My first trip to the Cinema

Last weekend I went for my first movie at a cinema. SPIDERMAN in 3D. I had a great time. One thing I don't understand is why 'the chetan' was not spiderman all the time....the times when he was not spiderman was quite boring and then I got a bit restless. Now I occasionally sit on my knees and hand as spiderman does and look all important. The 'valla' (web) that I spin on my amma when she gets out of control unfortunately doesn't seem to work.Guess she is an even bigger monster than that big 'palli' (lizard). 

How do you like my vacuum cleaner :-)?

Head shaking

Usually my amma picks me up from school and she always asks what I did in school that day. Some days I have nothing much to say and other days I would have an incident to report. Like when Shea did not give me her yellow bag. And I thought amma will be sympathetic when I told her that Shea did not give me her yellow bag even after I shook her head. For some reason she wanted me to demonstrate how I shook Shea’s head. When I showed her she went “Oh my God!” No idea why and she wasn’t very sympathetic either!?!

My first drama experience!

Went for a drama, "Afterlife of birds" with Amma, Vinu aunty, Musa Uncle and Jasine aunty. Since amma told me I could only whisper and not talk...I whispered on and off but sat quietly for most part. But when the balloon went flying up I couldn't hold back a shout of aiyo. I liked the shadows the best and the aunties fighting and the uncle who would comeup on the wall (projected on). I was the quietest then.

Later I ran all around Tagore Hall thus ensuring that my amma gets her exercise.

My amma's take on the marathon

They do a pretty lousy job of updating my blog and now amma is taking up my blog space for her own ramblings!!!

Vijay and I are very different….for me mathematics ends with the ten fingers on my hand (my toes act as reserve) while being a pure mathematician his maths doesn’t even have numbers. I am a believer while anything to do with God or prayer is alien for him. Vijay loves to watch movies which is intellectually stimulating with minimum dialog. I did rather watch movies that lets me sit back and not think, laugh, maybe cry and go "aww choo sweet". As he often quotes, “There are two types of people in this world, those who run and those who should”. Vijay belongs to the first category and my aching joints and back is testimony to my being in the second category.

Anyhow, I got lured into going with Vijay for the Mangalore half marathon…as a spectator of course. And as I stood by at half past six in the morning, among this huge crowd of amazingly fit people, I found reassurance among the organisers who gave me company in the ‘should run’ group. I tried my best to get the sleep out of my eyes and act excited for Vijay. I looked at him and it wasn’t excitement that I saw in his face but something close to the pious calm one sees in devotees as they enter a temple.

Before long the marathon started and the runners headed off leaving the rest of us to try and comprehend what makes people travel huge distance so that they can run in a strange land. I gave up trying to figure the puzzle when I realised that the only way to solve it would be to run. Instead, I took Ravi, my two and half year old, for a dip in the beach. Vijay had told me he expected to finish between one and half and two hours. About an hour later Ravi and I headed back to the start point (which was also the finish point) just in time to see the first of the runners crossing the finish line. Then on in a more or less constant stream the runners came back. Standing there watching them cross the finish line, I think I got the feel of what is meant by “The spirit of the marathon”.

Every runner was there to challenge himself and only himself. How the others ran didn’t matter….even when they are neck to neck at the finish (I am not talking about the world champions here). In fact, it should not matter. If you focus on others and in beating them, you are beaten. The competition was with yourself, on pushing yourself. You have a very personal goal to achieve. Unlike in a sprint where the most thrilling part is the finish, which comes all too soon, here it was the run. In the former it is more of physical strength, here it is the mental endurance. For a half marathon the average time would be something like two hours and for a full marathon, four hours. These are lengthy times and I can only imagine the fight between the urge to stop and the desire to go on that every runner may have had time and again.

Possibly as a marathoner reaches the finish line he is truly himself, no space for pretence. Everyone started off more or less similarly; the difference showed up at the finish. Some possibly ran the fasted towards the end having saved that last bout of energy for it, some found energy from others cheering and the sight of the huge timer and speeded up, others were shyly jubilant, still others obviously ecstatic, some surprised, a few could just about manage to walk across. As I watched Vijay head towards the finish, I felt this perceptive has truth. In his usual calm demeanour he steadily reached for the finish line, completely oblivious to us cheering him on, thoroughly enjoying each step. And the first words he said to me on the other side, “I was told they have arranged refreshments…where is it?”

https://picasaweb.google.com/108653502270997583759/Mangalore12Marathon?authkey=Gv1sRgCOiTn4X4puOaag

The four S

Its been a great few days ... full of the 4S - Sea, Sand, Sun and Sivasagar restaurant. My achan was running the Mangalore Half Marathon and my amma and I went along. Had a great time at the very child friendly Panampur Beach.

https://picasaweb.google.com/108653502270997583759/SeaSandAndSun?authkey=Gv1sRgCLPPgYOW6YikpAE

Wack, Wack, Wack

If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

Track suits are God’s gift to mankind…..

According to me, “Track suit itta veezhoolla…Veenallo, mutte' pottulla….Pottiyallo, Chora verulla”.

Given the fact that I run more than walk, I should be in a track suit always. But, my parents make such a fuss when I insist that I should be allowed to wear my track suit all the time. Furthermore, they are amused when I preach about the goodness of track suits to my chitta and cousins. On the new year day I advised my Chitta to go and get a pair of track suits for herself and she told me that she is taking my suggestion very seriously. I even preached about it in my day care today but I got the feeling that they had no idea what I was talking about. When my amma came to pick me up in the evening the aunty there asked her what this ‘ta chute’ is for which I was pinning away the whole of morning. I was shocked when my amma, after explaining what a ‘ta chute’ is, said that she will not be sending it to school. I am still in shock …..