Customs that make sense..

Recently we visited Seattle for my nieces first birthday celebration. There was a formal Hindu ceremony followed by a Western style birthday party with a cake cutting. There was a short break and the birthday girl got her head shaved off and her ears pierced! 

What shocked me was that when we went to the local hair salon, we were told that they are banned by law from using a razor to shave off the scalp of the baby! In India we do not cut the hair for the baby and the first haircut is a shave, usually done in a temple that they family prays to. There is a lot of goodness in doing this. The hair grows thicker when you are a kid and we are told that this is a tradition that dates back thousands of years. 

Pretty sure some western scientists would have "studied" this in their way to come to a conclusion on hair growth rate, density, eventual impact on long term hair loss, does this apply to male pattern baldness etc. etc. Many Ph.D's have possibly been generated, for all we know!

Why ban this is beyond me! The birthday girl brought back so many memories for me as she looks a lot like our little ones, especially Jr. when she was the same age!

The photographs below are Jr. at 10 months, the little one at 8 months, my niece on her first birthday all on the day of their Mottai's !

They are all soo adorable! Sometimes I wish to bottle up my kids and freeze them at that age. 

At least we have the old photos and videos to replay those moments and enjoy!

Here are some of the old and new photos..

Jr's mottai in Gunaseelam Temple near Trichy in Tamil Nadu 2003! We had gone there as a family to pray there after my brother's wedding. She is sitting on his lap and my dad was very happy that his kids were all there in one place after many years!

Look at the size of the mosquito bites on Jr.! That was and is her only complaint when we mention "India trip"!

The little one had two.. one here at 8 months and one in India in the summer vacation when she was five!

The first one was a shave but not with a razor everywhere. I did it for her after the hair salon did a #1 cut. We did put the hair in the temple almost five years later. The thing sat in a ziploc bag for all those years!

The second time she was the star of the show. 

This is something that all kids get, both girls and boys. The boys more often.. I remember my brother and myself getting head shaved off 4 times when we were little kids, almost every alternate year! Here is a picture on one of those India trips where my nephew is sporting "the look". The kids were all troubling me that day for a pose!

Now to the latest diva, my niece! 

She was amazing. Sat there so peacefully and watched her hair fall. Think she was relieved to see it go! 

and here she is with Jr. after she got the earring!

The little one wants a second set of earings after watching her cousin get new earings..

We are now searching for an old photo where my father, me, my brother and sister are all sporting a clean shaved head after a temple visit! Will post it if we find it...

When it comes to creating a "build up". . .

After a long time, decided to update the Cooking section of this website. Given that the MIL is back in Seattle, it is time my hands took a ladle or two up. . . 

Wanted to have a nice banner picture for this page and roped in the little one for a trick photo shoot. Explained the concept to her.. "Daddy will look like Shakti except with cooking utensils instead of weapons?" 

She immediately got it. After deciding which things to hold in Daddy's ten hands, we paired up the things and placed 5 sets of utensils on the floor. The camera was set up on the tripod and ready to go. 

The little one had to click, come remove things from my hand, replace them with two other utensils and go back and click... then repeat this three more times! After downloading the photos and doing an initial merge she was disappointed. "I didn't do that good a job appa.. there are some places where you moved!"

Told her that it was not her problem and that she did an outstanding job. It just needed some quality time for Daddy with Photoshop.

1 hour later.. we present to you Daddy in his Vishwaroopam pose in the kitchen..

Never before has a buildup for cooking seen this in the history of cooking or "buildup".

Pretty sure I will be diagnosed as OCD becaue most of the time was spent in getting the shadow right. 

The most important thing in all of this?

The little one is going to be one hell of a photographer and eventual photoshopper. En kula kozhundhu has been identified!

Difference in Yoga, a shorts does make!

Two weeks ago, just before walking into Bikram Yoga class, was offered a free Yoga shorts, in return for a review of the shorts! 

First off, when you walk into Bikram Yoga class the one obvious disparity anyone can see is in the clothes (or what is left of it) that the women and men wear. The women have perfect fitting, nicely stretching, colorful clothes thanks to an entire industry that caters to the Yoga clothes for the ladies. In spite of this, the women are not necessarily happy.. No matter what their size I do see that the women have much better apparel! 

The men on the other hand come in their underwear for crying out loud, which you cannot even do in the silence of the Yoga room! The options are horrible.

When I first knew that Yoga was going to be a big part of my life (read third yoga class.. I kind of make up my mind fast on these things and they somehow work, like I married Sangeetha 7 days after seeing her and... okay off topic already.. Take 2)

When I first knew that Yoga was going to be a big part of my life, went to the local stores to find suitable shorts. To my dismay there were no "active Yogawear" for men at any of the stores. Only for the ladies! So when an old colleague jokingly asked me "so what do you wear to the yoga class? pink panties?!", I didn't even have a sarcastic answer ready! Then after much searching, found that Dolfin brand swimming shorts did the trick. Over time have bought 5 of the same shorts with reducing waist sizes with blue, green or red bands on the side (the shiny band has earned the name Jigna Jetty from the Little one). To Dolfin's credit, they make swimwear. When you are swimming, there is no squeezing between your legs at any time! So this review does not to say Dolfin is bad. Those shorts are very durable and have gone to hundreds of wash cycles and are still intact!

After all that, I now had a "sample" in my hands!

Was so glad for two reasons. 

1. Someone made an effort to create a yoga shorts for men

2. Someone thought my opinon was worth it! They dared ask for feedback.

Promptly wore it for that class and the first thing that hit me was the fabric. So soft! The next thing that hit me was the way it looked in the mirror! Remember the blouse that old Tamil movie heroines used to wear? There would be a pocket for their nipples?! Think same thing except for the privates. They had created a webbed pocket so the dudes cohones are free and not squeezed.  I got some funny looks from the folks on either side of me, but I told them "I am trying out a free sample for a review".. In short, I had transformed into an underwear model! 

The class was amazing for many reasons. For the first time I was able to move "freely" on the big backbends and the deep forward bends. After 2 1/2 years, locked me knee for the first time doing Padahasthasana.

You are supposed to have "no gap" between your chest and your thighs on this one. The photos here were taken after a yoga class by the budding Yogagrapher aka Little One. Was not warmed up and went into the pose to the best of my ability with two different shorts and asked her to click. I did lock my knee in that class (you can see me almost get there in the new shorts) and it was only because there was no pressure on my privates from the shorts stretching over. No wonder then that the ladies always ace this pose!

Old (above) vs. new (below)! Touching the floor with your head directly at the center of the line between your feet? Easy, when your shorts is not inducing excruciating pain in certain parts! 

I also did not keep fidgeting and pulling my shorts down after every pose. This one did not ride up and down and that made the class more enjoyable.  The shorts also did not feel heavy after being fully soaked in sweat. 

Also saw a marked difference in doing the Eagle pose which is the worst when it comes to pressurizing your groins. 

The funny part was when I came back home and the little one saw me walk in. She kept laughing at my new shorts because of the protuding front pocket! 

All said and done, these folks are on to something. If they can make this pocket "not so obvious" by connecting this to the thigh area, this is the perfect shorts for men! 

Given that

- it is not my problem that my shorts look funny

- that everyone is there in Yoga class for themselves

- other folks are not supposed to distract you (in theory),

wearing this to class every now and then! 

There, my first review of something I never would have dreamt of reviewing! 

Was told that the maker of the shorts is called Indra Wear! 

Watch out, Lulu Lemon!