Random musings

We are reaching the end of this weird and eventful year. The tree is up, decorations are out but the festive cheer is absent. 2020 has been a trial for many of us. Some of us have lost loved ones, spent days in the hospital, relationships have fallen apart - friends, loved ones have suffered.   We spent the first part of this year planning our big vacation after 4 years of waiting to visit India. I thought we would visit Papa and spend time in Singapore as well. Instead, all our plans were disrupted and we had to cancel our trip. Papa had very little help during the pandemic. He managed his day to day activities, without the luxury of having his kids nearby, or the option to stay at home and be safe. By God's grace, he stays resilient. We saw this kind of resilience all through the lockdowns and social distancing. Doctors, nurses, healthcare, postal, transportation, sanitation, grocery, essential workers. Many of these workers did their jobs with grace and fortitude.  We ...

Why do Malayalees always want to add extra characters to a person's name? Anita is not ANITHA. This is totally cringeworthy!  I would much rather be called Ani or Annie.  As if, having multiple kids with matching names like Messy, Busy and Jessy wasn't enough, we also change the spellings randomly. Also, you don't get to call people Uncle and Aunty if they are the same generation as you. If you don't have a real Aunty or Uncle that age, you don't get to have an imaginary Uncle and Aunty. Calling people Uncle and Aunty when they are not old enough to be your Uncle and Aunty is not respectful, it's just lazy. I remember the look of horror on my poor Mummy's face when a lady 2 years younger than her called her Aunty. My sweet Mummy was nice enough to just smile and respond. When in doubt, stick to Chechi, Chachan or Amamma. To break this down, look for an age difference of 15 years and above before calling someone an Uncle or Aunty. I used to think that only AB...