Delhi Zoo!

Not sure if it came thru in the last message: Daadaji’s website is http://omprakash.in (visit!)

 

This trip has been really special – Daadaji is clearly enjoying his (as he puts it) twilight years, and loves having the boys around. He talks to and plays with Deven and Rohan, and giggles with delight (yes, that’s right – a 77-year old man giggles) when the boys do something silly, make noise, mess things up, or even break things – he smiles and says things like “What else are they to do? They’re boys.”...

 

Deven learned how to charm Daadaji quickly – and has daily gone into his room in the mornings, asking for “Choc-o-late” because Daadaji has a stash of chocolate and cookies in his room. Like any good grandparent, Daadaji happily obliged him, and the two have been thick as thieves since. Rohan, though he can’t speak yet, has figured the game out, and now goes to Daadaji for the same – and again, the smiles come on both sides of this little bad-for-the-belly-but-good-for-the-soul relationship.

 

Yesterday, we went to the zoo (the National Zoological Park) with Daadaji. I’d never been there, and Daadaji’s last visit was ~ 32 years ago, when Yogesh was ~ 7.  The boys loved it! It’s a large place, so we took a tram around to the major exhibits – quite a fun ride. I think Deven enjoyed the tram itself more than the animals, but all the boys (and girls – Pooja-didi and I both came along) had fun. While it, like everything in India, looks in bad need of maintenance (peeling paint, old/pocked roads & walkways, cages in desperate need of repair and animals in questionable state of health) – it made me realize that that sort of thing, while nice (and arguably important for the animals), is *completely* irrelevant to having fun with family.

 

 

Boys and Daadaji's Art

For those of you who don’t know, Daadaji is a prominent painter, based in Delhi. His website is http://omprakash.in and here’s the boys admiring one of his paintings.

 

He has many wonderful paintings, and I admit, on their behalf, I asked him to dedicate one painting to each of them!

 

 

 

Where are they?

[Photos coming when I can upload/download]

 

Where are all the beggars? And the cows? And the "RELAX" signs on the red-light stoplights? And the horrible roads? Ok, well those are still here - but a lot has changed since I was last in Delhi, and I daresay all the changes I've seen and are listing here, have been positive:

 

First - and I'm not kidding - I have only seen one (1!) beggar this ENTIRE trip. Daadaji said that the Delhi government has banned begging and perhaps they've been rounded up and/or driven out of town. I don't know the details, but I do know I appreciate not having them look at me with dollar-signs in their eyes every time they see the 'gora laerkii' (white woman) face & hair.

 

Second, I haven't seen a single cow on the streets. I have some funny memories of major freeways being clogged to a standstill because a bovine friend decided to take a break in the middle-left lanes...but those haven't been repeated this trip. I have seen elephants working along the side of massive overpasses being built, and dogs, camels, and monkeys galore - but the animal-kingdom hasn't been the cause of delays, the construction boom has.

 

Third, there are simply FEWER stoplights! Delhi is famous for its traffic, and yet in the 5 years since I was last here, they have added multiple overpasses / freeways / express lanes, and closed off some of the many crossings on Vikas Marg (the main drag in front of Daadaji's home) - making it a much more orderly driving experience.

 

Fourth, I swear I'm not getting the stares of pure shock on peoples' faces who see me. Perhaps I'm just used to the extra attention, or I think that my boys are so cute that 

 

Fifth, the Metro is coming! It's not quite finished yet, but 2 stops will open soon along Vikas Marg within an easy 1-2 block walk of Daadaji's; making travel to the major points within Delhi cheap, easy, efficient, pleassant and clean. Or, that's what I hear.

 

True, it's still dusty - with a superfine dust that gets into everything and makes your boogers brown-black; crossing the street is still an exercise in playing 'Frogger' - dodging the cars/3-wheeled autos/motorbikes/scooters/bicycles; the plumbing leaves something to be desired, and there are still horrible piles of trash and genuine inefficiencies seen everywhere.

 

But as a blonde, white woman who was steeling myself for the worst-of-the-worst of pitiful beggars droning on and on and tugging at my sleeve and generally making life here difficult, the changes listed above have been quite refreshing. 

 

First drive out of the house

Sorry for not updating more frequently. It's been busy.



As the picture shows - Deven and Daadi are out on their first drive of the trip with Purvesh and me. No I am not blogging while driving - there's a driver at the wheel! We are visiting an old family friend in Gurgaon while I go have lunch with an old friend Punit who's a big honcho at Microsoft India. Those in america would not notice Deven in a car seat - but it's highly unusual. Most Kidd ride without even seat belts often in the front seat! Deven is a changed young man. Rattling of Hindi amazingly naturally, commanding all his new friends/caretakers, sleeping normally, eating roti, and hanging out with dadaji - someone he was somewhat intimidated for the first few days. He misses Mommy and Rohan a lot though - randomly asking where they are. Dadaji's response - "I have sent a big airplane to bring Mommy and Rohan here." One thing is clear - we have to bring the kids to India regularly - they need it, deserve it - to stay grounded to one half of the blood that runs in their veins. Yogesh

Aww, c'mon

Yes, that's Mr. Idea 1/2-sitting on the baseboard heater.

It's a drafty old house, and yes it's cold & wet outside, but it's not *that* cold in here, Mr. Idea!

Kate Sherwood
Mobile (650) 387-6767

Bare-bottomed (The tree, not the child)

Please notice the Christmas tree in the background: does it look unusual to you?

Not if you are (or have been) the parent of a small child - it's completely bare, because if we hung anything on the lower branches, it would almost-instantly be in Rohan's mouth!

That said, I did put a garland on the lower branches - Rohan has had lots of fun pulling it off for me to put back on.

Happy Christmas!

Kate Sherwood
Mobile (650) 387-6767

Special Delivery

Rohan was helping Mommy pack this evening by getting into the suitcase. Literally.

He can walk quite well now - at least 10 steps unaided before he loses his nerve or falls over giggling. I think Big Brother Deven is in for a surprise.

Looking forward to seeing Daddy, Daadi, and Deven again soon!

1 week down; bed still not my own

After a week without the 3 Ds @ home, the house is quieter & cleaner, but Rohan continues his Badmashian ways; most important of which is not letting Mommy sleep in her own bed BY HERSELF.

Nightly ~3am, this is what I get - note how much space he has & where he is - meaning where I get to sleep. & What you're missing is the legs-arms-fingers-in-my-face movements.
Sigh.

Kate Sherwood
Mobile (650) 387-6767

Cat Burglar Caught In The Act!

**NEWSFLASH**
San Francisco, December 14: After months of investigation and two near-misses, the Sherwood-Sharma Family Police Force (Mommy) announced today that they (she) had caught the elusive Cat Bowl Tipper. This crafty Badmashian (Rascal) had terrorized the household and made the cat (Mr. Idea), constantly seek water from other sources (namely the toilets). He has been identified as Rohan, aka the Younger Prince of Dolores Street (2 years younger than his Badmashian brother, the Original Prince of Dolores Street, aka Prince of Delhi), Cupcake, and the Cutest Rascal In The West.

But this evening, as Mommy was doing dishes (a rare occurrence when the other Officers, Daadi & Daddy are on-duty), she heard a noise and went around to investigate. What she found there surprised her: "I'd been suspecting a Small Bandit for some time now, because Mr. Idea was playing rough and he's started walking. But I didn't think the Cat Bowl Tipper would be so fast, or so cute when caught!"

When probed to explain how she did it, she continued "I knew The Cat Bowl Tipper had to be someone under three-feet high, because no one else would want to bother with banging Mr. Idea's food and water bowls. So when I heard the familiar 'thwack-thwack' of the plastic food bowl being Badmashianed and 'swish-bang-bang' of the ceramic water bowl being dumped, I knew the Badmashian was nearby. When I got to the scene, I found the Cat Bowl Tipper engaged in the act- grinning from ear to ear, and the cat waiting nearby."

According to Mommy, Mr. Idea was hoping for some food to drop as the Cat Bowl Tipper performed his rascally ways. None did this time, though it's unclear precisely how many extra bags of food Mr. Idea has gained as a result of the Bandit and his elusive older brother, the Prince of Delhi.

Though the photo doesn't show the Bandit actually tipping the cat bowls, it shows how fast the Cupcake leaves the scene of the crime, and Mommy is confident it will hold up as evidence in a Court of Sherwood-Sharma Law. As sole representative of the Sherwood-Sharma Family Police, she is seeking the maximum penalty of sleeping in his own bed all night.

Sentencing will occur later this month upon meeting the judge & jury again, the tough 3 Ds: Daddy, Daadi, & Deven. Cupcake is being hugged without bail until his trial.
Kate Sherwood
Mobile (650) 387-6767

Pear Eater

After 2 days of somewhat-fussy behavior & unusually-little eating (he's been teething), Rohan calmed Mommy this evening as I was doing dishes, by attacking a pear he found in the fruit bowl with enthusiasm.

He has 5 (or 6?) teeth, and used them well this evening!