Chicks, Kittens, Ducks and Doggie...
...made her really
happy. She was so glad to run behind live chicks, kittens, doggies,
ducks. She was running behind a big hen of my neighbor and I asked
what's she doing. Do you know what she replied??
"Momma this is chicken, we can eat it!"
Back
in Kerala, fish is a part of our daily food and people can't just live
without. No one goes to market everyday to buy it. Especially in the
village area, the sellers bring varieties of fish to each doorstep, on a
basket. In my childhood, they use to carry the basket on their heads
and came walking from house to house. Later on they came on motor
cycles, bicycles etc. The seller in our area parks his 'vehicle' a bit
ahead of our gate and honks so that ladies from our neighborhood come
out to buy. A gang of cats also gathers there especially to gulp the
'waste' he throws. Liya loved to roam around the 'fish' guy to watch how
excitedly cats eat and the mess they make.
Tender coconut, Guavas, Oranges, Banana....
Most
houses in Kerala grow some fruits and veggies. She loved eating them.
She loved to take out small bananas from its stem, hanged on a small
wall. Believe me she finished an entire bunch all by herself. She was
so fascinated to eat homegrown bananas so that my dad cut down another bunch
and hanged for her. But sadly, it didn't ripen till we leave India. :(
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Mashrooms |
Flowers: She loved to pluck and crush flowers from the small flowering plants in our yards.
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Hibiscus |
Auto Rickshaws: She was excited to see auto rickshaws. She badly
wanted to ride on it. I have no idea on what she had in mind about
rickshaws, but she was curious. She was referring to it as 'auto
pasha'. Rickshaws are very common in Indian roads, which are common
man's basic mean of transport. Not every one can afford to have a car in
India, rickshaws play a big role in running their day to day life.
Once, I took her to nearby town, in a rickshaw, since then she has lost
interest in it... lolz. She learned that riding on an auto isn't as cozy
as she expected.
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Auto Rikshaw |
Gifts
Many gifts were awaiting her back
at home. Toys, accessories, dress etc. My inlaws had bought her a small
praying rug, a pardha (burqa without face veil) and a few toys, when they went for Haj last year
(2010). They had kept those well, all these months for their little
grand daughter. Liya loved all gifts. Parda is bigger for her, so we
hope to wear it while praying after growing some more older, insha
Allah!
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Silver anglets from granny |
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Praying on her rug, wearing her Pardha ... |
Accessories:
Her cousin D had a lot
of accessories. People there believe that girl should wear all gaudy
items and must look cute. I bought many accessories for Liya because she
was fighting with D and sometimes ended up in breaking D's accessories.
Believe me, half of them are already broken, because she is 'handling'
those extra carefully... lols.
It is so lovely Nishana to read about Liya's discoveries. I imagine it made the trip to India even more beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering if you could tell me what is a parda?
Much love to both. take care.
Marie- Thank you so much for being our regular reader. Children discover a lot of exciting things, as they move across countries and cultures, aren't they?
DeletePardha, is basically burqa/hijab without face veil. Her grand parents saw a small one meant for kids, while they were on Haj in Mecca, and bought for her. That's what you see in the pic. :)
How neat for Liya to learn about so many things! Do you plan to travel back to India in the future?
ReplyDeleteMy goodness, sounds like India was a smorgasbord for Liya - so much to explore and see and do and eat and play with!
ReplyDeleteI got a little chuckle out of the auto rikshaw story. Some things appear much more glamorous than they really are, don't they? :)
Your trip to India was a great adventure, wasn't it? I am rather impressed by your beautiful posts.
ReplyDelete