Baby's World

Kabeer is getting more inquisitive every day. He asks logical questions ("Mama, is pizza a kind of bread?"); he asks illogical questions ("Why can't tomorrow come today?"); and he asks questions for the heck of it ("Why do you say you don't know the answer to that Mama?"). But the questions mostly give us an insight into his mind & it sure is a fascinating place. Of course, its filled with race cars, airplanes & buses for now, but there's so much more in there that I can't begin to describe. Incidentally, I read this beautiful verse by Tagore & it sums up my thoughts on why having a baby is a life-changing experience - its the only way to get a glimpse of this magical world! :)

I wish I could take a quiet corner in the heart of my baby's very own world.
I know it has stars that talk to him, and a sky that stoops down to his face to amuse him with its silly clouds and rainbows.
Those who make believe to be dumb, and look as if they never could move, come creeping to his window with their stories and with trays crowded with bright toys.
I wish I could travel by the road that crosses baby's mind, and out beyond all bounds;
Where messengers run errands for no cause between the kingdoms of kings of no history;
Where Reason makes kites of her laws and flies them, the Truth sets Fact free from its fetters.
- Rabindranath Tagore

Krishnan's Dairy

Jacob Rajan is a Kiwi-Indian actor who does single-performer plays. We had watched 'The Guru of Chai' last year & were blown away by his talent. This year, we went back to watch 'Krishnan's Dairy' and were as impressed. Its far from being a monologue. To single-handedly perform 4 to 5 characters in an hour long play is far from easy; and to do so while maintaining the humour, energy & subtelty of physical traits & body language of each person he portrays; is an incredible talent. I'm a fan.

Phuket

We spent the long weekend in Phuket & celebrated H's birthday by the beach this year. Thai food, Thai sand, Thai sun, Thai massage & Thai service; all make for a great holiday.

De Vrais Mensonges (Beautiful Lies)

We caught this French romantic-comedy at the Alliance Francaise theatre in Singapore, and I'm tempted to make a few broad generalisations: Do all romantic French movies star Audrey Tautou?... and how does any sentence spoken in French or any story set in France become this romantic?

A good fun movie that's gotten me thinking all over again about how great it would be to get Audrey's pixie hair-cut. Or to live in South of France. Or both.

The Week in Taipei

I spent most of last week in Taipei on a business trip and loved the spring weather there; it was a refreshing change from the always-hot-&-humid Singapore. The people are warm, friendly & easily fascinated by Indians. The language barrier didn't come in the way of making some lovely new friends.

As with Singaporeans, the Taiwanese love bonding over food & conversations about food. So every conversation goes, "Let me take you to my favourite place for traditional dimsums/ traditional tea/ traditional Taiwanese barbeque....". I ate. A lot. And loved most of the food; lived through some of the food; and flatly refused to try some foods (like chicken testicles, duck heads & smelly tofus).

The Taipei 101 is, well, a very tall building. It's in the heart of the swanky new financial district of Taipei; which looks as uninteresting as Singapore's CBD. The old financial district on the other hand, has older office buildings, interspersed with old residences with balconies protected by iron grills; charming cafes; parked scooters; and has a lot more character. There's the odd Starbucks around the corner, but it serves a local menu of fragrant teas along with its regular menu.

The night markets of Taipei are quite fun. They sell absolutely everything under the sun (as long as its inexpensive) and are busy till almost 2 am in the morning. Of course, staying away from the smelly tofu stalls is recommended if you have a sense of smell & aren't chinese.