Chennai Chronicles - Becoming Chennai-Vasi

Nantu is making inroads into becoming a Chennai-Ite! I thought he will take to the change rather roughly... but not at all.. the minute he landed he was off to the arms of his aunt and granddad and I wasn't even spared a backward glance. More often than not I am forgotten these days. The iron walla and "Taxi Dude" are greeted with a "Hi" and when they fail to ask the follow up questions, still get the reply "I am good"! (Uh!!) The shy kid I knew in Denver is long gone and here is an eager, exuberant chatterbox who wants to talk to everyone on the road.
The other day his granddad stood outside talking to some neighbor. And Nantu stood next to him. The neighbor made the mistake of striking a conversation with Cheeky.
"So did you fly here" he asked!
"How can I fly, The plane flew I just sat in the plane" came the reply!
"Really the plane flies" he asked
"Yes the plane flies that is why it is called flight" came the reply! Whew.. I did not think of that!! Cheeky of course lost no time in informing the neighbor all he knew about planes. And went on to describe every book he has read on planes. The poor neighbor was forced to listen to the non-stop chatter!
The neighbor not to be outdone, made another stab at coming out of this sounding smart "You know big birds fly like a plane they don't flap their wings" he said
"That is an imaginary bird" said Cheeky after some thought! That silenced the Neighbor, poor man! He obviously doesn't know 3 yr old's! Nantu was talking about the Big Bird in Sesame Street by the way. Now he knows all about Eagles and Kites thanks to an over-enthusiastic mother!

And then he went on a play date with my cousin's kid! He had a swell time there! My cousin's kid goes to one of the best schools in Chennai and speaks lovely English. He is also 3. So Nantu was really excited with his new found friend, he could also converse comfortably with! The little boy lets call him Pesky shall we? For that he is.. an Adorable Pesky Brat!! Pesky is a true blooded Chennai-ite. We were in awe to see him ride his bicycle. He can go through all sorts of gaps, turn in the obscure places, Ride one handed, make difficult turns and of course go at a head spinning pace. Cheeky on the other hand had to stop every once in a while. And if he dashed against something stop and estimate damages. Tell Pesky how to ride "Don't dash, No Crashing, ride Slowly" and then slowly start the cycle again, slow down at every turn! We had good fun laughing at these two brats! The contrast between them was such good fun to see!

However the Chennai heat is finally here.. and I am finally getting sane and deciding to stay indoors. Still the temptation to go to every sweet shop and chaat place is too much! We have also been visiting temples that Cheeky finds very strange. He had to take off his shirt at one temple. "Mom don't take my clothes off" he whined. And then insisted I carry him all the time and held on to my dupatta (shawl type cloth worn with the traditional Salwar Kameez) in utter dismay!

I had my first run in with the telephone company here. And amazingly things seem to have changed with the privatisation and the inset of competition. The lady I spoke to over the phone is an Assistant Engineer at Telephones. She was so courteous and assisted me so patiently and solved the issue without any delay. I was pleasantly surprised! There is sign of progress everywhere. In the couple of years that I have been away there has been so much more development. I am so excited!!

I am off on another little adventure next week.. Will be back with an update after that.