Namaste Bangalore

We are here. We have made it. We are all still speaking to each other AND, quite amazingly, we are all in good spirits!
Just to rewind a little...

The plane journey was, well...long. Last time we were on a plane Maya decided to take all her clothes off and run up and down the aisle naked. Now I have no problem with this but I'm not the one running the show and I guess some people would be a bit shocked to see a two year old streaking past them in the middle of their plastic aeroplane meal. So we discouraged her to do this and this time only the socks, shoes and t-shirt were removed. We had hoped Maya might sleep a little as we were meant to be pretending it was night time (India is five and a half hours forward) but this was not to be for either her or her babbling, bouncing little sister, Lily. So yes, as I said, the journey was long. But thanks to the cartoon-spouting tv, an endless supply of snacks and a bag full of emergency books and games (thanks to those of you who contributed to this!), we touched down in Bangalore with our sanity (more or less!) in tact.

Incredible - walking out of the airport the smell of the humid, scented night air hit me instantly and brought back a tumult of memories from my last time here. Nowhere smells quite like India - the earth, the spices, the choking traffic, the jasmine and jacaranda blossoms, the mass of humanity... Maya was pulling along her little prince luggage case with admirable energy, despite it being almost midnight back at home. But once we got into the car (we were thankfully collected by Gopi, the office driver), the tears began because she didn't want to be strapped in. Eventually, Maya fell into a hot, exhausted sleep and we made it to our appartment (which is really very pleasant) where she passed out on the bed next to her daddy. I couldn't resist taking a photo of this. (See above)

The next day (or rather, the same day, just a little later), we went to the office where Maya and Lily were the recipients of much clucking, cheek pinching and gifts of lovely bangles. We also ate lunch there and Maya tried her first ever dosa (there's my girl) - a pancake type food made of rice and chickpeas, typical of South India. She also tried some coconut chutney which I was pleased to see. When the chai came round at the end (Indian tea is much milkier and sweeter than it's British cousin), we chuckled to see Maya asking for some too. She has never shown an interest in tea back at home . What is it about toddlers and their uncanny knack of sniffing out the sugar??! Needless to say, she loved her first ever chai as well and finished off every last drop!

Later on when Andy was doing some work, we went down to the park in front of our appartment. (It took some convincing that she didn't need her welly boots and coat!) This may not be similar or as child-friendly as the park back in Godmanchester BUT it is a park nonetheless (ie some open space) and this is a major bonus. There is a pagoda-type structure with shade, a paved circular path and a low, narrow wall which Maya enjoyed balancing along. We played hide and seek for a little (Maya's latest craze - there was nowhere to hide but this was beside the point) and then she walked around picking up the enormous leaves from the ground to 'take to daddy' (they really are huge - I must find out the name of the tree they come from). Maya laid them down on a bench under the pagoda where we were approached by a couple of kids. Sadly, our Kannada's not up to much (the local dialect) so communication was stilted but we stayed with them for a bit which was great until two things happened. Firstly, Maya wanted to take her shoes off like the kids. I wouldn't let her and she was not happy about this. Then, completely unwittingly, the little boy brushed her leaves off the bench so they fell off the ground. And that was it, poor Maya's distress and exhaustion finally got the better of her and she flung herself to the ground and wailed. I decided enough was enough and it was time to go back, but at this stage a nearby family decided they'd like to take Maya's photo and hurried over with their mobile phone extended (this being the 21st century) for a snap. I looked down at snotty, dust-covered, howling Maya and then back at the family in bewilderment - why on earth would someone want a photo of a child in this state?! No, this was definitely not the time nor the place for posing and I whisked my children back to the apartment.

After eventually going to bed, completely shattered, we were woken around half past midnight by Lily's cries after Maya had unzipped her travel tent, climbed in with her and zipped herself back up. Poor Lily! We extricated her from the tent but Maya clearly was not tired. Instead, she was pacing around the apartment in her nappy, vest and sunglasses singing nursery rhymes. I had to sit outside her room like a prison guard, telling her to lie down again each time I heard her start bouncing on the bed again and starting her musical repertoire. Quite amusing in hindsight!

She has been amazing though, dealing with this sudden change far better than I could ever have hoped. I know it's early days, but so far she has (tiredness aside) been in fantastic spirits. Long may it last.