Six Entertainment Ideas While Travelling With A Toddler

If you are a mom to a toddler and you have a travel impending, however short duration it is, you plan ahead about the things to carry while traveling. You will mostly be anxious about how you are going to survive the travel with an active baby as your companion. As any mom of a toddler would attest, toddlers hate being restrained. Chances are that they are sure to throw a tantrum if they are confined to a seat with no means to run around. To add to this, they get bored very fast and soon, they would be plotting their next mischief!

Here are the six things that have worked for me, while I travel with my toddler boy. While it depends on the boy’s mood as to what he wants to play with or engage in and for how long, this is the consolidated list of things I carry while we are on the go:

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Some Onam Talk

Athapookalam

Two days back, a non-Mallu friend asked me what do we do for Onam. And I explained to her in the most simple yet best way possible - we wear new clothes, get together with family and friends and have a hearty meal! That said, there's so much more to it - the month long Onam celebration, a typical Onam day, what is it to be in a place that celebrates Onam in a grand style and lots of wonderful memories of Onam gone by!

Until I was around twelve years, we lived in a joint family comprising of my grandfather, grandmother, their two sons (my dad and his brother), their wives and us, grandchildren. Onam, for us, started with being gifted with Onakodis by family and extended family members, way before the celebrations started. Each of the four Onams were celebrated at various close family members' homes where the entire family got together, made Athappookalam and had fun and food in general. Thiruvonam was usually at our own house, along with Achan's closest friends and their family. The food was the same on all four days - Malayali's famous Sadya comprising of all the favourites consisting of chips, pappadam, pickles, kichadi, pachadi, olan, thoran, aviyal, kootu curry, parippu, sambhar, pulisseri, rasam, moru and atleast two types of payasam - yet, you can never get bored of the Sadya (atleast, I can't!). By the time lunch is over, you are too stuffed that the entire household is sure to dose off atleast for a few hours before normalcy returns! Oh, and I almost forgot about the unlimited TV time on all four days when you have back to back latest, super hit movies or interviews with super stars being showcased!

Onasadya!

In Trivandrum, where I come from, the entire city is illuminated at night for Onam and earlier, we even had an entire stretch which was open to pedestrians and closed to the traffic. The area was filled with various stalls, illumination of various kinds and you even had those giant wheels, carousel and other rides. Every year, without fail, we used to walk the entire stretch just to see the lights and soak in the festivities. We again went out in the late night by car to see the entire Trivandrum city in festive mode and all the lights and decorations that adorn the building. Trust me, if there is one place that you have to be at during Onam time, it has to be Trivandrum! For us, Onam ended with the procession organised by the State which would have floats from all the States as well as from the various public and private sectors. All the roads would be blocked and we would find our perfect spot to watch the procession pass by, something that we looked forward to days before itself. And as the last float pass by, our Onam celebration for the year would come to an end and we would eagerly wait for next year's Onam to celebrate it the exact same way.

As we grew, things changed. The State cut down on the celebration and so did all the families. Onam still is a month long celebration but it has changed from how it was before. While Onam, in most households, became just a one day celebration with Sadya on the Thiruvonam day, we still celebrate it in full galore with the Residents' Association Onam celebration, the various clubs having Onam celebration and friends planning a potluck Onasadya on a day convenient for all. The schools and colleges celebrate Onam in all its glory with everyone dressing up in the traditional Kerala Setum Mundu/Set Saree/Shirt and Mundu, organising athapoo competition, having one of your friends dresses up as Maveli, followed by cultural activities and ending with a Sadya. 

My this year's Onam was a mini family reunion with Amma's side cousins and their families

For us, Malayalis, if there is one festival that all of us look forward to, keeping aside all our differences, it has to be Onam. It is not just any other festival for us. It is a festival that the entire State indulge in. It is a festival that each and every household in Kerala celebrates irrespective of your caste and religion. The way you celebrate and the type of Sadya may vary depending on the place you are, but Onam brings out the true spirit of belonging - a sense of oneness. It's a celebration of togetherness, food and of course, new clothes! Nothing can change that. Things must have changed from the olden times, but Onam is still a celebration that we, Malayalis, celebrate in the best possible way that we can!

Those Aloo Parathas (and everything else) At The Dhaba Project!

For the last couple of times, whenever I visited Trivandrum, there is one place that I am eager to go for dinner. Because, this place serves the best chaats and Punjabi, dhabi style food that you cannot find anywhere else in Trivandrum. Added to this is the fact that it's a long drive from home and I needn't be persuaded any further! The Dhaba Project, true to its name, serves dhaba style food - a bit more pricier than the food you get in Dhaba, of course, but no complaints since it's much cleaner and worth every penny. Call me biased but, I love everything about this place, right from the way its interior is done to the lassi they serve. 

The place is done up in a kutcha setup with brick walls and thatched roof. Once you enter, you have the option of cabin as well as open area seating - I always go for the open area seating because of the ambience and those colourful pillows that adorn the benches. Oh, and you cannot miss the Daler Mehndi numbers and other Punjabi folk songs playing in the background. In fact, most of the time, I have to strongly resist the temptation to do a 'balle balle' right there!

The Masala Pappad we had last time

My course of meal is always the same whenever I frequent here. It always starts with Chaat, followed by Tikka, Aloo Paratha and ends with Lassi (I go for the salt one since I'm not a sweet fan). However, depending on the people with whom I go, we also order Biryani, Naans, Kulchas and curry. 

The chaat here is the best I've had so far in Trivandrum. The mere thought of it is itself making me drool and crave for it! Last time we were there, we ordered for a plate of Pani Puri, Dahi Puri and Aloo Tikki Chaat. As much as I love Pani Puri, this time the Aloo Tikki Chaat topped the list. With the right amount of spice, a dash of tanginess and the hung curd on the top along with the choles, this one was a clear winner. The Dahi Puri too, with stuffed, crisp puris topped with ample amount of sev and finished off with hung curd, is to die for! In fact, I can just have the hung curd there and come out like I've had the best dinner. It's as thick as cream, not too sour (very important) and just perfect.

The Chaats!

While their range of Tikkas are nice, as compared to the Chaat, I might give it a miss if I am choosing between both. That said, the Paneer Tikka is an absolute favourite of mine - soft paneer, marinated well with the tandoori spices and grilled to perfection, I love it in the form of both starter as well as the curry.

From the Veg Tandoor Platter

However, the king of all is the Aloo Paratha undoubtedly! These ghee drizzled, soft, potato stuffed parathas, served with curd and pickle are heaven (I'm kicking myself for not taking a picture. Sadly, the moment it was served, all of us pounced on it that by the time I remembered, the Aloo Paratha was gone!). I have not had such tasty parathas anywhere in Trivandrum, and maybe Bangalore too. In fact, it is these Aloo Parathas that lure me to this place each time I go to Trivandrum. They also have Pudina Naan, Garlic Naan and Masala Kulchas (brother's favourite), which too are good, but for me, everything else blurs in front of their Aloo Paratha! We, usually polish it with a Lassi, thick and loaded with flavour (they even have a Mango Lassi!) The perfect drink to finish a meal like this!

From the last trip

My experience, every time, I go here has been amazing that I always leave the place thinking of the next time and looking forward to it. In fact, after having the Aloo Paratha here, whenever I've had Aloo Paratha from elsewhere, I tend to compare it to the one here and I'm yet to have a tastier Aloo Paratha in Trivandrum or in Bangalore, for that matter! News is that they are starting off with breakfast soon and I can't wait. I'm sure I'll be one of those who'll be there early in the morning for some piping hot, tasty Aloo Parathas, Chole Bhaturas (I know this is going to be drool worthy if the chole masala in the Aloo Tikki chaat is to go by!) and a big glass of Lassi. Oh, the thought of starting my day this way is itself bringing a smile on my face. I really can't wait for it to start!