it is 17 months since we moved to Kerala, months of constant discoveries of oneself, the family and our environment. nothing is like before. everything is changed.

    rakhi passed by without a murmur in our town in Kerala. if not for the Facebook updates and pictures, i might have forgotten about it completely. we did not celebrate Rakhi. the power of the bond between siblings is as unassuming as it is strong. and, i found that bond grow around me when i hear my son and daughter actually conversing with each other, running with our dog, the teasing banter and the fact that they started sleeping by themselves in their own room - they have each other.



    around this time, we took a long drive in the monsoons to our estates at the foot of the mountains. some pictures from then.










ps
how fast they grow!

these days

Our family grew larger one Sunday. The husband went out to drop some cheques and came back with a fish tank and a complimentary packet of little fish - very intiriguing to the two year old, who kept saying "fih!"
It was the first time he was seeing "real" fish. The wise and worldly daughter exclaimed, "I thought you joking when you said you buy fish." Aaaha, so this is what was conspiring behind my back!



After the whole process of setting up the fish tank was finished, we lay down on the bed and admired our handiwork. There is a pump in there that makes a soft gurgling sound when all is quiet. Not a bad way to relax at all!
There really is something about gazing at fish - you realise you spent quite sometime (oh no!!!) standing and staring and oh well, since all that time is gone, you might as well stare at it for some more time.

A fungal infection and three mortalities later, the fish -and whatever it is they are doing confined in the glass walls - are as captivating and fascinating as ever. All that is needed is a lot more time.

"I love pets. I also love fish. But, I don't want crocodile or elephant as pets, " said the wisest one in our family. Whew! Now that really is a relief.