Monopoly – Credit card version?? Heard of it!!

Hope we all might have played Monopoly aka Business during our childhood days.  We used to wait for our summer vacation for playing all the group games.  Afternoons would be indoor games like Monopoly, Dice, Ludo etc etc., while our evenings would be mostly Outdoor games.  My brother and our cousins would not like most of the cities listed in a typical Business Board Game and hence would design their own board with their choice of cities.  We girls would be asked to stick the rupee notes onto a small thick card board, so that the life of the rupee gets enhanced.  I remember learning lots of calculations as well as making strategic moves by playing with those fancy dummy rupees and building houses etc etc.  But the world of monopoly has changed today!! I learned from my younger one Karthik.

Last month, when my kids’ school was about to close for summer, the kids were allowed to bring Board games from home and play in the classroom.  It was on one such occasion that Karthik has the Credit Card Version of the game Monopoly.  Here, we no longer need money to do transactions with each other player or with the bank.  Instead, each player is given a Credit Card and there is a swiping machine too!  He says it was fun playing the game and especially when having a chance to swipe their cards, they felt as if there were grown-ups!

I got caught by Karthik today morning when I gave him a blank promise to do some work.  The next moment he completed his work and calmly asked me to get the Monopoly – Credit card version when I am back from work today!! Imagine small kids, below 10 years all playing with credit cards and such similar stuff!! Our kids belong to a totally different world!

Plastic money – I hate you!!

I have always been a shopaholic and love to swipe my card till it cries!! Of late I feel the pinch because it is not me who is spending but my kids.  I remember those days, when I was a kid.  Shopping with parents was the rarest thing to happen and the easiest excuse from parents would be that, “Ippo avalo rooba illa. Appram paakalaam (roughly translated into, “I don’t have that much cash, we can buy that later”).

But I am not able to give the same excuse to my son.  He coolly says, “Ma, you don’t need money. Just swipe your card. That will do”.  I really hate you dear Plastic Money!

 

Mocking at his “MOCK” exams!!

Vignesh, in Class VII is having his mock exams from today throughout this week. It seems that it is a preparatory test for the actual Final exams that begin on March 7th.  We are planning for our long pending vacation from this month end till March 5th, which means that he may not be able to actually “prepare” for his finals.  Although the Big Boss, Mr. V was apprehensive about this trip, the smaller V promised his dad about his dedication, devotion and such things and made his dad agree to the trip.  He also told us that he would prepare meticulously for his “mock”s so that it would be a cake walk for him during his actual finals!

Poor Mom and Dad, we are, we agreed to his deal and forgot about the same. There was a team trip on Saturday with my team and he happily agreed to be part of it along with his brother and few other kids too!! Had a great adventurous and tiring day till night and just dropped off to bed as soon as we came home…Yesterday too, he never opened his mouth about the mocks starting today.  Slowly, as the evening turned into night, he was trying to read his book along with watching some crap movie on TV, I questioned him on the starting date of the exams. He coolly replied, “Don’t you know that I open my book only when the exams dawns the next day?” I was totally bowled by his answer.

I am at a loss whether to change myself into a mom who keeps nagging her children about every other stuff that happens in the school or just leave him know what he ought to d0!!

A budding business magnet!!

Last week, my kids had Children’s Day celebrations at their school.  There were many competitions like Poster making, Collage, Handwriting etc.  Karthik, in his usual style, participated with great enthusiasm and wasn’t worrying much about not getting prizes in any of them.  That evening he came home and was beaming with glow to tell me about his newly formed thought.  He couldn’t resist himself that he didn’t even bother to take off his shoes/uniform etc.  He said he has torn some 10-12 pages from his rough note book and has written a comic and drawn all relevant pictures and coloured them too!! He wanted me to take around 25 colour xerox of the same.  I asked him about the purpose and he said in a cool tone that he has planned to sell those copies to his teachers, fellow students as well as a few friends in our flat.  He had already imagined of making money through this venture, and if this succeeds, he said he wanted to write more such comics!! A budding business man he is!! I think he might emulate his dad!!

Midterm test at School today!! Night show at Inox yesterday!

Vignesh is having his mid-term exams from last week. He is a movie buff, like his father as well as their forefathers!! He was waiting to watch Surya’s diwali release movie “7m Arivu” from Diwali itself.  His dad was busy and somehow taking the kids to this movie was getting delayed.  In between, Karthik who is an ardent Vijay fan was enthralled when Vythi had booked tickets for Velayudham for all six of us (Vythi, me, Vignesh, Karthik, and Vythi’s parents) two weeks back.  After this movie, Vignesh was all the more waiting to go to Surya’s movie. Yesterday, the kids were having a great time with Vythi at home during afternoon, as I had gone out.

When I returned home, I found that Vythi had booked tickets for “7m Arivu” at Inox, for yesterday’s night show.  I screamed stating that Vignesh was having his Social Studies exam today at school and hence it wasn’t ok to go to movie the previous night!! Vythi said, Vignesh has finished reading his lessons, and also added that “Vignesh says “If I watch this long pending movie, I would be even more enthusiastic to write the test”. Enna Koduma da idhu!! நாளைக்கு பரிட்சை, இன்னிக்கு சினிமாவா! என்று மனம் குமுறினாலும் வேறு வழியில்லாமல் சென்றேன்.

Tough to drive during rain in Chennai roads

It has been raining continuously for almost more than a week and the streets are waterlogged.  I used to love rains as a child or even as a young girl but not now.  First reason, it would be mostly accompanied by kids getting cold/cough/fever etc etc and the several doctor-visits that might follow.  But the major reason, that I fear rain is while driving my car.  When it rains, the surroundings become so dark that it resembles a late evening environment.  Roads are filled up with water, especially a few stretches like Kathipara – Olympia Tech Park – Hilton Hotel.  Water gushes out as if some river or lake is overflowing and you feel scared that the water might enter into your car.  My earlier car, a Maruti 800, once was filled with water till my knee level or more.  The thoughts of that one event makes me shiver with fear!!Every bus that passes on my side, would make my car shake this side and that side.  I start praying all known and unknown Gods to get out of those places and feel relieved when I park my car at my home.

Today morning, when I started to work, the climate was pleasant sans rains.  A few minutes down the road, a heavy downpour started and many were clueless as the rains severed. I couldn’t hear anything except the splashes of rain drops. Heavy rains, heavy traffic made my life miserable.  I was encouraging myself to drive fast to work.  Suddenly, an Innova car that came on the opposite side sped past me splashing water.  For a moment, I couldn’t see anything in front of me.  And the worst part was that, it was a low lying bridge upon the Adyar river, which made me even more nervous.  I was just waiting for these few moments to pass by and thankfully, here I am sitting on a cosy chair at my workplace typing this post.  Happy am I to have reached safely to work today amidst rains.

அடிக்கடி அடி வாங்கினாலும் அடங்காமல் தீபாவளி கொண்டாட்டம்!!

இந்த முறை தீபாவளிப் பண்டிகை எங்களை ஒரு கை பார்த்துவிட்டது. தீபாவளிக்காக முள்ளு முறுக்கு செய்யும் போதே, எண்ணெயில் மாவை இட்டவுடனே பட்டாசு போல வெடிக்க ஆரம்பித்தது. மேலே தொடருவதா வேண்டாமா என்று குழம்பி, என்ன ஆனாலும் பரவாயில்லை என்று தொடர, கடவுள் புண்ணியத்தில் முறுக்கு ரொம்பவும் பிகு பண்ணாமல் அழகாக வந்தது!!

தீபாவளியன்று அதிகாலை பட்டாசு வெடிக்க நாங்கள் நால்வரும் செம ஜோராய் ப்ளாட் கீழ் தளம் சென்றோம். ஏற்கனவே இரண்டு குடும்பங்கள் இருந்தது எங்களை குஷி படுத்தியது. அனைவருமாக பல்வேறு பட்டாசுகளை வெடித்துத் தள்ளினோம். திடீரென்று ஒரு ஹைட்ரஜன் வெடிகுண்டுப் பட்டாசு வெடிக்க, அதன் தாக்கத்தில் அருகிலிருந்த கல் என் பெரிய மகனின் கழுத்தைப் பதம் பார்த்தது!! குழந்தை சில வினாடிகளுக்கு பேச்சற்றுப் போனான்! எனக்கும் பகீரென்றது! சில நொடிகளில் அந்த இடமே சிவந்து ரணமாகியது. தண்ணீரில் துடைத்து, பாக்கெட்டில் வைத்திருந்த மருந்தை போட்டோம். ஒரு அரை மணியானதும் தான் அவனுக்கு எரிச்சல் அடங்கியது.

மாலை மீண்டும் பட்டாசு வெடிக்கப் படையெடுப்பு!! யாரோ ஒரு 300 வாலா சரம் வைக்க, அருகிலிருந்த கல், என் வலது கண்ணின் மேல் அழுந்த பட்டதில் குபுகுபுவென்று ரத்தம் கொட்டத் தொடங்கியது! எல்லோருமே பயந்தனர். கண்ணிலா, அல்லது கண் மேலா என்று தெரியவே சிறிது நேரமாகியது! ரத்தம் நிற்க சில நிமிடங்கள் கழிந்தன.

அடாது அடி பட்டும் நாங்கள் அடங்காமல் வெடித்து இந்த தீபாவளியைக் கொண்டாடினோம்!!

My younger one’s dream at school became true, but was shortlived!!

Karthik is always known to be notorious wherever he is.  His behaviour is the same at school too!! There have been instances where not even a single week has passed by without any complaints from his class teacher or other subject teachers… From this year beginning, he has been eying on the post of CLASS-PREFECT in his class. I asked him what it was, and pat came the reply that it was the post of Class Leader.  I was trying to make him understand that the post would be given only to responsible kids.  He immediately responded saying that there had been kids who were naughty but have been in this post..

At last, this Monday, K was extremely delighted to have this post Class Prefect awarded to him.  His face was gleaming with joy…We all enjoyed that day.  I was mentally preparing him to be more responsible in class, and reduce his mischief at least for the period he held his post etc.  Tuesday morning was the most easy of all days for K to get ready for school. He  started off very well behaved and was wearing the badge, “Class Prefect” and that too with a pretty smile.  Things didn’t go smooth for him that day at school. That evening, when K returned home, his face was dull and he was almost about to burst out. He said his teacher had  took back the post as he was giggling with his friends during one of the free periods that day when no teacher was around.  What a tragedy!! I too felt bad for him and made him understand why the teacher had done so.  K might have felt bad about the day’s happenings. The next day he had been good at school and as a result, the teacher had once again made him Class Prefect.!! Hope he continues to be one for a few days at least!!

Long time since I wrote!!

I had thought several times during the last two months to write about “this”, “that” and many such things.  But, seriously, didn’t find time to make a blog post.  I could have written about “my younger son’s complaints about his school and of course the vice-versa too!!” or “about the new flat that we purchased” or my latest venture into “Yoga classes” or “my office shifting from Velachery” and “Oh! I miss Velachery” etc etc.. Will soon start writing about each of these.

 

என்ன கொடுமைடா இது!!

டைட்டில் பயங்கர  ‘கிக்’கா இருக்குல்ல!! இப்போ கொஞ்ச நேரம் முன்னாடி என் பசங்க ஸ்கூல் முடிந்து வீட்டிற்கு வந்ததும் நானும் வராத காரணத்தால் (உள்ளுக்குள்ள ஒரே குஷியாய் இருந்திருக்கும் போல!!) என் கைப்பேசியில் என்னை அழைத்தனர். சின்னவன் கார்த்திக் அவனது வழக்கமான பள்ளிப் புகார்களை வாசித்து முடித்த பின் நான் எப்போது வருவேன் என்று கேட்ட பிறகு தன் அருமை அண்ணனிடம் தொலைப்பேசியைக் கொடுத்தான். அண்ணன் தன் முறைக்கு தான் தன் வகுப்பில் கணிதத்தில் இரண்டாவது அதிக மதிப்பெண் என்றும் கூறினான்.  அதைக் கேட்டு கண்டிப்பாக நான் அவனைப் பாராட்டி இருக்க வேண்டும். அதிலும் நான் அவனோடு துளியும் உட்காரவில்லை அவன் பரிட்சைக்குத் தயார் செய்யும் போது.!! மேலும் என் தாய் தந்தையர் இருவருமே என்னையும் என் அண்ணனையும் ரொம்ப “டார்ச்சர்” செஞ்சதில்லை! என் தந்தை நாங்கள் கொண்டு வரும் விடைத்தாளை என்ன மதிப்பெண் பெற்றிருக்கிறோம் என்று கூட பார்க்காமல் கையொப்பமிடும் ரகம். அவருக்கு மகளாகப் பிறந்தும், நான் விக்னேஷிடம், “என்ன இருந்தாலும் ஒரு கணக்கு வாத்தியாருக்கு மகனாய்ப் பிறந்தும் நீ இப்படி முதல் மதிப்பெண் வாங்கத் தவறியிருக்கக் கூடாது” என்றேன். அவன் ஒரே போடாக, “அம்மா! நீ எழுதி முதல் மதிப்பெண் வாங்கவில்லை என்றால் அர்த்தம் இருக்கு! எனக்கு நான் வாங்கிய மார்க் போறும்” என்றதும் நான் ஆனேன் கப்சிப்.!!