Shaurya's Chronicles

Delhi Diwali !!

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Diwali, the festival of lights was much awaited this time. Mainly, because it was our first Diwali at Delhi in our new house and personally I was all the more eager to see Shaurya's behaviour and reactions to all the resplendence and bangs. No doubt, he was celebrating his second Diwali but it was a lot different from the last year because this time around he has learnt on how to walk around and run after things. He has also learnt about how to admire things and is beginning to show his liking and disliking and is upto a new trick every day.

At times when I sit back and look into the past and think about how festivals and their meanings have changed and mutated over the years, it almost seems unreal. No doubt as a person gains years, his outlook and his way of appreciating things is altered but now I guess, we are living in a different age altogether. These are the times when mothers are apprehensive about their children playing in the street and where children display more excitement looking at their gaming consoles than being out in the sun and running around. Festivals have generally lost their sheen and somehow the wonderment that a 'Phul-Jhadi' used to cause 10 years ago is missing in children today.

However, I feel Shaurya is still at an age where everything is wonderful to look at and little things tend to become a marvel for all five senses. I so wish at times, that grown ups could retain that sense of amazement and wonder in these little joys of life.

And as it had to be, my little Shaurya could just not contain himself at all the grandeur and paraphernalia of the festival season. He would stand for hours in the balcony to see the lit up homes in the neighbourhood and wonder at all the magnificence that Diwali brings along.

Everytime that he was shut indoors, he would cry and howl to go out and spend his own good time, looking around. Even in the car, he would have his finger pointed at things and lights in the vicinity. His mouth would drop open and he would clap endlessly at the sight of any brightly lit shop in the markets or even houses for that matter...

During all these days balcony became Shaurya's favorite spot. His Chachu would often be by his side basically, out of concern that Shaurya might get scared and start crying owing to the loud noise that certain crackers made.

But to our amazement and delight, he did nothing like that and tried his best to catch a glimpse of every cracker that burst. Often a sudden loud boom of a firecracker would even make me jump out of my skin but my little hero, opened his eyes wide and laughed and clapped, as if it was something very amusing.. I was a little taken aback at the way he was expressing his excitement. He clapped and giggled in his Chachu's arms, and kept waiting for another 'Bang' to happen..

It was wonderful to see my baby dance and clap to the tune of crackers and lights and I guess his laughter and joy made this Diwali all the more memorable for me. I feel that no one is actually able to recall the details of all the festivals one celebrates in his lifetime and one can only faintly remember the happiness associated with a celebration or a festivity. I guess I for sure would remember and distinguish this one particular day simply because of Shaurya's relentless clapping and laughter.

Thank you my son, for all the happiness you have brought my way. It is through you that I could experience and see all those little joys in the lights and crackers and felt like a child all over again.

True, isn't it "With a child, a mother is also born....."

'Taaqat' & the He-Man

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I guess most of you would be wondering at the choice of the title for this post and am sure that those who did manage to get the context would be smiling at the reminiscence of the cartoon series from yesteryears. As for Shaurya, my Baby, I guess by the time you would be reading this post, the He-Man series would be a thing of archaeological value. (Maybe I can download some episode some where and save it on a disk for you to establish the context. Let's see...) 

Anyway, the thought for this post and consequently the choice of this title came to me a day before, as I went for a short walk to the market. My walks are more often borne to fulfill a necessity than out of some regular habit. I do enjoy the little time I spend with myself on these short walks and it does gets me rejuvenated. However, on this particular day it was more to buy some diapers for Shaurya (That's OK Son, you don't have to be embarassed on this).

It was on the way back home that a banner by the road side caught my attention. The hoarding carried the name of a local gym with a picture of a slightly ugly looking, but well built guy. Anyway, the point is not the model on the sign-board but the way it reminded me of another of Shaurya's tricks.

I call this trick of his the 'Taaqat' trick. I don't clearly remember how it started. Maybe, he picked it from some weird wrestling match on TV, or maybe, it runs in the family as chachu is a gym freak too. Anyway, the trigger or the magical keyword to this act is "taaqat". So, anytime this magical word was said, Shaurya would flex his little biceps and straighten his arms and grunt his teeth to show his 'taaqat', in a true wrestler style.

It did make a lovely sight to behold and treasure, but I never managed to capture it on a camera, and now, it resides only in my memory, as he gradually stopped doing it. He had a cute style of doing it and even taught it to his cousin, Saanya in US. They would both do it together and then laugh endlessly.

The trick got sort of faded off his memory ever since we returned from the US trip and he had almost stopped doing it. I guess it could be so because he was missing Saanya, or may be as a natural process of growth, he graduated to other pranks and forgot the older tricks.

But then yesterday, he reminded me of his little act by taking his test of strength to a new realm. Diwali being round the corner someone dropped by at his daddy’s office with a big, heavy basket of dry fruits as the Diwali gift. It was a nice attractive basket, nicely decorated with net and ribbons with a beautiful silver leaf on the top and all possible glitter and so it happened that this basket was put on the dining table with no one else giving it attention, except my little master.

It possessed the right amount of magic to raise the curiosity of a little child. He could not resist it for long and wanted to hold it. So he got his play mate, whom he calls Kapa (from Deepika), to hand it over to him.. being heavy she didn’t do so. But, he was adamant on holding it and started yelling and crying (his favorite style of making people emotional), so finally he had his way..

But the best part was that the basket was a little too heavy for him to hold and so he could hardly lift it. Though he managed to carry it from the dining room to the bedroom, which is around twenty to twenty five steps away, but the sight was worth seeing.. i doubled up laughing.. he fell twice, trying to keep it firm in his hands and then kept on moving back and forth trying to hold it stable and all the time he was holding the basket, he kept chanting.."Mamma, Mamma, Mamma..."

I had tears in my eyes, tears of joy.. It's great to see my little Shaurya growing up.. As many other changes in him, his style of showing his 'taaqat' too has undergone a change. It's no more a display of biceps.. but, it's more of picking heavy things like grocery bags, vegetable packets, toy basket, his own chair etc..etc..

Hmm .. so I guess thats how life goes.. one thing makes way for the other.. Change is the constant, the signal for rebirth, the egg of the phoenix...and I guess it can all be summed up in a single quote someone made "Children make you want to start your life over."