Cocktail Post- Bit of everything

At the stroke of midnight on 31st, we bid goodbye to 2010 and it was all done on the rooftop of our home in Gurgaon. Rohit uncle- our landlord- had arranged for a small get-together comprising of his family, ours and that of his friend from Rohini. Our entire family was present as my dada and dadee had come for my Rudra bhai's birthday.......With music, camp-fire and good food, it was all fun- my Rudra bhai enjoyed it most after gulping few spoons of brandy- he was a joy to watch afterwords......

As I look back, 2010 was a great year for me as I went on to learn many new things- walking, running, speaking, identifying places by their names, meaning of relationships, sense of ownership to a relation or a place, alphabets, rhymes etc etc- the list is endless. And most of it wasn't captured on this blog in the manner my papa would have liked. As he got busy establishing his business after quitting his job, my blog started to suffer. So many posts died in his head, so many moments couldn't be captured as our camera gave in, so many important events went un-posted- my birthday being one- still there were so many things that he could capture and write about......and whatever we have of last two years is nothing short of a treasure......His desire to write and capture those moments is still very strong and he is determined to make up for the lost time. We shall see!

Just a day prior to 31st, we had celebrated my Rudra bhai's birthday- he completed 3 and seemed to have made most of his 3 years of his quota of first five formative years. Going by his mannerisms, his talks, ideas and his sharp intellect; my Rudra bhai is a natural contender for any exceptionally talented kid competition- to which I fully agree fully. Can you imagine that despite my over powering nature and frequent outbursts, he never loses his cool and has never hit me back. If I hit him, all he does is to report the matter to either of my parents- never to his parents. If I fall off, he is the first one to run to the site and hit the culprit with his leg saying- "Meri behan ko kyon maara- ganda" meaning "why did you hit me my sister- you bad"....And that "bad" can be anything ranging from wall, floor, cycle, table etc etc.......Although, I do the same when he suffers the fall........Also, he never call me by my name- always call me behan-...........We both do fight over toys; it is but natural for us to do so as we are still trying to learn the concept of "sharing' and we will overcome that too. First thing he does upon reaching home after school is to ask for me.....hugs me and ask me, behan bhaiya ko miss kiya tha......(sister have you missed your brother?)......I am benefiting most out of him as I am learning most from him- what best can you ask for than an umbrella kid like him in your home.......I love my Rudra bhai and owe all my rhymes, alphabets, dance steps, accent, likes and dislikes, habits to him- bad habits are my own domain. The reflection is very powerful......Let me reproduce a conversation that happened inside our car yesterday morning on our way back home from the airport- had gone there to drop my dada and dadee...

I started crying as I saw my dada-dadee walk towards the airport entry gate as both of us were under the impression that we too are going to Dehradun....Papa, forcibly entered me inside the car to avoid the approaching policeman.....And, once inside the car, my Rudra bhai took the charge saying- chup ho jaa behan- stop crying....and I stopped crying in true "he proposed, I disposed" fashion.....

Me- Jeenu, dekho ....aeroplane aa gaya....(look there is an aeroplane)

Jeenu- Behan us aeroplane main na hamare dada-dadee hai (Our dada-dadee are travelling inside that aeroplane)

Next moment, my mom called.....and I picked it up....mumma, aeroplane main na hamare dada-dadee hain, woh dehradun chaley gaye....(Mumma, our dada-dadee are inside the aeroplane on their way to Dehradun)...

Tear drops are still there under my eyes and my cheeks are still wet, no other sign of crying.....was I really crying??????? That's the sort of calming influence my Rudra bhai has over me....

We move little ahead and the conversation moved to a new plane...

Me- Jeenu, dekho...temple aa gaya ...woh hai (pointing my fingers in the direction)- Jeenu, look there is temple, it's there.

Jeenu (that's how I call him)- Kahan hai behan- where is it behan?.....

Me- Touches his face, helping it move in the direction of the temple....dekho (see)

Next moment- both of us have our hands folded in "namaste" position....."Bhagwanji, sab ko theek rakhna"- on our mouth (meaning, Oh Lord, bless each one of us with good health and best of everything)- A prayer that we say every-time we see temple or a prayer....

Me- Jeenu, temple chala gaya (Jeenu we have gone past the temple)....

Now, we start identifying cars on the road-

Jeenu- Tauji Wagon- R, - Dadaji ki car-
Me- Jeenu dekho dekho- Honda......chacha ki car
Me again - i10- Anil mama ki car
Jeenu- Swift- tauji ki car
Me- Jeenu- dekho dekho Santro....sunil mama ki car....and the conversation goes on....

A Tata Indigo drives past in a tizzy....My Rudra bhai didn't approve of his way of overtaking us.....He said- O bhai, maarega kya......gaade chalani nahin aatee (Don't you know how to drive.....out to kill us???) And, I repeat his words.....papa helps us reclaim our cool....

Jeenu (pointing in Indigo's direction)- Tauji, woh saamney waalee gadee se aagey jao...usey hara na hai.....(get ahead of that car, we need to beat him).....

Refusing to do so, my Papa says- fast driving is bad.....But, quietly he started accelerating the speed (without taking any risks)....soon, we managed to overtake that car........joy of overtaking him was all written on our face..........our faces turned in the direction of that car.....with a tight raised fist, we both did a rally driver on the driver of the other car....all the occupants of the other car couldn't stop laughing......And here are some pics that describes our mood as it fluctuated through first few hours of yesterday morning......
Both of us with our dadee- want to go to Dehradun written all over face....
With our dada-dadee at the airport-"wanna go to Dehradun" still written on our face
Back home from the airport....
See our shirts- that's what we call "dabang" shirts and have specifically asked for it from our dada-dadee...they got that for us from Dehradun

Read more...

My Favourite Phrases

With a plastic fan in my left hand and moving it from left to right and back, I ask Jeenu- "जीनू हवा आ रही है " (meaning can you feel the wind blowing into your face")......Well, who cares how far he is from the reach/area of influence of that hand fan- it's the intent that matters!

A daily night circus is at full display- Jeenu not eating his dinner and my Shikha chachee is running after him- when I came up with an instant solution. I pick up my papa's phone and start to dial a number......Even before my papa could open his mouth to enquire, I was ready with my explanation- "मैं मोंस्टर को डायल कर रहा हूँ" (meaning I am calling monster).......and the conversation starts- "हेल्लो मोंस्टर, जल्दी आओ जीनू खाना नहीं खा रहा है" (Monster come quickly, Jeenu is not eating his dinner)......Guess what...timid jeenu gulps everything in a tizzy!

Opening our bedroom door in a fit of rage, I thunder- "जीनू रूम में नहीं जाऊंगा" (I will never go inside Jeenu's room)......Reason????? Well, a fight had broken between me and my Rudra bhai after I felt shortchanged, so I banged his bedroom's door at him and came out........Well, this gets repeated few times in the day but then I don't like to keep this pledge .........One reaction that always puzzles me is that of my parents- they laugh everytime they hear me utter that thunderous comment- I don't think there is anything to laugh about it......and, I don't forget to make my displeasure known to them........

Well, not all our fights result in that thunderous pledge- some moderate ones elicit a matching reaction- "जीनू आपके फ्रेंड नहीं बनूँगा" (Jeenu, I will not be your friend anymore)........

And, then there are some fights when I just lose me cool....left with no choice Jeenu runs for cover.......trying his best to avoid that ferocious little sister called "behan"- running after him, eyes wide open, fist in the air , teeth already sharpened for maximum effect........Jeenu knows what is in store for him....his back bears a testimony to one such fight and so does his one arm!

"आलोक ठंडा पानी पीना है" (Alok, I want to drink chilled water)

"आलोक में कैसा लग रहा हूँ" (Alok, how am I looking)- right after I changed into a new dress!

My mom has just refused me something; what do I do?? Well, I say "मम्मा गंदी है"......mom is bad!

Read more...

Brother-Sister At Their Best!

That we eat food watching youtube videos is already known and documented on this platform. As we are growing, our viewing preferences too are changing-from rhymes to songs or informative videos.........One of our personal favourite is the song-"phoolon ka taaron ka sab ka kehna" from movie "Hare Rama Hare Krishna".........My papa recently got an opportunity to shot me and my Rudra bhai together with this song being played in the background.......Do give attention to the lyrics while watching our videos- especially my Rudra bhai's demand for "sound valee kissee" or his act of becoming my horse.......-unforgettable and very very special moments!







Another incident that must be documented for our future reading is something that ocurred night before last.........I was sitting next to my mom when my Rudra bhai bid good night to me; after Shikha chachee instructed him to go to bed.......Seeing my reluctant Rudra bhai enter his room, I called him- "Jeenu idhar aao" meaning Jeenu come here...........and, he ran towards me in no time as if he was waiting for that.........As soon as he came near me, I extended my right cheek towards him and said-"Jeenu idhar kissee karo" (meaning give me a peck here)- he obliged, lovingly so........and then followed my request for a kissee on left cheek as well.......As soon as he finished doing it.....I said- Jeenu good night.......subah milengey (meaning will meet in the morning)........My Rudra bhai had forgotten to give me my "good night kiss" that night!

Read more...

Ghuguti Basuti, Love and Affection

Everyone in our household was busy watching a "for kids reality show" when I & my Rudra bhai started playing/singing ghughuti basuti (a song, that kids hear during their childhood across the length and breadth of Uttarakhand- for more information or to understand the meaning/background of this song, please read comments and the post itself on the link given above).......In the video shown below, you will notice that our mutual love and affection is at full display-incidentally the song that we are singing is about the love of a brother and a sister........Enjoy!!!!!!!!

Read more...

What Will You.....

........do when you are a 1 year 5 months old inside a moving car with mom and dad arguing over something? Well I don't know about you but what I thought best to do in that situation was to turn on the car music system (it was off), increase the volume and let the FM channel do the rest....... it took no time for them to end the argument and enjoy what their daughter did!

While my papa was busy lending his words to this post of mine, I was sleeping. My Rudra bhai entered inside to check on whether I am awake or not. He found me lying on bed with stomach uncovered as my tee shirt had moved up........He came up to me and pulling my tee shirt down, he said-" Behan apna mota pet dhako" meaning sister cover your fat tummy...... his touch was enough to wake me up which brought smile to his face and that of mine as well........As soon as i got down from my bed, smilingly so.........he further ordered- "behan chappal pehno" meaning sister wear your shoes.....and the fun began........we began playing with tanker/truck toys......It was then I noticed our prayer area and, with my folded hands touching my forehead and eyes closed, I said "jaiiiii"- my way of saying prayers.......My Rudra bhai too joined in.....and with his folded hands touching his forehead; he said ....."bhagwanjee meri behan to theek rakhna" meaning Lord, please take care of my sister.....

My watching father couldn't believe his eyes and ears!

Read more...

Who Is The Boss?

…........…….is no difficult question to answer; I can safely be taken as one in my home. My Rudra bhai is not giving me competition- he is a super obedient and organized kid while on the other hand, I have a mind of my own and always do things that I like; even if it means picking up a fight or two with him.

Lately, my hands too have become quite active and they mostly land on his face or forehead……….and you know what my poor bhai says- “Behan main aapka bada bhai hoon; mujhey mat maro (Sister, I am your elder brother, don’t beat me)” ………… I can tell you from my parent’s reactions that my slapping acts do not amuse them…….....At the same time, I don’t want anyone to miss out on the fact that all this have begun only after my mom started going to work……… that makes my dad ask- “Is this because I am jealous of seeing Rudra in his mom’s company during the day-time?” …………Or, perhaps I am giving him a taste of what he used to do few months back! ……….

Slapping act or no act, fact remains that he is my Jeenu bhai and I am his behan and we both share great love and affection………. something that gets proved time and again; especially when we are not together and starts to miss each other’s company. When together, we always have a blast; and do not require anyone else's company. Even, when we go to park, we both tend to play together ignoring all the other kids!

And, we also know what it takes to scare one another, especially me! Knowing that my Rudra bhai is scared of dogs, I run after him with a toy puppy in my hand…….and watch him run helter-skelter or at times I just throw the puppy at him………

Makes my bhai say- “Mujhey behan se darr lagta hai (I am scared of sister)”……......Despite that, we both know and love each other!

Read more...

Rudra Bhai & Behan!

My Rudra bhai was playing with his new game when that competetive kid in me decided to take on the younger sister inside me. Although that battle didn't last more than few micro-seconds but was good enough to fuel another one......this time with Rudra......yes you got it right, with Rudra and no Rudra bhai.....that brotherly-sisterly feeling seemed to have got lost somewhere.......few unsuccessful snatching attempts ended up with a bruise on my eye..... well, the picture says it all....


And now the good part! We were back to our brotherly-sisterly thing quicker than we had lost it........ We were Rudra bhai and behan, soon thereafter!

Read more...

My Birthday My Day....

Completely unaware of the significance of the day, I started on a usual note. But, I was the only one behaving in a usual way; everyone else was greeting me differently today. It all started with an early morning call at 12.15 am from Uganda- my Renu bua was on phone to greet me on my birthday; she was the first one to do so. Next morning, I found myself under a flurry of hugs, kisses, pecks and birthday greetings with my mom, papa, dada and dadee showering it all over me......... I was enjoying all the attention and love......

My dada instructed everyone to get ready as our priest was due to arrive early for my birthday prayers (pooja) - my dada and dadee organised it. I was the first one to get ready and got busy with my “picking and throwing” routine.
Soon, our priest arrived and started performing pooja (prayers).

I kept shifting between everyone’s lap seated with folded hands.......
My dadee offered sweets and pakoras to the Lord. It is a Garhwali tradition to cook pakoras made of daal (lentils) and offer them to the Lord during prayers and celebrations. As soon as prayers got over, we assembled for our breakfast of delicious pakoras and parathas .

My dada and dadee left for market soon thereafter to fetch my birthday cake and my gift- a nice pink coloured blanket. As my nana- nanee, mausa- mausee and mama-mamee were planning to come over in the evening, my dada and dadee came back early enough to make preparations for dinner. My papa got busy decorating the house with balloons while my dada, dadee and mom cooked dinner; obviously with assistance from Santoshi didi.

Later in the evening, I wore my new birthday dress that my mom and papa had bought a day before my birthday. My nana-nanee and others arrived on time for cutting of my birthday cake.......I was visibly excited standing in front of my birthday cake..........
My papa captured my cake cutting ceremony on his camera phone........you must watch out for the sight of me eating cake from knife itself......


It would have been nice to have my Rudra bhai and Ridhima didi by my side when I had cut that cake but they made up for that by wishing me on phone. You know both of them were holding their papa’s phones to join me for my cake cutting ceremony over phone- a technological gift.......I got some real gifts too as my nana-nanee gave me a pair of ear-rings while my mausa-mausee presented me a beautiful dancing doll.....

It was time to serve dinner as my papa was scheduled to catch his train to Delhi at 11pm. For a change, I also ate my dinner sitting on the dining chair instead of my usual chair.......sign that I have definitely grown up.......

Oh yes! My unit of measurement of age also changed from month to year........

Read more...

Dance, Music, Travelling & Full Masti

........ has been the order of the day for past 4 days as I am busy attending my Anil mama's marriage functions; firstly in Delhi and now Dehradun.

His baraat (marriage procession) took place on 29th October. We joined the baraat in Delhi itself after it reached here on Thursday evening from Dehradun. Believe it or not, me and my Ridhima didi were the first ones to hit the dance floor at the bride's place. Both of us were dancing as if there will be no tomorrow. My papa had to request the DJ to switch it off for a minute to make us move from the floor. He didn't heed to his request in full and only lowered the volume- enough to break our rhythm. My Ridhima didi left after that as they had to do some last minute packing prior to their departure to leave for Uganda; they left yesterday night. I was in no mood to sleep and remained awake till 3 am in the morning.

Next morning, me and my mom left for Dehradun with the baraat (marriage procession) to attend the marriage reception on 31st- yesterday.

31st October again was about fun, dance and celebrations. Initially, I was bit hesitant to join the dance floor in the absence of my Ridhima didi; but gave in to my resistance soon only to find myself surrounded by tall boys dancing merrily. Well, my dance was more natural as it was not under the influence of liquor unlike those tall boys..... My papa will upload videos and pictures later as connection is not good here in Dehradun.

With marriage being over, my eyes are set on 3rd November.........2 more days to go......

Read more...

Kissa Kursi Ka- Tale Of A Chair

After mo-bike and a tricycle, I now have a new reason to fight my Rudra bhai with- A chair......My chachee bought him a pair of chair & table on their recent Dehradun trip. He likes to so much that he doesn't even let me touch it. Stubborn me- that I am, not only has to touch it but sit on it as well. So, frequent "interventions and mediation" have become an order of the day to cool down the raging tempers. Un-announced ceasefire don't last much as regular skirmishes keep breaking out at frequent intervals; just like one on Indo-Pak border.......However, good news is that we are also learning to share; albeit slowly and steadily! See......


Best is that we go back to our usual self, moments after they fold that chair to hide it somewhere........They can't help but wonder at what a kursi (a chair) can do to relationships!

"Kissa Kursi Ka"- an eternal play keeps resurrecting in its different avatars and forms on moment to moments basis. At the core of the plot is always a "chair" and all the characters revolve around it...... My papa feels that our fight for that lone chair is nothing but that game of chair played out in full.....He says that I am playing a lead role with my Rudra bhai filling the other spot......He isn't amused but we are loving it!

Thus sown are the seeds of greed!

Read more...

Three Brats On The Dance Floor!

Occasion- Mini bua's (Mayank chacha's sister) marriage at Dehradun
Date- 27th September

Loud music and an appreciative audience is all my Honey didi and Rudra bhai need to showcase their dance talent- both of them love to dance. Mini bua's marriage gave them an opportunity and it didn't take much for them to hit the floor. It took my Rudra bhai exactly nine seconds to get into rhythm with Honey didi's feet following him in quick succession.



I was watching the entire action from my papa's lap. Unable to resist high decibel music beats, I started shaking my body to ultimately found myself sharing the dance floor with my didi and bhai...... As soon as my Rudra bhai saw me, he pulled out all the stops to make me join him.......Here are the visuals of all the action.....



Once on the dance-floor, I couldn't resist joining them for long. I started dancing in my own way by shaking my shoulders, neck and upper body. My Rudra bhai and Honey didi were dancing at their energetic best.....



Three brats brought the dance floor back to life, again!

Read more...

Me & My Rudra Bhai

As sun broke out after a gap of five days, my Rudra bhai and I were itching to go out. "Who will bell the cat" seemed to be the most pertinent question in our minds.....

We got our opportunity fairly soon; as everyone was busy with their breakfast, my Rudra bhai sneaked out of the room first, with his tricycle.........I must have been waiting for him to do that, as I quickly followed his footsteps...... Papa came rushing out after he noticed that both of us are missing from action.......

Coughing badly, my Rudra bhai was trying his level best to make me sit atop his tricycle....Creases on our respective foreheads were getting stronger, darker and longer....... Not wanting to loose a great moment; my papa pitched in and lent his helping hand to my Rudra bhai....... Widest possible smiles were back on our faces in a flash!

Now, the scene is set- a sister is sitting atop her brother's cycle while her elder brother has his hands on the cycle handle....both have wide smiles on their faces...... Sister is filled up with pride and her smile is boasting of her brother's love and care...... Acutely aware of his responsibility, brother is protective, bullying, caring, affectionate with love abound in each of his actions! ....

But, where is the damn camera? Papa runs inside and by the time he came out, photo opportunity was going away from him......

Video 1- You must see these videos to see as to how that opportunity walked away from my papa!


Video 2- Here you can see that element of care and affection as Rudra bhai goes pushing my bicycle...with love and complete dedication!

Video 3- Best of all, see my hands touching my Rudra bhai's face and his reaction to it.....awesome! This is our best moment till date!

400 metres of walking and no sign of our illness; love surely heals!

Read more...

Strong Girl!

...is often what I hear these days.....and reasons are many; consider this:

* I can lift one Kilogram of sugar/salt/detergent or a Litre of cooking oil with an ease......For records, I have no aspirations to become a weightlifter....

* I don't shy away from picking up a fight with my Rudra bhai over his tricycle. Actually, we both dislike the sight of each other on that tricycle..... so fights over it are all the more common now. Big boy, that he is, always manages to over-power me.....only to find me back with bigger resolve and strength...... Another snatching act followed by an intervention restores the possession back to me, with Rudra bhai happily lending his hand to push the cycle from behind.....story of every day now!

* I can't be tied to a pram or a chair.......so every day one gets to see a new daring stunt......Remember that I have no fear.

* My papa's poor glasses have to bear the brunt of my raw power every time they come in reach of my hands......they have already gone out of shape...or shall I say are not symmetrical anymore.......

* I can drag heavier stuff- table, chairs, buckets etc etc.....It doesn't matter how big is the thing, all I need is a place to hold and make a firm grip!

Well, I can go compiling this list but then need to save some for next time.....

Before I end this post, let me wish Tanmay on completing one year- He turned one on 5th September; we attended his birthday dinner on sunday night gone by.....I wish mom had clicked some pictures. She says that she forgot; signs of getting old....perhaps!

Never mind, I have a picture from our last visit to Tanmay's home- so here is Tanmay, Tanvi didi and me in July:

Read more...

Newly Found Bonhomie

My indoor activities continued unabated second day with one big difference- newly established bonhomie between me and my Rudra bhai......... For a change we didn’t fight over bikes; not even once.And, for a change my Rudra bhai actual helped me ride it.........And, when I got bored from motorbike, he pushed the tricycle for me. He would wipe the bike-seat with his handkerchief to clear it off dust; and would later use the same hankie to clean my running nose........He would follow me to the staircase every time I tried scaling it, standing behind me he was trying to be my protective shield. Seeing him do that, my mom couldn’t stop praising him for the love he was showering on her little sister!

Here are two pictures showing my new prized possessions:
1. My Walker-
2. My own picture, I just love it!

Read more...

An Electrifying Tuesday

.......is how my mom described my day to papa upon his return from work. This would not surprise him at all as he had already witnessed one small trailer in the morning prior to leaving for work. He captured the after-effects of my act very well; here is a picture. Have you figured it out? If not, then let me tell you those are telling tale signs of what I did this morning when my mom tried to stop me from getting down from my bed. I was already irritated after my early morning measles vaccination and didn’t like her putting restrictions; so I bit her right hand...... Surprisingly, my mom was happy to see me use my teeth!

From there on, I kept my mom and Santoshi didi busy throughout the day. In fact, Santoshi didi feels that she must have walked at least 3-4 kilometres running after me during the course of 4 hours. At every given opportunity, I would run upto the stairs and start scaling them only to be interrupted by didi. Though, I didn’t count it but my mom says that I must have done it at least 25-30 times. When my mom stopped me, this is what I did........ I didn't stop at that and would surprise my mom after she saw me sitting inside her dressing table cabinet.... I also picked up fight with my Rudra bhai over his bike, look at my eyes in the following picture. Don’t they tell you something about my resolve while fighting with my Rudra bhai?

My mom feels that she has a task cut out for her. Going by today’s events; I feel she is right! Did I tell you that I ended my day with another bite; and this time it was on her feet.

PS: I mentioned about my fights with Rudra bhai over his bike. These two videos capture those moments. In the first video; I am trying to get on to my Rudra bhai’s motorbike...........he can be seen resisting my moves.....

While the second one shows what happened after I was successful in my efforts; he had to settle with his tricycle (seen in the background). Do notice how I disregard his presence when he came rushing for my bike; I knew my mom is negotiating on my behalf. Oh yes! it didn't take me long to set my eyes back on that tricycle. Sibbling rivalry at its best!


Did you notice that my mom had to change my clothes thrice?

Read more...

My First Rakhshabandhan

As mentioned in my previous post, we reached our Dehradun home at around 10.15 am; my dadee was waiting at the gate to receive us or should I say me! She took me inside while my dada took care of Rudra bhai.......My Renu bua gave me a bear hug; waiting next in line were my visiting Shivvi mamaji (papa’s maternal uncle) and my great grandmother (my dadee’s mother). Mamaji had come to visit my dadee for Rakshabandhan and also take my great grandmother along with him. They were supposed to leave early but decided to wait for us to arrive home; and left right afterwards.

After half an hour wait, my Renu bua directed her brothers to get ready for tying Rakhi on their wrists. And then came our turn......My Ridhima didi was visibly excited and so was my Rudra bhai while I was trying to make some sense of all the excitement. As soon as I figured it out, I too joined them........My papa managed to capture those moments in the following video......

I, being the youngest sister got the mandate to tie Rakhi on his wrist followed by my Ridhima didi.
Rudra bhai gave us a gold pendent each as our Rakhi gift, incidentally with same alphabet “R” inscribed in the middle. In order to maintain the parity, my Ashu chacha got one for him as well; and his too has “R” in the middle........By now you must have figured out the reasons for so many “R”s- Actually; our respective names begin with this alphabet only - Ridhima, Rudra and Reveda.

And that’s how I celebrated my first Rakhi festival with my family. Technically speaking, this was my second Rakhi festival; first one was mentioned here .......

Read more...

Accident, Movie & Big Brother

No posts for past two days mean that I will have to pack my past three days in this single post; something that I don’t enjoy as I believe in continuity. It seems my papa is taking advantage of the fact that I am dependent on him for his words........ Whatever be the case, he can’t escape from his responsibility to write for me!

A busy weekend that began on Friday night was preceded by a freak accident involving me and my father. As mentioned in the past, I always see off my father before he leaves for work and Friday morning wasn’t any different. My mom made me sit on the car bonnet so that I could complete my daily ritual of windscreen tapping with my papa seated inside. I have been doing this for over a month now, but then luck had something different in store for me that day. With a smile on my face, I was busy tapping the windscreen; but soon that smile was replaced by a look of crying face........... My papa hurriedly opened the car door to found me crying in pain; my shell-shocked mom was holding my left hand.........It took no time for him to understand the reason; index finger of my left hand had got stuck in between the car body and the door......... He rushed mom inside to get some ice and started sucking my finger followed by some ice-pack treatment. Crying incessantly, I was looking at my parent’s face in hope; a hope that they will be able to reduce my pain ...............On the other hand, my apologetic parents were trying everything they could to make me feel better............ Soon, we managed to found a reason for me to feel better- a bird perched on the tree just outside my home. As my eyes followed my mom’s fingers towards that bird, my painful cries began to subside and would give way to a smile.......... My parents heaved a great sigh of relief; papa checked my finger and found it to be much better than what it was 15 minutes back........... They continued treating it with ice for another 15 minutes and it was back to normal again....... My act of holding papa’s phone with my injured finger helped corroborate what he saw with his naked eye....... He left for work soon afterwards to come back in time for mom’s departure to work for her Friday evening conference call.

An emotionally tiring day, however ended on a lighter note as we (my parents, myself, Sandeep chacha and Golee chachee) went to watch late night show of new Hindi movie Love Aaj Kal. I had planned to write a review of this movie but I can’t as I didn’t see it completely after falling prey to sleep sometime near intermission. Well, everyone felt that movie was good so I will second their opinion.

Saturday began on a leisurely note at around 10 am as we came back home at around 2 am on Friday night/Saturday morning. We stayed home whole day to venture out only towards the evening to DT Mega Mall for buying me food and other baby stuff from “Dezine Kids”. I was the most vocal and boisterous baby in that shop, thanks to Pigeon baby poster again! Did you notice that hairstyle change; my papa did that and my mom didn't like it. What's your take?

Sunday too was spent playing with my mom, papa, Santoshi didi and Rudra bhai. Following video shows that playing with Rudra bhai’s tricycle wasn’t a great idea.........

As the days are passing by, it is becoming quite clear that I and Rudra bhai will give our respective parents many sleepless nights, and our sibling rivalry won't help them either! You know we are rivals and best of friends at the same time........But, more than anything he seems to be developing into a big time protective brother; he doesn't like it when anyone from our neighbourhood picks me up......always starts to cry! Well, for now his habit comes to my rescue whenever he takes an aggressive stance against me on toys; just a comment that "we will give your behan to Ila didi" turns him into a giving brother! In all likelihood, these are signs of me having a "Big Brother" in my Rudra bhai- always watching over me!

Read more...

Silent Conversations

Rudra Bhai talking to Reveda- Behan (for sister in hindi).....leeeyyyy...handing her a piece of biscuit...... Behan (Reveda) accepts it but throws it away after one bite....her eyes saying thanks....

Few Minutes Later
Rudra bhai is playing with his tiffin-box- Behan reaches out to him to be turned away......tries again.... but turned away for the second time.
In her third try, she manages to snatch box from him and crawls away.......bhai is happily admiring his behan's persistence........ his eyes follows behan on her path to running glory.......
3rd Scene (Papa failed to capture the moment)-
Rudra bhai is standing near a table with a toy in hand.....behan crawls up to him ......tries to stand up after catching hold of his frail legs, but she falls down......seeing her on the floor, bhai bends down.......extends his hand to help her stand........touches her cheeks with his soft hands.....and says.....Behan...Behan.....Behan....

And, behan is happy to be on her feet.......holding the table top and with a smile on her face, she starts to tap the table......bhai too joins in......and they again begin their conversations.......Silent Conversations!

Read more...

Summer Of 2009

Summers are fast nudging towards its prime with last few days’ temperatures making it the hottest Delhi April in last 5 years. It won’t be long before the city will start clocking temperatures in excess of 40 degrees Celsius on a continuous basis. I have my Garhwali genes to blame when it comes to coping up with the heat. The ill-effects are already there to see; it doesn’t take much for my full sleeves tee-shirts to be completely soaked of my sweat. That prompted my mom to begin experimenting with the half sleeves tee-shirts yesterday. However it had to be shelved today as I have a running nose since yesterday. In addition to that, my parents have also decided to postpone their plans to start the air-conditioners by another week.

On the personal front, I don’t have much to write today as I am still adjusting to the reality of parents at work during the day time. My wait for them finishes at around 6pm when mom comes back; my papa is taking longer these days due to year end work and reaches home after 9pm only. Our respective ways to greet each other is however same- my big smile and their warm embrace of me followed by a peck on my cheeks; enough to make us forget those afternoon hours of separation.

And, now an update on my Renu bua- doctor has said that she has a Pylori-H infection; for which she needs to take medicine for 6 weeks. Please take care my bua and know that I love you a lot.

Read more...

Coffee & My Pram Ride

As mentioned earlier, my mom bought me a pram sometime back. And yesterday was the first occasion when she got an opportunity to fully test its utility. We were out Sunday evening; first went to Sandeep uncle and Pallavi aunt’s place followed by a visit to Mega Mall. Once inside the mall, I roamed around lying happily in my pram. Nothing could escape the attention of my eyes; they were busy transmitting all the happenings within the mall to my brain. My constant smile, laughter or giggle was a testimony of the fact that I was enjoying every moment; I didn’t cry once during that 4 hour outing.

Our unplanned visit to the mall left my papa poorer by few thousands rupees as mom decided to buy clothes- a pair of a white tee-shirt and blue denim for me, a dress for my Riya didi (my Mamta mausi’s daughter) on the occasion of her birthday, trousers for my Rudra bhai, pair of shirts for papa and a shirt for mom as well. As my shopping exhausted mom needed a coffee, so we went inside Cafe Coffee Day choosing to prefer it over Barista. Once inside the cafe, my “screaming out of excitement” riot started. The attendant thought that I am hungry and murmured something to this effect to my mom......to change his views later when he saw me- .”I think she is enjoying it” is what he said afterwards. Yes! I was. And soon, Mocha and Cappuccino gave way to me and I became the centre of excitement.Here is the picture from Cafe Coffee Day.
And yes! Happy Birthday Riya didi.

Read more...