School and Citizenship

Ok.. Tweetdeck is very disappointing on Iphone. I cannot provide regular updates on twitter when the app keeps trying to upload at the slowest speed possible. Very disappointing and I will have to find another way to keep updating.

I have chosen the school - its going to be Hoebridge. My parents figure that whilst Cranmore is a fantastic school, its just too far away and will add an hour of travel to my schedule. Finding a good childminder has also not been quite easy and I think it probably makes sense to stick to "As good" school for now if not better. We have another chance to review this when I am 7 - so not overly concerned.

I got my British passport as well this week. So now I can travel to see Saanu in US easily. I will need to apply for my OCI card so that I can travel to India as well easily. I will have to give up my Indian passport.

This week I have been to see a play at the local Woking theatre. I sat on my nursery teacher's lap the whole time. I enjoyed the show very much.

Not much happening otherwise... looking forward to this month end when my friends Darshan, Arav and Ansh arrive in the UK.

Sending regular updates

For my fans, there's another bit of good news. You may have noticed a new section on the right hand side of the blog. I have now got a twitter account (varunpgandhi) and will send in micro updates regularly.

So if you are curious about what I am doing, check the blog. Its more than likely I would have sent an update about what I am doing presently.

Cheers.

The talented Mr. Gandhi

This refers to Dad and not me. Dad has been experimenting a lot with his SLR and sometimes he just comes up with goods. Just see this album of me and momma..



Inspired stuff.

Deewali 2009

Deewali was great fun this year. On the day of Deewali, we went shopping and followed it up with Laxmi pujan in the evening. On sunday, we had friends over for our potluck party. I had so much fun playing with Tamanna, Anusha, Saanavi and Siddharth (although he is just a baby). Dad had got some sparklers as well which we all enjoyed very much. Here are some pictures from the day.

Mamma Mia

These days I am a big fan of music and singing. I love the sound of my own voice and regale my audiences with a rendition of "Mamma Mia" at every given opportunity.

I picked up this habit of singing when the older girls in my class (who have since started the big school) started singing. My carers at the nursery used to put on the Abba CD and the girls would just break into a collective song and dance. I wasnt to be left behind now, was I ? So I picked up the habit too and haven't let it gone since.

My parents dread driving me around these days because of my insistence on "Mamma Mia" in the car. The CD must have got scratch marks too :-)

If you havent heard the song before, see the video below.


And here's how I sing it ( it is towards the end of the video clip)

My family line

Dad has got a book of family records about which records our interesting history and lineage. You see we were not always Gandhis - we used to be Rathods for 41 generations. That possibly explains why Dad can bear all that pain - its the Kshatriya blood flowing through the veins. We used to be the chief accountants/store keepers for the kings in Patan. When Patan came under a Muslim ruler, my forefathers left their post and turned into shopkeepers and hence our surname "Gandhi". We have been Gandhis for the past 17 generations now and we moved to a place called Dhoraji in Gujarat.. Thanks to an illustrated family tree, I even know the names of all my forefathers for the past 17 generations. Here goes

Varun --> Prashant --> Mahesh --> Nandlal --> Abhechand --> Khetsi --> Mavji --> Jeram --> Karsanji--> Dungarbhai --> Ranchodd --> Mavji --> Ashkaran --> Seskaran --> Vasanji --> Vasabhai --> Jekaran.

Whew !! Its great to know that I can trace my family way back. If ever I feature on "Who do you think you are", I would need more than 1 episode to cover it all !!

Desaturation

Using a free image editor, Dad has selectively desaturated an image. Its my favorite cousin Harsh.

From Family & Friends (Our short india trip0

And this one is of me with my grandma

From Family & Friends (Our short india trip0

And this is Saanu

From Saanvi's UK trip

And this one to make Daddy, mom and mama very happy

From Saanvi's UK trip

Big School

Around this time next year, I will be starting my schooling as per the British Educational system . All kids who have completed 4 years by 01 September of the year are required by law to enrol in the school system. I will, of course, be one of the youngest members of my class. Thankfully I will have had nearly 3 years of nursery care and thus, will be well prepared for the rigors of the big school.

My parents are worried as parents often do. They have been surrounded by puzzles like "State school vs Private school", " Nearby good enough school or a distant excellent school", "Childminders" etc. Whilst state schools in our area are not bad, my parents feel that I will benefit immensely from a private education. They feel that individual attention and immense opportunities for growth would help in my foundation years. They are ready to make sacrifices with the hope that it would all be worthwhile in the end.

Two schools are being considered presently
1. Hoebridge school
2. Cranmore Prep school

The latter is an excellent school with extensive grounds and facilities that had my parents drooling.The only negative point at present is the distance from our place which is a significant 8.5 miles. Driving in the traffic daily is not their idea of fun.

Hoebridge on the other hand offers both proximity as well as longer school hours. My parents have arranged to go and see the school closely next month.

I am glad its not me who has to make this decision. In the meanwhile, their challenges include
1. Making me lose the dummy
2. Potty training
3. Wearing buttoned shirts

:-)

I have a younger brother now..

whose age I can calculate very very easily (if I can calculate mine).

His name is Hrishi and he was born 19th August 2009, exactly 3 years after I came into this world. So my position in this world has been elevated .. I am officially a big brother now. Time for some ragging..:-)

My 3rd birthday party

Here are some pictures from the day

Also, congratulations to Kalpesh Kaka and Kajal Kaki who gave birth to a beautiful boy on the very same day. Its a very lucky day...:-)

Varun's videos

For those people who cannot figure out how to see my videos, here's the link to follow

http://www.youtube.com/pmgandhi

Click on the uploads link on the right hand side and you will be able to see all the videos listed.

My obsessions

1. Hoover
2. Dummy
3. Jigsaw Puzzles
4. Blocks
5. Marathi Songs on Youtube
6. Drawing

Long time no see...

Sorry about that... but as usual please find a picture collection of my recent trip to Devon. It was a very relaxing holiday for me.. I had two people at my beck and call during the whole stay. Enjoy the pics !!