Meaningful Little Incidents

I asked my little son a little while ago, "How much is 10÷20?"

He said, "Mashey."

"How much is 20÷10?"

"Two."

"So, how much is 10÷20?"

"Two. Same."

"So, Chunu, if you had ten sweets and there were twenty of you, how much would each get?"

He finally said,"Half!"

I said, "Yes!"

Then I asked, "How much is two divided by one?"

He said,"One!"

He was having toast at that time. I said, "Look. You have two slices of that toast. There is just you. How many slices do you have?"

"Two! Ah mummy, what's all this? Nga misheybey."

As I'm writing this, my son is reading and saying, "Aaaa mummy, ngagi mashey malap wai."

My son is a brilliant student in school, going to class five. Imagine! I'm a worried parent, although an excited teacher at this moment for discovering the magic of mathematics. I'm thinking, "Is this the kind of excitement that Jean Jacques Rousseau of the 18th century might have felt with Emily?"

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And, while I am at the subject of mathematics, let me share another incident. I happened to visit a primary school (within Thimphu). I think it was in the early 2000's. I was standing outside right next to a basketball rink. The Principal and a mathematics teacher were with me. I looked at the basketball rink and said in excitement, "Children could learn mathematics here."

The teacher (Indian) quickly responded, "No, Ma'am, they can't learn maths here. They have to learn it in the classroom." I was flabbergasted. I had thought he would share the same excitement.

I said, "Oh yeah! What about the shapes you can see? What about the measurements? Are you sure they can't learn maths here?"

"I'm sorry, Ma'am, I never looked at it that way. I think it is possible."

I was a disturbed educator that day. I felt sorry for the children, who I imagined going through a boring learning process with the chalkboard filled with the teacher's writing.

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And then there was another incident I experienced with a trainee teacher during teaching practice. It was in 1996. I was one of the supervisors from the teacher training college in Samtse. We were practising at Jigme Losel Primary School. The lesson was on social studies. Students were required to observe the scenery outside and draw, so they were all seated outside with a paper and pencil in hand. I observed that the students were having a tough time looking at the mountains around and drawing with dust getting into their eyes and paper almost flying off. It happened to be a windy day, but the teacher's manual prescribed this lesson. Did it say weather no bar? No! The teacher has to use common sense. I wondered if the manual system was actually making our teachers robotic rather than creative. Teachers need to be creative and spontaneous too!  

1+1 = 2 or 1+1 = 10?

I remember being taught 1+1 = 2. Simple. Sensible.

And then there came 1+1 = 10 (not 'ten', but 'one zero' at base 2). Complicated! Nonsense! One zero at base two! What the hell was that? Whatever for? Anybody any idea?

While 1x1 = 1 began to be taught as 1 of 1, therefore one kind or once (as in one parker pen or a dance to Grease Lightning one time)

So, 1x2 = 1+1, interpreted as twice of the same (in this case, that same 1) or two of the same kind (as in two parker pens with one in stock, or the dance to Grease Lightning two times on being encored by the audience)

Whereas 1÷1 = 1 began to be interpreted as one person enjoying that whole one apple (Oops! watermelon for Passu)

 

Which is actually the same as 10÷10 = 1, interpreted as ten people sharing ten watermelons and each enjoying one watermelon (Baapre!)

Which means 2÷1 = 2 is to be interpreted as one person enjoying two watermelons (How greedy!)

 

Which is actually the same as 20÷10 = 2, interpreted as twenty people sharing ten watermelons and each enjoying two watermelons (provided they are shared equally)

Which then means 1÷2 = ½ is to be interpreted as two people sharing one water melon and each enjoying half of it (hopefully equally shared)

Which is actually the same as 10÷20 = ½, interpreted as twenty people sharing ten watermelons and each enjoying half a watermelon  (quarter is actually quite a mouthful, isn't it?)

Yet,  ½ x ½ for some is equal to 1 !!! (Actually carelessly replacing ½ + ½ )

Why is ½ x ½ not equal to 1? Because it's equal to ¼.

How? Well, if 1x1 is 1 of 1, then ½ x ½ is ½ of ½, isn't it? So, if Passu who has half a water melon were to give half of it to his daughter, then he would have one fourth left because his daughter now has the other one fourth. I think the actual act of sharing is much easier than the paper and pen calculation of the sharing.

We do a lot of mathematics in real life and often so easily, but when it comes to doing it on paper it seems complicated. Can you imagine the task of the teacher then? Don't you think that's why Learning by doing makes sense? The teacher in a classroom might show the mathematical steps on the chalkboard or whiteboard, yet not be understood by the students. The teacher might then demonstrate the steps with a water melon or sweets and the students might see it clearer now. And if the students tried it out themselves with the water melon or sweets, don't you think the whole concept would actually sink in?

So, what Confucius of over 200 years ago said makes sense even today, doesn't it?

"I hear and I forget

I see and I remember

I do and I understand" 

Late Reverand Father William Mackey used to remark, "Who said Bhutanese do not know maths? Look at their dzongs. Look at their chortens. Amazing geometry! Jackpo!"

I watch little boys at the BOD (Bhutan OIL Distributors) trying to sell doma to people in the cars waiting in line for fuel. I see them doing a good job of mathematical calculations, although I'm at the same time sad that it's child labour. These same boys could actually be struggling with maths in school. Imagine!

And when I'm buying vegetables and fruit from farmers I find some of them, particularly in the east, struggling with how much money to give me back from a hundred note I've given them. Assuming this, I tried helping a Parop Aum at the Thimphu Famers' Market recently to calculate how much to return to me form a 500 note I'd given her for buying a kg of red dried chilly. She said, "Nga shey." Served me right for assuming! I then thought this Parop lady had probably become pretty used to calculations from years of such business. So, for some of the uneducated or illiterate Experience is a teacher. I guess that's where the theory of Experiential Learning came from. Is it a new theory? NO!!! Check it out!

(Oh! Remembered another incident with another Parop Aum - nothing to do with maths - at the same farmers' market. I asked if she had 'nam' to sell and she said, "Nam mee. Chhoe baynina?" My 'nam' was a sharchop word for don't know what you call it in English - served me right for using it with a Parop Aum - and hers was a dzongkha word for daughter-in-law. How hilarious!) 

Coming back to mathematics.....mathematics for sure can NEVER be understood from rote learning. I knew somebody who was good at rote memorizing questions and answers. At a maths test, she remembered the answer to a question, but had forgotten the steps. She wrote down some steps any how and proudly wrote the correct answer at the end. A lazy teacher would look at the answer and give full marks, whereas a conscientious teacher would go through the steps and give a zero if the steps were all wrong. What would she have learnt from the former? That it was ok to remember the correct answer even if she didn't understand head or tail of the whole thing. Well, this is quite similar to blind faith, isn't it? Whose fault, though? The teacher for encouraging rote memorization by setting questions from the textbook!

The whole thing about knowledge not being applied has to do mostly with NOT learning with understanding, besides some of it not being relevant to our lives (such as the 1+1 = 10 at base 2). Jigme might have learnt the same physics as Tika upto class twelve, but what makes Tika an engineer and not Jigme? Well, Tika went through intense practicals after that for four long years, while Jigme continued with the theory of physics or gave it up altogether. Both learnt about electrical circuit, but Tika can actually solve electrical problems while Jigme would have to call Tika each time he has an electrical problem at home. On the other hand, sixty year old Sonam, who studied only upto class two as a naughty little boy, with no education in any of the sciences, amazingly fixes radios and electrical problems. In his case, he took interest in learning it and learnt it on his own through years of practice. He had interest and passion and, therefore, was motivated to learn. Now, isn't it obvious then that motivation is necessary to take individual effort to learn? And what gives motivation? Interest! Passion!

So, what are some key things about learning?

• learning what is relevant
• learning with understanding, by doing, experiencing
• being motivated to learn, by developing interest and passion

This means a teacher who can ensure that his/her students are motivated to learn and is learning what is relevant and learning with understanding is basically a good teacher. Now, I leave it to you readers of my blog to think of whether a top performing graduate or a bottom performing graduate or both can make a good teacher.

(A view given on page 5 under Perspectives of Kuensel Issue dated January 16, 2010. An article on cover page of Kuensel Issue dated January 11, 2010)

Poverty - Unhappiness?

Thanks, Dawa for your response to my blogpost linking to the Economics of Happiness. It has given me my topic for this new post.

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Exactly, Dawa, "What's poverty?" If we (Bhutan) went by our own definition on the basis of GNH, 'being unhappy' would be 'poverty.' This then means knowing what makes us happy is crucial, but do we really know? Our govt. has decided that happiness lies in the four pillars of environmental conservation, cultural preservation, socio economic equity and good governance. When we measure these, even roughly, we can tell immediately that as a nation we are less poor than we were before when social services were not accessible to many rural communities and market was not as easily accessible to rural communities - whether for marketting agri products or purchasing basic commodities for household consumption. Our environment conservation and cultural preservation, on the other hand, have consistently been our major strengths. Yes, the govt has indeed done a lot, but the question is "What have we ourselves done to contribute to our own happiness"?

My personal concern has to do with 'individual' happiness - can it come from the same source for every individual? Can it always be dependent on what the govt. does for us? What about individual capability to promote individual happiness?  And what does that individual capability constitute? I think very basic simple things like lifeskills (health & hygiene; prevention of HIV/AIDS; child care and development; etc), vocational skills, emotional management, self discipline, etc. Formal School Education makes provisions mainly for bookish knowledge  (that gets outdated and irrelevant by the time we are out in the real world), when what makes much more sense in the real interconnected globalized world is the process of 'learning to learn,' the cognitive ability to 'think critically' and the social ability to 'connect' with people. We are not robots to depend on what others decide what we should think and do. We have ownership over our own lives. I think it is not asking too much to be responsible owners of our lives, therefore responsible for our own happiness.

According to PHCB 2005 MOST (96.8%) of our people have claimed that they are happy or very happy, but did we find out why? Some critics say it's subjective, relative and momentary, which means for whatever reason 96.8% of our people were happy at the same moment that they were asked that question. Some other critics say that people might have just said it out of fear. Then I'd like to know about the 3.2% who had no fear. If we went by this census study, the message to the government is to focus on the 3.2% that are not very happy. Why? Maybe because they happen to be the remotest communities with no access to road, therefore more than six hours of walking from their community to the geog centre where all major facilities are concentrated. However, if the govt. must focus on the mainstream, leaving the 3.2% to NGOs, and on sustaining the tremendous progress we have made thus far, then the govt responsibility now is to generate internal revenue to clear our debts and to sustain our four pillars of GNH. We citizens have the responsibility of keeping ourselves happy without having to always depend on the government. And if our happiness were dependent on the govt. totally, then our farmers would be waiting forever to be happy with a fence around their land to defend their crops against the wild animals, to own a power tiller, a tractor or a car to make use of the power tiller tracks and farm roads leading to the social and market facilities.

This reminds me that I have to be on the lookout for "Happiness Around the World: The Paradox of Happy Peasants and Miserable Millionaires" by Carol Graham (not yet out in the market, I think). And then another post sequel to this post after reading Carol’s book. Until then  ta da da dee dee dum… ♫ ♪

 What about the Economics of Happiness?

The facebook

Starting to wonder about me in the facebook world after reading this.

Blueprint???

Check this out!

GNH Education Blueprint

I think a good first step by the Education Family (sad not to be a part of it anymore, for whatever reason)...although I would've preferred Framework (less prescriptive, with room for flexibility to local needs) to Bluprint (more prescriptive, expecting it to be followed as prescribed)...

In quietude, I pray
For the Education Family to lay
The 'Education for Tomorrow' foundation
With a GNH and Democracy Mission

Educating for GNH

Conversation with the Prime Minister of Bhutan, on Educating for GNH

Scroll down to December 29 post after clicking the above.

Quite an eye opener for us Bhutanese, I think....particularly the last two paragraphs beginning “I would like to see an educational system quite different from the conventional factory,..."

Going wild with (a+b)³

What the hell does the following mathematical equation mean in everyday life?!

(a+b)³ = a³ + 3a²b + 3ab² +b³

Now, if ‘a’ were apples(A) and ‘b’ oranges(O), putting them together in three identical baskets would mean the same as…….

Three identical sets of apples and three of two identical sets of apples combined with one set of oranges and three of one set of apples combined with two identical sets of oranges and three identical sets of oranges, according to the above equation.

So, if each identical set of apples had 5 apples and each identical set of oranges had five oranges, then………

(5A+5O)³ = 5Ax5Ax5A + 3x5Ax5Ax5O + 3x5Ax5Ox5O + 5Ox5Ox5O

                 = 125A + 3x25Ax5O + 3x5Ax25O + 125O

                 = 125A + 125O + 75Ax5O + 15Ax25O

Meaning?

A total of 215 apples and 155 oranges packed in four ways…….

1. a box of 125 apples
2. a box of 125 oranges
3. a box of 75 apples and 5 oranges
4. a box of 15 apples and 25 oranges

Now, how did five apples and five oranges turn to such a huge number? The work of mathematics, or the work of nature?

And, how did apples become more than oranges? Mathematical error or unsuitable soil or natural disaster or unequal access?

Whatever, I couldn’t prove the equation right. Anybody would like to try?

PS.

Is this what meditation is doing to my brain? Gosh! I better be careful before I go crazy.

(Or, perhaps, meditation is necessary because of this state of my brain. Ha! Ha!)  

My 2010 Actions

While reading through bhutanesebloggerpost on 2010 plan I realized I needed to revisit my new year resolutions, so here I am again with my new year resolutions.

Why did I think of new year resolutions? Well, I looked at my current status. My life today. Am I living well? Am I satisfied with myself? Am I happy most times? Of course, if I consider my age, I should be doing well by now and not even think about resolutions, perhaps. But then, that's not a standard rule, is it?

I reflected on my 2009. 2008. 2007. 2006. 2005. 2004 (the year I resigned from government service). Did things go well these past years?  What has been different for me from the time I used to be in government service? Has it been better? Am I happier?

Now, that's pretty difficult to assess. First of all, I need to be clear on what I want to make of my life. Has this ever been clear for me? Perhaps NOT. I never really did find myself the time to think about this. Life just went on - monotonously. And, then, BING! I woke up suddenly in early 2004. Actually an inner voice cried out to me "Enough, Tshering! Stop all this nonsense! What are you trying to prove? And, to whom?" That was it. A sudden push on the brake pedal. I shocked myself. Friends were dumbfounded. Family shocked too. And, what to imagine of colleagues at work? God alone knows what they were really thinking, but at the farewell gathering the message I got was that they thought I was "courageous." One close colleague-cum-friend even went on to say in her speech that "many others would also like to leave, but not everybody has the courage to do so." Whatever was that supposed to mean for the others? For me, it meant giving up a job that earned me my stable monthly income, without which I would probably be in a terrible mess. True in many ways, given my not-so-stable financial status at that time. Some friends had gossipped among themselves that I was being "stupid." I think they were right given the face value information they had about me. What was simmering inside was something nobody ever noticed. Well, it was just simmering, not on full fire, so I guess it wasn't noticeable.

I remember when I got my first appointment in Pemagatshel as a teacher in 1987, friends had told me, "Wai, Dolkar, don't come back three, huh" and I remember replying, "Come on, I have a long way to go; I cannot think of marriage yet; I must first be able to stand on my own feet with some savings." It had sounded so easy when I said that. Had I meant it? Of course! But, what I had not known was how to keep to it. I realize it was one of my first resolutions at the start of my new phase in life. However, within a short span of not even half the year I was married to a complete stranger and then the third family member was on its way immediately after. Savings? Chance missed. Those living or familiar with Bhutanese ways can imagine the rest that followed. I was among the modern educated lot, but beaten by time immemorial traditions of succumbing to demands that were in no way going to make my own future or of my children. Did I care, though? NO! That was the BIG mistake. I was educated enough to quickly visualize my magnificent future (castles in the air), but not WISE and SMART enough to do what it takes to make that future. I should say I was unwisely beaten.  But, you know what? I thought I had begun quite well, though. I would maintain a book of accounts with all bills attached and then review them at the end of the month to check what I was spending most on and how necessary it was. I would then make a decision on what to spend and what not to spend on and how much, etc in the new month. You know what put an end to that? My own EMOTIONAL DISTRACTIONS.


Coming back to the present, I can say that I am doing better - i.e. relative to how I was doing before, not in absolute terms. So, what was it like before resigning from government service? 

• Life was stressful most days - even weekends!
• Too many worries about others, hardly about myself
• Too much worrying about office work, therefore hardly ever calm and composed and missing lunches
  
• Too much of pleasing others and being nice, therefore, a lot of sacrifices
• No personal vision, therefore hardly any personal life
  
• Poor personal time management, therefore hardly any time for self and family
  
• Not assertive - whether at work or at home - therefore ending up doing beyond my means
  
• Angered easily by others' wrongs
• Overspending, therefore hardly able to save
  
• Easily distracted by emotions, therefore fluctuating in my performance - at work as well as home

So, what is it like now?

• Life is less stressful.
• Less worrying about others, more focus on self and immediate family
• Still a lot of worrying about work, therefore still not calm and composed while working
• Pleasing selectively and being nice when I need to
• Have a 'draft' personal vision
• Better personal time management, but still in need of further improvement
  
• Can be assertive when I have to
  
• Still angered by others' wrongs (e.g. corruption, lack of transparency)
  
• Spending less, but still more than I need to
  
• Emotions under better control, although still quite sensitive at times particularly with family members

So, what brought about the good changes? Well, first of all, I told myself, "There's much more to learn in life" and I made the effort to learn. I still do.

• I read recommended books (e.g. Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman, Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, Shiv Khera's You Can Win, Bart A. Baggett's Success Secrets of the Rich and Happy, Robin S. Sharma's Who Will Cry When You Die?, Thich Nhat Hanh's Old Path White Clouds, etc).

• I listened to talks/speeches  (e.g. by Sogyal Rinpoche, Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, Lama Shenphen Zangpo of deerparkthimphu, Truelku Jamyang from Kalimpong, the current Indian Ambassador to Bhutan, His Majesty the Fifth King Druk Gyalpo Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck, Dasho Karma Ura, etc).

• I participated in workshops (e.g. Advisory Skills by SNV, Training of Trainers by Sambodhi, School Leadership by iDiscoveri, Leadership Learning Programme by SNV, HIV/AIDS by UNICEF, CSO Workshop by Bhutan Foundation,etc)

• I browsed the internet (using google search) each time I wanted to understand a new concept or correct an old misconception

• I interacted with people in various informal gatherings (e.g. tea/snacks/meals with friends, colleagues, acquaintances, etc)

• I watched recommended movies (e.g. at deerparkthimphu) and TV programmes (e.g. Oprah, singing and dance contests, etc)

• I followed certain websites/blogs (e.g. Siddharth, Robert Holden's Happiness Project, Gretchen Rubin's Happiness Project, Centre for Bhutan Studies, bhutanportal, the chiefhappinessofficer, bhutaneseblogger, dionthejob, Opposition Party Leader Lyonpo Tshering Tobgay, etc)

What did I learn?

1. In order to lead others, I've got to first lead myself. I can lead myself by being clear about my values. I discovered I had been leading myself pretty well by being serious about ethics.
   
2. A team needs a good leader. I can lead my team (including family) by being a good role model. I discovered I had unknowingly been quite a good leader to small teams.
   
3. Everybody has strengths. I discovered my real strength - training, advising. I had been wasting quite a bit of my precious time doing things I wasn't really cut out for.
   
4. Happiness is a choice. I can be happy most moments of my life as I have made the choice. (However, also accepting that little downs can't be helped, but must be managed well.)
5. Wealth is a decision. I may not become wealthy as wealth is not on my list of decisions.
6. "The tragedy of life is not death, but what we let die inside of us while we live." I should keep my old passions alive. My very first oldest secret passion - singing and dancing. I must keep this alive too.
   
7. "Winners don't do different things. They do things differently." I can do differently what I used to do. I discovered I was focusing too much on doing different things just to prove myself and never really got down to doing anything after all.  
   
8. Life is not without difficulties. Even the Buddha encountered difficulties. The difficulties can be overcome or managed with resilience. I can overcome my difficulties gracefully. 

So, what did I do differently?

1. I turned my inner voice and passion into my personal vision and mission - "Happiness and Serving with Excellence." (By the way I keep my above mentioned secret passion alive by watching singing and dance contests on TV and also attending concerts. It gives me immense pleasure.)
   
2. I tried to be patient by building patience through disciplined mental reflections and journal writing.
3. I turned my complaints/grievances into motivational packages - coaching, guiding, which I used to do quite a bit already but also complain.
   
4. I focused my efforts more on providing advice and training to people as my main profession.
5. I turned my difficulties into 'exciting' challenges to deal with. I challenged myself into overcoming them.

What could I NOT do differently?

• I could not discipline myself into daily meditation, which is believed to ease and stabilize the mind.
• I could not always have lunch on time.
• I could not NOT be angered by others' wrong doings.
• I could not NOT spend on unrequired fancy things.
  
• I could not NOT be hurt or distracted by my family's actions.

So, my revised resolutions (which I now prefer to call My 2010 Actions) are as follows.

1. Daily meditation of SIX MINUTES (as advised by deerparkthimphu Lama Shenphen Zangpo) in the morning for the whole of this year
2. Set my alarm on my mobile to lunch time so that I'm reminded of lunch while I'm working on my computer.
3. Make a list of things to buy, making sure the list does not include fancy things. (Even if I did become wealthy by sheer luck, then spending on fancy things should still not be on my agenda but rather charity. I have understood the value of money much much more now.)
   

I have no clue as to how to help myself not to be angered by others' wrong doings and not be sensitive about my family's actions. Any advice, anybody? Will my daily meditation actually gradually help me overcome these?

On the other hand, when I think of civil society organizations and non government organizations, if not for anger about people's wrongdoings would such organizations exist?

Until next time, adieux........ 

PS.
In case you wish to know some popular new year resolutions, check popular new year resolutions in the US .

(Gosh! Have I again gone and done different rather than differently?)

And, in case you need some help with how to keep your resolutions, here's Gretchen Rubin's tips. (Shhhh...I'm a fan of Gretchen Rubin, for her spirit and courage)


Another secret: I was wondering how bhutaneseblogger and Opposition Party Leader Lyonpo Tshering Tobgay linked to websites so neatly every time on their posts and then I decided to learn it. Today, I can do it too and I'm happy.       























 

new year resolution - the journey begun well

The first day of the new year was the ideal day for me to prove my resolution of quality time with my family. Yes, we were together all day - away from the monotonous home environment. I had a work deadline to meet, but this was the time of test. I decided to stay away from my computer, so that I wouldn't get tempted to switch it on. Having been in government service for almost 18 years, workaholism is one thing I seem to have grown to live with and that was exactly what had distanced me from my family. "Familiarity breeds intimacy," somebody (???) had said - I read it somewhere, don't remember where - and I had lost those moments of breeding intimacy (with my children in particular). My older son's dazed look and empty stare were what woke me up one fine day and by then he had already lost much of the precious time I could've spent with him. And, then, I noticed my bubbly daughter (oldest child), who used to run gleefully into my arms, had become frozen cold with no show of emotions whatsoever. Her face that used to light up when I was around had turned sour. Even her smiles were sourish. My youngest son, on the other hand, turned out to be the lucky one. He came out into this world at a time when I was guilty of not being around for my two older children. I was a bit more conscious of my parental responsibilities with my youngest child and, yes, we are very close and open with each other. My other two children hardly express themselves, therefore, I have to do the wild guessing of what they like, do not like, want, do not want, wish to do, not in the mood, etc etc etc. I've been compelled to learn to read their body language to the minutest detail. But, of course, my daughter has her own ways of showing she remembers her mom by not forgetting to wish me on my birthday and on mother's day. Recently she went on an institutional trip to Kolkata and she surprised me with such lovely gifts. She had bought me stuffs of my choice and then I realized how grown up she already was.

So, what did we do on the first blessed day of the new year? We went picnicking! It was a bit of an unusual kind of picnic, with a pot full of marinaded raw chopped up chicken in our packed bags. Did we just have chicken for lunch? Well, chicken was the only meat we decided on for today, hoping it wouldn't be a 'kabhi kabhi' story but rather a 'martey dam tak' kind of story for us in 2010. But, why chicken? Why not pork or beef or fish? Simple reason - chicken is a common favourite among us. And, to add to it, my husband is extremely good with chicken dishes. So, besides the marinaded raw chicken in our bags, we had another pot of already prepared chicken masala curry - the best we've tasted so far of my husband's cooking. I'm better at making butter stir fry stuffs with vegetables and vegetable soup in the pressure cooker. Not in today's menu, though. I'm no good with typical Bhutanese dishes - neither paa, nor ema daatsi. My daughter is good at red dried chilly curry with plenty of oil and some onions. Today, I tried my hand at a mixture of green chillies, white dried chillies and red dried chillies, with plenty of oil and little fresh cheese. No onions. No garlic. No tomatoes. Too much of all these already in the chicken masala curry and, oh, I forgot to mention the egg dish (hard boiled, peeled and roasted vigorously in chilly powder, onion, garlic and ginger). And, by the way, I hate amul cheese in my curry! I'd rather have it with bread or just like that. Gosh! I hope I didn't sound like Sally in the movie 'When Harry Met Sally.'

Coming back to the marinaded chicken, the picture above tells the story. This is what we did different. Something to the effect of kabab, but not exactly so. How did it turn out? Superbly fantabulous! The children loved the taste and the mood was just right. Well, that was our starter, alongwith some lemon flavour Lay's potatoto chips, fresh green chillies with salt and some finely roasted chilly powder with garlic. Of course, by the time we settled for the main meal we realized we were all pretty full.

With the river flowing right in front of our eyes, trees all around and stones of interesting shapes and sizes that could easily be turned into a piece of artwork at VAST, how could a family on a picnic not enjoy? My older son played hunter jumping from rock to rock on the river, with a stick in hand pretending to poke at fish. My daughter took on the role of photographer, but I couldn't make out if she was enjoying it. She looked as though she were missing her boyfriend, who couldn't be with us because he had to be at a puja at home. My youngest child was enjoying singing along while listening to his sister's choice of songs in her mobile. I think he's pretty good with rap songs.

When we started packing up to leave the picnic spot, it was around 3:30 pm and already looking quite dark. I guess a sign of the winter solstice tomorrow...

The children said they enjoyed the picnic. My journey through the new year resolutions had begun well.

While driving back home I announced that we needed to buy a new football. Both my sons are crazy about playing football and why not? There was the free Changjiji ground nearby to play on and make new friends.

Having seen a brochure of the new private school - Pelkhil - we tried looking for it on our way back from the picnic spot and found a huge incomplete structure and wondered how ready they were for academic session 2010. Maybe we got the wrong place...just wanted to check it out for my older son, who's waiting for the class ten results. He's confident of passing and I keep insisting it's not enough to just pass but also be qualified for class 11. So, if I'm looking for a private school for him, I guess that means I'm not confident he'll qualify for class eleven in a public school. But, if he does, he would surprise me beyond words and definitely be deserving of a special gift.