A Note before I forget - A letter

 

Rabdi 

Dear Advay,

It's been so long since I wrote to you.

You know what I feel like compiling all the letters I wrote to you.

Won't it be nice to read them again and again. And when you grow up and share stories about your weird mother you will have a record of the free life which I lived.

Since past two years we have developed a strange relationship. We have become used to of each other. In a different way we know the inner life we are living. You know now which songs make me write, which books make me smile and what I do stay away from negativity. We are a different family, We know when to stop or when are irritating each other. I think I will start with letters once I compile your great grandfather and grandfather book. Won't it be nice to go through those poems. Words can become a treasure for us if we use them wisely. Sadly most of them don't know how to use them.

While I write this you are attending your home based class. In one week you will have holidays and we will be seeing more of each other.

Keep reading,

Mummy 

be who you are a reminder for my son

dear advay
this post is about why its okay to eat in bed sometimes
yes sometimes i do this after i have finished all the morning chores carry my breakfast in a tray pick the book i am reading search for my favourite pillow and sit back and read and eat or watch something that's how i slow down or ignore the lists looking back its perfectly normal to drive away sometimes i know you do the same by locking yourself in bathroom very frequently specially during weekends to stay away from the noise and the things to do we list down for you
i love hw you balance your reading and studies
be who you are
love mummy
sharing pic of aloo tikiya chaat which i had when you were in school

aloo tikiya chaat 

and you were back - a letter

dear advay ,
this time it was different the wait was there but less of anxiety , I read a lot books after books and slept too so it was like holiday for my soul when you were away ,updates were sent but not too many in one pic I recognised you by your shoes in another by the colour of your shirt .only in one pic you were there smiling back as if telling us you are fine and we held that pic , the day you came back you showed us your hand which had a bandaid and the soles were ripped off from your shoes but you looked happy and you had stories to tell what else we needed
I will try to update this space more often
love
mummy

a soupy letter and other things for Advay

Dear advay
I know again it took me so many days to come here and write to you , what triggered this can be many things
- I am reading letters home by Sylvia Plath , I loved the way the book starts innocence of words excitement of new place its like listening to her yes words have that effect
- yesterday at bus stop you told me you had slight irritation in your throat and I told you why didn't you tell your father because being a doctor he can tell you better but your answer saddened me when you said he said its nothing and the way you said I could see it ,evening when your father was back I told him and he had look of guilt on his face the thing is dear son you are just like me direct , you don't keep anything but if you feel bad you never forget it.
- when you came back from school you had slight cold you asked me to cook soup I could understand why you asked last time when your father was sick I had cooked the same so maybe now you know if you are sick its soup but you are lucky I don't have such memory we would eat the same food cooked and there was no one to ask but lets not go there now just in case in future you have the craving to eat
It was mutton do pyaza which I had made soupy  sharing recipe below

Ingredient
Mutton pieces 4
Onion two chopped
Ginger one fourth chopped
Garlic six chopped
Salt as per taste
To temper
One tbsp mustard oil
Pinch of asafoetida
Cumin seeds one tap
Bay leaves two
Crushed red chilli one
To be added later
Coarsely pounded  cardamom one  black pepper six
Clove five and kebab chini
Pinch of turmeric and garam masala

Procedure
heat oil in non stick wok
Add tempering ingredients followed by
Chopped onion ginger and garlic
Let it brown once translucent
Add mutton pieces let it cook for 10 minutes
After that add powdered masala salt
Coarsely pounded whole spices
Stir nicely and one cup of water
Pressure cook for five to ten minutes
Serve warm with wholemeal bread ..

open letter to advay - heartfelt sorry

Dear Advay
I know its been a long time since I wrote to you here
This is heartfelt apology from your mother
I know how you must have felt when you must have seen other kids in coloured clothes yes its because of me I never checked the school mail most of the time school news is given by your father and just because he is travelling I forgot to check
So please forgive your mummy
I know this has never happened before I promise I will be checking the school mail daily
Happy children's day
Love
Mummy

the new you - open letter to advay 20

Dear Advay,
This letter will surprise you as you surprised me as you growing son..
Last few weeks you have become more responsible
You keep your bag ready night itself, keep the bottle in kitchen with a tumbler to fill it
And for your snack break you keep the carton of milk bag too night itself
Morning first thing you want to do is fill your bottle.
Then you ask me whether Tiffin is ready and as usual I tell you to get ready..
So yes this change of attitude of shocked me but later on noticing you everyday I realised why this happened..
You would be ready by 7:30 so you get 30 mins of time for yourself to read book
So your urgency doing things a night before that all made sense to me
And when I asked U ,,you just smiled]
You are just like me son chasing time I do the same daily
That's a different story,,
So yes I love how it happened and I love the new you,,
Love
Mummy..

the ptm which i already knew - open letter 19

Dear Advay,
I know its been quiet long since I wrote to you,,
this is about parents teacher meeting you were quiet calm & composed ad if we were going for a birthday party ,,& when we reached I was surprised to read in your folder yu want to become a cricket player and you told you simply wrote that ..so maybe you still don't know & its oky I leave it to you son otherthing your class teacher very calmly told me that you read books while she is giving instructions this was the reason I was not ready to send story books in school because I knew you would be reading in school,,,otherthin that you are not organised with your work you keep forgetting or don't plan maybe you dream son ,,this is again something which I knew,,
So we agreed mutually that no more books in school
You will be doing your work on your own which always I keep telling you but you feel it something
Abnormal..
So yes this is what this letter is about
Will catch You soon with other things
Love
Mummy

Lego Story - open letter for Advay 18

Dear Advay,
two months summer break is over we had a nice time writing some stories on Lego which I would later post in your lego blog, you would make treasure box with lego and ask me everytime to find the currency hidden there .This is how we spent the vacation with bit of travelling and some family time as your cousins were here but after few days you were not happy as just like me you missed your space and me time and some lone time to read books.

Now your school has started and I miss you son ya I know you are happy to be back in school and  I miss our lego story session and waiting for next holidays when we can have time to write more stories...
that's all son
rest in next letter
with lots of love
mummy

summer memories in lyon - open letter for advay letter 17

Dear Advay ,
Your school holidays have started while in my free time I weave words, paint ,read books ,blog and do so many other things you manage your time by playing with Lego ,reading books ,playing games & sometimes if your mood is good helping me with chores ,one good thing is this now you can reach freezer take out ice cubes .I really feel warm when you ask me every time whether I want cold water or not such small things make me happy .

.You are happy to be home love your own space and is dreamer  just like me .So son lets make awesome memories this summer ,will be writing about the summer went in the next few letters
Love
Mummy

open letter to Advay - your first trip /letter 16

Dear Advay ,
Its been so long since I wrote to you ya you can say I got busy with life and running around with so many things anyways this letter is about your first trip away from home .Initially you refused but later on you were ready after much consoling as there was no way you could opt out from this ya I was scared but when I saw the excitement in your eyes I was happy and when we went to drop you at school you just took hold of the bag and told us to go seeing you that strong bought tears to my eyes but no I didn't cry because I could see that you were happy ,We stood in one corner and saw you mingling with your friends ,excited happiness gleaming in your eyes, we stood watching you till the bus was there and you dragged your trolley along and then you went, house seemed empty without you there was no one to make noise it seemed as if time has stood still and then there was wait for You to come back ,,

,
When you came back the first thing which you asked me was I must have enjoyed in your absence I was taken aback it seem you had missed pizza ,French fries and gadgets and made to do lots of chores but you were back with different memories which was more important ad yes that you were back home what more do I need ?
ya missed you son
With lots of love
Mummy

How you enlightened me about speed dating - open letter for Advay 15

Dear Advay,
Wanted to write this letter long back but couldn't because since past few days life has been very busy you know this .

Today thought of putting down in words what was in my mind since long. This letter is about the day when you enlightened me about speed dating in the bus .Conversation started like this I asked you about your study log submission and you said that it was not done the normal way but by speed dating . On hearing this I was shocked then to bring back my composure you told me that its not that speed dating its a different one I was more shocked because I never imagined that you would know the meaning of dating maybe your teacher told you while explaining you tried to explain me but still I couldn't understand then I asked your classmates mom if she knew and the she told that its a term given to a different kind of presentation .Then you told me that's wnt you were trying to explain me .This was different experience for me so wanted to trap it in my memories so can read  this sweet letter again & again thanks for enlightening me with the term Speed Dating.
Wish you lots of happiness
MUMMY

sorry for weighing you down with my expectations - open letter 14 for Advay

Dear Advay ,
Last week I attended the class assembly in your school. One day before I had asked you whether you doing something or not and you told me its going to be a surprise .When the assembly started I saw you running around managing the stage ,helping your friends and moving chair and other things you were quiet involved in everything .I was amazed because at home if I ask you to help me just to make you a bit responsible your answer is very rare yes so yes I really felt good that at school you are a responsible boy . You know what I used to wonder why your teachers praise you so much whenever there's a parents teachers meet know after seeing your behaviour in school I know what they were trying to convey me .I feel maybe I am too hard on you maybe later you wont be the same and I should just let you be the kid which you are as your fathers says "you are just a kid." So sorry for putting the weight of my expectation on you this wont happen again ,

Sharing a pic of the books which you reading now & ya now I know from where you learn all such weird expressions ,keep reading son
Lots of love
Mummy

Finally the lego pic for Advay - open letter for Advay 13

Dear Advay ,
Few weeks back I was showing your father the pictures on Instagarm and telling him about the likes ,you were sitting there listening to our conversation suddenly you started crying on asking you told me that I have just put picture of croissant and coffee which  I got from outside taken a pic and posted on Instagram and got so many likes but when you made helicopter with Lego blocks at Mausis house  in India no one praised you .That day I had cooked Chicken biryani for dinner and you were so distraught that you were not letting me take place picture of it.That was lesson for me to not show off myb poem and pictures in front of you an that day I promised you that you will make something with Lego I will take picture of it and post it a.Today morning you asked me again that I had not taken pic of Lego toys ,today being Ram Navami I asked you to make lord Ram with Lego and you made so as promised sharing the pic with the letter.

Sorry Advay we all praised  you that day but you compared it with the likes on Instagram post .
Happy ramnavami
Love
Mummy
p.s.
Poem is written by me and the Lego toy made by Advay.

its never late to learn - open letter for Advay 12

Dear Advay ,
Even before we reached Lyon I had few things on my bucket list which I wanted to do and I am glad that I got the opportunity to do too. Before enrolling for the classes I had few inhibitions language was a problem because I was beginner in French still I went ahead and enrolled because I had the zeal to learn .I felt what if I am the oldest there am I too late to learn something at this phase of my life but when I went for the class and saw ladies aged seventy plus learning art I was amazed here I was feeling embarrassed to learn something new I was more shocked when I met teacher for the French class he must be seventy plus but the zeal with which he teaches is something which I never seen .You must be thinking why I am telling you this that's because whenever you feel like learning any thing new just go for it son as age has nothing to do with it its all in our mind as long as we are enjoying it .

So ya this lesson I learnt from life which I am passing to you because I know one day when you will read this you will now what I am trying to tell you ,have to learn a lot son time is flying wish had few more hours sigh that is another story.I spent one part of my life doing things which others told me to do but now want to do things which I love to do son .
Bise avec love
Mummy

you feel the pain too - open letter for Advay 11

Dear Advay ,

 

This letter is about the week we were back from India .I was feeling all blue and  glum and whenever I was showing marriage pics to my friends here I would see you peeping and seeing what pics I would be showing ,you would be curious and inquisitive hearing me tell the tales of shaadi and finally you would take phone From me and scroll down the pics and show them your cousin pics
 then I realised that you are having the same pain as me just like I am missing everyone back home you are missing your cousins too ,sorry Advay again I failed you maybe because I feel you are too young to miss anyone but no I was wrong .Just like I look forward to  for the India trip you are excited too and glum too after coming back .SO forgive me Advay for being so naïve and not understanding your pain .
Sharing the pic of you and your cousins for everyone
And a poem too which I wrote after coming back from India

Its peaceful serenity here

Yet I feel like sitting on empty throne

Stranded away from others

Missing the fun and galore.

I know will settle down soon

& the memories will stay with me

But till than they will be closing in

And making me believe this is what life is

So when I see shade of blue

Up above stretching till infinity

I know you too will be waiting

For the second sun

To warm your soul just like me .

With lots of love
mummy

on being Global Citizen - Letter 10 for Advay

Dear Advay,
Few weeks back you got your journal from school.I liked the way you had expressed yourself in  your class assignments but when I saw the GLOBAL CITIZEN passport in your folder I was awestruck because this was something really beautiful I wanted to read it again & again .I wish everyone could understand this simple thing that we all are GLOBAL CITIZEN

.There were some beautiful quotes there in the passport all meaning the same that we don't belong to a single country but to the whole world

.I know what I am trying to share is big for you maybe you will understand when you grow up.
That's all for now
Lots love
Mummy
Linking the post to
The Weekly Story Week 5 hosted by Colours Décor.
Take care and happy blogging.
.

A cup of morning coffee = potion for the day letter 9 for Advay

Dear Advay,
Few days back I had missed my morning cup of coffee as we had missed the alarm so we were late for school with not much time I had to leave home without coffee & when you asked me ,"Mummy what happened if you didn't drink coffee " I didn't had any words to explain that time but now this letter is for the question which you asked me that day by your words you meant its okay if you didn't drink coffee that's not a very big thing but for me it is ..

I put alarm for 5am every morning so that I can get up early to brew the coffee soak in the silence & start the day doing this awakens me in a positive way & I feel good & energetic. So while you & your father are speaking I am ready to face the day & world .Its not just on weekdays I love to do this on weekends too .For me this is happiness ,me time ,my potion for the day  and maybe for you its just a cup of coffee. So this is the answer of the question which you asked that day .One thing more maybe you can relate to the happiness which you get when you get up & start looking for books to read its the same kind of happiness or magic potion for mummy to be charged for the day & ya I write poems too sometime early morning that's another story which I will share with you another day ,..

With lots of coffee love
Mummy

Loved Januaryhow was it for you ?

Hello Friends,
How was January for you ?
For me it was fabulous finally after such a long time was able to blog continuously without any break didn't read much because I wrote a lot in my blog and on twitter .Wrote some poems too on this blog which can be read here
Started a new series on the blog letter for Advay my son which I am really loving writing  & maybe because now he can read its fun to see his expression when he is reading the letters.
.Have started following some daily prompts for short poems & verses on  twitter which I am loving doing Will be sharing the poems in the other blog soon .Started studying French again and the painting class is on so ya this month has been very productive for me &; a happy one too.
For the January post on AsanKhana check here
what about you guys ? How was the month for you ? were you able to follow your resolution ?
Do share with me in the comment section

sharing a precious moment of Ganesha Chaturthi 2014 pic taken at my Singapore home .
& ya that painting of Ganesha is done by me .
Awaiting your replies
notyet100

Its oky to dip paratha in curry -letter 8 for Advay

Dear Advay ,
Today when you were back from school you told me that you had not finished your meal on asking you told me that you felt sick while eating paratha with chickpea curry.I was speechless for a sec because yesterday you had the same chickpea curry for dinner .I had the same curry for lunch and it was perfect for me .So why this excuse .I met your classmates mom when I had gone to fetch you when I discussed this with her she told me its the same with her daughter .It seems you and your friends feel conscious to eat Indian food in school because other students get sandwich ,cookies or cake.In Singapore you used to take Indian food and I never heard that you felt sick while eating the same.Here when we go out you always want to to Indian Restaurent to eat and there you truly enjoy the food even at home too you will be licking your fingers and eating .I don.t blame you for what happened today maybe you felt ashamed tearing the paratha to dip in the curry while others happily munched their sandwich or cookie.I just want to tell you that you should never be ashamed about the way we eat or our food because that's our culture that's how we have grown up eating with our hands when it comes to Indian Food specially chapathi.I wont feel satiated unless I break the chapahi and dip it into the curry and eat.Maybe one day you will understand what I am trying to tell you and ya thanks for letting me know that you feel conscious while eating Indian food in school.Its a big fight for you .I do understand that,..
More later
With lots of love
Mummy
29/1/15
P.S.- next post I will be sharing the recipe for the curry chicken which you really liked for now just sharing the pic

dream on however silly dream is - letter for advay 7

Dear Advay ,
Yesterday when we left home for school you question was "mummy will it snow ?" I had seen the weather app before leaving home but I didn't want to upset you so I said "no I haven't seen ." Your next question was "Mummy but you see the app everyday ."Jittering with cold  I told you that I forgot to see.

When we reached school I could see tiny flakes white coloured falling down I was happy for you that finally you will get to see snow in Lyon .You were happy I could see that in your face ,you tried to catch one or two flakes and then slowly I ushered you inside the school gate ,

I want to share with you something in this letter Advay .I had imagined or you can say wanted to watch the snow flakes coming down while I sit somewhere in a cosy place enjoying the moment ,I  shared this dream of mine with your papa too and he just laughed you must be thinking why I am telling you this because I lived my dream the same day you were so  happy and excited.

.After dropping you in school I went with my friends with whom we have blogging session on Wednesday followed by coffee.On the way I could see snow everywhere on the tree, grass and on the roof. We decided to sit near a window

.Few minutes and I was seeing my dream .I could see snow flakes coming down .I thought about you and then got lost in the moment.

  

Ya this was my dream and my moment which I relished and ya I missed you. So I just want to tell you never stop dreaming as dreams do come true however silly they are .That Wednesday both of us

Saw our dream coming true and ya I was happy for you.

 That's all for now

With lots of love

 your dreamy mummy

21/1/15

Linking this letter to The Weekly Story Week 3 hosted by Colours Dékor

Wish you all great day ahead

Keep on dreaming and Blogging..