Twenty- five Seven

The first time I saw you Wow Dinga, Ms Papaya & Po #WritingBravely

August 9, 2017
My dear Wow Dinga, Papaya and Po,

Today I would like to share some thoughts with you even though none of you can read a word . But I’m writing this while I can still remember what I felt the first time I saw you.

Wow Dinga you are my first grandchild. I was so excited about becoming a grandmother that I could hardly sleep the night before you were born.

You were born by elective C section and came out in just 10 minutes. Every one said you looked like your Abu but since I had never seen him crumpled and swaddled in green I can only remember that you looked like you.

The first time I saw you my heart just went thump.

I first saw you Ms Papaya when you were all of two months. You stared at me unblinkingly from your baby carrier as we met for the very first time . You had had a long flight from Korea but you looked fresh as a daisy.

The first time I saw you my heart went thump ,thump.

And you Little Po were the tiniest of all. In a hurry to come out when you were still small. I remember you all red and crinkly no bigger than the chicken I normally order for my Christmas Roast.

The first time I saw you my heart went thumpity, thumpity, thump

Each one of you evoked in me, a feeling of awe and wonder.

Were you really the babies of my babies?
- Would I be able to hold you?
- Will I be able to change your nappies and give you a bath?
- Will I be able to validate the trust and faith in me ?
- Will I have the answers to your million questions?
- Will I have the patience to deal with your tantrums and irrational behaviour?
As these questions crossed my mind I had only one desire to give you one huge big, squeeze, cuddle.

Lots and lots of love forever and ever and ever

‘I am taking part in The Write Tribe Festival of Words #6‘and this is my response to the prompt on

Day 5 (9 Aug/Wed) – Write a letter
A day in the life of Po #WTFOW #Writing Bravely

August 8, 2017

Little Po

Hello, my name is Po and my granny( Nani) calls me Little Po because I am the littlest of her grandchildren. I am actually only 5 weeks younger than my cousin Ms. Papaya and 3 1/2 years younger than my brother Wow Dinga. But since I am the littlest, she calls me Little Po.

I live in a house on top of a hill that is between the homes of my two grandmothers . My Dadi lives in a big house at the bottom of the hill and my Nani lives on another hill that is part of the same hill where I live. This is very important because I spend most of my days between these three houses.

Morning time

Most days when I get up, the rest of the house is asleep. But I like it when I see my mother and we get to spend a few minutes nuzzling before she runs after Wow Dinga who has to get ready for school before I do.

So it is up to Ash my baby sitter to wipe the sleep from my eyes and give me my breakfast. I actually don’t like milk so I don’t drink any. I don’t even like eggs so I normally just eat some toast and a slice of cheese.

This gives me enough energy to start playing the latest games that my brother has devised. These days we play Avengers but a few months ago it was dinosaurs. Most days, however, I like doing puzzle or playing with my cars.

Somehow or the other Ash manages to change my clothes and I am off to my Playgroup which is on the same hill. Some days my father drops me to school, some days my mother drops me to school and some days Ash drops me to school. But I manage to get to school by 9 am.

In School

We start the day in school with some activities that are meant to “develop fine motor skills” This actually means that we string beads, sort out toys or do some activity that makes us use our little fingers.

Then we do some painting work like stamping with sponge, rolling straws dipped in colour or other fun things. Teacher says this is to help us identify shapes and colours and ” develop our cognitive skills”. We also have to listen to stories.

The best part of the day is singing songs like my favourite “Wheels of the Bus”. I also like to sing this song whenever I am in the car with my family. Another favourite song is “Macchli Jal ki Rani Hai”.

In between all this activity we have a break for a snack. Some days the school gives us a snack but on some days I take something from home. I love the spicy Khakra and Chakli that Ash fills in my box.

After school

Ash comes to fetch me from school and I go down the hill to my grandma’s house where I have lunch with her and my grandpa and my brother and father. Most days we eat fish. On the days my mother is home, she comes to fetch me from school and we go to my own house where I eat lunch with my brother and my father as well.

At around 1 o’lock I am quite tired so Ash puts me down for a two hour nap.

When I get up around tea time, I am quite fresh to join my brother in the garden where we go down to play till sunset. I generally play on the swing and see saw but love whizzing around on my car that I inherited from Wow Dinga.

We come up just before sunset and are allowed to play in the bathroom while Ash and my mother give us a quick scrub down before dinner.

I am quite tired by then because this is a lot of hard work for a two year old boy. And I am ready to snuggle up to my mother while she reads both of us a bed time story.

[bctt tweet=”That’s quite a lot of stuff to do for a 2 year old isn’t it” username=”via unishta”]

‘I am taking part in The Write Tribe Festival of Words #6‘ and this is my response to the prompt on

Day 4 (8 Aug/Tue) – Feature a day in your life or someone else’s life
Mapping an unforgettable memory #Writing Bravely

August 7, 2017

‘I am taking part in The Write Tribe Festival of Words #6‘ and today’s prompt on Day 3 (7 Aug/Mon) – Feature a map and write about a place either real or virtual

brought back a host memories of a trip to Warsaw, Poland.

My fascination with maps and map reading began with Mrs. Karat in Class 8 who insisted we keep our pens down while she explained the fineties of heights, longitudes and latitudes and made us map out our own contour maps at the end of the lesson. While she charted our world in different kinds of maps – heat maps, political maps, physical maps and the like, I’ve loved deciphering maps . I also developed a passion for discovering cities through maps.

A street map of Central Warsaw.

My first ever exploration of a city with just a street map and my wits remains my most pleasant memory of a trip abroad.

I had tagged along with Hubby Dear who was visiting Warsaw on business. This was soon after the fall of communism and Eastern Europe was an exotic mystery yet to be explored. We were staying at Warsaw’s best hotel – the Victoria, a rather plain and stern looking building typical of the grey socialist era it was built in. But across from my bedroom, the first thing that fascinated me was the changing of the guard that took place hourly at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

This photo of Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (Grob Nieznanego Zolnierza) is courtesy of TripAdvisor

Since it was my first trip as an accompanying spouse, Hubby Dear was reluctant to send me off on my own so he organised a day trip. But my tour guide who was a professional bee keeper (moonlighting as a tour guide on the side) was more interested in finding about my exotic country and after a quick, whistle top tour left me with a deeper desire to explore more. So the next day, after Hubby Dear left for work, I went down to the concierge and asked for a map of the general layout.

I stepped out of the hotel, usure of what to expect. Poland was a grey, dark mystery with a fascinating historic past.

I can still remember that shock of wonderment when I cam upon a walled city of the Old Town that reminded me of the Grimm’s stories that I was brought up on I bought 3 water colours by one of the many artists in the square that still remind me of that wonderful trip.[bctt tweet=” I subsequently realised that this is a typical part of several European cities that preserve their culture in a toy town perfection. ” username=”via unishta”]

During one of my many forays into the side streets I came upon the home of Marie Curie which is now converted Museum honoring this woman of science whose discoveries changed the whole world!

(As an aside which I discovered while researching for photos for this post, I found out that Nov 17, 2017 marks the 150th anniversary of this path breaking scientist.)

Polish hearts

Apart from the Palace Square dominated by Zygmunt’s Column was the fascinating Basilica of St. John which was pulverised during World War 2. Now completely rebuilt, it has a part of a tank track embedded in its brick work to remind everyone of those dark days. And in a lower level crypt you will find the interred remains of a great Polish statesman, musician and composer Ignace Paderwski that finally found a resting place 53 years after his death in exile.

Another great Pole whose heart remained in Poland was the famous musician Frederic Chopin who lived in France for most of his life. Yet come summer time and his music fills the air of Lazienski Park especially in the summer where fans come to the romantic strains of Chopin and the fleeting sunshine.

AS you can see there are lots of interesting touristy things to do around including a visit to the old fashioned , old style, elegant Wedel which makes the most amazing biscuit cakes that I can vouch for. So what are you waiting for? Just book a ticket on the next flight to Warsaw?