Nataka Chaitra 2012

Nataka Chiatra, an event run partially by Kannada Koota of Northern California is an event where plays are performed by groups of people who get together their talents and put on a show. This year, my mom and dad were a part of it. They played husband and wife of a rich family.

My parent’s play "SambaShiva Prahasana" (A comedy around two people Samba & Shiva) was about a son and a dad who was a widower who both wanted to marry. After a fight in the temple, the father met Ganesha, the god with the face of an elephant. Both asked for the god to give them his blessing so that they could marry, but all that Ganesha had to offer to them was a donkey, and a pearl that could turn a man into a woman if it was put into the mouth of a man. After the god returns to his pedestal, the son and father made a plan that the father would dress as a lady, and be the maid of the family whose daughter his son likes. So that is what they did.
The father took the name Bangari, and when he went to ask for employment, he found out that the one who his son loved had the same feelings for him. But, her parents were not fond of Shiva, the son of Bangari. While on the job, Bangari also found that the king also liked the girl which Shiva had wished to marry. So Shiva and the king’s servant agree that the king was not deserving of her, Gajnimbe. So they set him up. They told the king that Gajnimbe liked Ding Dong, the donkey which Ganesha gave to Shiva and his father, who had been declared a hero by the king himself. So Shiva, and the servant dressed the king as a donkey, and made it so that when he arrived at Gajnimbe’s house a lot of people were holding sticks, ready to hit him, including Ding Dong himself. The play concluded that the king learned his lesson.

The other play "Nangyaako Doubtu" (I have a doubt) was about two couples. The woman in the unmarried couple is given a photo of her spouse, from her spouse. When that photo gets into the hands of the woman in the married couple, suspicions arise in both couples. The man in the married couple talks to the woman in the unmarried couple. He says that her boyfriend gave his wife the picture. The wife of the married couple gives a totally different story. After lots of confusion, they all meet at the married couple's house, and work it out, and apologize to each other.

2012's Nataka Chaitra was a fun event.

My 11th Birthday

My 11th birthday was on 12-7-11. It started out very rushed because I was getting many birthday calls. I didn’t have enough time to see all my gifts, because they were packed tightly in a suitcase. I took cookies to school to pass out. At school, it was also the birthday of one of the other 6th graders at my school, but she was turning 12. After school, we got home and opened my presents. I got a cookbook, a picture, a photo frame with a picture, a magazine, kit kats, a body lotion, origami kit, build a bear kit, and a lot more. Later I got, (in the mail) a tablet. It was a Kyros. For dinner, my mom made cookies, madurwada, and pav baaji. They were all really good. Then my cousins came. They gave me a gift card& a Kit-Kat. We had a good time.
On my birthday party, on 12-17-11, we did a lot of stuff. First, I waited for people to come. The first few people were my friends from my old school, and my current school. Then my other friends came. When most of the people came, we started the first activity. Mug decorating. During the activity, two of my old school friends who had moved away came. One of them came all the way from Pacifica. I was soooooooo happy that they came. After mug decorating was over, we spent some time just “hangin”. Then we had dinner. My mom& grandma had prepared baked potatoes, gulab jammoon, carrot halva, upit, puffs, and massala dosa. It was all really good. After dinner, we cut the cake. It was like a Christmas tree. Then we played white elephant. White elephant is a game where you open presents, and other people have the chance to get your present. The gifts ranged from books to jewelry. I ended up with a manicure/pedicure kit. During white elephant, a few ladies were also playing a game where you get gifts. The person who is name was called would pick out a gift that was already unwrapped. Then, a story with the words right and left coming many times. When either of those words were read, the gift would be passed in that direction. After the story was over, the person with the gift gets it. It was fun. After playing white elephant, people started leaving. During that time, some candies were put out and as they left they were helping themselves to some, and getting the dessert, fruit cups. They were made with fruits and yogurt. My birthday was mega awesome.

Artistic Endeavors

This year, I made a lot of artistic stuff. The first thing that I made this year was arshnad patnas. The designs I made this year were star boxes, simple boxes, lotuses, tulips, and a design with two simple boxes put together. I also made miniature flowers, star boxes, and I only made the miniature double boxes. For the miniature boxes ( star, and double simple) I used metallic origami paper which was shiny. For the miniature boxes, I also put handles out of ribbon to make them like baskets.

Another project that I made out of origami was an origami flower bouquet. To make it, I used bright origami paper which was shaded. What I mean by shaded is that as you looked toward the center, the color was different. I made 16 flowers. The flowers that I made were harebells, tulips, and roses. For the stems, I used shaded green origami paper, and thin green cardstock paper. Then I Stuck skewers on a Styrofoam circle and slipped the stems on them. Then I put the circle in a basket.

For my brother’s birthday, I finger knitted my brother a scarf. First I finger knitted with two skeins of yarn, and then I finger knitted it again. After that, it was nice and thick. I had made it in sections, and my grandma helped me sew it up. My brother liked it a lot.

Another thing that I made was a coin sack. It was crocheted. I learned to crochet from a teacher at my school. The thing I was making was supposed to be a hat, but it became too small. I was thinking of making it into a doll hat, but the person who was teaching me gave me the idea to make it into a coin purse. So she crocheted a 5chain, and wove it through the top. The coin purse was done, and it was nice.

The last thing I made was deepas, and you can read about them too.

Science Camp

TUESDAY
Driving there
On October 25,2011, the 6th graders, including myself were leaving for science camp. I had been packing for two days. I had even got a lot of new things to take like clothes, and shoes. That morning, I made the final touches, ate breakfast, and left. My parents came to say bye to me. When I got to school, I put my luggage against the school, and then went to my homeroom. Then we sat in art for 15 minutes, and went outside and got our stuff, and waited for the bus to come. When the bus came, we put our luggage into the back, and left the school. It was supposed to take us 45 minutes to get there, but it took us 90 minutes instead. I talked with my friends on the way there.
Opening
Once we got to YMCA Camp Cambell, our destination, we went to the opening ceremony. We met the field teachers, staff, and the cabin leaders. The cabin leaders were high school students. We also learned a couple of songs. They were the banana slug song, and the tan oak song. After that, we got our cabin assignments. I was in a cabin called the Mountain Lions. In the group, there were two groups of three from my school, and three groups of two from one of the other schools there. Our cabin leaders nature name was Bambi.
Activities Begin
After the opening, we went to our meeting spot with the boys group that we were with for field study. The boys group was called the Raccoons. At the meeting place, we did some ice breakers to get to know each other. Our field teacher’s nature name was Professor Hummingbird. After we did what we had to do, we still had some time, so we went to our cabins. The girls were in the tree top village. The cabins had attached bathrooms, and showers. They were clean. After we saw the cabins, we went to lunch. We had sandwiches. I ate a vegetable sandwich cause I am vegetarian. After lunch, we unpacked our stuff. I got a top bunk. Then we went on a short hike. On the trail, we saw plants like madrone, hazelnut, tan oak, and poison oak. At the point where we stopped, we played some games, and then headed back, and went to dinner. The vegetarian option was tacos. They were not that great. That evening, we went to the fiesta. At the fiesta, we first played some games, which were the hula hoop challenge, and trivia. Then we danced. After dancing for a while, one of the staff told a story. Then we went back to the cabins, and slept.

Wednesday
On Wednesday, we all woke up the minute the alarm clock sounded off, and got ready, and went to breakfast. Breakfast was eggs, and I don’t eat eggs, so I ate cereal.
Activities
After breakfast, we went to the meeting spot. Our field teacher said that we would be going on a picnic hike. We had to make our own lunches. I put cheese, and sunnut butter on mine. We also had granola bars. The first hour was the most tiring. At one place, we stopped. There we started this game called professor where Two people would be told to stay in a place and tell people who passed them information. They would stay there until the last person passed. Then that person would have to go on with their buddy. When we finished that game which took forty five minutes, but also got us somewhere, we ate lunch. Our field teacher had also got us chips, and grapes. After lunch, we kept on going. A little bit after lunch, we went through rattlesnake territory. We didn’t see a rattlesnake, but the people who were in front of me saw a garter snake. Soon after we passed through, we were nearly at the top. We just had one very steep hill to go. When we got to the top, there was a great view. It took us about 1 hour to get back. While coming back, I was in the front. When we got back, we took quick showers, and then got popsicles.
After getting popsicles, we went to the chapel, and did a little warm up thing, which was about what our cabin leader was like. Then we went to afternoon activities. We played two games. One was called gaga ball, and the other was a game where we threw frisbees at each other.
Then we went to dinner. The vegetarian option was so called “vegetarian chicken” which I didn’t eat because, my views are that is that it shouldn’t be called that because if it is vegetarian, it is not chicken ( which I know it’s not) and if it’s chicken it’s not vegetarian. I didn’t want to eat something that is called chicken, so I ate some vegetables, and the dessert which was baked fruit with granola.
After dinner, we went on a night hike. We had to be single file, and we were not allowed to have flashlights. We didn’t see any animals, but we heard insects. When we got to the point where we were going to stop, our field teacher told us a story, and did a little check in as it’s called, and went back. Then we went back to our cabin, and slept


Thursday
On Thursday, Breakfast, again was “vegetarian meat”, so I ate cereal.
Activities
On Thursday morning we first went to the nature lab. In the nature lab we saw a dead dear, and raccoon. They were real skin with stuff stuffed in to resemble the real shape. There was also a snake skin. We also saw real snake eggs that were unfertilized because the live corn snake that was there was single. Her name was Ms. Jackson. We got to touch, and hold her. Snakes are cold to hold, but that only made it cooler. That was the end to our nature lab trip. After that, we went to our last hike. It was called the river hike because we got a good view of the San Lorenzo River. On the way we heard an animal call. After hearing it, I asked our field teacher if there were monkeys in the forest. She asked me why. So I told her about how in a forest in India, I learned that a certain type of monkeys would call to the deer to warn them that there were predators around, so they could hide. She said that there were no monkeys, but the same scenario occurred had occurred. I asked if the predator was a lion, but she said it was a type of bird that had a Mohawk that called, and that the predator might have been a hawk or something. She had me tell that story to the whole class. We also saw deer bones that were not just planted there. We also saw a burned redwood tree. When we got to the place that we were going to stop at, we saw salamanders, and got to feel them. It was fun to touch them. Then we went to lunch. For lunch, the vegetarian option was once again “vegetarian chicken”, so I just ate French fries. After lunch, we took showers, and then went to the river. At the river, we caught insects, and examined them. I caught 2 insects, and put them back of course, and then sploshed around in the river. After the river trip, we went to afternoon activities. We wrote and drew about our favorite experience at camp. Then we played Pictionary. After that, we went to dinner. This time dinner was actually good. It was lasagna. After dinner, we went to the campfire. There the first thing we did was do the skits that we came up with as a cabin. Our cabin’s wasn’t the best because it was a poem, and it was not evenly worded, and it wasn’t about our species. After the skits, some of the cabin leaders did a skit, and then we learned some songs. The last song that we sung was sort of sad. After that, we went back to our cabin for our last night at camp.

Friday
On Friday morning, we packed, and put our luggage where we were supposed to.
Activities
We did not have breakfast that day, instead we went to the garden. I helped my field teacher pick broccoli, and plant some plants. At the garden there were tomatoes, flowers, pumpkins, broccoli, and oranges. After going to the garden, we went to brunch. It was breakfast burritos, and I did not like it. I ate one burrito, and didn’t like it. I also ate a little cereal. Then we went to special activities. I was in arts and crafts. We were drawing pictures of things in the garden. After special activities, we went to closing.
Closing
At the closing ceremony, we sung a couple of songs, including the sad song we had sung at the campfire. Then we left. Our school was the last to leave.
Driving Back
It took the same amount of time coming back as it took to go there. It was a little sad that we left, but it was also good to come back. Science camp was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had.

Making Deepas

For this year's Deepavali, I painted 7 deepas. Deepas are lamps, which can also be used as small candle holders. This year, my mom proposed the idea that I could paint deepas. So, my dad went and got plain clay deepas from the store, and I painted them.


First, I got my matierials ready. I put out my paints, and got out some glitter glues. Before I painted, my mom started one for me. I got a hang of it, and started painting the rest.

There were two types, and the first kind that I painted were 4 circuler deepas. Even though the color combinations were different, and the designs were also different, the all looked quite uniform.

The next type that I did was stars. They also had different color combinations, but looked similar. Deepa making was really fun!

Summer, Over in a Snap This summer I did a lot of stuff. During the beginning of July I went to India for 3 weeks. In India we visited my paren

Three Weeks In India

We were packing until the last minute. My mom came home a little early that day so she could make some food for the journey. After she finished cooking we all started to look for some last minute essentials. I also asked my dad to buy me a couple of kindle books. He bought me three. Before we left, my uncle, aunt, and two of our cousins came to say bye. Then our uncle dropped us at the airport. After we checked in, I slept until we boarded, which was about two hours. I slept for about 5.5 hours after we took off, but there were still 9.5 hours left in that flight alone! I then brushed my teeth and watched TV for the rest of the flight. When we landed in our first stop, which was Taipei, we checked in, and then ate. Then my mom went to take some photos, and I went with her. Our next flight was to Bangkok, and it was 6 hours long. I spent the time watching TV. Our wait in Bangkok was 4 hours. After going through security, we ate. Since we were switching flights we didn’t check in right away. Since we had such a long time, me and my mom went on a walk, and then we went and retrieved our boarding passes. After that, I slept for two hours. Then, when I was only half awake, we ate again. On the way to our gate, my mom and my brother made fun of my for things that I did in my sleep. I slept through the whole flight to Kolkata which was three hours long. In Kolkata we had to rush to get to the bus which would take us to our flight. I just sat through the whole flight because there was nothing good on TV. The flight stopped in Hyderabad before going to Bangalore. In the Bangalore airport, we went to baggage claim, and then headed to the exit where we spotted my grandpa right away. Once we got home, we took showers and then ate dinner. My grandma had prepared a lot of good food. Since I didn’t sleep so much during the flight, I was able to sleep for the remaining hours of the night.
The next day, at around 11:00 am me, my parents, and my grandparents went shopping for saris. My grandparents also bought me cloth to get a langa stitched. At around 1:30, my grandparents and I left because my grandparents had to go somewhere. Since I was tired, they dropped me home and then they left. When my parents and grandparents came back around 3:00, they gave us lunch. Then, I slept until 9:00 pm. My mom woke me up for dinner. After that, I couldn’t sleep. We had a eventful night. My brother saw a rat come in, and we screamed as it left. The next few days, we went to some of my mom’s relatives’ houses. On our forth day in India, it was my mom’s grandma’s death anniversary, so a lot of my mom’s relatives came. At around 5:00 pm, we left to go to Mysore to visit two of our cousins’ house. We got there at 7:30 pm. After eating dinner, we played some word games like Hangman. We were awake until about 12:30 am. The next morning, since our cousins had to go to school, we woke up early to say bye. That day we ate an early lunch and left to go to K- Gudi forest camp. On the way we stopped at an artist’s house to see a painting that we had ordered. When we got to the forest, we found out that we were the only ones staying there that day. After we ate some food, we relaxed for an hour. I spent time on a hammock. Then we went on a two hour safari. We saw many deer. In the small town at the end of the forest we saw some cows, chickens, and boars. Near the place where we checked in, there was an elephant. We had also seen one on our way to the camp. After the safari we watched a documentary about tigers. After that we went to the campfire and then we had dinner. Then we went back to our cabin and slept. The next morning, we went on a short trek. Then we had breakfast, and got ready to leave. On the way back, we went to a temple. I had a memory from our last visit to that temple, and it was funny. Then, we went to a restaurant called Adigas. Then we went back to Banglore.
The next day, my grandma had a Satyanarayan puja because she extended the second floor in her house. Our cousins from Mysore came, so we talked to them. I had made arshna patnas for this occasion. I made four designs. They were lilies, star boxes, simple boxes, and lotuses.
The next day, we left to go to Hassan to visit my other grandparents. When we got there, we ate lunch. After a while, in the evening, we went shopping. I got two pairs of shoes, and four dresses. The next day in the early evening we went to someone’s house for “tea”. Since it was late when we left their house, we went home and slept. The next day, we went to a small village with a temple and ate breakfast there. Then we went to Kowshika, another village. There we did a thing where you sit on one side of a balance and on the other side they put uncooked rice, and other stuff like that. Me and my brother both did that. After that was over, we went to my dad’s uncle’s house for lunch. After we got home, me and my mom left because my mom had to do some work. We had to get to the bus station, but that day there was an auto strike that day, so we had to take the scooter. The bus was really good. When we got home we ate dinner, and slept. The next day, me, my mom, and my grandma went shopping. We also went to a bakery. I got a piece of cake, and we got a big capsicum puff and shared it. Since it was so good, me and my mom got another puff, and split it. Then we went home. In the evening, we went to our cousins’ house for dinner. Since those two cousins were 22 and 24 years old, we didn’t talk much with them.
The next day it was my mom and dad’s book release. They had both written a book. My mom’s book was a book of short stories, and my dad’s book was a translation of Sanskrit verses. Since both the books were in Kannada, I couldn’t read them. Nearing the end of the program I read a poem that my big brother had translated. After the program was over, me, my brother, my parents, all four of my grandparents, the two of my cousins from Mysore, their parents, and the guests of honor from the book release all went to lunch at a restaurant. After lunch, the guests of honor left, and the rest of us went home.
The next day, it was my aunt’s 25th anniversary, so she had an event for that. That was also the day my mom was leaving Before she left, we went to my parents’ house in Banglore. Her flight was at 6:00 am, so she had to leave at 3:00 am. Somehow, I woke up at 2:00 am to say bye to her. I couldn’t sleep after that. That day in the morning I went with my grandma when she went to run a couple errands. At the end of the day, we went to someone’s house for tea. The next day, Me and my dad went to the book store where the books my parents wrote were being sold. I got a book at that store. After we left the store, we went to my aunt’s house, and ate lunch there. We were there for five more hours. Then we went to my dad’s friend’s work. From there we went to my dad’s friend’s house. There we ate dinner. We were there for a couple of hours. Then we took an auto home.
The next day, we went to a national park. First we ate a picnic lunch. Then my brother and I got ice cream bars. Then we went on a safari. We saw bears, tigers, white tigers, lions, and dear. The difference between the national park, and a zoo, is that in a zoo, animals were separated from each other, and people. In the park, they were separated from each other, but not from people. But it was okay because we were in a bus. I took some photos. After the safari, we went to the zoo which was a part of the park. In the zoo, we saw hippos, snakes, monkeys, peacocks, white peacocks, birds, tortoises, and more. When we entered the park, I had seen some rides. I was excited to go on the ferris wheel there, but when we got there, it looked like an unsafe scam park. There were no belts on the ferris wheel, so we didn’t go on it. But, I did go on a very short horse ride. The ride was lead by a person who pulled the horse and it went around the park. Over all though, the park was really fun. That night my brother, dad, and grandma went shopping.
The next day, me, my brother, and my grandpa went to Banglore’s Tech Museum. The museum was better than Bay Area’s Tech Museum and Exploratorium. It was so big. It was filled with information. After a while, we got some lunch at the cafeteria. A little bit after that, my dad joined us. My dad got me a book of science experiments and a book of mysteries. After we left, We went to MTR and ate dosa there. At night, we went to my dad’s cousin’s house.
The next day, we did some last minute shopping. The day after that was our last day in India. We took some pictures. My grandma made some food for the journey. We had the same schedule as my mom had the day she left.
During the flights we had the same stops as we did when we were coming to India. During the flights I read, slept a little, and watched some TV. I was sad because we had such a short visit, but I was relieved that the flight was over.`
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