The first Happy Birthday!!

A chronicle of incidents from month 8 to the first birthday. To begin with, a family pic ... the three of us!

Hey Ananya,

You are a year old today. The last four months have been eventful. We, Deepa and I, are really impressed with how well you have adjusted to the scheme of things since Deepa has resumed work. You wake up with us early in the morning. Deepa bathes you at 7 am. You are happy and cheerful all along, never crying. All raring to go. You must continue this for life I think! 😊

The first Vishu

Vishu is the new year of Keralites. You should read more about it on Wikipedia to get a better idea. An easier way might to talk to your grandparents. 😊  

In the morning, on Vishu day which was on 15^th April 2018, Deepa arranged for the Vishukani (google this to see how it looks). In the wee hours of the morning, during the time of the Kani, Deepa took you near the Kani and you looked at the decoration in awe. I, like frenzied paparazzi, climbed on the bed to click a picture. When I got down, I hurt my leg too.

We went to have the Vishu Sadhya at your grandparent’s house in Andheri and in Nerul.

The expression of feeling

You got used to being with your grandmother and grandfather from Nerul. Then, an emergency required them to go to Kerala for around three weeks. They came to say “Good Bye” to you. And you wouldn’t leave Achchama (Nerul Grandmother). You hugged her tight and refused to leave her. In fact, I am told you even feigned to be asleep. That’s some acting at this age. 😊

The first words

I think you started saying “Amma” and “Achcha” (though Achcha was pronounced as Aththa”). I am not sure if you really knew what it meant. They mean mom and dad respectively in Malayalam. I always believed you were calling me when you said the word. It may be an overdose of optimism from my end because there wasn’t much telling me that you were referring to me. As for Amma, I think you were talking about Deepa.

Interesting Observation

 During a conversation around this time, I asked Deepa, “How does the child invariably utter Amma and Achcha when they do not know what their mother tongue is. She made an interesting point and said that the language must have defined it as mother and father because those were the first words most children might have been uttering. I loved the thought. It had a judicious mix of “reverse engineering” and “analytics”.

Ok, I get it. This is not about technical things. Moving on…

Morning Walks

Every Saturday, you and I would go for morning walks. We would roam in and around our neighbourhood in Seawoods. You took great pleasure in looking at the pigeons as they flew away. You were also in awe looking at flowers, plants, dogs, children playing in the garden, adults going about their exercise routine etc. Many of them smiled at you but you mostly kept a straight face.

Curious case of button

At home, I would wear three-fourths which used to have pockets with buttons. While playing with me, you used to get fascinated with these buttons. You used to look at them for long and wanted to pluck them out of the piece of cloth at times.

First teeth

Deepa and I were discussing about how you would look when will have your milk teeth. We were wondering if it is due and if you will spring it late. And, then, slowly one pearly white sprang out. We were so happy. In no time, we saw around four milk tooth springing in quick succession. Two on the upper jaw and two on the lower jaw.

Your smile glowed more. It was more radiant than it already was. We loved it.

After dinner, I used to take you to the wash basin at times to wash your face. While doing so, you used to bite my fingers. I used to act like it hurt me a lot. You enjoyed it to the core. You laughed at my expressions and that encouraged me to do this even more. It continued till your mother came in and restored some sanity.

However, despite Deepa’s efforts, we continued with our little game after dinner on many more days.

Ton … Ton …

As soon as I leave office, my focus in crystal clear. I want to reach home as quickly as possible to spend time with you. At home, I would walk around with you.  On one of the days when I was walking with you in my arms in the hall room, you started uttering something which sounded like “Ton..Ton” to me. I have not yet understood what it means. However, my mother (your Achchama) claims that it is ten and whenever she says “One..Two..Three.. … … Nine…” , you end up saying “Ton..Ton”

Climbing on the bed

You had now become a pro at crawling. Now, you were wanting to stand up. At night, you would stand up on the bed, balance yourself for a few seconds, raise both hands and dance and then fall flat on the bed. You used to enjoy this routine so much that you used to keep repeating it till you slept. If I was sleeping, you would hold on to me and stand up. You really enjoyed standing up with whatever support you could get… sometimes even without it.

Lights

I would light up the house with various lights, sometimes even switching on the chandelier. You would love it so much. Whenever I said “light”, you would invariably look at the light in the room.

First Rain

You enjoyed the smell of the first rain. You would stand near the window sill and enjoy the sights. As we have a school playground opposite our house, you used to enjoy seeing the kids play in the rain.

Crawl and climb on chair and sofa

The L-shaped sofa at home is your play area. You would hold on to it and walk around. As soon as you walked the stretch, you would feel very accomplished and give us a hearty laugh. That is priceless. That is what Deepa and I live for. Keep it going. I mean the hearty laugh, not running around the sofa. Just thought I would clarify. 😊  

Fly in the air... When I throw you up

You are a fan of acrobatics. If I flung you in the air, your joy knew no bounds. Sometimes, I would run a bit with you in my hand and you would express your joy by laughing out loudly. I enjoyed throwing you up, twirling with you in my hand etc. There were many people around though who advised me against doing it for obvious reasons. However, I used to continue this occasionally as I did not want to deprive you of such small yet significant joys.

Trying to catch small particles. An Eye for detail.

While playing, you would often wait and stare at the floor. Your tiny hand would then slowly move towards something. I used to wonder what it was. I would then realize that it would be some tiny, almost microscopic, particle. You would put a lot of effort to gather it between your fingers. It would result in many unsuccessful attempts, but you would persist. (I love the fact that you persist). Finally, either you get it in your hand or you just give up. But I have observed you giving up after giving it a whole-hearted try. You should continue doing so and give things in life a whole-hearted try. However, equally important is for you to know when to give up and move on. You demonstrated both in this small little activity. I think the experience was awesome for me as a silent observer.

Drumming the Drummer

Your uncle, Jagdeep, bought a toy for you when he came back from London. The toy was a drummer with the face of a teddy bear. Once you key in, the drummer would walk around and beat the drum on his own. It was a lovely toy.

However, you would kick it and throw it around. You took great pleasure in kicking the drummer on his head and using your hand to toss him across the room. I wonder why you did it but it was fun watching you do it. 😊

Pigeon Pigeon

There were some sunny days in June too. You would stand at the window sill and try hard to climb it. Sometimes, you would move around. I was wondering why and then I realized that you were trying to see the pigeon. You would even call out pigeon, but the words wouldn’t come out that clearly. You enjoyed watching the pigeons.

The Welcome

When I came from office, you would look at me and give me a smile. It was almost a laugh. I really loved the fact that you loved to see me coming back home. I really looked forward to it each day.

Keep playing even at night

Ananya, you are a bundle of joyful energy. You would continue playing, sometimes late into the night, when both Deepa and I would be tired. I would like to tell you that Deepa has been very patient with you and would wake up many times in the night, just to play with you or to put you to sleep again.

Star bday... Trivandrum... Turn of events

So, we were two days away from your star birthday. At dawn, I got a call from Maneesh uncle. He is one of my best friends. His dad passed away in Kerala. I decided to go to Kerala. I was accompanied by another one of my best friends, Dinu uncle. You and Dinu uncle’s daughter Nivi are the same age. Your respective mothers are good friends too. Its more like family.

After his last rites and after spending some time with Maneesh uncle, we went to Trivandrum. As it was raining heavily in Cochin, we had booked the flight from Trivandrum. And as things would have it, I was in Trivandrum (or Thiruvananthapuram) on your star birthday. In the morning, Dinu uncle and I went to the revered Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Trivandrum. I would not have in my wildest dreams imagined that I would be there on your birthday. I have heard a lot about the temple and have always wanted to visit it. But being there on your first star birthday and offering prayers for you was divine, pious and almost surreal.  

I am sure the turn of events has some connection with the cosmic forces. The fact that I was in this “sanctum sanctorum” of sorts on your first star birthday cannot be a mere coincidence.

All fell down ....

In the evening, you and I had a dedicated play time while Deepa prepared dinner for you. She is very particular about your food, clothes etc. She bought dedicated vessels, plates and spoons, all clean and shining at all times. She took great care to ensure that you were healthy and free from any disease or infection.

While she prepared your dinner, you and I would play. I used to sing "Ring a Ring o' Roses” for you which ended with “All fell down”. You had taken a liking to the word “down” and you used to repeat it with me. That is probably the first English word that you kept uttering occasionally. I think you enjoyed the sound of it.

You Turn One Today

So, you have turned One year old today. Very Happy Birthday Ananya. I cannot explain in words the amount of joy you have brought into our lives. I wish that you are always as cheerful as you are.

I wonder what I need to do to be a great father. I do not have an answer even today though I have spent a good amount of time thinking about it.

I think the two things I would want to do for you is:

1. .          To instill great values
2.        To help you to find your calling at a very early age.

I am sure Deepa will take care of either aspects if I miss it, but I would want to focus on helping you achieve the above. I genuinely believe the above accomplishments are a definite way to ensure that your exuberance and joyful demeanour remains intact and you keep soaring higher in life and make this world a better place.

Happiest birthday to you from Deepa and I. May the Almighty bless you with the best of everything in life!!!

Have a lot of fun. Life is meant to be lived that way!