Busy Schedule !!

20th July, 2009 - Just in case you are thinking that the title of this post refers to Daddy, you are mistaken :D It refers to the hectic schedule of your's truly, Vanu !!



Here's a round-up of my every day schedule !!

1) Wake Up Time - This usually varies from 7:30 - 9:30 AM depending on how successfully Daddy was in putting me to sleep early on the previous night :) Waking up is usually associated with such a cute smile that it makes everyone's day !! It is usually followed up by saying 'Maste' aka 'Namaste' dozen times to make sure that everybody (including neighbours) are aware that I've woken up !

2) Time to brush - As soon as I'm out of bed, I drag Daddy/ Mamma (whoever is available) to the Washroom by repeating "Utho, Utho, Utho.... " and I order that I my tooth brush aka 'Bassh' be handed over to me. If they hand it over without putting tooth paste on it, I make it a point to repeat 'peeste' till they oblige. Once the brush has been handed over to me, the next 5 minutes are spent showcasing how NOT to brush your teeth to everyone around :)

3) Dudu Time - After the 'Bassh' & 'Peeste', it's time to fill-in my hungry stomach and I let Daddy/ Mamma know it by saying 'Dudu' till I get my hands on my milk bottle !! Mamma hands over my bottle of milk to me & plays FM radio for me. I finish up the milk while enjoying the music. However, if the milk is too hot, the word 'Gamm' (indicating Garam or hot) till the time milk is no longer hot :). If it's not hot enough, the word is 'thanda' and the same drama follows :)

4) Time to bath - After Dudu, I quickly glance through the newspapers with Daddy. I make it a point to search for 'Sonia Aunty' and 'PM Uncle' in the newspaper everyday & more often that not, I'm able to find at least one of them. Then, it's time to bath and I go on & on with 'Naha Naha Naha' till either Daddy/ Mamma takes me to bath. The next 15 minutes are spent playing with water in my custom bath tub. I enjoy it so much that it's a difficult task for Daddy/ Mamma to take me out of the bath tub & dress me up !! Never the less, I understand their professional duties and I usually don't bother them too much.

5) Breakfast - 'Khana' is the keyword repeated here till my tummy is full, I usually have a quick snack with Mamma/ Daddy or Daadi Ma... this is also the time Mamma & Daddy leave for work, they usually sneak out of the house while I'm having breakfast with Daadi Ma.

6) Booook - indicates that it's time to browse through my picture books and story books for the next hour or so. Daadi Ma is my study partner :) I'm now starting to learn colors as well. My counting follows some weird pattern right now and it goes 'One Thee Ten', sweet & short :), alphabets follow a similar trend with A, B and then a straight jump to I.

7) Kissna - indicates that it's time to watch my favorite TV show 'Jai Shri Krishna' on TV. I absolutely love this one and I make it a point never to miss it. I can even mimic how Kissna steals makhan and how his mother ties him up when he acts naughty. Although it's difficult to make me sit at one place during rest of the day, it is impossible to make me move away from the TV set while Jai Shri Krishna is on air :D

8) Gulia (Gudia aka Doll) & Appua (Appu aka Baby Elephant) usually keep me busy around noon as I cook for them with my new kitchen set. Once they have their lunch, I have mine with Daadi Ma and then I doze for an afternoon nap :) I make sure that I put Gulia to sleep before I do!

9) Mamma is usually back by the time I wake up so the next couple of hours are spent playing with her. 'Utho' 'Utho' requests are made till she takes me out to meet one of my neighborhood friends - Eshika or Khanak.

10) Daddy comes in and then we visit the Guwara (Gurudwara) and Pakka (Park). As per Daddy, it's the best part of his daily routine these days! The peaceful atmosphere and the cool air in the park is truly refreshing. I'm now able to ride the swing on my own, Daddy makes me sit on it and I hold on to the swing tightly with my both hands. There's nothing like sitting alone on the swing & enjoying it :)

11) Dinner is usually followed by some more study time, this time along with Daddy as he reads out my favorite stories to me. Once I get bored of the stories, we move over to music and Daddy sings some of my favorite songs based on my request (order really !). 'Lakki' means 'Lakdi ki Kaathi', 'Papua' means 'Pappu can't dance', 'Seengh' means 'Singh is King' and 'Addeee' means 'Kabhi Kabhi Aditi'. We are trying to add to our collection every day :)

Time flies by and we hardly get to know when the clock hits 11 in the night. Then, the struggle to put me to sleep begins. And you think two year olds have a easy relaxed life :D

God Bless !!

Twenty Months Old !

29th June, 2009 - I've completed 20 months today on Planet Earth ! (Daddy, you should be ashamed on making a habit out of publishing posts in a back date. I'll not tolerate any more excuses from now on)



Life is busy as a twenty month old with lots to do & lots to learn so the last one month has been no exception to my usual busy schedule ;). I made my first trip to Delhi and I had the joy of a chuk-chuk train ride after a very long time. It was a short 2 day trip but I had a blast enjoying with Naani, Maasi, Maama & others.

Apart from the Delhi trip, the last one month has been all about conversations. The 50 odd word vocabulary from last month has grown in leaps & bounds. It still includes a lot of custom tailored words to suit my pronounciation but I'm usually able to get the message across. Some of the other words I've picked up & I love to go on & on repeating them:-

Bassh - Tooth Brush ! The moment I get up in the morning, I take Daddy over to the wash basin and ask him to hand over by 'Bassh' to me. The next 5 minutes are usually spent chewing the poor old 'Bassh' instead of brushing the teeth. Daddy has been teaching me his way of brushing the teeth but I still prefer my own innovative way :)

Guwara - Gurudwara !! Daddy & I have settled into a routine of visiting the near by Gurudwara every day (except when Daddy comes very late from office & that annoys me more than anything else in the world). I make it a point to shout 'Guwara' as many times as needed to drag him out of the house and on the way to 'Guwara'. Once at 'Guwara', I make it a point to seek Babaji's blessings by bowing my head a few times (It used to be once earlier, now it varies from 10-20 times). It's a very peaceful feeling to listen to the Gurbani and if there are a few kids of my age there, we've a blast playing together. The next stop after 'Guwara' is the park to see the fancy lights of the new fountains.



'Paari' & 'Pucchi' are now hard to get now that I'm growing up. Daddy often bribes me with a chocolate/ Gems to get it ;)

Appu is another one of my close buddies with whom I've long conversations !! He usually listens patiently to me & doesn't try to interrupt like Daddy/ Mamma do. That's why I love him a lot !!

I wish Daddy took more time off to update this blog as there's so much to share!! Hoping that the next post will come soon !!

God Bless!

Nineteen Months Old/ Goodbye Teens !!

29th May, 2009 - It's end of teen age for me :( Well, at least for the next eleven & a half years or so (till I turn thirteen years old :) Good for Daddy because he feels that I often behave more like a nineteen year old rather than a nineteen month old.

It's been an awesome month in terms of learning new things & I've loads to share with you all!!


1) Vanu Dada - If there was ever a doubt as to who's the boss in the house, it's now cleared. If it's not, let me know & my hockey stick can do the talking :) I've a strong weaponry repotaire of my own which comprises of Daddy's childhood hockey stick and Grandpa's walking stick. These are often used to snatch another favorite weapon of mine - The Broom from our maid who's determined to keep it in her possession. The hockey stick is often used to scare Daddy/ Mamma when they are forcing me to eat when I'm not in a mood to do so & it generally works :). Besides these obvious uses, the hockey stick is often used in conjunction with the football to create a unique game which only Daddy & I can play ;). "Chak De Vanu" in the making!!

2) Books, Books & Books - If there was ever a doubt as to whether my habits are similar to Daddy or Mamma, this should settle it. If I were to send Daddy on a alien planet with a few books/ magazines and nothing to eat/drink for a few days and if he's then asked, what else does he need, I'm 100% sure that he'll say 'Can I have a few more books please?' What a bookworm!! What's more, he admits it as well.



Like Father, Like Daughter !! I absolutely love reading the story books/ alphabet books that Daddy & Grandma brought for me last month. I'm yet to get my hand going on the color books but the story books have been read at least a hundred times in the last few days. Daddy has promised to get some new ones for me & I'm so looking forward to it !! It's not just the story books mind you, I don't mind browsing through the headlines of the newspaper every morning to see the images on the front page. Daddy being a tech-savvy person, there are plenty of IT & tech magazines in our room and we often end up reading them together (Correction: Me trying to tear them off & Daddy unsuccessfully trying to resist). Whoever said that 'The joy of reading is ten times better than the joy of watching' was absolutely right & must have read it from somewhere for sure:)

3) Chatter, Chatter, Chat - Who Me?

The vocabulary practice sessions have finally yielded results and I'm now a proud owner of a strong vocab of 50+ words though I stil prefer to use them sparingly in public :D



When I'm at home, it's a completely different story & I find it a waste to stay quiet. During the past few months, Daddy would often try to engage me in a conversation hoping that I speak up a few words (or sentences, high hopes !) but the efforts were futile. The past month has brought a (more than) welcome change & now it's the other way round - me trying to engage Daddy in a conversation while he'usually seen trying to find an isolated corner in the house to be able to wrap up his never ending office work !!

Some of the words which I speak (and more importantly can be easily understood by the listener) are

- Mamma
- Papa
- Dada
- Didi
- Baba
- Nana
- Bhua

Some of the words which have custom aliases are

- Orse for Horse
- Oat for Goat
- Ish for Fish
- Meow for Cat
- Paak for Park
- Mim for Mandir (Temple)
- Haa for Haan (Yes)
- Dudu for Milk
- Pa for Water
- Keem for Ice-cream
- Doo for Dhol (Band)
- Kaka (for any kid ranging from just born up to college students)
- Boo for Book

Efforts are on to speak my name, Mamma's name & Daddy's name and the mission should be accomplished soon !!

Apart from these, life has gone on as usual with

- Brushing the tooth every morning
- Daily one hour visit to the park
- Frequent grocery shopping sessions at near-by super markets
- Frequent visits to the near by temple & Gurudwara
- No improvements in susu/ potty training :(

That is all for this post !! See you soon & God bless !!

The Young Ace Shuttler !!

16th May, 2009:- It's now a part of my daily routine to pick up the racket & shuttle, put the shuttle at a place where no one can find it and then run with the racket from one room to another asking everyone to find the shuttle for me !! I even force Daddy to take the rackets and shuttle to the park but a pity that Daddy doesn't know how to play the way I do and sadly I don't follow the rules he enforces. However, a young ace shuttler is surely in the making !! :P

Fatherhood !!

Daddy usually doesn't do any Tag posts on this blog because he believes that this is not a parenting blog; for that matter; he believes that this is my (Vanu's) blog & not his blog so he doesn't have the rights to write about anything else apart from my adventures :)

But since the request came from Puja, who follows our blog regularly & more so because it's about the relation that I & Daddy share so here we go !!

Gaurav takes over the writer role from Vanu, momentarily for this post.



There are events in one's life which can change the course of one's life. I know change is inevitable & for good but I've always hated it. I'm perhaps from the old school of Narayan Shankar (from Mohabbatein - Woops, my filmy vibes took over the keyboard) fame who loved repeating the words

"Mujhe parivartan pasand nahin hai" 

Sometimes, I even feel that Yash Chopra stole this dialogue from my personal diary but that's another story !

Fatherhood has been by far the biggest & sweetest change in my existence of 30 odd years on planet earth. To pick 5 things which make Fatherhood special to me is a daunting task because there are innumerable things that I love about being a father. However, let me give it a shot and pick the best 5 out of them in random order!!

1) Reliving My Childhood - I am the youngest amongst my siblings and probably the most pampered one as well. Childhood came & went in a flash though I still have a lot of loving memories about my early years !! And it came back with a bang when Vanisha was born. The fun & frolic with her has literally made me a child at heart again! She loves all the kid games that we play together and this is a part of my daily routine since the last 1.5 years. Taking her to the park, playing with other children and being amongst loads of young kids enjoying themselves gives me a high like no other!!

2) Pure, Unadulterated Love - For the uninformed, Vanisha means 'pure' and that's what precisely is - A bundle of pure, unadulterated love & affection !! She can not see any of the family members in pain and the way she cuddles up to each of us, it's a blissful feeling. I feel blessed that 'Ba' (I, Me, Myself) carries a special place in her heart. Every single day, I continue to be amazed at how selfless, loving and caring a kid is !! It is an amazing feeling to be in love and be loved, nothing else matters !!

3) Parenting - While I love being a child again, I equally enjoy my responsibilities as a parent !! I read these lines few months before Vanisha was born & I'll probably never forget them for the rest of my life !!

"Being a parent is the most rewarding job you'll ever have. That's not to say it isn't some of the hardest work you'll ever do though."

I full heartedly agree. I love being a parent & doing everything that a father (or even a mother) is or isn't supposed to do. From susu-potty clean up, susu-potty training, bathing, eating, putting her to sleep, waking her up in the morning, dressing her up in cute little frocks, taking her to the park, playing with her - it has become a indispensable part of my everyday life. She looks up to me as a friend and guide and I love how she learns new things every day!

4) Future - I've always taken most of my life's important decisions from my heart & not from my head. My family has been my biggest asset in life and will continue to be so till I'm alive !! Long ago, I gave up my professional aspirations of fat salary cheques, foreign trips and a lavish lifestyle to be with my family in my hometown. I'm content with what I have & with what I earn. I was never a part of the fast moving rat race and probably never will be. 

However, now I look forward to creating a secure future for my child. I want her to lead a good life, have a good education and be a good human being !! I've always been a person who has lived in the present and damned the future. Fatherhood has changed that and while I still live in the present with my feet firmly on the ground and my head above my shoulders, I have an eye for the future - mine & my child's future !

5) God & Faith - I've never claimed to be a staunch believer in Idol Worship. I've always believed that there is some super-natural power which controls our existence - whether we believe it or not is our choice! Whether we call it God, Allah or Wahe-Guru is immaterial. I also believe that we must respect it. There have been occasions & times in my life when my beliefs have been shaken to the core! Vanisha has re-enforced my belief in God & I firmly believe that like all other kids, she is a child of god and god loves his children. She is god's blessing to me - a blessing that makes me think about & thank God every moment !! I couldn't have asked for more in life !! 

Thank you God, once again, for giving me Vanisha - the joy of my life !!

Eighteen Months Old !!

29th April, 2009:- I've turned 18 months (1.5 years/ Dedh Saal) today. Daddy often tells me that 'Good Habits, Start Early' and being the obedient daughter that I am, I take it all too seriously :)

I'm there to help clean the house when the maid doesn't show up (which is often the case :)

















Whenever Daddy says 'Let's go Ghoomi', I'm quick to get my clothes from the wardrobe, hand them over to Daddy, force him to change my clothes & put on my shoes and drag him to the main gate to make sure that he doesn't change his plans :)






















Loads more to share but unfortunately Daddy has work piled up in leaps & bounds so we'll leave it to the next post !!

Till then, God Bless !!

And The Miss Universe Title goes to !

Your's truly (Who Else ?) :P

Seventeen Months Old !

29th March, 2009:- I turned 17 months old (17 months young as Daddy puts it) yesterday. The cough and chest infection finally went away after testing my patience for more than 3 weeks. I lost nearly two kilos in weight but by god's grace, things have become better with every passing day for the past week or so!

The fun-filled daily routine with Daddy is now back & I'm enjoying it to the fullest - whether it be the slides in the near by park, playing football with Daddy or running around the super-market and doing my own shopping :)

- I often visit the nearby super markets in the evening - 'Reliance Fresh', 'Six To Ten' with Daddy and Mamma for the 'day to day shopping needs' :). Since Daddy used to often tell me that I'm a big girl now, so I decided that I'm going to do my own shopping. I pick up an empty basket on my own, I find my way to the right sections in the store, pick up packs of biscuits, chocolates, Maggi :) and grapes. Did I forget 'bread'?? The shopping extravaganza can never be complete without a loaf (sometimes two and going up to five loafs) of bread. I even manage to drag the basket to the billing counter much to the bemusement of the staff. Pity that I don't have the cash and Daddy does'nt pay for me :(

- I'm now a regular at the near by park and an active member of the 'prankster kids' gang. I hardly realize how time flies while I enjoy the slides and the swings for an hour or so. I've made a few new friends at the park - Gungun, Siya and Kashish. Though most of them are elder to me, I have a blast playing with them every day! When it gets late, Daddy pleads with me to go back home and being an obedient daughter, I have no choice but to give in to his request :)

- When I refuse to sleep in the night, here are the tricks that Daddy tries in chronological order

1) Narrate a story about fairies and kids - This rarely works any longer unless I'm very tired and in a mood to sleep myself. So, we move over to trick number 2.

2) Sing any five of my favorite songs - This used to be a killer trick which sealed the deal 90% of the time earlier. The songs usually were a repeat telecast every night and included

A) Pappu Can't Dance
B) Kabhi Kabhi Aditi
C) Nazrein Milana Nazrein Churana
D) Aye Bachu
E) Singh Is King
F) Chanda Hai Tu
G) Aa Chal Ke Tujhe
H) Khwab Dekhe Jhoothe

This trick no longer yields assured returns (It's Financial Year Ending so please excuse Daddy's choice of words :) so he resorts to the next trick

3) We pickup the football, move to the lobby area and play for the next 30 minutes with Daddy hoping that I get tired soon so that he can go back to trick 1 to put me to sleep. This trick works more often that not but it's mid-night by the time we sleep :)

A few more random musings:-

- I can now even murmur my favorite songs in my own voice but with my limited vocabulary and the inclination to replace every word with 'Ba' or 'Bu', it is difficult to decipher the song being sung :)

- We've not really made any significant progress on the vocabulary part - Ba, Ma, Bu, Cha, Pa and all such single letter words continue to rule the roost.

- The godi requests now have a 'Zero Tolerance' tag attached with them. If I ask for it and Daddy refuses, I make sure that hell breaks loose till my order is fulfilled. More often than not, Daddy complies.

Loads more to share but let's leave something for the next few posts as well :)

Till then, adios !!

98 to 102 Degrees - Snakes & Ladders !

10th March, 2009:- I wish the title of the post was a new game which I've been playing since last week. Unfortunately, it is how my body temperature has been behaving since the last one week and it's been painful to say the least.

What started off as a mild fever on 10th March night has turned into a seemingly never-ending painful viral infection. We set off with homeopathic medication, switched to mild allopathic dose and now relying on strong medication/ sedatives, nothing seemed to be working till yesterday. However, the temperature is again back to normal since yesterday evening. The chest infection is still pretty much there with no respite whatsoever.

The temperature has been playing around (Hide & Seek, Snakes & Ladders - whatever you call it) every few hours. Every now and then when it dropped, I was back to my mischievous self - running around the house and even managing to shake a leg when my favorite dance numbers were playing on TV. As the fever soars again, the jovial mood disappears. I've spent hours lying motionless on Daddy's shoulder during the last few days listening to the fairy tales and my favorite songs in his voice. Daddy has gloom written all over his face and anxiously waiting for me to recover back to normal health.

Not the kind of 'Happy Holi' we were hoping for! God bless.

Sweet 16 - Sixteen Months Old !!

28th February/ 1st March 2009:-

Sweet 16 is here !! I've turned 16 months old today. Last month has been a busy busy month with lots of activity happening on every front, loads of ups & downs. I had great fun attending a number of birthday parties of my friends and a number of wedding ceremonies of Daddy's friends/ relatives.

I had great fun at b'day parties of Adi (Son of Daddy's childhood friend Vikram), Satvik (my cousin) and Eshika (my neighbour & best pal). It is great fun to be amongst kids, balloons, toys and yummy cakes :)

Amongst the downs, both Grandpa & Bhua have not been in the best of health since last couple of weeks so that has kept Daddy a bit worried. I pray to God that both of them recover soon & everybody in the home gets back to their jovial self.

* By the way, Did I mention that I'n now old enough to dress myself up in a custom 'Home Made Saree' :)



* In the earlier post, Daddy already mentioned about my love for news papers. It has now transcended to new heights. I now recognize Sonia Aunty (Mrs. Sonia Gandhi) and PM Uncle (Honourable Prime Minister - Dr. Manmohan Singh) by looking at their photographs in the news paper. In fact, I know how to flip through all the pages of the news paper till I find their photos.

* The random mumurs and un-decodable yelling continues at least for now. Daddy's speaking course seems to have no effect what so ever.

- Papa is still called 'Pa'
- Grandma is still called 'Ba' (It is quiet difficult to differentiate it from 'Pa')
- Mama is still 'Ma' (Often becomes Ba)
- Doggy is now 'bhow bhow'
- Cat is 'Myaaa'
- Aeroplane is 'shoof' (Whatever the logic is)
- Namaste is 'Naman'
- Anything else is still 'Ba' or 'Bo'

* Daddy and I have now settled down to a fixed daily routine of playing. We go to the near by park at 10 PM in the night. While the time of going to the park is fixed by Daddy, the time of coming back is decided by yours truly. At the very least, it's 11 PM and if I get lucky and there are a couple of other kids in the park, 11:30 PM and mid-night don't seem to matter either :)

More in the next posts ....

Fifteen Months Old !

29th January, 2009:- I turned FIFTEEN months (aka sawa saal) old today and I behave exactly how a teenager is supposed to :)

Here are some of my latest teenage obsessions:-

* Phone Conversations - Pick up the phone, dial a number and murmur on and on! That too with the phone receive held upside down :)

* Idiot Box aka Television - The craze for watching music numbers has just transcended to unprecedented levels. This is a rather serious issue in Daddy's opinion so we rather leave it here without much details :(

* Stairs - Daddy often asks Mamma - 'What is it with kids & stairs?' The moment I see the door open, I'm off to the stairs. Daddy watches in bemusement while I climb up and down, up & down again till one is tired. A clarification: one here refers to Daddy :P

* Walk (err Run) - It's been close to 2 weeks since I took my first baby steps on my own and now, either Daddy or Mamma is running behind me all over the house to catch hold of me :)

* Study - I can pick up any book or magazine and gaze over the pages for hours and hours. Did I also mention that I & Daddy read the morning newspaper together (Till I get bored and I tear it apart !!)

It has been a fun-filled month to say the least. I'm loving it !!

First Steps !!

17th January, 2009:- After tireless sessions of walking practice holding Daddy's hand in the near by garden, Gurudwara, temple and where not, I finally discovered the pleasure walking on my own.

My first steps brought tears to Daddy and Mamma's eyes. Daddy says it was a feeling as special as when he first held me in his arms and hugged me. Here's a short video of my walking adventure with Mamma cheering me on!!



The first few steps are all that a kid needs to take on his own. Rest is taken care of by the almighty! Thank you God for everything !!

Meeting Jiya !

15th January, 2009:- This is a post pending from October 2008. Due to Daddy's laziness, it never made out of the Drafts in year 2008. I'm glad it's out here finally !!



A few days after my first birthday celebration, I had a chance to meet Jiya again on her birthday party. Her parents decided to celebrate it with a traditional dinner cum Puja at 'Khole Ke Hanuman Ji', a very popular temple in Jaipur.



It was a traditional 'Daal-Baati-Churma' dinner which was simply yummy !! While Jiya's daddy ensured that Daddy & Mamma had their stomachs filled beyond their normal capacities, I & Jiya had a great time playing together.





It was a sweet co-incidence as well that we both were dressed in gorgeous pink dresses. Daddy says that we both looked very cute in pink and it was almost impossible for everybody not to turn their attention to us. It was one of those days where I just wanted to carry on playing and not return home (signs of next few years perhaps :P). Anyway, it was good fun and I was so tired that I dozed off in the car (as usual) before we reached back home.

Thank you Jiya for a wonderful evening!!

Happy New Year 2009 !!

6th January, 2009:- The roller coaster ride of 2008 is over and we've stepped into 2009. Daddy doesn't like going out on New Year's eve and this year was no different so we celebrated at home. I slept at the usual time of 11:30 PM in year 2008 and woke up at the usual time of 7:30 AM on the first morning of 2009 :P

The New Year brings with it lots of celebrations, a couple of holidays :) and a bunch of resolutions. Daddy usually doesn't believe in resolutions for himself but he surely does like enforcing some resolutions on others. So, here are my resolutions (Read Daddy's Resolutions for me) for 2009 in chronological order of Daddy's expectation & time of fulfillment:-

1) Start Walking - Though I stand on my own and I walk with support, I've not yet started walking on my own. Daddy isn't exactly worried about it but he's just too anxious to see me run around in the garden with other kids.

2) No More Idiot Box For Me - During the last three months, the music fan in me has taken over Daddy's television. There are no more cricket matches or news broadcasts on the TV as long as I'm awake. It has to be some funky dance numbers whether it's 8 AM in the morning or 10 PM in the night :P Daddy is very concerned that it will have a bad effect on my eyes.

3) Let's Talk - Although I'm able to communicate anything & everything in my limited vocabulary, Daddy is very keen to hear complete words from me. I guess he's had enough of my abbreviations:-

* Pa for Papa
* Ma for Mamma
* Boo for Dog
* Any other word is pretty much impossible to decode

He has a few other resolutions up his sleeve like admitting me to a play school before I turn two, taking me for a morning walk to the park every morning at 6:30 AM and blah blah !! Since his list is never ending, so we'll leave it there.

Wising a happy & joyful 2009 to everybody who reads this blog (and to those who don't :)). May God bless everyone!

Fourteen Months Old !

29th December, 2008:- The last month has been a mixed bag and I turned fourteen months old yesterday. The first few days just flew & the next few just wouldn't come to an end. I spent a fortnight at Nani's place and for Daddy, the fortnight seemed like an eternity.

It's been a busy month celebrating Daddy's birthday, X-mas and Grandma's birthday. Daddy says that my scorpio traits are now showing up more than ever. Here are some of the evidences presented by him to support his theory:-

- If I'm not in a mood to eat, you can try all the tricks in the world without succeeding!
- If the TV is on, it has to be either MTV or 9XM playing some cool songs like Pappu Can't Dance (yippee !!)
- If Daddy is working on his laptop, he has to stop the work and play a cartoon movie till I get bored of it
- If he tries to make me walk on my own & I'm not in a mood to do so, he has to admit defeat whether it be in 2 minutes or 20 minutes (It does not take that long, trust me !!!)

My sense of recognition has improved remarkably over the last one month & now

- I can switch the lights on/ off
- I can pick up Daddy's cell, dial a random number & say 'Hello' :P
- I can point to my head, eyes, ears, nose & tummy :)
- I can tell how a dog barks, how a cat meows & how a lion roars !
- I can point my house from a distance when standing on the corner of the street
- I can alert Mamma or Grandma when it's time for susu/ poti ;)

As usual, it's been great fun and now I look forward to an equally mischevious 2009 !!

Happy New Year to Every One & God Bless You All !!

Thirteen Months Old !

29th November, 2008:-

I have turned 13 months old yesterday. Daddy says that I'm a big girl now and must learn to behave like one :(




I'm growing up too quick to Daddy's comfort but I really wonder when will he grow up? :P

Hair We Go - Finally !!!

13th November, 2008:- After the joyride in last week of October (My first birthday and Diwali), I was hoping to have a good time on festivals in November as well. It was Guru Nanak Jayanti but my family had other plans in place for me :(

Over the last couple of months, my hair had developed cute natural curls and Daddy fell in love with them. He absolutely loved it when I woke up in the morning and the curls were at their sleepy best. As a result, he used to strongly oppose any talks of a hair cut or the supposed 'Mundan' ceremony. However, it's a mandatory custom in a punjabi family and there's no escaping it. I escaped it during October as Daddy did not want a baldy baby birthday celebration. Guru Nanak Jayanti is an auspicious day so it was decided that it would be the perfect occasion to end one & start another hair raising story.

Everybody in the family was up at 7 AM, all dressed up and ready to leave by 8 AM. We left for the sacred Galta temple which is amidst hills and a monumental climb :)

That's me & Daddy feeding a couple of cows at the Galta temple.




The two hour climb to the temple followed. When we reached the top of the hill, surprise surprise !! Monkeys every where & just about every where :) Daddy took out the camera but the priest advised to put it back in his pocket otherwise one of the expert monkey photographers might just snatch it. We did a short puja at the temple with Pandit Ji and started our decent. The hill is so steep that while it took 2 hours to climb, the decent took just 30 minutes :)

We were back home by 11:30 AM and all set for 'Operation Ganju' to begin :)



Daddy kept playing with me & tickling me so that I had no clue of what was going on. I realized it only when the job was 90% done. I cried for a few minutes on seeing my lovely curly hair falling in pieces on the ground. The 'Mundan' ceremony was complete in less than 20 minutes and I was in my new 'Bald' look.

What followed for the next few hours were expert comments by Daddy:-

1) This is perhaps what inspired the 'Ghajini' look. Let's talk to Ghajini producers and make me the brand ambassador for the movie (Ridiculous !!!)

2) ganju patel teri khopri mein teyl
maaron gi danda niklay ga teyl :)

3) Babu Lal, Chane Ki Daal
Reh gayi topi, ud gaye baal :)

Mamma, mere baal wapis kab aayenge ? :(



Warm Regards,
Ganju Patel !

Happy (1st) Birthday !!

29th October, 2008 - Finally, D-Day arrived !! Having slept early last night meant that I was up early the next morning. I was greeted to gentle hugs, loads of kisses & 'Happy Birthday' wishes from Daddy, Mamma, Grandma, Grandpa & Bhua. One year completed on Planet Earth, Yippee !!

Looking at the glint in there eyes, I could make out that it was a different day, perhaps very special for them. Daddy took the day off from office while Mamma decided to go to college for an hour, wrap up the important work & join Daddy in preparing for the celebrations.

That's me on 29th morning enjoying some sweets & teasing Daddy :P



Bhua & Isha Didi were to arrive in a few hours from Bikaner so everyone including me was eagerly awaiting for them to arrive. Daddy & Mamma took me to a nearby temple to seek God's blessings. Soon, Isha didi arrived and I had a great time playing with her. Daddy & Mamma visited Hotel Rockland a couple of times during the day to see that the decoration & food preparation is going on well. I slept a couple of hours in the afternoon as it was going to be a late night today. Time flew and soon we were getting ready for the birthday bash.

Grandma dressed me up in a stunning red lehenga which she had gifted me for my birthday. Mamma said to Daddy that I was looking so cute so she would put an additional kaala tikka (besides the one daily dose, yawn !!) on my forehead. If Mamma were to have her ways, I would probably have atleast 4-5 kaala tikkas all over my forehead & she would shoot all buri nazar waalas on planet earth. As usual the picture below shows me bemused (& confused) about the fuss over kaala tikka :-




All of us reached the venue by 6:45 PM and it loooked very beautiful under lights. Since there was still some time for the guests to arrive, Daddy went on to get the cake and take care of last few pending details while I enjoyed some cool photo sessions.










The whole place was covered with lights & baloons. I did manage to grab one. That's me blushing behind the baloon as Mamma took another pic of mine.



















That's Isha Didi, looking cute as ever ! For an 8 year old child, she's remarkably mature & has a great sense of understanding. Daddy often says to Mamma that when I grow up, I should be like her. Daddy, I've noted that down and will add it to your list of expectations (I'm an year old & the list already has 50 odd items, Dear God, save me from the cruel expectations of my loving parents !!!)















The cute yummy cake has arrived !! Mamma, can't I have a bite now and we can cut the rest later when all guests have arrived ? :-P



By 9 PM, almost everybody we'd invited had turned up. The guests included close relatives, neighbours, Daddy's childhood friends and their families, his office colleagues and Mamma's college colleagues. I was having a gala time with so many small kids around:-

Eshika - She's 3 months younger to me, a neighbour and a very good friend of mine.
Jasman - Although she's 3 years old, I love playing with her almost every evening. She's a neighbour and often drops by at home to play with me.
Satvik - My younger cousin brother, he's 3 months younger to me.
Jiya - She's born on 19th October so we are of the same age. Her delayed birthday bash is due in a few days from now. I'm glad that Ill get to see her soon again!
Krishna - He's 2 years old and I had good fun playing with him.

Soon after, it was time to cut the cake. It was yummy and I'm glad that everybody gave me a slice !! Pity I could'nt have the whole of it :P



While I was playing with kids, Daddy & Mamma looked after the guests. Dinner was served around 9:30 PM in a typical Punjabi fashion and by 11 PM, most of the guests had left (with a few extra pounds). While most of the family members were having dinner, I and Isha Didi took stock of the gifts I had received.

We reached back home by 11:30 PM and unpacked the wonderful gifts that I had received. I was very excited, jumping up and down with joy with no intentions of sleeping for the next few hours :P The gifts includes some really nice dresses, a couple of picture books and lots of cute toys. I & Isha Didi danced on a few songs that I'm realy fond of. Everybody was tired after two hectic days of celebration so we decided to call it a day & dozed off to sleep by 12:30. It was impossible for Daddy to believe that less than 48 hours ago, I was down with fever, in terrible pain & barely able to manage a smile.

Daddy says it's a night that he'll remember for the rest of his life !! He & Mamma had worked hard to make my birthday bash a memorable event and I'm sure these sweet memories will last forever !!

As expected of him, Daddy's overworked brain(yawn) has already set the clock ticking for my next birthday !!

Diwali 2008 !

28th October, 2008 - The last three weeks have passed with the blink of an eye as Mamma & Daddy have been busy preparing for my birthday. The invitations have been sent out and every minute detail settled, now waiting for my birthday bash to happen the next evening !

Diwali is the festival of lights and joy but 28th October morning didn't exactly bring any joy to my family, instead it left them scared and very concerned about my health. I had light fever and was on homeopathic medication since last 2 days, the medication seemed to be taking effect slowly. The body temperature would rise to 101 degrees and then back to normal in every few hours. As soon as the temperature dropped to normal, the brat in me took over to new mischievous activities which made Mamma & Daddy believe that I was just fine :P

Rewinding the memories back to 27th October night, I was not exactly in great health for my first birthday celebrations but the family members were in great spirits - Diwali & my birthday on consecutive days, it doesn't get any better than this. This was until about 11 PM in the night, when I started vomiting. The body temperature rose to as high as 103 degrees, leaving Mamma in tears. Daddy gave me regular medication to keep the fever in check but I would just throw up every 15 minutes. Since it was very late in the night, they thought it would be more appropriate to wait till the morning and take me to our regular pediatrician Dr. Bhasin. As it turned out, this wasn't the smartest decision they ever took. I could barely sleep a minute and I don't remember a night where I've cried more than on this unforgettable night!

3 AM in the morning and Daddy had no choice but to take me to the hospital. The doctor gave me some medicines & I fell asleep (much to the relief of Daddy, Mamma & Grandma) shortly thereafter. I woke up at 8 AM feeling no better than I did the previous night so Daddy took me to Dr. Bhasin.



At his clinic, Mamma just couldn't stop her tears telling him that my birthday party was due in next 36 hours. He assured Mamma & Daddy that I would be fine by evening and that they shouldn't forget to invite him to my birthday bash :P

He gave me some medicines which allowed me to get some more sleep for the next couple of hours. Daddy may curse him often for not paying enough attention to what a kid's parents tell him or for the staggering fee that he charges but the truth is that his prescription works wonders with me !!

I was back in perfect health in the next 4-5 hours and participated in the Diwali Puja at home with my usual mischievous mood. I burnt a few crackers with Bhua and then went to sleep early (much to the courtesy of medication !!). God has his own ways of telling us that he's there for us always. He may test our patience some times but that's only his way of making us stronger.

The gloom that had spread at home in the last 12 hours was gone & my smile back everybody back into a cheerful & joyous mood, waiting in anticipation for the next evening !!

Let's have some fun again, here I come !!


















The mischievous smile is coming back, Cheese !!










Thank you God for everything !!!

Birthday Bash Preparations !!

As soon as October 2008 started, Daddy & Mamma switched to top gear to prepare for my birthday. This was the time which they had been so anxiously waiting for the past few months. Although Mamma had her (dreaded) PhD mid-term examinations & Daddy had peak work load (which is a norm for the last 8 years - yawn !) stretching to a 14 hour work day, they were super excited about getting everything right for planning my birthday celebration.



The in-house discussions which usually involve cursing why it's so tough to do a PhD (Mamma), why the clients are do demanding (Daddy), why we should invest in property (Mamma speak)) & why we should instead save for my bright future (Daddy of course) stopped at least temporarily and my birthday bash planning took center stage. Besides the usual gossip, they pondered over every useful & usless detail.



* Whom to invite? If there's ever a time to identify your loved ones - family & friends. It is now :)

* Venue - Whether celebrate at home or in a hotel? Celebrating at home would be tough to manage with a sizable guest list. Organizing it at a hotel and inviting more people would mean that we would miss the warmth of the near ones & that homely touch.

* Food/ Menu - Punjabi, eh ? Need I say more. Apart from 'Paneer' & 'Daal Makhni' which are de-facto menu items in any punjabi function, they discussed (read fought) over every other possible item.

* Cake - Thankfully, there was not much fight over this one. They showed me a picture book containing a huge collection of cakes. I pointed my finger towards one which looked really sweet and the matter was closed.



After a comprehensive survey of 10 near by hotels (Courtesy Daddy) and never ending negotiation deals (Mamma Who else !!), Daddy & Mamma finally decided that they were going to organize my birthday bash at Nimantran Banquet Hall, Hotel Rockland which is at a stone's throw (Did I mention that Daddy did throw one in wee hours just to confirm that) from our home.

Diwali on 28th October and my birthday on 29th October and just a week to go !! Time is flying for sure :P