Guilty or Innocent - My Version

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I see lots of bloggers doing this tag...sort of 'Sach ka Saamna'?! Deeps
and SG tagged me to do this. Here, I am opening my heart to all....:

The rules are thus…

RULE 1
You can only say Guilty or Innocent.
RULE 2
You are not allowed to explain anything unless someone messages you and asks!
RULE 3
Copy and paste this into your notes , delete my answers, type in your answers and tag 20 of your friends to answer this.



Asked someone to marry you? Innocent

Ever kissed someone of the same sex? Innocent

Danced on a table in a bar? Innocent

Ever told a lie? Guilty

Had feelings for someone whom you can’t have back? Innocent

Kissed a picture? Innocent

Slept in until 5 PM? Innocent

Fallen asleep at work/school? Guilty

Held a snake? Innocent.

Been suspended from school? Innocent

Worked at a fast food restaurant? Innocent

Stolen from a store? Innocent

Been fired from a job? Innocent

Done something you regret? Guilty

Laughed until something you were drinking came out your nose? Guilty

Caught a snowflake on your tongue? Innocent

Kissed in the rain? Innocent

Sat on a roof top? Innocent

Kissed someone you shouldn't? Innocent

Sang in the shower? Guilty.

Been pushed into a pool with all your clothes on? Innocent

Shaved your head? Innocent

Had a boxing membership? Innocent

Made a girlfriend cry? Innocent

Been in a band? Innocent

Shot a gun? Innocent

Donated Blood? Innocent

Eaten alligator meat? Innocent

Eaten cheesecake? Guilty

Still love someone you shouldn't? Innocent

Have/had a tattoo? Innocent.

Liked someone, but will never tell who? Innocent

Been too honest? Guilty

Ruined a surprise? Guilty

Ate in a restaurant and got really bloated that you couldn't walk afterwards? Guilty.

Erased someone in your friends list? Innocent

Dressed in a woman’s clothes (if you’re a guy) or man’s clothes (if you’re a girl)? Innocent

Joined a pageant? Innocent

Been told that you’re handsome or beautiful by someone who totally meant what they said? Innocent

Had communication with your ex? Innocent

Got totally drunk on the night before exam? Innocent.

Got totally angry that you cried so hard? Guilty


I am the female version of Sathyavaan Harishchandra!
So many 'Innocents', God, I seem to be a boring personality!

Now, just read the first few lines about the rules for this tag and whoever wants to be another Harishchandra, can do this tag! I don't find any!!!


Edited to add: This tag reminds me of this song!


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Ganesha Festival At Home

                                                            

Vakratunda Mahakaaya, Suryakoti Samaprabha, Nirvighnam Kuru Mey Deva Sarva Kaaryeshu Sarvada







Ganesha Chathurthi is a very important festival and I nearly follow our family tradition, which I learned from my  sister-in-law.  We pray Lord Ganesha before we start any work or before any important family function is to be celebrated at home, so that it is done without any 'vighna' (disturbance) .  

On the day of the Vinayaka Chaturthi festival (birthday of Ganesha - yesterday -normally it comes on a Chathurdashi day from mid August to mid September),  we bring home Ganesha  made of  clay along with the yerukkampoo maalai and an umbrella.  Then we keep it on a peetha (small stool).  We stick a 25p coin on the stomach, tie a sacred thread across the chest and a dhothi on the waist. Chandan and kumkum thilak on the forehead.  We draw special festival rangoli with red coloured  paste as border outside our gate and tie mango leaves on the door frame.  Here, you can see in the photo above, a rangoli in front of the deity with red colour line in the middle.   

Unlike Bangalore and other places where painted Ganesha is kept for the pooja, in Tamil nadu, we use  Ganesha made of clay.   When I was in Bangalore,  sometimes I was not able to get clay Ganesha.  So  painted Ganesha was kept for the pooja.   My children were small then and I used to buy 2 pairs of small Gauri-Ganesha dolls(in Bangalore, Ganesha together with his wife Gauri is kept for pooja)  and some flowers for my sons to do pooja, separately.  They used to sit together and do mock pooja! 

For naivedhya (prasad), we prepare sweet modak (coconut and jaggery), udad dhal modak, vadai, sundal(boiled and garnished chana dhal), raw-rice idly and paayasam (kheer).

After finishing the pooja at home, we went to the Ganesha temple in our street.  We had to finish the pooja by 10 a.m. and go there for the main pooja of the temple deity.





The temple car with an Uthsava moorthy of Lord Ganesha (the above photo) is taken for rounds on the nearby streets.  The car stops in front of the houses and we do aarthi .  This photo was taken when the car stopped in front of our house.    We tried to take the photo of the car, but it was difficult with so many people around.    So, we took one, with the trustee and purohit in front of the car.  The car is a small one but the woodwork is beautiful.  

I just pray that these traditions of our festivals continue at least for some more generations. But I know that it is not easy to follow,  with everyone in the family going out for jobs. The idol will be taken to the sea and dropped in the water on Wednesday (for visarjana).

I did not plan to do this post and so the photographs were taken in a hurry.  I just thought that our blogger friends from other states can become familiar with Tamil Nadu Ganesha Chathurthi celebration - home made!

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

The Baby Birds (Red Vented Bulbuls) Have Flown Away!

Our Baby Bulbuls

Our family feels sort of happiness and emptiness, in our heart, now. The baby Bulbuls have grown and flown away from their nest on Tuesday, the 11th Aug. '09. The above photo was the last one, we had taken on Tuesday late evening. We did not see them, the next morning. We saw only the parent birds for sometime.

This photo was taken on Sunday, two days before they left their nest:





This one was taken on Monday afternoon...the nearly fully grown birds, overflowing their nest!:





Now, comes the photos of the day, they came out of their nest - Tuesday. I was just bending down and opening the lock, in our gate in the morning. Suddenly, I heard some sound and saw the mother bird sitting on the branch of a plant, just near me (I had never seen her so close to me, till then) and chirping - maybe she was telling something. Then I just walked (we had been doing this everyday, as soon as we got up in the morning, since we saw the nest with eggs!) to their nest to peep in. It was empty! Then turned around and told my husband who had just come out, that the birds were not there. Both of us checked the plants and saw one bird, sitting on a branch, on the Rathnagandhi plant on the right side of the gate! The nest is on the left side. Turned around and saw another, sitting on the ground. I nearly stepped on the third one who was sitting on the grass (lawn). We saw the mother bird flying here and there and slowly the babies started shifting their places inside the gate, from one plant to another. It was a beautiful sight. I did minimum cooking because I was standing outside and watching the birds, most of that morning! Now, the photos:











The mother is keeping an eye on the babies. Mother or father, I don't know. I have seen both of them taking care of the babies. Both of them carry food in their mouths. One bird goes to the nest, feeds and comes out. Then the other bird, who waits, sitting on the cable wire, which runs on top of the nest, comes down and feeds the babies! I admired this nature of the birds.





At about 9 A.M., we heard some commotion outside and saw a third (stranger) bird (same bulbul). The parents were fighting with that bird. All of them ran away after a few minutes. The photo:





I did not see the baby bird, which was sitting on the lawn, when I came outside at about 11 A.M.


The two baby birds were sitting on the Rathnagandhi plant on the right side of the gate:





I noticed that the baby bird did not have the red colour under her belly, yet:





The empty nest:





The parents did not seem worried about the lost bird. They were happy feeding the two babies, which were sitting on the tree branch till that evening. We saw the them sitting on a branch of a jasmine plant, cuddled together (the first photograph) and the mother watching them. This image is still coming in my dream! Looked so helpless and tiny.





The happy family:





On Wednesday, I saw the parents sitting on the chain link at the backyard compound and chirping but did not see the baby birds. We just pray they are fine somewhere.

Have a look at the short video clip, we took on Tuesday. Just ignore the background sound please. The male voice is horrible. That is a commentary from a temple festival, near our house. Aadi maasam festival is going on.





The birds are beautiful. All of us are missing them.

We hope to see them back here, for nesting, next year!


This is the first part of the story:


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Saturday, August 8, 2009

Back to LKG... Learning ABC in a new way

Normally, I am not very confident about doing the tags, after reading tags of so many good writers over here! This time, I made up my mind early...thanks to Smitha, who tagged me to do this! Now...

1. A – Available/Single?

Single? I don't remember....it was so long ago!

2. B – Best friend?

My husband (the fightings forgotten, when I feel like it!)

3. C – Cake or Pie?

Cakes...Christmas cakes with orange peels, cinnamon, nuts etc.!

4. D – Drink of choice?

Lemon juice with salt and sugar.

5. E – Essential item you use every day?

Cooker, as soon I open my eyes in the morning, Walking shoes. Now like most of the people in this blogsamaaj... laptop!

6. F – Favourite colour?

Green, khaki colour, beige...(colours?!)

7. G – Gummy Bears Or Worms?

What are these?!

8. H – Hometown?

Udupi, Karnataka.

9. I – Indulgence?

Huh, nowadays sitting in front of the computer ...you know why?!!

10. J – January or February?

January, February....no events to remember.

11. K – Kids & their names?

Two sons...I may have to give them new blog names!

12. L – Life is incomplete without?

My family, relatives and friends...now, new blog friends too!

13. M – Marriage date?

10th May, 1974!

14. N – Number of siblings?

Four - two brothers and 2 sisters!

15. O – Oranges or Apples?

Oranges

16. P – Phobias/Fears ?

Cockroaches...I admire small rats with long tails, lizards everything. But roaches...dirty things.

17. Q – Quote for today?

'Why does a woman work ten years to change a man's habits and then complain that he's not the man she married?!'

18. R – Reason to smile?

Today morning, I saw a small squirrel running away with a full slice of bread, I had thrown out because it had fallen on the floor! Really, the animals and birds always make me happy!

19. S – Season?

Yes, rainy season, like Saritha. Somehow, even now, I come out of the house and watch pouring rain! Going out in the rain is horrible in Chennai...every rainy season, the water stagnates on the roads, even for one hour downpour!

20. T – Tag three four People?

As far as I know, I might be the last one to do this tag!

21. U – Unknown fact about me?

Everyone, who knows me, know me in and out! Talkative, nowadays!

22. V – Vegetable you don’t like ?

I like almost all the vegetables!

23. W – Worst habit ?

Talk without thinking, is the worst habit...now, changing slowly, by keeping mum, most of the time! Esp. while in gatherings! Have learnt to just smile!

24. X – X-rays you’ve had ?

6-7 times through the years...not for serious ailments, till now, though.

25. Y – Your favourite food?

Idlies, khichdi, chapaathis...

26. Z – Zodiac sign?

Libra

Monday, August 3, 2009

New Guests In Our Garden - A Bird Family

Our family has a new entertainment now - the new tiny birds in our garden!

Let me tell you the 'Bird Story' now!

It all started when our gardener showed us a tiny nest in between the branches of Red coloured Ixora (Vrukship poo in Tamil, and Kepalada pushpa in Kannada) plant on 18th July '09. It had 3 small eggs. It was in my head level. So I could not see them! I asked my son to take photos and he did so, nearly every day! The birds have chosen such a nice place to build their nest and camouflaged it from every angle. No human or other birds can find it easily. Let me post some of them:











Now, the first stage that we saw...three eggs inside the tiny nest:







We have visitors in our small garden, like, koyal, humming bird, woodpecker, parrot, sparrows, squirrels and some birds whose name, we do not know. We had more birds in our surroundings when we came here, to this house, 13 years back. Now, a number of flats have come up and the number and variety of birds visiting, have come down.

Now, this is a BIG surprise for us! I don't know the name of the bird. But they are cute, with a tiny red patch under their belly. We are particularly happy because they chose our garden to lay eggs. Till some months back, we had many kittens at home and our Nero and ET were experts in climbing small plants or big trees! They used to climb up and shout from up our Teak wood tree and my husband would run to rescue them with a ladder, once in the heavy rain, at night!

Even now, as soon as I open my door and step out, the birds who come to feed their babies, in turns, fly away and watch me from the wire (the photo!) on top of their nests!

The eggs must have hatched last Friday and my son took this photograph on Saturday! He whistled mildly and all the tiny mouths opened to the hilt! He clicked!!!






This is the proud mother, watching her babies! You know what, though the mouths are opened fully, no sound comes out of them!






And these are the happy parents, Amma and Appa!



I am sure, everyone will be happy to read the story of our Black birds and their tiny cuties!

I hear the parents chattering 'tuvvee tuvee' outside! Will go and have a look!


Edited to add the second part of the story of the bulbuls:

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