Sometimes I wonder about the point of updating this space on a weekly basis when nothing happens in my life!
This was another usual boring week where the highlight was going to the library. I have started reading more in the last month, but had to scale down my reading challenge for the year so that I can actually hit it.
Yesterday, I was hit by a sudden cough which has now moved to a raging cold and a bad throat. Feeling sick and sleepy all at the same time!
Have a blessed week people!
Last week I was super frustrated that GG’s school did not confirm her subject combination. On Monday we went to both schools to buy uniforms and books, but again I could not speak to the teacher who was handling this issue since they were all out. She later called me and asked me to wait till Thursday since they were doing the appeals for the cohort. I waited and waited for her to call me and then when I called her on Friday it was to know that GG had to go to school that day! We didn’t know about this, but the news was good – GG got the subject combination she wanted! So she will be doing English, Mother Tongue, E Maths, Combined Science, Pure History, Social Studies with Geography, Principles of Accounts (7 subjects in total). We should go tomorrow to school to confirm these subjects and finally buy the books!
Have a lovely Sunday folks!
Waiting for the Monsoon – Threes Anna
India, 1995. Charlotte Bridgwater lives with her father, a former British general, and just one loyal servant in a stately old mansion in the town of Rampur. Money is scarce and the once grand estate is crumbling.
In a desperate bid to generate income, Charlotte rents a room to Madan, an Indian tailor with an astonishing talent for making beautiful garments. Madan is unable to communicate verbally, but the two have an immediate and electrifying connection. And, as the extreme heat before the impending monsoon paralyzes the residents of Rampur, the details of their lives unfold: Charlotte’s unhappy childhood and the early death of her husband, Madan’s poverty-stricken life on the streets, and how and when their paths have crossed before.
The monsoon season in Mumbai used to be my favourite because of unscheduled holidays from school and college! But seriously, who can’t love the smell of the fresh earth after a downpour and the feeling of everything looking clean and green? Here’s my ode to the rains….
It’s Raining!
I wake up to the sounds of the rain,
Crashing and howling against the window pane,
The rain is pouring down, looking like a curtain of water,
Looking more like a sheet, an impenetrable banner.
I look down at the road, see the snaking line of cars
All caught up in a massive jam, looking like twinkling stars
People rushing to get to work, to school,
With umbrellas and raincoats, looking all so cool
I do wish people stop a while and enjoy the rain,
Stop a while, smell the grass and not complain.
The rains are a time for newness and renewal
For a little pause in your life, before it turns a full cycle.
To Love a Sunburnt Country – Jackie French
The year is 1942 and the world is at war. Nancy Clancy is 16 and left school to spend a year droving, just like her grandfather Clancy of the Overflow was famed for. Now Nancy’s family has sent her to Malaya to bring home her sister-in-law Moira and baby Gavin. Moira is British and married to Nancy’s brother Ben, who is now a soldier. Malaya is under threat from the Japanese, but despite the warnings, Moira has resisted leaving as she wants to stay near her husband.
When Malaya is invaded, Nancy, Moira and Gavin are fortunate to get out before Singapore falls. When their ship is bombed they end up stranded on an island where they, and some other colonial women, are captured. There begins the nightmare and horror of internment in a Japanese camp. Back home at Gibber’s Creek families are doing their bit for the war. They worry constantly about their men who are fighting – and now those who are missing after Singapore falls. Powerful, compelling and confronting, this is a book that pulls no punches.
Memories and Such 