Catching up with friends

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On Sunday evening, we went to my inlaws place for haldi Kumkum and it was a fun evening. BB & GG got to meet up with some old friends whom they hardly see these days since they’ve moved away and are in different schools. At one point there was so much noise, we couldn’t hear ourselves talk – there were about 9 kiddos in the house, including two little ones. It was funny seeing how they split themselves gender-wise – the boys playing with their cars in one room and roaring with laughter at bodily functions, something that only little boys are capable of finding humour in and the girls playing god knows what but which included loads of shouting, dancing and singining in one room. The two little ones shuttled between both rooms, somtimes scared as they saw the noise levels there.

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It was really fun catching up with friends like this and we have decided to do it once again soon (after the exams). While talking about the different activities our kiddos do I was stuck by something. Most of their friends who came visiting on Sunday were learning Indian things (classical music, classical dance etc) since they learn they non-Indian things in school, something which every self-respecting tambrahmkid does, but BB & GG are different. BB & GG have been

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learning Indian classical Carnatic music for about a year now and GG as a counterpoint to this has been learning Ballet since the time she was around three years old. She enjoys ballet, but is not very good at it. It’s not something that she’ll be doing as a career, but it is something that gives her pleasure. I enjoy this dischotomy and it gives me pleasure that GG is blending the traditional with the modern, just like this world that is all hers!

Now I have to get BB to take something that complements what GG is doing – but BB is alll boy and so I am unsure if he will enjoy it. Well, there’s always hope. Next year, when they go to Primary 3, they need to take up some compulsary Co-Curricular Activities. Since BB is always at home – on the iPhone, on the computer or on the TV, both S and me want him to take up some physical activity like soccor, wushu or chookball!

Little Girls…or Miniature Women?

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Ok, here’s a warning, rant coming on, so leave now if you want…

On Friday night, BB & GG had their music concert, which I wrote earlier. There I realised that most people found it very normal to put on make-up to their little girls – some as young as three and four!

My view about this is fairly straitforward – GG gets to wear make-up when she turns 15. If there are compeling reasons to wear make-up earlier, it will not be anytime before secondary school (13 or thereabouts) and then too it has be something very light – maybe lipgloss when she goes out. I am not discounting the odd make-up when is forced to wear it (like a performance in school etc), but in situations where it is not needed, I totally dislike it on young girls. According to me putting on chemicals on their faces now will lead to many problems later on in life. Also they are children, not miniature adults! Is there a need to make them look like adults so soon? Let them enjoy their childhood first. Are the parents even aware what is in the cosmetics that they are putting on their daughters? Have they read labels? This has the makings of their faces looking older than their real ages by the time they reach their mid-twenties. Even if the girls ask for it, isn’t it our jobs as parents to not let them do it?

The show on Friday was a very casual one with just the children who learn from this particular teacher and their parents. I saw girls with full make-up (by this I mean eyeshadow, eye liner, blush, lipstick and nail polish) while the others did variations of the theme. I think GG along with just 2-3 other girls was sans makeup at all. The colours used were the real dark colours like dark red and burgundy.

Another thing which gets my goat is the same young girls wearing shoes with heels. The same rule that applies for make-up applies for shoes for GG, although she has been longing for heels. When heels are said not be good even for adults, imagine what it would do to a young girl’s feet even before it has had a chance to fully grow!

Ok rant over, we can all go back to our lives now

What do you think about girls being allowed to wear make-up and heels before they should?

In My Hands Today…..

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How to Marry a Marquis – Julia Quinn

When Elizabeth Hotchkiss stumbles upon a copy of “How to Marry a Marquis” in her employers library, she’s convinced someone is playing a joke. But with three younger siblings to support she has to marry for money, so a guidebook to seduction might be just the thing she needs – and what harm could there be in taking a little peek?

James Sidwell, the Marquis of Riverdale, has been summoned to rescue his aunt from a blackmailer. And, posing as the new estate manager, his primary suspect is his aunt’s companion – Elizabeth. Intrigued by the alluring young woman with a curious rulebook, he gallantly offers to help her find a husband – by allowing her to practise her wiles on him. But when practise becomes all too perfect, James decides that there is only rule worth following – that Elizabeth marry her marquis.