Good and Bad!

Its been long since I have posted anything new here.. Lot of things happened the past two weeks.. Some good and some bad. So many things to write about.. To start with the good things:

1. I get to sleep more and more these days (All thanks to Techm).
2. We are going to book for a new car tomorrow. (something which has been in our mind since a long long time now)
3. I am just 22 weeks away to hold Champ in my arms. :) My baby is about 7.5 inches long now.
4. India beat Australia in the quarter finals. Yaayyyy!!

And for the bad things that happened the past few weeks.. Mom was not well. She is diabetic and we realized it too late. It had shot up to 510 and that is high enough for someone to go into coma.  Mom has BP and spondylitis so every time she felt tired or weak she kept thinking its high BP and would just take rest. I feel so guilty that I never thought of getting a blood test done for her. Good thing is it has reduced a lot now.. It has come to the normal level and she is no longer on insulin. I couldn’t bear to see her take those injections everyday. But her health keeps fluctuating. She has not been feeling well today. I wish she dint have to work so much. I just hope she stays healthy and happy always.

It’s been a while since I have seen my baby on ultrasound. Champ is supposed to be able to kick now, but unfortunately I haven’t started to feel anything. Gets me worried sometimes. My next scan is only on 20th of next month. I can’t wait so long to feel my baby inside me. I wish I could start to feel him/her kick very soon.

We are getting a new car for me! yaayyyyyy! Initially we deciced that we'll buy the
car after my delivery as once my tummy grows it will be difficult for me to drive the car. But without a vehicle it has been very difficult for me to commute to and from office. I take hubby's car these day and poor chap has to go in his bike to office. Renjith's office hours are very weird. He works in BT timing. So he has to ride the bike in the scorching summer afternoons. As it is, he has a dark complection and now it seems to get worse!

India is facing Pakistan in the semi finals. How interesting can it get! I bit all my nails watching the match yday between India and Australia. By the time my nails start to grow back it will be India playing against pakistan. I just hope I don’t bite my fingers away then. A little part of me tells me not to watch the match as I am not supposed to get too tensed or excited during pregnancy.. But how I can not watch this match tell me? Wishing Indian cricket team all the best!

On an ending note, my prayers to all the victims of earthquake and tsunami in Japan that happened few weeks back. I can only imagine how difficult it must be for all the survivors. I received a mail just few mins back and it is so inspiring to see how determined the Japanese are. Hats off to them! Posting the mail thread here.


Japan fixed cracked roads in 6 days, rest of the world drop jaws





The amazing things about Japan at times really made us respect them. The culture and the ethics of the Japanese are things worth learning. When the 8.9-magnitude earthquake hit Japan, their roads cracked, and cracked roads are stopping or slowing down transportation of food and supplies to critical areas hit by the tsunami. Therefore Nexco Japan, the company that is responsible to repair the affected roads and highway of Kanto area. It took the company mere six days to repair and reconstruct a terribly damaged Kanto Highway, and the picture says it all.

My doctor!

Me and Renjith, both love kids and we both never really thought about “planning” after we got married. But we dint want to have a kid till we both were settled (term which has no meaning now to me), so we figured we’ll wait for 1 year. I was the one who was more eager to have a baby soon after our first anniversary. I never wanted to plan for a baby and had always thought that it should not be planned and it should happen in its own way. It reminds of the episode in FRIENDS where Monica and Chandler try to have a baby and every time she ovulates and they have to rush to “DO IT”. I never wanted that to happen!

But after few disappointing months and negative home pregnancy tests (I would have had nearly 6-7 home tests done and all turned negative).. I started to get worried. That’s when we started taking advice from my cousin who is a gynecologist. Unfortunately she had to move to Australia so she asked me to contact her senior Dr. Jyotsna Madan.

The first time we visited Dr. Jyotsna, we both knew that she is the right doctor for us. She was so positive, composed and assuring that I knew I am at the right place. As she promised, I conceived within 3 cycles of “fertile super” (medicine similar to clomid).

When we broke the news to her, she was as excited as we both were and put me on some more tablets for the weeks to come to keep the baby safe. We broke to news to all family members on the same day. My mom as usual got so excited that she decided to call all her brothers and sisters right away. :)

Every time we go visit the doctor for our routine tests she talks to us so gently and enquires about my health and also about Soumya my cousin who is in Australia. Our doctor seems so surprised that we don’t have any questions at all. Once when we went there, she asked me if anyone in my family is diabetic and I flatly said “No”. Just after I left the hospital I realized that I was wrong as almost all of my uncles and aunts are diabetic. I had only thought about my mom and not the entire family and I was so wrong. My mom accompanied us in our next visit and we told Dr. Jyotsna that I had not considered everyone in my family while she asked me the question. She dint get angry or irritated, instead she told me “I was asking you about your family.. which means the entire family tree ma.” with a sweet smile on her face. I only managed to smile back looking so embarrassed and stupid at the same time. Just then mom added “She was only thinking of the shrub and not the family tree” and everyone else in the room were laughing including my husband and the assisting nurse. How embarrassing right!

Anyway I am 24 weeks away to hold Jr in my arms.. God! Time seems to just fly and the baby bump seems to get bigger and bigger. :)

Nagumomu!

I grew up listening to carnatic classical songs.. My mom, her 2 sisters, my uncle all have learnt carnatic singing. Every morning my uncle would play devotional songs in our tape recorder. We have a good collection of classical songs of M S subbalakshmi, Balamuralikrishna, Yesudas, Bombay sisters and many others.

I had learnt so many songs by heart just by listening to them everyday. Even now when ever I listen to any classical song in radio or TV and I stop and listen to it. I just love it. I wish I had continued my music classes.


My mom sings on auspicious days in our house. Although we are not Brahmins we celebrate almost all Hindu festivals with pujas, homas, bhajan (which is the best part) and of course “yummy feast”. You should come to my house during Ganesh chaturthi or Dusserah and you can see how we celebrate it. (we love to have guests drop by.. so u r always welcome)

During festivals, the house is crowded with all family members, relatives and few neighbours (sometimes). We all sit together and do bhajans and sing songs.

There are songs which all of sing together and there are some which only my mom can sing. She has a very powerful base voice like that of Shubha Mudgal so even if I am singing along nobody can hear me. My mom would intentionally stop in between so that my voice is heard and that’s when I get so embarrassed in front of all.

One of our distant relative was home during one of these occasions. She is a very strong woman. She and her husband were in military so u can imagine what I mean when I say she is a strong lady. She had lost her husband sometime back due to massive heart attack. She is lady of principles, highly mannered and a bit sophisticated. She asked if my mom knows the krithi “nagumomu” as she and her husband love that song a lot. She requested my mom to sing that song once for her. Mom sung it as graciously as ever and all of us were in a totally different world listening to the melodious song. It is a very beautiful carnatic krithi composed by Saint Thyagaraja in Telugu. Every singer has their own style, and I thoroughly enjoy individual interpretations of the same song. My mom has a different style of singing this song.

After she finished singing it, aunty had a big smile on her face and at the same times tears were flowing down her eyes. She was so emotional and couldn’t speak for a long time after that. She just wanted to remain silent. We have never seen her like that before and all of us were in a state of shock.

If you want to listen to this song and if you are not really into carnatic music then I would suggest you listen to the version sung by Sheela raman. They way she has interpreted Nagumomu in jazz is totally amazing. But you can only enjoy it if u can follow the meaning.

I am trying to look for the meaning in google as I am really bad at translating. I will surely add the lyrics and the meaning soon.

As promised.. Here is the lyrics and the meaning of the song:

nagumOmu ganalEni nAjAli telisi nanu brOvaga rAdA shrI raghuvara nI

nagarAjadhara nIdu paraivAra lella ogibOdhana jEsE vAralu gArE yiTu luNDudure

khagarAju nI yAnati vini vEga canalEdO gaganAni kilaku bahu dUrambaninAdO
jagamEle paramAtma evaritO moraliDudu vaga jUpaku tALanu nannElukOra tyAgarAjanuta nI

In translation:

O Rama! Supreme among Raghus! Missing your charming smile-lit face I languish here. Knowing my mental plight, cant you come and protect me?

O One who holds Govardhana hill! Members of your retinue who have the duty of reminding you of your daily engagements cannot fail in their duty.

Does not Garuda execute your commands expeditiously? Could he have excused himself saying that he was staying far from the earth in Vaikunta, your heavenly abode ? Exalted Lord! Ruler of the Universe! Whom else can I appeal to? Please shun disregard. I cant bear it. Take me into your fold.