July 2021

Dear Handsome Chubby Ceyone,

Your interest in soccer was only mounting. You seldom missed your practices and drills and Papa took you to Real Madrid Rainforest grounds multiple times a week. Sometimes, I also went with you. In your summer holidays, you did 5 weeks of soccer camp which was 3 days per week. Your dedication to the sport and PHD level research were commendable. Both Papa and I supported your passion as much as we could. 

 

 

While we were occupied with day to day life, Nana in Bhopal was busy getting the possession of our apartment in Keelandev Towers at Bhopal. I had rented it out and later planned to design it as our sweet home (dreaming about something like the picture on the right below). It was all very exciting! 

 

More of your soccer classes at Joo Chiat and my handwriting classes in progress, while they could. We had to retreat a lot due to Covid-19 restrictions and changing rules to contain the epidemic. 

 

It was also the time of birthdays! Your friends, Zeeshan, Ahyan, Ahaan all turned double digits and their 10th birthdays were very special. 

 

It was a lot of fun to be part of intimate home parties, enjoy spending time together, talking, having fun and eating sumptuous food. 

  

You also watched the movie Cruella for the party, followed by Deepti's burgers which you were a huge fan of. 

 

  

You visited Haruto's place for a play date and there you are at Ahaan's birthday party.

 

More of soccer drills in progress. You got the chance to do captaincy and that excited you a great deal.

Some nice and random clicks from your soccer training that Papa captured. 

 

The biggest advantage of soccer was that it was a team sport. So I felt that development wise the learnings will be immense for you and shaping you to be an inclusive person. Ofcourse they were great for building the body and stamina too. 

 

You often envied my table so I got you a new one, like the one illustrated below. I had to do a lot of research in terms of size etc. as I had to do online shopping for the right table. I felt I became better at furniture shopping and developed an eye for the stuff I wanted. Your table after it was assembled, sat quite well, was able to fit your imac just right and you used it. 

Meanwhile, there were also a farewell. Your close friend, Daniyal, who was with you at ISS, was moving back to London. So, I arranged for you to go and meet him to say good bye on the night they were flying out from Singapore. It was just in time and I was so glad I could do it. You were good at making and keeping friendships. 

 

Soccer was a major part of lives and household due to your sheer passion for the sport. 

My Sunday morning handwriting classes. I tried to run them even with lower strength to provide the kids with good practice of this depleting skill. Kids particularly turned in to learn cursive writing from me. 

 

Sometimes, trying my hand at cooking was also what I did. That was a lachchha paratha I tried from Hebbar's kitchen recipe. There was Tita's unbeatable cheese pasta. 

 

We were also preparing for your new school, Singapore American School (SAS) and made a trip there to purchase uniforms. There was also a mandatory medical test involved prior to attending school so we went to Raffles Hospital and got your test done, with immunization record updated. I had also started tracking your height on the wall with a mark and month. It was the same way Mamu and I tracked our heights when we were growing up as during the growth spurt years, height grows really fast.

 

After a hectic week, you and I went for a treat at Kailash Parbat and enjoyed their signature chhole bhature platter. They served a variety of bhaturas and they were simply sumptuous. You also tried kulfi falooda for the first time and later rejected the falooda. I was also someone who did not like falooda at all and had shared with you my opinion. However, you were quite keen to try it due to the hype that Papa had created. I was glad you were on my side afterwards, on falooda. 

 

That's a pretend sleep picture that you asked me to click for you :) 

 

I was gearing up for the next decade of my life and did a lot of thinking. When I found something interesting that resonated with my line of thought I saved it and these two quotes went well with me. 

 

More of handwriting classes with Leo, Vansh and Maahi. 

When you hid under the bed during hide and seek. 
That is the vegetable tempura that Tita made for us and we were quite crazy for it. 

I also made idli dhokla from Hebbar's kitchen recipe and it turned out well. I was pleased with myself for trying recipes from time to time. It just needed mental bandwidth in the schedule. I also planned to create a dream pantry in our new Bhopal home as I felt that if you had all ingredients at hand, then cooking was quite simple and pleasurable. 

We spotted a golden hen and you asked me to click a pic. 
That is the lemon tree craft that Samar and you did with Mr. Han. 

I stepped out to grab lunch with Dennis after a very long time and enjoyed the conversation with him. 

That was our grocery shopping. 
Also, an ad for Nana's shop and work showcasing a customer wearing a Nehru jacket. 

 

You visited Samar's home for a dry ice playdate and returned with some home made dry ice ice cream. You were quite excited about it. 

 

There was also a paani puri whatsapp group formed in Aspen and we ordered a set of 50. One of the weekend evenings, we all gathered at the table and devoured the 50 paani pooris in a matter of minutes. I was so happy to see your natural taste buds making you relish Indian food. 

As soccer was the new religion we all were following, accessories was the by product. You got new cleats that were meant to protect accidental kicks to your legs. However, they were very hard and uncomfortable. So, ultimately, you got another new pair.  

Sometimes, we did play time after writing class and enjoyed the games that Zeeshan brought with him. Playing the shopping cart game was a top favorite for you all. 

 

I did some dance recordings of my own after attending a fun dance class in the building and did some makeup for that. I also had video call with my school friends, Dolly Mausi, Swati Mausi and Adnan and we all laughed a lot. 

 

I also chatted with Binu mausi and sometimes we did our shopping together across Zurich and Singapore, showing each other stuff on the video call and helping make choices. 
I also got my first vaccination shot and was glad to get a slot for Pfizer. I felt it was a bigger of the big deals of 2021 as vaccination was the solution to helping bring some solace to the world after the pandemic. 

 

Guddi Mausi Naani sent me my childhood studio photo and I put it adjacent to my recent one. Just a bit less than 40 years apart! 

  

One of our favorite dishes was Spanakopita and I attempted to make it at home with frozen pastry sheets. It turned out to be ok and you liked it. I was happy!

Finally, after sticking to our sweet home for 1.5 years during the pandemic, I made the decision to do a staycation with you and Tita in July. So we booked The Fullerton and it was the break we all didn't know we needed. You literally rolled on the carpet there. Check out the video below. 

Below are the pics from our lovely time at a new place, which was very close to our home and was refreshing. 

I remembered to pack your soccer ball as I felt your legs could not rest without one. We also got the opportunity to watch a big television and you watched several live matches. They were 90 minutes each and I also enjoyed watching together with you. 

 

We indulged in a lot of afternoon teas as The Fullerton was quite famous for it's high teas. We literally ate high tea for dinner as well :)

 

The internal facade was beautiful and the settings were quite lavish given the ancient post office building was restored about 20 years ago.

 

 

We also strolled around their Herb Garden and spent good time observing the views of Marina Bay Sands and the Merlion. 

 

Evening view with bridges that lit up colorfully was quite a sight. 

 

Our bed time reading and cuddles continued with Ben and Bunny. 

You were so intrigued by the automatic Toto toilet seat that opened on its own and was heated. The remote control bidet was a special attraction for you and you ordered me to install one in our new apartment. 

Due to dining restrictions, all food had to be sent to the room. So we enjoyed room service a lot. 

That was our breakfast spread. I also saved some of it for lunch and we didn't have to step out or worry about ordering lunch. 

We took a stroll in the vicinity. 

We also spent some time in their infinity pool that had a build in jacuzzi. 

 

That's you in the pool against a super stall UOB skyscraper in the backdrop. 

 

You enjoyed playing in the jacuzzi. 

I was also rejuvenating myself by being away from my laptop for an extended period and getting some downtime to read a book and do some planning. 

You borrowed my sunglasses to observe a hornet building it's nest right outside the closed window. You also asked me to wear sunglasses at the time of our check in and reasoned that rich peeps came there so you must put on sunglasses to match up :) I laughed so much at that! 

The ginormous tub was a major attraction for you and you were definitely not leaving without soaking yourself. We were facing some problem in holding the water so I called up their plumber who fixed it. Then you enjoyed a long bubble bath enriched with sea salt crystals. I was so happy to see you relaxing. 

Another meal time for us. 

In the evening we attended their daily Koi feeding ritual and it was good fun for the kids. 

We also spotted Aspen Heights from the window view of our room. 

 

Merlion Park and enjoying evening scenery of the Marina Bay Sands. 

 

Finally, it was our last morning there. You were not pleased with having to move out just after two nights. I assured you that we will do more staycations when possible. 

 

Bye Bye, The Fullerton. 

I clicked this picture enjoying a home made burger that Deepti had sent for me. I decided to make it my 'before' picture and challenged myself to try hard to lose weight by setting targets for walking and reducing portion size. I'll report back at the end of year if I managed to make any progress. 

I also did another recording of dancing on the song Navrai Maajhi and did make up and wore saree for that. 

Finally, after about 8 months of prep, came the first day of your Jumpstart program at SAS (orientation week). You were dressed smartly for it and we met Ahyan while waiting for the bus. 

That's you, ready for another day of Jumpstart and me ready to go for my morning walk. Then on the weekend you were ready for Real Madrid classes and that was our tightly packed, fun filled day to day life. 

 

May you always lead in displaying team spirit Ceyone. May you always have company :) 

Lots of love, 
Mumma