Trains v/s Planes- A Dilemma with Kids

Over this weekend, I got to know what it feels like, to be a regular business traveller. Samhith and I spent the weekend at Chennai with my sister-in-law, Sandhya, attending a function at her place.  We went by train, leaving Bombay on friday evening, and returned by a night flight on Sunday, as Samhith had to attend school today (Monday). Whew! Were we tired! 

Of course, the trip was worth it, because we had a blast ! Shankar’s family was all there, as well as friends and relatives, many of whom we didn’t remember…The function, a puja to Lord Ayyappa, went off very well.We all enjoyed it. I esecially loved the decoration (ook out for photos ..I shall upload them soon….) Samhith enjoyed the bhajan, and even sang one song !

But this post is not about the function. This is about the journey……..

As I mentioned earlier, we went by train, and were lucky to get a good group of co-passengers, mostly 25 year-olds going back home after a conference in Bombay. Samhith made friends rather too fast, and thankfully, they diidnt resent it, and played with him, all through the journey, letting him listen to music on their mobiles, and showing him videos on their laptop… but even after all that, he was really tired and fed up with travelling, and wanted to get off the train… This, in spite of going in a Third AC Coach this time ! I have always enjoyed train journeys and want him to do the same, so I take along loads of books, and play some games with him almost all the time, but somehow he stil doesnt enjoy it. God alone knows how i can make him enjoy train travel a lot more…..

While returing by air, he was quite happy……..after all, it is only  a couple of hours……   and he asked me why we hadnt flown to Chennai too…. I tried to explain  that we travel by air only when it is necessary, and that train travel itself is part of the holiday we are taking, but I dont think he was convinced…… Anyway, now he feels that it is perfectly possible to go to Chennai for the weekend, and asks me why we can’t do it every weekend….

Explaining  financial constraints to children is never easy, but important, and a task that I have to perform some time or the other.  But I still dont know how to g about it….. We shall be travelling again, by train , during our summer holiday, and am already planning out activities to do while we are sitting indoors for 12 to 24 hours at a stretch… Hope this time around, I have more luck, and actually succeed in making him look forward to a train journey………. 

All you young moms out there, Please do suggest some games or activities to keep  a 5 year old busy in trains…….

Incidentally, here is another thing I have noticed….. Samhith seems happier in the II Class compartment when we are travelling more than 20 hours in the train…. Maybe because he can look outside, buy things from the vendors who swarm around at every station, and in general interact with a lot more people, than he can in an AC coach.

Now, is this something I have imagined, or is is something you too face ? I ask this of  all of you, as my husband doent agree… He says that the II Class is too noisy and dirty, and there is to much dirt… Samhith can’t possibly enjoy it… He says I am imagining things, and now refuses to book in II Class, unless of course, nothing else is available.. Please do get back to me with your ideas………..

Fun At The Fair

Yesterday, after long time, we all went out together. Appa, Amma,(my in-laws) Shankar, Samhith and myself. The last time we all went out was to the circus, and this time it was to a Fair. We had been wanting to see this handloom fair,which comes every december to Bombay. They have good stuff , especially clothes, slippers, bangles, etc. at decent prices, and my son has quite a lot to keep him occupied -there are a number of rides, merry-go-rounds, etc. Last year we had returned disappointed, as Samhith was just showing an interest to ride in them, but the quality of the merry go rounds was awful Shankar was rather skeptical about going there this year, but he gave in to our demands, and finally joined us.. And I must appreciate that. He had participated in the Mumbai Marathon- the 21 Kms Half Marathon, just that morning, but he stil came, just to please Samhith…. A good Dad, isn’t he?

Well, anyway, we were in for a pleasant surprise. The rides were excellent, brand new ones, and lots of them! Samhith enoyed himself.

And this year there was a bonus…. They had made a replica of the famous Amarnath Shrine ( For those in the dark, Amarnath is a cave in the himalayas where a natural Lingam is formed of ice every year, and is a popular pilgrim spot, to which thousands of people trek every year) They had made a path apearing to be a mountain path, with small temples dotting the path, going through water along the way, and finally a cave inside which a white lingam was kept. Not very original perhaps but interesting to the multitudes of Indians who yearn to make the Amarnath yatra, but are not able to make it for various reasons. We all enjoyed it, and hope to make it to the original shrine at least once in our lifetime.

We had lots of fun, ate lots and lots of junk food  while Samhith went from one ride to another. We had anticipated spending about an hour there, but ended up spending three, and returned home close to midnight. And whats more, I have already made plans to take my sister Kanthi there when she has a day off from her busy college life.

For now, you can see the photos I took there.. For more, wait and watch !!!

Getting Older…

I just read a post today, You know you are getting older when…   and it really struck a chord….. Especially the  one about renewing friendships on facebook, and then not being able to keep it up…… getting on with one’s own life…..how  true!! Just today, I met  an old friend online, after ages…… and we started chatting…About 5 years back when we were studying together, we would talk for hours on the phone, meet up at someone’s place and study together, but today, we spoke for harly a few minutes before he got a call and my son started demanding my attention… we had to both sign out. We  have promised to keep in touch, but then with the kind of hectic life that we have, i dont know when we are going to be able to talk………….

About books, thankfully I havent reached that stage yet…many of my friends still have threir comics stacked up carefully……………..of course no one has the time to read them…….

Personally, I still love to read Harry Potter, and given the chance, enjoy re-reading all the Enid Blyton books tooo…..but when I tell  anyone about reading these books, the look I get staggers me…..people ask me why i a reading books that my son will soon be reading…… it makes me feel so, so old……i have stopped telling anyone what i read these days…..   

 

 

 

A Trip to Karjat

This Sunday, we had been to Karjat, or rather , to a small village near Karjat , where my husband and father-in-law have been involved in Social Service activities. They go there every weekend without fail for some service activity or the other, but this was a family outing for the inauguration of a bridge that they have built. It was a small event which was to be attended by our family, a few invitees, and the local villagers.
Students from the local school were the first to arrive, dressed in their best, and full of excitement. They also put up a good show, singing bhajans to the best of their ability.
The villagers of course, turned out in full strength, which was expected, but the surprise was the arrival of the local politicians, most of them uninvited. It is amazing to see how well the local grapevine works, for all the politicos were there to see how someone had managed to, single handedly, and without their co-operation, built a bridge in that remote location. All of them, of course took the opportunity to air their views ( it is amusing to see how much a politician loves a microphone !) , and kept the kids waiting for food, sitting under the hot sun…….
To see photos of the event, click below…………….

 

karjat bridge inauguration

People who come into our lives

I read an interesting post today, People in our lives http://gtarman.wordpress.com/2007/12/16/87/ and it brought back lots of memories, about people who have stood by me, those who have made me what I am. I totally agree that we meet people because of a reason. God wants us to meet someone, so they can shape our life the way He wants….

I lost my father when I was four and a half, and every time I would think of him, I would burst into tears. It was only hen I was about 25 that I realised that maybe God took my father away from me so that I could be independent, because if he was alive, he would have pampered and cossetted me all my life. It was only this way that I, at last, reconciled myself to my loss……. 

I also missed having no siblings, a feeling I got over when I made friends with Ashvin, who stood by me the way I always imagined a brother would…..

When I remember these people, I cannot avoid mentioning my uncle, who has been a second father to me, in fact, more than a father, standing by me, and helping me out at every point in my life, one to whom I turn , the minute a problem arises……

Truly, God has a motive behind everything that happens to us. We cannot hope to understand the reason behind everything that happens to us, but we can try to make the most of it, and get the best we can , out of the people we meet..