My Dear Shontu Mama,
Usually, famous people write letters to their son or daughter. Your dad is not one of them. However, I felt to do something different on your 1st Birthday which you will always cherish when you grow up.
So here is a letter from a not so famous person to an extraordinary kid on her 1st birthday.
(You may call it as a penalty for not updating your 'Record Book' on time when you were growing!)
It's been a year now when I first saw a pinkish, little, restless version of you nibbling the edge of the tube in which you were kept.
Our 1st meeting...My 1st tear of happiness...unshed and blocked within the border of my eyes so that your granny won't realize how fragile your dad is.
Me and your mom conversed a lot with you and about you before you actually arrived. However seldom did we know how much love, happiness, thrill, suspense, helplessness, sleeplessness, idiotness, madness, alertness, sharp-mindedness, greediness, tiresomeness you will bring to our small World.
It's just a year with you in our lives and you have opened a 'Pitara' of all these things and given us in your signature style.
Let me see how many classic memories of yours of the bygone year can your old dad recollect:
1) Day-2: Your 1st ever bath in the hospital: You looked like an obedient pupil but the moment nurse touched your nose....boom....me and your mom witnessed the 1st glimpse of your anger.
(खरं आहे...... राग नेहमी नाकाच्या शेंड्यावरच असतो !!)
2) Your 1st Mehendi cleaning (Potty) session done by me in the hospital. This new dangerous activity never made me awkward as I gradually learnt how to keep you relaxed and distracted till your creativity gets cleaned up. The trick of calling the कावळा again and again when the चिमणी send him back every time seems to be silly for the audience as I always customize the songs and stories but who cares as it works for me to put in the new diaper after disposing it's old comrade.
You too have been very supportive Pillu during this activity.
3) Your mom captured your 1st picture of your cute Saakharjhop Smile. How badly I was jealous of her that I couldn't even spend time with you at that time!!
During our small trips to hospital for regular vaccination, you used to be so thrilled of moving outside those 4 walls of house. Very calmly, you always watched everything around you.
4) I just checked all your old photos which proved that you are very partial towards your mom. All good poses for a photograph are only with your mom when your dad did his "Maan-Paath Ek" for you. Not fair Nilu. Still nothing has changed apart from making you sleep where I score a brownie point over you mom. Trust me, I may not have sang so many songs in my 'X years' as compared to the "Gaai-Gaai Song" which I sang for you by trying different lyrics, tune and permutation and combinations. That daily 'Riyaaz' at any odd time of day/night made me feel like a Pro Singer ;) (Someday I think I should check with the neighbours and confirm them that I am a sane person).
5) Your mom loved our 'Jugalbandi' where you raise your voice of crying instead of sleeping, compelling me to increase my pitch of Gaai-Gaai song above your pitch. Sheer harassment of your poor dad. (तू मोठी झालीस की तुझ्याकडूनच घसा शेकायला गरम पाणी उकळून घेनार आहे मी).
6) As a kid of few months, you always listened me whistling back to back songs with full concentration. And how can we forget you listening "My Heart Will Go On" peacefully every time we played that song. Seeing you laugh by making funny noises and faces was always a treat for both of us.
7) You were not at all interested in the 2nd Marriage Anniversary of your parents. Can't blame you kiddo as you were just 1 month old.
8) The 1st ever toy gifted by me to you was a soft toy in the form of a 'Minion'. I was glad to gift you that as it taught us that the element called 'Fear' did exist in you. You better see your pics with that Minion clicked by me. Your bad papa also made you sleep by keeping the same minion above your झोळी so that it scares you and you won't wake up soon and resume your crying session.
9) You are god-gifted with so many expressions which you promptly use during your photo-sessions. You may refer to your 1st photoshoot of Red- Sweater-टोपडं or your 1st Makar Sankrant (Photographer- Of course your Dad). Your entire face and those talkative eyes are well alert when a camera is out.
10) In your 2nd month, you were a bit co-operative while attending your mom's birthday. Got bored early and went to sleep. बर्थदे मॉम का पर गिफ़्ट मिला मेरे टिल्लू को. That pink, crawling, baby who also sang, amused you to a great extent when it was crawling towards you. Just 2 months and so much curiosity. Wow!!! See that pic of both approaching each other in the same costume!
11) From 3rd month itself, your travelling began via a baby-carrier. You were much comfortable sitting in it that rather than crying alone on the bed and waiting for your mom to leave her work and come running towards you.
Such a caring approach!!
12) In the same month, we celebrated our 1st Valentine day when your level of obedience was at its peak. That was an era when you wore any hair band without any tantrums, laughed on my kalakaari and gave us nice pictures.
13) It was March, your 4th month when you encountered that scary thing called a 'Frock with Frills'.
एक वो दिन है और आजका दिन है.... फ़्रील का फ़्रॉक देखतेही तुम वन टू का फ़ोर हो जाती हो. और वो गजबके घ्रूणा भरे एक्स्प्रेशन्स .... हाय!
Wearing the same frock, we went to a studio to take our first Family Photo in a studio. Your adamant mom made you skip your sleep session for this shoot. Then you sweetly took the revenge. At least 10 times you brought us outside the studio by singing your sweet melodies. 1 picture we needed and so much मशक्कत we had to do for that. Finally we got one but that pic too clearly shows how frustrated you were with your parents....or may be with that Frilly frock. That same photo later became a gift for your mom in next month's 'Meeting Anniversary' of your parents in the form of a 3D Crystal and a reason of your smile too.
14) The same month saw your 1st haircut which had brought my heart in my mouth when it was in process. The barber and you did a good collaborative job and the ceremony went smoothly.
15) I love that time when your mom trusts me and leave you with me. That's when our Photo shoot of 'Topi Session' was born.
16) In the same month, you loved your very 1st Rangapanchami and were not amused to see "different shades" of your parents as well your colourful hairs and face.
17) It was in April, your 5 month when we took you to a garden for the 1st time. You in your 'चकोट ' after your जावळ session looked gorgeous and gave us some nice pictures.
18) In the same month, we took you to 'Bird Valley', your 1st visit to a restaurant. You enjoyed there within your timezone but once it was over, we had to obey you to take you home quickly.
19) 6th Month; You showed us the 1st real glimpse of you naughtiness in your sleep-special झोळी when you secretly woke up and stood on your knees in it to surprise your parents. The moment you saw me, you gave a special smile of belongingness stating "Yessss.....Finally
कोई आया तो सही".
20) Same month you also demonstrated your haavra nature when you wanted ice-cream stuffed in your mouth without a pause. I heard that incident of yours with Amar Dada and later you demonstrated that live when I fed you ice-cream. Now that nature has increased manifolds.
21) I loved our Khaadi Photo shoot in the same month where you were most expressive in every photo. Same month you also witnessed your 1st rainfall and enjoyed it on our terrace.
22) In the same month, I saw your "Bath-Leela". I had heard from your mom but got a chance to capture that in that month. A 6 month kid enjoying bath with full enthusiasm.
23) 7th Month- We recorded our 1st video of dhamaal n masti which became a regular practice after I come from office when I was in day shift.
24) Our visits to garden increased but every time you proved that you have an allergy to greenery. God knows what you would start thinking the moment you touch your feet to the grass. I guess you took Rajkumar's dialogue pretty seriously "आपके पांव देखे, बहुत हसीन है, इन्हें जमींपे मत उतारीएगा".
Please don't do that honey, just think once about our 'कंबरडं' too.
25) In the same month, you got your walker....a blessing for your parents to have tea and food peacefully by keeping you in that walker till that time. You 1st reaction after sitting in that walker was simply amazing. That long monologue is captured by me in a video. We knew this kid is gonna be the most talkative person in our family.
26) 8th Month- Your 1st official photoshoot in a photo studio. For every single photo, you pretty much ensured that your parents are utilizing every single molecule of Proteins and Carbohydrates which they consumed.
However all those efforts didn't go in vain. The outcome of that slogging was a beautiful frame which became a daily cause of smile for you. Seeing happiness on your face while seeing that frame/your own naughtiness makes our day.
27) In the same month, your memory and naughtiness were again displayed to us. I taught you Pee-a-boo on bed using our blanket a couple of times. One day suddenly you displayed the same technique using the curtain of our hall. How clever and innovative was that dear. That video is simply hilarious. That incident proved that my sharp memory of one era has been correctly transmitted to you and so does my innovative ideas. Thankfully, here your affinity was towards your father and not towards your mom ;)
28) 9th Month: During Ganesh festival, we saw your cultural side. Thanks for being so patient in that dress for a long time given your patience level is too low. Here, your devotional side (inculcated by your grandfather) came out. You loved all the Arti sessions. I love seeing you religious at least at this stage.
29) In this same month, we dared to take you out to travel some distance within Pune. We all enjoyed our 1st outing at 'Surya Shibir'. I still cannot stop my laughter when I recollect your reaction after seeing those white birds. You were simply kicking me and dancing on my shoulder to take you away from the sight of that horrifying scene of those creatures as per you. At the same time, you enjoyed most of the birds in that aviary.
Baby, You could have been a little bit more peaceful during dinner time during that tour!
30) 10th Month: In this month, again we visited 2 local parks. Your affinity towards Peacock, Ducks and King Kobra was highly noticeable. Thankfully you have not chosen the path of your mom and grandmas of being scary of snakes. Your love for मुरमुरे was yet again seen in the park. You seem to be so much शांत बाळ when you are with us outside our house.
31) In the same month, your first started walking slowly and then running too.
अगं राणी, जरा दमा दमानं मोठी हो ग बाळा.
32) The same month also witnessed our adorable शेंडू मामी was born in this month. How cute you were looking with those 2 ponytails. However you are that smart enough now a days that you can't withstand anything on your head. It may be a small hair-clip, a soft hair-band, a टोपडं, a कानटोपी, a thing which is similar to your traits- माकडटोपी or an attractive hat or even a rubber band.
33) 11th Month: Your first Diwali. Thankfully you weren't scared of the noisy crackers out there. You enjoyed sparkler (had to Google this word yaar), bhulchakra and all the lights around.
34) In the same month, we surprised you. You slept while I was driving bike. When you opened your eyes, there was a different World around you. A mall...with colourful people and things around. You sudden smile and small screams after seeing other kids is very heavenly. After waking up in a mall, you showed a great temperament for a considerably long duration.
35) I think this was the month when we saw 1st teeth in your mouth. That bugger along with his followers who were about to come, prompted you to bite anything and everything fed to you ...including our finger while feeding you!
36) 12th Month: Your 1st birthday. What a time to fall ill. You became ill on 1st November itself and we knew you would be cranky on your birthday i.e. on next day too. We wish we could have postponed it but we couldn't as all the preparation was already done and all the relatives were about to come. Some were about to see you first time. We wanted to make your 1st birthday special but your illness didn't allow us to do that.
Our birthday's somehow couldn't be celebrated on a grand scale but we wanted you to get the best which we can offer you.
I can't thank enough to Amar Dada, the real hero of your birthday party arrangement for arranging the entire event artistically and with such an ease.
Me and your mom are really sorry for you for making you go through all that ordeal especially on your 1st birthday just to satiate our "Social Responsibility" which was far lesser than our love towards you.
(पिल्लया, निदान एक तरी गोंडस, हसरा फोटो द्यायचा की ग त्या दिवशी!!)
Your naughty nature again was visible though. Poor photographer had to be patient till 3rd photosession when you finally blessed him on the next day of your birthday with nice poses. That marvellous chap, after making your mom-dad "बघेबल" in their marriage album, is creating another much improved magic on your photos. Work is in progress and we are damn happy about the progress.
Just that you should know a secret about your mom, she was your second official barber. She allowed your hairs to stay on your head only till your birthday. The moment your birthday was over, she showed the hidden talent of her by cutting your hairs when you were asleep. Not a bad work I must say as people were asking her "Mushroom cut??Wow, from where did you do?"
You mom was patting her back in triumph and why not. She took you again back to 3 months era. We loved that old look with latest updates installed in you ;)
Apart from these selected memories, there are still hell lot of memories of you Kickya:
Your Gundi nature...
Screaming in various voices and proving that you are a better mimicrician than me...
Doing screaming jugalbandi with me...
Politely offering your cheek every time to me when I ask for a kiss...
Our Kuckoo-Chuku sessions...
Your innocent Vithhal-Vitthal and Itha Itha Bas Re Mora...
Your love for Chiv-Chiv Chimni song...(Oh how handy it was every time to entertain you)...
Your fascination for all the title tracks of Zee Marathi serials...
That smiling look you gave us whenever we switch on to Baby T.V.
Your love for Dogs (your beloved Bhu Bhu-Soft Toy), Cats, your Best Friend पारवा...
Your lovely bonding with Saasrebuva-Saasubai and Dhiru .....
Your sweet relationship with Trushna, Kaamwali Mavshi and all the other small girls in our nearby locality...
Your act of gaining sympathy when your hand was slightly injured due to a mistake of your ass hole dad. That injury is healed long time back but you still show that to people so innocently. So clever of you.....
Your act of coming quickly and climbing on the back for that small ride which you enjoy...
Your memories of eating anything and everything offered to you. Then showing a gradual shift in your choices of taste. Chiku is barred now from your list of favourite items. So was Chicken soup but your mom again made a good one which you liked recently...
You sharpening your nails on our faces, attempting to break you mom's nose every time by your freefalls on her face...
You passion for remote control, mobile, T.V. and laptop is immense. Girl, don't get addicted towards these things. यह सब मोहमाया है!!!
You continuous efforts to catch that one साबूदाणा (Aah, I lost saving that funny video)....
Your innovative, musical भांडी-कुंडी sessions (अगं आय आय, केवढा तो आवाज) ...
Your search operations on floor or on walls to see if you can get something "New to eat". In the same quest, you had found a rusted nail which you had almost put in your mouth. I had to tell you that "Hey Cute Lady, to obtain Iron as a part of nourishment for your body, we do feed you various nutritive things. You don't need to eat a Rusted Nail for that"...
Your बाज़की नजर assures that your lazy parents keep the house clean and tidy so that the floor doesn't act as a Menu Card for you to order and consume new items. That's why you are an expert archaeologist as I always say....
Your alertness towards departure and arrival time of your mummy to/from office...
Your prompt attention when somebody is getting ready to go outside...
Your sharp memory of those irritating steam inhalation sessions which always prompted you to go bersek the moment you saw those ladies holding steamer in their hand or that bed where my angel had to do piercing multiple time. (To hell with those vaccines.) I am just thankful to you my baby for keeping your decibel levels as low as possible so that the other kids and their parents didn't run away from the hospitals after listening your "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa"...
Your current obedient nature of putting anything in mouth but immediately giving it to us when asked to handover...
Your love for ice-cream and chocolates.... infact for all the sweet things right from your inception...
Your mandatory requirement of mom besides you when you wake up. I confess that sometimes, you did adjust with your poor dad when your mom was busy in her household chores...
Your smart skill of searching hidden things around us which we hid just to ensure that you don't pick them and bang on the floor and break it...
Your funny, मस्तीखोर, pre-sleep sessions where sometimes you yourself say "Omkar" instead of me to make you sleep...
Your dangerous stunts which you perform in that झोळी just to ensure that your parents won't forcibly make you go to sleep or to drag away the sleep when you are actually very sleepy... (How the hell one can do that yaar!!!)
Your trait of being a fan of Osho and enjoying life as a simpleton (Thank God तुम अपने पापापे गयी हो)...
You enjoy a lot with me only when your mom is not around. That's why my stakes are high only until you see your mom. The moment you see your mom, you suddenly remind yourself that you need to cry loudly so that your mom immediately picks and hug you. At that moment, my market crashes badly. You don't even look at me as if "Dad....Who Is He???"
Yaar, Politicians also don't switch their parties so fast :(
Your adamant nature of not saying Papa/Baba and saying all other damn words in the World...
काय आणि किती लिहू मी पिल्ल्या तुझ्याविषयी.... केवळ एक वर्ष झालंय तुला आमच्या आयुष्यात येऊन आणि तरीही तू आम्हाला कित्ती काय काय अगदी मुक्तहस्ते, भरभरुन दिलं आहेस...
जेव्हा आयुष्यं आणि त्यातील नकारात्मक्ता आम्हा दोघान्ना मागे खेचू लागते तेव्हा आम्ही तुझं वॉलपेपर बघतो...तुझी आठवण काढतो...तुझ्याशी खेळतो....मग क्षणात सगळ्या नकारात्मक गोष्टी दूर पळून जातात...आणि एक नविन उभारी येते नव्याने आयुष्य जगायला.
And that's one of the main reason I also call you a "Magician".
Stay blessed. Be as Naughty as you can. Make us more n more creative by every passing day. Thanks for making us travel all the way back to our childhood to be of your age and to dig up age old tricks just to entertain you.
Happy Birthday Again My Gargi Tillu.
Love You !!!
- Your Mom And Dad
(P.S. Your dad didn't remember everything in the sequence. He smartly referred all your photos from his mobile from last year and then created this ;)
Usually, famous people write letters to their son or daughter. Your dad is not one of them. However, I felt to do something different on your 1st Birthday which you will always cherish when you grow up.
So here is a letter from a not so famous person to an extraordinary kid on her 1st birthday.
(You may call it as a penalty for not updating your 'Record Book' on time when you were growing!)
It's been a year now when I first saw a pinkish, little, restless version of you nibbling the edge of the tube in which you were kept.
Our 1st meeting...My 1st tear of happiness...unshed and blocked within the border of my eyes so that your granny won't realize how fragile your dad is.
Me and your mom conversed a lot with you and about you before you actually arrived. However seldom did we know how much love, happiness, thrill, suspense, helplessness, sleeplessness, idiotness, madness, alertness, sharp-mindedness, greediness, tiresomeness you will bring to our small World.
It's just a year with you in our lives and you have opened a 'Pitara' of all these things and given us in your signature style.
Let me see how many classic memories of yours of the bygone year can your old dad recollect:
1) Day-2: Your 1st ever bath in the hospital: You looked like an obedient pupil but the moment nurse touched your nose....boom....me and your mom witnessed the 1st glimpse of your anger.
(खरं आहे...... राग नेहमी नाकाच्या शेंड्यावरच असतो !!)
2) Your 1st Mehendi cleaning (Potty) session done by me in the hospital. This new dangerous activity never made me awkward as I gradually learnt how to keep you relaxed and distracted till your creativity gets cleaned up. The trick of calling the कावळा again and again when the चिमणी send him back every time seems to be silly for the audience as I always customize the songs and stories but who cares as it works for me to put in the new diaper after disposing it's old comrade.
You too have been very supportive Pillu during this activity.
3) Your mom captured your 1st picture of your cute Saakharjhop Smile. How badly I was jealous of her that I couldn't even spend time with you at that time!!
During our small trips to hospital for regular vaccination, you used to be so thrilled of moving outside those 4 walls of house. Very calmly, you always watched everything around you.
4) I just checked all your old photos which proved that you are very partial towards your mom. All good poses for a photograph are only with your mom when your dad did his "Maan-Paath Ek" for you. Not fair Nilu. Still nothing has changed apart from making you sleep where I score a brownie point over you mom. Trust me, I may not have sang so many songs in my 'X years' as compared to the "Gaai-Gaai Song" which I sang for you by trying different lyrics, tune and permutation and combinations. That daily 'Riyaaz' at any odd time of day/night made me feel like a Pro Singer ;) (Someday I think I should check with the neighbours and confirm them that I am a sane person).
5) Your mom loved our 'Jugalbandi' where you raise your voice of crying instead of sleeping, compelling me to increase my pitch of Gaai-Gaai song above your pitch. Sheer harassment of your poor dad. (तू मोठी झालीस की तुझ्याकडूनच घसा शेकायला गरम पाणी उकळून घेनार आहे मी).
6) As a kid of few months, you always listened me whistling back to back songs with full concentration. And how can we forget you listening "My Heart Will Go On" peacefully every time we played that song. Seeing you laugh by making funny noises and faces was always a treat for both of us.
7) You were not at all interested in the 2nd Marriage Anniversary of your parents. Can't blame you kiddo as you were just 1 month old.
8) The 1st ever toy gifted by me to you was a soft toy in the form of a 'Minion'. I was glad to gift you that as it taught us that the element called 'Fear' did exist in you. You better see your pics with that Minion clicked by me. Your bad papa also made you sleep by keeping the same minion above your झोळी so that it scares you and you won't wake up soon and resume your crying session.
9) You are god-gifted with so many expressions which you promptly use during your photo-sessions. You may refer to your 1st photoshoot of Red- Sweater-टोपडं or your 1st Makar Sankrant (Photographer- Of course your Dad). Your entire face and those talkative eyes are well alert when a camera is out.
10) In your 2nd month, you were a bit co-operative while attending your mom's birthday. Got bored early and went to sleep. बर्थदे मॉम का पर गिफ़्ट मिला मेरे टिल्लू को. That pink, crawling, baby who also sang, amused you to a great extent when it was crawling towards you. Just 2 months and so much curiosity. Wow!!! See that pic of both approaching each other in the same costume!
11) From 3rd month itself, your travelling began via a baby-carrier. You were much comfortable sitting in it that rather than crying alone on the bed and waiting for your mom to leave her work and come running towards you.
Such a caring approach!!
12) In the same month, we celebrated our 1st Valentine day when your level of obedience was at its peak. That was an era when you wore any hair band without any tantrums, laughed on my kalakaari and gave us nice pictures.
13) It was March, your 4th month when you encountered that scary thing called a 'Frock with Frills'.
एक वो दिन है और आजका दिन है.... फ़्रील का फ़्रॉक देखतेही तुम वन टू का फ़ोर हो जाती हो. और वो गजबके घ्रूणा भरे एक्स्प्रेशन्स .... हाय!
Wearing the same frock, we went to a studio to take our first Family Photo in a studio. Your adamant mom made you skip your sleep session for this shoot. Then you sweetly took the revenge. At least 10 times you brought us outside the studio by singing your sweet melodies. 1 picture we needed and so much मशक्कत we had to do for that. Finally we got one but that pic too clearly shows how frustrated you were with your parents....or may be with that Frilly frock. That same photo later became a gift for your mom in next month's 'Meeting Anniversary' of your parents in the form of a 3D Crystal and a reason of your smile too.
14) The same month saw your 1st haircut which had brought my heart in my mouth when it was in process. The barber and you did a good collaborative job and the ceremony went smoothly.
15) I love that time when your mom trusts me and leave you with me. That's when our Photo shoot of 'Topi Session' was born.
16) In the same month, you loved your very 1st Rangapanchami and were not amused to see "different shades" of your parents as well your colourful hairs and face.
17) It was in April, your 5 month when we took you to a garden for the 1st time. You in your 'चकोट ' after your जावळ session looked gorgeous and gave us some nice pictures.
18) In the same month, we took you to 'Bird Valley', your 1st visit to a restaurant. You enjoyed there within your timezone but once it was over, we had to obey you to take you home quickly.
19) 6th Month; You showed us the 1st real glimpse of you naughtiness in your sleep-special झोळी when you secretly woke up and stood on your knees in it to surprise your parents. The moment you saw me, you gave a special smile of belongingness stating "Yessss.....Finally
कोई आया तो सही".
20) Same month you also demonstrated your haavra nature when you wanted ice-cream stuffed in your mouth without a pause. I heard that incident of yours with Amar Dada and later you demonstrated that live when I fed you ice-cream. Now that nature has increased manifolds.
21) I loved our Khaadi Photo shoot in the same month where you were most expressive in every photo. Same month you also witnessed your 1st rainfall and enjoyed it on our terrace.
22) In the same month, I saw your "Bath-Leela". I had heard from your mom but got a chance to capture that in that month. A 6 month kid enjoying bath with full enthusiasm.
23) 7th Month- We recorded our 1st video of dhamaal n masti which became a regular practice after I come from office when I was in day shift.
24) Our visits to garden increased but every time you proved that you have an allergy to greenery. God knows what you would start thinking the moment you touch your feet to the grass. I guess you took Rajkumar's dialogue pretty seriously "आपके पांव देखे, बहुत हसीन है, इन्हें जमींपे मत उतारीएगा".
Please don't do that honey, just think once about our 'कंबरडं' too.
25) In the same month, you got your walker....a blessing for your parents to have tea and food peacefully by keeping you in that walker till that time. You 1st reaction after sitting in that walker was simply amazing. That long monologue is captured by me in a video. We knew this kid is gonna be the most talkative person in our family.
26) 8th Month- Your 1st official photoshoot in a photo studio. For every single photo, you pretty much ensured that your parents are utilizing every single molecule of Proteins and Carbohydrates which they consumed.
However all those efforts didn't go in vain. The outcome of that slogging was a beautiful frame which became a daily cause of smile for you. Seeing happiness on your face while seeing that frame/your own naughtiness makes our day.
27) In the same month, your memory and naughtiness were again displayed to us. I taught you Pee-a-boo on bed using our blanket a couple of times. One day suddenly you displayed the same technique using the curtain of our hall. How clever and innovative was that dear. That video is simply hilarious. That incident proved that my sharp memory of one era has been correctly transmitted to you and so does my innovative ideas. Thankfully, here your affinity was towards your father and not towards your mom ;)
28) 9th Month: During Ganesh festival, we saw your cultural side. Thanks for being so patient in that dress for a long time given your patience level is too low. Here, your devotional side (inculcated by your grandfather) came out. You loved all the Arti sessions. I love seeing you religious at least at this stage.
29) In this same month, we dared to take you out to travel some distance within Pune. We all enjoyed our 1st outing at 'Surya Shibir'. I still cannot stop my laughter when I recollect your reaction after seeing those white birds. You were simply kicking me and dancing on my shoulder to take you away from the sight of that horrifying scene of those creatures as per you. At the same time, you enjoyed most of the birds in that aviary.
Baby, You could have been a little bit more peaceful during dinner time during that tour!
30) 10th Month: In this month, again we visited 2 local parks. Your affinity towards Peacock, Ducks and King Kobra was highly noticeable. Thankfully you have not chosen the path of your mom and grandmas of being scary of snakes. Your love for मुरमुरे was yet again seen in the park. You seem to be so much शांत बाळ when you are with us outside our house.
31) In the same month, your first started walking slowly and then running too.
अगं राणी, जरा दमा दमानं मोठी हो ग बाळा.
32) The same month also witnessed our adorable शेंडू मामी was born in this month. How cute you were looking with those 2 ponytails. However you are that smart enough now a days that you can't withstand anything on your head. It may be a small hair-clip, a soft hair-band, a टोपडं, a कानटोपी, a thing which is similar to your traits- माकडटोपी or an attractive hat or even a rubber band.
33) 11th Month: Your first Diwali. Thankfully you weren't scared of the noisy crackers out there. You enjoyed sparkler (had to Google this word yaar), bhulchakra and all the lights around.
34) In the same month, we surprised you. You slept while I was driving bike. When you opened your eyes, there was a different World around you. A mall...with colourful people and things around. You sudden smile and small screams after seeing other kids is very heavenly. After waking up in a mall, you showed a great temperament for a considerably long duration.
35) I think this was the month when we saw 1st teeth in your mouth. That bugger along with his followers who were about to come, prompted you to bite anything and everything fed to you ...including our finger while feeding you!
36) 12th Month: Your 1st birthday. What a time to fall ill. You became ill on 1st November itself and we knew you would be cranky on your birthday i.e. on next day too. We wish we could have postponed it but we couldn't as all the preparation was already done and all the relatives were about to come. Some were about to see you first time. We wanted to make your 1st birthday special but your illness didn't allow us to do that.
Our birthday's somehow couldn't be celebrated on a grand scale but we wanted you to get the best which we can offer you.
I can't thank enough to Amar Dada, the real hero of your birthday party arrangement for arranging the entire event artistically and with such an ease.
Me and your mom are really sorry for you for making you go through all that ordeal especially on your 1st birthday just to satiate our "Social Responsibility" which was far lesser than our love towards you.
(पिल्लया, निदान एक तरी गोंडस, हसरा फोटो द्यायचा की ग त्या दिवशी!!)
Your naughty nature again was visible though. Poor photographer had to be patient till 3rd photosession when you finally blessed him on the next day of your birthday with nice poses. That marvellous chap, after making your mom-dad "बघेबल" in their marriage album, is creating another much improved magic on your photos. Work is in progress and we are damn happy about the progress.
Just that you should know a secret about your mom, she was your second official barber. She allowed your hairs to stay on your head only till your birthday. The moment your birthday was over, she showed the hidden talent of her by cutting your hairs when you were asleep. Not a bad work I must say as people were asking her "Mushroom cut??Wow, from where did you do?"
You mom was patting her back in triumph and why not. She took you again back to 3 months era. We loved that old look with latest updates installed in you ;)
Apart from these selected memories, there are still hell lot of memories of you Kickya:
Your Gundi nature...
Screaming in various voices and proving that you are a better mimicrician than me...
Doing screaming jugalbandi with me...
Politely offering your cheek every time to me when I ask for a kiss...
Our Kuckoo-Chuku sessions...
Your innocent Vithhal-Vitthal and Itha Itha Bas Re Mora...
Your love for Chiv-Chiv Chimni song...(Oh how handy it was every time to entertain you)...
Your fascination for all the title tracks of Zee Marathi serials...
That smiling look you gave us whenever we switch on to Baby T.V.
Your love for Dogs (your beloved Bhu Bhu-Soft Toy), Cats, your Best Friend पारवा...
Your lovely bonding with Saasrebuva-Saasubai and Dhiru .....
Your sweet relationship with Trushna, Kaamwali Mavshi and all the other small girls in our nearby locality...
Your act of gaining sympathy when your hand was slightly injured due to a mistake of your ass hole dad. That injury is healed long time back but you still show that to people so innocently. So clever of you.....
Your act of coming quickly and climbing on the back for that small ride which you enjoy...
Your memories of eating anything and everything offered to you. Then showing a gradual shift in your choices of taste. Chiku is barred now from your list of favourite items. So was Chicken soup but your mom again made a good one which you liked recently...
You sharpening your nails on our faces, attempting to break you mom's nose every time by your freefalls on her face...
You passion for remote control, mobile, T.V. and laptop is immense. Girl, don't get addicted towards these things. यह सब मोहमाया है!!!
You continuous efforts to catch that one साबूदाणा (Aah, I lost saving that funny video)....
Your innovative, musical भांडी-कुंडी sessions (अगं आय आय, केवढा तो आवाज) ...
Your search operations on floor or on walls to see if you can get something "New to eat". In the same quest, you had found a rusted nail which you had almost put in your mouth. I had to tell you that "Hey Cute Lady, to obtain Iron as a part of nourishment for your body, we do feed you various nutritive things. You don't need to eat a Rusted Nail for that"...
Your बाज़की नजर assures that your lazy parents keep the house clean and tidy so that the floor doesn't act as a Menu Card for you to order and consume new items. That's why you are an expert archaeologist as I always say....
Your alertness towards departure and arrival time of your mummy to/from office...
Your prompt attention when somebody is getting ready to go outside...
Your sharp memory of those irritating steam inhalation sessions which always prompted you to go bersek the moment you saw those ladies holding steamer in their hand or that bed where my angel had to do piercing multiple time. (To hell with those vaccines.) I am just thankful to you my baby for keeping your decibel levels as low as possible so that the other kids and their parents didn't run away from the hospitals after listening your "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa"...
Your current obedient nature of putting anything in mouth but immediately giving it to us when asked to handover...
Your love for ice-cream and chocolates.... infact for all the sweet things right from your inception...
Your mandatory requirement of mom besides you when you wake up. I confess that sometimes, you did adjust with your poor dad when your mom was busy in her household chores...
Your smart skill of searching hidden things around us which we hid just to ensure that you don't pick them and bang on the floor and break it...
Your funny, मस्तीखोर, pre-sleep sessions where sometimes you yourself say "Omkar" instead of me to make you sleep...
Your dangerous stunts which you perform in that झोळी just to ensure that your parents won't forcibly make you go to sleep or to drag away the sleep when you are actually very sleepy... (How the hell one can do that yaar!!!)
Your trait of being a fan of Osho and enjoying life as a simpleton (Thank God तुम अपने पापापे गयी हो)...
You enjoy a lot with me only when your mom is not around. That's why my stakes are high only until you see your mom. The moment you see your mom, you suddenly remind yourself that you need to cry loudly so that your mom immediately picks and hug you. At that moment, my market crashes badly. You don't even look at me as if "Dad....Who Is He???"
Yaar, Politicians also don't switch their parties so fast :(
Your adamant nature of not saying Papa/Baba and saying all other damn words in the World...
काय आणि किती लिहू मी पिल्ल्या तुझ्याविषयी.... केवळ एक वर्ष झालंय तुला आमच्या आयुष्यात येऊन आणि तरीही तू आम्हाला कित्ती काय काय अगदी मुक्तहस्ते, भरभरुन दिलं आहेस...
जेव्हा आयुष्यं आणि त्यातील नकारात्मक्ता आम्हा दोघान्ना मागे खेचू लागते तेव्हा आम्ही तुझं वॉलपेपर बघतो...तुझी आठवण काढतो...तुझ्याशी खेळतो....मग क्षणात सगळ्या नकारात्मक गोष्टी दूर पळून जातात...आणि एक नविन उभारी येते नव्याने आयुष्य जगायला.
And that's one of the main reason I also call you a "Magician".
Stay blessed. Be as Naughty as you can. Make us more n more creative by every passing day. Thanks for making us travel all the way back to our childhood to be of your age and to dig up age old tricks just to entertain you.
Happy Birthday Again My Gargi Tillu.
Love You !!!
- Your Mom And Dad
(P.S. Your dad didn't remember everything in the sequence. He smartly referred all your photos from his mobile from last year and then created this ;)
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