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Archive for the ‘language’ Category | |||||
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Of course this month is all about The Earth – bhoomi as said in Telugu. It’s nice that schools and communities are focusing on Maata Bhoomi – though it would be even better if such environmental education were made a part of the core curriculum. My son’s school celebrated Earth Day with some special events, in which I participated by presenting Earth Cake Pops to his classmates. Their excitement over the small treat indeed warmed my heart, but what I’ll remember most from the day is how well they treated their little Cake Pop – as though it were a fragile and oh-so-precious gift of rarity. They coddled and kissed their pops, and duly named their continents (thanks to CakePopShop for the wonderful detailing on the design) before safely tucking them away in their lunchpails to take home. I hope they’ll treat the real Earth with such care and reverence! For more Earth education throughout the year:
On of our all-time favourites – Hugg-A-Planet Earth
Whole World Gift Set from Barefoot Books
Terrific books: Aani and the Tree Huggers (recommended by one of our readers – based on true events in northern India) and The Earth and I (a simple and special read).
Games: What’s Rubbish? and Farming Game (Kids)
EPA also has a whole section on interactive kids’ games – mostly for older kids, but here’s a simple one. Happy Earth Day! | |||||
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We were in a Target the other day when my daughter spied a pair of fairy wings – which she immediately HAD to put on. “Me butterfly,” she declared as she fluttered about the store, eliciting many “aaawww’s” from other shoppers and many secret smiles on her part. So when we came back home, I had the chance to capture the moment as she continued the role-playing in our backyard. She has butterfly everything: butterfly rainboots, butterfly umbrella, a butterfly hoodie, butterfly pajamas and (most recently) butterfly bedsheets, which are worth their weight in gold for keeping her in her bed. But, sadly, we don’t use the Telugu word for butterfly – an unfairly complicated 7-syllable behemoth of a word: seeta-koka-chilaka. So I find myself cheating a little and borrowing the Hindi word for butterfly – titlee (which is short and fun to say) when reading books and such. Sorry, Telugu, but I draw the line at 5 syllables. Is this wrong of me? It’s not the first time I’ve borrowed – many Hindi words are shorter and easier to say. Besides, it’s a Hyderabad thing (where you can’t survive in some parts unless you speak Hindi/Urdu). “Butterfly” is still the reining word, but at least we have a less onerous alternative during our no-English hours. So this month, “ta” is for “titlee.”
Two’s Company Silhouettes Jute Bags ($40.80) and Butterfly Pillows ($89.00), available at Madison Ave Gifts.
Brahma’s Butterfly, a delightful tale from Tulika Books – think of it as The Very Hungry Caterpillar meets Indian folktale. Rs. 120
Outdoor whimsy: DIY Butterfly Straws by Good Housekeeping and a dreamy Butterfly Bench. $2,500
Cheerful Butterfly Pendant Light ($80.00) and Delight Table Light by The French Bedroom Company (£145)
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My daughter one day declared that the crib wasn’t for her anymore. It was “too baby” – and evidently too restrictive when she decided the sleeping thing wasn’t really on her schedule at that particular moment in the afternoon. And so our beautiful and sturdy Stanley crib joined the ranks of for sale items on Craigslist. Two weeks ago we sold it to a family with triplets, and mom, dad and all 3 little girls came to our house to disassemble and haul it away. It seemed my daughter had mixed emotions about her crib leaving her room – she kept repeating, oh-so-forlornly, “crib poyindi?” (crib gone?) and “ammai teesko?” (the lady take [it]?). Though I think she was satisfied that it was going to not one – but three cute babies - the trio of whom she kept counting and ogling over. So this month, as she happily sleeps in a semi-graduated mattress on the floor, ”ma” is for “mancham” (bed). We are on the search for a suitable bedframe – hopefully one that will carry her through adulthood… The front-funner so far, pictured at the top of this post: Blu Dot Nook Bed in guacamole.
Also alluring is this idea – seems to be a West Elm frame with a custom paint colour:
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It is the sickly time of year, as sniffles and hackings ring in the rooms and humidifiers and nebulizers are unearthed from storage. The kids have been en”gross”ed in sickly Telugu vocabulary (yes, there is a Telugu word for mucus from the nose), often mixing them with English words like “tissue” and “treatment.” The comedy of our language didn’t quite register until one day my son had his ammamma (grandmother) laughing as he was telling her that he had taken a “daggu-drop” (daggu = cough) for his cough. Comical indeed. So this month “da” is for “daggu.” At the top of this post, Organic Honey Throat Drops by Bee MD
Bound to have some ideas – The PennyWhistle Sick-In-Bed Book
Humidifiers I’d be excited to have in the room: Naoto Fukasawa’s Plus-Minus-Zero humidifier (left), available at Japan Trend Shop; and Gizmine’s Middle Colors Humidifier (right), with aromatherapy function.
And since we subscribe to the take-medication-only-when-absolutely-necessary philosohpy, we’ve been sipping this homemade kashaya (a type of herbal decoction / infusion) for relief. (Recipe courtesy of my mother-in-law – works better than anything over-the-counter!): Kashayam Recipe: In a small pot, combine 4 cups water with small amounts (roughly 1 teaspoon) of each of freshly ground pepper, cardamom, cloves, freshly grated ginger and a cinnamon stick. Boil and simmer until reduced to roughly 1 1/2 cups. Strain in cup, add honey and sip. | |||||
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If there is one movie you should see this month, I suggest Speaking In Tongues. Winner of the San Francisco International Film Festival Audience Award, this film begs the question: Is English enough? It documents 4 children who, starting from kindergarten, were immersed in 2 languages: An African-American boy from public housing who learns to read, write, and speak Mandarin. A Mexican-American boy (whose parents are not literate in any language) who develops professional-level Spanish while mastering English. A Chinese-American girl who regains her grandparents’ mother tongue—a language her parents lost through assimilation. A Caucasian teen who travels to Beijing to stay with a Mandarin speaking host family. It’s a fascinating exploration into how kids adapt and respond to learning a second language – and about preparing our kids for a global future in which the U.S. won’t always be “right” and knowing only English just won’t be enough. Yes, we can do better than monolingual education – it’s just that in the U.S. it’s up to parents and families to seek out how. | |||||
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‘Tis the season of spices, and warm on the stove Chai is sacred in our household – mornings and afternoons, weekends and holidays. Whether it’s cold or hot outside, our day cannot go on without it. We love it so much that in our new house, we’re building a “tea room” in lieu of of a dining room – with floor-to-ceiling windows and little bistro tables - in hopes my husband and I can steel a quiet moment together. And so a couple days ago, when we let our son sip his first cup of our special home-brewed masala chai, it was a surprisingly emotional moment – as though he were now properly initiated into our chaidom. (We do have a recipe for a non-caffeinated Kashmiri Kahwa - part of our Chota Chef Recipe collection – which he’s had many times, but this was “the real thing.”) I’ll never forget that look of reverential wonder he gave me when I asked if he wanted to drink with us. He dashed off to fetch his toy teapot, because, “Mommy, I have to drink it with my tea cup.” And so this month, “cha” is for chai. Below, chai-inspired gifts:
Masala Chai candle by Altru, $48.00
And who wouldn’t love chai-flavoured sweets! Left to right:
Top image by makefive | |||||
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ooTa is the Kannada word for “food” and, in combination with the Telugu word thinu (“eat!”), it is probably the all-time most used phrase in our household. The cute-sounding word covers everything from breakfast and lunch to snack and dinner and is even more adorable when uttered sweetly by the kids. So naturally it’s our go-to word for the letter “oo.”
On the subject of ooTa, I recently saw The Future of Food – a documentary by Deborah Koons Garcia about genetically modified foods. It proved to be a brilliantly informative polemic against the dangers of agribusiness and the corporations that seek to profit from GMO crops. Garcia explains how GMO crops are produced (often by the use of viruses and bacteria), what the international community thinks of them (the EU bans most of them and has strict labeling laws), what the US government is doing about them (not much – not even in terms of requiring labeling) and what’s at stake for the future. Interestingly, the catalyst for all of this was an Indian man by the name of Chakrabarty, who won a U.S. Supreme Court case in 1980 (Diamond v. Chakrabarty) which held that a live man-made micro-organism is patentable – the first time that living matter was afforded patent protection. This started the race for patenting seeds of crops – with huge profits for corporations and unintended misery for small farmers (who have been sued for patent infringement even for unintended airborne pollination). You can watch the film for free on the website or Hulu, or you can purchase the DVD. Top image: “Fruit Sellers” by Shiva Kumar, available for purchase at All India Arts. | |||||
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I made these spider cupcakes for my son’s birthday back in April (he’s been into spiders for over a year now). One of the little girls in his class was actually too scared to eat hers, poor thing. We re-made the cupcakes last week, which were a big hit again with the class, and we still managed to scare a few. So in honour of Halloween, there’s been much talk this month about bhayamu (fear, fright), and a whole lot of other ghoulish things we’ve been labeling with Telugu vocabulary: ghost = bootham Haven’t come up with one for “witch” yet, though my daughter calls them “scary ammai (girl).” Or vampire. Anyone? If you’d like to come up with a word list in your own language, try the truly wonderful Digital Dictionaries of South Asia (by the University of Chicago) or Shabdkosh – very easy to search in English. And here’s the recipe for the spider cupcakes – they seem decadent, but are actually (relatively) healthy. Instead of frosting, I just sprinkle chocolate jimmies on top of the cupcakes after about 10 minutes of bake time (to let them set in). I used small candies for the eyeballs and chocolate Twizzlers for the “legs” (you can also use string licorice). Enjoy! Ingredients:
Mix the dry ingredients in column 1 together. Melt the butter and the chocolate in a small saucepan. Let cool for 5 minutes, then add to to the dry ingredients, along with the rest of the liquids. Mix well. Divide into 12 cupcakes liners and bake at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes. Yields 12 cupcakes | |||||
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These kids are simply adorable – singing Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes in French. They’re from Le Petite Paradis – a bilingual French preschool in New York City. This Wall Street Journal piece lauds the benefits of bilingualism and hints at even further research in the pipeline on this issue. Bilingualism = flexble brains = more flexible learners. Of course I’ve been convinced for a very long time – but as we all know, it takes a lot of discipline and effort to keep up the learning of native languages at home. It’s videos like this that add fuel to the fire and keep us going. (However, in all honesty, I will have to say that I tried singing Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes in Telugu – and it just doesn’t work, given that the Telugu words for “knees” and “toes” are 3 syllables each. Darn over-syllabized South Indian languages…) | |||||
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We have this circular wooden platform in our backyard, most likely the former home of a pool table, that has become the kids’ Oda (Telugu for “ship”). We embark on our “Oda” and take little shikaars (excursions) to various places – to Japan to ride those speedy bullet trains, to Hawaii to see volcanoes, or to my son’s imaginary land of Fisiko. The other evening we sailed to meet some friendly rakshasaas – who treated us to a meal of biryani and milkshakes (would not have been my choice of accompanying beverage, but whoever refused a rakshasa, right?). Our shikaars have become evening rituals, and with all the places we have yet to explore, looks like the “Oda” is here to stay. And although trains still trump in our house, here is some Oda inspiration. Pictured at the top of this post, Porthole Bath by The Water Monopoly. £3800
Below, whimsical prints by Paris shop Galerie Anais: left, Autour du Monde (Around the World); right, Oh Mon Bateau. $14.00 (each)
Below left, Ship Shape Butter Boat by Alessi. $30.00.
And of course, the classic paper boat – as reinvented by paper engineer and gift wrap extraordinaire Denise Sharp. Her beautiful blog d.Sharp Journal features amazing and unique gift wrap and packaging ideas – you’re sure to find some Diwali projects!
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