lack of them both!!! (Yep, tongue in cheek!).

Here is the harmony of Bollywood for me: Polar opposite content but still female driven movies! Which is so inspiring.

I am not here to give a movie review, trust me. What I am here to say is- I am confused! I enjoyed them both in unique way’s and that what leaves me confused.

Imagine a movie to be a canvas painting: Each scene is a stroke of brush, unique and all adds to the final canvas! When you look at it from a distance, they both are appealing and the canvas is the director's representation of the story!!!

Kudos to these story tellers, these artists!

For us, the consumers... we see, we cherish, we critique and we move on to the next canvas.

But honestly, Bollywood continues to confuse me and I now await the next canvas!