Granny Amma fixing Lily's travel tent at The Green Hotel, Mysore
Thatha and Lily tucking into lunch
Mama, Granny Amma, Lily and Thatha at Maya's sports day
'The simplest toy, one which even the youngest can operate, is called a grandparent.'
Sam Levenson
So Granny Amma and Thatha have flown away back to Africa. They went in the dead of night and I was worried that Maya would be really upset the next day. But a brief conversation had been held between her and Granny Amma, that they were going back to Africa but they'd see her again very soon. Maya mulled over this for a while and then asked 'Is Africa very far away?' Which reminds me, I must get her a globe (or 'the whole world' as she calls them) as she seems really interested where places are. So there were no tears the following morning, life just carried on without the grandparents. I know she misses them though as we put all the chairs together to make a train this afternoon and the first stop was Africa where she hopped off to give Granny Amma and Thatha a big hug.
Their visit to Bangalore was a great success on many different levels. Firstly, Granny Amma hadn't been to India for some time (in 1969 she travelled around the country by train, sleeping in stations to save money!!) and so it was something of a trip down memory lane for her. Often she would stop and exclaim 'Oooh, I remember that smell!' As for Thatha, it was his first trip to India but he really loved it - the food was a big hit with him too (speaking of food, we seemed to spend a disproportionate amount of time eating and also drinking beer. Quote from Granny Amma: 'This beer is really helping my cold get better.' And yes, she was being serious.) The weather was pretty grey, overcast or wet for most of their stay but to be honest, since they'd come from the blazing heat of Tanzania, they didn't seem to mind at all.
Their visit was also brilliant for Andy and I. Not only was it great to spend proper time with them (it had been a while since they left for Africa in January 2008), but Maya and Lily adored having their grandparents around as much as they seemed to enjoy being with them, which meant lots of little breaks for the two of us. We even managed to read the paper and our books!
Finally, as far as Maya went, both Andy and I noticed that her behaviour radically improved whilst they were here. Now I'm not saying she's normally a little ogre or anything of that sort, she's just a normal little three year old with her emotional highs and lows. But whilst Granny Amma and Thatha were here, there were pretty much no lows whatsoever. She was just so happy to have them there and was constantly excited, enthusiastic and lovely.
So all in all, a fantastic week. If you're reading this Granny Amma and Thatha, I hope you made it back to Tanzania alright and that you make it to Zanzibar. Send our love to the sea - we're so horribly landlocked here!
Their visit to Bangalore was a great success on many different levels. Firstly, Granny Amma hadn't been to India for some time (in 1969 she travelled around the country by train, sleeping in stations to save money!!) and so it was something of a trip down memory lane for her. Often she would stop and exclaim 'Oooh, I remember that smell!' As for Thatha, it was his first trip to India but he really loved it - the food was a big hit with him too (speaking of food, we seemed to spend a disproportionate amount of time eating and also drinking beer. Quote from Granny Amma: 'This beer is really helping my cold get better.' And yes, she was being serious.) The weather was pretty grey, overcast or wet for most of their stay but to be honest, since they'd come from the blazing heat of Tanzania, they didn't seem to mind at all.
Their visit was also brilliant for Andy and I. Not only was it great to spend proper time with them (it had been a while since they left for Africa in January 2008), but Maya and Lily adored having their grandparents around as much as they seemed to enjoy being with them, which meant lots of little breaks for the two of us. We even managed to read the paper and our books!
Finally, as far as Maya went, both Andy and I noticed that her behaviour radically improved whilst they were here. Now I'm not saying she's normally a little ogre or anything of that sort, she's just a normal little three year old with her emotional highs and lows. But whilst Granny Amma and Thatha were here, there were pretty much no lows whatsoever. She was just so happy to have them there and was constantly excited, enthusiastic and lovely.
So all in all, a fantastic week. If you're reading this Granny Amma and Thatha, I hope you made it back to Tanzania alright and that you make it to Zanzibar. Send our love to the sea - we're so horribly landlocked here!
What lucky children to have grandparents like this. They look fun.
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