Monday, February 22, 2010

days in chennai

The first days in Chennai included three days of visiting relatives - grandparents and uncles and aunts, most of whom the girls knew only by name. I wonder if two or three hours of play in a certain home is enough for the girls to remember the home and the people living there... Anjali remembered Chitra patti, Kumar thattha and Sandhya very well (stories of what went on there would follow).

There was a particularly memorable incident in Picchai mama's house where Jayanthy mami let them run loose in the altar, and the girls had kolam mavu and flower petals all over the house (Jayanthy mami claimed that the cleaning lady was due to arrive at 4pm and would take care of the mess)

A evening in Periyappa's house, where, saturated with adai, idli and pongal, along with periyappa's stories about dragons and damsels in distress, Anjali loosened up much more in front of strangers than I had ever seen her do.

A nice half hour spent on the terrace of sumathi chitthi's house, where the girls, stripped down to their underwear, took advantage of the bare space and the corner tap to slish and splash and splosh about, and to pour water down three storeys

But the sad bit was that when the girls were just getting nice and warmed up, it was time to leave. Sandhya was about the only person with whom the girls played without looking for me for a long period of time and thats because we spent most of the time staying in Sandhya's house.

Sandhya, in her part, I think, had a great time cleaning up red paint (which she had meticulously set up on top of layers of newspapers on the floor, layers which the girls totally ignored, as that painted all over the nice white floor), and hamam soap, which Anjali and Sophia decided was playdough, and used their fingernails to scrape it into pieces and put it all over her floor. That mess was not cleaned properly till we left. patti says that there is no need to put soap to mop the house for three days. i told Sandhya that she need not take a bath, just roll around the floor for a couple of days and it will be all fine.

We took many photos during the road trips, and the pictures in the houses in chennai are limited, but here are those that have been taken


Story time with Chandru thattha

Sandhya reading puss in boots with the girls. Sandhya has more pictures, as her camera was more accessible. Pictures of the girls painting the floor, and dunking themselves in the bath, and putting hamam soap all over the floor


Painting on Sandhya's room
Anjali peels an onion. Chitra patti wanted to frame the onion or something, but didnt end up doing it
Shruti and Anjali on the first day in India. Anjali is half sleepy and groggy

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