Hello Mithai ...
It took me a while to decide what I want t call you in this post ... there are so many characters you are these days, that we are completely confused ... and that's the beauty of it ... when I posted last I could still define you my way ... and now that you talk non-stop and have a personality of your own ... it is impossible to define you ... I thought we'll get there in a few more years ... but you are growing fast.
Let's try a walk down the memory lane ... but before that, let's get a picture of you in here ... this is how you look now, and this one is you in your first own saree that Thithi has bought you. Oh you like dressing up and accessorizing ... so far everyone is gaga about it ... let's see how this part turns out :)
Let's start after your first birthday ...
By now you can pull yourself up and stand ... you crawl up to the headboard of the bed and pull yourself up and look out of the window and giggle when a train passes by. You are able to make some basic sounds to show joy, displeasure, and we kind of get it :)
You and I take a walk outside in the evening ... we don't go far, but we like sitting outside near our parking after the walk and watch the world go by ... you like sitting on the pillar that holds the parking gates.
You already like Thammu's iPad ... you know what you like in it and are able to tell us, not in so many words, but with your reactions ... what you are enjoying and what you are getting bored with. Thammu on the other hand has started building a repository of videos of nursery rhymes, songs, music etc that you might like ... she is quite good with YouTube and stuff. Just so you know, among people her age, she is one in a million ... very very few senior citizens of this time are able to use, let alone enjoy the internet and what it has to offer. You should be proud to be her granddaughter ... I am extremely proud as a son.
You have reached up to the Microwave's main buttons and you and Vihaan have started damaging it ... now (actually by early 2013, we couldn't use most of the options in it anymore).
In Feb 2013, we made a trip to Kolkata, your birthplace and mine. Everyone was overjoyed to see you .. although you took some time to get used to the attention. You have stranger anxiety and don't like it when people pick you up. Very finicky I should say ... people tip-toe around you :) But once you get to know people, you don't hesitate to show the antics you have learnt ... showing your eyes, nose etc.
In our home, you have found out that you love the balcony, and every chance you get you want to crawl up there and look at the river ... You can say one syllable words ... so you scream out "Boat" when you see boats and at night when the other bank lights up ... you just love it ... and you have a prolonged pronunciation of the word "Lights" for it ... it's more like "laaaaights!!!". Kolkata is usually full of little sticky kind of dirt ... and you come back from the balcony with a lot of it on your palms, knees, legs, face ... another adorable scene. You left everyone wanting more of you when we had to come back to Bangalore.
Oh but if I write like this, we will have ourselves a very long post and you might say "tl/dr" (Meaning Too long Didnt read ... in new internet lingo) so let's hop on ...
In just over a little more than a year, you have learnt to walk, talk, learn new things, teach us new things and the list goes on ...
You have learnt new rhymes from Thammu, and repeat them incessantly if you please, but when asked it is just your mood that dictates ... you are quite a tough customer. Don't worry, we have videos, right now there are so many, that I am finding it extremely difficult to sort and catalog them. But I will get there by the time you read this :)
You and I have started doing selfies and you love making faces to the camera when you can see yourself in it ...
We sometimes go to a park ... you just like walking around ... we tried the slide ... you liked it initially, but didn't like falling from it ... so that was gone sooner than I thought ... but it will be back ... We also tried the swing ... you loved it ... and then after some more visits to some more parks, you got confident and stopped holding the chains ... and gravity did the rest ... it was adorable ... but then swings took a break for some time.
You love bubbles ... and in your screaming in joy, sometimes swallow them ... but its relentless fun anyways ... we all just love it :)
You love going to the Hamley's store in Phoenix Market City ... so far you just love playing there ... and dont ask for us to buy you stuff. So far you are a good girl ...
You come to wake me up everyday saying "Baba Wake up Wake Up!!!". While I am usually still in need of some more sleep, I love waking up to it. From that moment on the next hour is for you and me ... I play with you a while, then arrange for your bath, then you have many routines during the bath and then we do fun stuff like pushing the fragrance device on the bathroom wall and saying "Palai Palai" to get out of the bathroom ... I had to invent these routines, to make it interesting for you to get out of the bathroom, else you'd just stay in there the whole day. You just love water.
You love coming to the desktop, where you see me work and grab the mouse (not sure if these devices are still around now) and move it randomly ... when asked what you are doing ... You say "Kaaj" ... when asked who asked you to do this ... you say "Baba". Not sure where you got this from, but your answer doesn't change ... even when I ask you this the answer is the same.
The list goes on and on and on .... its just a wonderful experience ... sometimes I feel I don't want you to grow up ... but the very next moment I feel, with each day you keep getting smarter, funnier, weirder ... more and more a complete person with all your quirks ... I wouldn't want to miss it for the world by asking you to not grow up.
In this meantime Dulu-mama (who you still insist on calling Dulu) got married and you just love Moyu mami (Who is again Moyu to you) ... and love copying her fashion style ... you never used to like tying your hair or a clip in them, now looking at Moyu you not only like it ... you know which one will go with which dress. Quite a fashionista you are. You have also started miming her ways of putting an eye-liner and lipstick ... sometimes you do that to me too.
Something terrible happened as well ... we lost your Koka to a heart failure ... one Sunday, we were woken up to the news that he has had a heart failure and is in the ICU ... and then we got confusing news and weren't sure what was happening ... it was imperative that we just needed to go there. When we landed in Guwahati, I got a call from your Jitu Mama (again Jitu for you) that Koka is no more ... and I was told not to say anything to your Mom or Dulu. I thought of explaining the situation to them to prepare them for the bad news ... but just couldn't get myself to do that as they were so full of hope that something will turn around. That journey from Guwahati to Shillong was the longest journey of my life ... seemed endless. We all felt so helpless ... it just happened and all of a sudden he was no more ... just makes one realize the unpredictability of life and why we should appreciate every relationship so much more and make the best use of every moment ... I still feel guilty that I hadn't spoken to him in two weeks before that day ... and now I cannot speak to him forever. There was so much to like in the man ... I have never seen a calmer and nicer man. He is the prime reason your Mom is the wonderful person she is. I just wish you had some more time with him. But anyways, hopefully we will be able to do a reasonably okay job in imbibing the good from both your absent grandfathers ... as there was a lot to learn from them.
Anyways, this post is getting long and now depressing ... so I will try and end it in a nicer note ... the recent weeks (especially weekends) have been important ones ... in one we paid the first installment of your play-school fees, and also got your ears pierced ... oh we were so dreading that day. But it went on pretty smoothly ... you cried a bit, but started calming down the moment I took a photo and showed you how pretty you looked. Now you have round ear-rings that are called "Balis" and not entirely without a few incidents. Oh ... you look so grown up with these ear-rings.
The other major thing that started for the last 3-4 weekends, is we go swimming, your Mamma gets into the pool sometimes as well. We have a pretty pink tube for you ... this gives you so much more independence ... you just love floating around and splashing water ... you havent got the hang of swimming yet ... but I am in no hurry ... I want you to first love the water, get comfortable with it and then we will start learning ... meanwhile ... we just have fun!!! Here's a photo
.jpg)
... until next time ...
Baba :)
You and I take a walk outside in the evening ... we don't go far, but we like sitting outside near our parking after the walk and watch the world go by ... you like sitting on the pillar that holds the parking gates.
You already like Thammu's iPad ... you know what you like in it and are able to tell us, not in so many words, but with your reactions ... what you are enjoying and what you are getting bored with. Thammu on the other hand has started building a repository of videos of nursery rhymes, songs, music etc that you might like ... she is quite good with YouTube and stuff. Just so you know, among people her age, she is one in a million ... very very few senior citizens of this time are able to use, let alone enjoy the internet and what it has to offer. You should be proud to be her granddaughter ... I am extremely proud as a son.
You have reached up to the Microwave's main buttons and you and Vihaan have started damaging it ... now (actually by early 2013, we couldn't use most of the options in it anymore).
In Feb 2013, we made a trip to Kolkata, your birthplace and mine. Everyone was overjoyed to see you .. although you took some time to get used to the attention. You have stranger anxiety and don't like it when people pick you up. Very finicky I should say ... people tip-toe around you :) But once you get to know people, you don't hesitate to show the antics you have learnt ... showing your eyes, nose etc.
In our home, you have found out that you love the balcony, and every chance you get you want to crawl up there and look at the river ... You can say one syllable words ... so you scream out "Boat" when you see boats and at night when the other bank lights up ... you just love it ... and you have a prolonged pronunciation of the word "Lights" for it ... it's more like "laaaaights!!!". Kolkata is usually full of little sticky kind of dirt ... and you come back from the balcony with a lot of it on your palms, knees, legs, face ... another adorable scene. You left everyone wanting more of you when we had to come back to Bangalore.
Oh but if I write like this, we will have ourselves a very long post and you might say "tl/dr" (Meaning Too long Didnt read ... in new internet lingo) so let's hop on ...
In just over a little more than a year, you have learnt to walk, talk, learn new things, teach us new things and the list goes on ...
You have learnt new rhymes from Thammu, and repeat them incessantly if you please, but when asked it is just your mood that dictates ... you are quite a tough customer. Don't worry, we have videos, right now there are so many, that I am finding it extremely difficult to sort and catalog them. But I will get there by the time you read this :)
You and I have started doing selfies and you love making faces to the camera when you can see yourself in it ...
We sometimes go to a park ... you just like walking around ... we tried the slide ... you liked it initially, but didn't like falling from it ... so that was gone sooner than I thought ... but it will be back ... We also tried the swing ... you loved it ... and then after some more visits to some more parks, you got confident and stopped holding the chains ... and gravity did the rest ... it was adorable ... but then swings took a break for some time.
You love bubbles ... and in your screaming in joy, sometimes swallow them ... but its relentless fun anyways ... we all just love it :)
You love going to the Hamley's store in Phoenix Market City ... so far you just love playing there ... and dont ask for us to buy you stuff. So far you are a good girl ...
You come to wake me up everyday saying "Baba Wake up Wake Up!!!". While I am usually still in need of some more sleep, I love waking up to it. From that moment on the next hour is for you and me ... I play with you a while, then arrange for your bath, then you have many routines during the bath and then we do fun stuff like pushing the fragrance device on the bathroom wall and saying "Palai Palai" to get out of the bathroom ... I had to invent these routines, to make it interesting for you to get out of the bathroom, else you'd just stay in there the whole day. You just love water.
You love coming to the desktop, where you see me work and grab the mouse (not sure if these devices are still around now) and move it randomly ... when asked what you are doing ... You say "Kaaj" ... when asked who asked you to do this ... you say "Baba". Not sure where you got this from, but your answer doesn't change ... even when I ask you this the answer is the same.
The list goes on and on and on .... its just a wonderful experience ... sometimes I feel I don't want you to grow up ... but the very next moment I feel, with each day you keep getting smarter, funnier, weirder ... more and more a complete person with all your quirks ... I wouldn't want to miss it for the world by asking you to not grow up.
In this meantime Dulu-mama (who you still insist on calling Dulu) got married and you just love Moyu mami (Who is again Moyu to you) ... and love copying her fashion style ... you never used to like tying your hair or a clip in them, now looking at Moyu you not only like it ... you know which one will go with which dress. Quite a fashionista you are. You have also started miming her ways of putting an eye-liner and lipstick ... sometimes you do that to me too.
Something terrible happened as well ... we lost your Koka to a heart failure ... one Sunday, we were woken up to the news that he has had a heart failure and is in the ICU ... and then we got confusing news and weren't sure what was happening ... it was imperative that we just needed to go there. When we landed in Guwahati, I got a call from your Jitu Mama (again Jitu for you) that Koka is no more ... and I was told not to say anything to your Mom or Dulu. I thought of explaining the situation to them to prepare them for the bad news ... but just couldn't get myself to do that as they were so full of hope that something will turn around. That journey from Guwahati to Shillong was the longest journey of my life ... seemed endless. We all felt so helpless ... it just happened and all of a sudden he was no more ... just makes one realize the unpredictability of life and why we should appreciate every relationship so much more and make the best use of every moment ... I still feel guilty that I hadn't spoken to him in two weeks before that day ... and now I cannot speak to him forever. There was so much to like in the man ... I have never seen a calmer and nicer man. He is the prime reason your Mom is the wonderful person she is. I just wish you had some more time with him. But anyways, hopefully we will be able to do a reasonably okay job in imbibing the good from both your absent grandfathers ... as there was a lot to learn from them.
Anyways, this post is getting long and now depressing ... so I will try and end it in a nicer note ... the recent weeks (especially weekends) have been important ones ... in one we paid the first installment of your play-school fees, and also got your ears pierced ... oh we were so dreading that day. But it went on pretty smoothly ... you cried a bit, but started calming down the moment I took a photo and showed you how pretty you looked. Now you have round ear-rings that are called "Balis" and not entirely without a few incidents. Oh ... you look so grown up with these ear-rings.
The other major thing that started for the last 3-4 weekends, is we go swimming, your Mamma gets into the pool sometimes as well. We have a pretty pink tube for you ... this gives you so much more independence ... you just love floating around and splashing water ... you havent got the hang of swimming yet ... but I am in no hurry ... I want you to first love the water, get comfortable with it and then we will start learning ... meanwhile ... we just have fun!!! Here's a photo
... until next time ...
Baba :)
No comments:
Post a Comment