Chhai Chappa Chhai

A story from last week.

The dark grey skies open up.

Yet, the elder one is determined to go for her dance lessons.

So, I bundle up the baby…

(Oh yes, I haven’t really introduced the new addition to our family, right?

Soon enough, with her antics)

… and off we go through the thick curtain of water.

We can barely see the vehicle ahead of us. But my daughter’s determination seems to have rubbed off on the uncle at the wheel, too.

This is the first time this year that we are caught in really heavy rainfall (a brief, but heavy spell).

Destination reached.

Rain now falling as cold drops.

Baby is cosy and fast asleep. I gingerly transfer her to the nanny, asking her to wait in the car.

Very “cautiously” I step out of the car, only to sink into a huge muddy puddle (no, not feeling too happy about the muddy feet in the wet shoes).

I hoist the girl out of the car and over the puddle, balance the umbrella in the other hand and then for a few seconds wonder, which way to go!!

Muddy water was gushing down the slopes of the roads.

After a few moment’s recce, I decide on squeezing in between parked two wheelers, where the flow was little narrower.

I cross over smoothly and hold out my hand.

But woooooosh…. her feet slip into the running water as she attempts to cross the hurdle.

Did I just glimpse a broad smile on her face??

No time to think. Rain has started pelting down again.

I draw her below my umbrella and we plod up the lane.

Even as my nose shrivelled up at the feeling of mud (read: filth) clinging to my cold wet feet, my mind was multi-tasking:

Hope the baby is sleeping…

Ummm what was that dangerous sounding word.. “Leptospirosis”?…

If she starts wailing, how will the nanny contact me - she has forgotten her phone…

But can this dirty water cause any skin disease?....

Oh, why is the road seeming so long…

Oooh it’s mighty difficult to handle an umbrella against strong winds and hold onto a prancing child’s hand…

Aaaaah…. There I can see the gate of the building”

Alongside, the little shoes are making unfazed squishy squashy sounds.

And I have not really noticed the look on my daughter’s face, yet.

We reach her dance class… squelch up the many stairs and reach…

…an empty room.

Huh?! Why isn’t anybody here? And I thought we were late. Maybe others are delayed due to the downpour, too.

I call the dance teacher only to know that class has been cancelled today due to an emergency.

Ouch, that sounds bad.

But I am a bit flustered with the situation. If only I had known, I wouldn’t have displaced the baby from the comforts of the house. And right at this moment she might be yelping for a feed. And our feet are soaked in dirty water. And……

And so, my mind rattles on, as moodily I take my daughter’s hand and plonk down the steps. Lights not turned on makes it even more difficult to navigate the wet steps.

Finally, we are down at the gate again. The sky has held up within minutes!!

And just as suddenly, my mind turns around

My creased eyebrows even out as we reach the street.

Because the Daughter looks up with a glowing face and breaks into the most heart-melting smile…

“Ma, aren’t we having so much fun today? I have been waiting to use the blue spotted umbrella. And I have you free with me today. It’s such fun to jump in the muddy puddles. I feel like Peppa Pig.

Ma, we can pretend this is a river and we are crossing it. How about this being a mini waterfall?”

and she gazes with adoration at the gushing streams of water.

Her face is radiant. Her squeals, heart-warming.

Let’s just say the short walk up to the car turned into a nice leisurely stretch as we hopped into muddy puddles, the umbrella firmly held in my hand and the other hand firmly clasped by a delighted little elf.

Mind stopped multi-tasking. Instead these lyrics popped up without a warning:

"Chhai chhapa chhai chhapake chhai. Paaniyo mein chhinte udaati hui ladki" !!

As she likes to say nowadays, the “MORAL OF THE STORY” is:

Sometimes it’s just so much fun when a predictable routine breaks.

Sometimes it’s so lovely to enjoy life from an innocent child’s perspective.

Radha on the Dance Floor

A lazy weekend.

The building’s cultural committee announces Janmashtami celebrations on Monday.

Kids could go dressed as Krishna or Radha and even perform, if they chose to.

I casually inform my daughter that she could dress up as Krishna or Radha.

She proudly pipes up, “I am a girl. I am going to go as Radha”.

Ok. I quickly make a mental note of what she could wear and the topic is forgotten.

She gets busy playing with her friends.

Sunday dinner time

A firm voice declares, “I want to dance tomorrow. Please teach me something.”

Of course, I dismiss it as a random statement. I am already mentally winding up for the night and preparing for the week ahead.

And I haven’t even thought of any performance. In my mind, there is not enough time to prepare her.

Dinner over.

She walks up to me and says – “Is your kitchen work over? Please come and teach me. I want to dance tomorrow.” 

I stare at her – blankly.

But she is sure.

What follows: Frenzy for the mommy

Mommy quickly wrapping up work.

Mommy mind multi-tasking and thinking of an apt song.

Ahaaa…. Of course… the recent “Radha on the dance floor”

Dishes are clanging.

Ummm no… that song would be too un-Janmashtami.

Leftovers packed and put in the fridge.

Oh yesssss… the eternal classic - Madhuban mein Radhika.

Cleaning up the kitchen platform.

What steps can I teach a determined little girl so that she could perform tomorrow?

And all the while she waits patiently.

Daddy is helping her with her night dress.

Finally I say, “OK, come. I shall try teaching you a few steps.”

1.5 minutes – not a very big deal, I convince myself.

She picks up the steps with rapt attention, practices a few times and declares – am ready.

But is the mommy mind ready?

a)  The program is the very next evening. She has school in the morning. So there is really no more practice time.

b)  Come to think of it, this would be her first solo performance. Won’t she get stage fright? Oh well ok, be prepared, she might just refuse to dance when on stage.

c)  She also wants to carry a real matka!! What if she drops and breaks it??

d)  And she wants to wear a veil !! Oh God, too much pressure on my mind.

All this for a 1.5 minutes performance (would be termed blink and miss performance).

D-day (or rather, next day)

She wakes quickly from her post-school afternoon siesta.

Willingly and very co-operatively gets ready for the dance.

Last moment, (as if my worries aren’t already enough) she comes up with a suggestion –

“Ma, wont you paint my fingers and palms red?”

Ohhhhhh??!!

The little brain understands that the mommy brain is dysfunctional at the moment.

Proactively fishes out her red sketch pen and hands it to me with a victorious smile.

And I get to work quickly on those little palms and finger tips.

I take her to the performance zone and wonder “Will she really go up alone on stage?”

Her daddy returns just in time to catch her. He asks her if she is prepared.

A nonchalant shrug of shoulders indicates “Of course!!”

And Radha goes on the dance floor.

It is not “just” 1.5 minutes anymore.

It is then 90 seconds of pure fun that she has, 90 seconds of pure joy that daddy and I derive.

90 seconds that tell me – calm down.

It’s us adults who have so many worries in the mind.

These young ones are free of all such inhibitions and are hence, brimming with confidence and happiness.

They are more capable than we think.

And those precious 90 seconds later, a delighted smiling face comes off the stage.

Oh, and what do we have here? Unexpected little stinging in the mommy eyes.

A little bit of pride – for the little one had confidently taken to the stage.

And more of happiness – mommy has always cherished the Indian classical dances, especially Kathak. And to realize that the little one is developing a love for such dance is so very heartening.

So… Here’s hoping that my little Radha continues to take to the dance floor. 💃

Happy Halloween

Our daughter’s first tryst with Halloween.

No, she has absolutely no idea what Halloween means.

She likes the sound of this new word – so meticulously adds it to her growing vocabulary list.

Yes, she likes the thought that she gets to meet her friends for a party.

She has always liked the sound of the word “party” – it is firmly established in her vocabulary list.

Her dictionary would define this as “a buzzword implying a much-loved, much looked forward to, generating much excitement [read: sleepless/ less sleep nights for the parents] event”.

Excitement!! Excitement !!

So for today, let’s just name her EHK (the Excited Halloween Kid).

Excitement was such that there was no fuss in waking up for school. Because it meant, party as soon as school got over for the day.

Excitement was such that she had an interesting conversation with the lady who helps around the house.

Scenario:

Lady has completed her work, leaving the house, hand on the door knob.

EHK pipes up “Halloween Halloween… Party… Happy Halloween” and waves a cheerful Bye.

The lady answers with a broad smile: “Yes, I am also wearing blue like you”

EHK looks at me – a disappointed look.

I swiftly change the topic and the mood.

Dressing Up

Well talking of moods, let’s look at this conversation snippet as I get her ready for the evening:

Me: So aunty has kept a theme and you are to wear black pants & T-shirt. Yayyyy !!

EHK: Nope, I am NOT going to go in all black. I will wear a skirt today.

Me: But you want to wear “full pants” on other days.

EHK: Today I want to wear a skirt. (A grumpy look is setting in – precursor to a meltdown)

Me: (Trying one more time) See, but all your friends would be dressed as witches.

EHK: (Shriiiieeeeeek… was that her or the wind that has been howling today??!!) I AM NOT A WITCH.

Me: (Damage control mode) No no, you are not a witch. You are just pretending to be one. You know like you play “Pretend Pretend”

EHK: I am NOT a witch. I will NOT be a witch. I will be a Fairy with wings and wand.

Me: Well, the theme is black. Fairies usually don’t wear black.

EHK: [Well-controlled sobs] Doesn’t matter mumma, fairy can wear black, too. And see I will have red wings.

Now, who can argue with that?

My confidence in my convincing power is diminishing as some tears make their appearance, the pout forms and the clock is ominously ticking away.

Me: [Seriously the last attempt] Ummm, maybe another time? Today, a witch?

EHK: Silence and a betrayed plus accusing look which kids have surely mastered.  

A mini meltdown is surely on its way. But the seasoned professional [read: mommy] in me suddenly took over. After all, I needed to get to the party, too.

Me: Well Ok, you can be a fairy with a black top and your colourful skirt. And you get to wear your red wings and carry the wand.

Well, my mommy wand sure did the magic – tears, pout, grumpiness, defiance – all vanished at once.

EHK: Babbling away. Uncontrollably happy. Incoherent. Doesn’t matter.

The delighted whoops and the Fairy smile were worth relenting to her wish.

The Party

And there she was squealing in delight, running around with her friends, jumping, dancing – her happy wings bobbing up and down.

And she stuck to her stance even at the party!! She just would not wear the cute red horns like her friends readily did. She had decided – she is NOT a witch, and she would not budge.

Fair point. Accepted.

She relished the food – not letting go of her wings and wand.

She went from house to house with her friends and wouldn’t come back till she got some goodies.

And with her wings bouncing, one hand firmly holding her wand, she would run back to me, the other little palm full of toffees or chocolate, so that I could safely keep it in her “bag”.

Not that she has those toffees. But the whole new thing that she experienced, the entire fun of enjoying with friends – that simple joy made her so happy. And made me so happy too.

And the After-Party

She squealed in delight as we opened her goodie bags.

She gushed about the evening as she narrated little stories to her daddy.

And she gushed about it in her mind as we tried to put the over-charged little Fairy to sleep.

Aaah, but before she finally drifted into her dream world (where I am sure she has been re-enjoying her Halloween party), she drowsily asked me. “Ma, what does Trick or Treat mean?”

That’s a tricky question little Fairy – will treat you to the answer tomorrow.

Happy Halloween !!

My Dil Goes Mmmmmmm…….

A short sabbatical from blog = Back with short post 😁

The Virus visited dear Daughter = A blissful moment for Mommy

Blissful moment for Mommy when child has fever = Mommy going crazy??!!

That’s what the usual equation would read.

But obviously you would have figured out that’s not the case here.

Pre-schooler having fever ≠ Pre-schooler lying down = Pre-schooler engaging Mommy in play

Playtime

And so Daughter decided we play with a bunch of colourful plastic alphabets & numbers that she fondly possesses.

School activities = Identifying characters, tracing them, making short words out of them & so on

Home innovations = “Cooking” alphabets soup and baking “numbers” birthday cake for Mommy (with Mommy fervently praying that she keeps the double digit low)

Numbers presented on a plate to Mommy = Mommy should “cut” the cake with the red plastic play knife

Daughter sweetly singing “Happy Birthday” for Mommy (right up to the May God bless you lines) = Enough to make a happy Mommy smile 😄

When Equations Melt…

But suddenly she looks up at me and all equations go for a toss::

Daughter:  (in all seriousness) Ma, do you know which is my favourite alphabet?

Mommy brain: Do we have a favourite alphabet, too?

Mommy voice: No darling, I don’t. Which one is it?

Daughter: (fishes out an orange alphabet with a broad grin) This one!!

Mommy brain: (sees an orange W) W for Watermelon? W for Watch?? Wolf??? Wheel???? Or she simply loves the orange colour?

Mommy voice: Why W, darling??

Daughter: (incredulous look) Ma, it’s not W, it’s my favourite "M" !!! Because M is for Mumma and I love you a lot.

    

Mommy brain: Choked with emotions

Mommy voice: Emulating Mommy brain

Mommy heart: And that accompanying endearing smile will be etched here... Forever 😍

And without a warning, that tearing up moment happened (she was oblivious to it and was back to her “cooking”).

There was this huge smile plastered on my face and my heart hummed the famous Bollywood number “My Dil Goes M-mmmmmm” 🎶

Sunny Summer Holidays… Part I

Adapting from the legend, Cliff Richards::

“We're all going on a summer holiday
No more working for a week month or two.
Fun and laughter on our summer holiday,
No more worries for me or you,
For a week month or two.”

The first summer holidays of the daughter... Yayyyy !!! 💃

And the first-time dilemma:

Enticing Summer Camps vs. Camping At Home

We grew up surrounded by family and cousins – never short of company or engrossing activities during the holidays.

In a nuclear set up, with the daddy at 48x7 work (+traveling) and the mommy on 24x7 child surveillance, it does become a little tough.

Especially because the mighty pre-schoolers have been bestowed with certain super powers –

Super activeness, Question bank-ness, Supernatural ability to discover hidden “treasures”, just to list a few.

And the summer camps nowadays promise:

To keep the child engaged with exciting activities = A few hours’ breather for the carer at home.

Nevertheless, Hubby and I decided to simply “Let Her Be”::

1) After all that’s what we did in our childhood, right?

2) Mommy is at home – so why not let the daughter enjoy at home too?

3) The motherly (and over-the-phone concurring grandmotherly) over-protectiveness kicked in – Let her sleep as much as she wants.

School days meant waking her up earlier (and she has surely done the parental genes proud – definitely not an early riser).

4) Add to that, “She gets to eat her favourite complete meals at proper times”. And, of course, our hearts did the melting number.

5) Plus, when would she use all the resources that she has at home?  Toys, books, puzzles, the works….

6) And our consciences chimed in - she’s only 3 after all. Shouldn’t she be allowed to do just “nothing”, too, if she so chooses?

Q.E.D. She’s going to camp at home.

Shhh…. trivia:

Mommy also wanted a break from the daily groove of dropping her to a camp, waiting around there for the couple of hours before bringing her back.

And what an awesome summer holiday this has turned out to be. The delight on kiddo’s face each time she could engage in a different / new activity, reassured me that I was faring pretty well on the summer holiday engagement meter.

A fond look at just some of our regular activities :-

(Note: when she chose to do so)

Rollerball Paints – Mommy (nearly) Faints

She found herself her first activity - Rollerball Paints gifted to her.

Seemed pretty trouble-free to me.

Needless to say, she had a thrilling squealing colourful fun-time.

But, mommy was definitely not prepared to handle the eventual disaster.

Not only the papers and the ground around, but also her little self and her clothes were now a riot of colours.

So mommy promptly decided to do an “Abracadabra…. Vanish….” act and vowed to tread with caution on forthcoming projects.

Luck By Chance

Let’s just calls this “Lucky To Have A Birthday Right Before Summer Holidays” phenomenon.

She got ample chance to explore her varied gifts.

As she lounged on her new inflatable Hippo, she leafed through her new (picture/ rhymes/ story) books, narrating her interpretation of stories to herself or to her entourage of “children”.

For the uninitiated, she considers herself a mother to all soft toys and dolls that she possesses!!

Crayons, colour pencils, colouring books, empty papers – all were fully utilised as the lips were pursed up and the colours thrown in.

Sound of Silence

I heard my pots and pans and dishes clanking around.

I realized it had been 20 minutes since no other sound had been heard – no non-stop chattering, no giggles, no sudden wails, no singing, no…. !!!!

What could she be up to?

Aaaah, I had valiantly handed over water-colours to her.  And she was colourfully engrossed.

Now before you wonder, “Whaaaaat??? Didn’t you learn from the first Rollerball mistake??”

Well, I did. And I did not repeat the oversight.

My summer holiday mommy brain had been coming up with innovative hacks.

We didn’t have an apron to save the clothes…

Eureka !! Out came the outgrown bathrobe à Made her wear it back to front à And we got ourselves a handy apron without spending extra bucks.

So, while the little painter would keep busy, I would finish my chores. This daily routine had a serene calm at our residence.

Homework Quirk

I don’t recall ever being so thrilled about “holiday homework”.

She knew her teachers had given her few homework sheets.

And she wanted to finish all the pairing, colouring and other activities at one shot.

Took a lot of gentle coaxing to make her understand that we could do this over the holiday period.

But then who wouldn’t want to do such fun stuff?

Rub-a-dub-dub, Kiddo In Her Tub

She loves water.  And her school had been engaging them in Water Play just before they closed for the holidays.

What a perfect idea to keep her cool in these hot months.

Now, getting an inflatable pool = Space occupied, unnecessarily.

So what to do? Thought of another clever little hack.

Got out her outgrown bathtub à Pretended it’s a mini swimming pool.

Made her wear her favourite swimming costume.

Got her little squirting animal friends to join her.

Voila! We had a shrieking splashing fun pool.

Kept an ear on the happy squeals, an intermittent watch on the kid (and animals), and there, I could finish some more errands while she cooled in her “pool”.

This Is The Way I Help My Mom

The best thing was to involve her in the regular house activities – and she revels in doing things “on my own”.

💝 So I got a mini helper assisting me with::

💝 Setting the bed

💝 Putting out clothes to dry à Taking them in again in the evening à Folding little items neatly

💝 Keeping washed dishes back in their designated places

💝 Shelling the last remaining fresh peas from the market

And the list is absolutely inexhaustible…

And that kept both of us really content and happy.

Pat A Cake, Pat A Cake, Baker Mom

Holiday time – a perfect time to bake that whole wheat banana cake or experiment with a super soft honey-soaked cake.

And obviously she wanted to be involved

Proudly wore her little apron, mixed the batter, helped me pour, stuffed some raisins in her mouth, licked some honey…

And then patiently kept watch in front of the oven, lest the cake runs away like the Gingerbread Man.

Love Thy Neighbour

And then we adopted the daily summer holiday custom –

She would waltz into the neighbour’s apartment to play with her bosom buddy.

And then the little girls would come over to enliven our place. (This deserves a dedicated post)

There would be a mess once play ceased for the day – but it is the happiest mess that I cherished.

Evening meant park time where she giggled as she ran through the sand, climbed up the slides (much preferred over sliding down!!), bonded with other kids and basically, had FUN.

A few “Play Dates”, loads of birthday parties … hence, more happiness and fun.

Sing, Dance, Make Merry

The perfect opportunity to take out that musical instrument lying unattended at home.

And to re-introduce the little one to the beautiful sounds.

The perfect chance to play the favourite songs and dance along with the mini trainer – she alone knows how she conjured up those funny dance moves and comical facial expressions.

But these would probably be the most enjoyable work out sessions I have had in a long long time.

What Next… Puzzled??

Not at all!!

She took out the multiple puzzles that she loves working on.

Cute fruits, animals, vehicles lined up the floor.

And she graduated to solving ones with more pieces.

Maximum Utilization of Resources

Never before have all her toys/ activities been so fully utilized.

💝 All story books were read.

💝 The colourful wooden blocks were used to build many a houses.

💝 The cooking sets were utilised to whip up interesting fare like apple soup, strawberry chicken and whatever she deemed exotic.

💝 The Play dough was rolled out into various forms.

💝 The toy train set chugged along.

💝 Meows, Bow wows, Moos, Howls and Growls filled the house as Toy animals stepped out of the cupboard.

💝 Mommy totally enjoyed doing finger puppet stories for her.

Cherry on the Cake

Could a perfect summer holiday be complete without flying off to the granny’s place?

And that shall be the next blog post.

Till then… let me reflect on all the fun that the daughter lavished upon me this summer.😃