Hello from my home in Helsinki! This is NordLetter #130, a weekly newsletter on living and walking in Finland.
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A Spot of Sunshine
Perhaps the thing that I needed the most, as I stepped out of my home today to go to the library was the warm sun on my face. I did not know it, of course.
Sunshine
The phone showed a crisp four degrees as I left home. This is a new habit that I have picked up after moving to Finland. I would never check the weather or temperature before leaving home in India. Here, you need to. For a time, I had the weather wallpaper on my home screen.
Usually, the sunny days are colder. You may feel, looking at the sun, that it will be warm, but no.
I did not look at the sun before stepping out, so it was a nice surprise.
When I first moved here, I would see people from time to time just looking up at the sun at the Hakaniemi tram station. Or at least, that’s the memory I have. I did not understand it at the time. I do now. I do the looking now.
Sun blinds my eye,
As I climb up the slope.
A green card in hand.
Father’s Day Card
The card in hand was the card Savya drew for me as part of the Father’s day celebration at his päiväkoti. There was some coffee and a sandwich at his daycare at eight on Monday. Nothing to write home about.
I sat in the chairs that the children usually sit in, had a coffee, tried to get Savya to eat the bread (he didn’t). I talked to a fellow parent - someone originally from Germany (he moved last year) - doing a post-doc in ecological studies. I found that interesting. He is working on categorising the types of rivers that are found in Europe. I found that interesting too, like who cares about that?
We tend to be myopic about things we don’t know about, so I cherish these opportunities to talk to people who are not in IT.
We had some common experiences: he had a child who is excellent at Finnish. The older child took some time to get used to this new environment. But one day everything just clicked. Savya went through a similar phase. Though from time to time, he still grabs my leg when I go to drop him off. It never gets easier.
After the coffee, I went and sat with him in his group’s room. There was one other parent, who was trying to get his daughter to stop crying. He failed, and then left. The daughter kept crying.
I sat with Savya while he pulled out a pack of cards from one of the shelves. It had pictures and the Finnish word written for it below. I imagined this is what Savya enjoys doing when I’m not here perhaps. A friend of his was building castles (and excitedly showing it off to his teacher). Savya went through the cards and found the one that said ‘ambulanssi’ and showed it to me.
I was looking at the other cards in the set, and thinking this feels like a good way to increase my vocabulary.
Diwali Week
Ready for the party
Sunday, the eighth, is Diwali. Prerna and I spent the week cleaning our home, putting decorations and lights on the walls and doors. The home looks so cheerful now. That, is the essence of Diwali for me. You clean your home - find things that you did not throw away for a year, and throw them. You decorate your home - I turn on the lights each night (and it gets to be night around five or six now). Savya knows about the switch and says ‘Diwali light’ when he gets home.
Like father like son
Lights on a tree,
Burning bright, swaying a little.
Lights are the tree.
On Friday was the first of three celebration we are having this year for Diwali. This was at our friends’ home in Ruoholahti. Midweek we had visited them and helped with tiny things - putting the lights up, packing some gifts, decorating a few things. On returning I had told Prerna it had not felt like work, like something to avoid. I had enjoyed doing it.
It’s the communal nature of the thing that I enjoyed. We were talking, having fun, and this thing that needed to be done got done as well.
Last year, after this same party at their place, we had returned the very next day to have samosa chaat at their place.
It was awkward because we were new to each other. That impromptu visit had led to a growing friendship with them. Friendships tend to form this way. Or so is my theory.
This year we were the first ones at their home. Prerna helped put some finishing touches to the already wonderful decoration. We took pictures before the party kicked off, while everything was untouched and felt pristine.
A little touch up
The food was great. Everything was great - I loved the chaat, the gol gappas, the veggie cutlet, the gulab jamun. It did not feel like too much food, but it was.
Not everything on the table yet
In Finland, in the winter months, you go out in search of the light - like the burning horse/goat as part of Easter celebrations.
Everything that we have put up - all the lights and decorations - will stay through most of the winter months, till February perhaps when the days start getting longer.
We celebrate Diwali at home on Sunday. It is not a party. Just a small set of people, some pooja and good food.
God, I love Diwali. It leaves me full.
Did you watch Ramayana? I’m so excited to watch it. The Hindi version is listed here in theatres, which is great, because the English version is shorter. I haven’t yet, there’s tons to do around the home still. We wanted to watch it together, Prerna and I, but neither of us feels OK leaving Savya with someone else. So, we will watch it separately.
At the party, we played a game. Each of us got a paper, and we had to write some not-easily-identifiable-thing about our partners. The host would collect all the chits and speak out the thing. All the rest had to guest then.
The goal was to not be found out. But we all were.
Prerna had written - ‘Author’ on her chit. She was recording me while the thing was said, which made it even more obvious for everyone.
On my piece of paper I had written -
She is a spot of sunshine on a cold dreary morning.
My spot of sunshine
If you enjoyed reading this, and know someone else who might, please consider forwarding this to them. It would help this grow and make me happy. 😄
Until next week.
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