THE Taekwondo YEARS..6yrs to 9yrs

TAEKWONDO is a Korean Martial art which was taught at Varun's School from Class I.

In the Annual Day function he broke a tile using his forehead..a bit of an anxious moment for me!!

Subsequently he learnt the sport for three more years at a Taekwondo Academy conducted by a BLACK BELT( DAN 7) instructor , affiliated to the World Taekwondo Federation.Taekwondo is the world's most popular martial art and is quite popular in Delhi .

The classes started with a physical exercise session and Varun unfailingly managed to cover half the track and quietly turn back when no one was looking!!Inspite of being a shirker at the daily initial workout phase, he actually packed in quite a punch and his flying kicks were very good.

At the annual competitions in Talkatora Stadium he won the Silver(2001) and Gold(2002) medals. I was a delighted "Taekwondo" mommy :).

Conclusion of SUNSHINE SERIES..

EPILOGUE: Varun's interests gradually shifted over the years :Drama(9yrs to 13yrs) ,Poetry writing(9yrs-) ,Drawing and Painting; and of course Tennis(12yrs-)and as far as the parenting bit goes well I've just been a good sounding board cum supportive(the works!) mom... all credit to the wonderful teachers and trainers.

Memorable Moments...@2yrs to 5yrs



Developing language skills is a major challenge for children during the toddler stage and preschool years.By 3 years of age ,however,most children can link several words together to form a fairly complete sentence.They can speak about 900 words...Varun holding the pencil and writing his name in Hindi helped by Mom and Panditji..!!

Preschoolers are highly active and constantly exploring the world around them...Varun with a cordless telephone; a few days later it was "accidentally" dropped by him into the bathtub after using it for a long conversation sitting in the bath!!

Varun's love for dancing begins early with a Bhangra dance atop a table..Nani's house in Delhi.

Our favourite haunt for Christmas Plum Pudding...outside the coffee shop at a Delhi hotel....Varun's sweater hand knitted by mami's mami!!

We're all dressed and good to go...wedding in the neighbourhood...dadi's house,Lajpat Nagar.

Restless all day.. little monkey..finally settled on the sofa at grandparents' Mumbai apartment.

Poldy and Varun bringing in the NewYear at a party at Vatika Resort.(Gurgaon Sohna Rd..)...family holiday!!

Varun's favourite haunt.......Essex Farms , New Delhi.

His very first notebook and first day of school ; starting the morning : writing, '' OM ".

THE SON-SHINE...

At the Holy Family hospital..Delhi experiencing its first mosoon showers of the season..chilly..and windy..on 20th July,1994,. our son, Varun was born. Initially we called him Naman;he was in the hospital for a week and we brought him home to his family in our first car(a Maruti 800). The tiring, whirling forty days and then his forty days puja...gifts galore and blessings in abundance; in our family panditji's words ' kinha sona munda' !!

When he was six months old-a trip to Vaishnodevi.An experience to treasure..travelling with the baby in the train..squeezing onto the berth with him for my forty winks.We got boiled water from the the tea stalls on the way to the shrine for his 'bottled milk' routine.

Varun had his second holiday in Goa at the age of 18 mnths. Crossing over the waters from Mumbai ,in a hovercraft :it was a comfortable journey for me watching a movie , great excitement for Varun as he clambered up and down the steps from top deck to lower deck-- non-stop with dad in tow!!

Second year highlights--Varun's mundan:out go the lovely curls and little pony tail since we hadn't cut his hair at all till then;staying in a joint family set-up and enormous fun at each and every festival. :)

Manish and Nanaji: Varun's official babysitters (With 1 month old baby)

The 'Forty day Puja' :Gifts for the baby from his little cousins..

Winter 1995..covered from head to toe.. is with cousins

Mom and baby---- Bouncing ball ;)

Varun's first birthday (20th July 1995) hawan by Arya Samaj Swamiji at Lajpat Nagar home

Varun...Janamashtami 1995

Satya's (MCA buddy) R.K.Puram house

NAVRATRAS 1995....Doll Festival

Starting tomorrow THE SON-SHINE SERIES about my parenting experiences with my son, Varun.

(ABOVE)AT BLESSINGS WITH NIVEDITA...AND STUDENTS...

My last blog in the moonbeam series...this particular blog is about the post-marital moonbeams in my life during the period 1995 onwards.

Since this is all about my quest to find a vocation for myself its going to read a bit like a CV ---also I know for certain by now that a rolling stone gathers no moss!!!

a) When my son turned one, I joined IEC(a computer training institute) to learn computer programming and animation;I couldn't pursue this as a career option as it required a lot of time for practice that I wasn't able to spare. But IEC wiped out the dust gathering in my mind due to humdrum existence. One day, out of the blue, they awarded me with an outstanding performance certificate. Whoopie!

b) Next I took up a tupperware dealership.Tupperware products are a wonderful combination of style and utility;..I worked very hard and was soon a star performer.My manager Payal Bhutani was justifiably proud.From Tupperware I learnt the art of promoting products while looking at everyone's personal requirements, as the focus of the sale.

c) As Varun (my son) turned 4yrs old I took to parent volunteering as a serious pursuit .There were many moms doing it and far more talented than me but I still cherish those moments of unselfish contribution to the schools!!.These photos and notes of thanks are few of the memorabilia saved up by me.The highlights of the jobs done by me during this phase were the life-size models of sheep that I made for a nativity scene,"Ravan's ten heads " (at Apeejay School) and the most precious task---depicting the entire state of Maharashtra ,in the 3B classroom ,for the annual visit of the Japanese delegation to DPS EOK.

d) In the year,2002,a dear friend ,Nivedita recommended me for a summer camp at a

playschool ,BLESSINGS. My association with that school lasted a few years after which I was assigned a class-teacher's job(teaching classI for one academic session) in Varun's school.

e)In the interim( 2003 -2004) I started my own 'home-based enterprise' 'Niru's Home Bakes' ....the brownies and chocolate truffle cakes being the hotselling items!!

f)The last moonbeam on this list is my diploma in Nursery teacher training from the South Delhi Women's Polytechnic, quite close to my home. The faculty selected me for training at two of the most premier educational institutes---the American School at Chanakyapuri and Kangaroo Kids (GK1).

ALL these options and yet no career --:(....yet as they say ...its great to be a 'has been' than a 'could have been'.

DU MCA....An admission test,an interview and a very surprised person : me finds herself in one of the top notch courses at the Delhi University. Armed with a BSc(gen-PCM) degree I thought I might just be able to one day figure out what I was doing there instead of at a BEd course!!

The first semester was quite a refreshing change..in every way--I really loved some of the subjects.The Delhi University North Campus is an astonishing wonderland and the neighbouring K-Nags or Kamala Nagar Market an experience to treasure.I was lucky-some of my Gargi mates were in the MSc(Chem) dept close by and I really enjoyed exploring around the campus with them. Luckily I cleared the exams and started off the second semester on a genuinely optimistic note.There-in lies the moonbeam-- some of the people I befriended at the course are my lifetime buddies.

New Delhi is according to me the most beautiful blend of Science and spirituality...the engineering marvel -the METRO and serene places of worship....the Bahaii temple,the Birla Mandir,The Swami Narayan temple at Akshardham and so many more.... complementing each other!!

When I came to Delhi in 1988,I first studied in St.Stephen's college for about a week before moving to Gargi in South Delhi(commuting problem...North campus being a little far from my home ). Gargi College- full of parks and gardens and sports grounds..in the heart of the city yet abounding in natural beauty--you could see peacocks and tiny squirrels everywhere!!

My moonbeams...

Celebrations of the Janamashtami festival .....in our colony and elsewhere.Tastefully decorated 'jhankis' and children and adults all gathered , awaiting their turn to swing the tiny "Lord Krishna's" 'jhula.

Another unforgettable experience- the amazing Gulmohar trees in full blossom and so many migratory birds. Eagles soaring over the tops of trees ...majestic birds...making me think of the future with courage and hope!!!

As I passed out of Gargi in 1990,I learnt to drive and drove to college independently for the first time when I went to collect my BSc degree---a most exhilarating day.