“Baybeeeee…..”

“Necessity may be the mother of invention, but play is certainly the father…” - Roger von Oech (President, Creative Think)

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Dear Riddhie,

 

I shall keep this one really short and let the picture stand up for the thousand words it is supposed to make up for. I took this set one fine evening post dinner when we were trying to settle you down and put you to bed. Your mom brought out your bottle of milk but it seemed you had other plans. 

Unwilling to sleep, you picked up your doll which you fondly keep referring to as ‘Baybeeee’ and started patting her. It took us a while to understand that your patting her was the way we rocked you to sleep. Incidentally your doll’s accessories, amongst other things included a replica sponge milk bottle and after having patted your doll for about 10 minutes or so, you got down to the act of feeding it.

This was the very first time that you had done something like this and we were really amused at your entire role play. We as your parents stood there transfixed watching you do things as they came to you. For once, I was glad that I always kept a camera charged and ready at hand.  

Here are a few I clicked and I guess they more or less speak for themselves.

 

 

Love,

Dad.

I Scream.. Ice Cream…..

“I doubt whether the world holds for any one a more soul-stirring surprise than the first adventure with ice-cream…” - Heywood Broun

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Dear Riddhie,

 

By the time you read this and if I am around just as fat as I am now, I guess you would know that a major reason for my being so is my sweet tooth and craving for ice-cream :) I am sure as a father – daughter duo we would have shared umpteen cones and tubs by now but then I guess there is no story which doesn’t sound better with a scoop of pure vanilla and some roasted nuts. So, maybe you would want to go and get some before you read this further. :D 

I shall ensure that you have plenty of ‘sweet’ (literally) memories around with me in years to come. But for now, let me share this little incident which happened sometime around middle of March 2012.

We were coming back from a shopping spree after having our lunch at a nearby restaurant when I decided to stop by at a Carvel store (much against your mother’s wishes though) on our way back and picked up these little jars of frozen yogurt and chocolate chip ice-cream. You were probably exhausted from the day’s activities and were a little cranky and we decided to box everything and head home rather than have it there. 

Once we were home, I opened up the wraps and set those ice-cream jars on the table and went inside for a brief moment. I would have gone just for a minute or so, but I guess that was all the time that you needed. When I came back into the room, I saw you nicely perched atop the table and helping yourself to your choice of flavors, as best as you could. Since, you were still trying to learn how to use a spoon and all and it was but natural that most of what you picked in the spoon fell over your dress and arms and legs before it could make it to your mouth. Your mom was furious at you (understandably so, since that meant she had to give you another bath) but I was more amused and your struggle and wanting to try out every flavor and unwillingness to give up made an interestingly funny sight.

As always I jumped to get my camera and managed to click a few pictures. I guess, right when I saw you then I knew I would be making this post. I am sure in the years ahead these little joys of parenthood would be lost to realms of time but for now I can’t help going back and looking at these pics time and again and smiling. Here are a few for you to smile and come running to me…. :)

 

Love,

Dad.

The First Few…

“The words printed here are concepts. You must go through the experiences…” - St. Augustine

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Dear Riddhie,

 

I read it somewhere that when you don’t have enough dots to connect, you come out with linear solutions without a broader perspective on the problem. The entire design and way of dealing with problems changes when you have  a broader understanding of the human experience.  I guess it is thus both enriching for the soul and nourishing for the intellect to try out various things and gather all new experiences you can.

Having said the above, let me clarify that this doesn’t permit you to go and be wild and live on the edge all in the name of an experience and I would expect you to be wise enough to take a sound call based on your intelligence to know the difference between what is right and worth giving a shot and what is not.

Coming back to this letter, let me narrate a couple of your first experiences in the last couple of weeks. These are little things and probably do not account for a separate post but nonetheless worthy enough of you being told about them.

THE BOWLING ALLEY: Beginning in a chronological order, the Saturday of February 25, 2012 became your first visit to a bowling alley. To tell you something, I was first introduced to the game of bowling and the concept of a bowling alley through Archie comic books. Back then, during those years of my growing up, very few people around me could relate to the sport. It wasn’t until years later during the early 2000s a couple of humble 4-6 lane alleys mushroomed up in the “global” village of Gurgaon where we would go once in a while. I can still do fairly OK at the sport and when on this particular Saturday your Diana aunty invited us to join them for a game, I was happy to take you along and see how you react to the atmosphere.

However, the flip side was that it was a fairly long drive to the place and you kind of fell asleep on the way. We had a good game and though you only woke up by the end of it, you were delighted at the sight of people around and enjoyed seeing what everyone was up to.

Here are a few of your pictures from the day.

THE BOATING EXCURSION: Actually your very first boat ride was when we took you for sight seeing at the Ellis Island and Statue of Liberty but I guess you were hardly a few months old then and could hardly make out a difference between a car and a boat so in effect this little boat ride we took on April 29, 2012 at the Marsh Creek State Park in PA becomes entitled to be called your first ever boat ride.

I was actually a little apprehensive to take you on board as I was unsure of how you would react to the entire episode and my fears were realized as soon as 15 minutes into the boat ride. You first wanted to stand up from where you were sitting and next wanted to hold onto a side and see water flow by. The next we knew, you were ready to take a dive and jump into the water. Probably you saw the entire lake as a big bath tub and were excited by the volume of water around you. Needless to add that it took us a while to take your mind off the jump and have you enjoy the view around. Somehow we managed to linger on for a few more minutes before deciding to cut short the ride and head ashore. It was interesting to note that once you were out, you wanted to go back in and enjoy the ride all over again. But, for us, I guess we had our lesson and decided not to repeat this until you were a little older to better understand the concept of depths and water bodies and boat rides.

Here are a few pictures from the day.

I am sure in posts ahead I shall have many more ‘firsts’ to talk about and maybe by the time you get to read all this stuff, most of these things would be so tried out that you would have lost interest in perhaps half of these things. Whatever, be the case, I guess I shall keep playing my part and document all I can, while I can :)

 

Love,

Dad.

The Busy Bee…

“Blessed is the person who is too busy to worry in the daytime and too sleepy to worry at night.…”

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Dear Riddhie,

 

This one is a short anecdote of one of the first times you got yourself busy on your own and did not care for any attention or constant vigilance.

 

The date was February 26, 2012 and your mom was out to attend a Zumba class she had signed for recently. We dropped your mom and came back to the apartment and had about 2 hours to spend before we had to go and pick her up again. My plan of action was simple – I had to keep you interested and entertained or busy with something so that you did not start crying for your mom.

 

So, together we kicked some ball, poured some juice, played some music and watched some TV. However, you were a little restless and nothing seemed to hold your attention for more than 10 minutes at a stretch. I tried all your toys, kept making funny faces and indulged you with chocolates and cookies and was about to run out of ideas when you went ahead and picked up an empty camera case lying about on one of the drawers in the living room. It was probably something you had not laid your hands on before and all of a sudden you were all interested in exploring the pockets and the contents of the case and sat down working intently at it with your little hands.

 

It was both funny and mesmerizing to watch you play on unperturbed and engrossed in your little game. An important lesson of life was reiterated that joys and happiness in life is often attributed to simple things and wants. I couldn’t help smiling watching you work that case with full intensity and your tongue sticking out. Needless to say, I seized this opportunity and clicked a few pictures watching you play and fidget around with the case and be my little busy bee. Here they are…

 

Love,

Dad.

F.R.I.E.N.D.S

“Fate chooses our relatives, we choose our friends…”

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Dear Riddhie,

Friendship is an important lesson and integral relationship in life. I am sure as you grow up, begin your formal education and find your place in the world you would make many friends. There would be few who would stand by you and support you in your times of need and there would be others who would get you in trouble and drag you down with them. However, every person you meet would enrich your experience and will help you become worldly wise.  

Few days ago I happened to hear someone at work talk about how his youngest daughter who had just entered her teens doesn’t listen to him anymore and is obsessed with her phone and circle of friends. I would have passed the story lightly and attributed it to the failure of family structure in the American value system but I could hear the ring of true concern in the voice of that helpless father. He was sincere and his concerns were pretty much real and it disturbed me to think that one of these days I shall probably face a situation like that. 

Maybe I am being a little paranoid here but then I have personally known people who would sweetly and easily lie to their folks and do things I am sure their parents would have never approved of, all in the name of friendship.   

Very often we live ‘in the moment’ and lose track of the larger scheme and real objectives in life. You may want to go out and be there with a friend from school and give him/her a priority over your studies or lessons today but the chances are that in the long run, most of these people who you see on a daily basis today would be lost to the realms of time and the paths of their own individual lives. Also, my advise to you would be to try and remain unaffected by people who make you look bad today. There is a very good chance that you shall not even see those people ever again in a few years. 

No matter how many friends you make over the years there are eventually only three friends that you can and should rely upon – your heart that can tell you what is the right thing to do, your wisdom which can put together a plan to work upon and your hands which would eventually execute your plan. Trust me, no other friend or soul would ever come as close.

You are about 18 months old as I write this letter to you and already have a group of playmates and friends you enjoy playing with. We, as your parents can perhaps choose this and perhaps next few sets of your playmates and pals for you but I guess in a matter of few years, we shall find ourselves alienated on more than one ground and on one of these days you would set out to explore your world on your own.

When that happens, you shall always come across two sets of people – one who would call you and track you day in and out and talk all day long with you but who perhaps won’t be able to come and stand by you when you need a shoulder to lean on and another who would perhaps speak to you once or twice in an year but they would always be around when you look for someone to call upon. I am sure, I don’t need to add which type of people are worth holding on to.

Right now, your mom spends her maximum time with you. She takes care of your needs and teaches you stuff and plays with you and I try and pitch in as much as I can. We, as parents who are the epicenter of your universe right now, would soon outlive our ‘utility’ for you and in a few years you would perhaps be as knowledgeable as us, if not more. While I shall let your mom set the tone of rules about the house and discipline you, I would try and be your pal as long as I can keep pace with you. I have mentioned before in one of my other letters to you that I shall always have time to listen to you and hear you out. Whenever doubt engulfs your thoughts and you are unsure of the right thing to do, you shall always find me waiting on you ready to help, if you need any. Hope you grow up to be wise enough to see through the fabric of people and know and realize who your real friends are.

With this thought, let me conclude this letter and with a picture of you with your current peer group.

Love,

Dad.