Tammy Tales

Last post talked about Mannu all the while. I have gotten into a habit of striking a balance between my actions so that none of the kid feels I'm favouring the other. I have got to do a separate post on that.

Well so here I'm with a few events where Tammy came up with dialogues worth documenting!!

I had given Guava in their tiffin box to be had in the evening. On the way back home in the rick, the interrogation begins.
Me: Mannu Tammu, Did you eat Guava today?
Mannu: Tammu has caught cold na? So don't send Guava for her Mamma. Send only for me.
Tammu: Mamma, you heat the Guava and send for me. I will not catch cold then, hai na???

I go to pick them up from school and they see a Pizza delivery boy! Tammu says "Mamma, mujhe Pizza khana hai." Me astonished at her having identified the thing in the boy's hand as Pizza ask her again "What?" And she thinks I dunno what a Pizza is!!! To my further surpise, she says all this at a stretch - "Mamma! This is Pizza. Ye round hota hai. Isko kitchen mein fry karna padtha hai. Upar se cheese daalna padtha hai. Phir cook karna padtha hai. Uske baad cut karne se ye triangle ho jaata hai. Ok mamma?" I was staring at her with my jaws dropped.

Background: They had caught this habit of saying NO on my face to each and everything I would ask them to do. It would really piss me off. I mean, I wouldn't mind it if they don't do what I say. But I don't want to listen to a NO from 3 year olds after all! I had freaked out BIG TIME and warned them to think 100 times before uttering the N word. Yeah I can be a Rowdy at times to bully them.
One day, MIL asks me "Seemu, did you take bath?" And I say "No".
Bang comes Tammu's question "Why did you say no to Didi when you told us not to say No?"
Sigh!!!!


Warning- Bit mushy ahead (Blush blush)
Background: Tammy is a replica of Abbas. She even smells like him. Whenever I kiss her, I sniff her sneakily and it does feel good. She caught me sniffing her smell once and she thought it was an act performed post kissing.
One fine morning: I wake up and I planted a routine small kiss on Abbas's cheek. Boy, I turn back and see both the kiddos awake. Maanu says "What did you do to Baba?" Me (all blushing) - "I gave your Baba a kiss". Tammu says "Did you smell him or not?" I feel like crawling under a rock all ashamed.


These are the recent few dialogues which I'm able to recall at this moment. To be contd...

Naariyal Paani - Bachhon ke Muh mein paani, mere maathe pe paani (Pasina)

Thursday morning - Abbas driving Bulu (our Blue car). Me and kids sitting in the rear seat. Me combing their hair and tying 2 ponies on each head. Mannu suddenly spots something on the street and goes 'Oita dao!' (meaning give THAT to me) I inquire what she wants. She repeats those two goddamn words for like 1024 times (yeah I'm into IT industry, u c?) and Abbas and I both start asking her cross questions to find out what this mystery thing was that the daughter was going bonkers over... We both are ready to tear each other's hair unable to treasure-hunt it. Abbas, regaining his cool (trying to concentrate on his driving skills) asked her politely "Mannu what do you want?" And she again says for the 1025th time - "Oita dao"!!! I go grrrr.... and then I remember this game called Hangman that we used to play as kids. 

So there I go - "Did you see OITA?" 

Mannu - Yes

Me - "Do you want to eat it?"

Mannu - Yes

Me - "What colour is it?"

Mannu - Mmmm (lost)... after 5 secs pause - Green

Me - (Unsure about what to ask next) Are you sure???

Mannu - Yes

Me - (I'm the lost one now, bring out my lifeline - asking the other kid) - "Tammu, what is she trying to say?"

Tammu - (Thinking, please don't involve me in this for God's sake) "I don't know mamma"

God came to rescue and she again spotted OITA somewhere on the street and she remembered it's name finally! Phew...

Let's go to flashback...

There is a Naariyal Paani wala cart exactly opposite Mannu Tammu's school. On Tuesday, when we crossed the road to catch a rick, Mannu spotted that stall and 'Mujhe wo chahiye'. The girl didn't even know its name but wanted it. Huh! Well, I assured her by sugar coating my words "Tender Coconut?? Tujhe chahiye? Main Friday ko khareedke dungi Okay?" She happily nodded, little did she know that Friday is yet another 3 days away. Now the reason why I said Friday is another story altogether. My domestic help comes at 6:30 PM in the evening. Although my MIL is here now, I ask her to come in the evening so that she can wash truckload of tiffin boxes of kids and me. She comes in the morning on Weekends so, she washes Friday's dabbas Saturday morning. So I couldnt afford to be a minute late or have to face Meena Aunty's wrath. Although I am not afraid of her as such, I would perhaps be better off without looking into her questioning eyes.

Back to the present...

We reached my office by then and I waved bye to them and like a wicked politician I gave my assurance yet again "I will buy you tender coconut tomorrow for sure, okay???" And both fairies now took their fav seat (front seat which is (il)legally my right when their Baba is driving) and waved back to me smiling!!!

Today...

I might be wicked but I don't make fake promises. If I promise I ensure I deliver it. I bought a Tender Coconut for them and the three of us also went into a Fancy shop to buy a clip for me and ended up buying rubber bands and clips, bangles for them!

PS:

I also picked up one tender coconut for MIL. And Mannu was thoughtful in asking how her Didi will drink it as there was no straw at home. 

Coincidence or Causality???

As a kid I was timid and and lika a recluse, I secluded myself from the crowd or strangers. More often than not, I found it hard to mingle with people. I preferred to stay in my cocoon and hardly socialized. At school, I was good at academics but  a zero when it came to sports or dance or even elocution's for that matter. I would participate in offline activities like drawing, essay writing, rangoli competitions. You get the drift right?? But there were a few exceptions like singing and fancy dress competitions where although I had to face ogling eyes of audiences, I fared considerably well (nevertheless I shivered out of nervousness from within). Post marriage when I was posted to unknown city and I lived on my own, my personality took a 360°turn and I became an extrovert. It was a turning point in my life and realization set in of all the opportunities I let go out of my coyness. That’s when I decided I will push my daughters to grab opportunities that come their way and teach them that “Participation is more important than the outcome”

Last year their creche was planning to observe Children’s Day and conduct Fancy Dress competition for them and also a Dance programme. I jumped in joy full of enthusiasm.Pumped all my gusto into my daughters by means of narrating to them how much fun it will be, and how they will get to wear new dresses, and so many uncles and aunties will say they are ‘Good girls’, exclaim and cheer when they dance and the euphoria hit them too... I decided on dressing them up as Krishna and Radha. On November 13th they ran temperature and the zeal all three of us deflated just as a balloon that got pricked. That night once they went to sleep, I packed all the dresses and accessories hoping against hope that they would be fit to atleast go on stage with costume and come back. (Yes, I’m a crazy mom!!!) Next morning, the temperature was slightly above normal but weakness prevailed. They were dull yet asking me when was I going to dress them up? They went on stage as Krishna and Radha for the first time. Then came back, they changed into white party frocks and again went on stage with rest of their kins and shook a leg to ‘All is well’!!! All was well only till then coz fever increased by a few notches by   evening. We took them to their paediatrician and they underwent a three day course of medication and were back to normal.

In May this year, we had Family Day function at work. They were organizing competitions for kids in the age range 5-12 years. Hyper-excited me, sent a reply to that mail asking if we could get three year olds to participate too. The response elated me coz they said three year olds could participate with parental supervision. This time I was brainstorming for something new coz I learnt from my previous experience that dressing up as Krishna and Radha was very common. One of my colleagues suggested ‘Cheerleader’. I got pom poms, brought gift wrappng sheets, cut them into stripes, stapled them into a backless top that they already had. I cut a long stripe out of drawing sheet and dangled colourful stripes from that sheet all over and made it as a mini skirt, attached same stripes to the stockings and made matching wrist bands. For the other one, I planned to dress her as a tribal lady. I asked my domestic help to get some mango leaves, made crown, necklace, and skirt out of leaves the previous night. Packed paint bottles to paint  her body with colourful stripes, some flower rakhi to tie on arms, wooden bangles and a  wooden flute. The night before the event was a nightmare, Abbas and I slept quite late as we prepared the tribal costume and also were googling for some tribal song. By the time we called it a day, Mannu had begun showing signs of diarrhoea. Phew! We spent the whole night cleaning her bum and changing her diaper. She was quite alright by afternoon but weak, her excitement uncluttered. Both of them jumped and did their small bits on stage with audience going ‘Ooh’ and ‘Aah’. I loved every bit of it. Back home all 4 of us curled into our beds to get a good night’s sleep.

This time when their school had intimated about sending kids dressed as Krishna and Gopika on Srikrishna Janmashtami, I was a little apprehensive. I suppressed my enthusiasm down and only announced about this event to kids a couple of days back. All was well till the D-Day morning. Mannat woke up earlier than usual and first thing she asked was “Are you dressing us up as Radha Krishna today?” I exclaimed “Yesss!” We were all set to leave home with both of them well made up in their new avatars, when Tammu tripped and fell down. She began crying and showing her knee which was in pain. We smeared an ointment there and told her she will be alright. Memories of previous two instances had faded from my memory but they hastily came back to me when I went to pick them up from the day care in the evening. I saw Mannat quietly sitting in a chair with her left heel neatly dressed with a bandage. Before I could inquire what had happened to her… the caretaker told me that they had a Matka breaking ceremony and a teeny weeny piece of Matka must have bee lying in some corner. Mannu’s heel got pierced by it and she kept mum without informing anyone. They only came to know when they saw blood red footsteps all over the floor. Sigh! The wound was a minor one, thank god for that!

I always do the ‘Nazar utharna’ act when we take kids out among crowd and have people’s eyes fixated on them. I am not sure if it works at all, but it’s just for self-consolation. But ultimately all these incidents have thrown me in a fix. Are they mere coincidences? Being an optimist, what I want to deduce from all these happenings is  “ There are no mistakes, no coincidences, all events are blessings given to us to learn from.” ~ Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Questions are the creative acts of intelligence

There is frequently more to be learned from the unexpected questions of a child than the discourses of men. - George Bernard Shaw

Some memories in random order...

• I don’t remember exactly where we were… Nature called Mannat and we had no option but to ask her to sh*t in her diapers! We were not in a position to change her diapers and in a while the stink engulfed us. Surprisingly unaware Tammu crumples her nose, sports a filthy look, waves her hand in front of her nose to wade off the smell and says “Eta ki dando??” (Meaning what smell is this… ) Actually gandho in Bengali means smell and she pronounced it as Dando which sounded so funny along with her gesture.

• We had recently gone to Bannerghatta National Park. While on the safari van, we spotted a lion. All the co-passengers where going ooh aah looking at a lion at an arms distance while Mannu asked her Baba “What is the lion doing Baba?” He told her that the lion was sleeping as it was actually lazily lying down. Inquisitive Mannu shoots back “Why doesn’t the lion have a pillow?” Abbas was caught unawares!

• I keep narrating them some incidents of their childhood now and then when I’m lost for bed time stories. One such night while I was putting them to sleep, I was telling them how they would have all fruits in the form of juice as they did not have teeth then. Mannu innocently asks “Mamma, did we have tongue then?” This is what we call out of the box thinking!!!

• Mannu has a habit of crying in situations when she doesn't get what she wants. There are times when we don't understand what she is trying to tell and she keeps on crying. We are thrown on tenterhooks when she throws such tantrums as we can't think of a solution when the problem statement is not clear. One such instance (when my patience was still intact), without knowing how to tackle her, I started singing!!! The song was "Rote kaiku hum? Hona hai jo ho, sad hote kaiku hum. Cry cry itna cry karte hain kaiku..." She suddenly started smiling and the battle was half won. After some time, for some silly reason Tammu started crying. When I inquired her why she was crying, she innocently said "Gaana bolo, mamma"

• I downloaded this song unto my cell just in case I need it in crisis situations. One day when I played the whole song... Mannu asked me annoyedly "Mamma, why is uncle saying Tammu's name?" Puzzled, I played the song again to check whether there was 'Tamanna' mentioned anywhere in the song. When the song went 'Aisa kyun hota, jo hona hai so hota', Mannu whined again, "Mamma, uncle is saying again". Then I had my Eureka moment. Mannu addresses Tammu as "Taa" and each time she heard 'hota' in the song, she thought they were addressing her sister. Phew!!!

Tales of Route# 8 Bus

I used to bring them along to work as they stayed at my office crèche all day. I got popular in the campus because of them. Many a times I have people smiling at me while I’m clueless as to who they are. Now I have got the hang of it and smile back at them. They were given identity cards along with lanyards and they would daily stop by the gate and look at the security guards, exhibit their ID cards and say “Unccccllllllle…. ID Card!!!” It was a welcome change for those people who have to check people’s ID cards only to bear their frowns and irritated reactions. They had befriended most of the employees travelling in my route’s bus. People would bring goodies for them daily evening. Mannat was very shy and clung to me initially. Tamanna was outgoing and she would get toffees / biscuits, she would confidently present her other palm and sweetly ask them “For Mannat?” and bring goodies for her sister. Gradually Mannu came to know that by being with Mommy, she is not at the profitable side. Hence, she decided to come out of her shell and began socializing. They would sing rhymes, hop from seat to seat, lap to lap, listen to songs, identify objects in newspapers and magazines, wear people’s accessories, pose for photoshoots… Those days were very memorable for all of us!

Quoting a few incidents from the daily bus journey here:

• Deepa is the first bencher of our bus and initially my kids could recognize her only when she was seated in the bus. They would be confused when she greeted them in the campus! Tammu shares a strange bond with Deepa as in she would give a share of whatever she is eating to Deepa without second thoughts. I too never got that privilege! Deepa is the first one to get down from the bus and no matter where they are seated, they would stretch their necks, shoot their hands up in the air to say “Deepa aunty… Green chocolate!” Deepa would pleasantly smile with a nod assuring that she will get it for them the next day. And then history repeats itself the next day too.
• Prabha got different names from them at different times. Starting off from Dabba aunty to Yabba aunty to Labba aunty! She is the only person who taught them ‘A for Orange’. They would trouble her to take off her accessories and make them wear those. They would then do a ramp walk in the aisle showing off to all the passengers. One day Tammu told me that “Mamma, Labba aunty doesn’t have a home na? She stays in the bus only” At first I wondered what made her say so. On pondering further I realized Prabha always got down after us and that was the reason Tammu assumed she was homeless! She conferred the titles ‘Tarle Timmi Tamanna’ and ‘Sundari Mannat’ to them which I believe will stay etched in their hearts for a long time to come.
• They would address all men as uncles and women as aunties. Rishma did not like to be called Aunty. She told them that she was ‘Didi’ (as in sister) and they started calling her ‘Didi aunty’. After some days, she again taught them that she was not Didi Aunty but only Didi. After that they would address as ‘Not Didi Aunty, Only Didi’
• There was a girl named Suganthi, they called her ‘Chunthi aunty’. She would draw for them in a notebook. One day they asked her to draw a rabbit. She was caught unawares and she told them that she would draw for them the next day. Poor girl, she went home, googled for rabbit sketches and learnt drawing one just for them. How sweet!!! My kids began demanding a new creature to be drawn daily…
• There is Lamayya aunty, in whose presence I could relax by outsourcing them to be taken care of. She has truckloads of patience in entertaining all their demands. She would bring fruits for them, peel and feed them. She would play games with them, play songs for them. If she was held up with work and couldn’t leave office by 5, she would try to come to the bus just to see them, bid good bye and then go back to work! Unconditional love, I say!
• We then have Devleena, who is called Debbina aunty. They knew each entity that existed in her carry bag. Daily they would bring out everything out of the bag and name it, put it back. Never did I see her getting irritated with the delicate scrutiny crucial that her bag underwent. She lovingly calls them Gublu… She taught them looking out of the window and exclaiming “Kitne saare uncle, kitne saare bike…”
• Once, I had to stay back at office due to some important work and I caught the 7:15 bus. A guy was sitting besides us and was fondly looking at Mannu Tammu. All of a sudden, Tammu tightly hugged me possessively and stared at him with a stern expression and hissed “My Mamma!!!” The guy did not dare look in our direction after that.
• A guy was being playful with Tammu and was showing her his ID card and mocking at her saying she did not have one. She immediately put her head and told him “My Juttu”!!! All people in the nearby seats burst out into a hearty laugh…

Since June, they have been going to school and Route#8 bus misses them. I sadly travel alone and have now started reading and listening to FM after almost a year!!! But their absence haunts me all the time. Just today while I was coming to office, I spotted a train, jumped in my seat and had almost exclaimed “Train!!!” but controlled my urge to do that… They have taught me to keep the child in me alive, appreciate simple things like watching birds, enjoying rain and many simple things which people tend to overlook in this busy mundane world.

We’re glad, they are daughters

It’s hard to believe that even in today’s age, people still crave for sons, they still believe in the funda ‘Atleast a son’. People shower me with unnecessary sympathy when they learn that I have twin daughters “Tch tch, achhochho, Ayyo, Both daughters??? How good it would have been if it was one boy and one girl?” No thanks, I’m thankful to God he blessed me with 2 girls. And then some people cross their limits and ask “Won’t you try for a son again?” Excuse me??? Why should I discuss my family plans with you?! Some people are of the opinion that our “Vansh” (family name) will be extinct without a son. Vansh, my foot! What’s in a name after all? For me its one’s heart and behaviour that matters not his family name…

Abbas and I are elated to have both girls. How I love dressing them up, buying accessories, trying wide assortment of apparels, making them wear matching rubber bands, clips, bangles, bindis… It’s all so much fun. They also keep a watch on my accessories to check whether my bangles, ear rings are matching my dress or not. They help me in the kitchen; they pick their playthings and place them back before going to bed. (Well, I have trained them to do that, and would have done the same had it been a son. My daughter-in-law would have been lucky!!!) There are some things which they do without teaching them which give more pleasure. They massage my forehead when I say my head is aching! They pick my empty tea cup and keep it in the sink for me. Get a bottle of water for me and ask me not to get up when I am thirsty! They do naughty things, and I yell at them at times when they don’t listen to me. But I melt down as they rush to me and give a bear hug full of tears and say “Please don’t scold Mamma”…

A Dad is the first and the ever lasting man in a girl’s life. My dad was my first love and I always prayed I should get a husband just like him :-D. My daughters are also their daddy’s girls and Abbas thoroughly enjoys all the pampering he receives from Mantam. He craves to hear ‘Baba’ from them and is extra caring about his daughters. I wonder if he cared so much for me even during our courtship. He always worries about the men who will take his daughters away from him. Reminds me of the quote by Jim Bishop - “Watching your daughter being collected by her date feels like handing over a million dollar Stradivarius to a gorilla.”

Bhook Lagi Hai... Khana Do

‘My kid doesn’t eat’, ‘He is so fussy with food’, ‘She hates food’, ‘Feeding him is like winning a battle’… Do these lines sound familiar? I have heard these rants from many moms. But touch wood, I am not one among them. My kids had just begun throwing tantrums when I simply nipped it in the bud. They’d say they don’t wanna eat and I would say ‘That’s fine with me. It’s upto you’ I would rarely give them an option or an alternate choice if they rejected the food they were offered. Nothing drastic will happen to a child if he/she skips a meal. They will infact be hungry and would quickly gulp in whatever is served to them in the next meal. I might sound like a ‘CRUEL’ mother but then I don’t mind being one. Having said that, I would like to add to it that I do ask them what they like to eat and what they don’t. I try to make them enjoy their food, just the way I do. My excitement about food has been infectious enough for them to catch on! Every evening on the way back home, we have a wonderful tête-à-tête where they share their feedback of the food that was sent, along with requests for the next day’s menu. I love every bit of this conversation. I try my best to cater to their requests, in case I was not able to prepare what they had asked me to, I would confess to them apologetically and assure that I would make it up to them very soon. They happily agree.

Why I started writing all about food? It was a couple of months since they had started speaking words… the first ever sentence that Mannu framed must undisputedly be “Akhon ki khabo?” – Meaning “What do I eat now?” And she would shoot this question after completion of every meal just as I would heave a sigh thinking they were full. Baffled, we would ask her what she would want to eat and we would receive this question back. It has so happened that we served her 4-5 course meal and at the end she again says “Akhon ki khabo?”. There have been times when Abbas and I were completely at loss and he would only ask me “Seemu, are you related to Bakaasur by any chance?”

Tammu is not a food freak but she is not hard to please either. Only thing she doesn’t like in her food is onions. You give her a mouthful of food, with onions sneaked in. She has an uncanny knack of filtering that onion piece while gulping in rest of the food. Same goes with nuts! One more distinctive characteristic of hers is that she will stuff her mouth to its brim, as in she will shovel whole biscuits or most things whole rather than biting them and eating. She has it in her genes as Abbas does that too.

Now to conclude, I was a big time finicky eater. But not any more… People say that whatever troubles we have given our parents as children will come back to us in the form of our children. So far so good. Hope I will not join the club with moms of fussy eaters!!!

My fairies turned 3!

My kids’ 3^rd birthday was round the corner. We had huge plans for their birthday. Last two years’ celebration was restricted to just family, prepared some good food and 2 cakes! Ever since they joined the crèche, they had been part of their peers’ birthday celebration and would come home with return gifts. They would ask me when they would be celebrating their birthdays. This year, June 8^th was going to be a Wednesday. They joined school starting June 6^th. Their birthday was celebrated in advance at their crèche where they had lots of friends. It was on 3^rd which was their last day at the crèche before hopping on to school. After a lot of brainstorming and surfing around the blogosphere, I finally went with my very trusted Zebra cake. I topped it with some Chocolate frosting and concluded with a note ‘Happy birthday Mantam’ using whipped cream.

Second celebration was on 8^th where we had them distribute toffees at school. Sticking to traditional values, I made a Payasam / Payesh on that very day.

Final celebration was at home where we had a small get-together with friends, colleagues and relatives. Unfortunately there were no kids in the guest list. So we had organized a few games for adults. We did all the decorations and preparation ourselves. Abbas suggested that food and cake will be brought from outside. I somehow couldn’t give in to the idea of people coming home for lunch and not eating my cooked food. We ended up in a win-win negotiation. I could cook a few dishes which would be easy for me to rustle up and not dedicate huge time in the kitchen. Rest would be outsourced. Finally we had Naan, Matar Paneer, Dal Makhani and Kheer ordered. I prepared Mint Coriander Ghee Rice, Methi Murg, Tomato Chutney, Boondi Raita, Salad, Papad at home. Last but not the least was the birthday cake which I was adamant on baking on my own. I intended to stick to the protocol of baking 2 cakes but on second thought stuck to just one. I’m glad I chose the ‘Celebration Chocolate Cake’ by Hershey’s. It truly was decadent and won me accolades. I must say it was one of my best after Chocolate Honeycomb Cake.

 PS: For recipe of this cake - plz click here.

Incidents to be remembered - Part 3

Have been collecting some of their acts or words that brought a smile to our face. Before they fade from my memory, here I document for future reference:

• It was when they were barely 2 years old and had just then begun rolling their tongues to speak. They were very timid and hardly socialized. Mannat was very clingy and would throw tantrums if any stranger came close to cuddle her. We were in Chennai and I had got them admitted to a play school where they would be going just for 2 hrs a day. It really helped them in coming out of their intimidation. Well, first day on the way back from school I made them walk a long distance. It was as though all the Chennai Autos had abandoned that street for the day. Suddenly an Auto appeared out of nowhere and before I opened my mouth to call out for it, I heard a frail voice doing the honours for me... It was Tammu saying 'Aaaatoooo Aaaatoooo'. I burst out of laughter looking at her plight.

• The repeater bug has bitten Mannu hard lately. She would repeat everybody's words and mock at people in the same tone. Once when she kept on doing this to me I exclaimed ' Tu repeater hai tu??' Ever since whenever she repeats my words, she automatically adds the suffix phrase - 'Tu repeater hai tu?' leaving me dumbfounded with a smile on my face.

• I was putting them to sleep, me lying in between the two of them. Mannu pulled me to turn towards her and I obliged. Tammu pulled back from the other end as if they were game for a tug of war. I politely tried to make Tammu understand saying I will face her once Mannu is asleep (coz Mannu was on the verge of falling asleep sooner) My statement offended Tammu and she turned away from me while she said "I'll get another mommy for myself". Wooohooo! Had never expected it this early though. When I told Abbas, he innocently said "I never could muster the courage to tell you such a thing all these 5 years. Look at my daughter's guts!!!" Phew

• Most of our favourite material things at home have a name. Like I said in one od my earlier posts, our car's name is Bulu. All Mannu Tammu's dolls have a name each (easy coz they only have a handful of them) The biggest of all being Sunny the teddy bear. Then there are Baby Girl, Baby Boy. The former being Tammu's child and the latter Mannu's (Children get easily exchanged among themselves depending on the mood of their mommies...) Now one day Abbas brought out from the wardrobe Johnny (it's a small noddy that I hade made and presented Abbas) Ever since Tammu's baby is neglected and she is so much in love woth Johnny. Mannu 'Bechari' carries both Baby Boy and Girl... One day Tammu was singing lullaby to Johnny and told me that she was gonna put him to sleep. With intention of pulling her leg, I advised "Why don't you put on diapers or else Johnny will pee on the bed". She seriously gave it a thought and replied "But Johnny doesn't have diapers". I asked "Where is Johnny's father?" Bang came the reply without any ado as though she had answered this question a hundred times before this. "Paadal (father) has gone to office" I was intrigued by her answers and was in a mood to continue this Q&A session to see how creative she can get. I said, "Take my mobile and call Johnny's father. Ask him to get diapers when he comes." She sincerely took the mobile, pressed a few buttons and held it to her ears. She said "Paadal Paadal... Bring diapers for Johnny, Okay?" She told me "Mamma, Paadal will bring". I asked again "Tammu, when is Johnny's birthday?" Instantly came the answer "September"! I was amazed... She said he is sleepy and went to bed with him covered herself and Johnny in a blanket. After a couple of mins, suddenly she came out of the blanket with a very frustrated look on her face and was about to leave the room. I asked her "What happened Tammu? Where are you going?" She said "Mamma, I can't handle Johnny any more. I am gonna go to office. Let the Paadal take care of him!!!" I silently whispered 'God bless my real grand children!!!'

• There are times when I ask them something and I get dumbest of answers. My instant reaction would be 'Tera sir! (sir as in head in Hindi') One day Tammu asked Mannu some question and Mannu gave a foolish answer. Tammu said 'Tera sir hai'. And guess how Mannu retorted?! She said 'Tera pillow hai'... Lol

• When we come back home on weekdays, my doemstic help washes all the tiffin boxes. I invert the boxes and the lids and jumble them up. Mannu Tammu are given the task of matching the lid and the box and keeping the boxes in kitchen cabinet. Tammu is such a lazy bum, she is a master of pretexts. As I would reject all her pleas for not doing the task... she finally came up with the cutest of all pretexts - "Mamma I am not Big. I am very small... I'll do it when I become big"

Lot many incidents to pen down. More in posts to come...

Nyu Kool - Promotion from Creche to Nursery!

They are going to school now. Yes they have grown ‘Big’! It’s as though my butterflies have come out of the cocoon and ready to take flight… The mommy in me is concerned about outside world that they would be facing head on. Abbas and I aspire to be the kind of parents they could easily confide in. Ofcourse friends are friends and parents can’t become their kids’ “friends”. But I believe parents should not build a firewall around themselves and make the kid hesitate to approach them. We would like to build a healthy camaraderie with them so that they know we are always there for them whenever the need be.

I was not there with them on their first day at the new school. Baba was handed over the responsibility of accompanying them. Daughters’ tears make him go week in the knees. He has always chosen to stay back home during each of their vaccination trips or had he come along by chance, he was nowhere to be seen when we were called in. Well, I was mentally preparing them by chanting to them all the time that they would be joining a new school and how fun it would be… I weaved stories around the new school and narrated to them during bed time. Finally the D-Day (more for the Baba than his fairies) came. They went in all excited and when the rest of the kids cried even they joined the chorus. Perhaps they thought it was part of the protocol and they had to abide by it. Abbas would have shed litres of tears then and there but the man in him came to rescue. He somehow controlled the urge to barge in and get his daughters back home!

When I went to pick them up in the evening, the teacher told me that they had begun asking about Mamma and Baba from 4 o’ clock. And Tammu would ask Mannu, and Mannu would mumble words of consolation to her and she would be content!!! This is their second week in the new school and Baba was upset yesterday that his daughters did not wave at him instead swiftly marched in and disappeared from his view. The teacher and the caretakers told me they were the best of all kids in the school. They are so disciplined that they even put back toys in place after they are done playing with them. I was a proud Mom listening to her and wishing she could go on for some more time as her words were so pleasing to hear at the end of a strenuous day!

They are learning new things now at school. Tammu today told Mannu – “Once upon a time, there lived a Mannu”. Mannu admonishes Tammu when she does silly things saying “No Baby. Don’t do it”. I could instantly determine it to be the tone of their teacher… Mannu pulls Tammu’s legs by mockingly calling her “Dhamanna”. On inquiring I came to know some girl Arushi addresses Tammu like that. Tammu got pissed off and said “Aye Mannanna”

Lots of new developments in them are going on and I need to catch up, will be posting here often!

Incidents to be remembered - Part 2

Continuation of previous post:

• ·         Abbas was playing some rhymes in his laptop and Mantam were watching and enjoying themselves. He then played a slideshow of some old pics and was asking them to recognize the people in the photos. I was carelessly watching TV as kids were being taken care of. And suddenly I heard Mannu’s outburst. She was conitnuously sobbing and I panicked and rushed to see what had happened. Abbas then told me that he had shown them a pic where he was with his nieces. And Mannu was crying because she was not there with her Baba. Phew! This girl is growing mighty possessive of her dad. And he simply loves it.
• ·         They were drinking Frooti and they had a small fightover something silly. Tammu got pissed off and took out the straw from the Frooti carton, and banged the straw on Mannu’s face. She hit quite close to Mannu’s eyes and the bottom of Man’s eyes bled a bit. We were all mad at Tammu. Once our tempers cooled down, Abbas gave a packet of Gems to Man and told Tammu that this is your punishment. When Abbas was away, I slowly tried to pester Mannu into giving gems to Tammu as well. She tells me by moving her index finger in oscillating motion, “No Mamma! Baba has asked not to give to Tammu na? I’ll tell Baba that you are asking me to give to Tammu!”
• ·         Mannu has composed her own song – “Bambalika li, Tittabita li…”
• ·         A cricket match was gonna begin where India was playing. As usual, when national anthem was being sung, we all stood up and asked Mantam to stand up as well. Next day when they were playing Srilanka’s anthem, the kids stood up and asked us to do the same.
• ·         Mantam were barely 2 then. Abbas and my BIL had taken the two of them to a footwear showroom. Tammu conviniently picked up a pair of shoes, removed her shoes, wore the new pair and gracefully kept her shoes in the showcase.
• ·         Mantam both still have the habit of sucking their thumbs. One of my colleagues told them that f you suck your thumb, I’ll send a Doctor to your home who’ll give you Big Injections. Tammu innocently asked, “Will he bring crayons along with him?” (Their paediatrican had given them crayons during their last vaccination)
• ·         Whenever I give or do something that Mannu likes, she’ll lovingly say “I love you Mamma” and boy! My heart skips a beat…
• ·         Tammu is too fond of our car. Abbas has namedit Bulu (yes he too is extra fond of our car) Whenever we come back home from office, Tammu will spot Bulu in the parking lot and rush to it with her arms wide open screaming “Bulu, Bulu, Bulu”. Once we had gone to a restaurant and while eating Tammu said “We should’ve brought Bulu here. He would have eaten too” We told her Bulu only drinks Pertol. From then on, whenever we pass a fuel station, both the kids ask us, “Aren’t we feeding Bulu?” We say “Bulu’s tummy is full”. They innocently ask “Why Mamma? Didn’t Bulu do his potty?”
• ·         Since they had this habit of putting things into their mouth, we would always tell them that their stomachs would ache if they did that. When they reached a stage where they could express their pains, Mannu kicked off like this – “Mamma, in my hand, stomach is aching”
• ·         The recent rage ‘Sheila ki Jawani’ took the avatar of ‘Seema ki Jawani’
• ·         I had put on Mehendi on their hands and Tammu, the ever-impatient soul wanted to wash it off as soon as I was done drawing on her hands. I told her if you wash it off, you will not get a good colour. Mannu jumped saying “I won’t wash my hands as I wan colour” Next day I put on Multani Mitti pack on my face and since Mannu was very curious I smeared a bit on her face too. When I washed my face, she told me “Mamma, don’t wash my face. I won’t get good colour otherwise.”

·          

Incidents to be remembered - Part I

They say ‘Kids are a form of god’. They sure have powers to relieve your stress, conjure a smile on your face, make you forget all your qualms and worries. I am double blessed to have twin fairies for daughters….

They’re going to turn 3 in a couple of months from now. How time flies! It seems like just yesterday that I was counting their age in days. They have grown big enough to choose their apparels and accessories (although I don’t entertain it), they ask me what I was packing for their meals, have also begun demanding specific dishes to be sent the next day. They learn by imitating elders’ actions and words. Teaching by examples is the best way to get them do, what you want them to do. I have discovered that enforcing orders is not gonna work always and they’re gonna develop a bossy nature and orders would be boomeranged at you. If you want your kids to be polite, you better treat them kindly too. I have become a better person in my efforts to inculcate good habits in my kids. All I had to do was practice the so called ‘good-habits’ myself and the kids learnt by mimicking me.

I try to keep my cool most of the times. But I am not a saint after all and do lose my patience after a strenuous day at work and no recreation other than two toddlers to tackle. Blogging sure gives me an unknown satisfaction specially when I can connect to so many friends I have never seen or met. Yet I miss them if they don’t post for several days together.

I am somehow drifting from the topic. I haven’t been updating this blog recently. So have missed out on documenting all the recent activities of my daughter which I would like to recollect at a later point of time. I’ll just randomly write incidents or their actions or talks in a random sequence:

• Tam: ‘Mamma, can u give me your ear-rings?’ Me: ‘No Tammu, you are small now. I’ll give you ear-rings once you grow big.’ Tam: ‘Ok Mamma. So are you gonna give ear-rings to Baba (dad) once he grows up too?'

• Scene1:

At pediatrician’s:

We are waiting to outside to see the doctor. A baby comes in for vaccination and yells loudly after being injected. My kids witnessing the baby crying shoot  questions at me. ‘Mamma, what happened to baby boy’. Me being the witty mother tried to encash the situation to my profitability and quickly said ‘The baby boy used to suck his thumb. That’s why doctor uncle has given him a big injection’ My girls instantly removed thumbs out of their mouths.

After a couple of weeks-

Scene 2:

My domestic help came to work after bunking for 2 days. Enter her and I bombarded her with all possible Wh questions to know the reason behind her Unplanned leaves. She conveniently made up a story saying she had gone to a hospital because her leg was severely paining. She was unable to move. Doctor gave her pain killer injections and yada yada. Having no say I asked her to do her work for the day. As soon as she entered kitchen, Tammu asks – ‘Mamma, does aunty also suck her thumb?’

• Today when we got off the car and I was gonna drop them at crèche, they had a look at their pillows in the car and said ‘Pillow pillow, don’t cry Ok? Manu Tamu are going to school. We will come back soon.’

• In my obsession to teach them identify colours, I would ask them to name colours by pointing to every object in sight. Perhaps I did it a bit more than required. One night when I was supposed to sing lullaby while putting them to sleep, Mannu suddenly said ‘Don’t sing this song’. I asked ‘What do you want me to sing?’. She said ‘Sing a pink Song’. I turned gloomy black. How do I compose a pink song then and there. With my ‘never face your back to challenges’ attitude, I began humming – ‘Pinky pinky ponky, pinka, pinku, pinko…’ And bang came the howl – ‘This is not a pink song’ I sang 4-5 songs trying to convince her that each one was a pink song but in vain. Finally I had to try my ultimate weapon called ‘Emotional Atyachar’. If you sleep early, THIS will happen, if you don’t THAT will happen.

• Nowadays I don’t have to narrate stories, they themselves volunteer to tell some stories. If Tammu starts, it’s difficult to stop her. Mannu gives blank boring looks at her and plainly nods her head. (Exactly the way I listen to Ma) Tammu is least bothered about whether the listener (irrespective of whether he/she is listening or not) is interested in listening.

• Tammu’s favourite nursery rhyme is ‘Johnny Johnny’ coz she winds it up with just 2 lines – ‘Johnny Johnny yes papa, Open your mouth hahaha’

• Mannu loves books and enthusiastically sits to study with me. Tammu is forced to sit and study. She will say ‘I’m not feeling good Mamma’, ‘I’m feeling sleepy Mamma’, ‘I’m feeling hungry Mamma’. I read a book and ask them to repeat what I said. Mannu would repeat obediently whatever I say. Tammu would also do so a couple of times. She would get bored easily and she would say ‘Byabyabya’ or simply distort the word I said and repeat it and start laughing at her humour.

• Mannu loves helping me with domestic chores. She knows the exact position of all the vessels in my kitchen cabinet and can keep them in their respective places. One day I was pouring milk into their sippers and I absent mindedly picked up the tea strainer instead of their milk strainer to strain the milk. Mannu observed it from the drawing room and marched towards the kitchen. She picked the milk strainer from the drawer and questioned me, ‘ This is milk strainer. Why did you use the tea strainer?’ I was stunned. I apologized to her. Next day even before I opened the drawer to pick the strainer, she was there to ensure I was picking up the right one. When I did, she acknowledged saying ‘Very good Mamma’. Lol

To be continued…



Down the memory lane - nanny hopping

Last couple of months has been quite eventful. (Frankly last one year, I would say) Feel pity on ManTam at times, coz while we are striving to steady our professional lives, their life’s going through a topsy turvy ride. Fortunately they have adapted to the haphazardness quite well. First 11 months of their life flew very smoothly…

Their first nanny Savita was a boon for us. Since she had joined us within the first week of their birth, they had got well accustomed to her and vice versa. I re-joined work when they turned 3 months old. I was a layman when it came to infants. I had gained bookish knowledge during pregnancy. Savita is a mother of two girls and I got to learn a lot from her which books never taught. I would teach her all that I had learnt from books. She was an enthusiastic soul and a perfect accomplice helping me in ManTam’s periodic photoshoots. I was maintaining a Baby Record Book and would read to her all that I had written and instruct her on what data I need to fill in due course and that she had to make note of several milestones during my absence. I would ask her to accompany me to the pediatric visits. Before the visits, she would ask me to make notes of all our queries we needed the doc to address. She would be at home from morning 8 to evening 8. I taught her basic English. Taught her some rhymes. I was grooming her so that she would percolate all the knowledge onto ManTam, coz I knew that she would be spending more time with my kids than I would. I put those 3 months of maternity leave to good use. During the 3rd month, I made a chart, which had rows for massage, shampoo, feeding, nail cutting, bottle sterilizing etc. I taught her to fill the chart for me so that when I come back from office I could know by looking at the chart how ManTam had spent the day. With her on board and Ma’s presence at home, my work life balance was at perfect harmony. Right from the 10th month, Savita and I were planning ahead for ManTam’s birthday. In the 12th month, on a weekday morning, a call from Savita put us on tenterhooks!

“Didi, Ami ar kaje ashbo na” (I won’t come to work any more), the voice came from the other end. “Whatttt??? What are you saying?”, I yelled unable to handle the shock. She said she had jaundice and she will have to be on rest. Still adamant to let go of her I enquired if she could send any of her acquaintance till she recovers, but she asked me to hire someone afresh. I was shattered. It was as though I had reached a dark dead end and I had no way to go…But like the old saying goes – ‘Time and tide stays for none’, the show had to go on. I was now juggling between work and home. I would massage, bathe and feed them, make their beds, put them to sleep, prepare their lunch, fruit juice for the evening and rush to office. Ma too had a hard time taking care of them alone. But she always tried to put me at ease saying she would manage. I was rest assured that my kids were in safe hands. There were days when Ma didn’t eat herself coz she was busy all the time attending them. I have been very fortunate to have her as my MIL. She was a working mother herself but had to let go of her career as she did not have a support system. Hence, she can empathize with me and is one of the reasons for my tranquil professional and personal life.

After a tumultuous week, there was a new entry to our household namely Poornima. It was very strange to see that ManTam strongly disliked her. Her mere presence around them made them screech. I still wished Savita would come back… Ma had to do all the bathing, feeding, putting them to sleep coz they were resolute to be rigid. Only thing she could do was prepare their food. She was very absent-minded and seemed lost in her own world. I personally didn’t want to have her around. But it was not easy to give pink slip and show her the way out. It’s not fair either. Luckily we got to know that she was pregnant and that her family didn’t want her to work. We too made use of the situation and made her understand that it would be difficult for her to take care of two babies. That was the end of nanny# 2 for ManTam.

During Poornima’s tenure, she had bunked on 8th June 2009, which was ManTam’s first birthday. I had taken the day off as I had planned to bake their birthday cakes. Our cook also did not come that morning only to make the day even more memorable. All day I spent doing ManTam’s chores, cooking and baking 2 cakes. I didn’t have either versions of a blender – electric or manual. All the whipping was done with a steel spoon. All day I couldn’t find time to breathe. After putting ManTam to sleep at around 7, I quickly assembled the cakes – Black Forest and Fruit Gateau. By the time I was about to tell Abbas to get food from outside, our cook appeared from nowhere, her face swollen and battered and I flinched at the sight. She was beaten up by her husband and she was hardly able to talk. She had only come out of her love for ManTam to cook the special birthday dinner we had planned earlier. I almost had tears in my eyes at this special gesture of hers. I first gave her some ointment to smear on the assaulted body. We both cooked hand in hand and finally came up with Fried Rice, Chilli Chicken and Potol Dolma. (Yes, all wrapped up within 10 PM) Then was the task of waking up the birthday girls and getting them dressed (forcefully). We were only 2 hours away from missing their birthday. Cake cutting was done with only Babu, Ma, Abbas, Latha Masi (the cook) and I. I felt the birthday was incomplete without Savita. If I deserved to be there, she too did. She has fed, bathed, massaged them many more times than I must have. But anyway, like I said the show had to go on.

After Poornima, it was Jharna. ManTam somehow mingled with her as though they knew her already. We only guessed that Jharna looked a bit similar to Savita. She was plumper though, but aren’t they too small to spot the difference? Good for us, we thought. Jharna quickly picked up all the chores soon. Somehow I couldn’t bond with her the way I did with Savita. Anyway I was happy that she had bonded with kids and Ma well.

They had been through nanny separation. Now they were gonna go through Mom separation…

A letter of apology to Amma

“You will realize my true worth only after getting married”, she would chant to me and sis once in a while. Those words would hit our opaque ears and they hardly mattered then. Yes, with Mother’s Day around the corner, here I am with all my guts accumulated to go public in apologizing to my Amma. I feel terrible for having taken you for granted – not once, not twice, I don’t even have a count of how many times.

Ever since I became pregnant, I craved for you more than ever. Not that I din’t yearn for you before that, but because motherhood had put me in your shoes. Every moment I spend with my daughters reminds me of your words, your actions, your love, your care, your affection. Amma, when I cut fruits for ManTam, I remember how you would keep a plate of neatly cut fruits on the centre table so that we could lazily pop in some of them while watching TV. I have even indifferently denied eating them never even bothering about how you might feel. When I prepare Dosa for my family standing for long hours in the hot kitchen in front of the Gas stove and giving them away one after one to fill each one’s tummy and then finally I am left alone. I make 2-3 Dosas and fill up my plate, switch off the stove and eat the not-so-hot Dosas alone. You know Amma, I feel guilty of never being concerned to make a single Dosa for you when you too ate the last couple of Dosas alone.

Amma, these are only a few instances I could quote of my day to day life which add to my guilt feeling. Honestly, I am leading a satisfactory and a jovial family and social life. But there is always this ‘void’ within Abbas and I which will only be filled with all of your acceptance of our marriage. I have realized your true worth, my dearest mother. The worst punishment of all is that I don’t get a chance to apologize to you. God has his ways!

Happy Mother's Day

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About ‘The Best Baba’ in this world

I had concluded my previous post looking forward to Abbas’ arrival and how curious I was to know ManTam’s reaction to see their Baba after 3 months. To my awe and his glee, they swiftly clinged on to him as though were demonstrating magnetism. Instantly I turned green with envy recalling how my daughters treated me on seeing me after a short absence. Well, nature enriches a woman with endurance, tolerance and forgiveness as soon as an embryo forms in her womb. People talk about the greatness of a mother, how she carries her child for 9 months, gives birth to it, feeds it, yada yada yada… But when I see Abbas, I am awestruck at the way a father is emotionally attached to his offspring although what connects him with it is his sperm, if you think of it logically!

I know Abbas for 6 years now. Till I became pregnant, I had never imagined how he would be as a parent. In one of the older posts, I have described Abbas as the to-be father. Initial months after ManTam’s birth were really hard for us due to lack of sleep. These days are generally spent by the mother at her parents’ place which was not a privilege for me. Abbas went through sleepless nights in helping me feed and nurse the babies. It was very arduous for him. I would empathize with him only to hear him consoling me saying “Because you can’t be with your parents at a time like this, I’m trying to give it my best shot Seemu.”

Other than carrying and giving birth to them, Abbas has done all that I have done for ManTam. He has had his hand at bathing, feeding, changing diapers, preparing food for them, cleaning up their potty; to name a few. When he is around, I am very relaxed as he even ensures that they intake ample quantity of water. Some of his attributes as a father puts me to shame and gives the mother in me, guilt pangs. For instance, I insist on going out for a movie or say shopping once in a while leaving kids at home with in-laws. He dislikes it but is compelled to surrender to my wish of spending some lone time together. There are times when both or one of them have not eaten properly and gone to sleep and Abbas would not feel like eating his meals while I hog mine as if it was quite normal.

Post marriage, I had conferred on him the title of ‘The Best Husband in this world’. I had no clue then that he would soon be promoted to be ‘The Best Baba in this world’.

My family reached me after 3 weeks of separation

I had taken the day off. Since I was working in graveyard shift starting that week (i.e., from 6 PM to 3:30 AM) I had come home early morning that day. Couldn’t sleep at all considering the fact that there was no bedsheet at home, I was sleeping on an iron cot that the owner had provided which was playing music in sync with my movements. When I had reached home, I was very thirsty and there was no water. It was just before dawn broke, so had to wait till sunrise to quench my throat. I woke up quite early and waited to meet the milkman to ask him to supply milk for us. Then I went out and had tea in a nearby shop coz without it my engine wouldn’t ignite. I came back home and set myself to clean up every nook and corner of the house. Before I entered the house a guy had lived there alone for about 15 days. And I guess you can imagine what condition the house was in. Guys!!!

I had told my landlady to get a maid to help me with domestic chores. Luckily the local flower seller lady popped up with one. I put forward my requirements and they quoted the price. After a few English-Tamil mixed broken words and sentences of negotitaion, the deal was closed at a mutually agreed price. She asked if she could get to work right then and there. Since I had a guy coming in the afternoon to install our new refrigerator, I told her to come at around 5:30 PM. Her name is Sudha. (Lucky me that I found her - she has turned out to be a blessing in disguise. She really goes out of her way to help me voluntarily.)

I set off from home about an hour prior to the flight arrival. I ordered some food for us from a nearby restaurant. When I reached the Arrival gate, Abbas SMSed me saying the flight had just landed. My eyes were fixed on the Arrival exit, reluctant to move or wink. And after sometime they came out and my heart skipped a beat. Best part of it was Tamanna’s reaction – When her eye’s caught me her jaws dropped with awe, her index finger pointing towards me and I was ecstatic. She jumped into my lap on reaching me. Mannat’s reaction was exactly contradictory and really disheartening. She rejected to come to me, cried at the top her voice when I tried to take her to me. She was running slight fever and I left her on her own and didn’t force myself on her.

Tammu was seated on my lap all along our way home and Mannu on Ma’s. We reached home and I asked Ma what food ManTam would have. Those 21 days had really had some effect on me as well as kiddos. I was not able to differentiate between Nestum and Cerelac. I couldn’t guess my kids’ apetite or taste. They had changed!!! I found myself asking each petty thing to Ma. The worst thing that happened that day was when I tried to put them to sleep, they screamed and screamed denying me. It was only when Ma pitched in and I came out of the room that they cooled down. I kept my cool too. I wanted to give my daughters room to breathe. I had walked out of their life one fine day and they had to cope up with it. Now suddenly when I come back to them I can’t blame them for not recognizing their mother. I told myself that everything will be alright. It was just a matter of time…

Abbas had taken 2 weeks’ leave. The very next day, Movers and Packers delivered our stuff. Abbas spent his leave by setting up the TV, Internet, Aquaguard connection etc by calling the respective vendors and following up with them. Other than that he spent his days in Chennai by spending quality time with ManTam. I was really taken aback by this ‘transformed Abbas’. He had learnt cleaning potty, changing diapers, giving kids a bath, feeding them and what not. He would also keep track of the frequency at which they are pissing and make sure to feed ample water to the one that is pissing less!!! I was really taken aback to see him this way. Atleast some good came out of my penance, I thought to myself.

This new Abbas was in the limelight from my kids’ point of view and I seemed to be overshadowed by him. Tammu was gradually behaving normal with me. But Mannu wouldn’t come to me at all (Read ATTT ALLLLL). She would always be with her Dad, literally stuck to him. When Abbas would disappear from her view into the bathroom, she would shed litres of tears and keep on banging the door till he came out. My patience was averse to be in harmony with me. After a few days I was really upset with the way Mannu was behaving with me. I was anyway facing denial from my parents ever since marriage. And now denial from my daughters too!!! Both the cases, I had nobody to blame but myself. Coz I was facing the consequences of the voluntary decisions I had taken. Like the old saying goes “What you sow, you reap!” Anyway, the only support system for me is Abbas. With him around, I can’t be distressed for long. He is undisputedly my “Pied Piper”. He instilled faith in me again that Mannu will be alright soon.

True were his words!!! Ever since the day he left, she began sticking to me instead of him. I had slowly and steadily won their hearts back. After all I’m their MOM… And now that Abbas is coming to Chennai on a leave of 10 days soon (after 2 long months), I am eagerly waiting to find out how Mannu is gonna behave with her Darling Dad. Will keep you guys updated…