Naanu and Naani were here. Naani tried to converse with you in Hindi and guess what, you tried too. You would break into what would sound like, a hindi accent and utter the 2-4 words you needed to. Like ‘Ek minat’ (one minute) when Naani would ask you to have your lunch. You could also do ‘paani de do’, ‘haan ji’ and ‘naee’ (no) as basic answers. My favourite was your slow and thickly pronounced ‘Main nahin pata’ as your way to say ‘I don’t know’. Grammatically, it should be ‘Mujhe nahin pata’ but ‘Main’ happens to be a more direct translation of ‘I’ hence your repeat err. The best part was, even when you were conversing with Naani in english, you would take on this slow, slightly sing-songish accent as if to make your words more hindi-like. I guess it did demonstrate your empathy in understanding your Naani’s limits with english and it worked too!
You had the near fairy tale fun time with your grandparents on their trip. They got you tons of gifts - heaviest being the full set of Indian Comics I had left few years ago for them to carry along. You went for walks with them, were pampered with choicest of dishes (by the way, you and I are both fond of south Indian), went for a safari trip, shopping trips and a London trip as well. You are fairly confident taking your new scooter for rides in the park, braving a few small falls then and now. After making a few rounds you would go inside the playground where Naanu, Naani and at times Daadi would sit and chat. Naanu would help push your swing or provide that counter balance on the sea-saw. All this while, Sky and I would be doing the rounds of the park, her being keen on making new friends, me being keen on watching a healthy, happy family do what’s best for them - making happy memories.
Your school started while they were still around. You are in year 1 now and are doing well with maths, reading, writing, some new languages and dabbling with violin as your first instrument. While at home, Naani would help you get ready for school as Daadi is still not in the best of her health. And when you come back from school, we have some more fun - reading, playing, writing, doing spellings and maths. I have tried to get you started on times tables already and by the end of the year, you should be on your way to learning the basics of multiplication - that wonderful lure that keeps us hooked for life, albeit in various forms.
Dear daughter
Summer of 2018, we came back from US with a sombre mood. The end of vacations, bidding byes to family, being the first ones to walk away from a fun gathering - never an easy thing to do. This time around we were also gearing up for a battle with Daadi’s illness, making it tougher.
Its surprising how at the face of it, all seems same yet nothing is what it used to be. In just a few months, our world has gone through what could best be described as the rigorous cycle of a tumble dryer. Without realising, the rest of us toughened coarse beings, in our own little way, have been trying to keep you the delicate one safely tucked away, out of harms way through the twists and turns. Strange how the sentiments of parenting takes over and becomes the whole of us. Now that I think, there must have been times in Daadi’s life and Naanu and Naani’s lives earlier as well when everything they did would be for their children’s, your mum and mine, well being. While we were oblivious of there pain then, this time around we are part of their team, with an unspoken bond of camaraderie.
Your Naanu and Naani already had their trip planned at this time, scheduled so they could spend an easy few weeks of the rest of your vacations. Alas, that was not to be as Daadi’s treatment was to start. We do wish they could have come under better circumstances but then, very selfishly for us, it ended up being a blessing in disguise. Naanu and Naani did more to help your Daadi and us than anyone could have wished for. And this is not even the first time they have done this for us. Time and again, they have both selflessly (the literal version of ‘Main’ nahin pata), gone way over and above every expectation and proven that relations, family values are irreplaceable virtues, sadly getting lost in an ever more wired but increasingly disconnected world.
Dear Daughter,
I have never seen my two sides of grandparents together. You are blessed to have been with them, witnessed their love and can take satisfaction in adding smiles to their newly wrinkled faces. I hope and wish this continues to be the case when you read this.
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