Thursday, July 30, 2009

My House is Strong - Another Katya Tale

As you all are aware, power shortage is the situation normal in the real India (the <span style="text-decoration:line-through;">Garden</span> Silicon City is no exception). Katya and Baab are getting used to the situation, but her mother recently observed that Katya hasn't forgotten her birthplace ;-).
[<em>As related by her mother, as usual, and paraphrased by yours truly</em>]

Katya (to cousin): <strong><em>My</em></strong> house is not weak; <strong><em>my </em></strong>house is strong.

Somehow mother figures out that the topic of discussion is the power situation and thinks that Katya is referring to the UPS that powers the computer and the related lights in the house she is living in, until ...

Katya (continues): "Power does <strong><em>not</em></strong> go off in <em><strong>my</strong></em> house! <then flexing her teeny-weeny biceps> My house is <strong><em>strong</em></strong>!" (at this point, there is no doubt that it is not the Indian house that is being described)

Monday, July 13, 2009

Riddle me this (Another Katya Tale)

... or <em>What a dash of a western upraising, steeped in Disney culture, can do to a kid!</em>

<em>[As related to me by her mother]</em>

Katya got a new uniform and tried it out with her mother's help. She discarded it on the bed after trying it on. Mother, obviously, put it away when Katya went out to play (and forgot about it).

That evening ...

Katya: Where is my red flying thing?

Mother: What flying thing?

Katya: I said, where is my red flying thing?

Mother: Is it your toy?

Katya: No, my red flying thing!

Mother (at a loss): Baab, do you know what she is talking about?

Baab (to Kaatya): What do you want?

Katya: My Red Flying Thing!

Baab (to mother this time): I don't know what she is talking about.

Mother (totally flummoxed now): I do not know what you are saying, child. You need to tell me exactly what you want!

<em>At this point, Katya has realized that she is communicating with Living Things With Less IQ, and that she needs to stoop to their level. So, she lies down on the floor and starts thrashing around like a veritable <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqhIMFQNGCg">Roomba</a>. After an hour of no progress, the Roomba quietens down. Issue is still unresolved, of course.</em>

<em>The next day, as Baab is getting ready to put on his uniform, Katya says something, that lights up the resident tubelights of the house.</em>

In true Vikram-Vetaal style, a riddle for the wordly (and wordly) wise, and those who are into Disney (that's a clue, I think):

What did Katya say, or How do you get from a school uniform to a Flying Thing with a couple of degrees of separation? Answers will be posted in an update in a couple of days or after a critical mass of correct/incorrect responses are reached, whichever comes first!