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Soaring like kites on a windless spring morning!
One weekday morning in mid-March, when the kids were enjoying Spring Break, Rachna came up with the brilliant idea of flying kites! None of us are experts at this clearly skilled job, but then Rachna owned some fancy Chinese kites sourced all the way from San Francisco. We were all delighted and we showed up in full strength at Gurgaon’s Tau Devi Lal Park- Mum (nani), Udai, Aadyaa, me, Rachna and Nupur, who was to get to work after this morning adventure.
As it happened, it was one of those lovely spring morning with a delightful nip in the air, BUT no breeze. Zilch! Not a leaf moved and we spent a few moments of despair, breathing in the scent of the roses, delighted with being out at dawn, but wondering how the hell we would fly these kites!
Not ones to give up, we found another way to do this. And get in some serious exercise at the same time! We taught ourselves to float the kite up in the air and then RUN. Run, run, run as fast as we can so the kite lifts into the air just as the wind rushes into our lungs! Oxygen rush coupled with the excitement of getting the lovely kites into the air- what a heady start to the day!
Of course, we were so tired in a bit that we call sort of crashed into one of the covered gazebo the park designers have obligingly built. Here we proceeded to eat a picnic breakfast, receiving indulgent and slightly mocking smiles from a few young men from nearby Wazirabad who were into a serious workout session in the same space! After a bit, we noticed a little boy, about the same age as Udai, curiously looking at our kites.
Finding an opportunity to sidle out of more running, we tired adults made the necessary introductions. Aman (he’s a village kid, same grade as Udai, studies in Scottish High where he claims the English is too tough!) , Udai and Aadyaa spent some more time running around with the kites till they too were tired out and the kites were too heavy from being dragged through the dewy grass! We promised to do this again, on a windy day.
We can’t thank Rachna (the kids call her Bausi!) enough for that wonderful morning! Looking forward to more bright ideas from the brilliant Bausi soon…
My little one’s HAT!
Each week I watch ‘A Word a Week Photo Challenge’ by A Word in Your Ear go by. And I itch to participate once again. So this week, when I saw the word is ‘hat’, I remembered that Aadyaa had appropriated her grandmum’s hat on a trip to Safdarjung’s Tomb a couple of years ago. She wore it dutifully through the outing, enjoying the experience as she went about eating, drinking, picking up garbage that other picknickers had strewn about!
Outside in the fading winter in Gurgaon- Feb 19, 2012
I love winter, despite the extreme discomfort in unheated homes during the 2-3 chilliest sunless weeks of the year. The mellow winter sun, birds, flowers and endless possibilities for outdoor fun make up for the shivering many times over.
After yesterday’s stint at the Tau Devi Lal park in Sec-56, Gurgaon, we were back for more today. This time, the rendezvous was a picnic with the families of Aadyaa’s classmates. A younger kid’s group found us doing a different set of activities- walking, playing, eating (a lot!), chatting and really unwinding; forming bonds, some of which we know will turn into lifelong friendships.
Once again, the vital role that public spaces play in urban life, came to the fore. The park charges Rs 5 per adult entry between 9AM and 5PM to build revenue for its maintenance, and maintained it is. Despite a sizable number of picnickers, there was barely any litter. Of course, the crowds are nothing compared to the hordes that descend on Kalindi Kunj or Buddha Jayanti Park in Delhi; Gurgaon is still a suburban setting with manageable densities of people (ironically that isn’t apparent in the sorry state of infrastructure!). Local villagers and Gurgaon’s urban population are sharing this park amicably and this is a great example for many of us who think these are two different worlds, the collision of which usually ends in disaster!
Once again, I thought of how citizen initiatives can significantly change this city, if we could find a way for the government (in this case, Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon or the MCG) and citizen groups to work together. Here are some shots from today’s picnic, which was just the kind of simple, mindless, relaxed fun holidays that Sundays should entail! Of course, we headed back home and topped the fun of with a satisfying snooze under the razai 🙂
Walking with the little ones- imagined games and innocent pranks!
Aadyaa
Loads of bonding, sharing, eating...
Kids this age do the darnedest things- roll down a mound of grass, climb trees, form human chains, run around the trees...
Well, the mood was infectious- piggy back rides for the entire class!!
Dekho Ma, gobhi jaisa phool...
ramblinginthecity 