Arty Crafty sunday

Sunday morning was bright and sunny - loved the weather!

I went to Dastkar - with my mom and a friend. It is a craft festival and this year is the 6th Bangalore NATURE BAZAAR showcasing crafts and craftspeople from across India. 
It is on from the 6th August 2010 to 15th August, 2010, from 11:00 AM to 8:30 PM at Palace Grounds, near Mekri circle.

Thanks to blogger Artnavy for letting us know. Like she said it was worth it. A little pricey in some cases but it was a visual treat and was a very culturally satisfying experience.

There was a rajasthani puppet show and dance shows at regular intervals.
I kicked myself for not taking the camera.
 
I picked up some beautiful Madhubani paintings (had been eyeing them for a long time) ... 
 

 

and a wrought iron mask from Chattisgarh....

Also picked some kites for N. Am sure both N and S will love flying those.

A perfect example of bad service - Oasis Mall Koramangala

Weekend was here... Saturday evening .... what could be more ideal than to spend some time at a local mall and eat out too! (I know there are better ways, but blame it on a brain freeze and lack of ideas).
We (the husband, wife, baby and grandma) decided to visit Oasis mall on the Inner ring road (near Sony World Junction in Koramangala) which houses Lifestyle, SPAR, Max and some other stores.
The journey started with the torture of weaving through Bangalore's narrow roads and haphazard traffic combined with the weekend evening madness. After a lot of traffic lights, honks and speed breakers we reached close to the mall and the woes of a weekend-mall-goer began -

1. There were autos and cars parked on the left side of the road  just before the entry to the mall (it is supposed to be a no parking zone). As a result all the vehicles that wanted to enter the mall had to disrupt traffic and butt in right to overtake these stationary autos and cars. There was no traffic cop or mall security to clear up the unmoving traffic.

2. Then began the looonnng queue to park. If you have been to this mall you will know that the transit from one level to the other is difficult, badly planned (who was the architect here?) and very irritating (because you are made to go up around 5 to 6 levels and wait on 45 degree ramps). We saw quite a few drivers backing up at every turn and then driving up the curves.

3. As if the upward journey wasn't enough once we reached the top we were made to wait till a parking spot became available which was about 10 minutes. The guy in front of us had been waiting for 10 minutes already. There were a row of cars behind us including some standing on the awkwardly angled ramp. There was no coordination between the parking attendant on the top floor and his counterparts on the other floors. So the staff on the ground floor had no clue that the terrace parking space had run out and they kept on sending cars to the top floor.

4. Enter the mall and search for a restroom - they are tucked away into one stinking corner. Dirty, smelly, wet and leaking is how they can be described best. There was not even an effort being made made to clean them. Hygiene was at its worst!

5. The way out of the mall isn't great either. Cars were backed up till the 4th floor and it took 30 minutes to reach the ticket collection point on the ground floor. What we thought was a delay because of cars merging with traffic on the main road was a result of inefficient service at the ticket collection booth. The guy was taking his own sweet time - least bothered about the cars backed up till the top floor. Had they been more sensitive and organised they would have employed 2 to 3 people to speed up the ticket collection process. This was sheer callousness on their part.

It is hard to believe that this is one of the newest malls in the city and it lacks space management and good services. This experience has definitely taken this mall off our weekend-to-go places.

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UPDATE - I sent this article to the Bangalore Mirror and they published an edited version of this on 9th July as a feedback in the "Letters to the Editor" section. Felt good about voicing my opinion and seeing it in print!

Colours

I have been away from the internet for a few days (thanks to a nonfunctional laptop & house guests). My sister left this week and my mom arrived so I have been busy. N has been having a great time of course!!

I have been slowly collecting things for our apartment. Last week I put together N's room (its still not fully done) and this is how a part of it looks -

Here is a close up of N's art work & keepsakes that I have put up. Most of it is laminated so that it lasts longer.

The colourful cushions idea was borrowed from my sister-in-law (actually S' sister-in-law - his elder brother's wife). She is very artistic and has a great taste in things. Her house is spotless (even with 2 kids) and is a reflection of her creativity. I decided to get the multi-coloured cushions since they go with almost all of N's bedsheets and they bring an instant pop of colour that I like.

I picked up the bedsheet from FabIndia - its got cock-a-doodle-do's (as N calls them) all over with an orange border.

Book Review: No No Yes Yes

No No Yes Yes is a board book with those thick cardboard like pages that the little ones cannot tear. That is a very important criteria for me - since N is a very active toddler who out of curiosity grabs the pages of a book a little forcefully at times. He is getting better with time :)

The book has a few daily activities sorted into what is OK to do (Yes Yes) and what is not (No No). A little baby in his diaper shows all the actions. N is able to relate to the baby so its even more fun! 

Everyday things like eating food, colouring with crayons, playing with other kids, reading books, playing with animals, bath time, going poo poo and going out with mommy daddy are represented in the book. On the left side is shown how not to do it (say, no crayons on the wall) and on the right side is the correct way (crayons on the paper). Some of the illustrations are funny yet effective.

You might find some of the activities not relevant to your lifestyle - say, you don't have cats or dogs at home; you can skip those pages and read them later when the kids are more aware.

For toddlers (ages 1 to 2) one or two big pictures and a few words are ideal as beginner books. No No Yes Yes fits this criteria perfectly. The pictures are big and clear. The book was hand-lettered by the author. Even S who isn't a book reader (at all!) loves reading this one out to N.

I have 3 other books from the same author - Quiet Loud, Big Little, Yummy Yucky which follow a similar pattern as No No Yes Yes. N enjoys reading all of them - he can read them a million times!

Name of the book: No No Yes Yes
Author: Leslie Patricelli
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Recommended for ages: 1 to 3

The IPod and I...

... are recharged and refreshed respectively!
I uploaded a fresh and latest set of songs on to my IPod after about 5 years (yes I am very lazy).
But once I did that I felt alive and active! And I wondered what made me wait for so long - maybe the fact that I didn't use it so much before now.
Sometimes things like reorganizing and de-cluttering do help - at least for me they are therapeutic - especially when you have a sick and cranky (with viral fever) toddler at home.
Cleaning up my closet has the same effect.
What works for you? What helps you recharge yourself?