Cooking school

R always wants to help me in the kitchen as Im sure most kids do. Her interest in cooking though extends to her watching cookery programs on TV, and spending her hard earned pocket money on cookery books. More recently she has begun making simple dishes for herself with minimal help eg omelette and toast, noodles, french toast etc. But she wants to learn more so I enrolled us both on a one day Goan cookery course.

On the course, run by a lovely lady called Mutki , we learned to make three dishes and two types of indian bread.

Directed by Mutki we prepared and cooked all the ingredients ourselves and in between we made notes of recipes and methods in a notebook.

We both learned a great deal and enjoyed the experience thoroughly.

As well as cooking the dishes we tasted them too and believe me they were delicious!

So excited was R about her new found knowledge that on the way home we had to stop to buy the ingredients to make the dishes all over again at home!

For lunch today she single handedly prepared cooked and served for herself and I Palak paneer and chapatis. This evening she has planned Dal fry, mushroom masala with aloo parathas. Not bad for a nine year old.

Now whos a lucky mummy!



Shooting for the stars!

Since she was five years old R has regularly taken part in film shoots for TV commercials and still shoots for advertising and brochures.

http://www.dungarpurfilms.com/movies/29_dominos.html

 It is something which she increasingly enjoys and wants to do more of. At the beginning I was skeptical about letting her do this but with experience I have recognised the benefits. R is naturally shy and is often found working behind the scenes on any group project. However she actually has a great desire to be recognised and loves a chance to shine. During a shoot you are guaranteed a moment or several in the spotlight. You are given multiple chances of getting it right and the end reward is to see yourself on TV or in a magazine and recognition from others too. On the day you are treated well, you get your hair and makeup done by a professional and you have your own stylist. What more could any little girl want?

It goes without saying that you have to be picky about which shoots you accept. I generally ask firstly where the shoot will take place, how long is it expected to last and what will my child be expected to do?

Transport, meals and payment per day are given as standard. I always accompany R to a shoot and stay with her throughout the day.

There is a lot to be learned from the priviledge of being behind the scenes at a shoot and generally the crew are open, friendly and great with kids.

R enjoys seeing how outfits are selected and put together, how models are transformed with hairstyling and makeup and then how they perform in front of the camera. In between her shots she sits at the back of the crew taking the shot and watches on the computer screen as the shots are taken live and then edited. Its interesting to see how scenery is set up, lighting arranged and how problems are solved often quickly and often ingeniously under pressure.

I have watched with pride as R has progressed from being cast as the shy,sweet little one to being the main model, showing all her confidence and maturity that has been gained through her experience over the years. I anticipate many more film shoots ahead, not because Im a pushy mum who wants her child to be famous but because R herself feels that she is learning something about herself and the world through this experience. Watching professionals at work and being an important component in a production, knowing that they are relying on you to do a good job as much as you are relying on them teaches responsibilty, team work and accountibilty and seeing the end result boost self confidence. For as long as she finds it beneficial we shall continue with the shoots. It may or may not become a career but the exposure, experience and memories are something she will keep forever.