There's no place like Home!

No, really, there is, quite literally no place like India. The land of so much colour, contrast and some incredible people.
Let's start off the journey with God's Own Country, shall we - Kerala.

Yes, this is how people travel in the monsoons, one handed bicycle riding is quite the rage

Oh. you were expecting something more conventional? Like beaches and backwaters? Fear not! we have that too!

yes, yes, three very excited children at the beach...

...which they had all to themselves. Almost

More beach

and backwaters. 

Did I mention Fort Kochi? That is a different animal altogether. We decided to travel by the Kerala Water Transport (Arun having long ago decided that the rickshawallahs were bleeding us dry and he was having none of it)

who knew? Graffiti filled walls in a communist state

The chinese fishing nets strictly serve the function of  tourist attraction. The actual fishing is done by that guy crouching below it with a string in his hand

In the barges, all manner of vehicles and people abound. I'm surprised it didn't have people hanging off the rails. 

My favourite bit was this though- in our balcony. These little sun birds building their nest.

Incredibly shy things. Had to stay well hidden to capture them in action.

I also happened to spend a few days in Mumbai *sigh*. Not long enough. Never long enough. Although I had more than enough of the death-wish laden traffic.

ONLY in Mumbai will you find posters that were made by posh people for posh people, never mind that the aam-aadmi is never going to get the LoTR* reference (*a friend kindly helped me correct my literary reference. I had erroneously attributed the quote to GoT. Thank you, Amruta!) 

soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur...

Re-use! Re-cycle! even if it's an old wheelchair and the man is using it as a balloon stand. 

In a country where cricket is a religion, seems a fitting monument to the God.

morning walkers

This, is NOT a haunted house. This is, in fact a dear friend's office space. I am happy to report, they are still alive as we publish this.

Bombay was not all concrete jungle. there were patches of hope.

Naturally, no trip to India can be complete without the festivals, and we had our fair share - Raksha Bandhan, Gokulashtami, Ganesh Chathurthy and Onam!

No onam is complete without a Pookalam, is is?

Our clay Ganpati. home-made and prayed. And immersed. Pudhchya Varshi Lavkar yaa!!

That is not Pickwick turning suddenly brave. That is a very life-like Elephant Mannequin all decked up for Onam  

There were of course, the incredible contrasts, from beauty being appreciated on the ramp to being neglected on the road...

...from pets being lovingly brought up to animals being cruelly imprisoned...

... but most of all, it is the sum of the people that make up incredible, inimitable India! Until next time, I will miss you.

Gee-Whizz

Yesterday morning started like just another sunday. Late. With the kids having to drag you out of bed.
When we finally cracked our eye open, we were greeted to a glorious, sunny day (well deserved, after a week of miserable wetness) and the roar, yes, roar of planes whizzing overhead.
Now, normally. I'm not much of a motorhead. Planes and speeds and engine stats do not roll off my tongue. But when you have planes overhead doing this, you have to stand and gawp.

These were the Baltic bees. They were performing at the Bucharest International Air show 2014

 and they made such pretty shapes in the sky!!

Then we witnessed a whole host of other planes doing this: (If you expect me to spew names, you are looking at the wrong person. I leave that in the capable hands of the baa-lamb. I just went, 'ooh! pretty!!')

I still can't believe we were lucky enough to witness this from out balcony. It was like our own, private Air-show. Towards the close of play, we got back from dinner just in time for the Piece de Resistance:

Look at that formation! I can't even...

We had a whole host of jumpers, with the final one unfurling the Romanian flag!

Good show, Romania! Can't wait for what this country shows us next!

Have kids? Must travel!

The hubby and I love travelling.  When we first met, we used to take off practically every weekend, when my job allowed it (my job involved a lot of travel as well. I thought it was one of the coolest parts of the job). Then we had a kid. And another. (Don’t worry, we’ve stopped now). But we still love travelling. And the question I hear most often from friends is “How do you do it?” Well, it’s largely on a hope and a prayer, and yes, a teeny tiny bit of advance planning. Otherwise, for the most part, travelling remains a much-loved family activity. Along the way, we’ve managed to learn a few things that make the vacation stress-free (for me) and (hence) enjoyable for the family. 

... Read on here

Of spontaneous picnics and such

Summers. I love summers. It’s the time of sunshine, happy faces, picnics and pollen (the last part isn’t what I love about summers, but it is what it is). So last Sunday the hubby suggests we go for a picnic. Out of the blue. And here’s what followed... (read on http://www.yowoto.com/posts/what-a-spontaneous-picnic-looks-like-in-a-parents-world)

Bulgarian Adventure

Taking advantage of the long-ish weekend, we decided to head on over to Bulgaria, deciding it was time to sun ourselves at the seaside. And so we booked ourselves at sunny beach. Only, we forgot to book in the sun as well. So there we were at Sunny beach, which is the only bit of 'sunny' we got at this beach. We had perhaps jumped the gun a bit and had arrived just before the start of the season. Hence we were greeted by rows of shut shops, eateries that taunted us with 'open non-stop' signs, when they opened. Also rows and rows of abandoned parasols on a rather windy beach. All rather sorry looking. But the upside was that we had some fantastic views all to ourselves.

The baa-lamb (after getting slightly apoplexic about finding the hotel wi-fi completely useless) rooted through the web and discovered that we were just a stone's throw from a UNESCO heritage site and that's when we decided the head off to Nesebar. (I knew there was a reason I still love the man)
I think I was slightly tempted to buy property in this place from the millions I am going to win at the Euromillions lottery. It would still leave behind enough for the place in Bruges. :)

Here, we spotted a few shops that were open, but were slightly apologetic about it.

They also had slightly strange welcome signs on sale.

The kids had a blast too. They visited a shore made completely of shells, and spotted their first jellyfish (the sea was full of them. Jellyfish and seaweed. Just the thing one needs while wading in the sea. Why, in a spa you'd be forking out hundreds of pounds to anoint yourself with these things. You got these here absolutely free!)

We even had a surprise visit from a school of Dolphins. I was so excited to see them, I completely forgot to click any photographs until it was too late, and all I got was this teeny shot.

All in all, good trip. Definitely worth a visit once again, this time when the shops are actually open, please. :)

CSAAM 2014 -Making the internet safe for kids

*image: www.tangischools.org

‘Mummeeee… Can I please go online? I need to find out something for my history homework…’ lines I’m beginning to dread more and more as my son grows older. With the onslaught of the world wide web, suddenly, I am no longer in control of what information is seen, received, and even sent out by my child. What is even more worrisome is that it isn’t long before he goes on social networking sites and I’m not really sure if he’s ready for that. I definitely am not.

But, I have resigned myself to the fact that this is one of those necessary evils one has to accept and the best way to protect my baby is to ensure he – and more importantly I am made aware of the perils of the internet.

Having researched the net (where else?) and hunted down leads, here’s what I’ve found:

• There are plenty of government organisations and Quasi- government organisations and NGOs happy to give us information about using the internet safely.
• Hardly any of them are from India.

This despite India having the world’s third largest internet-using population[1].  The ones that do exist often have information that is confusing, hardly easy to read, let alone understand and implement. There are, of course a few brilliant ones, like McAfee Cybermum India, but these are proving more the exception than the rule.

How, then, do you keep your child safe from the big, bad world of internet-abusing strangers? Well, like in the real world, I suppose with a bit of common sense along with a lot of awareness.  But before we go further, ensure that your child knows to come to you if something does go wrong when they are online. They need to come to you if they are worried or even curious about something they’ve seen or heard online. That’s something that can’t be stressed enough. You don’t want a child who is hiding bigger problems from you for fear of being punished or chided.

*Image: www.thekindtips.com

Internet safety for children (these are wonderfully practical tips I found on www.getsafeonline.org )

Advice if your child is under 5 years old

•  I’d start by setting limits for the amount of time they can spend on the computer/ tablet
• Kids are smarter than we give them credit for. Set up passwords/ PINs for machines or programmes you don’t want your child to have access to.
•  On machines they do have access to, please set parental controls that ensure that your child can view only appropriate content.  There are many software programmes available at various prices that work in different ways.  If there’s a family computer in use, ensure that the homepage is set to a safe and trusted website.
•  When buying or downloading apps or games for your child, check if the age ratings are appropriate for your child. Please ensure that the grandparents/ baby sitters or other primary carers for your child are given a list of what programmes/ games your child is permitted to watch or play in your absence.
•  When using public Wi-Fi at a café or the airport or a hotel, remember that they do not include parental controls.  I’d be a bit wary about handing over your mobile or tablet (still connected to the internet) to your little ones, it may result in them watching/ accessing inappropriate content.

If your child is aged 6 to 9 years old

•  All the rules that are mentioned above would pretty much apply to this age group as well. In addition, sit with your child and agree upon a list of websites your child is allowed to visit.
•  Ensure that they do not reveal personal information about themselves and the family online, such as your home address, school, etc.
•  Keep all devices that connect to the internet (computers/ gaming consoles) in a family space, so if your child stumbles across something inappropriate, you are immediately aware of it.
•  You’ll need to have a chat with your older children on what they should or should not be sharing with/ showing their younger brothers or sisters on the internet and in the games.
•  You might need to have a chat with other parents in your child’s school and circle of friends as to what age they’re buys devices for the children that connect to the internet, but form your own opinion. Don’t succumb to ‘But ABC’s mother allows him/her…’ if you think your child isn’t quite ready yet.

Advice if your child is aged 10 to 12

• At this age, most children get their first connected device, so it’s best to lay down the rules for usage and put in the age-appropriate settings before they have it. The internet does not guarantee anonymity. The best advice would be to tell them to not do or say anything they wouldn’t be comfortable say or doing face-to-face.
• However much your child is tempted to show off his latest gadget, make them aware of the risk of theft/ loss and attracting unwanted attention in public places.  Phones and other gadgets should be well hidden when they’re not at home.
• Have a chat with your child about online etiquette. Discuss what is safe and appropriate to post or share online. Make them aware that once it’s out there, it’s out there for everyone to see forever. No matter what the security and privacy settings are. Even if they go back and delete it later.
• This is the time when there’s a burgeoning interest in their own changing bodies and those of the opposite sex. They may want to look it up on the internet. You might need to check the content your browser throws up if and when they do want to do these searches. They also need to understand the importance of not sending other – whoever they might be- inappropriate pictures of themselves and/ or of themselves (or anyone else) in the nude.
• Most social networking sites have a minimum age of 13. However these are easy enough to circumvent with the right know-how. It’s important for your child to understand why these age limits exist and that he or she abides by them.

Things to discuss with your child:

• Do you really know everybody on your ‘friends’ list?
•  Do you know how to use and set privacy and security settings? Can you show me how?
•  Do you ever get messages from strangers? If so, how do you handle them?
•  Do you know anyone who has made plans to meet someone offline that they’ve only ever spoken to online?
• Are people in your group of friends ever mean to each other, or to other people, online or on phones? If so, what do they say?
• Has anyone ever been mean to you? Would you tell me about it if they were?
•  Has anyone at your school, or anyone else you know, taken naked or inappropriate photos and sent them to other people, or received photos like that?

Advice if your child is aged 13 or over

• Ah, the wonderful teens. Your child may think he/ she is adult enough and may not want to listen to everything you have to say, but ensure that they know their boundaries. Reinforce the lessons. Even if you think it’s falling on head-phoned ears.
• Now would be a great time to keep yourself updated with technology that you child uses, maybe ask them to teach you, give you a few pointers. Not only would this be a great platform to discuss your concerns with your child, but it also keeps you up to speed with what programmes/ apps are currently being used by your child.
•  Your child may now be old enough to disable/ circumvent the security settings you’ve put in place, so you might be better off having a frank discussion about their body image/ sexuality of themselves and others online. Often the information available online is misleading and sometimes downright dangerous. Discuss and agree with your child in advance what is acceptable online behaviour.
• I may be saying this too often, but there’s no such thing as too much discussion with your child. Have open, non-judgemental discussions about posting harmful, hurtful, untrue comments, online bullying, sexting and webcam usage.
•  If you have a budget of how much a child can spend online/ on gadgets/ apps/ music/ gaming/ talk-time, let them have control of the budget, but access to your credit cards and your financial details should still be a while away. Also ensure your child knows about what is legal to download and what isn’t (pirated software, music, etc.)

Most of all, I’d say, use your common sense. If something doesn’t feel right, err on the side of caution.  I’d rather be the overprotective, over reacting mother that my child hates than the ‘cool mum’ who ignored the warning signs. Happy surfing!

Other Useful links:

http://www.childnet.com/parents-and-carers

http://www.digizen.org/digicentral/roleplay-scenarios.aspx

http://www.saferinternet.org.uk/advice-and-resources/parents-and-carers/parents-guide-to-technology

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[1] Source: Wikipedia