A busy day in the life of Jr.

It was a case of bad planning. Daddy committing to take Jr. to a parade in Los Gatos with the school band without knowing that her dance school annual day program was on the same day!

She insisted on going to the parade inspite of the rain. Really didn't want to take a chance with the rain and get sick again, but you cannot deny a 10 year old when she begs. So off we went, and got wet in the rain and I had the added pleasure of walking back a mile and a half with a camera and saxophone hanging from my neck!

She thought it was worth it!

 This position of neck down and playing an alto-sax within a poncho had consequences for the second part of the day..

 The place was colorful and it was nice for folks who were sitting in shelter watching the parade.. not so for the kids or parents running alongside taking pictures!

 Came back home and had exactly one hour to get ready for her dance performance. We had a lot of help in the dressing up from our family friend and the end result was ?

Daddy tearing up seeing Jr. all grown up. This is the first time she is wearing the traditional dance dress instead of a paavaadai!

Had to rotate the picture by 15 degrees to make her look straight. She could not hold her neck straight..

She looked great. Just had to dance well..

She did all the steps well. The hands were good. The feet did their job, but...

She went through the motions. There was simply no smile. Even hindi movie heroines who are forced to dance in front of villains before the climax have better smiles than Jr.'s and that got her to face mommy's wrath for a good hour!

and daddy's advice session as well.. Daddy learnt early on in his ballroom dancing days that even if you falter with your footwork, a smile goes a long way with the judges! Granted this was not a competition and there were no judges but when your parents and extended family get to watch it in photos and video... there has to be a smile!

Next year, there will be a calendar system in the house that avoids such conflicts and doesn't push the kids to such extremes.. 

and we will have a smile before, at and after the performance! 

Sometimes I think we push our kids too much but then again, we got a lot more excercise compared to Jr. and the little one because we played outdoors all the time instead of sit in front of an iPad.

All said and done.. she did break our heart being sooo cute.

Where "magic" happens

When we go to Disney, Magic always happens. 

Irrespective of your age, be it 6 or 60,  7 1/2 or 75 the faces are lit up with a smile as some person in a costume comes along and hi fives you!

The next three are not good shots. Wish I could have gone to the parade a little earlier to position myself better to capture my parents and kids instead of staying too close to them. There is always the next trip where we can do that right..

Then of course there is the fireworks and a show that we have never seen in any of our past disney trips where they project directly on the castle while the fireworks goes on. Truly spectacular!

It was not an easy shot as I was carrying the little one on my left hip (she had dozed off as it was 10PM and she had literally walked miles that day) and the Canon 5D Mark ii which weighs at least 6 lbs with a 24-105 lens had to be hand held vertically on my right hand which is not yet as strong as it could be and it had to be held as steady as possible.

The projection lit up the castle and it helped. Truth be told there is more credit to the MK ii than to me for getting this shot with this kind of contrast and clarity.

Canon, I humbly bow before you!

This was our best Disney trip ever........ so far!

We are sure they will top this experience for us in another three years when we will visit for the little one's 10th birthday celebration.

From one world to another

My mother was standing next to me on top of the steps at Sri Kumaran stores in Mylapore during the temple festival. As I videotaped the procession of the various gods on their vaahanams(props, if you will) and the gods rolled past us one by one, with a pit stop or two at shades built for the purpose, an elderly uncle asked me a very simple question:

"Ange Americala indha maadhiri edhavadhu unda?"
(In America, do you have anything similar to this?)

His tone was suggesting that I would make him proud by answering in the negative. Being born with a disease called "dontknowwhentoshutuposis" my reply was

"irukku mama. USA-layum indha maadhiri oru utsavam irukku!"
(yes uncle. even in the USA they have something like this!)

My mother saw the mischievous glint in my eyes and took me six feet away from said mama and asked,
Mom : "where in gods name was there a procession like this in the US of A?".
Me : Mousaandavar Kovil-la idhe maadhiri oru oorvalam irukkamma.. (in the mouseaandavar temple there is a procession just like this!)
Mom : Adhu endha Kovil? (what temple is that? I don't remember)
Me : Walt-aalvaar kattina Kovil! (the one that the devotee Walt built for the Mouse)

When I calmly told her that the Disney parade is the american version of the Kapali utsavam, she started laughing.

Had that been said that to my grandma, she would have said "siva sivaa", "enna piththukuli thanam" or something to that effect and hit me on the head with some blunt object. Mom on the other hand actually liked that logic, especially after my other comparisons.

In the utsavam, the vinayagar and nayanamars go first and peps up the crowd, much like the initial clowns and characters that walk in costume at the head of the disney parade.

Then of course come the vendors selling popcorn, cotton candy, little flourescent toys, etc. much like the kaathadi, bangle and pori kadalai sellers who have a three minute time window, to use the artificial sense of emergency to make a quick buck.

This is then followed by the band (naayanam) and the floats with the stars of the parade. Different gods, different props. The priests hand over sacred ash, vermillion and fruits and flowers to the crowd much like the cartoon characters sprinkle glitter around. The disney parade is on motorized floats while the Kapali floats are carried by people and that seems to be the only difference.

People who have a zillion gods and godesses can have the luxury of selecting the parade favorites. If not, you have to go for funny ducks and adorable mice!

Mylapore -> Los Angeles
Vinayagar -> Pluto
Chandikeswarar -> Goofy
Karthikeya -> Donald duck
Kapali and his -> Mickey mouse and his
consort Karpagambal -> consort Minnie Mouse

It is almost one for one! Mickey mouse brings up the grand finale in LA while Kapali's entry back into the temple closes the parade in Mylapore. One has got to wonder if Walt Disney was a mylapore resident at some point.

When you accept the Dinsey Utsavam to be a replica of Kapaliworld, you are truly on your way to bliss!

.