Thanksgiving weekend in Puerto Rico

Amrita and I have more pics to add!

CLASSIC

Baba took this once in a lifetime photograph last night at a party. Some of you might be knowing B'mashi's classmate Biswajitmama in the pic.

This is what passed between B'mashi and me when I asked for permission to upload this here.

Debika/Chhotima: Can I seriously upload this pic on the blog?

B'mashi(IDG): Yes, with the story that I claim... this is the first such hug in my marriage, and it relates to Biswajit's presence.


FYI: B'mesho has decided that he will not talk to me anymore as for every great line of his, I say "This goes on the blog" :)

For All the Daddas and Diddis

He got himself stuck down the back of Vicky's chair... still think he's a genius, eh?

In the news: something I've worked on...

One of things I've worked on most closely during my 8 months or so working in the US House of Representatives, i.e. the lower chamber of our Congress, is the Trade and Globalization Assistance Act. This is the first piece of legislation I've worked on that has been approved by the House of Representatives.

This week, the New York Times wrote a very supportive editorial about this legislation. In general, the bill incentivizes modernizations to state unemployment insurance systems and expands a program that helps workers who lose their jobs due to trade (The bill is thoroughly explained in the Committee Report accompanying it. It's sumarized here, except for most of the tax provisions, which are summarized here.). However, the Office of Management and Budget, an extremely important part of the Executive Office of the President, has declared that "if this bill were presented to the President in its current form, the President’s senior advisors would recommend he veto the bill." Even before the bill is ever presented to the President, we must await a version of the bill from the Senate.

From Barapishi (Indrani)

Sometimes when you are angry with someone……

it helps to sit down & think about the problem.

Chhotomama/Kaku/Chhorda/Bapi!

Happy Diwali, Everybody!

We hope your Diwali/Kali Pujo is marked by happiness, much light and the presence of your loved ones.

The Bhablet is asleep right now, as he should be, given that it's nearly midnight, so here is a shot of the steps leading to our bedroom.


The wall on the right? He's in his cot on the other side of it. And were he awake, he'd give you his best, toothy grin and his special jumpy dance and wish you along with Vicky and I.

The Rise of India

Video from YouTube, link sent by Barapishi (Indrani/Khuku)

Blogging Guidelines

Ok, now that everybody has had a taste of what blogs can and cannot do, I think it’s time we all checked out some guidelines as well.

1. Before posting a photo, any photo, it is advisable to take the permission of the people who are in it or of the person who took it. If I’m posting photos from Moore Avenue in the ‘80s I’ll assume we all want to see them. Because the photos are old, so very few of us can be recognized by outsiders. But not everybody is comfortable with that, so please check. Anindyakaku I know has safety concerns and prefers not have his family pictured here. (Written about, yes, but not pictured.) If anybody else shares his discomfort please let us know so we do not inadvertently post photographs of yours.

My take on this: I’m comfortable with having photographs of me and my family online, because I’m very easy to find online anyway, blogs notwithstanding. You can find pics of mine elsewhere, and they have been around for a while and I haven’t found them to be a security threat yet. Perhaps as Rahul grows up I will change my stance but for now I’m fine with this.

2. Before posting a writeup/email/forward, it is better to take permission. Chhotima teases Anindyakaku and that is between them (and I think he deserves it) but in general, it is less likely to lead to misunderstandings if we only post that which we have been asked to post. If you receive a mail you would like to share with us all, please check with the sender.

3. I’ve said this earlier, but really, this space is for posting whatever you’d like to share. Whether you’re taking up a new job or joining a university or having a baby or finishing a jigsaw – if you think we’d like to hear about it, you’re probably right. (Ok, I’m a self-confessed nosy parker, really, but I’m sure the BBC, er, I mean Keka would also like to be in on it. Incidentally, have you ever considered how much a regularly updated blog could shave off your phone bills?) You can upload videos, music and photos; post links to sites you have enjoyed; write your own reviews of movies and books; discuss the odds of Chhotima cropping her hair in the next six months; wonder why Jimma spoils The Bhablet only in secret; and wait for Baba (Babuada’s) posting name to change. Like I said, it’s a free space out here.

Happy blogging!

Oh, and here’s a cheer to Chhordi (Amrita) and Chhotima for keeping this blog going, and a huge grin for Anindyakaku who seems to have taken the most active interest in posting. Good going, you all!

The London Branch...

...of the family tree.










These are about 6 months old so who knows how much the girls have changed!

Camouflage Confusion

If you didn't understand the biological camouflage in the butterfly picture sent by Baba (Anindya), check this out.

This was taken by a friend of mine at Belur Math. We were more interested in knowing why the tree is so called when our teachers pointed this little fellow out to us.

The Bhablet's Latest Show of Strength

You know how some babies have a tough time teething? They upset their tummies chewing rubbish, have fevers, dribble all over the place... but you know the kind of thing I mean. If you're a parent, you know only too well. And The Bhablet? He goes suicidal.

For the last three days I've suspected teeth in the offing. He is rather fond of biting me but he has stepped it up once more. Nothing escapes those six little pearly whites. He won't bite his teethers (of course -- I imagine that they are manufactured only to prove to despairing parents that it's not true that babies will bite everything) but the rest of the world and its contents are fair game. Speaking of game, I understand I'm a toothsome morsel. At least The Bhablet thinks so. Because he bites me way more often than he does his father. (Yes, V, he does.) And he's taken to drooling all over the place once more, so I suppose this will go on for a while now.

I can only assume that this madness is what made him do it. See, I went to watch this play last night. And while I was away The Bhablet went and pulled our tv on himself. For the first time ever I was grateful we have a tiny thing, a 12" Phillips Powervision, a nice, lightweight affair. The idiot boy pulled it off the table, which, luckily, was low, and fell himself, sideways, so that the tv only bumped him on his right knee. Which is still somewhat swollen and has three little cuts on it.

All day he (Rahul, not V) has been in a mad sort of mood. Doing one silly thing after another. Doing all the things he knows is expressly forbidden. While he was having his bath this morning he pulled out the bathtub plug. Since I had pretty much trained him out of even attempting it -- or so I thought -- I was caught unawares. If only he were a little bit older, I would certainly make him clean up the messes he makes! And the child insists, absolutely insists on galloping all over the house, despite being unable to put weight on one knee. So he dashes from room to room on two hands and a knee.

Yes, imagine it and feel my pain. Obviously, his own pain doesn't seem to bother him much so I've decided to focus on how it hurts me to see my disgustingly active little quadruped reduced to only three limbs. Do my feelings count for nothing in this house? A year ago, when the stars in my eyes dimmed (greatly aided by the sleepless nights) I got the feeling that either R or I would survive his childhood, not both. And now the feeling is becoming a positive belief.

When I came home yesterday, after the cuddling and the careful examination, when I found out that he had got off far easier than he deserved, I was ready to murder him. How dare he? Did I put up with eight months of agony, depression and public humiliation only so that he could go and throw tvs on himself? Is that why I massage and moisturise and bathe and soap and clean that little body? How dare he, is what I want to know. If anything needs to be done to him, especially any kind of hurt inflicted, I'll see to it and with pleasure, thank you very much. But nobody else better even try and by that I mean you, Rahul.

But I suppose that is what you get when you bear the child of a person who tore open his arm, smashed open his forehead and did other such interesting things in his childhood. And no, he didn't tell me all these stories before the marriage. I think I want my money back.

Meno's(Anindya) Bloggable stuff!

In course of the "important work" that I do for WHO and Govt of India (!!), I have to dine out at times in odd places like the Pune stud farm etc. All strictly as part of my "official work", mind you.

In such places I often come across species nobler than us, which I have tried to capture in the two attched photos.