As you turn 4 today...
My dear Nithila,
It brings me immense happiness to write these letters to you… and you have
no clue how much I wait for this every year… you have turned 4 today and the
difference from last year (and it’s a huge difference mind you) is that, you
‘know’ you complete 4 years today… you have not just learnt counting, but have
learnt to apply it too, so what if it starts with your age… you also now know
what a birthday means other than cakes and party and gifts… but ofcourse you were
all excited about the party too, and you were reminding me to organize one for
last two months… and along with it, you conveniently rattled some 10 names of
friends whom you wanted to be invited for your birthday… It was superbly tough
to reach out to them/their mothers, given that they are all dispersed all
over.. your class, your school bus, your evening playmates… you make friends
wherever you go…
Another reason this birthday is special is because you celebrated it
together with your most adorable friend Naina… you chose a Barbie cake saying
“Naina ko bhi Barbie acchhi lagti hai”… you had a great time with all your
friends today…
One person you missed the most today is Ankoo Bua,
today morning when I wished you ‘Happy Birthday Nithila’, you smiled and asked
“Bua kahan hai? kab aayegi?”… Am sure Bua also missed you as much… she is
getting married in a few days time and if theres anyone who is going to look as
gorgeous as her in the wedding, its going to be YOU… Bua has herself chosen
your lehenga (similar to what she is wearing, pink ofcourse!!), evening gown
and all the accessories to go with it… I am not sure how will you react when
you get to know (if you understand at all that is!!) that Bua wont come back to
stay with us after her wedding… For now, I cant wait to see you look stunning
on the wedding day…
One noteworthy development that has happened this year is that you have
started sleeping alone at night, on your own… I remember that evening when you
declared you want to sleep alone in your room, and asked me to put an alarm for you to wake up in the morning... such an exciting thought it was... got new Barbie bedcovers, blankets, pasted shining stars and
moon and planets above your bed… you loved all of it and since then, you look
forward to your bedtime every night…
Waking you up in morning and getting ready for school is still a big hassle…
its like a long-winded task everyday… but thankfully you love going to school
and seeing your smiling face off the school bus is enough to recharge me for
the day ahead… your teachers say you have amazing time at school… you are very
good at physical activities and this year, you won a gold medal on your sports
day too.. you are a gang of four girls – Manya, Meghana, Ananya and you – who at
all times sit together, have tiffin together, do all activities together and
disturb rest of the class together… the last one is a consistent complaint about
you I hear in all parents-teachers meet… While I feel proud when teachers say
good things about you, for some reason, I also like it when teachers complain
about you… :-)
This year, we did a whirlwind trip to Allahabad, Maihar, Jaipur… it is
always a very humble experience to go back to our roots and connect with our own
people… you had so many questions to ask about the way of life there, which is
so very different from the way we live… you had questions about me wearing
sarees all the time… about me covering my head (‘mamma aapne yeh saari sir pe
kyun rakhi hai? Aapki shaadi hai?’)… about why we sit down on the floor and eat
(‘mamma meri bums mein thanda thanda lag raha hai!!)… about why they don’t have
toilets inside the house… about how cool it is to do susu in open fields (‘mamma,
yeh grass se gudgudi ho rahi hai !!)… incredible observation, endless questions
and my unrelenting attempt to find acceptable answers… :-)
Besides all these complaints and compliments, questions and interrogations, you
have never failed to shower your plentiful love on all of us, especially on Niky…
sometimes I wonder if I am able to give you the attention and love that you
much deserve… out of this realization only, I have committed myself to take you
out for a day long picnic, one Sunday every month… we have covered many a
places as part of these picnics and you really look forward to these outings
every month… I must tell you that it is an absolutely delightful experience to
spend time with you… it is priceless to see you growing up… to be part of the
growing up… to be able to provide stimulus to your growing up… to grow myself
as you grow up…
Happy Birthday and God bless you Nithila… Love you the most…
3 comments
RESPECT Gauri ...I think meri Biwi ko aapke pass motherhood course k liye bhejna padega when the time comes ...You would make an ideal modern age Mother to emulate! :)
ReplyDeleteone year has passed and I am still not introduced to her!!
ReplyDeleteDivya, Kashvi & Twarita joins me in wishing Nits a very Happy B Day and BTW Naman kahan gaya??????
Hope Niky is enjoying also today in the party!!
cheers
mohit
Gauri - Your Very Expressive... :)
ReplyDeleteThe day when Nithila would be able to read all these and understand... Sure, she will be very proud to have a MOTHER like YOU... :)
Wat a moment it will be - PRICELESS :)
Cheers,
Srikanth