Aacha Yetho Poona!

Our three years in India has taught us many things. You cannot live in a place and say that it has not changed you. You actually become part of life in that place you are living. It is hard to describe, Paul and I had traveled a lot—and abroad—before coming to India, but it is still not the same as immersing yourself in the culture and living it day to day. Words cannot describe India—one must travel here and experience it by living here.

The first year you live abroad you struggle with the concept that you are not a tourist, and that you are trying to survive daily life in a strange place. The second year you ‘let go’ and start to live in that country. The third year you actually begin to feel that you belong in the community.

Living here everyday, we have learned many things. We have laughed more, cried more, lived life everyday, and ‘stop to smell the roses;’ taken a rickshaw ride from the barefooted cabbie; overpaid for the gorgeous Pashmina shawl from Kashmir even though you know its worth a lot less—and still say the salesman is your friend and have a cup of chai with him and buy three more; prepared for power outages on Thursdays; have a four-hour-breakfast-that turns-into-lunch-on-Sunday simply because we can; soaked our feet in the tub after a long walk and we still can’t get the red Earth off our toes; stained fingernails from cutting mangoes; bicycles and motorbikes everywhere; learned to trust complete strangers who can’t speak English but communicate with their eyes; the ambiguous Indian no/yes head wiggle; never looking a strange man directly in the eyes; watched the slums, beggars, and extreme poverty from sitting inside a cool chauffeured car; cockroaches, rats, crows and pigeons hanging out at the market; melted in the heat during April and May with long pants, tunic and scarf wrapped around me to cover as much of my body as possible when out in public; felt as though your life should be a miniseries entitled Adventures in Mosquito Slaying; saw the slogans Horn Ok Please and India is Great; Jai Ho!; and learning to say “Tee-Kay” and “Dahn-You-Vad.”

India taught us how to really cook. We always thought of ourselves as a good cooks, Paul on the Barbie, but it was not until we lived here that we began to experiment with different foods and really just be more creative in our cooking. Not having staple goods that we are used to available made us learn how to make pasta sauce, hummus, and muesli from scratch. I mastered icing a layer cake, and my cake baking in general improved vastly.

India gave us adventure, history, and culture as we saw the Taj Mahal three times, the stately and modern capital city of Delhi, the Golden Temple, the Himalayas, the temples and ruins of Hampi, the French port of Pondicherry, the royal state of Rajasthan, the beaches and churches of Goa, the ancient Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain temples carved out of stone in Aurangabad, the hill stations of Maharastra, and the chaos of Mumbai.

India made us a mother and father. We left America with the hope that we would become parents. We watched my belly grow as we traveled to Cambodia, traveled India, and enjoyed daily Pune life. The winter before Anna arrived our favorite café was bombed less than a kilometer away from home by terrorists. Our neighborhood had roadblocks set up overnight and businesses were shut down for days. Checkpoints on North Main Road are still guarded by police with rifles as a daily reminder of what happened. We learned to live each day to the fullest after that. We became parents a few months later and life took on a whole new meaning.

India made us teachers. Paul began to teach and mentor his team at the new factory. I dove into teaching English at the orphanage—everything from strict grammar lessons to dancing the Macarena. The children taught me how to make chappati and smile. After Anna was born, I taught the women in my home how to cook and read a recipe or list.

We have loved India and we have hated India. There is no room for ‘gray’ in India. It is a country of extremes. Life is complicated, dramatic and messy. India is a tough place to live when you are not Indian, but if you let India into your life and actually LIVE you learn to appreciate the small, simple joys of everyday life.

So with heavy hearts three more firangis say Aacha Yetho, Poona as this chapter in our life comes to an end. Ah, Pune will you even miss us when we’ve gone? No, probably not—life will go on and all the drama and chaos we have known for the last three years and three months will become part of someone else’s daily life. We know it is not goodbye, as we will return one day. Who knows what the future will bring as we travel back to our native place? Hopefully, more happiness and adventure mixed with a bit of masala.





We leave you with a few of our favorite memories daily life in India, to say farewell.





A girl outside my car window begs for a few rupees spare change . . .





Selling the seasonal fruits and vegetables at this stall . . .





These two children walk home from school on the railroad tracks to their shanties amidst the littered trash in Ghorpadi.





Mumbai flower-walla!





Early morning Mumbai traffic . . .


Mumbaikar walking to the office . . . Flower stall on Bund Garden Road and North Main Road.

Sunset view of the Mula-Mutha River and Koregaon Park from our dry balcony.

School's Out! These children race down the street after dismissal in Shivajinagar.

Pooja for Ganesh . . .

Clover Center, one of our favorite shopping centers.

A new building goes up with the exterior supports made from bamboo.

No parking!

Carpet cleaners!

The local Kalyani Nagar dry cleaners!

Waiting for the bus on Moledina Road. Street sweepers . . .

TB advertisements . . .

The beautiful bougainvilleas . . .

Sari shop!

Our neighborhood cow behind Waterfront . . .

A rickshaw . . .

Busy intersection . . .

Students and passersby stop at the snack shop on Bund Garden Road. . .

Tata Pune!

Happy 1st Birthday Anna!

To our dear sweet Peanut, today you turn 1 year old. Since today is your birthday, Daddy and I will write to you on the blog as one day you will read this when you are older.

No longer are you Baby Anna, but now Little Anna. It’s hard for Daddy and I to believe that one year ago today you were finally born. Daddy and I were very patient and waited a long time for you to make your debut. Mommy’s body kept showing signs you were coming to us, but you never appeared. Your US due date, April 27th arrived and you did not come, your Indian due date, April 29th arrived and yet you still waited inside my belly. Dr. Unni made Mommy come into the hospital for appointments every day after April 29th to check to see how you were doing, and you were fine. Finally, on May 5th—a week and a half after your due date, Mommy and Daddy checked themselves into Jehangir Hospital and we began the long slow process of giving birth to you. On May 8th at 12:20 am you were born. You did not cry or make one sound when you were born. Lina, our doula, and the ayahs handed you to me, and you looked up at me with your beautiful, big blue eyes and a slight smile on your lips. Daddy had not cut your umbilical cord yet, and he thought you were a boy and exclaimed this out loud. Dr. Unni started laughing and said no, you were a girl. At that moment, Mommy held you for the first time and said your name, ‘Anna Katherine.’

We chose your name ‘Anna Katherine’ for its meaning after much long debate. ‘Anna’ is derived from the Hebrew name ‘Hannah’ and it means ‘Grace.’ Later, we learned that ‘Anna’ is a popular name in India and comes from the ancient language, Sanskrit and means ‘Grain.’ ‘Katherine’ is your second name and comes from the Greek language meaning ‘Pure.’ And so, little Anna Katherine you arrived in the world with grace and purity in your heart.

April and May are very hot months in India, not cool with fresh rains as they are in our state within our native country, America. You were born on May 8th in the middle of the hot season. The earth was dusty and red, but the flowers were in full bloom. Indian flowers always bloom during the hot season in the most magnificent colors—fuchsia, red, yellow, orange, white and everything is green amidst the dust. The air was thick, dry and heavy from the heat.

India is a land of dichotomies. India is the great divide between the have’s and the have not’s. The great subcontinent can be a beautiful and an ugly place. Amongst the chaos, sometimes your senses will capture the most beautiful sound, smell, or sight. I sometimes wonder if you will remember these things from India? The swoosh of the sari; the tinkle of bells on silver anklets; the colors and sparkle of bangles on a wrist; the design of henna on the palm of a hand; the honking of the rickshaw; the man singing Marathi on the street calling for trash to be brought out; the wind rustling the bamboo; your love for classic Bollywood tunes on the radio while driving with Laxman; smelling cinnamon, chili, sweat, ripe guava and mangoes, chapattis cooking on the tava, and jasmine blooming. These things made you Anna during your first year of life. Will you know this once we move back to America? Probably not, so I will write them down for you now so that you may dream of them, and one day we will take you to this foreign land so you can see them.

Your mother and father love you so much. We held you when you cried, we laughed with you and at your infectious smile which has now turned into humor, we danced with you to music, we talked to you when you asked us questions and showed us new things though we don’t quite understand yet, and we have held you tight when you are scared. We do these things because we love you so much.

So Little Anna, this blog entry is dedicated to you and your first year of life. Here are some photos from your birth, this last twelfth month I will document online, and our celebration of your first year today.

Happy 1st Birthday Anna!

Not quite a day old, here you are all snuggled up at the hospital in your cradle.

Dr. Unni and Dr. Vashi come to say goodbye to us as we take you home for the first time.




Here you are meeting Lily for the first time.


Five days old and already posing for the camera!

Finally, sleeping! Still not one of your favorite activities.

An afternoon snuggle with Daddy...still awake...but Daddy is asleep!

And now, look at you with your best friends--Ethan and Drori--all of you born three weeks apart.
Look, mom! Here I am! This month you have decided to crawl into every small space you can find . . . including your toy hamper.


My little yogi!



Anna enjoys a mascarpone cheese sandwich on whole wheat bread. You also enjoyed eating figs and Alphonso mangoes this month.



Your two best friends at Waterfront . . . George and Sanarita . . . the neighborhood pigeons. Here you are with Pooh looking for them to come and visit.

Easter lunch with Ethan--you two loved eating fish!
You learned how to open the cupboard! Diapers, sheets, baby wipes, baby powder, towels, wash cloths EVERYWHERE!


Anna decides to help the tailor measure the cushion covers for our sofa.




Jasmine and Anna have dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe!





"Let's walk to breakfast at Dario's, Mom!"

"Happy Birthday To You, Happy Birthday To You, Happy Birthday Dear Anna...Happy Birthday To You!!!!!" Nana and Grandpa called first thing in the morning on your actual birthday to sing Happy Birthday to you. Here you are clapping for them while they sing on Skype.

After breakfast, we open some presents mommy and daddy gave you.

You finally realize that the present is not the shiny paper, but inside the paper!

But, you still like the paper best!

Laxman, Shivling, Urmilla and Pauline all bring you presents throughout the day as they come into work.

Sharing is caring . . . ;-)

Pauline brought you silver anklets. Here you are examining them while in your choli.

It's party time! Bring out the bindi and sari!

Our Indian baby looking absolutely gorgeous in her sari. Let's walk! Today you took your first three steps by yourself.

Happy family!

Anna sporting her bindi and mobile . . .

Your friend Zak came to the party in his Indian dress. He gave you a dolly for your birthday, but you enjoyed playing with the bag it came inside.

Karen and Baby Nora, and Emma and Jack enjoy a chat as the party gets started.

Your best friend, Drori, and new friends Maya and Yarin, bought you a cool pink riding car for your birthday. You were especially drawn to the box. We have not assembled it yet, but will soon for you to cruise around the house.

Mommy made you a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting!

Here comes the cake! Hila helped Mommy get it ready for you in the kitchen.

Happy Birthday our darling little girl! You got a little scared when we brought out the cake and 15 people started singing to you, but you loved your first slice.

Not scared anymore after you got to eat your first piece!

Here you are in your lengha playing with Maya.

Party's over. Time to give the birthday girl a bath, story, and off to the land of nod. Mommy and Daddy had a champagne toast when you were asleep to celebrate your first year of life. Happy Birthday to our lovely Little Anna!