I am glad that the many world interpretation is only true at the quantum level

Hugh Everett's many-worlds interpretation (MWI) is one of several mainstream interpretations of quantum mechanics. In brief, one aspect of quantum mechanics is that certain observations cannot be predicted absolutely. Instead, there is a range of possible observations each with a different probability. According to the MWI, each of these possible observations corresponds to a different universe. Suppose a die is thrown that contains 6 sides and that the result corresponds to a quantum mechanics observable. All 6 possible ways the die can fall correspond to 6 different universes. (More correctly, in MWI there is only a single universe but after the "split" into "many worlds" these cannot in general interact.) (Sourced from Wikipedia)

I wonder if in some multiverse version of our life, all the near misses we have had as parents have ever materialized, and if so, what happens to the sequence of events that happened after.

I have gotten thinking about this since last Sunday. Husband, I, Anjali, and Sophia were on our way to West Coast Park for IEP. It was close to 2pm. All taxis go on some thing called shift change at 2pm. As we were sort of getting late (the facilitators try to come to the lesson by 2.30pm) and because of our prior bad experiences with shift change time in taxis, I was getting the phone out to call a taxi. Three things happened almost immediately after each other.

A bus pulled into the busstop. A taxi came in almost immediately after the bus, which husband tried to stop. I was put on hold at the call taxi, and was trying to decide whether to continue to hang up or to take the call, depending on whether the taxi was in shift change or not.

The taxi was not in shift change. I hung up the phone, took Sophia and walked to the taxi. "Come on Anjali", I said.

There was no Anjali. I looked left, right, down, in the grass, and no Anjali.

I turned around, and there was the bus, standing there, about to move on.

"Anjali got in the bus!" I shrieked.

"Get in the taxi", husband shouted, sprinting to the bus. It helps to have a marathon runner for a husband.

Anjali got out, and sauntered to the taxi, quite unperturbed.

She got in the taxi. "Mummy, i was very scared when mummy and daddy were not in the bus!", she exclaimed.

Quite calmly for someone who had nearly gotten lost. 

 

getting off the bua: part two

This is a very embarassing post.

I was in the shower. Sophia opens the door.

"Amma why? Amma Why?" (Sophia thinks that Why is the coolest word in the world)

"Why what?"

"Amma why? Why taking bath?"

"Why I am taking a bath? Because I am very stinky."

"No clothes?"

"No clothes."

"Bua over there, Shapia dink it"

=========================

I returned from work yesterday. Sophia climbed on my lap.

"Amma, bua. Want to dink"

"I left the bua in the office"

Nothing doing. She butted her head against my chest a couple of times.

"Shomething Inshide"

"Something inside?" I repeated, a little lost. My plan was not working out as expected.

"Two bua inshide. Take out. Want to dink!!"

Husband was in the kitchen getting his dinner.

"Sophia, you cannot talk so much if you want to drink bua. If you want to drink bua, you must only say ga ga and goo goo"

Sophia wasn't listening. She was busy drinking bua. 

losing a habit

i am trying to get Sophia to give up the bua. I am fighting a losing battle.

My tactic is to tell her that I have left the bus behind at home/ playground/ park/ bus stop and hope that she buys it. She has wizened up however.

"Sophia go plum, take bua, put inshide!"

And then?

"Shapia dink it"

Expecting a new baby

We are expecting a new baby in two weeks time. Here is the photo of the expected baby. Its the tricolored pig at the side

I will get my new guinea pig after I go two times to ballet class, says Anjali to Sandhya.

Bingo, on the other hand is very friendly to Anjali, and to Anjali only. Whatever Anjali does to him, he puts up with.

On saturday, Anjali was carrying the fella, and singing

"I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as i'm living, my guinea pig you'll be"

Eat your hat, Robert Munsch.

Then she puts the pig on her belly and does pranayama. And the pig likes it

==
On Sunday, i was cleaning out Bingo's cage, and Anjali was sitting in the floor with the pig on her lap. Sophia spilled some water on the floor. Anjali took the water and started bathing Bingo. He put up with it.

"Mummy, I want to make pee pee", said Anjali.

"I'm cleaning the cage", I said. "Give the pig to daddy"

Husband carried Bingo. Bingo bit him.

"Ouch!" said husband. "I was carrying him too high. Why is his fur all wet?"

"Anjali was bathing him", I said from inside the cage, where I was sweeping out pig poop.

"So, he's annoyed about bathing and about me picking him up"

So then Anjali put the pig in her lap, fed him japanese cucumber, and chatted to Bunica and then to kollu thattha and to chitra patti

Discipline and the trials of motherhhood

Friday evening. I am tired, husband is late, patti has left for home. Anjali is sitting in the corridor with Sophia. Sophia pulls something.

"Sophia No!" exclaims Anjali. and then she raised her voice "Sophia! SOPHIA!"

"Anjali!", i said, "I dont want you to take that tone with your sister. Ok. If you do that again I will get very angry"

"Ok mummy". She said meekly.

I turned away. and then, quite clearly, she calls

"i dont love you!'

"But I love you". I countered, before moving to the next thing

Anjali's dance: Thanks Loke uncle for the video

guinea pigs and birds and bees

We are seriously thinking of getting a second guinea pig to keep Cinderella company. Husband and I have been keeping an eye open at the usual venues where people advertise pigs for adoption. But nothing has really clicked. The SPCA received about five guinea pigs and we called on sunday to see if we could visit, but unfortunately, they were all snapped up.

"We need to get a female", said husband. "Otherwise, they will fight"

"if we get a female", I counter, "they'll have babies. The pigs have babies every five weeks, and I am not taking the responsibility of taking care of guinea pig babies. Mine are more than a handful"

"Its ok mummy", said Anjali, who was sitting between us, with the guinea pig in her lap, teasing him with a paper bag. "You can get a female. I will sleep with the female in my bedroom and the male can sleep in the cage."

Husband and i both burst out laughing.

"Vei funny!" exclaimed Sophia, who was busy with her favorite occupation - drinking bua

"Yes, very funny!", I said, after I had stopped laughing. "Sophia, you are like a guinea pig also, can I put you in the cage?"

"Noo!!" says Sophia indignantly.

"Where can I put you?" I asked her

"Sit amma's lap dink bua", she said, before returning back to her favorite occupation.

We finally decided to get another male. The cage is big enough for them and  theoretically, they wont fight unless there is another female in the vicinity.

The pig, meanwhile is one finicky brat. I learnt the word finicky from Kanthi and decided that I like it very much. He doesnt touch vegetables which have been left in his cage for over 12 hours. The same goes for pellets (How he knows, I dont know, but he always skims the top pellets which are fresh, and leaves the bbottom ones) and hay. If he has fresh vegetables, he ignores the pellets.

He doesnt eat all the fresh vegetables - just carrots, cucumbers, corn, spinach. He refuses to touch bell peppers and asparagus.

He got a bath yesterday. A more indignated pig you couldnt see. He actually stodd on his hind legs and splashed us all.  

Anjali's prayer

Dear God, You must always walk with me and caie me, and take care of me and be in my heart.

====

"Mummy, I told Mikaela that she muct be polite and not hit anyone"

"Who did Mikaela hit?"

"Tricia"

"Why?"

"Because Mikaela doesnt want to be Tricia's friend, she only wants to be my friend. And I want to be Tricia's friend. So I told Mikaela that I want to be both their friend and that i will sit with them both in the class"

"Good"

"But I didnt sit with both of them in class."

"Why?"

"I forgot"

"ok. Who did you sit with?"

"I sat with myself and with jesus Christ in my heart"

"Thats good" (I dont quite know the correct response to give to these things, so I keep them neutral)

"And with krishna also in my heart"

"with Krishna also?"

"Yes. But Miss Audrey doesnt think that Krishna is in my heart"

"Who does Miss Audrey think is in your heart?'

"Jesus Christ only."

I explained to Anjali about Jesus and krishna being the same. She found the idea quite amusing

"No mummy. Jesus is Jesus and Krishna is Krishna"

Then i told her how the same person, Anjali, for instance, could have many names from many people.

==========
Later, in patti's house i told about the conversation to husband. Anjali added.

"I didnt tell Miss Audrey about krishna."

"Why not?"

"Because Krishna is Indian, so I didnt tell"

I was floored. So was thattha and patti. Husband however, took matters up.

"Anjali, there are many stories about God. there are Jesus stories and krishna stories. Some people know only the Krishna stories, some know the Jesus stories and some know both."

Well.. What do we do?

Clearer pictures of bala gopala

 The pictures are smaller, as they came directly from the gita jayanti website, but the clarity is much better

the little bratty non listening thingies that i call my kids

Why do little kids, when they turn around two years old, take an insane pleasure in testing to see how far your limits go?

Why do we get a little baby standing near a dustbin, not only ignoring our nos, but also turning around and saying "Aaaah" before continuing to dig into biodegradable waste?

Why do we get a preschooler who, at ten in the evening, reminds us that she was good all day and that we should let her play with sparklers. And when she returns from playing with sparklers immediately throws a tantrum about not going to bed and wanting to eat peanut butter, drink milo, read book and then sleep?

Why does a toddler, who, six months ago, barely knoew how to say da da, say "stoie" and when you get a book, cries, takes the book back, and then comes back and cries "stoie" again?

Why does the same toddler ignore all the advice about hygene and pick up and examine rubbish that has been left in the elevator?

Why does the preschooler refuse to listen to advice about going to bed and hug the pillow in the morning when its time to wake up and insists on taking the pillow with her to thhe bathroom?

Atleast the guinea pig is predictable.

More bala gopala pictures

hamsters and god daughter duty

We were planning to go to Shree Valli's house and got sidetracked by hamsters. Says Anjali

"Lets go to Shree Valli akka's house. then when we come back we'll play with hamsters"

"the shop will close when we come back"

She stopped and considered.

"What time Shree Valli akka will sleep?"

"Quite late, but then you must sleep at 10. We can go on Wed to Shree Valli akka's house"

"On Wednesday, Shree Valli will still have a fracture?"

"I think so, yes"

""Ok. We will go on Wednesday"

rattle rattle

Mummy, do you want to talk about my Sandy Planty?

With punctuations from Sophia

My girl grows up on me

Bala gopala

Bala gopala: All dressed up. Anjali looks like the personification of naughtiness in Krishna

I make a fairly passable Yashoda

Just before the program

Andal and Krishna

Feeding an Elusive Krishna

Krishna ran away

Eating earth. Indiignant mother

Dancing around yashoda

Radha and Krishna dance

Krishna and Yashoda dance

Curtain call

Advance pretend play

Anjali and I were in Cinderella's cage, feeding corn stalks to the pig. Cinderella loves corn silks and the tender leaves that are inside the corn. He wont have anything to do with the tougher outer leaves. Sophia came into the cage and started putting straw all over my pants. When I told her off, she refused to listen, and put hay all over my hair. ("I wont get straw on me mummy!", said Anjali "because Bingo will protect me. ")

 

So I sent her away to play with chestnuts. She was putting chestnuts and transferring them with a spoon and everything for about fifteen minutes, and was so quietly working, saying things to herself like

 

"Cook… take out… pour, eat.. vei nishe! Pour! Mum mum!"

 

 

Later, we were in patti's room, and Sophia took a baby doll.

 

"Amma. Thish is baby"

 

"This is your baby?"

 

"mm. What called name?" (Sophia speaks English like those clerks in Indian movies, who get all the words right in the wrong positions)

 

"Is it sandy?" (from the sandy planty duo)

 

"no!!  Thish called name lava"

 

I was intrigued by the uniqueness of the name.

 

"where's Kusha?", Sophia continued

 

"Where's Kusha?" I repeated

 

"Anchalli take away Kusha!!" she cried.

 

Later, in the taxi, on the way to the kite festival, Sophia was playing with Kusha all by herself, feeding him, and giving bua and stuff

throwing the baby out with the bath water

Husband was in charge of cleaning the guinea pig cage in my absence. I was in the plane when I got a call - he had rolled the guinea pig together with the newspaper

The crazy cage

Husband built this over the weekend. I kid you not - its big enough to fit ten pigs and two girls. We thought that it was a good idea for Anjali - she kept getting Cinderella out of the small cage and trapping him between her legs. We really didnt want that. We also wanted him to run around, without worrying about him getting under furniture, chewing cords etc. The solution was to get a cage big enough for him to run around, and big enough for the girls to get in. Here's what we ended up with. 

The girls and the pig giving the cage a trial run when it was under construction

Cinderella's house. We have since then modified the house to several different hidey holes

The girl and her guinea pig. A love story

Sophia's hair cut

Sophia went to cut her hair yesterday. She stayed surprisingly quiet in my arms while the hairdresser chopped off her nice thick curls. Then she finished and we found out why she had stayed quyiet.

"Anchalli cut hair now!"

 

Luckily, Anjali also needed a trim

Cinderella Bingo

Cinderella joining our evening reading session.

In the morning, when Anjali wakes up, she makes a beeline for the guinea pig cage. She gets husband or muyself to take the pig out and she plays with him.Husband says that having a guinea pig makes her wake up early.

The pig, i think is more familiar with her than with others, climbing on her hand and eating hay from her hands. (her still refuses to eat hay from my hands, though i caught him sneaking corn leaves and carrot sticks into his house five minutes after I had left his cage)

Yesterday night, I left a snack of apples, and this morning, he had not touched the food. i found it curious and went to investigate. The apples had attracted ants over the night and our pig, i guess is mighty picky. So I washed out the plate and put fresh food and carrots.

Here are more updates and pictures

Setting him outdoor from his cage

cinderella reading books

Cinderella climbing on Anjali

Anjali has to make sure she wears a jetti because he likes to burrow between her legs

We must be crazy, i guess

So, we got a guinea pig. Its currently housing in our living room, with a plate of carrots and hay, which it keeps munching.

Anjali first wanted to call it (him) Cinderella and eventually changed the name to Bingo. But husband likes Cinderella better. So Anjali wants husband and herself to call him Cinderella and Sophia and me to call him Bingo.

This morning, she woke up and was sitting next to the cage for forty five minutes.

The pig was a bit scared of his new home and people yesterday, but is better this morning. He let me and Anjali to stroke him, although I think it will be a while before we coax him out of his cage into our arms.

Museum of bio diversity research

Photo by our budding photographer

Another photo by our budding photographer

photo  by me

All other photos were by the budding photogrpaher