Birth of A Brother

I remember, I think this must be my earliest memory, walking down the lane of my rental house holding a pillow in one hand and clutching my father’s hand with the other. My father had some rolled up bedding in his other arm. He walked jauntily announcing to the entire world that his wife has just delivered a son and that we were off to the hospital to be along with the mother and baby.

I don‘t remember the stay there or the fact that I named my brother ‘Aravind’, but I do remember having at least 4 Aravinds in my Junior KG class. So, it must be true. I must have named him. Not just that, he owes his birth to me. Let me tell you the story.

We were on the first floor of an old rental apartment and there were another half-dozen houses there apart from the landlord who resided on the ground floor. I was a lonely four-year old.

So, secretly, I used to pray to God everyday to give me either an elder sister like Ammu or a younger brother. I never wanted an elder brother who might bash me up or a younger sister who would snatch my lovely beads and dresses. Since God couldn’t turn back time, he satisfied my latter wish.

So, my brother owes me two things – his birth and his name!

My Pen (Poetry)

Hour upon hour, I perspire
to write something to inspire.
My world sure does conspire
to get my pen to retire.
See the household's mire!

No Nanny is on hire.
Fresh diapers the twins require.
I have to start the cooking fire,
fix the toy car's tire
and volunteer to create a society flier.
I take my daughter to practice for choir,
send off charity in the wire
and bake desserts for hubby's desire.

My pen calls out in dire.
It asks for writing to admire.
It may be the time of vampire
but I pick up the pen from the pyre.
Finally, I respire.

- Archana Sarat
Copyright Archana Sarat 2011

My First and Last Experiment with Snuff

My parents lived in the first floor of an old small rental apartment in Chennai during my early childhood. There were around 10 other families around us apart from the landlord who lived in the ground floor.

One of the families were a bunch of Anglo-Indians. I loved to go there and play with the ‘Akka’(means ‘elder sister’ in Tamil) there. Her family seemed huge with a Granny, a dozen brothers (or so it seemed to me!), a half-dozen sisters, a harassed mother and not-so-easily-noticeable father. Akka was the person who introduced me to Chess. She taught me the game and I loved it! I haunted her house often to enjoy a game of chess with her. Whenever I play this game, till now, her memory flits across my mind. She was the kindest person I had come across. Secretly, I used to pray to God to make her my very own elder sister.

Once, when I had gone to her house to pester her for another game of chess, she had gone out and only Granny was in the house. Granny had this small cylindrical box in her skirt pocket that she used to bring out often. She used to open the box and take a pinch of something out of it and sniff her pinched finger. Then she used to open her mouth wide and exclaim “Aaarrghhh..” as if she was in the ecstasies of pleasure.



Since no one was around that day, I went up to granny and asked her, “what is in this box?”

“Snuff,” she said.

“Can I see it?” I asked.

“Ok but don’t drop it.”

I opened the box as delicately as possible and peeped inside. I was disappointed. It was just some dark-coloured powder inside.

“Want to try it?” Granny asked. Her eyes sparked mischief. I nodded my head. She took a small pinch of the powder and placed it in my palms.

“Sniff it in now,” she said.

I did just what she asked and then it started.

“Atchooo… Atchooo… ATCHOOO… Atch.. Atch… ATCHOOO….” The sneezes were beyond the control of my 7 year old self and the laughter was beyond the control of the 70 year old. Sometimes, I still hear that loud raucous laughter in my dreams.




Akka entered just then with her mother.

“Granny, what have you done?” Akka seemed really angry.

“I don’t know. She only wanted to try it,” Granny said.

Akka looked at me and I could only sneeze twice more in reply. Conversation was beyond my capacity.

I was given a glass of water and packed off home. I didn’t breathe a word of this incident to anyone. (In fact, this blog entry is going to be a shocking revelation to my parents!)

Years later, we moved into our own house in the tallest high rise building in Chennai at that time. Akka and Granny became distant memories.

Recently, I met Akka again at the Gynecologist. I was 8 months pregnant with my second child and Akka was so happy for me. Sadly, she was married but childless. God is unfair at times! He does test people’s faith. I remembered the love Akka used to shower on all of us kids and prayed to God to bless her with a child soon.

Samsung Galaxy Tab: A Walk Through The Day Of A Writer

Light, sleek, small ab
With a design so fab,
The Samsung Galaxy Tab
Is a gadget to nab!

Your world turns an experimental lab.
Your life is a canvas to dab.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab
Is a gadget to nab!

Friends a click away to gab.
It adds a zing to your zab!
The Samsung Galaxy Tab
Is a gadget to nab!

Swifter than a speeding cab,
With a price that does not jab,
The Samsung Galaxy Tab
Is a gadget to nab!

(*zab – meaning: to be really, really cool)(http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Zab)



As the sun slowly rises in the east and the beautiful morning rays touch me, I am typing away on my Samsung Galaxy Tab. The story would just not let me sleep. I am a writer. I continue writing… My beautiful little Tab has an ambient light sensor that automatically modifies the brightness of the screen to protect my eyes from the glare of the bright screen. My eyes bear no strain even after hours of typing in the dark.

My Samsung Galaxy Tab not only cares about my eyes, it also cares about how much I type everyday. That’s why I could get a pretty keyboard case to match it. It does take the strain out of typing thousands of words everyday!

I hear the pitter – patter of little feet and guess that my 10 month old son is up for the day. Expecting him to come crawling up to me, I look behind and I am shocked. OMG! The little sweetheart is walking. I quickly pick up my Tab and film an entire video of him walking towards me. The 3MP rear facing camera helps you click great photos and shoot HD videos. I complete the shoot with a photo of his sweet morning smile and instantly share the photo on Picassa.



I get on the Social Hub to share the news with all. “Aaru has started walking!” My Twitter, Facebook and all email accounts are in this one stop place and the news starts the rounds!

Instantly my husband wants to see the little one. Sadly, he is in Australia on a business trip. I tell him not to worry and switch on to video chat on my Samsung Galaxy Tab. The 2 MP front camera satisfies his curiosity and he signs off.

After all these morning adventures, Aaru wants to nurse but I want to continue to type my story when the flow is good. Thanks to the fact that my Samsung Galaxy Tab is just 565 gms, I am able to do both.



The morning is up and bright now. And I fix myself a strong cup of coffee and switch on to the day’s newspaper. I am a voracious reader. Thanks to the Readers Hub of Samsung Galaxy Tab, I am no longer swarmed by paper wherever I go. I buy books here and subscribe to my favorite newspapers and magazines too. Thereby, I am doing my bit to save all those trees that are used in making paper. The Wifi and Bluetooth in my Samsung Galaxy Tab ensure that I am connected to all my reading material wherever I may be.

I place my son on his high chair and sit beside him. We both are going to have breakfast. And this fellow would silently complete his meal only if he watches the popular ‘Gummi Bear’ videos. I switch it on in my Samsung Galaxy Tab and the meal proceeds in harmony. The 1280x800 WXGA display, 149 ppi, HD and the dual speakers surround effect bring the music video to life. Suddenly, he puts out his hand and swats at it. The Tab turns and along with it the picture turns too. The gyroscope sensor & accelerometer sensor sense movements and the display is ready.

After breakfast, my son goes to play with his toys. I get the idea for a new poem. I create a fresh document and start typing it out. The Polaris Office gives you the facility of creating and editing documents. The memory provides me adequate room to store all my music, videos and documents. It is so easy to multi-task in the Samsung Galaxy tab. I can listen to music, type and reference material – all at the same time.

Aaru is getting cranky and I understand he wants his morning nap. I put on some soothing music on the Samsung Galaxy Tab and take him and the tab to the nursery. I lay him on a mat and give him a relaxing massage. He simply loves it. After his bath, he goes to sleep deeply.

The babysitter walks in at just that second. I need to run a few errands. I pick up my handbag and drop my Samsung Galaxy Tab into it. It is so slim, just 8.6 mm, and fits snugly into my bag. The GPS, Compass and Google Maps in it are invaluable when I drive around the town.The 3G Connectivity keeps me connected always, wherever I go.



After all my shopping is done, I get back home. Aaru is still sleeping. I pay off the babysitter and go to fix a meal for me and Aaru. Once I am back to my desk, I switch on to my email and it does not need any updating. The Samsung Galaxy Tab has a live panel homescreen that keeps updating my mail and social network updates.

My friends are raving about this new game and I use the Android Tech to download it. Unlike the IPad, my Samsung Galaxy Tab supports Adobe Flash Player and therefore, I can access those websites that use flash too. But, before I can check out the game, Aaru is up. After lunch and all, I decide I am going to make a new dessert for hubby when he gets back. I check out the recipe for Apple Pie. Within seconds its on the screen of my Samsung Galaxy Tab. Wow, that’s speed!

As I type away all evening, it feels a pleasure to be able to so easily look up the dictionary, reference websites, tell a hi on Facebook, pay the phone bill and still continue typing. When I put Aaru to sleep, I remember to check up on the battery. It is still pretty strong. It is 2 days since I charged it. The charge does last long on my Samsung Galaxy Tab. I kiss my Samsung Galaxy Tab goodnight and get into my bed. It is one good friend that every mummy writer needs to have!

My Pen (Poetry)

Hour upon hour, I perspire
to write something to inspire.
My world sure does conspire
to get my pen to retire.
See the household's mire!

No Nanny is on hire.
Fresh diapers the twins require.
I have to start the cooking fire,
fix the toy car's tire
and volunteer to create a society flier.
I take my daughter to practice for choir,
send off charity in the wire
and bake desserts for hubby's desire.

My pen calls out in dire.
It asks for writing to admire.
It may be the time of vampire
but I pick up the pen from the pyre.
Finally, I respire.

- Archana Sarat
Copyright Archana Sarat 2011