There she goes!

She will be gone from next thursday for six hours to school for the very first time!leaving behind a very anxious and nervous mom.

Yeah!my little one is off to school!time has flown and this time very -very fast.I have a lot of mixed emotions and butterflies in my stomach.

• Why cant she stay at home for another year?Isnt she too young?
• Will she be fine when she is on her own?
• How will she handle aggressive boys around her who push and pull her?
• What if she doesnt eat the snacks and lunch i pack for her?
• What if she feels like dozing on a cold winter day in school?
• Will she be fine?
• Will she be happy?
• Will she like her school?
• Will she make new friends?

I guess these emotions arent exclusive...every parent on this earth has felt the same way when their child takes off for school for the very first time!

Swatantrata Diwas in Newport

Today i am excited........and so is every Indian i know living in NY.Today we all are going to celebrate 60 years of Indian independence here in Newport.There will be Indian Dance Performance ,a Parade and lots of Indian food!

We all intend to show up in full strength...with lots of zest and great pride!

We might be away from our homeland but our heart and soul is still there!

My Little one starts School

My little one is going to start Pre-Kindergarden 3 from next month and currently i am busy shopping for her school supplies.

I am overwhelmed....anxious and a little dazed as to how time can fly super fast ???

Its back to buying pencil boxes,lunch boxes,crayons and stensils!!!Its brought back a lot of exciting memories from school days-Flora pencils,HP Pencils,scented erasers,fruit shaped sharpners,clolourful backpacks and Disney lunch boxes.

These little goodies brought so much happiness and excitement back then....i see the same excitement and thrill in my little ones eyes!

Its the best thing in the world-to relive best days of your life- Childhood back again and i am so greatful for that.

What if.....?

What if..................??is the question, to which most of the Indians living in US wake up every morning and sleep every night in their minds!

What if.......our kids dont turn out to be intelligent like Indian kids?

What if .....our kids are confused as to what to be-Traditional Indians like parents or Americans like their f riends!

What if......our kids wish to celebrate thanksgiving over Diwali?

What if......our kids never ever wish to leave US...for a developing and prosperous India?

What if .....our kids decide to be on their own at 16 and leave home?

What if ......our kids just want burgers and sodas instead of dal-chawal?

Being a parent of a three year old ,i myself battle with these- what ifs every day and i really dont have any answers!

Jan 16th 2006-A sweet and Sour day

On this very cold and rainy day Rajiv and myself sat quietly in the waiting room of the Presipatarian Childrens Hospital in Charlotte.Devanshi was undergoing a surgery to remove a dermoid cyst on her eyebrow which she had since birth but was noticed very recently.

Dr. Jean Francos a plastic surgeon advised it was best to get rid of the cyst while she was young (then she was 16 months old) and so here we were...finally facing the day we had been dreading for the past two months!

Finally the pager rang and we were told the surgey was over and shortly the Dr would be there to tell us all!It was the longest wait of our lives....Finally the Doctor appeared ...and said-It went very well...she is doing good...go and be with her in the recovery room.

We walked towards the recovery room taking the biggest and fastest steps possible!

There she was..crying in pain ..i can truly say the worst suffering for a parent is to see your child suffer!We did all we could to comfort her and started the countdown to take her home.In the next three hours she was stable and we got her back home with us.

Over the next three weeks she recovered completely ..no scars on her face...but i guess the memories of that sweet and sour day still haunt me sometimes and i hope no parent has to see his/her child suffer...ever!

Oh God!

Yes !i am going to miss watching the Cricket World Cup this year.
Have been running pillar to post trying to get Cricket Doordarshan connected here at home but no success till date.
I guess will have to log on to some site to get a glimpse of the men in blue:))

Past two years i have shouting from a roof top-God this place feels like home!-school friends,hindi movies,yummy Indian food...all the goodness of India is right here!

Not anymore-Cricket fever which i am sure has already gripped India is missing big time!
God i miss so much being in India:(

Name- Devanshi Shah (Chunchun)
Age- 27 Months
Fav food- Pizza,Muffin,Berries and "Thatwani Bhaat"
Fav Passtime- Jump around
Fav song - Pal -Pal from Munna Bhai and Mother Goose rhymes
Fav Actor- Sharukh Uncle
Fav Soap- Full House
Fav Cartoon Dora and Diego
I love Raafif my Papa

One word to describes me-Princess!

Simple joys of Life

I guess its Wisdom and Hubby who have made me realise-"life is about finding joys in little things.There is nothing like hitting a jack-pot"

So this second day of 2007 i am sitting down to discover joys of my life-

-Having adrak chai is a glass and dipping Parle-G- simply delicious!
-E-mail from an old pal saying-I am here in New-York.Lets catch up.
-News about India-a glimpse of Mr. Manmohan Singh on CNN.
-A Shahrukh movie on a lazy saturday afternoon-out of this world.
-Prawns cooked by my hubby-he is the best chef in the world!
-A piece of paper scribbled by Devanshi-"Mamma a painitng for you"-god my heart melts!and my eyes water
-A phone call to Bageshwar and Gurgaon-all the latest news and views make me feel on cloud nine.
-Finding a perfect black dress on a 70% sale rack-god i hit a jackpot!
-Friday evenings knowing Rajiv will be home for the next 2 days-hurray.

God! my life seems to be blessed .All i can say is -Thank you god ! and can only pray -keep the little joys pouring into my life!

Old Pals...

My good old Pals -Friends from Ramnee and from LSR.
Old because it feels like i have known them forever.Rescently i got in touch with a friend from Ramnee-Vinny and i met her after 12 years. We spoke about everything that was there 12 years back in our lives-school,teachers,friends and who is where right now.

Today i got in touch with another old pal from LSR-spoke to her after 8 years.Again we spoke about everything that was there then in our lives-Hostel,food,college and who is where right now.

Its an amazing feeling to be able to get back with your old pals-feels like i have travelled back in time...as if we were reliving those glorious yeras of our lives.

Rajiv...a man of few words.

My best friend...my strength and love of my life.

A doting father and mentor to Devanhsi

Sincere,Down to Earth,Charmer and Modest...

In one word- Perfect!

Life is all sunny!

Fun things in Life-Trying out different Sunglasses @Kohls! with Devanshi

My Soulmate

Today we enter 5th year of our marriage and i have to say these have been the best four years of our lives.

Asha for Education-Bringing hope through education

I spend this saturday afternoon attending the general body meeting of Asha-New-York chapter.Asha is a group of volunteers who raise money here in the city of New -York by organising various events and then fund education projects in India.

I must admit i was amazed by this dynamic group-Most of them are in their 20's-young professionals working with Lehman Bros,Meryll Lynch,some doing their MS in noted universities ,some are software professionals and some are architects.

This enthusiastic group had met on a saturday afternoon to discuss an education project seeking funding for a school in the slums of Delhi.

I was truly impressed-This young crowd who works off like mad on weekdays could have easily chosen to hang around Manhattan on a beautiful afternoon and Party.

Yet- here they were -thinking about -Children who pick up muck and dirt in the streets of Delhi and thinking what fast track education could do to transform their lives.

These young Indians i would say are true citizens of India(so what if most of them have green cards and speak with a heavy accent).

They fondly remember their country and truly believe and live by the motto -Be the change you want to see!

The two blue lights represent the twin towers.This is the spot where they stood -TALL.
I saw this beautiful yet a very sad view from my living room window on sep 11th 2006.

Growing up in Nainital

I grew up in Nainital and it was loads of fun.My school was St Marys Convent and all my elder cousins were studying there too.Ranu was four years senior,Sita was three years senior and Manu was Two years ahead.
I guess i connected better with Manu because she was just 2 years older and i always felt i could share all my secrets because she would never judge me...So one can say she was my best pal during those growing years in school.
All the cousins would look forward to the Dusshera vacations because all of us would get to stay together in Amar Niwas. We would go on and on till dawn talking about all kind of things- Fashion,Clothes,Haristyles and most importantly Boys!
None of us had boyfriends but offcourse each one had a crush or a guy who was interested.So it was enough to add spice to our lives:))
Evenings were spend loitering around in the Mall Road mostly eating and checking out guys!

As time went by each one passed out of school to college and then got married!I have not had a chnace to meet anyone of them in the past four years.None of them know what my daughter looks like and i remember thier kids only as toddlers. All of them are in school now.

As i look back i can truly say those were the most fun filled and exciting years of my life!

Devanshi with her Gang!

(Pradyun,Jivitesh,Krish,Ashray and Devanhsi)

Love is...

A month back i was tested for skin cancer because of a rash on my skin. The results were to be out in a weeks time.

This was the longest week of my life but not a lonely one! Rajiv was there with me every second during this week telling me-" Nothing will go wrong..have faith...even if its positive i am there ...u dont worry."

I was amazed ...he was so cool and calm! comforting me all through this difficult wait time.
The results were out and it was good news-just a rash because of heat!

But i have to admit, it was like falling in love all over again with this cool dude who has so much of faith even in difficult times. H e is cool ,composed and so collected!
I know with him by my side nothing can ever go wrong!

Manhattan (New-York) view from my living room window.

Brain Drain!

Brain drain was an issue i had heard and dealt with mostly during debates and discussions. Currently i am seeing it happen here in front of my very own eyes!Most of the young Indians i know here in the US just dont wish to go back to India.

They admit-

- learning wise India offers better oppurtunities hence a brighter tomorrow
-Indian companies are offering very competetive salaries
-American culture and way of life is not for them
-American education system is going to make their kids dull
-American food is what they dislike
-The value of dollar is going to depriciate in the near future
-India has it all -fun ,good life and good money
-India is where their heart and soul is

But still most of them are trying all desperate things to keep their visas valid and seeking jobs in companies who can process green cards for them.
Now this is what i call draining away ones life for chasing the American Dream which is just a dream!

St.Josephs College, Nainital

Someone has said-This school was on top of a hill so that God could see everything that went on. It looked like a cross between a prison and a church and it was.Well this church like school and a prison like at times has given Rajiv some very great memories which he cherishes and keeps very close to his heart.

Rajiv spent nine formative years (class 2 -10 ) of his life in this school.This school has left a great impact on his personality.Impressions of little things taught in SJC are clearly visible on his day to day activities .

-Each time he sits down to write some notes he looks for a particular kind of a pen tip and writes in a very neat handwriting underlining headings etc.He then goes on about a particular teacher in SJC who was very particular about handwriting.

-He puts his socks together in the shoes in a very peculiar way....again taught in SJC.

-He never eats too much of watermelon though he loves the fruit.Why?Some guy in SJC threw up after eating too much of that :)

-Each time we sit down to watch a particular game-Cricket,Soccer and Hockey he never fails to mention the sports teacher of SJC.

There are tons of stories about friends ,teachers,dorm,sports and girls:) offcourse from Ramnee!which i have been enjoying .

I am glad there are still many untold ones about SJC which Devanshi will be told soon .