Shaurya's Chronicles

I know this has been the longest break that I ever took from making a post. I guess I have just become too occupied with other things happening at the moment. Shaurya’s 'Masi' has flown down from US and there have been some recent developments on my job front as well in addition to my being down with flu and a bad throat for some time now.

Anyway, all excuses given, I am making this post with intent of making up for all the lost time and hence hope that my readers shall get back to me with lot of comments and feedback and urge me to post a couple more in quick time now.

In my earlier posts I have expressed my wonder on Shaurya picking up words and phrases and formulating his language. Well, my little champ is one little bag of surprises and he keeps pulling a new trick every passing day.

Couple of weeks ago he would just drop his toys and come over to me seeking my attention. I, on such occasions would ask him, ‘What happened, Shaurya?’ He would then smile and run back to his toys or just stand there without giving me an answer. However, few days ago he picked up this phrase and started asking me in return ‘What happened, Mamma?’ and then would climb up the bed and pat my cheek. I would then smile and answer, ‘Nothing happened, Shaurya’.

And now he has kind of memorized this question and now if I ever ask him ‘What happened, Shaurya?’ He promptly replies ‘Nothing happened, Mamma’. He would then turn around and give me a smile and looks up as if to seek my approval at his answer.

Often this becomes a little game in itself and he would repeat his answer multiple times. The only thing I can do at this is smile lovingly and cuddle him. It gives me a sense of pride that he’s learning things fast and even tries his best to use whatever he’s been learning.

Shaurya Apes & Mamma Gapes..

Over a last couple of weeks, a new universal truth has dawned upon me. I have come to realize that it is an uphill task to get a child’s attention when YOU want it but a child will always pick up things and imitate you when you least expect or need it. In almost all my previous posts, I have mentioned innumerably about the joys of motherhood especially watching your child pick up things and new antics each day. It is this ever-changing behaviour of a child that makes parenting an enriching learning experience in its own right.

I am sure that the person who quoted that ‘change is the law of nature’ was none other than a first time mother basking in the sublime emotions of watching her child grow and pick up new tricks every day. (Well I know that I went a little overboard there, but then I guess I have always been a little altruistic and generous when describing such things)

Anyway, coming back to Shaurya, let me tell you that along with his behaviour, his language is also changing. I read it somewhere that one way of knowing that your baby is growing up is when he starts asking you questions that have real answers. Though he still has not reached a level, where he makes me crazy by chanting ‘What’, ‘When’, ‘Why’, ‘How’ all the time, he has become quite ripe for making observations and imitating each and everything that catches his attention. As it turns out, Shaurya is growing up to be a keen observer and is quite eager to learn and imitate everything that happens around him.

In my last post I had talked about him copying his dad and replicating his shaving routine. Well, this time he has gone a step further. He has been carefully watching me when I do my make up (which, I must inform, is a fairly basic and simple routine), arrange my bag or purse & walk out of the house and has now started mimicking my actions to perfection.

If he sees me putting on any make up, he insists on applying every single article. In fact, ‘insists’ is such a mild word when it comes to kids. He actually cries and tugs at me and literally gets me on my knees to give in to his demands. And then, it is the full range that forms the list of his demands - from eyeliners to ‘kaajal’ to a lipstick, he wants the full works. Let me add here that eye shadows are his favourite. And then he would wear his shoes, take out his cap from cupboard, puts it on and then places all his painting colours in an empty purse, flings it on his shoulder and says ‘Chalo Ji’ before waving at me and walking out of the room as I do every morning when I leave for work.

Now son, I know you might be a little embarrassed when you or your girl friend(s) get to read this 15- 20 years from now, but then it is such a funny sight for me now that I had to document it.

Perhaps by the time you get to read this you would have picked up a few nuisances of growing up and would have forgotten all your little antics and playful tricks. You would no longer need my cosmetics or feel an urge to imitate me (I hope). Maybe by that time I would be the one who would be trying to pick up things from you, trying to catch up with changing times. Chances are that you might not find it funny like I do. Nonetheless, I hope that you do spare a thought for your aging mother then and show her as much patience too.

For now, let me see if I can rope you in and click a few pictures when you are all ‘decked’ up.

Shaurya 'shaves' the day !!

I am beginning to like my recent spurt in updating the blog and I’m sure Shaurya will really be proud of me some day, as from one post a month, I’ve come down to about one post a week. (Let's just hope that I am able to maintain this writing streak) Well, I guess I also need to thank Shaurya as he is the one who’s motivating me to write on and on by coming up with new pranks each day.

He has got into a habit of doing something interesting almost every day and even we, at home, have become accustomed to his varying naughty behavior. It’s amazing to see how a child gets bored of one prank and hooks onto another and then picks up something else minutes later. Well, in his case, the level of interest in a particular mischief can vary from one hour to a maximum of four days.

I am sure the title for the post has already revealed a lot about the contents and so without much ado I shall come straight to the point. Shaurya's latest fascination is the can of shaving foam.

He intently watches his daddy and 'chachu' use the foam and shave as they get ready to go to work. He keeps sitting in the washroom on the slab of the basin watching them keenly as they pick up the foam and apply it to their faces. No matter how busy he is playing with his toothbrush, the soap dispenser or the hair brush but the moment anyone grabs the 'Gillette' can, he drops everything and is all a picture of attention.

I am sure he has got himself hooked onto this routine and the foam can is now a much coveted object of desire for him. And I am sure that this desire is increasing manifold inside (craving for the forbidden is I guess an inherent human trait) since he is never allowed to lay his hands on the can because as soon as he tries to get hold of it, he gets a big ‘NO’ in return.

However, as it had to be, Shaurya got hold of the shaving foam one day and since he had seen his elders use it many a times, he somehow managed to take out a good amount of it on his hand. The first thing he did was to apply the foam on his cheeks. He got so fascinated by it, that he kept on applying it all over his face, including his forehead and even onto his clothes. He carried on playing, till all foam dried up and he realized that it was time to wash his face.

It was quite funny to see the way he was trying to imitate his daddy and even funnier to see him looking at himself in the mirror and make funny faces all the time. I must say, it’s a pleasure watching Shaurya do all these things, but then its equally tiring to clean up after him and clear all the mess he makes.

Hmm, my little one so, when you are all grown up and you read this I expect you to spare a thought about your old mommy and appreciate the fact about the number of times I had to bend my back to mop the floor after you had a fill of your antics.

For now, I will just chase you into the bathroom and clean you up again.

Shaurya & The Idiot Box - Part II

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I am sure, people my age who were children a couple of decades ago, would remember those special jingles and catch lines that played on DD then. Right from “I love you Rasna”  (Catch the video here) to “Lijjat Papad” (Watch here), from “Washing powder, Nirma….” to “Tandarusti ki raksha karta hai Lifebuoy” I am sure everyone would have sung those lines one time or the other and everyone would have had his/her favourites. (Now if you are getting nostalgic, click here. I found this while surfing randomly).

I guess children are fascinated by the fast moving visuals and the rhyme and music which are part of a commercial. I am sure most of these marketing and advertisement agencies are driven and propelled by the challenge of luring a kid to hang onto their commercials and then eventually pursue the parents to buy the product under question.

Well, commercials comprise a larger part of Shaurya’s TV watching time. So, at times when you are trying to watch two shows simultaneously by hopping between the break times of each show, you need to be real quick while surfing the channels. If you slack and get late in changing the channel and if Shaurya catches a glimpse of a commercial playing on some intermediate channel, he won’t allow you to change the TV channel again. You will end up wasting your entire time watching the commercials with Shaurya who would then prompt you to sing along every single line of the jingle or shall make you repeat the catchy lines therein.

At times, I wake up in the morning with a line of the jingle I was singing to Shaurya the previous night, playing in my head. Trust me, it is then such a pain to get the line off your mind and you tend to hum the tune of the jingle all day long, much to your own indignation and annoyance.

These, I believe, are the subtle nuisances that all parents have to undergo one time or the other. I guess the job definition of Motherhood states patience as the foremost desired skill.

I am yet to see how patient my little star can be with me, when I grow old, lose my hearing and pester him to repeat things for me over and over again. Who knows? Maybe I shall just keep my fingers crossed till then or rather keep my fingers busy on the keyboard, recording such incidents and experiences till I hand him his blog some day.

Till next time, keep sending me your comments and feedback and any similar experiences. Ciao.

So, it’s been some time since I last wrote. I guess I just couldn’t help it. Routine course of life has its own demands and at times these daily chores dominate and suppress the undercurrent of our personal being. Anyway, I am here now and I feel like writing and I guess this is what is important.

And as most of you would have guessed looking at the title, with this post I wish to emphasize the impact of the Idiot Box on Shaurya’s current behavior. As a teacher I remember having discussed the impact of TV overdose on children with many parents and guardians. Well, I guess I am looking at the other side of the fence now and actually realize how difficult it can be at times.

Shaurya is now two and half and his behavior has undergone a sea change. He has started expressing his likes and dislikes both verbally and using actions. He has developed a strong fascination for cartoons being aired on TV and now has his own list of favorites.

I guess I can dedicate this post to two of his favorite shows which play on channel ‘Nick’.

His first liking is an animated series called ‘Krishna’ which is primarily the story of the child manifestation of the Hindu deity Lord Krishna. The stories of Krishna appear across a broad spectrum of Hindu philosophical and theological traditions and are very part of the Indian culture. I introduced Shaurya to this series as I thought that it might be educational as well for him. However, little did I know that I was buying trouble for myself and literally bidding goodbye to my days of watching TV.

Since now if ‘Krishna’ is being aired, you can just not dare change the channel because as soon as you do that, Shaurya screams at the top of his voice and you are bound to come back to his show. 

He even has developed a routine for watching this show. He begins by singing along the opening theme of the episode and then keeps filling in the scenes with his ‘expert’ comments. His commentary at times is in sync with the scene being shown at other times he has his own exclamations for everything happening during the episode. ‘No Fighting’, ‘Isko Chhodh Do (leave him)’, ‘O o’, ‘Drop it’ are just a few of his chosen expert comments.

His other favorite TV series is ‘Perman’. Incidentally this one is also aired on Nick. (We are a ‘Nick’ family, Channel owners can pay us rewards for our loyalty).

Now personally, I do not hold either the caricatures or the story line for ‘Perman’ to be of any substantial quality. Perman is the story of a clumsy boy Mitsuo Suwa, who is chosen as an apprentice of Superman. (Here is a link if you want to know more about the Perman) To top that since it is originally a Japanese series, it has been dubbed in English and the dubbing sucks big time. 

Anyway, now the problem for me is that Shaurya somehow caught this show running on TV someday and has become fond of it. (Though I have not laid hands on any evidence as yet, I have a very serious hunch that probably one fine morning when I was away, Shaurya’s daddy got him hooked to the show, maybe in an attempt to get Shaurya off his back).

Now the issue is that Perman gets inside Shaurya’s head at odd times and out of the blue while he is watching TV. All of a sudden, he would remember ‘Perman’ and then will want you to put it on, no matter what. As a parent now you are in a sticky situation because Perman has fixed timings and is not available throughout the day. And somehow I find it so irritating and obnoxious that I really do not wish to buy its CD for Shaurya’s home viewing.

Though I know that it is most likely just a passing phase for my little superhero and it won’t be too long that he would grow out of these TV series and pick up something else to keep himself busy. Personally I want him to pick up something more useful and creative than just spending time before the telly and learn some form of art as he grows. He has been showing inclination towards painting and music, but I am yet to see that spark in him which can keep him interested and focused on these things for long.

I shall write more as and when it happens, for the time being I shall keep posting on his recent fixation – the TV. So make sure, you catch this space for more on the TV saga and Shaurya and keep sending in your comments on the posts made.

Shaurya cut his head.

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"You have to do your own growing up no matter how tall your father is"

- Abraham Lincoln

I reckon that in my previous posts I have often exclaimed and expressed my wonder at Shaurya's growing up and have narrated all the things that he has been doing with a hint of pride as a mother. Well, lately I just discovered another aspect of growing up - getting hurt.

It was a holiday at his school and his Daddy dropped him along with his ‘Kapa’ (our domestic help) to his aunt's house to spend the day. I had planned to get them back home with me later in the day and so joined them in the afternoon. Shaurya was having a whale of a time, playing with his 'Bunny' Bhaiya (my sister's son) and Victor (their pet dog) and I was watching him from a distance, enjoying his laughter and his antics.

It was a matter of few seconds that I saw him tumble down while playing and fall over at an awkward angle on the ground and cut his forehead. My first instinct was that probably it wasn't much but then I nearly panicked when I saw blood oozing out of the forehead. I did act fast though, picked him up, pressed his wound with my hand and ran outside calling Geeta, (my sister) to take out her car.

We rushed to a small hospital nearby and all this while I kept praying and pressing the wound. Shaurya could not stop crying because of pain and discomfort at not being able to open his left eye due to blood which kept dripping from his wound despite my maintaining the pressure on it.

We rushed to the emergency ward of the hospital as soon as we reached and were attended to by two doctors. Till that day whenever I used to read stories or news about the lack of medical facilities in the country or about the callous behavior of the medics even in case of an emergency, I would not normally believe it as I had never been subjected to the same.

However, I was astounded at the careless attitude of these doctors as they went about doing a lousy job of cleaning the cut or administering a first aid. I seriously want to take them to task someday and tell them that they were more qualified to be motor mechanics than physicians. All that they showed interest was in urging us to get Shaurya admitted and wanting to give him stitches.

I looked at Geeta who was now in tears. It was getting difficult for me to contain myself too. However, I did realize that I needed to compose myself, put a brave face and take some quick decisions. I called up Shaurya's pediatrician and talked to him about everything. By this time Shaurya's bleeding was contained and his pain had eased out a little. It was then that we decided to take him to another better hospital, which was a little far off.

We rushed him to the Max hospital and I guess it turned out to be a wise decision. He was soon taken attended to and this time with better care and facilities. I was relieved that the need for stitches was also averted and his cut could be fixed by some solution and a bandage alone.

This was the time when I realized that his head was full of blood, so were my arms and clothes. Shaurya had resumed his crying. Probably it was the number of people around that got him uncomfortable and it became a herculean task to calm him down. The medics gave me some syrup for him and I had to force it down his throat. I tried to keep my cool and not lose my composure but inside I was all shaken up and disoriented.

Once the ordeal was over and we finally got back to Geeta's place, I called up Shaurya's Daddy to come over. He, as expected, got a shock when he reached and was quite amazed that he got no clue of the entire thing while talking on phone, as I was sounding so relaxed.

The Doctor had told us that Shaurya would be under the effect of the syrup and might be asleep for an hour or so. To our surprise, as soon as we reached home, he was up and onto his pranks again. He went about calling the dog and running around all over the drawing room.

Later, when we started off to come back to our place, I just could not stop myself and cried aloud. This was perhaps the first time during the entire episode that I confessed that I was very scared all the time Shaurya was there in the hospital and I was faking the strong face I had put up all the while.

I kept crying for a long long time and Shaurya kept stroking my cheek with his little hand calling out ‘Mamma..Mamma..' It was a harrowing experience and very excruciating mentally and emotionally. I was glad that it got over soon and we did not run into something more woeful.

Shaurya's fall brought me those tears and it was also him who finally made me smile. He brought his hands to his face the way I do and started imitating the way I was crying. One moment I was flowing tears and the next I could not help smiling just looking at him.

I guess life just goes on the same fashion, smiles and tears bundled together. I wonder if my little champ can keep up to his Mamma's tears and bring her smiles every time, just the way he did then.