Policeman Is Back!

My partner in crime- Rudra bhai, too is back in Delhi. And, this time he came back with one cut on his lower lip and a sun-tanned face......so unlike him as he is not known to be a care-free bindaas kid like me.......Guess, Dehradun did that to him.

Well, two things have happened with him back in Gurgaon. Firstly, I have a company within these clustrophobic four walls.......I was extremely irritated for three days while he wasn't here in Gurgaon. And secondly, policing is back - so I have a big brother watching me and my movements all the time.......so many restrictions you know!

~ Behan idhar mat jao (Sister, don't go there), with his arm wrapped around me.

~ Behan yeh mat karo (Sister, don't do this) in a bossy tone, with his middle finger of his right hand swinging from left to right and back......eyes broadly lit up.

~ Behan ruko (Sister, stop), shouting at me, obviously

~ Behan upar aao (Sister, come up), standing atop on the staircase

~ Behan don't touch, toot jaayega(Sister, don't touch, it will break), snatching delicate and breakable stuff from my grip.

~ Behan andar aao, bahar thanda hai(Sister, come in as it is cold outside), while standing right on the main door.

And, I love him despite all the restrictions that he has placed on me or my movements ......Well, I too get to do my bit........

~ He was eating his lunch sitting on the kitchen slab.....knowing that he will not be able to move, I pulled his leg down, pinching him hard to sped away right afterwards

~ He is playing with his favorite car with me standing in wait for my opportunity; closeby .....Sensing his loosened grip, I snatched car from his hand and ran away.....Admiring my guts, he is restrained in his response

I will end this post with a picture wherein I am wearing my Rudra bhai dad's (my Ashu chacha) goggles......Shhhhh! Don't tell him else he will restrict that as well- a protective brother, you know!

Read more...

New Age Gatecrashing

Me and my Rudra bhai trying to negotiate our way through our Dehradun home main gate:

1. Young minds at work.......
2. And, now the execution part.....
3. Oye! we can spot the dog outside on the road.....

Read more...

Freedom!

I am making best use of my newly-found freedom- freedom from depressing Delhi weather, freedom from need to stay indoors in a clustrophobic setting that they call apartments, freedom from fake smiles of people after you wave at them and last but not the least, freedom from that famous excuse called "big city life" to justify everything that is un-emotional........... To cut it short, I am at my home in Dehradun and I am fully self expressive- nothing can stop me from running from one corner of house to other or from playing with the mud or from plucking leaves and flowers from the garden or from rolling on the grass, or from jumping off the stairs or from lying on the concrete floor in my bid to look at the road through the space that separates ground from the gate's bottom.......Actually, credit should go to my elders as they have chosen not to put any restrictions on my movements.......My Rudra bhai is steadfastly giving me company or is my partner-in-crime.....Did I say crime?????? But who says it is criminal to enjoy your childhood as you should be enjoying.....I don't think that way....Rather, it is criminal for everyone else to make us do things that is anything but part of growing up as a child..... We hear "no" every minute- Don't go there....Don't do this......Don't touch that......Don't lay there......Don't...don't...don't.......basically, everything starts with "don't".......But, not anymore these days!

So, I am enjoying my newly gained freedom and I am enjoying it fully as I know it won't last longer- we are going back to Gurgaon tomorrow!

Read more...

Eating Lemon- My Way

Beat me if you can, in eating lemon- outside temperature is 5 degrees celsius.....

Now, that's what you call a sweet smile out of sour taste!

Read more...

Nahayee- nahayee

…………………………is the latest buzzword in my home. It actually goes beyond the concept of weird time-limits/routines. I can, thus demand a bath at any hour of the day…….For example- yesterday I started asking for it at 7 am..........Apparent reason was that I saw my papa enter into bathroom at around 6.30 am……As soon as he came out, I started crying with sounds of “Naha~yee- naha~yee”-meaning I too want to take a bath. Papa left shortly afterwards as he was supposed to catch his train to Chandigarh to see his mama (maternal uncle) in the hospital- he underwent his bypass surgery yesterday.

Left with no option, my mom gave in to my demand and I got my bath earlier than usual……… And, I was the most happy child from then on through the day!

Read more...

Meeting World’s Biggest Procrastinator

Friday, 15th Jan’2010- He left his office early to be with his daughter in his wife’s absence; she had gone to her office to attend her weekly conference calls. After spending close to an hour with his daughter, he decides to leave for his wife’s office with his daughter sitting on the backseat with her attendant. As they approached Iffco Chowk, his car refused to move an inch; apparently it had run out of petrol……..He picks up his phone to call his waiting wife at the office; tells her about the incident. She is not at all surprised as she knows that he had been in similar situations on many previous occasions. However, what perturbed her most this time was the presence of her ‘little-one’ inside the car. Before she could say anything further, his phone battery conked off; apparently he had not re-charged his phone- Good Lord saved him from his wife’s fury…………His immediate concern is to pass on his location co-ordinates to his wife. He is not at all worried as he knows that his phone can still work for few seconds on reserve power- has been in similar situation in the past, you know! So, he switches on his phone and quickly passes on his location co-ordinates to his wife telling her to reach there with her colleague…….

His daughter, who was earlier sleeping in her attendant’s lap is awake and is busy watching her dad negotiate through that mini-crisis. She had already seen her father’s first attempt to refuel his car gone bust……Her father informed her mom only after that first failed attempt. What happened then was no less bizarre- as soon as his car stopped, he looked for empty 1 liter bottle; always keep one handy in his car. Petrol pump was right across the road; so he instructed her daughter’s attendant to lock the car from inside until he is back with petrol. At the petrol pump, he came face to face with another situation, no first by his standards- he was not carrying any cash and they don’t swipe debit card for a transaction as low as 50 rupees. He somehow manages 30 rupees from all those hidden pockets of his wallet and tells him to give him petrol worth that amount. He was confident that even that 700 ml petrol will be enough for him to cross that road. But, his car had different plans; engine didn’t start at all- what can you expect in extreme cold conditions! It was then he had turned to his phone to inform his wife in the manner already explained.

Wait is on- daughter is enjoying the scene of people zipping past them in their cars while her papa’s eyes are searching for her mom in the darkness across the road……Soon she emerged out of fog walking towards the car, eyes are bit furious but resigned to the fact that few people cannot change and her husband is one of them………”Why do you allow yourself to land in these situations” - is all she could ask! Daughter is on her mom’s lap narrating her the incident while her father is busy looking for money in her purse…....he knows that he still has a job to do- to run towards the petrol pump……..Two trips to the petrol station and car engine is back to life, again! Who could that man be? Well he is none other than my papa- World’s biggest procrastinator!

Read more...

Happy Birthday Mom!

............ as she celebrates her 35th birthday today; wow that’s a lot when compared to 1 year and two months.

Unlike last year , this birthday is bit different for two reasons. Firstly, we are not in Dehradun and secondly, I am older enough to participate in the celebrations and make some sense out of it- last year I couldn’t.

My mom has already started working on her annual list of birthday wishers- my dadee was the first one to call followed by Sunil mama, Anil mama, Mamta mausi, Renu bua and family and Bela aunty (my mom’s best friend)…Sandeep chacha and Pallavi Chachee wished her in advance. But, what surprised her most was the flower bouquet that arrived on our doorstep at 12 in the midnight- thanks to the delivery boy who took pains to deliver in that extreme cold. Well, my papa had ordered this for my mom and it was a “first” from him in last 8 years of their knowing each other- which proves that people do change, albeit took him 8 years to change. Since, I wasn’t up at that time; my papa decided to click a picture of me lying by mom with her “surprise” in hand.
For a change, I was the last one to welcome the “morning sun”. My papa told me that it’s my mom’s birthday and asked me to wish my mom. Honestly speaking, I didn’t understand his words but flowers were bright enough to catch my attention in the very first instance. I caught hold of them and handed it over to my mom………God does make it happen!
She took me into her lap and this is how we both looked! As I write this, my mom’s list has expanded a bit………more on this later!

Read more...

Every Day Is A New Day!

"Every day is a new day" is no secret to anyone; me included. So, I start proving it from the moment I start my day, every morning. Consider my latest "starts" during past three days:

Friday morning- Completely oblivious of the fact that I am awake, my parents are competing with each other in the "snoring competetion". Suddenly, my papa wakes up to found me sitting by my mom; smiling with eyes partially shut, both side tip of my mouth reaching out to the closest ear and my five frontol teeth clearly evident.....surprised papa takes me into his arms and gives me a big hug.......he doesn't know that I was sitting and smiling for long!

Saturday morning- Mom is busy sipping her morning tea while papa is running through his daily newspaper. It was then, I woke up in a hurry, stood up to take a walk on the bed, only to fell down few seconds later......back to sleep, again!

Sunday Morning- Papa is reading his newspaper while mom is sleeping, door bell rang loud enough to break my sleep......Rubbing my eyes, I got down from the bed and starts walking towards the main door.....Reason? .....someone is outside ringing the door-bell. Cruel cold becomes a reason for my failed bid!

Wanna take a leaf out of this?

Read more...

My First Few Words!

My father calls me “tota” (parrot) for my habit of repeating words that I hear…….You know I can repeat them with remarkable ease and clarity. But then there are few that I can speak on my own……...here comes some-

1. Dada, Dadee, Chacha, Chachee, Bhai, Didi, Bua, Nana……..Now, that should make you wonder as to what about mom and dad……...Well, I prefer to address them “Hey” or “Aye”……..and, I think reason lies in the fact that I am already confused between so many words- papa, daddy, maa, mummy, mumma…….so, I have clubbed them together as “Hey” or “Aye”- smart girl, you know!

2. I have already started counting ; that too in both languages- Consider this…….. Ek (1), do (2), teen (3), chaar (4), paanch (5), saat (7), nau (9), baa-yees (22) and te-yees (23) in Hindi and one, two, three, four, five and ten in English- Math whiz-kid, you know!

3. I can pronounce “dirty”, “clean” and “this” with great ease…….In fact, “this” is my favorite word as it helps me point my finger at something I need- anything that I need is “this”.

4. As soon as my papa asks for his after-work evening tea, I walk straight into the kitchen to pass on his message to Santoshi didi…………”Didi-chai (for tea in Hindi)”. And, I don’t move until she pours it into the cup.

5. When he asks for water, I head straight into the kitchen……..utters ”mum” for water and comes out with a bottle of water- held tightly under my right arm.

I will keep expanding this list!

Read more...

Much Delayed Post- Happy Birthday

........as my father was away on his spot-spotting trips.

As mentioned earlier, my Rudra bhai had celebrated his birthday on 30th Dec; he completed two years. The day started on a usual note with him doing a "Googly Woogly Woosh" on my cheeks- Pond's way .

We took an early bath as priest was due to arrive shortly for saying my brother's birthday prayers. We were great pictures of calmness and devotion while priest conducted the ceremony....
We had to wait for others as we were the "first ones" to get ready for the dinner hosted by my Ashu chacha and Shikha chachee.
My Rudra bhai is a known car freak, so it was "but natural" for his birthday cake to look resemble one.....
Waiting anxiously, our eyes were set on the cake...

And the moment came soon thereafter......
Happy Birthday Rudra Bhai!

Read more...