Janaki's Blog

Terrin was flapping her hands like annoying birds were flying around her head.  “What’s wrong?” I asked. A lunch box was open. It was Nada’s lunchbox. Nadha was standing nearby, looking amused. Terrin finished eating and exhaled. Her breath smelled like uniyappam. “Gross!” I said, wrinkling my nose. “Is it just me or is your breath so strong I can smell uniyappams even while standing 5 feet away?” “So good! But I ate only one.” Terrin said. “Can’t you wait until it’s time for the party?” “It’s hard to resist” came the reply. Terrin, me, Anne and Chandana are best friends. We could hardly wait for the party which was during the 4 th period and recess. There were many sweets, veg and non-veg food. When it was the 4 th period, we all immediately started arranging the tables and chairs. We had planned to make it like a buffet, and girls would stand behind the tables serving the food. I and Anne waited at the door to greet the teachers. We all had divi

Last  Friday, Chandana, my best friend threw a party. I, Anne, Daniya and Alaina (she is one of our classmates) were invited. Daniya is leaving Riyadh and going to India on May 9 th . We were all glad to hear she would be coming because Daniya was one of our best friends and we all loved her a lot. She was really sweet and kind. We would miss her. Anne was not able to come because she had to go somewhere, but all others came. When I arrived, Dania was already there and she was outside with Chandana and her father, waiting for me. We all began to chat excitedly. Chandana lived in an STC compound and there is only one word to describe it. It was HUMONGOUS!! It was a pretty neat compound, with a clubhouse, swimming pool and 4 parks. There were many villas. Alaina arrived half- an- hour late. When she came, Dania whipped out her camera and told us to stand together so that she could take a photo. We made funny faces in front of the camera and Dania was laughing so

They say that time flies quickly, and I now reluctantly agree with them. I cannot believe that 2 weeks sped by so quickly! It seems like just yesterday I had finished my exams. Now there are only 4 more days as holidays, school is reopening on  Monday and is the beginning of 7 th grade too. My cousins are soooo lucky, they now have summer vacation for 2 months. Every morning Dad drops me at school and afternoon I come back by school van. Malaika, Marilyn, Faiz, Ravika, Abdul Aziz, and Nimisha are the kids in my van. Malaika is the eldest among us, she is going to be in 9 th grade now. One day Abdul Aziz (the youngest in our bus, he is going to begin the second grade), was babbling about how he went to the computer class, and when he came back to his class he found that somebody had stolen his pouch which had all his pencils and eraser in it, and how he was going to punch the face of the person who stole his pouch.  I tried to make him calm down. I whipped out m

Remember that in my last post I told you that my BFF Daniya invited me to her party? Here is how it went…… We were to have dinner at Daniya’s house. I was really excited when we reached their home. We had parked our car outside a restaurant near their home.  Daniya and Anne came soon and we walked to their flat together. Daniya had worn a white anarkali and Anne had put on white pants and a black top.  They said I looked very different in my latcha, open hair and lip gloss. Anne said she came 10 minutes earlier than the time we were supposed to reach there. Daniya said, ”She came so early I was just putting on my eye shadow and I still had not combed my hair”. “I hope she was not scared when she saw you” I joked.    Chandana arrived 10 minutes after me. This time, all 3 of us went to meet her. She refused to remove her abayya, for some reason she felt embarrassed. I think it is because she usually wears traditional clothes like a skirt or latcha, but this time she was wea

Yaaaaaaayyyyy!!!!!!!! I am sooooo happy! SA-2 (Summative Assessment) has finally finished. Now, there are 2 weeks stretched in front of me which I am going to spend by watching TV, playing games on the computer, reading books etc.  And of course, no studies. I am going to be in 7 th grade and I already feel so grown up. I can still not believe how fast time flew. Today, my BFF Daniya is hosting a party and I am also invited. She has also invited my other 2 best friends, Anne and Chandana. Since Daniya is leaving Riyadh and going to India, this is  a goodbye  party. The 4 of us are best friends and we always stayed together as a group. I love them all so much  J .   Daniya said we could wear a traditional dress so I am going to wear my mango-colored latcha. Anne said she would wear her churidhar, and Chandana planned to wear her half-sari. On the first day of the holidays, we went to AppleBees for dinner. Yum! Just thinking of the food served there makes me h

 “Papa! Papa! Where are you?” the little boy called. He wandered still calling out “Papa!” We had gone to Lulu and I watched a boy who was looking for his father. He was lost and looked close to tears. I decided to help. But he had already gone, still calling out for his father.  I felt sorry for him as he now sobbed a little while still calling.    I saw a news article that was also related about a child and his parents. It said… “ Two parents have been jailed for hurting their child in Norway. Apparently, the child had been burnt with a very hot spoon and also had been beaten by his parents badly. He had many bruises on his body and some burnt marks. They are Indians. The father has been jailed for 18 months and the mother for 15 months. ” I was shocked and astonished when I read this. I never imagined that a small boy could be hurt that much and that too by his own parents! My Dad joked that now he was very scared of me and he will try to not scold me aga

“Sit here.”  Jayshree Ma’am told this to a boy studying in the Nursery class. The boy did so, a sulky look on his face. Just then, a small girl came. It was her birthday, so she was distributing chocolate to all the teachers in the block. “Thank you” Ma’am said. She then started to give us some advice about the test the next day and kept her chocolate on the teacher’s table. The boy looked at chocolate for some time and then, when Ma’am faced the blackboard, quickly shot out his hand and took the chocolate. “ Hey, that is not for you!” ma’am snapped. She had seen him do that. “ Keep it back.” He did it, a sullen look on his face. He did the same thing again but he was still not so fortunate. By this time, we were snorting and trying not to laugh. ‘’Do you know why you are here?” she asked him. “It is because you are a very naughty boy and you keep hitting other children. A complaint has come about you and I brought you here so that you would not be able to bea

“Aaaaaaaagh!!!!” Screams filled the air as the “Hollywood” rotated. “I don’t know whether these screams are of joy or being scared.” I told Chandana. Chandana just shrugged. We were at Al Hokair Land yesterday. When the ride stopped everybody on it got off. “ Our turn!” I said in glee. We both climbed on it and pulled down the restraint. Manasi and Chandana were on either side of me. “How was the ride?” I asked Rabia who had already tried the ride and was watching us “It was scary but awesome!” Rabia yelled.  “Your legs will be flying off the seat.” I think me and Chandana would have jumped out if the ride would not have started then. I mean, sometimes scary rides are not really my thing. Chandana felt the same way too. The ride began to go up then to the right and down fast, Rabia was right. All the 15 girl’s legs were now swing in the air. We started to scream since we all felt like we were about to fall off. I poked my head through the middle of the restraint and

I can’t believe this!!!  We are going to have Thursday classes in school!!!! Noooo!!! (For those who do not know about Saudi Arabia, here the weekend is Thursday & Friday.) My Thursday schedule is to sleep and get up late and then study after half an hour.  Afternoon I have to go to my drawing class at 5. Dad said that we would protest against this, so I am not going to attend this Thursday class.  But when we saw the circular that said our field trip is on next Sunday, it lifted our spirits up.  Oh, and Happy Diwali!! Tomorrow we have a holiday because of Diwali. And on Wednesday we are also allowed to wear colour dress.  Yaaaaay!!!!!!! I am so excited. Dad had subscribed National Geographic, National Geographic Traveler’s magazine and National Geographic Kids magazine for me. In one ofthem the following line was written; ‘Cheetahs remain highly fashionable in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states, where a cub can fetch upwards of $10,000. A rich, young man

Today is the last day of Hajj holidays, Oh noooooooo!!! I wonder how lousy my classmates must be feeling. I now find it difficult to wake up even at 10:30 .I just keeps on sleeping till its 11:30. Then how am I going to get up at 6:30 from tomorrow???? I can sleep even if there is an alarm next to me. One day Dad set up an alarm clock under my bed so that I would immediately wake up at 9:30. It didn’t work out, though. Still, I am excited to see my friends. I saw a lot of movies these holidays. Some of them are Megamind , Ella Enchanted , Enchanted , The Black Stallion , Corpse Bride , etc. Dad looks jealous when he watches me sleep for a long time while he has to get up early to go office. But he seems happy that both of us can leave home together from tomorrow. Morning Dad drops me at school and I reach home by school bus.

“Who knows Hindi very well and would like to be in the Hindi skit?” Our school’s putting on a Hindi skit. I am not good at speaking or writing Hindi, so when the teachers came to our class and asked that question I didn’t say anything. Even though many of my classmates know Hindi since most of them are from North India, only 2 girls got up, their face beaming. I am a little nervous to be on stage anyway, I mean God knows if whether I will make a mistake or anything like that.   But the good thing about the skit was that we got some free periods. On Wednesday we got a free period from Hindi and art. Our school hasn’t shifted till now. But I do feel a little curious about the new school. Will it have a ground? Will it be spacious? Will it look boring? Many questions filled me even though I knew nobody would be able to answer them without seeing the school first. My friends are a little curious like me too. We don’t know when we are shifting and that is such a bo

One of the happiest things that happened to me when I went to India was bumping into my 4 th grade class teacher, Shiny ma’am. Me, Mom, Appupan (grandpa) and Ammuma (grandma) were shopping at Nucleus mall . Appuppan, Ammumma and Mom were packing some vegetables in plastic bags. I was just standing near them when I saw Shiny ma’am. I was astonished to see her and then she noticed me and she looked surprised too. But wait!!! Before I go on, I better tell you about Shiny ma’am. Shiny ma’am was our 4 th grade class teacher. She was like, the best teacher ever. She was funny and really kind.  Sometimes she would tell us exciting information. When we were in the 5 th grade we still talked about her. Later her husband got transferred and they had to go to South Africa. We all were really sad and upset, including her. So seeing her at Nucleus was really exciting. I ran towards her and we hugged. Ma’am‘s sister and Mom was also there. My Mom first looks surprised, and t

I am going to India tomorrow! Yaaay!! We are going for 3 months. I will come in August. Woo hoo!  Gouri’s marriage is on June 2, we are going to attend it. My classmates bid me goodbye with tears and hugs, so I kind of felt like some celebrity. It is summer here now, so they changed the school timings. The school starts at 7:25 and ends at 12:00, now I reach home early. Our new flat in India has been already furnished. Now there is only 1 thing left: live in it. My grandpa and grandma are also going to live with us. But the best part is that my cousins, kunjunni and kunji chechi are just living opposite of the flat. So any time I can go and play with them. I am also going for swimming, drawing and math tuition. Mom is even thinking that we both should go for yoga class. Breathe in……… breathe out………………. These are the reasons why I am so excited. I can hardly wait to go!

Just yesterday, Varun, his siblings Varsha and Akaash, Gayathri and her sibling Appu and Hari visited us.  We had a clean game of Ludo and Scrabble. I think Scrabble is a boring game. But my old science teacher loved it. She said it would “greatly improve your brain” and it’s a “lot of fun’’. But I would rather fall out of an aero-plane than play Scrabble.  The first time I discovered Scrabble is a really boring game was when I signed up to play it each Wednesday at school during activity periods. We could choose 5 activities and we would play 1 activity every Wednesday. But my friends and I made 2 groups and I had to spend 2 hours racking my brain because my friends considered me a “topper” since I got good marks.   The reason I even took out Scrabble from my cupboard was because at first we didn’t have anything to play and we were desperate.  The worst thing about being a “topper” is that your friends ask you for a solution for almost everything, even if you have f

It has been such a long time since I have doodled for you. It is because the teachers are piling on us a lot of homework, assignments and projects. And we have to study a lot, thanks to subjects like chemistry, history etc.  This makes my bag so heavy. Let me give you another example. A week after school re-opened and 6th grade began, we got all the notebooks. 3 interleaf, 9 regular notebooks and 5 test note books were too much. We almost couldn’t zip our bag and after putting the bag on our shoulders we staggered around, leaning on someone or something to regain our balance. And sometimes, just for a joke, someone would push us from behind. And let me tell you, there is nothing more uncomfortable than lying on the floor with a 100 pounds bag on top of you. Speaking of uncomfortable, I am now stuck with a cold. Maybe I got cold because of the weather change, but the climate is getting better. Before Ammu chechi went to India we visited the museum with them. It was the s

Many of Mom’s friends are coming back from India. She is really excited. And when Mom’s friends are around, they keep talking and laughing nonstop really loudly. But since me and my friends are playing, we don’t actually hear them. So that means I am excited too. Like Ammu chechi came back from India and we all spend time together.  So, we had a good time. Ammu chechi went back to India yesterday. But Ammu chechi’s parents and young sister, Devika are in Riyadh. So I can play with Devika. Like I said, Mom and Dad are really excited. I know Dad is happy too, though he doesn’t show it. Maybe his heart is full of joy and jumping around right now because now we are going to Ammu chechi’s home. Some new children have joined our class. They are Ann, Dhaniya, Avantika and Siddhika. Avanthika is now with chickenpox and so she hasn’t come to school for a few days. Mother Nature was angry for a few days, because there were huge sandstorms last week. And my mom suffered. One day mom

Today was the Parent–Teacher’s Meeting. Let me describe it; Mom woke me up at 8 o’ clock today. I never wake up at 8; I sleep till 10. So I was still sleepy. I became nervous when we reached school. I had pressure on my mind. I knew I did well but still I couldn’t stop shaking. But there was a surprise. Shaguftha ma’am said “She has done the exams very well. She was eligible for the scholar’s badge again, but since she missed the FA4 (monthly test) she cannot receive it. I am really sorry.” Oh well. I knew I wouldn’t get it anyway. My classmates told me I wouldn’t get it because I missed monthly exams by enjoying in India Even though I am not going to get scholar’s badge, I am happy that I got good marks. So why worry? Oh yes, and 1 more thing. Mom said that I have my reward, which is Taco Bell . I am really looking forward to that.

Only 9 days left for the holidays to finish!  Oh! NO… And to make it even worse, I have caught a cold. I don’t want the holidays to finish. They are so good. But there is one problem and that is the climate. For few days there have been sandstorms and it was cold too. And just yesterday there was drizzling. So in the evening we only go to malls and no parks. But last night, I had a good dinner from Applebee’s .  We had Blue Ribbon Brownie for desert. French-fries were so crispy and tasty that my parents who always tell me to eat only few French-fries because it is too fatty, stuffed themselves.  But desert was best. Blue Ribbon brownie was chocolate cake along with ice-cream. We decided to go to Taco Bell too on the day when I get my results. But that will be possible only if the results are good. If not, goodbye Taco Bell.    I sent a mail to my best friend Eeshta , who is now settled in China, asking her how was China. She replied that China was horrible place wher

Diary, I have exciting news. Today is my first day of holidays after the exams! Ok, perhaps it’s not exciting for you because you are the one who gets holidays practically on almost all days.  And when I write on you, maybe you feel like the pencil is massaging you. Who knows? I don’t lead a diary’s life. But the minute you laugh at me, I will tell mom and you are going to be in big trouble because mommy is going to be angry that you laughed at her darling daughter. And so you better watch your tongue. Kunjunni’s exams are still not over. But Kunjichechi’s and Savithri’s exams are over. Today is Savithri’s first day of holiday too. But she has summer vacation. I kind of felt jealous when I heard that because during our summer vacation we need to study for the monthly tests next months. And my cousins don’t need to even look at their books during the you- know- what. Oh well. I guess India and Saudi Arabia have their differences. I can now see my cousins after a week havin

There was a red carpet on the floor. There were girls on 1 side and the boys on the other. Everyone started clapping as Kabir Bedi walked on it…… It was annual day in our school yesterday. Kabir Bedi was the chief guest. Me, Safana, Mizna and some other boys and girls were standing and watching him go. We all were really stunned to see him. Safana and Mizna were my other friends who too had won the scholar badge and so I was glad that I had a few friends with me. Our school had built another stage outside the auditorium so Kabir Bedi saw the programs nicely. The programs were nice with dances and plays. There was Spanish dance, Chinese Dance, African Dance, Puppet dance and many others. Puppet dance was a dance with children holding strings and acting like puppets. At last Prize distribution came. We all had worries in our mind. We thought “What if I sneeze?” or “What if I cough?” At last my turn came to get the prize. I took a deep breath and climbed the sta