Setting up House

As I write this first blog, which I hope will be a medium of communication (not one-way!) for all of us during our year in India, I see this Gigantic Tree (said to be the oldest in Indira Nagar - a suburb in Chennai), a veritable great-grand-daddy of trees at the corner of our property, its branches reaching out beyond the next house, while shading ours. It is known as the "Thoongu Moonji Maram" in Tamil, literally translated, the "sleepyhead tree" for its drooping leaves. It is known as the Rain Tree. Check out this URL for more info on this tree: http://www.hindu.com/mp/2006/08/12/stories/2006081200350200.htm

This new apartment that we've moved in to used to be a single-family house. We are on the 2nd floor (3rd floor in the US. In India, we talk in terms of "ground floor," "first floor," "second floor," etc.,) and are surrounded by trees on 3 sides - coconut, neem and mango. It is a bright and sunny apartment and I hear the din of building work on either side of the house. Over the last 10 years, more and more single-family homes are being converted to apartment buildings to accommodate the growing urban population, coupled with the ability of home-owners to cash in on the considerable land appreciation in Chennai. It is Ramesh's parents 2nd home, and they have generously let us live there and pay a nominal rent that a college professor can afford on his meagre salary!!

Akbar:
Our journey to India was mercifully uneventful, and Akbar fared pretty well. JFK airport allowed us to have him with us until an hour before boarding, and we were able able to walk him in the sparse walking area of the International Terminal. 6.5 hours later, he came out of the "oversized baggage" belt, his tail thumping his crate with joy at seeing us. (Here he is at the Frankfurt airport) The cargo hold of the plane, I was assured, was identical in temperature and pressure to the cabin, though not lit. We were ecstatic with relief to see him. Frankfurt is a very dog-friendly airport. It was about 5 in the morning and very mild for a late December morn. Ramesh and I took turns walking him.
We had about 5 hours to spend, and were wandering about all over the airport with him in tow. At an airport restaurant, while we were asked to leave our hand-luggage outside, we could take him to our table! The young waiter promptly provided a large bowl of water to him before waiting on us! The Frankfurt-Chennai leg was rather long, with an hour delay on the runway. We arrived at the baggage area of the Chennai airport to hear him howl at me as I walked to retrieve him! (His crate and our luggage had arrived by the time we cleared immigation). The crowds, the general fear of dogs among Indians, and the Customs officer's urgings forced me to leave him in his crate and until we were well outside the terminal. Geetha and Raghavan (my sister and BIL) met us with their 2 cars to accommodate our 6 suitcases, dog crate, dog and paraphernalia.

December and January have not been as cool as I remembered them. The days are hot (in the high 70s, 80s) and nights are mild at 70 or thereabouts. Ramesh's parents' home in Mylapore (the last of the single family homes) has 10-15 feet of yard space in front, and 5 feet of space on the sides. Akbar was happy to negoitate the 4 steps in the house, but I had to walk him on the road to find a spot for him. Green grass is rare. However, piles of leaves in front of people's homes is more common. So, a month later, I find that he is quite happy to take care of business on that. He gets a walk around the block before 6 and a another long walk at night before bed. I am responsible for a mid-day outing and a 5 p.m. outing. These are often short and he is happy to come in from the bright sun. (It is only February 6th!)

Rajani and Schooling:
Rajani, on the other hand, had been anxious to settle in to a routine. She realizes that this is not the usual holiday trip. She missed her school friends and often asked for assurances about going back to Green Acres School, talked of dreaming about Jonathan or Angela or Lauren and Maya, and of my promise to get her a cat upon our return to North Haven. She wanted a school routine and wanted friends to play with. With Ramesh at IIT on the 3rd of January, and most schools with a June-April calendar also resuming on the 3rd, I had to start visiting schools. The biggest let down was that HeadStart, the school which Ramesh and I had hoped to get her in to, and with whose Principal I had had good conversations from the US, did not have space for her in 1st grade. (A minor matter that the Princiapl had failed to mention during our conversations!). The traditional schools would not even consider taking on a child this late in the year. (The term only had 3 months left. Schools closed for summer vacation in the 1st week of April).

I was told to try "Sishya" a school that ran from Jan-December. (I had turned it down in the earlier for the same reason!) Sishya only opened on the 21st, and its "Admission Committee" met every Wednesday. So, off we went, respectably dressed, with Ramesh taking a few hours of work, to present our case the committee, which met from 9-11:30. We thought we were early at 8:45. So had 42 other families! It was 12 noon when our turn came. I had long since dropped Ramesh at IIT, and Rajani had grown faint with hunger during the wait. The committee saw us briefly and told us there was no space in their 3 sections of 1st grade. However, we were welcome to visit them again next Wednesday! (One parent said that she had consistently "met" with the committee for 5 weeks in a row and had gotten admission for her daughter. My parents in law's tenant had to sleep out on the pavement to get in line for his child's pre-school admission to an unnamed "prestigious" school. Ramesh and I decided to pass on that! )

I had already visited Learning Tree, a Montessori school, in Shastri Nagar, quite near our apartment. It is a small school , with only 1st and 2nd grades, and a sizable pre-school (which is called Kindergarten here. KG comprised Lower KG (LKG) and Upper KG (UKG). Children 3+ attend KG. After 2 years, they go on 1st grade. Ms. Sudha Narayanan is a former Sishya teacher and has been running this school for 5 years. I met her, visited the place twice, found it small (the 1st and 2nd grades together total 15 children), reviewed their curriculum, and found it perfectly suitable for Rajani. She started school the day after Pongal, and has been happy to go everyday since then. The homework is a little more than she would have got at Green Acres. She learn math, handwriting, reading (not as advanced as she is capable of), spelling, followed by dictation (more than she knows. Yesterday, she learnt to spell "aeroplane") and Hindi. She has learnt the vowels so far, and has started on the consonants. She is not crazy about this. It is also quite out of context for her, since she hears, sees and speaks Tamil, rather than Hindi. But, alas, Learning Tree does not have the Tamil option.

She goes to school from 9 till 2. Speaking of which, I must be off to fetch her. I keep the car. Ramesh goes by auto, and has been threatening to get a bike, which I have firmly forbidden him to do, for his personal safety (traffic is hell, the distance only 3 kms). I will ask him to stop by and post a little blog about his campus experience. He seems to find the kids bright and enthusiastic - only the institution is staid and old fashioned. The campus is lovely - tree lined, spotted deer all around, very naughty monkeys that get into classrooms too! Everytime I drive him, I am sad that we don't live there. The housing that they provided us was quite inadequate for our needs.

How to reach us? Please use the blog to post comments, questions. While I promise to write something substantive at least once every 10 days or so, I will check every day for your remarks. I still have the same email. However, if you want to speak to me, or write an old fashioned letter, here are the details: [.... removed...]

Next post - House blessing ceremony, what I am doing with my self, my musical pursuits, and more! Ciao!