Squashed rat

I was at the comp typing out my new blog post when wifey casually said “There is a new man in my life”

I turned and looked at her, trying to comprehend what she said.

She said “meet Mr Cute” and dangled this little guy in front of me. 

I knew that she was into crochet of late, but this little guy took me by surprise and brought a smile on my face.

In December she was busy making angels of different sizes and shapes.

I asked her “They are so colourful, aren’t  angels supposed to be all white?” 

She said “These are for kids and they enjoy colourful things”

Last week I got a shock when I saw this head lying on the cot. 

When I asked her she said “Oh that is just the head, wait till you see the rest of the body”

I love the small things that she makes, like these key chain Owls 

Or the little book marks. This cow with a big head.

I photographed this squished mice book mark on a Spice book and inside the book titled "Sholay" that I was reading

Some of the things that she has crocheted has reached different parts of the world, like this pillow case which has reached Canada 

This scarf and cap has reached Australia (waiting for the cold season to set in) 

These frocks and skirt has reached California 

I wonder how the Australian immigration allowed a squished rat to enter their country. 

Frogies are her favourite, whether it be a simple one or a book mark. 

Her work table where she was working on a doll as well as a rattle. 

Finally she finished her work on the doll and asked me “Can you pack this and courier it to Chennai?” 

Now that put me in a fix as I had to ensure that it was properly packed and more important was the fact that it should reach the recipient at Chennai.

My anxiety reached new heights when there was no news from Chennai even after six days !!   I consoled myself that maybe they were sorting out the squabble between Sasikala and Paneerselvam and delivery of a crocheted doll is last on their priority list.

It was only when I  got a photograph on WhatsApp on the seventh day saying that it was safely delivered, did I leave a sigh of relief.  

Even the dolls looked tired after all the travelling they did.

So I decided to take one more picture of our Mr Cute in our garden happily sitting next to the onion sprigs.      

Talking of the garden, this is the last flower of the season (Vanilla) There are eleven beans holding on which means about 30% success in pollination. The longest bean is 9 inches. 

Now for the next step – Vanilla  extraction. 

PS: addition on 11th March - Little Mrs Mousy gingerly standing at the edge of the Ikea table. 

PS: 12th March - The Hedgehog came creeping in today.  

PS: 13th March - The Koala refused to look at the camera

PS: 24th March - This doll took some time and some say that the previous one was better. 

PS: 24th June - The Angel sisters are pretty happy and don't mind standing on the "nut case"  

PS: 28th Sept - The shoes are also ready

Update 29 January 2019 : Out of the three Santa, only one is left and the calf is the latest addition.

Marina Beach Chennai

During a short trip  to Chennai recently, I decided to go to the Marina beach early in the morning to get some interesting shots. Though the weather was overcast, I did manage to click some pictures.

The first thing that caught my attention at the beach was the statue of the Italian Tamil scholar Constantine Joseph Beschi. 

I made a mental note about looking up this guy who was here in India three centuries ago. When I read about him later on the net I was dumbfounded.   

He was an Italian who landed in Madurai in 1711 to learn Tamil. This would be putting it mildly when one reads about him in detail. I leave it to you to read more about him in Wikipedia.

As I proceeded towards the sea, I saw these guys playing beach volley ball, only the team looked stronger with five on one side.

This boy with his horse was on the look out for some prospective customers for a horse ride.

There was this unusual sight where people were doing some sort of puja as per the directions of the pundit. They seemed to be at a loss about the sequence of the ritual and  simply followed directions, while I just went on clicking. 

Finally they picked up the banana leaves (on which they were doing the puja), went as close to the water as possible and threw it into the sea. 

Meanwhile another set of people sat down and started the whole procedure again.  

Curious, I asked one elderly man (who just finished the puja) the meaning of the ritual that was taking place. 

The man apparently knew a lot and was happy to explain it to me in detail “Today is Aadi Amavasi - new moon day. It is a day for Pithir Tharpanam, a day for praying for your forefathers.  A ghee lamp is lit, manthras are chanted,  bells toll, these were done for the souls to rest in peace. 

Sesame seeds are considered to be holy and is used in this puja along with grass”  

He went on “Aadi Amavasi is special as it is the first Amavasi in Dakshinayam - Sun’s southward journey"

Well that enlightened me a little, something like the ‘All Souls Day’ observed by the Catholics.

Looking at the bundle of leaves, I was sure that they were all prepared to take in any number of people who wanted to do the puja.

From the corner of my eye, I saw that that the enrollment was in progress for the next batch.  Maybe the picture is out of focus because it is a view from the corner of my eye :-)

I moved on.   The ‘Beach Volleyball’ continued . . . . . . .

 and this boy (horse rider) was still looking for customers.

Two fishing boats were pulled up on the beach. The over cast sky made it a perfect setting for Aadi Amavasi. 

I think there are more photographs than text in this post, but then, why not let the the photographs speak for themselves for a change.