Kanni and Lal (or Kanni Lal) are the two pieces of cloth that were tied to Anika hands, like homegrown mittens which couldn’t be yanked off easily, to prevent her from sucking her thumb at night. They had been there on her hands every night for almost 2 years now, and Mama had promised Anika…
Solidify
Sheru started on his rice cereal diet a few days ago. Over the past few weeks, Sheru had been grabbing at every food item on the dining table and eyeing them deliciously. So much so, that Mama couldn’t contain her desire to expose him to solids. After much fanfare, a new pack of rice ceral…
Princess Caring
Ms Pandey, Mama and Daddy went to Chuck-E-Cheese today for a small birthday celebration for her. After the running around and sitting in every feasible ride, we decided to munch on some fries. After what seemed an eternity, the fries arrived – hot, but thin, hard and sharp. Just the day before, Mama had had…
Literate
All these years (well, only 4) of teaching Ms Pandey patiently finally paid off for Mama today. While driving back after purchasing a cake for Gubs, Mama was hopelessly lost and was trying to find the ramp for 85-South. Ms Pandey, peering out from her child seat at the back notices the familiar green-and-white sign,…
Who is Gubsi?
Daddy took the day off from work today – well barely, since he was hunched over a presentation for the entire day. Daddy: “Anika, Daddy is going to be at home today.” Anika: “Why Daddy?” Daddy: “Because today is my Gubsi’s birthday!” Anika: “Will the office people call you?” Daddy: “Yes” Anika: “So what will…
Anika the home designer
Mama and Daddy were all twisted and messed up trying to optimally re-arrange the kitchen so Mama could fit her yet another I-need-that-new-appliance-now aesthetically on the limited counter space. Ms Pandey, after observing the drama for a while and taking serious note of the spatial puzzle, comes back with: “Mama, move the food processor here,…
International House of Candy
Anika LOVES pancakes. On the Black Friday after Christmas, as Dad and Anika were heading out to Borders to check out the slashed prices and sales [sidenote: no slashes on the stuff that Daddy wanted], Daddy suddenly remembered IHOP (International House of Pancakes). Daddy: “Anika, did you know that there is a restaurant that ONLY…
Prince Caring
When Daddy lifted Ms. Pandey up in his arms and washed her hands free of all the honey from the messy pancakes, she murmured: “Daddy, you are Prince Caring”. [context] Anika has a set of books – Princess Caring, Princess Messy, Princess Party and Princess Perfect. She, naturally, possesses all of those attributes, except the…
A new work week
Anika has been getting very comfortable with having Daddy around the house over the holidays. With Mama busy in handling Sheroo, Daddy has been having a lot of fun with Ms. Pandey. It reached a point yesterday when Anika quipped in Daddy’s ear: “Daddy, why don’t you go to work on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.”…
Across the Universe
Anika is hooked onto Astronomy. Not the observational kind – since Dad is wimp enough not to brave the freezing temperature outside and whip out the 8″ Schmidt-Cassegrain, especially since he acted brave enough to not purchase an auto-locator. Anika is hooked onto theoretical (i.e., reading about) astronomy. She knows her planets – count (8,…
Guilty as charged
Daddy was late for office the day Ms. Pandey was about to have her Christmas party. The party had been a much awaited event for Ms. Pandey – she had been rehearsing carols for quite some time now and was very excited about all the singing and dancing that had been planned. Of course, Daddy…
Daddy Rock Star
Sheru was a bit cranky, so Daddy thought – what better way to soothe a troubled mind than to play for him a little acoustic guitar. So, with Sheru lying on Anika’s bed, Daddy started strumming in front of him. The repertoire included House of the Rising Sun and Scarborough Fair. By the time Daddy…
Blabber
It was one of those giant leaps for Mr. Pandey today. So far, Mr. Pandey had been loud and authoritative, but has been communicating mostly with vowels. As an example, “Waaaaaaa”, “Wooooaaaaa”, “Waaaaaaaaay” probably meant, get me to bed pronto! But over the past few days, Mr. Pandey’s jaw has been having a little extra…
Sheru
Sheru – Tiger, affectionately, in Hindi. Daddy has christened Master Pandey as Sheru. Sheru has only one mission in life – to grab at stuff with his tiny fingers and bite and chew at them; ferociously. You can almost hear him purring and growling. Go ahead – try and plant a kiss on Sheru’s cheeks!…
Parents
I know three languages: English, Hindi and a smattering of Bengali. But more significantly, I know what is used for Dad and Mom in these languages and a few more. I had never stopped to think as to why these particular words were used to signify parents. Now I do. The first few sounds that…
Santa’s List
Thanksgiving marks the day when the countdown for Christmas begins. Not just for retailers with their Black Friday deals, but for Ms. Pandey’s Christmas tree lighting, and her long awaited birthday. Daddy was pushed and shoved from his lazy turkey day state into assembling the artificial fir, which took a grand total of 10 minutes…
Trick or Treat
Dada and Dadi had to leave back for India today. Daddy and Anika accompanied them to the airport. Anika was visibly sad even though she kept a brave face. When they were leaving for their security check, Anika said: Anika: Come again next Halloween Dada: Surely, Princess. We will come and knock on the door….
School Time for Dada
Anika: Dada? Dada: Yes Princess? Anika: Come on. Let us go. It is time for school. Anika and Dada walk into Anika’s room. Dada sits on the floor, while Miss Anika takes her spot near the wall-hung blackboard, if it is an Alphabet day. If it is a Drawing day (the current favorite subject), then…
How long?
Ms. Pandey was taking a long shower and was terribly late for school. Mama, flustered, was asking Anika to come out of the shower and get ready for school. After repeated requests and Anika’s insistence on staying in the shower, Mama finally asked: “How many more minutes Anika?” No brownies for guessing the right answer.
Three minutes
The quantum of time that Ms. Pandey lives by. No task on the planet can take longer or be shorter than 3 minutes. Mama: Anika, please come over for dinner Anika: 3 minutes Mama. Please, 3 minutes Daddy: Time for bed Anika Anika: 3 minutes Daddy Mama: Time for your shower Anika Anika: 3 mintes!…
V-Gene #1: Wanderer
Just like Anika, we are looking, in Viraj, for early signs of strong affinity for his parents’ habits. As with Anika, the methodology and findings are as scientific as it gets. Viraj is a wanderer. Loves to travel. Whether he is sleepy, or hungry, or plain ol’ cranky, take him in your arms, make him…
Glib
Master Pandey is as chatty as it gets. He wants to chat any time, all the time. Drinking milk – no problem, let me push the bottle out, give a wide smile and start cooing. Getting poo-poo cleaned – no problem, let us utilize that weird posture to utter a few sounds and get folks interested….
V-Milestones
Master Pandey started cooing a few weeks ago – blah, that’s old news. He even started smiling and recognizing folks around him – old news as well. The latest round includes improved motor skills and extreme effort to guide his hand towards anything that interests him – Daddy’s nose, Daddy’s ring, Dada’s hair, Mama’s cheeks…
O! ye brothers and sisters
In Anika’s world, there are brothers, sisters and friends. Of course, brothers or sisters can be friends too. Viraj (Pumpi) is Anika’s brother. Anika (Gubsi) is Viraj’s sister. Very clear. Her friend Vidushi has a brother. Her friend Sunny has a sister. Crystal. While chatting to Dada (and Dadi and Mama) the other day, the…
A Dora Template
Ola! I am Dora. And this is my friend Boots. We are doing <activity A> today. To do <activity A>, we have to go to <place P>. How do we reach <place P>? We need the Map! Map tells us that we need to cross the Nutty Forest, Troll Bridge, Singing Bridge, Seven Seas, Treasure…