You @ 3: Vivacity & endless talks
And I can instantly hear you replying ‘waaat Mumma’… everytime I take
your name, you very melodiously say ‘waaat Mumma’… just the thought of it
brought a big smile on me now, like every thought and doing of you has been
bringing smiles on me for 3 years now…. Yes sweetheart, it is your 3rd
birthday today… and to think of it, I seriously didn’t realize how these 3
years went by…
Your
birthday is being celebrated for more than a month now, almost everyday…
started with Janmashtami when Papa tried to explain to you that it is Krishna’s
birthday… to which you vehemently objected and declared that its your birthday…
that whole day and almost everyday after that you believe it is your birthday
and have been declaring so… you sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to yourself, you get
others to wish you too… only solace is that you don’t ask for a cake and gifts
everyday… we casually asked you what do you want for your birthday and you
promptly said ‘balloons’… how innocent, how endearing and moreso how easy and inexpensive
!! how I wish it remains this way :-)I have been genuinely attempting to contain your growing up, unsuccessfully though… With Nithila having grown up very fast, almost without me realizing it, I have been meaning to cherish every aspect of your babyhood… make it last as long as it can… and enjoy this stage of parenting to the maximum extent possible… but then you are also growing rapidly, beyond what I can assimilate and soak in… beyond what I can recall and reminisce about… beyond what I can capture here in this third letter to you…
Yours is such a wonderful little world that sometimes I simply wonder if I can live it up your way… you wake up at your own will and squander away your mornings jumping and rolling all over the house… you choose clothes to wear on your own (you are unyieldingly fussy I have to say!), and admire yourself in the mirror for a long time before you head off to school… you love going to school (thankfully!) and you are absolutely fond of your teachers and your friends there… you spend time there singing and dancing, playing and laughing and return home with lot of secrets (the most common secret being ‘Mayank ne pant mein susu kiya’ followed by a hearty giggle :-)… a wholesome meal has to be followed by afternoon siesta, to be charged up for the evening ahead… Nithila joins you in the evening funtime and both of you take the world over together (ok maybe this condo over, but nothing less)… you dominate the playarea by dictating everyone, and if that doesn’t work then by throwing tantrums… you get away with it because firstly you are younger to most other kids and secondly, you know what ‘being young’ means !! :-) your exuberance and play continues over Nithilas study time, over dinner, till late in night, till you are finally tired and fall asleep… you take the goodnight kisses and hugs just too seriously and ensure all of us individually give you atleast 5 each, before you agree to go to bed… a few months back, you started sleeping with Nithila in your room and it was one of those emotionally deep moments for me… :-) Very often, I miss snuggling up with you in bed, I miss the baby-smell of your hair and your skin… only makes me realize that you have now grown out of me, while I am still holding onto you… :-)
Your growing up can never be complete without mentioning you and Nithila… you are her younger sister only to look at, surely not in your actions and conduct… you hit her, you scold her, you complain about her, you snatch things from her, you treat her recklessly… yet you shield her and you protect her… I have seen you confronting other kids, much older than you, when they have tried to bully Nithila… you are a mini-goonda, in your school, in the playarea, at home too… I remember one of our fights where I said “Is ghar mein sirf ek hi goonda ho sakta hai”… and before I could complete it the SRK way, you said “mein hoon goonda”… I gave up, right there, and have been giving up every since…
You have also taught me to accept a ‘NO’ gracefully… anything I tell you to do, your first reaction is a NO… with a vehement “nahi karoongi”… I am learning to deal with such tough situations… I now ask you not to do and voila… there you go doing exactly what I want you to… this works for most of the things… I know this tactic wont last long, but I hope to keep finding newer ways going forward… and hope to outdo you most of the times… :-)
You are that one person who Papa can never dream of beating or winning over…he scolds you, you yell back at him… he intimidates you, you threaten him back… and he sits there amazed, wondering what hit him so hard… all of us believe that if there is anyone who can domesticate Papa, its only you… to the extent that your Buas are waiting for you to grow up so they use you to take their revenge on Papa… :-) well, and Papa doesn’t mind it a bit… he knows its you who will inherit his passion and legacy… the other day you were sipping milk in the morning, with newspaper in front of you, intently reading something… I asked you “Niky kya kar rahe ho?” to which you said (head still buried in the paper) “paper padh rahi hoon”… I smiled and asked “padhna aata hai?” and you looked at me amusingly saying “haan”… I asked “kya likha hai?”… without flickering your eyes, you said “Modiji likha hai”… I laughed heartily, very well knowing that Papa must have felt very proud of you that moment…
You are sleeping while I am writing this… home seems so bland and barren... when you are awake, there isn’t one full minute when you don’t talk… you don’t need people around to talk… you talk to yourself, to your dolls and teddys and barbies… you sing rhymes and songs… you do roleplays of me, of your teacher, of a friend and have seen you playing two roles in the same scene… a double role!! You are the cutest bundle I could have been ever blessed with…
In everything you do, even as part of your unsullied childhood, you edify me on small yet fundamental facets of life… if you are unhappy, you cry and let everyone around you know… if you are tired, you rest, you take a nap… if you are happy, you laugh and sing and dance and spread exuberance… you draw when you want, even if you cant draw one straight line… you follow your own mind even if scolded or rebuked… you imitate others, without any inhibition… you follow your heart at all times… how I wish I could do just that… and how I wish you can continue to do just that…
I pray that you continue to follow your heart always, and be yourself as your soar high… there be many smiles and many laughs as you spread your wings wide… there be soft meadows and blooming flowers as you chart your long path… there be virtuous thoughts and sacred blessings as you fulfill your dreams… there be moon within your reach, as you reach out to the stars… there be indissoluble bond and most gratifying love as you enrich my motherhood…
Wish you a very happy birthday Niky. God Bless
Your Mumma
1 comments
Hey Gauri!!! I cant write as good as this... However, I can relate to each and every word u have written. I loved reading the blog and remembered past 3.5 years like a fast forward movie in last 10 mins. Awesome work...
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