Pinku-Enchanted Life

  Dear Darling Rintupotash, Happy Birthday!!! My very first 'Home Production', you turn 10 years today. Feels like yesterday, when you were this little baby the nurse handed over to me, and yet you are now nearly as tall as me and wearing the same shoe size. Growing up is full of pangs, worries, and fears and you have had your fair share of it all this past year, for no fault of yours. The separation from your best friend and the many tears you have shed for her pierced my heart too, but I was helpless. Covid too didn't help matters and cooped you up indoors for months on end. Your little brother (who thinks of you as the ultimate ideal) can also be quite a handful and more than once has been the reason for you getting an undeserved scolding. Of course, I don't mean to say that you are all innocent. You too have done your own fair share of naughtiness; choosing to watch youtube during classes, reading Harry Potter instead of doing homework, making Mowgli do your bidding...

Hey Partner, I walked out of the house early morning today for my blessed office events with the thought that what a thing to do on the day we complete 11 years of marriage. And it brought back the memory of something we were discussing recently about how I am not very 'bou' like. I don't do the 'will ask husband' routine and nor do I demur to your wishes and God forbid commands!!! I think I make most of your friends uncomfortable cause they don't seem to know what to do with a woman who seems to have an opinion and a strong one at that. I am thinking that it can't be easy for you to be seen as this hen pecked man who let's his wife walk all over him. But then just when I was almost starting to feel bad about you I realised that neither are you very 'bor' like. You don't try to be the commanding officer, you don't dictate terms and you don't pretend that you know everything about the country, sports or finance. You are so ...

From very early in life I have always believed that I would die off at 40. The reason I had arrived at this unique conclusion was the fact that both my granddad and dad had popped off in their 40's and in my romantic notion of things I had just assumed that I would do so too. It didnt trouble me much cause at age 20, forty is a hoary old age and I was pretty sure that I would have lived life to the utmost by the time I turned forty so there really was not much to worry about. Things however started turning a bit unpleasant as I approached the mid thirties. With a young kid around popping off in another five years time didn't seem such a pleasant thing any more. Three more years rolled away and then the second kid also came along and now the thought that he wouldnt even remember me much if I were to go at forty really started to bother. At a lil after 39 I underwent a surgery which if not done in time could have resulted in something fatal and post my gaining consciousness...

1 st Jan 2015 – I woke up to a new year and a raging headache and wisely told myself no more drinking for at least 3 months. I had been overdoing it over the past few months and the 31 st night barbeque party where I kept tossing chicken legs on the grill and drinks topped the list. Cut to 8th Feb – I figure I am pregnant, we rush to the doctor and after a Ultrasound we get to know that I am over two months pregnant. And that is how Mowgli came into our lives…unannounced, slyly and when we were not expecting him at all ….much like happiness. Oh and I must tell you how he got his name? Well Aarini was watching Jungle Book…the old one you know, the one we watched as kids on Doordarshan with that unforgettable song…jungle jungle pata chaala hai, chaddi pehne ke phool khila hai. So she figured that our new baby (who is still a three month foetus at this point) would also wear a chaddi and crawl and therefore should be called Mowgli and she started talking to my tummy addr...

Each Day there is a new story, a new tantrum and new dimension that gets added to the fun and depth you add to our lives. A few random pics of you and yours. Selfie Queen Water Baby Acting coy...or trying to Happiness spills through Best friend Anoushka My hug is the tightest Modelling Mom's earrings Hope you can spot my lipstick too Ready to party...all the time I take care of my toys too Lounging Early morning shoot with Brownie

Dear Ringorotash, yes you of the million name fame i.e. my darling badmash daughter. You turned four yesterday. You have been insisting that you want to grow big but almost immediately you let us know that though you are four now you are still a baby and therefore we shouldnt expect so much from you. At Bookaroo - your first visit to a Book fair - both dadda and me hope that you will catch the reading bug, much like us. I wonder where you have got your logical mind from. Am sure your dad or me would never have come up with such complicated thoughts at age four. You tell us complicated stuff like, "babies too have feelings" when scolded and when I ask you where your feelings are you point to your tear ducts. You also tell lies and when caught say you were just playing a prank. You dont like being second guessed at all. And you are a self proclaimed 'genius' though you frequently forget your ABC's. At Jiya baby's first birthday - with your first...

Selfie Dear darling Rinush Rini, You turned three on the 24 th of February and since then I have been meaning to write you a letter. One thing or the other kept me away from doing this. However the letter that you dropped into the letter box yesterday made me think that my letter is overdue. Your letter was a piece of paper on which you had drawn some lines and a few alphabets and was not meant for anyone in particular, you were however pretty adamant about dropping it into a letterbox. I suspect this has something to do with your favorite Doreamon and Nobita posting  something earlier in the day. I saw you and Dadda walk across solemnly to the letterbox while I waited in the car and after a brief discussion the precious piece got dropped. I smiled and wondered what the postman would make of it if he found it. At KFC, ur favorite joint You have started going to Big school and I can see that the big building and lots of people do frighten you a bit and you grow an...

I told my Mom that she need not worry while I went out for a three day trip with college mates and she replied “wait till you are a mom” I objected to her objecting about my late night partying and she said “wait till you are a mom” On the basis of a good interview I decide to move to Bombay and tell her that she need not worry for me, she replied “wait till you are a mom” And then finally on 24 th Feb 2011 I became a Mom. The tiny little red bundle with big eyes and a crop of shockingly black curly hair was all mine. My home production as I fondly called her. I was half proud, half awed and half intrigued by this thing that came out of me and yet was a complete thing in its own right. My pact with my Mom had been that I would carry the baby for nine months and then go back to my job and career while she was responsible for the baby. She had agreed and we had planned the baby. I went back to work within two months of the baby being born. She was too youn...

Pim, Pimpum, Chota, Chotkas, Hiya, Kutti, Rini, Rinush, Pumpum, Aarini You answer to all these names. You have the wickedest grin and the cutest smile You can say Byeeee and Hieeee with a glee that’s unmatched You grab me and give a tight hugga that makes my heart burst with joy. Your mimic call to  your Dad "Marrieeeeeee" to rhyme with my Parryieee lights up his day Your curls bother you too much and the sweep of your impatient hand delights us all You give AC a glimpse of the daughter he never had with your cuddling up to him Sanchali wears a bindi just so you will take it away with your lil fingers You bring a smile to your ailing Daddum Even your otherwise silent Thammam always has something to say to you Diddum thinks you are the smartest, naughtiest, cutest, bestest girl on earth Buttercup feels you are the only one around whom she has to be careful You my dear miracle maker are all of this and much much more. Today a...

I had planned to write a long post on this much awaited trip. The plan had been to relive the whole thing once again through the blog. Work. Baby. Dog. Home. Laziness. All however conspired to make a whole month pass before I could even get on to the blog. So finally I am here to write about Aarini’s first trip abroad. We landed in at Bandaranaike International Airport at about 4 pm. As promised by makemytrip a brand new Nissan Bluebird and an effervescent Pious Silva were waiting for us at the exit gate. We were happy to be on holiday. A forty km ride into main Colombo through markets thronging with Christmas shoppers took a good part of two hours. We were however too busy marveling at the sites, checking the similarities between our island neighbours and us to mind the trip too much. The first night of our trip was spend at The Grand Oriental Hotel which was set up in the 1800’s by royal decree and has since then been ceaselessly entertaining guests. It also ha...

Dear Miracle maker, You are almost nine months old now. That’s as many months outside of me as inside. Makes me feel a little queer but immensely proud too. From being a lil Rajma (the first time the doc showed you to me in an ultrasound that’s what you looked like, a small rajma bean inside a big empty bag) you have now grown to be almost two feet tall. From being unable to turn on your side you can now climb up tables, chairs, infact even things that are not meant to be climbed, like fabrics. When Dadda and I first got to know about your quite entry into our life, the times were turbulent and they continue to be so…but your smile which changes from innocent to wicked to naughty to ‘know it all’ keeps us on our tracks. You are as much a Miracle maker now as you were when inside me. Before you were born we didn’t know what gender you would be, you see the laws of our lands forbid it cause some Goddess worshippers can’t tolerate it when girls are born into their families. I am hoping th...

Life they said would change a lot after I became a mom. They said priorities would change. So I thought I should chronicle the change and sat down to write this post. And came upon a surprising revelation – my life hasn’t changed at all . Apart from being happier I don’t find any change in me (we will carefully not mention the extra inches around the waist here, life after all is much more than body shape, isn’t it? ISN’T IT? ). Now what therefore needs to be investigated is : "How come my life hasn't changed at all?" The reasons I found were primarily these: Aarini – she is a happy child (touchwood), doesn’t behave in a cranky fashion, sleeps through the night, cries lustily when hungry but stops the moment food (actually drink) is provided, chatters nonstop while awake – like dad she is a good story teller. And is a sweetheart in a crowd – whether a party scenario or mall – stays playful and curious but never cries. Love you baby. Mom – that’s my Mom. She is...