say no, actually ma... say yes

the phone rings in the study. chellam picks it up and one minute later rushes into the dining room where i am, arms waving about frantically.... 'say no, say no..say no...'

'to what?' i ask 

'to the harry potter movie.'  i can't believe my ears! the phone's dead when i reach it, so i sit her down and ask what's happening.

X has been recently moved to her section, is known for being 'seriously weird,' and has no friends. probing doesn't get me details about what qualifies as 'seriously weird,' but plenty of eye-rolling happens. 'ma-aa, she's different, ok?' my daughter concedes. 

'and that's weird?'

'yes!' is the firm reply.

'so X's mother is trying to get a group of girls together to go for the harry potter movie, and you don't want to go?' i clarify.

'yes,' chellam answers again.

'because X is different, and that's weird.'

the 'yes,' slower to come this time, is accompanied by a frown and some lip chewing. then... 'actually ma... say yes,' she says.

my heart's leaping up doing high 5s, but i pretend nonchalance. 'how come you changed your mind, kanna?'

'i feel bad for her ma.' chellam replies, and even as i open my mouth, warns, 'don't ask me anything else ok? and i'm not going to be like her new best friend or anything. she doesn't have any friends, nobody wants to go, and i just feel bad for her, ok? so, say yes.'

i call X's mother, say yes, chellam would be glad to go along for the movie, and feel a heavy choked feeling inside when i hear the relief in her voice. she rushes on to explain that X is new to the section and somehow hasn't made a connection with anybody yet... i can feel her puzzlement, and pain.

i put the phone down and hug my daughter. there's no need for words. 

the cast, crew, and the reasons why

why this blog? for three reasons

one - to maintain some semblance of sanity in my life by giving me much needed child related rant space,

two - to keep the 3.5 readers of my other blog to the wind and the trees from running away, as they surely will if i inflict this upon them, and

three - i promised my chellam i would one day write a book called 'growing up with shivi,' and this is my memory jogger/record keeper/witness of truth

the cast and characters

heroine - shivi, 13yr old girl teen, referred to as chellam in happy times, overly fond of shopping, and of the colour pink, fitting neatly into almost every cliched slot there is for 13yr old girl teens overly fond of shopping and of the colour pink

everybody else qualifies as sidekick, or as it is so beautifully said in tamizh - jaalra. in order of importance

brother - referred to as first-born or raja, exists solely to make her life miserable (according to shivi), also serves as a life raft in the stormy sea that shivi's mother is tossed about on

mother - me

father - referred to as nana, long suffering provider of gadgets and funds for shivi's other mad escapades

assorted characters playing the roles of friends, foes, teachers, and sundry relatives make sporadic appearances.

this drama is set in the lovely south indian city of chennai.

read on.