Peekaaboo

A few peeks into the life of kids and toddlers. Used models of my neice and nephews here. Some of these have actually happened while some are conjured to bring out the net effect of that character.

Mahesh

How old are you Mahesh?
'I willll be eighghthh this big summer holidays'. 'You know what cake mummy is going to ordeeerr for me? BIGGGGG SPIDER MAN Cake!!!'

Can you please keep quiet for 5 minutes?
Mmm-- OK Mimathai, I will keep quiet
Tick tock, tick tock... before 3 seconds comes to an end-- "Mimathaaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii... why is it like this???" OH NO!!!!

What do you do when you wake up everyday???
I wake up and see cartoon network for sometime before I get ready for school. Oh ya-- you know what happens in that Noddy cartoon when Noddy goes to school??

What about Snakes?
Oooooo! I like them. I have even seen the temple of snakes at Thailand. Have U?
(Eeekkksss!)

Are you afraid of them?
Uhn!? NO ( maybe he is wondering why one 'should' be afraid of them?)

Can you please get me that book from your room ( please note that the room is pitch dark)
( In a whining tone) Ahnnnnnn... You come with me inside. I am all 'bayam'. It's dark inside.

Do you like to eat salt and pepper just like that?
YES!

Why?
(Winks and then says) "it makes everyone angry" ( hah!)

Will you have your breakfast now?
Uahnnnn.. Nooooo, I will have it later.

And why is that?
My stomach is aching... ( sad 'phase' manifestation)

Will you show me a few jumping tricks?
Yesss-- Will you come to this room ??

I thought you had stomach pain...
Errr--yaaa but you know Mimathai...starts off again.

VERDICT:
Crowd pleaser, quite astute, extremely delectable, super loving, temperamental, an adorably total show off and innocence glorified!

Vidhu

What is your name kanna?
Looks at me like I am asking half her life savings ( read as 'aasthi'/'sothu pathu' in Tamizh). Total absolute silence. Finally after 5 long minutes, some respite... 'My name is Vidhhhuu'

Would you like to come into this room and play with me?
NO

What about with Manu athimbere?
Looks around and finally relents once she sees that I am leaving the room. Nods

I stay out of the room for about 5 minutes with my ears almost burrowing the wood of the door. I hear giggles, squeaks and squeals which make me realise that I have indeed trespassed in her relationship with Manu athimbere. I re-enter the room. All hungama vanishes in a second. I resume my questions...

Who are your friends at school?
'Nachiamme....' Ok then? 'that's all'- END OF CONVERSATION

Do you want to come out with us?
Where are you going? Doesn't wait for our answer, goes back to her rather silent playing without batting an eyelid.

Why are you fighting with Mahesh all the time??
'I am not fighting with him'. He is only Nachu Naradhamuni, always yelling at me!

Vidhu, will you also come here and show me some tricks like Mahesh does?
NO, I won'th dhooo dhaaath!

Vidhu paapa, what is an Armadillo?
Continues fiddling yet answers looking me straight in the eye 'An Armadillo is an ant eater'

Then, what is an ant eater?
In an exasperated yet controlled tone--'Ant eater is only an armadillo' ( I made sure I slipped into oblivion then, for I didn't know what an ant eater nor an Armadillo was !?)

I take a peek into her room at 9.30 in the morning, see her colouring. I again check in at 11.15am and she still is rooted to the same spot- very contended in doing what she is absorbed in.

VERDICT:
An extremely pretty and contended soul , mighty affectionate, adorably radiant, trifle obstinate at times and a notorious brat when she teams along with Mahesh.

Dhruva

Since I am not yet at an intellectual level as this tot now, I have dropped the idea of making him answer my Q's ! So here goes a short description of that bundle of joy--

The tiniest of the lot Dhruva AKA Dhuvi, is about a year and a half now. Is totally delectable, loves Iddddiiii and goes with his Baaaboo ( AKA ball) everywhere he goes. Cries out in glee whenever he hears our voices over the internet voice chat.

Come into his grandparent's haven and it ceases to be that (leave alone 'heaven') anymore, for the utter chaos that follows his highness's arrival. Seems much like a house being de-arranged in slow motion. Remotes go into their respective hiding places, knifes go back on the top most shelves, hot dishes hurriedly returned back to the kitchen table top, serviettes ready to mop up any unforseen mishaps being some of the chosen few.

His daily ritual includes the following:
- His repertoire of 6 words is put to effective use the minute he sets foot in the living room.
- Starts with his Tick tock depicting the clock that is suspended above the TV.
- Then goes to the "Chuthi Chuthi" ( I am still a little unsure as to what this is)
- Goes on to identify the 2nd tick tock in the dining room
- Identifies his babooo ( AKA ball) in the bedroom
- Shows all 4 teeth, totally thrilled with successful identification of the 4 out of 6 known words!

Tommorrow is a new day and we shall diligently pursue our goal of identifying all this and the remaining words!

Has eyes as black as coal and is an absolute delight to be with. Sleeps like a log and is not disturbed even if you snore loudly. Loves Baby Einstein DVD' s and is planning on purchasing some stocks in their company very soon, rather I am sure his Mommy does ! Seems to be a pretty cautious child possibly like his Manu Maama. Loves to meddle with whatever stuff is lying around, learns new words by the second and is the apple of his thaatha's eye!!

VERDICT:
Beary Cuddly, extremely bright, sooooo naughty, slightly mischeivous and can prove to be quite resolute at times

P.S: Errr, a small correction. Dhuvi's mother has just sent word that his repertoire consists of 50 and not 6 words. Dhuvi chellam, sorry for the misconstrued notion. Mima maami is such a muckpot...


These kids have taken up a large chunk of both our lives and we welcome them, their chatter and the utter felicity that life brings us in their form. We hungrily await our turns to talk on the phone and more often than not, form a puddle at the end of one too many rather short conversations.

Come the time of the year between May and August, a deep sense of unfulfilled days and nights pass us, for we know our precious little ones are growing up celebrating wonderful memory filled birthdays without us to share it with.

Sometimes I marvel at how our lives have changed since knowing them.

I also can't help but wonder where they have been all this while?

19 'n' Shambles

Angelic silence is what I would term it 'sometimes' but more often than not, it can be devilishly busy. There are periods of the day when not a sound comes from every one of us excepting for the loud heartbeat, an occasional murmur and if we are lucky, a multi grain cracker going soft in our upper palates.

Some of the places I see enroute to work are some of the wierdest I have come across. As I walk by, I can't help but notice the battered looks on some of them and I don't just mean the houses here...

Working in a domestic violence hotline, there have been times in the past when I have felt overwhelmed by the kind of people who call upon us for help. While some are genuine, there are some who are just plain homeless. Determined nonetheless, they attempt their luck with us conjuring a story of abuse just so a roof over their heads will be in the offing.

On one of these shifts of mine, I got a call from a girl who needed shelter for her and a 20 month old baby. OKAY, so I started interviewing her and found that she was barely 19 and had been married for about 4 years. Hold on a minute... " Did you say you are 19 and have been married for 4 years !?!" I asked, just wanting to be sure what I had heard. I almost missed the 'yes' she slowly said. When asked about the kind of abuse she was undergoing, she said it was mainly verbal. I duly noted that and before I went on any further, I heard a loud thud. My usually mundane reflexes were surprsingly good that day that it lured me out of the conversation almost instantaneously. I glanced around to check my surroundings, specifically a colleague of mine and there she was- hale and healthy, parked right there on the soft chair talking to some deserving soul on another line. I disengaged myself from the ever-so-alert mode and focussed again on 19...

It was then that I realised that the thud was coming from the phone and I heard the girl being verbally abused by her partner. It was my first ever and completely jolted me out of the blue. I held my breath for several seconds as I heard the words " Whoooo areeeeee yaaa talkinggg tooooooo on the phoaneeeeeeee ??" I couldn't really identify the accent but guessed it to be a little Louisiana-ish. The girl softly said- No one!! and the other voice didn't seem to believe it for I heard thuds again.

I was about to start thinking again when the girl's voice thrusted me back into reality. I hoped to god that she would let me help her but there wasn't much I could really do. So all I asked her was " Is it safe for you to talk to me now?" She told me what I had been dreading- "NO". So I asked her to call back when she could, when it was safe for her and the baby.

I gingerly replaced the receiver on its cradle and looked out through the window. It was a beautiful day, a little chilly perhaps but I saw people going about their jobs, cars zipping through , kids playing in the backyard and here was a Girl Tormented By Words. Somehow, that left me feeling mildly melancholic and not quite understanding the dubious ways in which the human mind works! I laid back my head, closed my eyes and all my mind was set on doing was to put a face to the 19-ish who had called. The left side of my brain failed me miserably and I just hoped she would call back soon.

"A tough one uhn!?" asked my colleague and all I could do was nod, still eyes closed. While still in the process of wondering how to unload the rather eternal burden, a vague familiarity beckoned at us...

The dreaded TRING TRING -- I put on the cloak of never-let-the-situation-get-to-U types, took a deep breath and spoke into the receiver " Good morning, how can I help you?"

The Heavenly Abode

The other day, Manu and I were in downtown San Francisco leisurely strolling towards the Embarcadero BART station. Manu wanted to do the inimitable-- use the LOO! Well, ain't that a little out of the 'established norms'!?!

Anyway, we were in the corner of Spear and Market and as we were just about to access the stairs, we chanced to see a pay'n'use toilet just in front of us. So Manu decided to barge in and complete his course. So, here's a recount of what happened.

ALL EVENTS PORTRAYED HERE TAKES PLACE BETWEEN 2.45 and 2.53PM ON NOVEMBER 12th, 2005.

2.45.00pm-- In front of the pay'n'use toilet ( Pls do read it as tooaalethh-in good ol' snobbish French)

2.45.02PM- Read instructions and discuss the POA

2.45.10PM- Shuffle in the many compartments of the purse to fish out a quarter

2.45.15PM- Success in accomplishing the intended!

2.45.17 PM- Find the slot and hurriedly thrust the change in

2.45.19PM- The quarter comes right out at or about the same speed it went in. Uhnn??

2.45.20PM- Look sheepishly over the instructions again and find an LED saying "The toilet is in the process of self-cleaning. Please wait until it finishes"

2.45.25-2.45.40PM- Manu has Tardive Dyskenesia (an unmistakable shuffle from leg to leg in a Schizophrenic patient. DISCLAIMER- Manu is not suffering from Schizophrenia but his waist down definitely is)

2.45.42PM- We are intently prying at the LED.

2.45.45PM- LED instructs us to insert the change. We do so.

2.45.50PM- The prying shifts to the door now.

2.45.52PM- The door to heaven opens and Manu steps into the labryinth. A toilet is pretty complex place isn't it?

2.45.55Pm- He turns around and gives me an all knowing nod. Door closes.

2.46.00PM- I relax for the first time in 5 minutes and start looking around to take in the sights.

2.47.00PM- I see people passing by and give a polite smile implicitely implying * Hey ! How u doinghhh?* types.

2.48.00Pm- I am bored looking at people. So I decide to find out what the pigeons are doing today. Gaze to the hard cold concrete floor- seems like they are doing good.

2.49.00PM- I look to the Clock Tower on the Ferry building and try to see how beautifully it has been constructed.

2.49.20PM- A guy in a cycle comes by and asks me if I am in line. Ahem...NO !! We look away from each other and slip into our own worlds again.

2.50.20PM- Door opens. Manu resurfaces and the world becomes whole again !

2.51.00PM- The cycle guy directs a thumbs-up at both of us. God knows what that means?

2.51.03PM- Totally startled, Manu almost recoils into the labryinth yet again.

2.52.30PM- We get down to the station and we see our train pulling away from the platform. One minute before and we would have boarded it.

2.53.00PM- Well, who cares? Manu is happy and so am I! If not this train , the next one will be here in sssayyy--7 minutes. Atleast the waiting this time around will not be laced with cycle guys, LED's, pigeons and what nots?!


NOTE: Style of relating and time " loosely based " on the Emmy award winning series 24