Almost there..

But sometimes it feels more like "Are we there yet"... We were dubiously close to being branded lazy parents till finally threats of violence from my better half persuaded me to run down our baby todo list. I think we finally have all that will make the little one comfortable whenever he decides to show up. I was in India a few months ago when I did my first bit of baby shopping and I must admit it was a bit strange buying napkin-sized clothes for someone that you have not known but will clearly be your responsibility. Fair to admit, it has not hit home yet. Support troops (or should I say advance attack troops) have arrived, MIL has OKed preparations. I am currently on a travel ban so enjoying the rather frigid summer days here in Munich.

What to expect when your better half is expecting!!

Pregnancy is the inescapable path to parenthood. Perhaps in older and less worldier times it was easy to escape the bulge that bewitched you every time you looked at it though nowadays I suspect its hard to escape the bulge's gaze. I am willing to go on record and state that it is actually quite enjoyable even for the less burdened partner. I wonder if it will be the same when we have out 7th kid! Nature as we all know plays an important part in the evolution of us human being and more importantly in teaching us how to cope with change. One interesting theory that a friend told us when she was having her baby was that for the first couple of months the baby tends to look like the father more than the mother. Nature's way of reassuring the father that the baby is his lest he harm's it. Clever! Another interesting one, the Japanese believe that the sex of the baby is often such that it provides support to the dominated partner in the relationship. I.e. if the husband is henpecked, then more than likely the sex will be a male or if the male is more dominating then it will be a girl. Guess what the sex of our baby is !!

Letter from a prospective Father - in - Law

One of the stigmas of being brown skinned and from the subcontinent is often the association with arranged marriages. It is usually an enlivening dinner topic though having gone through several such discussions in my ripe 20's I had come to the conclusion that my youthful eagerness about my worldly marriage views were myopic at best. In perhaps a classic jaundiced view about how my brethren view this, I just assumed that teary Indian movies were actually elevating the awareness in what is sometimes a difficult process to get married. I assumed people were much smarter and got the message that while it is cool to be get an arranged one done, one needs to be tactful about it. That was till I read the email below. Below are some excerpts from an email that a prospective father in law (senior scientist of some sort) wrote to a very close relative who is a prospective bride. Names have been changed but everything else is verbatim. ----------------------------------------------------------------XXX----------------------------------------- Dear Sir / Madam , It has indeed been nice talking to you at some length . The abundant blessings seen on your family are a sequel to your hard work and good christian living . 2) As a summation of my previous emails and pursuant to some points figured in our telecon today, I ask myself and answer below some hypothetical questions (imagined general points). i) Is Dr Sanjeev Fair: Certainly Yes. Sanjeev is 5ft 8in . On a scale in which a black man is given 1 point and a European 10 points for colour , Dr Sanjeev gets 8.5+ points . If Shah Rukh Khan or Mohan Lal is given 10 points for their handsomeness, Dr Sanjeev also gets the same 10 points if not more. ii) Do we demand money: Certainly not ( However , what a bride may get as a customary practice is a blessing and is OK ) iii) Do we ask for Jewels: Again NO. But what a bride gets as a custom is OK. iv) Do we insist on marriage to be conducted in Bangalore: No, mutual wish , convenience and tradition. v) Has Dr Sanjeev been married earlier: Certainly NOT ( this is a ridiculous and idiotic question to ask myself and answer, but it is best done) vi) Has he been engaged earlier: Certainly NOT vii) Why is he interested in marrying only an Indian origin girl : He does not believe in American girls and American values. He thinks that American girls would want only his money, and latter in life, some day 10,20,30 years hence , a white wife could cause serious problems to him and his children . ix) If every thing is no, What does Sanjay actually want : He wants only three things a) a very beautiful girl b) a fair girl and c) good christian upbringing [The girl should not have been married earlier ; Should not have been engaged to some one earlier; and should not have been in love with some one else earlier]. These 3 things are also very true of him as well point - to - point. 2) You may think why I raise irrelevant questions and answer them myself . Such questions were very much in my mind , when Dr Johnny came in 1996 from US to marry my eldest daughter Dr Sheila. They were on her mind also. It is now 11 years and they are just fine in Dallas and get on very well . They are typically Indian and live around their son . In fact all my five brothers families are very normal and exemplary and all children came up well , but Dr Sanjeev is the most brilliant and most prosperous person among all his cousins. 3) Denomination : We are CSI . But in my conviction all denominations are equal in the sight of God . But should you have some point we could sort that out very amicably should it be a stumbling block . If you have any other questions, please send an email and I will be glad to send a reply. ----------------------------------------------------------The End------------------------------------

Half my kingdom for a decent name

Thats right, inspite of thousands of books we have read, countless movies we have seen and now several pages of a newly acquired baby book- we are still stumped for a name! The boundary conditions of the search are innoucous when considered by each cherickel seperatley however when consulted together big red X`s are all we are able to agree on. We have few more weeks depending on whether the baby decides to overacheive or follow father's footsteps and be late for everything!

Expectant father woes

Using our rental car to brave the wet-sloshy Bavarian weather on our baby shopping expedition as reported last week, we decided to hit the largest baby joint this side of the Alps. The wife had 'I need to acheive something today look' as we circled around Gärtnerplatz. In women speak, acheivement = buying. I am not sure if it was all the strollers or cheesy looking beds but after 20 minutes in that industrial shed of a place I was once more experiencing my claustrophobic panic attacks. Of course I exaggerate, but being pushed to make purchasing decisions when I know nothing about what I am buying always Mr Scowl flitting across my face (unless we are talking wine). Being the ever tactful husband of a visibly pregnant wife, I slipped in the suggestion that we should benchmark prices and explore our options before committing. The 'Frau' being of more machiavellian bent of mind, nodded in agreement. I thought that was easy. We agreed to visit the global benchmark for price parity in household items - IKEA. Mind you I am keeping 'acheivement' in mind. Once we got to Ikea we decided to prioritise. So first on our list were the Swedish meatballs with a side of berry marmalade. Bellyfull wife is a happy wife :) Then came the cupboards and more cupboards and then finally some small cupboards. We bought all those cupboards. Lest by baby feels cupboard deprived. With partial acheivement (no pram or baby bed), the boss orders me to drive back home. Joined some friends for greek grub in a very interesting joint which unfortunately afterwhile turned into a chimney. Sunday was also a baby based agenda though not ours, we were visiting friends who had new additions to the family. When mobile in Munich, our food choices are narrowed to two options - Dosas or Malaysian food. It was Dosa this time. Monday was the real acheivement day. We booked a spot for our still unborn child in the German creche system. We are hoping that a spot opens up in July 2010! The second highlight was the buying the pram. I must shamefully admit that I was now a victim of the seductive powers of the Bugaboo. There goes my downpayment on the BMW... We are off again this weekend in another rental to yet another baby shop in another suburbian paradise of Munich. Joys of fatherhood....

To puff or not

A vice that I gave up some time ago has been born again in the auspices of a water pipe, Shisha is my latest pasttime when I am in Arab land. Not as harsh as a cigar but more kick than a marlboro red and its fruity, so whats not to like. We officially kickoff our baby shopping this weekend, I am curious to see if all the wingeing about the paucity of baby stores in Munich was worth the fuss. To ensure that our radial coverage of all potential baby stores are reachable, I have tapped Mr. Hertz to help. Lets see what he obliges us with when we go to pickup the car later. We are contemplating further degradation in my carbon footprint by perhaps having a car on a permanent basis. Someone has got to help the auto industry! The financial turmoil seems to be plumbing new depths as every day passes, wonder how long the carnage is going to last. Nothing much seems to have affected the Arabs though, no shortage of Bentleys here. Work continues to be busy, I am about ready to seal our first big deal in the region.

Its Trout for dinner tonite

I had dinner with a colleague at the very trendy Buddha Bar in Dubai 2 nights ago. Its a very hip joint, replete bulky men with earpieces, bowing mongoloid women and a crowd that would put an Armani Launch Party to shame. Needless to say, I like the place and it allegedly fits my luxus schlampe image. Like most Buddha Bar's around the world, there is a DJ constantly spinning music and undulating the overall mood in the cavernous dining room. My one 'what the *&%#k' moment was when the English DJ started spinning a Malayalam track with techno beats. I am usually pained to repeat the name of my mother tongue to non-indophiles so when this blondie started pumping music and expects me to shake up my hips to it, I was more than a bit amused. Are we malayaless finally 'in'? Are we finally becoming the fashionistas that we beleive we are? I am reading my Mr. Friedman's "Lexus and Olive tree' primarily because it was recommended to me by a friend a few years ago and its essentially a layman's guide to Globalization. His style is primarily to explain by example and then write theological prose about why it is so. I am sure my Buddha bar experience would qualify for one the examples. The book would have been interesting before INSEAD, however now its a bit dated to read. Will review in a later post. The weather in Munich seems to finally be reaching some level of sanity, we enjoyed a wonderful walk in the park and brunch with a friend (he has a bar named after him in Singapore) from outta town. We had interesting banter about my soon to be enjoyed good fortune of becoming a father. My party animal friend is still taking it in doses so I think in the end he came to terms that my diaper swapping skills were going to be essential to saving my marriage. This is perhaps the first saturday we ventured out of the house before 3 episodes for Sopranos, 2 coffees and the hour hand going past the quarter mark. Time to be off, I am cooking tonite. The menu today is Trout in white wine and peppers with a side of sweet potatoes and lunch tomorrow is also care of me, tiger prawns in sponge gourd curry. Trying to rack up points to appease the Diva to approve my now weekly trip to the Gulf. Lets see how it works out. My boy (or girl) is kicking!