Another Person who Likes the Camera in the Family

Vasu (my niece) with the Camera

She clicked about 20 pictures from the carpet in the room to her portrait by turning the camera on her own! Maybe this one will become a pro!

Off Topic- Hai na bolo bolo,, Well these are Lyrics of a Hindi Song

This is my niece singing a Hindi song, Hai na bolo bolo...

And I am down with cold, this lousy weather combined with power fluctuations ...

But let me see if I can do one more post today.

I am Back!

Sunset at Rumbak, Ladakh (2005)

However, not with a travel pst. But now that I have time (see Emma's post on this one) to let my mind wander, they will follow. Though, I can always share a travel photograph. Talking about photographs, that stupid SLR is still in repair. They have to order a part from Singapore (and obviously charge me heaven and earth) I oly hope I will get it before I head to Himanchal Pradesh for a short break soon.

Meanwhile, I am spending the weekend at my sister's place. My sister and I have this old habit of feasting at midnight on Maggie. Yesterday we had a new addition to the party, Vasu (my nearly two year old niece). She had her stuff without spice in a small plate. But then she knew it was not authentic. She had to try the grown up stuff. After taking a small quanity and finding it too much she put out her tongue to be patted my sister and only then she took some water!

And about our old song routine, now when I ask her Ho naa, she shouts 'Maasi' (aunt) instead of Hun Tou. And she still keeps the US hours. We played till 5 in the morning!

What a Day!

I am spending the weekend at my sister's place. When I came my niece was sleeping. I too decided to take a short nap. When she woke up after an hour she demanded 'mummy' and I started distracting her by various tricks, then I asked her to say 'masi' (aunt) and for the first time she said masi! Of course, I am in the seventh heaven.

Then in the hot summer afternoon she fancied a walk. So, we went down and I was strolling with her in a shaded area. I was singing (and I dare to sing only when I am completely alone, my husband, and everyone else, tease me endlessly whenever I hum even by mistake and I don't blame them) mein pyasa tum sawan, mein dil tum mere dhadkan, ho na? I must have paused a little while, cause Vasu crooned hun tou! Then it became a game between us, now she sings both the verses Ho Na, hun tou. Oh! What a day it has been. (The rough translation of this song is, that I am singing "You are my pleasant rainfall, you are my heartbeat" and then I ask, "are you?" That is where Vasu chimes in "I am")

And I wonder what kind of a lousy masi I am that I never blogged about Vasu's and my shopping trip together. My brother-in-law was admitted in the hospital sometime in the last semester (it was not so serious but it needed hospitalization). My husband and I alternated with the baby sitting duties. My sister had completely freaked out with worrying about her husband and our complete lack of baby sitting skills. But Vasu and I decided to chill out. There is a mall next to the hospital and we went shopping! I am always on a lookout for decent formal shirts and we entered a shop. There was music playing and Vasu had a lot of fun dancing. I picked up what I consider my best shirt till date and later for the first time I bought some jwellery for Vasu. Now usually I can never for my life pick up decent clothes and Sesha's expert comments make it all the worse but I guess picking up the dress also depends on the right company!

PS. I took the picture off after reading this.

Patak (I threw it) and Gir Gaya (I dropped it)

Patak and Gir Gaya are the Favorite Words of my Niece

My brother-in-law Amrit has this to say about my niece who loves to throw cell phones on the ground and then tell us innocently gir gaya or patak whatever catches her fancy:

Sometimes she doesn’t throw, as in, she doesn’t hurl the object as an act of throwing, she just let’s it fall from the point she’s holding it, without giving a second (or even a first) glance, as if it doesn’t exist, orchestrating an expression like an angel singing a melody of innocence, and you just want to give up the world for her there and then.

And I entirely agree with Amrit. This time I was at their place with my DSLR and she wanted to play the same patak gir gaya game. Only she could not figure out why masi (aunt) is not letting her even to touch the black thing and yet she is chasing her with it all around (I have so many pictures of her that is was so difficult to choose just one to put it along with this post). She protested a lot but I too stood firm.

I guess she then thought of a good way of getting back at me. She keeps US timings in India and at 3.30 in the morning one day, she was telling my sister 'masi baat' (I want to talk to masi) My sis told her masi will not talk but give you gali (scold you). I dread the day when she will keep US hours and will be able to call her masi on her own.

Also posted at Blogbharti.

PS. I took the picture off after reading this.

Catch Them Young II

When I wrote Catch Them Young I I got a comment by Avik and he asked me to post a picture of my niece too. She is the laddo the play schools were trying to target. And at that time she was a month younger.

Catch Them Young: A New Record

My lovely niece got her first letter in mail yesterday. It was my sis who opened it and called me up immediately afterwards. While she was talking to me, I could hear my brother-in-law laughing in the background. I begged my sis to dictate some of the matter of that letter to me over the phone. She used to blog quite frequently, and she was game for it, she even dictated some of the fonts and bullet points used. The letter said:

“Do you know what is the biggest challenge your child will face in life?”

It went on,

“The biggest challenge your child faces today is to be a winner, there is more and more competition everyday:

• For admissions to good schools
• For performing brilliantly in school
• For higher studies abroad
• For setting up profitable ventures
• For becoming successful in life

If you want to prepare your child to face these challenges you decision to choose the right playschool is crucial.

Half of the child’s adult intelligence is formed during the first four years … Kindergarten is too late. It is amazing infants are capable of doing … they can differentiate taste and smell by the age of one month …

We promise child friendly environment, expert and loving teachers and ideal peer group. We have prepared 10,000 children for life.. and help make you a perfect parent. You can afford ‘Mother’s Pride’ but not afford to miss it.”

My sister was laughing her head off, while she was narrating this to me. I always knew there is a lot of a pressure to perform well in studies in India, my two school going nephews are facing it and we live with it daily.

But I never knew it could be this bad. They are really trying to catch them young these days, my little darling is just three months old and if you take your face close to hers, she takes out her tongue and licks it! And that is why my sis finds no time to blog. I say leave her alone you ‘Mother’s Pride’ and all that.