Year III Month VIII (2) - Daughter Diary

Travelling with luggage and a kid is not I am very happy about specially when the stakes to reach a far away railway station is high. Our train was at 11.05 am and we started at 5.30 am, I swear temperature was not more than 7 degree Celsius when we left home adding that we had to reach the bus stop in an open auto rickshaw that has no mechanism to cheat the wind. Ridhima was wearing a sweater and I took her into my lap to fend myself as I was in a thin cotton t-shirt and forgot my only jacket at my sister's house. Rinku had the duppatta to cover herself. 

After hours of braving the din and dust we managed to reach the railway station one hour early. We were sleepy and hungry at the same time. It was futile to leave the station with so much baggage, I told Rinku to sit and wait for me till I get something for us before we sit in the train. I grabbed whatever I felt was good and we had our breakfast in a jiffy. It takes another 32-35 hours in the train to reach Mumbai and we were bracing ourselves to brave the journey.

Fast forward to Mumbai, I reached Thane at 2.15 pm and by 4 we were already discussing the sites and scenes of the last fifteen days. Trains are a reliable mode of transport, no two ways to it. 

Ridhima luckily was alright throughout at her mischievous best and she made our journey less boring than we expected. She kept us busy with her tantrums and her constant chatter. She is 4 months shy to 4 years and does not get a berth for herself in the trains. It becomes difficult for her mom to sleep with her on the narrow berths, bit of a discomfort there but that is a part of the total travel experience, isn't it?  

She has been continuously drawing and painting since we stepped into the house. It will take her a couple of days to reclaim the house along with her heap of toys and other what nots.  

Year III Month VIII (1) - Daughter Diary

Ridhima just woke up and is amused by the fact that I am doing something on my laptop early in the morning. I came to know only yesterday that I could use internet sitting here at my village home. I had tried using a dedicated dongle in the past but it didn't work. Thanks to Reliance Jio and the reliable wi-fi hotspot it creates through my smart phone. This is simply a revelation of sorts. Its been almost a week since I arrived here to see my parents and celebrate Holi. Holi is one of the major festivals in this part of the world and people wait for it the entire year. Weather is a big plus for people like us who live in metros like Mumbai- there are only two weathers people know of, summers and the rains. The temperature here in the village drops down to 7 degree Celsius as the night falls making the nights cold and the days pleasant.   

Deal breaker was the livid Holi songs blared by loudspeakers and no one sang an authentic Fagua song not even once. I can not even imagine a Holi without singing Fagua songs. It was so boring  aday that by afternoon I preferred a siesta to listen to the loudspeaker. It used to be so much fun when we all used to sing and play, we could barely stand out of tiredness by evening. Active participation was the key. 

With the arrival of mobile phones and 24X7 electricity (almost) villages are all geared up to give towns a run for their money. The side effect is, people do not mingle much with each other anymore and are almost on house arrest watching TV, listening to music etc. This new indulgence is taking a toll on the warmth people had for others. Diabetes is no more an exclusive urban phenomenon.

Times have really changed.  

Ridhima with her cousins is having a ball playing and singing the days of. She neither misses the Youtube anymore nor does she crave for her cartoons on TV. She is the one who is making this trip worth it.    

Year III Week 31 - Daughter Diary

It isn’t much of a difficulty for Ridhima to be completely indifferent to the movies we watch sometimes on TV. She prefers keeping herself busy streaming youtube videos. She perhaps hasn’t developed that taste yet. It was last Friday when Rinku and I were watching Dangal, the latest movie making waves. Amir Khan is a fine actor and Dangal is yet another way to showcase his brilliance. 

Sports have been a favorite subject of late for movie-making and there has been a series of such movies doing well, starting from Chak De to Saala Khadoos from Mary Kom to Azhar and from MS Dhoni to Dangal. One thing common among all these films is, they all did good business at the box office. Almost all of them – I am not sure of Azhar though.

We were half way through the movie when we saw Ridhima cuddled on the sofa watching the movie with us leaving the Youtube alone. She seemed to be linking it so much that she and I had to fight the movie out till the end. Whenever there was a Kushti scene she would jump over me imitating the scene and I had no other way but to fight with her and lose. She would put all she has got into the fight with her swift blows and quick maneuvers. Finally the movie was over and I lived to see another day.

Year III Week 28, 29 & 30 - Daughter Diary

Data abundance is the new normal in India today. Reliance Jio has disrupted the telecom market like never before resulting in a free flow of internet on handheld devices. The entire math of how to run a telecom company in India has been changed with free calls and free data. 

The effects of this abundance are pretty evident everywhere. Rinku gets jittery if the internet does not work. My plan to get rid of wi-fi connection at home has faced a lot of resistance by Rinku and Ridhima. Ridhima does not eat if she is not streaming YouTube videos. We have faced her wrath when the wifi was not working and let me tell you it is not a happy scene. 

When Larry Page, the co-founder of Google said 'Internet will become invisible' I didn't understand the meaning of it then. Now I know, what exactly he meant. The omnipresence of a thing makes it invisible, just like the air around us we breathe. 

Ridhima is all wake up and is negotiating with her Mom to be close to her till she completely gets off the bed. She is an intelligent girl of ours but her tantrums have no end to it. She sometimes becomes so stubborn that we start worrying. When she needs a thing, she needs it, come whatever may. She knows more than she is supposed to. Her vocabulary has gone to another level leaving little that she cannot talk about. She knows how to be extra sweet and snatch the phone in order to see YouTube videos or her favorite cartoon. She paints a lot almost all her books and all our walls have become a canvas of her creativity. Are we complaining!

By next month she will complete her playschool and will start going to her new school. She is all prepared.   

I was watching this video (below) last evening where the speaker is making a point that comfort will stall your progress. I am sure it is gonna be worth your while.

Year III Week 25, 26 & 27 - Daughter Diary

We kept a house party at my place for some of our close friends including my younger brother with his family and skipped going out to welcome the new year. There was a lot of thought that went into deciding what will be the venue and how can we have the maximum fun with family. See when you are a married man with a kid, the meaning of fun changes dramatically. For me it is more about slaving around for Ridhima and sometimes for her mom. More or less it is a universal feeling and the problem is, we (the married men)  have nowhere to go, we do not have a collective voice. I don't know why I am sounding like an agony aunt, but how far can you go without a thing or two out.

Anyways,we ate and danced till midnight and welcomed the new year as it should have been welcomed. Ridhima saw us through the entire fun hours and didn't sleep till we all called it a day. It was a night to remember in so many ways, I saw my friends dancing the night out. I thought, I was a terrible dancer but after watching my friends gyrating aimlessly, I felt much-much better. Food was awesome too. (What if tomorrow my wife sees this post.) 

Ridhima has been regularly going to school and almost everyday has a new story to tell. Gradually, she is learning to be what she ought to be- master of the house. When she wants something, you need to bring oblige or face the consequences. She has all the tricks of the trade to get things done. She has stories to tell for not listening to what we say.  I am sure she will make a good manager someday.

The one thing that amazes me the most is the speed of learning. She knows and understands almost everything that a two year older child could. I know it is cliche for a father to say so but I have seen children of her age struggling at things she is an expert at. May be she just speaks more than others or it is her father's optimism bias- I don't know.

April is just two months shy when she will start going to her new school. She already has a lot of questions about it.

 My angel just waked up and walked up to me (Its 7.50 in the morning IST) with her innocent morning face, I need to attend to her. Excuse me.   

Year III Week 24 - Daughter Diary

Office outings are fun. My colleagues have been planning to go to Kashid Beach for a while now. I could not go with them once in the past and they had to cancel the plan. In fact, I was not too confident about my driving skills, add this up to my car that is a Tata Nano. The plan to go to the beach again surfaced last week and I said I would join them. It so happened that my Flat Registration was also due and I could chose a date to do so. Both can be done one Friday by taking one leave. Club this with Saturday and Sunday it became a long weekend.The registration office is on the way to the beach we were planning to go to. It took us some time to plan and then Anand (my colleague) and I applied Friday (23rd Dec) leave. I informed Rinku and Ridhima accordingly.

Was Ridhima excited! She was happy to skip her fashion show at her play school. Anand had bought a new car a couple of months ago and he was more than happy to take it for a spin. He also hired a driver for the trip. I requested him to company me and my Nano so that I am not stranded midway along with my kid and my wife. At least his car could tow mine if needed. We started at 10.30 in the morning, reached Panvel after much round about and registration was over by 12.30 noon. Anand in the meantime also reached Panvel and was waiting for me on the highway. We started for Kashid at around 1.30 pm, I was driving very slowly on the rather broken roads. Anand's car sped up after a while and disappeared. I managed to reach Alibag by 4.30 pm and then the roads became even worse to drive on. I didn't know how to start a car till August this year and that day I was amidst a jungle on the one side and a sea on the other. Rinku quietly closed all windows of the Nano when she saw a sign 'Leopard Zone'.  It was getting darker and we had lost our way. Meandering through endless rough road was tiring as hell but we kept on. Fortunately, my car also did not stop rolling. 

At around 7 pm we finally reached the beach. I was so relieved, we went near the water although nothing much was visible as if to say 'thank you' to the elements specially the sea. Ridhima was already busy with the beach-sand. Anand had reached the hotel and I joined him soon. There was literally a sense of achievement that filled me with pride and satisfaction.    

Kashid Beach is one of the few very clean beaches you will see closer to Mumbai. Fortunately, bad roads and remote location discourage the crowd to come here leaving it clean and picturesque. We enjoyed till 1 pm the next day. Rinku and Ridhima both were very happy. At around 1.30pm I left for Mumbai leaving Anand and the team there. I wanted to reach Mumbai before sunset. We reached Alibag by 3.30pm had our lunch at Samadhan Restaurant and reached Mumbai at around 7 pm, safe.

   

Year III Week 22&23 - Daughter Diary

It is 7.02 in the morning, Rinku went out to jog 15 minutes ago and I am at home to be with our Ridhima who is ofcourse sleeping. She will wake up any moment and I shall have to attend to her leaving everything aside. Let me tell you, most kids do not like getting up in the morning and handling them then is a challenge, add this up that her mom is also not around. Rinku has started going to jog in the morning since yesterday and I have decided to stay put at home encouraging her to lose weight. This makes for a legendary trail of tales but anyways. 

Its been almost 15 days since Ridhima and her mom came back from Pune, So much so her mamaji also reached America yesterday. Ridhima just yelled ''Mamma' from her bed and I have to rush. She would not listen to anything. Thankfully Rinku just came back and I could save my dear life. 

Ridhima attended a workshop last Saturday at my office. She along with her mom was pretty engrossed making snowman and other things there. Snowman hardly resembles anything of climate in Mumbai. Precipitation is such an integral part of life in this part of the world that we still sleep under the fan at night.. December is already half way through and there is no trace of winter. 

The vocabulary of Ridhima has grown multi-fold and she now uses the correct words at will. Punctuation has also improved, she now cracks jokes and stories have always been her favourite. She narrated a few in my office to my colleagues as well. She does not care for a plot or a protagonist she would narrate a story out of thin air. 

Year III Week 21 - Daughter Diary

Ridhima left for Pune along with her mom and masi (aunt) yesterday. She wasn’t very excited to go there and wanted to go near a sea-beach instead. I somehow calmed her down and convinced her that she will have a lot of fun in Pune too as her mamaji (uncle) is coming to meet her all the way from America. Plus her brothers are there to hang around with. Rinku later phoned me saying that she didn’t create any fuss in the train; it was surprising as she gets cranky while traveling especially when she doesn’t see her papa around. 

I called Rinku up last evening to know how she was doing and she confirmed that everything is under control. She is rather enjoying her stay at a comparatively spacious house. Children love open spaces. I wish metros like Mumbai were a bit kinder to kids. Living above the ground is fine when cities need to accommodate a lot of people. Adults gradually get used (compelled) to the new cramped place but it is the kids who suffer the most. However big your apartment may be, if it is above the ground it is always difficult for your child to dance, play and fall the way she wants. I wish I could afford more space for Ridhima too.

She appeared a bit jittery on the phone when Rinku called me in the morning, today. Ridhima was repeatedly saying ‘bring me back to Mumbai papa’. Perhaps she was scared of talking to her mamaji, Rinku informed that she had a conversation with him this morning and have been upset since. She along with her mom and masi will hopefully be back to Mumbai by Friday. I wish she calms down  a little and have fun the way she wants to.

Year III Week 20 - Daughter Diary

Ridhima is pretty excited about her new school, she calls it the 'Yellow School' because all the outer walls of the school building appear yellowish. It is still 5 months when her session would start but the excitement has been building from day one. I tell you kids are our real guiding stars they know what fun is. They live every damn moment before letting it pass by, they have no qualms of the past and no planning for the unforeseen future. I wonder, we all were child once.

Yesterday she was scribbling something on the newspaper and I was busy with my smart phone sitting by her. She saw me a couple of times, I apparently smiled back and encouraged her for what she was doing. She stopped scribbling, came to me and said, "Papa! Do not look at the mobile so much, your eyes will bleed." And she kept telling this until I stopped.

Mobile phone does not only help us connect but if abused, it can be an effective machine to keep us aloof from the world. The choice is still ours.

Year III Week 19 - Daughter Diary

Ridhima has sketched our walls so bright that we reconsidered giving them the necessary touch this Diwali. Her Mother has always been worried about the way our apartment looks the walls but I am not complaining if Ridhima is happy and learning. Ridhima in the meantime has upgraded her skills and now uses all sorts of colours now on newspapers, probably there is nothing left to do on the walls. I am a happy father watching all this, like all the creative people in the world I have never been a cleanliness freak. For me, anything that makes me move so much is not healthy.

The other good thing out of this mess is, Ridhima can write all the English letters. She can write her Mom's name, her own name and try writing my name (10+ letters) as well. The moment she opens her eyes in the morning she runs for her colours and the diary (third so far) I have given her to scribble. She can draw a cartoon - face (happy or sad one) along with multiple other things such as a boat, a mountain, a small car and narrate story around it. She knows almost everything from her 20 odd books, most of them purchased by me. She all by herself can recite all the poems she has in the poetry book. The only thing that she needs is an audiences, at least her parents. Clifford, the red big dog series are her favourite books and she goes through them at least 20 times with the same enthusiasm. Kids have their own ways.

She has not been well from last 4-5 days and we have anxiously been trying all that is in our hands to keep her from falling ill and keep her from visiting a doctor. Thankfully, she has responded well to all the home medicines, hopefully her coughing will reduce overtime.

She loves watching TV and there is nothing abnormal about it till she lets us see our own TV programms. I have almost given up watching TV completely and have upgraded myself to rather watching Youtube. There is only one show that I like to watch that comes just once a week on TV and that is Comedy Nights Bachao. This single show too is under threat. Today is Sunday and its already 10 pm I have to watch it, I have tried twice but the way she protested was really scary and I have conceded my defeat. The only hope I have to coax her either to watch Youtube instead or give her a chocolate. Wish me luck!

P.S. There is one noteworthy thing happened yesterday, for the first time I drove my car to office and came back in the evening one piece. One more mile stone, albeit a tiny one, is achieved successfully. For the first time time I exceeded the 60 kmph limit and am still feeling nice about it.