Happy Diwali

Hope you all had a nice Diwali we sure did!.



This is the first year when Angel and Apple have touched the crackers and burst some too. They had loads of fun lighting up the Anars, Bhu chakra and the Sparklers. Their dad was with them and their cousins all along (gruelling 2 hours :)) guiding them, holding their hands, watching them and directing them. Whilst I was busy entertaining people visiting us at our in laws place. Lots and lots of mithai and good food was consumed on Diwali day.



Padva and Bhai duj was celebrated at my mom's place and we received gifts from my parents. Clothes for the kids and the spouse, kangans for the daughters. Score!.



Angel is more brave with the crackers, she even attempted to light up the sparklers by herself, Apple on the other hand is timid. She gives many many instructions on how to go about lighting the crackers, but when it is her turn to hold says that she will hold it in a while :)

Ganapati Bappa Morya

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi.


So far Ganesh Chaturthi used to be a very simple affair for us. Ganesh idols were not available in the north bay and so I would do a simple puja, decorate my little mandap with twinkling lights, make some modaks as prasad (the evening ahead with milk) and then do an arti and that's about it.

This being the first chaturthi after we have set up our house in Hyderabad, I decided to go for a small eco friendly Ganesh murti and follow the same ritual that I have followed so far and go to my in-laws house for a bigger celebration.

The day before as Angel and Apple were getting ready for school I told them that today as they ride to the school, they will see lots of Ganeshas and that we would go and pick Ganapati bappa later in the evening. This seemed to have perked them up more than I expected. As soon as they came home, Angel informed me that there were indeed Ganeshas when going to school today.

After their nap, they waited for the rain to subside and kept watching out the window for it to stop. Finally the rain stopped and we went to a roadside stall to pick a Ganpatiji murti. I couldn't find a clay idol which satisfied all the criteria that my MIL had listed and had to settle for a plaster of paris one :(. But the best part of this entire episode was, V held the Ganesha high on his head and danced his way to the car where Angel and Apple were eagerly waiting half hanging from the car window and the expression, excitement and happiness on their faces was worth watching. Ganesh chaturthi was totally worth it just because of the excitement on their faces.

Am back!

Have finally got an handle on the field issue, the amount of time this issue has taken is a record!!!.

Am back to normal programming (albeit some sleep deprivation).

Thanks mnamma and 2B'sMommy for the Diwali wishes, A&A did have their share of fun this Diwali.

A&A's Diwali

They liked dressing up and doing the arti, by clapping their hands, for the Lakshmi Puja. They also enjoyed doing an arti for V and my dad, on the day after Lakshmi Puja (Balipratipada). After that all of us got some Tika on our foreheads with their little pointy finger over and over.

We did not get any fireworks/crackers for them. But they did enjoy the couple dresses and toys that V and my Dad got as gifts for them.

and for us:
We enjoyed the snacks that my mom made, she made chivda, chakli, karanji, besan laddoo and Mysore pak. She also made tengal (in the same family as chakli, or maybe I should say a thicker sev), I don't think it is a Maharashtrian snack, but the people in our circle in Hyderabad do make this a lot. Has anybody else heard/tasted about this snack?

Thanks Aai, For doing it even when I couldn't spare any time to help you.

Attended a small Diwali do at a friend's place, which was fun. Was watching India-Pakistan's cricket match while I was there, got a call from work and had to get back to problem solving!

Sarve Jana Sukhino Bhavantu!