Jaagruthi's Jottings

You've seen me. Now hear me!

noreply@blogger.com (Jagadish) — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 16:44:00 +0000

School is actually turning out to be a lot of fun. Amma and appa seem to do most of the work. Not me. We had a 'Vehicle Day' at school. We also had an 'Animals Day'. Amma and appa made me a bus for vehicle day and drew 'Kaa' (the Jungle Book snake) for Animals day.

There was a sports day too! I got a certificate and a medal. But please don't tell anyone that I cried a lot after amma left me at one end and went and stood at the other end and appa asked me to run towards amma. In the end, a teacher helped. But it was still a lot of fun. Whenever we go past the ground, I say 'Anniku sports dayku vandhene' (I came here for the sports day that day!)

At home, I had a lot of fun celebrating Kaarthigai. We all dressed up nicely and lit many lamps. I asked if I could take some lamps and keep them in other rooms but I was told that it was too dangerous. So I just enjoyed the lovely lighting. We kept lamps in all the rooms but by the time we returned from a mini-outing, the lamps were not burning any more. I've decided that I'll take care of the lamps department for the next Deepavali!

Mahesh mama celebrated his new home's 'Gruhapravesam'. Natarajan thatha and Indira paati had come from Trichy. Paati had made a lot of sweets and thengozhal which I really liked! Appa, amma and I stayed at his new home after the function. I really liked his new home. It had lots of new things - new tv, new fridge, new dining table, new sofa, new cot, new gas and new broomsticks too! During the puja, I helped amma with doing the 'aarathi' and I was really thrilled to do it! After we came back home, I told amma that I'd be watching the pazhaiya tv (old tv) and sleep in the pazhaiya bed (old bed)!

I got a new pair (not pear!) of cooling glasses when we went to Bangalore Central. We met Kripa atthai and Sriram chitappa there. I had some masala tea and samosas at Coffee Day. Since then, I've become a huge fan of Coffee Day and whenever I know that we're planning to out somewhere, I make sure I tell amma and appa "Yenakku cold irukku illaya adhanala Mamma Mia poyi ice cream chaapda vendam. Coffee Day poi masala teayum samosavum chaapdalam" (Since I have a cough, we can't go to Mamma Mia for ice cream and so we'll go to Coffee Day and have masala tea and samosas). Coming back to the glasses, I wore it nearly all day when Satish chitappa, Santhanam thatha and Janu paati were in Bangalore for appa's birthday! Appa and I bought balloons and matching caps for everyone for the birthday. I enjoyed the cake that Mahesh mama had brought!

After appa told me one day when carrying me on his head that girls have haircuts in beauty parlours and boys go to saloons, I decided that his hair was long enough to be cut. So I gave him a hair cut with the tongs amma uses to make chapaatis. I'm picking up quite a few tricks of the trade, including doing "pisshhhh pisshhhh" to spray water on the hair before starting the cutting. My next aim is to give appa a shave so that I don't have to say 'Appa, muttha kudukka mudiyalapa. Dhaadi kutthardhu' (Appa, I can't give you a kiss. Your beard prickles me). I keep chattering in a very high pitched voice. I hope I haven't driven amma (especially) and appa crazy. Appa was perhaps really fed up with my constant talking and he tried to seal my mouth! One of my favourite games now is to play with clay balls and make them into shapes or get others to do it. I've asked Satish chitappa to buy new clay balls and keep them ready for me at Madras. The other toy that I like is the blocks set that Sindoi paati bought for me (Krupa akka and Sharan anna also got blocks sets). I make tall buildings and cars from the blocks.

Vidhu chitti and Srini mama had come to visit us. When amma and I had gone to Trichy in Dechember, I had given Vidhu chitti a lot of advice on how she should eat without spilling, why she shouldn't say 'Ayyo' (I give Satish chitappa this advice often too!), etc. I hope she'll remember all those things and behave well. I made Srini mama read me some books and play clay with me. I don't think they were too thrilled when I also made them watch my rhymes CD and dance to the tunes at 10 in the night!

We went to Madras for Pongal. Thatha had bought a set of crayons and colouring books for me because I really like drawing, scribbling, writing and colouring (with crayons or sketch pens or colour pencils). But more than me, Satish chitappa and amma were keen on doing the colouring! Satish chitappa has taught me two new games. One is basketball where he keeps a bucket on the ground and I throw the ball into the bucket. The other is an alphabet game. When he says 'K', amma responds with 'S' - their names begin with K and S. Then I learnt that when he said 'J', I should say 'S'. But appa's and Janu paati's names also start with 'J'. So they also respond with 'S'. Then Santhanam thatha has to respond too since his name also starts with 'S'! It is a lot of fun! I'm planning to teach others the game too! Janu paati made me rava laddoo and potato chips which I really liked. When we went to visit my kollu thathas and kollu paatis, Abiramapuram kollu thatha (Janu paati's appa) drew me a picture of a deer. He drew it very well. Abiramapuram kollu paati gave me sakkarai pongal and vadai. I preferred the vadai and I must have had around half-a-dozen vadais totally that day (on Pongal day). When we went to see Sirkazhi kollu thatha and paati, kollu thatha was not at home. Whenever I go there, I normally end up taking a nap. This was probably the first time I hadn't done it. When we were about to leave, kollu paati applied veevudhi on my netthi.

Since you're now very keen to hear how I sound, listen to me saying a few rhymes (Ninny nanny netticoat, Jingle bells, Elly the elephant & Mary had a little lamb) and tamil movie songs (Paartha mudhal naale and Loosu penne)

Deepavali and school

noreply@blogger.com (Jagadish) — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 13:22:00 +0000

Since Octoba, I've been going to a new play school. Every morning, I go with Amma in the auto. Initially she used to drop me there and stay there until school was over. After some days, she came back home and returned to pick me up when I came out of school (sobbing, most of the time!). Sometimes the auto man doesn't turn up. Amma swears at him. I picked that up too and used to say "Shaniyan, varala inniku" (That idiot hasn't come today). I think I've got to the stage where I can go to school on my own in the auto because even before Amma told the auto man where to go, I used to say "Indiranagar varuma?" (We need to go to Indiranagar, will you take us there?) and after coming out from school, I used to say "LBS Nagar varuma?"

I'm still adjusting to school. I've never woken up before 9 am in my life. I've never slept before midnight. But now, my sleeping cycle has changed so drastically. I'm sleeping at 10 at night and waking up before 8 in the morning! Sometimes, I wake up crying "Schoolku poganum" (I have to go to school). Other days I wake up smiling "Schoolku poganum"! It works both ways! Amma keeps a lot of nice snacks in my tiffin box, like biscuits, chocolates, chapatis, bread. Most of the time I eat it on the way back home!

I now know many more rhymes than I knew before. I even know a rhyme in Hindi.

Postman aaya, postman aaya
Tring tring tring
Kitne packet laaya
Kitne packet laaya
Ek do teen
Ek do teen chaar paanch che saat aath nau das!

My rhyme goes

Postman aaya, postman aaya
Tring tring tring
Phitne packet phlaaya
Phitne packet phlaaya
Ek do teen
Ek do teen chaar paanch das!

Another song that I love is Paartha mudhal naale. In fact, I went to the CD shop and brought the movie home along with Appa. Ever since, whenever the song appears on TV, I scream "Paartha mudhal naale vardhu!"

I keep getting new CDs (rhymes, stories) regularly. I love the baby Hanuman cartoon CD. But I lose interest when Hanuman ummachi becomes big. I only love his antics as a child. I can even sing the "Akkadam bakkadam" song.

For Deepavali, we went to Madras. I enjoyed the trip to Madras in the train. I ate just about everything that was brought for Appa and Amma. I didn't eat anything that had been brought specifically for me from home! Deepavali was a lot of fun. I very rarely cried when I heard any crackers burst. I cried only when it was loud and very sudden. I even held matthaapu in my hand. Thatha, Amma, Appa and I went to the terrace and watched the lovely and colourful fireworks!

We went to see many people when we were in Madras: Kollu thathas, kollu paatis, several thathas and paatis, chitappas, atthais etc. I particularly enjoyed myself at Seenu thatha's house. Actually I enjoyed outside the house because I spotted a slide, swing etc. which reminded me of my playing time at Bangalore. I insisted that I be taken. I played in the mud for a long time and went down the slide many times!

We went to the beach at Madras. I was thrilled to see so much sand! I immediately made a sand castle. Appa and Amma also made big castles. But it was very late when we went to the beach. So we couldn't stay for a long time. I have decided to go to the beach every time I go to Madras.

Every now and then, I drive Appa and Amma crazy or make them laugh by something or the other I say. Last week, after I came back from school, this is how our conversation went.

Amma: School-la enna solli kudutha? (What did they teach you at school today?)
Me: A B C
Amma: Aproma? (Then?)
Me: D E F
Amma: Grr ... aproma?
Me: G H I
Amma: Seri vidu di! (Ok, I give up!)
Then I started giggling

Another time, the 'Kumkumam' ad came on TV and I started singing

Kumkumam paarka, best kanna best
Veevudhi paarka, best kanna best
Sandhanam paarka, best kanna best

We all laughed about my creativity! Since this is now my third Deepavali, why don't you compare it with my previous two Deepavalis? My first Deepavali and my second Deepavali!

A lovely time with cousins

noreply@blogger.com (Jagadish) — Fri, 22 Sep 2006 13:57:00 +0000

I knew well before Amma's birthday that her birthday is in Auguth. Appa's is in Dechember. Mine is in June. On Amma's birthday, there were two birthday cakes, both surprises, one from Vidya chitti and the other from Appa. I enjoyed both. But I enjoyed blowing the balloon more! You should click on all the pictures below to see more!

Soon after Amma's birthday, we went to Trichy. I had a lovely time at Trichy with thatha, paati, Ganesh mama, Chitra perimma, Carol mami, Krupa akka, Mahesh mama and Sharan anna. When we were there, Krishna jayanthi and Pillaiyar chaturthi were celebrated. Lots of sweets were made. I loved the seedai and kozhukattai. I got lots of dresses and gifts from my mamas, mami and perimma. Sharan anna always used to run up to me and call me "Ey Jaakuthi" and say "Nininininini" and rub my cheeks. Krupa akka calls me "Jaagruthi papa".

We played ring-of-roses. We also used to prevent thatha from going to sleep by lying on the paai as soon as he laid it out to lie down. Krupa akka and Sharan anna imitated the way thatha snores! Everyone loved it. All three of us used to run around the entire house during lunch time. So we've had food on the staircase, on the first floor and also behind the house beside the trees. We went to quite a few houses, had a lot of bakshanams there. We also went to some temples too. I really enjoyed myself.

Perimma, Krupa akka, Mahesh mama, thatha and paati came to Bangalore with me and amma. Here we went shopping, had ice cream, had lots of sweets, mixture, sat on the swing, visited people, had food at restaurants, went to the park and had a lot of fun together. Perimma had given me lots of story books. Nowadays before going to sleep, I force amma and appa to read them out to me. I love Bambi, Snow white, Cinderella. Appa and amma also bought me a fairy tales book and 'Jungle Book'. I love Baloo the bear and the small elephant who Mowgli meets.

After they all left, Appa, Amma and I went to Yercaud for a small vacation. We went by bus. It was my first bus journey. I really loved it. I kept singing rhymes, asking lots of questions, eating bun, idly, drinking juice, watching TV, reading books, looking through the window to see the clouds and other buses.

When we reached Salem in the afternoon, thatha gave us a surprise visit when we were expecting to only see him at Yercaud. We went in a taxi to Yercaud. Paati, thatha and Satish chitappa had got there in the morning. I loved the cottage we stayed in. I am crazy about staircases and I can spend an entire day going up and down a staircase without getting bored. The cottage had two staircases and the entire resort had so many staircases! I loved it! While Appa and chitappa played table tennis, I found a small slide and rocking horse to entertain myself. I also learnt how to win at chess. Since I'm a kutti ponnu, chapaatis were made for me in the cottage. But I also ate lots of vadais in the restaurant. We went boating and it was the first time I went on a boat! I immediately remembered 'Row row row a boat' and sang it. I wanted to bend and touch the water but no one would allow me to. Instead paati touched the water and made me touch her hand. Next time I go on a boat, I'm going to touch the water myself! It was quite cold at Yercaud. We'd forgotten to take my cap/hat along. So amma covered my ears and head with her dupatta. Appa said it made me look like a Russian girl. I don't know what that means!

After going boating, we went to a small zoo nearby. For the first time, I saw in front of me animals which I'd only seen in books. I was really surprised to see a blue peacock, lots of rabbits, deer, parrot and dove. It was very thrilling. I hope to go to another zoo soon! After a really enjoyable stay at Yercaud, me, amma and appa came back to Bangalore by bus and once again, I enjoyed the journey.

Yenakku joochenum

noreply@blogger.com (Jagadish) — Fri, 11 Aug 2006 15:00:00 +0000

'Yenakku joochenum' means "I want juice". That's the first thing I demand whenever we go out for lunch/dinner/snacks. You'll definitely read more from me next time, this time, only photos please!

Mottai number two, not one dannaff

noreply@blogger.com (Jagadish) — Fri, 07 Apr 2006 14:53:00 +0000

On Monday, my lovely hair was shaved off again. This time it was at Nallur. I cried even more than I did last year during my first mottai, simply because I'm much bigger now and can express myself, scream, jump and kick when I feel like there is trouble for me. Appa held me again and this time around, I had less cuts on the head than the previous time. If I have another mottai, I will probably bite the barber since I now have three more teeth!

This is how I look now and Appa and Amma keep telling me "mottai mandai romba azhaga irukku" (your mottai head is very beautiful) just to ensure that I don't suddenly remember what happened and start crying, like I did for a couple of days. As you can see, in the first photo below, I'm really angry and my eyes are red from crying. This was soon after my mottai and the bath. I hate head baths. I obviously hated it even more after a forcible mottai. In the second photo, I'm with Abarna akka, who is actually my chitti, but like Aravind anna, gets special treatment by me calling her akka. This was soon after we came back to Trichy from Nallur. I was very happy when we got back since it was a place I knew well!

I got two new clothes from both thathas & paatis. In those two photos after the mottai, I was wearing the dress bought by Natarajan thatha and Indira paati. I haven't yet worn the dress Santhanam thatha, Janu paati and Satish chitappa presented me. I'll wear it when they come to Bangalore next week! Appa and Amma bought me so many new clothes - night dresses, frocks, tops and pants. Most of it was because I am afraid of wearing clothes through my head. I'm afraid of my head getting stuck. So they bought me tops with buttons so that I can just put my hand in and wear them.

I extend my refusal to wear clothes through my head to other things as well. I refuse to eat food I don't like and say "Yenakku vendaam" (I don't want) or "Podhuma?" (Enough?) rather than "Jaagruthikku vendaam" (Jaagruthi doesn't want) which I used to say when I was smaller (Appa says: i.e. two months ago!) Sometimes I'm helpful by taking my plate/cup or Appa/Amma's plate/cup to the kitchen sink for washing. Sometimes I just don't have the mood to do it and say "Appa/Amma podatuma?" (Will Appa/Amma put these in the sink?). Similarly when Appa or Amma take me to the nearby shop to buy something and give me the bag to carry, when I'm in the mood, I carry it. Otherwise I just give it back to them saying "Appa/Amma yeduthundu varalama?" (Will Appa/Amma carry it back?)

The two things I love doing at night before going to sleep are to give Amma her tablets by putting them into her mouth and then put the milk coupons inside the milk bag. I'm still not tired of doing those! How many coupons? One Dannaff! One dannaff is one and a half - that is the number of litres of milk for which I put the milk coupons. After that, whenever I hear the word "yevvalavu" (how much?), I immediately pipe up and say "One dannaff", whether it is milk or water or bread or vegetables!

I don't really ride my new cycle often nowadays, but sometimes I like to just sit on it and watch TV. I ask Appa/Amma "Cycle hall-ku kondu varalama?" (Shall we bring the cycle to the hall?) even though the cycle is actually in the hall. That is because to me, the hall only starts from where the oonjal (jhoola/swing) ends. Apart from watching songs on TV, I also watch new CDs which Appa, Amma & Santhanam Thatha bought for me. Appa & Amma bought two CDs with rhymes, numbers, ABCD etc. in it. The rhymes were very interesting especially because it was the first time I was seeing rhymes as cartoons.

I am deeply affected by Humpty Dumpty and keep saying "Humpty Dumpty-a otta vekka mudiyala" (No one was able to stick Humpty Dumpty back). Miss Muffet being scared of the spider also was scary to me and I try to calm her down by telling her what Amma told me "Muffet muffet, bayapadadha. Spider dhaane. Adichudalam" (Muffet muffet, don't get scared. It is just a spider. We'll hit it). The story of piggy being hit by the train made me tell piggy what the engine driver told him "Train varache naduvla vara koodadhu? Engine varadha paathu na poganum" (You shouldn't be on the track when the train is coming. You should see if the engine is coming).

The ABCD, 123, parts of the body CD isn't too interesting yet. I actually felt sleepy after watching it. I suspect Appa and Amma will use it to make me sleep earlier than midnight! I guess I better start liking it! Thatha bought me a CD with Tamil rhymes in it, like "Nila nila odi vaa", "Amma inge vaa vaa" etc. I'm beginning to like it as well.

Before going to sleep at night, I obviously have my dose of stories. Amma has been telling me two new stories - one of them is about the tortoise who won the race against the rabbit and the second is about the mouse which helped the lion. I've made my own change to the kaaka-nari-vadai kadhai (crow, fox & vadai story) and in that story, Indira paati is the paati who makes the vadai. In the kozhukattai kadhai where I make a hop and forget the name of the sweet (kozhukattai) and say atthiripaacha (Santhanam thatha told me this story), Janu paati is the one who makes me the kozhukattai.

Kaushik chitappa was home last month. He is one of the few who prefers to do watch me from far away rather than try to carry him. Since I don't like people carrying me as soon as they see me (with some exceptions), I guess we will get along well! Appa, Amma and he had pizza but I wasn't allowed to eat. Karthik mama celebrated his birthday. We went to a restuarant and Mahesh mama was also there. I loved Appa's orange juice and Mahesh mama's lime juice. But most of all, I loved the cool air coming out of the gaps near the floor there and I kept running around the place to enjoy the cool air from every single gap.

Ok, that is all for now. Talk to you all next month, when I have a lot more hair!

First flight and a lovely time with Chandya akka

noreply@blogger.com (Jagadish) — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 15:00:00 +0000

I made my first ever trip to the vegetable market near my house last month and I really loved it. We bought so many vegetables and fruits. But the most enjoyable part was when the mama selling the vegetables shouted out the names of the vegetables repeatedly. It reminded me of my train journey with Amma to Trichy when the coffee man kept saying 'Caafee, caafee'. I kept giggling and the vegetable man, seeing me laugh, shouted even more.

We bought a brown bean bag recently and I was among the first to lie down on it. I can now eat the apple by myself, provided it is peeled of course. I still have 8 teeth, but a 9th one is growing and since it gives me a strange feeling, I love chewing on my toothbrush for a long time.

Around two weeks ago, we went to Pune for a short vacation. Amma and Appa had kept telling me that we'd be seeing Sandya akka, Suji atthai, Periya thatha, Periya paati, Janani atthai, Ramani thatha, Mala paati, Santhanam thatha and Janu paati there. We went there by flight and it was my first flying experience. I was thrilled to see so many planes near to me and kept saying "Yenga paarthalum plane" (wherever I see, there're planes) since the only planes I'd seen so near to me were in my books. But I didn't like the journey. I cried when the plane took off and every time it went up and down in the sky. I also cried when the plane landed.

We landed at Pune and I saw that Santhanam thatha and Periya thatha had come to pick us up. When we went home, I saw Sandya akka. For some time, I didn't let anyone play with me or speak to me or carry me. After a while, I got used to the place and started exploring the house. I started calling atthai 'Chuji atthai', which she really liked. My two thathas and Appa took so many photos and videos!

After that, I started having a lot of fun with Chandya akka. She then became friendly with me and started rubbing my cheeks & saying 'haaya baby', hugging and playing with me. In the evening, we went to a nearby park and played in the lawn. After that, we had ice cream. I didn't like the chikoo flavoured one, but I loved the chocolate flavoured ice cream. The next day, we went shopping for clothes. Chandya akka and I got identical ghagras.

Chuji atthai also applied nail polish to my fingers, which I really liked. I also got a few pairs of valayals (bangles), obviously among my favourites! Appa carried both of us but like you can see from the photo, Chandya akka and I have some muscles too! At nights, Chandya akka and I were treated to stories by Santhanam thatha. I amazed everyone there with my ability to stay awake till nearly midnight. Periya thatha and paati usually went to bed by 10.30. To me, that is when the evening has just ended!

Chandya akka and I wore same-same dresses most of the time, including pattu paavadai. But while she wore chalba kameej (salwar kameez) which I didn't have, I wore a green frilly top and a green three-quarter pant given to me by Janu paati and Santhanam thatha. When I wore it, everyone felt I looked so cute and that my dress looked like Manorama's Jil Jil Ramamani dress in a song in 'Thillana Mohanambal'. Obviously I have no idea who that is, but I enjoyed wearing it. I liked it so much, I even wore it when we were going to a nearby restuarant for dinner. I insisted that I should also carry a bag, like Chandya akka was, as you can see below!

I had a chuper (super) time at Pune. This was the first time I was seeing a cousin who I could keep calling akka. In fact, after returning to Bangalore, I've started talking a lot to other akkas and annas at Royal Palms. Janani atthai also came home after her exam and after some time, I remembered her teaching me 'round the round the garden'. After a chuper time at Pune, Appa, Amma and I had to return to Bangalore. I'm looking a little angry in that second photo because to me, it seemed like we were all set to leave and suddenly everyone wanted to take photos. Besides Chandya akka got angry and went away into a room and I wanted to go and find her!

At Pune airport, I enjoyed myself by lying down on the floor, in spite of Appa and Amma repeatedly asking me not to. Appa was saying that I took the 'Keep your airport clean' messages a little too seriously. The return flight was a little better. But as soon as I got into the plane, I realized what would happen next and I started saying "Yerangidalama?" (Shall we get off?). I cried a lot during take off but after some time, I went off to sleep. When I woke up, we'd landed in Bangalore! Home, chweet home! Appa and Amma have bought me a new cycle. The doggy chycle is still there. But this one is a real one! It is orange in colour and it even has a carrier for me to keep my books, water bottle etc. I don't know how to ride it yet. Apparently I need to press the pedal. I'll soon figure that out.

Romba chandhocham

noreply@blogger.com (Jagadish) — Fri, 27 Jan 2006 09:19:00 +0000

Last month, Appa celebrated his birthday. Amma and I gave him a huge surprise by going to CMH Road all by ourselves and buying him clothes. It was a very thrilling journey. It was the first time I walked on a main road footpath. I was obviously holding Amma's hand during our shopping excursion. Amma told Appa that she felt like she was taking a puppy out for a walk because I barely reached upto peoples' hips and because I stopped so frequently to take a look at a huge bus which went past us or the steps leading up/down to the shop etc. The three of us went out for dinner along with Mahesh mama and Karthik mama to 'Roomali with a view'. I didn't really care too much for the food, but the fountain there was fascinating and that is where I spent most of my time.

We went to Madras and like I mentioned last month, we visited our new flat at Madras. It was really interesting seeing a new place and it took me a few days to get used to it. Thatha took several videos of my antics with his new camera while I did my best to distract paati from working on her Sudoku, and kollu thatha from helping her, through those same antics.

The new flat is very near to many shops which sell valayal and that is good enough for me. I'm now totally crazy about valayal. In fact just about everyone has realized that they can bribe me into going out with them or allowing them to carry me just by buying me a brand new set of valayal. Alternately, I also get bribed by offers of allowing me to climb up and down staircases. I really do need to set higher goals. Perhaps I should insist on actual jewellery rather than plastic/metal valayal.

Thatha, paati, chitappa, amma, appa and Aravind anna came out with me to a restuarant for dinner on New Year's day. Once again, I didn't care too much about the food. This time around, the steps were far too enticing, as well as the lift which kept going up and down. When I was at Madras, I saw three other paapas - Siddharth, Abhijeeth and Achyuth. While I did play with Siddharth, Abhijeeth was too kutti for me and I ended up playing with his rattle etc. and Achyuth was asleep! I did bring away one of his toys though!

Amma and I then went to Trichy for Pongal by a day train. It was yet another first experience for us, just the two of us, and of course a few other passengers ... or innoru mama/mami as I say. I really enjoyed the trip, especially when the coffee man went past us saying "coffee coffee". I imitated him a few times and everyone around us laughed. Every time the train stopped, I told amma Trichy vandhudthu, bag yeduthundu jerangalama?. Quite a few times amma told me that we still had some distance to go and I started crying because I wanted to get down at that station. Amma then explained that Trichy thatha would come and see us and then we'd get down. That satisfied me significantly.

At Trichy, I played with a lot of Sharan anna's toys. Mahesh mama was also there and I took the liberty of asking him once Mahesh, nee yenna pannare? when he was busy with his laptop game. We enjoyed the chooper pongal etc. which paati made as well as the murukkus, which I especially liked. Sindoi paati bought me a Tweety chair, which I really like. Abarna akka (same rules apply to her as for Aravind anna) came to see me and she played with me for a while. I didn't let her lift me though, but apparently she was the first one in the family who used the word 'dap dap' to refer to a staircase since Trichy thatha taught her that way. Since then Krupa appa, Sharan anna and now I use 'dhap dhap'! Chitra perimma, Roby perippa and Krupa akka called us up on Pongal and the moment thatha said 'Krupa kutti', I insisted on appa taking Krupa akka's photo from the shelf and showing it to me. I even blew a few kisses to her!

I can now tell you the names of my Madras and Trichy thathas and paatis. Madras thatha and paati are Chanthanam thatha and Janu paati while Trichy thatha and paati are Natajan thatha and Indija paati.

Along with enjoying songs on TV, I can now imitate the anchor on Sun Music. See this video Appa took of me saying 'Unga kooda pesiniadhula romba chandhocham. Gajini lerndhu Suttum sudar paatu podarom. Enjoy pannunga'. In fact I enjoy it so much that if appa or amma switch to watching something else when a favourite song is on, I repeatedly say vaddhaa paaru. I've now discovered that saying things repeatedly in a shrill voice ultimately drives people nuts and they do what I want them to. Useful, that!

After we returned to Bangalore, we had a surprise visit from Chanthanam thatha, Ramani thatha and Mala paati. Since I didn't allow Ramani thatha and Mala paati to carry me initially, I got bribed by valayal and an outing. They tried to compete with me in staying awake at night, but they couldn't last beyond 10.30 pm. I won! Yaaaaaaaaay! Appa and amma bought me a new 'ghaghra' yesterday. I rather like it! It reminds me of wearing a similar one at Kripa athai & Sriram chitappa's wedding. There is some new furniture at home now, including a nice jhoola I love lying down on.

I no longer use my potty for moocha. I am taken to the bathroom and I squat there. I feel quite proud about it!

The latest story amma tells me at night before I go to sleep is the rabbit-tortoise one. After a couple of days, when she asked me Jungle-la enna irundhudhu?, I say "Lion". Vera enna?. I reply "Innoru lion"!

On that funny note, bye ... unga kooda pesinadhula romba chandhocham!

Happy New year chikch

noreply@blogger.com (Jagadish) — Fri, 23 Dec 2005 15:06:00 +0000

We will be going to Madras next weekend where I will explore the new flat. I got used to the older one and I have no doubt that I will take a day or two to adjust to the new surroundings. We will actually be in the train on the midnight of the new year. I will not be awake then, but Amma has promised that we will cut a cake in Madras and I can wish everyone "Happy New Year chikch". Actually she taught me to say "Two thousand six" but that is too much of a mouthful.

Speaking of mouthfuls, one of my daily routines is to have many helpings of thacchi [curd]. I have thacchi after my lunch, after Appa and Amma have their lunch and after their dinner. If they give me some feeble excuse, like the weather being too cold etc., I start saying "thacchi chaapalama" in my highest pitched voice until they can't take the screeching sounds I make any more and give in. I simply love eating thacchi. I get them to pour thacchi in my kutti plate and I slurp away, as you can find in these pictures.

Mahesh mama celebrated his birthday a month ago. I took Appa and Amma along to an Italian restuarant. Karthik mama, his friend, was also there. I enjoyed my visit because I got a seat all for myself. While the big people were eating their food, I checked out the restuarant by sneaking in between the chairs and tables. When we were leaving, I floored Mahesh mama by giving him a kiss!

Trichy Paati and Thatha visited us for a few days and I spent a lot of time with them talking to them, playing with them, reading books, listening to songs etc. Thatha managed to locate a shelf for my books and toys so that they'd be kept in an orderly manner rather than be spread all around the house. He told me "padichutu, adukki vekkanum". They had bought a few story books for me, which Appa and Amma will definitely need to read up so that they keep me entertained. I am getting bored of listening to the kullabaari and kaaka stories. Paati taught me to keep my shoes in the shoe shelf whenever I came back from the play area. Since then, whenever Appa comes into the house, I say in my high pitched screechy voice "anga naa vekkanum", pointing to the shoe shelf. He did it nicely for a couple of days. After that, I think he got crazy and started chasing me around the house and playing with me without bothering about my instructions.

Appa went to Hyderabad a few weeks ago for a couple of days. I missed him because after he comes back from work, he plays a lot with me, suddenly start chasing me around the house which makes me run helter-skelter shrieking in excitement, letting me walk between his legs, tickling me etc. So I was quite angry with him and when he returned and said Heyy Jaagruthi, I just glanced at him and went back to watching TV to convey my disappointment. Of course, when I found that he'd bought me a "dino bommai", we became friends yet again. Amma taught me that my teddy and the new dino bommai were friends. I repeat it a lot of the time saying "Dino bommaiyum teddy bommaiyum becchu fendchaam". Sometimes I extend it by saying "Appa-vum Ammavum becchu fendchaam" which makes them really happy!

When I'm trying to find something, I call out to it and ask "nee yenga ikke". So one day, I was waiting for a portion of a song which I like to be played and I was getting impatient since that bit didn't make its appearance. So I asked "Thandhana thaana, nee yenga ikke?". Amma really laughed at that! Some of the new songs I like are "Suttum sudar" and "Chi chi chi chi". I say "romba pudikkum" or "fulla pudikkum" when I hear songs I like. When I see people getting wet on the television, I say "mazhaila nanayadhengo, jaldosham pudikkum". Amma taught me this too!

A few weeks ago, since Appa had a gift voucher, we went to Landmark, a huge book shop. I slept through most of the car trip there, but when I woke up, I found myself in the middle of so many books. I'd never seen these many before. Amma told me "yenga paathalum books" and I kept repeating it as I ran excitedly amidst all the rows where the books were carefully arranged. I tried to help Amma with her book selection but since she thought I was disturbing her, Appa carried me away to show me some other books. While being carried, I managed to pick up a couple of books randomly from the rows we passed through and when Appa put me down, he was puzzled about how I got those books into my hand! What did I get from there? Well, two things. A slate to kirukku and a swing. I use the chalk to kirukku on the slate and I get even more excited when I see my hand so white in colour. The "fing fing" is hung from the ceiling now and I am looking forward to enjoying myself on it. As for the slate, I normally ask Appa or Amma "yenna vaylaam?" and they either draw something from my books or write ABC, 123 etc. Perhaps they're confirming to see if they still remember. Hmm, something to think about! Speaking of ABC, Karthik mama had bought me a board on which I can fix A, B, C etc. I like identifying A, C, G and O but I get stuck when it comes to P. That is because P is fixed on the board and when I tried taking it out, Thatha told me "tighta irukku, yedukka mudiyala". So I thought that was the way to identify it and as a result, when I see that letter on the slate drawn by Appa or Amma or anywhere else (t-shirt, TV etc.), I point to it and say "tighta irukku, yedukka mudiyala"!

At night, like I mentioned last month, I spend a lot of time "building up" to my sleep. I play with bangles, hairbands, coins etc. Nowadays I keep climbing up and down the side table, after pushing out everything that is on it. Appa is convinced I'm quite close to Cinderella, given I'm awake and active until midnight every day! At night, the three of us play "Ring of roses" and I really love it. I keep circling until I get tired.

Last week, I had an injection. I had fever for a day and was crying a lot of the time. When someone asked me what happened, I said "oosi kutthinaango, joram vandhudhu". That immediately got me sympathy for a couple of days! Anyway, the next injection is six months away! Yaaaaaaaay!

A special congrats to Siddharth who became a year old and joined the one-year old gumbal. Vaibhav will also join the gang soon.

Bye for now. See you in "chikch"!

That was a long break, wasn't it?

noreply@blogger.com (Jagadish) — Sat, 19 Nov 2005 04:39:00 +0000

Belcome back choca bake. If you thought I was referring to chocolates or cakes, that isn't what I was saying. 'Belcome back choca bake' is "Welcome back after a short commercial break". That is the line I keep hearing on Sun Music and I know it by heart now. Yes, it hasn't really been a short break since I last wrote about my antics. I hope to be more regular, but as you will soon find out, I have been upto too many things!

Last month, when I was at Madras, I saw another athai of mine, Anju athai for the first time.
I really enjoyed myself at Thatha and Paati's sashtiabdapurthi last month. I went out shopping with everyone, got many new clothes, bangles etc. I even sang 'Thatha paati-ku kalyaanam', a song Amma taught me. When I sang it in Chitappa's car, Thatha and Paati were extremely happy! The song goes:
Thatha paati-ku kalyaanam
Malai maathi kalyaanam
Dum dum pee pee kalyaanam

After the sashtiabdapurthi, Periya thatha, Periya paati, Krishnan thatha, Chitra paati and Sekar thatha came to Bangalore after a mini-pilgrimage. They were pleasantly surprised to see me in a good, playful mood. When I was in Madras, I cried for the first few days whenever I went to someone's house. But when they came home, I posed for photos with them and took a liking to Periya paati's chain, bangle etc.

I went to Sekar Thatha's birthday party last month and since then, I know how to sing 'Happy Birthday to you'. I sang it to Satish Chitappa and Trichy Thatha on their birthdays. Chitappa was actually in Bangalore a day after his birthday and to celebrate it, we had a cake. I loved eating the cake as you can see from these pictures

I enjoyed my first real Deepavali. Last year, I was too small to enjoy it. This time, I watched Appa, Amma, Thatha, Paati and others in our apartment complex light mathaapu, bussvaanam, chakram etc.

So what do you normally do on Deepavali? Amma taught me this 'Deepavali anniku kaathaala yezhundhu, jo jo kulichu, pudhu dress pottu, matching matching valayal potu, cake chaaptu, pattasu vedichu, mathaapu koluthi, busvaanam vittu' (On Deepavali, we get up early in the morning, take a bath, wear new dress and matching matching bangles, eat cake, burst crackers, light sparklers and flowerpots). I did cry a few times though, especially when crackers burst suddenly, very loudly and close to me. I got many new dresses for Deepavali. Here're photos of me wearing them.

Although I really don't have any nicknames, Trichy thatha calls me Pattamma, Janu paati calls me Jaakutti or Jaakannu, Madras thatha calls me Kuttima, Satish Chitappa calls me Jaakutti, Sekar thatha calls me Jaags, Periya thatha calls me Jaagi. Do you all have any nicknames for me?! Leave them in a comment here!

Amma taught me Appa's and her name. If someone asks me 'Appa per enna?' (What is Appa's name?), my answer goes 'Ja ga dee ch'. My reply to 'Amma per enna?' is 'Kri thi ka'. Immediately I ask 'Nee per enna?' (I actually mean to ask Yen per enna, but I haven't yet mastered Tamil grammar!) or 'Watiname' (What is your name?) and say 'Jaa gru thi' and clap in appreciation of my efforts. Amma calls Appa 'Gadi', as a short form of Jagadi while Appa calls Amma 'Krithi'. I call Appa 'Gaaaaaaaadaaaaiiiiii' and Amma 'Krithiiiiiiiii'. Appa taught me to reply to 'How are you?' and I say 'Ampaain' (I'm fine!)

I can actually nearly speak full sentences. Once, when I woke up in the morning, I was quite hungry. So I asked Amma 'Mee mee thoppa pasi, mum chaaplama?' (My stomach is crying mee mee, can I have something to eat?). I am not as interested in books as I was a month or so ago. Nowadays I am crazy about picking up a crayon, pen or pencil and doing kiruki kiruki on the newspaper, Appa's books or sheets of paper lying around. I just pick up a pen and book and say 'Vailaam' (Varayalam - let us draw) and Appa and Amma draw all sorts of things for me: elephants, kaaka, car, my doggie cycle, my potty, trees, flowers, faces. When Amma asks me 'valayal yaaru vaangi kudutha?'(Who bought you your bangle?), I reply 'Ganechu mama'(Ganesh mama). There is a photo of Krupa akka in the showcase in the hall. I point out to it and say 'Koopakka'!

Appa is convinced that I already have a lot of interest in Latin or Chemistry. I add an -um for everything I want. Pen-um menma (I want the pen), book-um menma, phone-um menma (I actually also say Nobile phone-um) etc. If I am not given what I want, I pucker up my lips and start crying. Whenever I see the phone, I take it to Appa or Amma and say 'Menma menma. Avind Anna pesalama' (I want to speak to Aravind anna). I became very good friends with him when I went to Madras for the sashtiabdapurthi. Although I still can't give a proper kiss yet, I rub my mouth against whatever I want to kiss. When I kissed Amma on her cheeks, she said 'Very sweet of you Jaagruthi!'. Ever since, when I kiss Appa or Amma, I say 'Vefy feef aap u Jaagruthi!'. I actually tried to kiss myself in the mirror, as you can see in the photo below.

Along with my doggie cycle and potty, I have a few other good friends in the house. The first is a teddy bear I got for my birthday. When I sit beside it, we're about the same height! I grab it by the ears and shake it to wake it up if I find it lying lazily on the floor. I give 'uttha' (muttham - kiss) to it and hug it. But teddy is a friend at night before I go to sleep. In the daytime, my friends are my kutti sofa and the thoapam (thodappam - broomstick).

I frequently go and sit in the kutti sofa, lie down in it, even as I keep saying 'Saakas panna koodadhu' (Circus panna koodadhu) because I know I could actually fall down. I even have a song for my thoapam friend. It goes 'Thoapam inge vaa vaa, aasai uttham thaa thaa', thus making a mess of the rhyme 'Amma inge vaa vaa, aasai muttham thaa thaa' which Amma taught me! I give kisses to the thoapam. When I'm eating my food, I say 'thoapam-ku ovaai' (thodappam-ku oru vaai - one mouthful for the broomstick). I keep it between my legs and say 'beetch' (Ed: Lest you get shocked, she actually means to say witch, based on 'W' for witch in her book. But she can't pronounce 'v' or 'w' and uses 'b' as a replacement).

Two of my friends in the apartment complex, who I see frequently when we go to the play area are Jinju akka and Anika. Jinju akka is much older than I am and she makes me laugh many times by sticking her tongue out etc. but Anika is about the same age as me. We don't really play with each other, but Anika keeps saying 'Jaagruthi, Jaagruthi' while I keep saying 'Anika, Anika'.

I am not one of those early to bed, early to rise babies. I sleep around midnight and wake up around 9 in the morning. Going to bed is a very long drawnout affair for me. First, I play with the teddy. Then I play with Amma's coin purse. I need someone else to open the purse for me. I then make all the coins fall down saying 'Kaasu mazhai' (It is raining coins). After that, I turn my attention to my valayal bag (bangles bag). I try on various sets of valayals and when I get bored with it, I then play with Amma's hairbands. All this takes around 20-30 minutes. It is only after this that I get ready to go to sleep. But it isn't quite over yet. I need to have my daily dose of bed-time stories. Amma tells me the kaaka-vadai-nari (Crow-vadai-fox) kadhai, kaaka-thuutha-stone (Crow-water-stone) kadhai, the kullabari-monkey (Capseller-monkey) kadhai and the dosai kadhai. Thatha actually told me the kullabari story first, Paati made it more interesting and then Amma added some singing etc. to it and so I really enjoy the story.

It is now time for me to go to bed. See you all after another choca bake!

The book lover and the budding artist

noreply@blogger.com (Jagadish) — Thu, 29 Sep 2005 15:38:00 +0000

Hello to all, from the ottai mandai (that is how I say 'mottai mandai'). First of all, a BIG Hi! to Abhijeeth, Sumathi perimma and Sridhar perippa's baby, who was born earlier this month. I'm feeling old already!

This is how I used to look before my ottai!

This is how I look in my ottai mandai now.

My ottai was at Vaideeswaram Kovil, near Sirkazhi. Mahesh Mama had come along with us from Bangalore. He got off at Trichy and brought along Thatha and Paati from there. Thatha, Paati and Chitappa had come from Madras along with Chinna kollu thatha. Krishnan thatha and Chitra paati were there at Sirkazhi. The day before my mottai, we all went to Asikkadu to see Kollu paati, Murthy thatha and Kamala paati. I was enjoying myself there, running around the house. But after I woke up from my sleep, I started crying non-stop for nearly a couple of hours. On checking my temperature, it was found that I had a fever. The fever started reducing the next morning and so my mottai was done. I did cry a fair bit when my hair was being shaved off. I kept wailing 'Paapaa ... Jaagruthi ... Thooku' but no one came to my help. After that I was bathed and wore new clothes. In fact I got so many new clothes that day! Amma then taught me that I was now a 'mottai' and I learnt to point to my head and say 'Ottai'.

I'm in Madras now. I've come here to celebrate Madras Thatha-Paati's sashtiabdapurthi. What is a sashtiabdapurthi? Well, I don't know much other than the fact that Thatha turns sixty years old. I'll obviously have a lot of fun, because I do love kalyanams! Amma has taught me a song to sing. But it is secret. Only Appa, Amma and I know about it! Ssssshhhhh! Satish pappappa (ok, I can actually say chi-ta-pa, but somehow I keep saying pappappa) was not at Madras when we went there. Now he is.

There is a lot of work to be done. I wonder what my contribution will be. I suppose eating, sleeping and playing on time and being cheerful is a good start. We've so far done some shopping and I've enjoyed myself, as usual, during those outings. The first two days or so, I was really scared whenever we went to someone's house and I used to start crying because I was unprepared to see so many people! I hope (and so do others as well!), I stop doing this soon.

From Amma and Trichy Thatha, I've learnt how to keep the house spick and span. Whenever Pamma (Padma) cleans the house, I take a mop and keen the floor. Sometimes the mop is double my size. But I still manage quite well!

I love reading books and reciting rhymes. Mahesh mama bought me some rhymes CDs and since I am now tall enough to reach the top of the table, I switch on the DVD player and wave my arms around indicating that I want to listen to 'The itsy bitsy spider'. Amma taught me 'Johnny Johnny yes papa' and although I don't know all of it, I am the one who says 'papa' and the 'ha ha ha' at the end.

A couple of weeks ago, Appa and Amma went to a bookshop in Bangalore to see if they could buy new books for me. Well, it was actually a second-hand bookshop, so it couldn't have been a new book anyway! In any case, I was elated when I went in and started frantically saying 'Booku booku booku'. To keep me quiet, Amma spread half-a-dozen books around me and I was happily looking at them while they tried to figure out which book to buy for me. I think I've inherited this habit from Appa. He loves going to bookshops and even more so, loves reading up entire books while sticking around there. Amma sighs at my behaviour and wonders if there could be a day when Appa and I will just say bye to Amma and go away to the nearby bookstore for entertainment.

Oh, we bought a nice shiny new Alto car. It is blue in colour and I love going in it, although Appa does drive quite slowly. I have a new vehicle as well. I call it the doggy cycle. I think I'll challenge Appa to a race one day. I am sure I will win. On second thoughts, nowadays I walk so fast, I might actually run and win the race against Appa driving the Alto.

One of my books has a list of numbers, days of the week and months in it. But I need the start from others. I don't know what the starting number, day or month is. But once you say one, I can go ahead, skipping a few numbers here and there. I never remember July and always jump from Joo to Aakuth (June to August). Some of my favourite months are Maa (March), Ockoba (October) and Diichem (December). My week always ends with Thathuday (Saturday), whether you start from Thunday (Sunday) or Monday.

I can effortlessly climb up and sit on chairs, sofa sets and cots. It has taken a while to learn it, but I've mastered it. My next problem is to ensure that I do not fall off while I'm standing on them. Since I get so excited, I immediately stand and try to run or walk very fast.

As part of a family tradition, I've also inherited a tendency to catch a cold very easily. So I've been to my doctor, Dr. Bhaskar at Manipal Hospital, quite often, ever since I came to Bangalore almost exactly a year ago. Now, I actually recognize the hospital very well and the moment we enter it, I begin wailing 'Daaktaaaa ... aandaam' (Doctor! Dont want!). Sometimes I get distracted by seeing something else and don't realize we're in the hospital until I see the doctor! My crying makes everyone laugh because my mood has changed so suddenly. Sometimes I've even pushed Dr. Bhaskar away when he has tried to use the stethescope on me or when he touches my face.

Inspired by paintings on our walls and elsewhere, I've now started trying my hand at art work. I guess since the paintings sit on the walls, there is no reason why I can't draw on the walls. I use pencils and crayons to express myself. Once I do it, I say kiruk (scribble). Appa and Amma draw (on paper, not on walls) pictures of crows, elephants, faces, dogs etc. to keep me entertained.

Right, I need to now try to get hold of a pencil or crayon at Madras so that I can kiruk here as well. Bye bye!

Naan nalla ikken

noreply@blogger.com (Jagadish) — Thu, 25 Aug 2005 03:28:00 +0000

I'm learning to talk on the phone. This is how my imaginary phone conversations go when I force Appa or Amma to hold the remote control to their ear and talk as if they're on the phone.
Appa/Amma: Hello
Me: Allo
Appa/Amma: Yaaru pesardhu? (Who is this talking?)
Me: Jaagithi (my name!!)
Appa/Amma: Nee yeppadi irukke? (How are you?)
Me: Naan nalla ikken (I'm fine!)
Appa/Amma: Ohho, appdiya (Is it?)
Me: Appikaaaaaaaaaa (saying appdiya)
Appa/Amma: Ok, paakalam (See you)
Me: Paakum
Appa/Amma: Ok, bye!
Me: Baaai

So as you can see, I've picked up lots of words. When I feel bored and if I see that everyone is watching the TV, I take my books to them and say "Pomaaaaa", something which I picked up from Madras Thatha. All I'm asking them to do is to stop watching TV and spend some time with me! I have a few books which Mahesh mama bought for me. They have pictures of various animals, alphabets and other things. So I can identify "A for Aapul", "O for aainj" (orange), "D for daagu" etc. I love sitting in cramped, small corner places, for e.g. just beside the steel almirah or on the edge of Appa's book shelf. I suppose that is because my bum, and I can point to it if you ask 'Bum yenge?', is so small!

When I want to be taken to the balcony, I say "Baanki pomaaa" or "Baanku ki pomaaa" and to explain why I want to go there, I wave my hands and say "Kaathu", meaning I need some fresh air. When I want to be lifted, I just spread my arms and say "Tooku". If there is no response, then I try to impress the person by pleading "Tooku, papa" (please lift me up, I am a baby!) If I want to go out of the house, I go and tap at the cupboard containing my squeeking shoes and keep saying 'bu bye' until my plea is listened to. Sometimes I even tell them that I prefer going on a long bike ride by saying "baik". A lot of the time, I do get disappointed when Appa or Amma say "apparama" or "saaingalam" or "nalaikku" (later, evening, tomorrow) and I repeat what they said. Maybe I should start keeping track of how often they actually listen to me!

Since I'm now over a year old and have six teeth in all, I sit down with everyone when they have food. I have a small plate on which everyone puts in items which are okay for me and I use just two fingers to pick them up and eat them. I eat quite fast, so by the time the others start eating, I'm already waiting for more, saying "Mum mum, mmmaaaaa" (meaning Mum mum saapadalama - Can I have more?!). I like appalam, dosai, idly etc. Strangely enough, I don't eat the idly Amma makes for me, but I am quite ok with forcing Appa and Amma into sharing their food with me! I am Amma's official reminder service as far as her medicines are concerned. After she has her food, if I'm awake, I start saying 'mandhu, mandhu' (marundhu for medicines). So she ultimately has to give in and take the medicines!

I can also identify parts of my body by saying "kannu", "pallu", "naaku", "kaanu" (leg!) etc. I keep doing it every now and then, especially after I wake up from my sleep. I have to keep checking if I still remember them, just in case sleeping reduces my memory power! I know that the bathoom is where people bathe and they use ampoo and thoap to clean themselves. I have now started to enjoy bathing. I love making a splash in the water, playing with my duck friends, sliding on the bathroom floor etc. Once I'm done, I start saying 'thundu' (towel) and point to my ear since getting my ear cleaned after a bath is a very important activity as far as I am concerned!

When I find a piece of cloth lying around, I start saying 'keen' and immediately start cleaning the floor and other parts of the house with it. Amma tells everyone that Trichy thatha will be very proud of me, because he keeps doing it as well.

Soon after we came back from Madras after Sriram chitappa and Kripa athai's wedding, Ganesh uncle and Radha aunty visited us at Bangalore and they obviously brought Siddharth along. I was very interested in what he was doing. He kept smiling at everyone and insisted on being carried outside the house. Hey! Even though I smile rarely, I keep asking to go buh bye. So we are similar after all, even though he is six months younger and I'm a lot skinnier than him! After a while, he became agitated, hungry and sleepy and started crying. Ever since I saw that, I've associated papa-s with crying, and in fact for a few days, whenever there was a picture of a photo, I was reminded of him and used to say "Papa, mmmm mmmm", imitating the way he cried. I'm sure the next time I meet him, he won't cry so much.

We all went to Trichy recently to meet Ganesh mama, Carol mami and Sharan anna who had come there on vacation. Sharan anna really seemed to enjoy my company and every now and then he'd come up to me and rub my cheeks and play with me.

Madras Thatha, Paati and Satish pappappa (thats how I say chitappa) were here for a few days. I taught them my language and they seemed very impressed. I actually ended up behaving quite well when we all went to a restuarant. I just slept through their meal! I think everyone was quite relieved that I let them eat in peace but at the same time, since they couldn't play with me, they were sad about it as well!

My long hair will be gone soon. I will be having my first mottai ten days later. So the next time you see me, I will have a lot less hair than I have had for the last fourteen months! You can all call me a mottai mandai then!

Photos from last month, taken at Bangalore and Trichy.

A lot of babbling, enjoying a birthday and a wedding

noreply@blogger.com (Jagadish) — Thu, 14 Jul 2005 04:59:00 +0000

After returning to Bangalore, I had a surprise visitor last week: Chitappa. Thatha was already here barely ten days after we left from Madras. So I really enjoyed myself in their company showing some of the new tricks and words that I had learnt. Of course, they didnt understand most of my language since I need to teach them the vocabulary and words such as 'bakkum', 'bliyam' etc. Remember to ask me to shake hands or do a high-five with you when you see me. I can also do a 'mooku-mooku' almost perfectly now by rubbing my nose with yours and also tickle you by rubbing my soft face in your cheeks. Occasionally I might just stick my long tongue out and lick your face but you shouldnt mind it. Then I show you how to play hide-and-seek by covering my face with my hands when you say 'kaanum' and then taking it off to reveal myself when you say 'itaachu'. During the ayusha homam, I noticed that Appa and Amma were doing namaskaram so often. So I learnt it too. I just lie down on my stomach, turn my head to the side and grin. When I get up, you're supposed to say "Ok, okkachu" [sit] and I slap my leg with my hands. Amma taught me to do the blinkie and I impress everyone with my version of it where I use my tiny nose to advantage and give a great effect even though I dont really blink too much. If you ask me things like "Amma yenge?" [where is Amma?], I point to her and say "Adho!" [there]. I do it for lots of things I know, such as "Potty yenge?", etc.

Thatha took me on outings frequently and that now gives me the option of pointing to the door and saying "bub bye" whenever I feel bored. Appa and Amma keep postponing the "bub bye". If I ask for a "bub bye" at night, they say "Nalaikku saaingalam" [tomorrow evening]. When I ask for it the next day morning, when Appa leaves for work, they again say "Nalaikku saaingalam". Tomorrow never comes? Well, not if I stick to my current schedule. Of late, I've been taking a one-and-a-half hour nap from 5 in the evening. So by the time I wake up, it is almost dark and no one is around in the play area. We do go for a "bub bye" and that means I cant see "Anandam" and "Kolangal", two serials whose title songs I love. I crawl and walk around the corridor and play for a while on the sand. I've now overcome my fear of the slide and rather enjoy it, although I obviously need someone to hold me when I slide down. Then we go to the main gate where I keep climbing up and down the stairs. So I do manage to get my outing, except I cant really meet my friends who've all gone home by then.

I mentioned last month about how I can say "Ba" when someone hangs up the phone with an "Ok". Nowadays when the phone rings, I take my hand to my ear and say "Haou" (hello!). In fact, even when the phone doesnt ring, I keep pointing to it and say "Haou". Next time you talk to me on the phone, you can try and ask me some questions to which I know answers. For e.g. if you ask me "Auto yeppadi pogum?" [What sound does the auto make?], I will respond with a "trrrrrrrrrr". You can also ask me about the sounds made by various animals such as bow wow (dog), poonai (cat), yaanai (elephant), korangu (monkey), etc. In fact I learnt about the monkey when I got a monkey bommai for my birthday. It makes a very shrill shrieking sound whenever someone goes past it and many people have been scared the first time they heard the sound. Not me!

My first birthday was superb. Paati, Amma, Thatha, Chitappa and Appa had bought cakes, other snacks, dunce caps, decorative 'jigna' paper, festoons, etc. Before the party started, they were decorating the house. I found it very interesting that they were doing something different and I was very excited about it. The layout of the living room had also been changed to accomodate everyone who came and so the chairs and sofa set had been moved around, giving me a lot of place to crawl. Lots of people had come home and we all had a lot of fun. I got many gifts, among them a huge teddy bear. When I sit down beside it, we're about the same height. I also got to dance with Prithvi anna to the phone ring!

Trichy Thatha came and took me and Amma to Trichy that night. I stayed there for a week and Mahesh mama taught me to give a flying kiss. I also learnt to climb up the stairs, although it is only now that I'm figuring out how to climb down a staircase. I met Priya and Abarna chittis as well as Bhavani kollu paati. I must have last seen them when I was barely five months old when we went there for Deepavali. Trichy Thatha and Paati showed me all around the house and I hope to find my way around the next time I go there.

When I can speak a few more words, I'm going to demand a big new cupboard all for myself. I have so many new clothes now. I got some for my aayusha homam and birthday. Then there was a marriage I participated in as well - Sriram chitappa and Kripa atthai's. Now I'm confused what to call them since they are both cousins of Appa. I think I'll need to think about that! The wedding was very enjoyable. I particularly enjoyed sitting on the high pile of chairs and plucking at the flowers placed in the mandapam. I even sat beside Kripa atthai during the 'oonjal' function and definitely had a lot of fun! In the evening when I was perched on Thatha, he was called up on stage to say something. When I heard him speak, I wanted to see what he was saying and leant over to see his face. Everyone laughed at this.

Carol Mami and Sharan Anna had come to see me when we were in Madras. I didnt get to play too much with him but he seemed to know me. He kept saying "Jaagruthi papa" and hid behind mami. Mami played with me for a long time though. I also pointed to him and said "Anna" and tried to flash him a few smiles. Maybe he needed some time to get used to me.

I've learnt to say "Up" and show a diamond with my hands when I hear "Twinkle twinkle little star" being sung. Amma taught me a rhyme to make me remember various relations. It goes "Amma, Appa, Thatha, Paati, Mama, Mami, Chitappa, Chitti, Perimma, Perippa, Akka, Anna, Paapa, Thambi". I remember most of it and when I hear "Paapa" immediately I blurt out "Ambi". Coincidentally I started saying it around the time Appa and Amma saw "Anniyan". So Appa says that I know the hero's name is "Ambi" and it proves I'm a cinema nut.

Ganesh mama, Radha mami and Siddharth papa, who is six months younger than me, visited us at Bangalore a few days ago. I couldnt play too much with him but I kept saying "Paapa" and blabbered some of my vocabulary to him. I'm not sure if he understood. Neither did his parents. He seemed to like the windmill toy. When you wind it up, it plays a nice sound and at the same time, you can see a man at work striking something with a hammer. That calmed him down for a while. I can imitate his crying though. When Appa asked me later "Yaaru vandha?" [who came home?], I said "Paapa" and when he asked "Paapa enna pannithu?" [what did the baby do?], I said "mmmmmmm mmmmmm" indicating that he cried.

As you can see, it has been a hectic month and that is why I've taken my own sweet time to write to you all! Bub bye!

Almost a year old

noreply@blogger.com (Jagadish) — Thu, 09 Jun 2005 10:16:00 +0000

Hi all! I'm scribbling this with my first birthday just around the corner, on the 12th of June. I had my ayusha homam last week at Madras, on June 2nd to be precise. I've also had my ears pierced. The ayusha homam was quite enjoyable. I slept through most of the morning ceremonies since I still had rail lag, from travelling from Bangalore to Madras. I woke up in time to wear the pattu paavadai that Trichy thatha gifted me, (Appa and Amma did the purchasing). I even got to wear a garland and a couple of necklaces. I really loved the attention I was getting. I dare say, I did look quite cute with the garland, flowers in my hair and all the jewellery. There were so many relatives and friends at the function. Lots of thanks, hugs & kisses to all of you. Coincidentally, June 2nd was also Janu paati's birthday.

Then later in the evening, we went to the jeweller's shop. I was under the impression I'd be getting some new things to wear but when one of the people in the shop started touching my ear and when I was forced to sit on Amma's lap (after Mahesh mama said he couldn't make it), I realized something was afoot and started wailing! But it was to no avail and with a couple of gunshots, my ears were pierced. At least this means I get to wear thodus, jimmikis (ear-rings) etc.

I'm right now learning a lot of new words from Thatha, Paati and Chitappa. I learnt to say "thatha" quite a while ago, but sometimes I get confused and say "paatha" or "thaapa". Recently, I learnt to say "anna", "atthe" (Atthai), "pa pa pa" (Chitappa) and "paapi" (Paati). After a lot of practice, trial & error, I also managed to learn to say "appa". But sometimes, if I cant remember the exact word, I just say "amma" or "mamma". It isnt as though I'm identifying them with Amma, but just that I've forgotten what to say and so I take the easy way out. In any case, if they're not noticing closely enough, "mamma" can pass off as many of those words I talked about. Saying "akka" is child's play for me now!

My love affair with film music continues. Nowadays, I start singing "aaaaaaa" whenever someone sings that on tv. I also tap my thighs as though I'm following the beat of the song. My current favourite is "Kokku para para" from Chandramukhi. I also like the parts in "Devuda Devuda" which go "Are are are are are" and "Repeattu". I also like many ads which Appa and Amma term mediocre.

I've also learnt to say "Kaakaa baa" after looking up in the sky to see if there're any crows (or other birds) flying past. Most of the time, I just wave to the leaves. Occasionally, I spot the pilot of an aircraft or helicopter. My eyesight isn't good enough yet to see if he waves back. The other thing I say "ba" for is "bye", especially when someone is hanging up the phone. But I only do that if they say "Ok" and hang up. If the phone is idle and I'm in a good mood, I go ahead and pick up the phone, keep it near my ear and then promptly hand it over to whoever is nearby so that they can speak to the dialtone and finally say "Ok" so that I can happily say "ba". But on quite a few occasions, I've mistaken the remote control to be the phone. Appa and Amma have tried explaining it a few times that the remote control is for the television set and not for the phone. I fooled them. I was only doing it to know how to use the remote so that I know enough about it to lay claim to the remote and the tv in future.

Oh, and I forgot to tell you. I now have two little pearly white teeth in my lower jaw. I think there's one tooth growing in the upper jaw, but I'm not sure about that. I can bite very well and Appa calls me the 'puncturer'. I love watching people brush their teeth. Sometimes, when Appa is brushing his teeth, he puts the brush in my hands and I move it around to clean his teeth. What I like even more is the koppulikkara sound people do when they rinse their mouth when the water is churning around in the mouth. That really amazes me and I hope to master it one day.

Last month, Trichy thatha & paati came to Bangalore. Madras thatha also came along with them. I had a great time with them, showing me all the new tricks I've learnt. In return, Trichy thatha taught me the numbers one to ten and the Tamil alphabet a to akk. Paati taught me to click my tongue when I want to say that I liked a particular dish I ate. Nowadays, my diet includes bananas, orange juice, rice, daal, idly and occasionally tiny pieces of mango and dosai.

I discovered a sofa where I can sit and lie down very comfortably. I also taught them how to give a kiss just by taking my lips to the cheek but without actually giving a kiss! My night show normally starts around 10 pm, lending further credence to Appa's belief that I would grow up to be a cinema paithiyam. I love rolling around in the bed and I've done a couple of somersaults already. But everyone tries to stop me from doing that. Maybe they're scared that my big head will grow smaller ... or bigger! Then after learning to climb down from the bed almost on my own, except for a helping hand just when I'm about to slide down, I keep circling the bed. Occasionally Appa hides somewhere and I hunt for him and it really feels great when I find him.

I've learnt to take a few tentative steps, atmost around ten of them at a time. If you want to make me walk, sit a small distance away, make me stand and have something in your hands which will prompt me to come to you. Sometimes midway, I could get distracted by something else. On other occasions, I could fall down, although without any damage. I've learnt to scold the floor when I fall down. I keep my forefinger stretched fully and first make an accusatory tone as if asking "Why did you hurt me?". Then I threaten the floor as if saying "The next time you do this, you've had it". It makes everyone laugh!

Last month we had a lot of powercuts in Bangalore. Everytime it rained, the roads got flooded, the traffic went awry and the electricty connection snapped. After a few days, I got so used to the powercuts that I started waving my arm around saying kaanum when the electricity got cut and exclaiming haiya! when it returned. On holidays and weekends, as I told you all the last time, Appa and Amma have tea. I dip my biscuit into their tea. Now I've learnt to actually say what they were drinking. So when they ask me "Appavum ammavum yenna kudicha?" (What did Appa and Amma drink?), I say "taa". I also mistake the coffee for tea since they both seem the same colour and call it "taa" as well.

Anyway, I am really looking forward to my birthday this weekend. I wonder whats in store. If you want to see the pictures, keep nagging Appa. Bye for now!

Here're a couple of pictures to show you how long my tongue is.

I can stand, I can talk, I can walk a bit and can I laugh or what!?

noreply@blogger.com (Jagadish) — Thu, 21 Apr 2005 10:49:00 +0000

Hi everyone. I can now tell you that it is an amazing feeling to graduate from babbling to my first few words. I can say a few things like "amma", "akka", "poo" (flower) and "aa umm" very nice and clear. Appa and Amma do make fun of me saying "poo" because I say it so softly. They say that I'm afraid I'll crush the flower if I said it any louder. I keep saying "amma" as if to remind myself who my amma is. As for "akka", that is a very broad category. Cartoon characters, including the Sunfeast biscuits smiling sun on the wrapper, other kids in the play area ... everyone is an "akka", regardless of whether they're girls or boys. When I'm hungry, I keep chanting "aa umm", or even "mum mum" sometimes, until Amma gets the message!

I say "aa umm" when I see others eating. Part of the reason is for me to show off my skills. The other part is to get some sympathy and a few bites of whatever they're eating. It could be fruits or pongal or biscuits or coffee. I have already told you about eating Milk Bikis. On holidays, when Appa and Amma have tea in the evening along with Marie biscuits, I also get to eat a biscuit. When I see them dip their biscuits into the tea and eat, I realize that I don't have any tea. So I go ahead and dip my biscuit into their tea but I cant fish it out of the huge cups they use. So it is left to them to either give me the same biscuit, soaked in tea, or a new one. When I'm thirsty, I say "idddddddddhhhhhhhhaaaaaa" because I cant say "thoothaa" yet. Sometimes Appa or Amma hold my water bottle to my mouth and I drink. But a lot of the time, if the bottle is around on the floor and I'm thirsty, I just drink water myself. It also gives me an opportunity to spill the water on the floor and have some fun.

Santhanam Thatha, Janu paati and Satish chitappa were here last week. I had a great time with them. They were seeing me after a while so they were really surprised at the things I could do. We didn't go on too many outings this time, possibly because everyone was wary of what I could do. We bought a new television set and a grinder so that I could start having idly. So we were at home most of the time and that allowed me to entertain them. I learnt to identify Satish chitappa. So when someone asked "Chitappa yenge?", I used to point at him. After they returned to Madras, if someone asks me that question, I just move my hand around as if to say "kaanum" or "I cant find him".

Aparna atthai came home, for the first time, last week. I took a liking to her immediately and started grinning at her, pointing at her etc. Appa and Amma were surprised at this since I normally take a long time to get used to new people. I have a book called "My Jack-in-the-box". I taught Thatha, Paati and chitappa how to stick the tongue out when the lines say "the music begins to play" as if I am singing "la la la la la". Amma taught me to do this and then everyone realized that I had a very long tongue. The popular opinion is that when I am in a mischievous mood and I put my tongue out, I resemble Mahesh mama. Was he mischievous too? I will need to ask Trichy thatha and paati that when I see them, hopefully, in a couple of week's time. Everyone also feels that I will soon be able to touch my nose with my tongue. Now that is an exciting thought!

Along with saying a few words, I also love laughing out loudly when others laugh. Sometimes the laugh comes out instantaneously while on other occasions there is a bit of starting trouble, I just open my mouth but no sounds come out. There is a long way to go, I guess. When I see something or someone I like, I give a nice wide grin and keep pointing to it/them with my finger. So when I get back home from either an outing with Appa & Amma or after getting myself all muddy and dirty in the play area, once we enter the corridor, I know where my home is and I start jumping around in the arms of whoever is carrying me. Then I point to the "thoppai ummaachi" (guess who the pot bellied god is?) which is hung outside the door as if to say I know where we're going!

Obviously my love for film songs is still there. If there's a song I like playing on TV, I just sit still and watch it until it ends. Sometimes I keep standing for a long time while the song is on. Of course, every now and then I look to see whether Amma and Appa are also enjoying themselves listening to the songs and music I like. Appa seems to think my taste of advertisements is rather poor, especially the ones that are shown on Sun Music during a break. I cant help it. Some of the new songs I like are "Unakkena iruppen", "Ding dong kovil mani", "Kannum kannum dhaan kalarndhachu" and "Suppose unnai". Sometimes Appa plays around and changes the channel when one of my favourite songs is playing. I am now bemused and cant understand what is happening. Then he switches the channel back and I'm so glad that I give him a look of contentment and gratitude. Since I've now achieved what I needed, I get back to listening to my song.

Appa and Amma bought a potty for me to ensure that I did not dirty the entire house. It is rabbit shaped and bright yellow in colour. I make some grunts to let them know that I need to "go". Well, if they cant hear my signals or ignore them, then its their problem to clean up the mess. But I am kind enough to look at the potty after I've done my "thing" on the floor as if to say "Yeah, I know I'm supposed to use it, but it really was urgent!". When I'm sitting on the floor, sometimes I can just get up all by myself without any support. I can also sit down from a standing position without support. This really amazes everyone! If I'm playing with something and if it is taken away from me, I let my feelings known by screaming and wailing. Of course, I am a very chamathu girl. You should never take something away from me. Just ask "thaaa" and I will hand it over to you, no questions asked!

I can take a few steps by myself. Amma makes me stand up and holds her hand out, as if inviting me to rush towards her. That is exactly what I do. Strangely though, I don't play that game with everyone. Most of the time with Appa or Thatha or Paati, I just make my legs wobbly and insist on sitting down when they try to make me stand up. That really frustrates Thatha because he wants me to walk towards him. Next time around, Thatha! As for my kissing, I am currently learning from Appa how to give a flying kiss. My hand goes upto my mouth but after that nothing happens. I will learn soon. When Appa comes back from work and if I open the door along with Amma, I blow him a kiss. I just started doing it on my own, no one taught me to! At night, when it is time to go to sleep, I love playing on the bed. I crawl around on it and then sit for a while. Then I just fall on my back and bounce around. I like lying down beside Appa and Amma when they say "thaachu" (lie down & sleep).

Here is the latest set of photos Appa keeps taking like a paparazzi photographer. The photo below is of me, obviously, along with my lamb. I was trying to get her to read a book but she fell asleep.

A fan of Tamil film music

noreply@blogger.com (Jagadish) — Tue, 15 Mar 2005 15:00:00 +0000

I've now become a total fan of film music, Tamil only for now. I get so happy when I hear some of my favourite songs, like "Kumbida pona deivam" or "Oru vaarthai kekka oru varusham" that I start waving my left hand up and down as if I'm conducting the orchestra! If its a song with a fast beat, I wave faster and if its a slow song, I just clap my hands. First I learnt how to wave my hands to Amma saying "Kai veesamma, kai veesu". Then she taught me to say "Bye bye". So whenever someone says "Bye bye", I show them that I can say it too! Of course, I do get confused sometimes and wave bye bye even when our maid Padma is cleaning the floor near the main door.

My diet is also changing. I now eat one or two "Milk Bikis" biscuits a day. I also have a cup-ful of curd. In addition, I try to sometimes add some carbohydrates and cellulose to my diet as well by gnawing away at Appa's copy of "Wisden Asia Cricket". Last month, I soaked an issue with an Australian on the cover. Appa has promised to get me one with a Pakistani on the cover so that I can do my magic and make India win. When the phone or doorbell rings, I'm the first one to know and I immediately perk up and start saying "Hmmmmm hmmmmmm" asking someone to do something about it. Of course, I also talk to both sets of Thathas and Paatis now and then because I now know exactly how to hold the phone next to my ear and say "Hmmmmmm hmmmmmmm". Whenever Amma or Appa see me trying to digest the newspaper or bits of paper lying on the ground, they say "No! Jaagruthi. No!" and I respond with a grunt "Hrrrrmmmm". Sometimes that grunt means "Ok" and sometimes it means "I dont care".

We went to Madras for Aravind chitappa's poonal. I stayed there for around a week and I had a great time. The first couple of days were bad though, my routine changed and there were too many people around [in comparison to just the three of us at Bangalore] and everyone wanted to hug, carry and kiss me. Gradually I got used to them all and in fact made great friends with everyone. I saw Peria thatha and paati from Pune for the first time and also Jamuna chitti paati. Of course, I'd seen the other chinna thathas, chitti paatis, chitappas, atthais etc. on previous trips to Madras or during my punyavachanam. I had a great time when everyone was practicing bhajans to sing for chitappa's poonal. I'd just go and crawl around in the centre of the room and everyone would be smiling at me. I'd also try to sing the bhajans by saying "Gaaaaa gaaaaa. Klaaaa klaaaaa". I also loved the jaalra with which Aravind chitappa made superb sounds. On the day of the poonal, I met Trichy thatha and paati after quite a while. I was a little tired so I slept on Thatha's lap. Then when I woke up, I showed them some of my newly learnt tricks, including giving kisses. When they were leaving the mandapam, paati couldnt control herself and squeezed my face because she likes me so much. Of course, I started crying but she told Amma she didnt care!

I think I floored everyone with the way I gave kisses to them. All Appa or Amma needed to say was "Jaagruthi, kiss kudu" and I'd pucker up my little lips and blow them a kiss. In fact I blow kisses when I'm on the phone too!

I can stand for a few seconds now without any support. In fact yesterday, I stood for around 10 seconds holding a plastic basket full of onions, all by myself. Appa and Amma were amazed at this since this was the first time I was standing for such a long time. Of course, when I'm able to stand, crawling is quite easy. I can crawl quite fast and in fact play hide-and-seek with Appa and Amma regularly when they hide behind the dining table or in some other room and I try to locate where they are.

You can see lots of photos from Bangalore (last year) and Madras & Bangalore (this year).

Mahesh mama sent me this lovely little lamb through his friend. This is currently my favourite toy. I hold it by its neck, by its arms, by its ears and fling it around.

Crawling now and watch out for the walking!

noreply@blogger.com (Jagadish) — Fri, 28 Jan 2005 19:31:00 +0000

Hello everyone, after a long time. When you turn seven months old, you do tend to become busier. Thats why I'vent spoken to you all for a while now. I can now crawl quite fast even though when I am crawling, I tend to stick towards the wall. Perhaps there's a career in Formula racing for me, eh? I can get from our hall to my sleeping room quite fast. My speed usually doubles if I'm alone in the hall and Amma is in the bedroom! The other thing I do quite easily now is to hold on to anything and stand up. If you're sitting next to me, chances are I'll crawl upto you, put my hands on your thighs and stand up and give you a grin of achievement. If you're lucky, I'll even say "Mmmmmmmmmmm waawaaa wuuuuu". In fact, when we're going on our bike, I insist on standing and watching the traffic go past us even as I am in the kangaroo pouch! When I'm being carried and I want to go somewhere, I just sway my entire body in that direction and grunt. Well, if you dont do what I want you to, I'll just cry or scream. So the choice is yours!

I love going out but I hate being left at home and seeing others go out! I know exactly when Appa is leaving for work. The moment he puts on his bag and wears his shoes, I start crawling towards him saying "Hmm hmm hmm", sort of begging him to take me along too. In the evenings when Amma takes me to the play area, I know its time to go when she puts on her dupatta and takes the house keys. I just cant stay at home after I know they are going out, can I?

A couple of months ago, I discovered I had a tongue. Last month, I discovered my own hand and the fact that I can catch a lot of things with it. I try to grab the trucks from my "Toys that go" book and eat them. I also try to catch the sunlight which comes into our house. If you thought catching those were tough, I think catching flies is the toughest of them all. By the time I fix my eyes on the target and move my hand towards the fly, crawling ever so stealthily as a tiger hunts its prey, the fly takes off. I dont give up yet. I find out where it is gone and I try to catch it but it keeps eluding me. Some other time, some other day, I suppose!

Last month, thatha, paati and chitappa had come from Madras and we went out a few times. I did my level best to ensure that none of them ate peacefully by insisting on either sitting on the table or being carried out to see the cars go. Thatha, paati and chitappa were with us for quite a few days and I thoroughly enjoyed the attention I was getting. On Appa's birthday, I slept at odd timings and completely upset Appa's and Amma's plans of the three of us going out and enjoying ourselves. I heard Amma and Appa decide not to take me out for lunch or dinner until I improved my behaviour.

Then we went to Trichy for a weekend. Thatha, Paati and Unnuma kollu paati were all really happy to see me. Thatha showed me the house again, just to remind me about where everything was. We then went to Vidya Chitti's house where I saw Srini mama. He carried me around for a lot of the time and I liked being with him. I showed them some of my tricks and slept for quite a while. Since they were leaving for Delhi and then the US, we said bye to them.

For Pongal, we went to Madras. I was (as usual) the centre of all attention. Everyone who called up wanted to first know what I was doing and only after that, they talked to Appa and Amma. We went in the car a few times and I insisted on standing on the seat and putting my nose to the window and seeing what was happening outside. Obviously my nose did get smashed a few times and Appa and Amma feel that it may have become even tinier than it used to be!

I met Siddharth (who was born last month), Prithvi (who is a month or so older than me) and Prajna akka (who is nearly three years old) and I had a great time with all of them. When I saw Siddharth, I put my hand out to caress him. I couldnt play too much with Prithvi since when he was having his food, I went off to sleep and when I woke up, he was asleep! But I loved the way he kept smiling at me. I wish I could smile like him too. Everyone tells me I've inherited Appa's ability to smile. If you've seen me smile and you've seen Appa when he was a kid, you may be able to confirm that. When I saw Prajna akka, something told me to just crawl towards her when we were at Thiruvanmiyur kollu Thatha-Paati's house. I went at a rapid speed towards her and she was really thrilled and kept saying "Baby, baby". I was really sad to go back to Bangalore and so were Thatha, Paati and chitappa. I think I'll see them quite soon.

Happy birthday, Perie akka, for turning a year old. Another baby smaller than me (and smaller than Siddharth too!) was born last month. Welcome, Vaibhav. Vaibhav is Ashwin uncle and Harini aunty's son. Ashwin uncle is Appa's friend.

Appa took this snap of me just after I had woken up in my cot.

Six months old!

noreply@blogger.com (Jagadish) — Thu, 16 Dec 2004 12:50:00 +0000

Hello again! I now speak as a six month old! Yes, I turned six months four days ago and I feel as great as I did when I became a month old. Unfortunately though, becoming six months old meant that I had to have my injection. Thankfully the pain didnt last beyond five minutes and I didnt get a fever. Now that I am on the path towards being a kid rather than being a baby or infant, I have learnt quite a few new tricks and am eating different items rather than just having milk.

Along with the rice ragi which I think is superb, Amma gives me water in a blue plastic spoon. That is the bit I hate. I dont like the water since I expect to be eating rice ragi. So I spray out all the water with making a ppppppwwwwwwwrrrrrrrrrrrrffffffff sound. Appa and Amma laughed the first few times I did it, so I think they like it too and I'll keep doing it! I've also started having a little bit of boiled rice with some dal and vegetables. Initially I used to have carrot and now I've started having a mixed bag of cabbage, beans and carrot! I also take half a banana and I love it. I will soon start having apple as well since the doctor said I could.

Thats the food I have. Having eaten to my heart's (and tiny tummy's) content, I play quite a few games now and have learnt many viddhais (tricks). I learnt from Appa and Amma to play peekaboo (kaanum, itaachu). If anyone hides their face behind their hand and say kaanum, I try to remove the hand to see them. They're supposed to say itaachu when I do it! Then if I find any cloth nearby (or using my own frock sometimes) I do kaanum, itaachu by taking the dress upto my face and bringing it down. Appa and Amma feel that I get it wrong because I bring the dress down when they say kaanum and take it up when they say itaachu! Please tell them that I'm learning all this for the first time!

I told you all that I can sit by myself for a few seconds. Now I can do it for a lot of time, but I still can topple over sometimes. I actually sit on my own without anyone's help. When I'm down on my stomach, I push myself up, stick my leg out and then sit down quite easily. I love sitting down and I get a totally different view of the world. There was a big difference in the way things appeared when I went from lying on my back to lying on my stomach. Now things look so tiny and I have the privilege of looking down on my toys while previously they were at the same level as me! When anyone hugs me to their shoulder while they're sitting, I insist on bringing my legs down to their thighs and I try to stand up. Obviously they need to keep holding me otherwise I'll fall! But I really feel proud when I do that and I make my pleasure obvious by grinning and uttering sounds like aaaaaaaaaannnnnnn, aaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy and mmmmmmmmmmaaaaaaaa.

I went on a nice long journey a few weeks ago. The three of us went from Bangalore to Tanjavur while Sansui Thatha, Janu Paati, Sirkazhi kollu Thatha & Paati and Satish Chitappa joined us from Madras. We went to a couple of temples and then went to Sirkazhi. There I met Krishnan chinna thatha and Chitra chitti paati again. I loved the car journey and saw so many cars, trucks and buses on the road. It wasnt all great because I fell down from the bed once and wailed for a really long time. Nothing to worry though. I suspect I've inherited Appa's big head and am a hard nut to crack.

A couple of weeks ago, I learnt how to crawl. But I ended up crawling backwards for a few days. Appa and Amma were quite amused at this and then they found out that all babies do this. When Santhanam Thatha was here last week, I decided to take a step further, literally. I started crawling! I can do short distances now and typically Appa and Amma put my playthings all over the mattress or on the floor mat to make me crawl and get them. I am a little lazy though. When it is possible for me to just stretch out and grab it, I prefer not to crawl and I try to minimize the distance I crawl. After all, if I dont feel like crawling and I wail out loud enough, Appa or Amma will give me my toys, wont they? When Thatha was here, we went to a restuarant and I felt that it was unfair that Appa, Thatha and Amma were eating while I was watching. I still dont know what goes as breakfast, lunch or dinner. So I tried to grab the parathas and chola bhaturas which were on offer but wasnt successful. Instead I had to entertain myself with watching the balloons hung from the ceiling. The food was far more interesting!

Hey, remember I told you I love the Kumkumam magazine ad and had asked you all to tell them to not keep changing the ad. I think they listened to my plea and your recommendations. The ad has gone back to 'Best kanna best'! But that isnt the only thing I love on TV. I like the title music of quite a few serials like Anandam, Kolangal and Metti Oli. I also love the music they play on the SCV channel before the actual programme starts. All this is thanks to Amma. Appa watches NDTV regularly, so I like the music where the headlines are displayed. It goes tu tu tu tu tu toiiiiin.

Last week, Ganesh uncle and Radha aunty had a little boy. His name is Siddharth. I find it so amazing that there's someone even tinier than me! When I meet him in Madras, I will teach him all the tricks of the trade.

In case you were wondering if I was just fibbing when I said I can sit on my own now, this is how I do it.

noreply@blogger.com (Jagadish) — Mon, 22 Nov 2004 12:25:00 +0000

I am now back in Bangalore after a short trip to Trichy. There we celebrated Deepavali. I met another cousin Sharan, who lives in Saudi Arabia. He is older than me and Krupa akka, so I didnt get to play too much with him. Krupa akka though really wanted to play with him and kept chasing him. I didnt get too afraid of the crackers during Deepavali, except my sleep used to get disturbed. When Appa suddenly burst a cracker [he is supposed to warn me, isnt he?] in front of the house, it shocked me and I cried for a while. But overall it was quite enjoyable. I got a new dress from Ganesh mama and I wore a dress given by Praveen mama when we met him sometime ago. I also got a valayal and anklets for my tiny feet.

Hey I forgot to tell you. The three ducks you saw in my previous photo are actually Appa, Amma and me! The one I am clinging onto is me. I've learnt a few new tricks since I last wrote to you. My foot goes into my mouth now and I sometimes try to put both feet in. Then I can now stand on all fours, like an elephant. It took me quite a few days to get it right but finally I have managed it. Now I need to find out how to get ahead and crawl. Then comes walking ... there's a long way to go! My other trick is that when I am lying on my back, if you give me your fingers when you're standing, I will grab them and try to sit down. I can sit down for a few seconds, after that I just topple over. My back isnt stable yet, you see.

When Amma sings 'Twinkle twinkle little star' to me, I watch all her hand movements and I keep following her fingers. I can see things which are a little far away ... like if Amma is in the bedroom busy with something and I am alone in the living room, I squeel out when I see her to grab her attention.

It took me a long time to figure out if Krupa akka and Sharan anna were big, huge toys which moved. I still dont know. Sharan anna did play with me a few times while Krupa akka played with me a lot more including a lot of konjals. She kept saying 'Baby, Baby' and imitating me when I cried. I hope I can also do that one day possibly to an even smaller baby than me!

At Trichy, I met another great grandmother. Amma calls her 'Unnuma'. I really liked her and she seems very similar to Trichy paati. Since she had come over to Bangalore and taken care of Amma when I was still developing in her stomach, I hit it off very well with her and smiled a lot at her. We went to Nallur temple just before Deepavali. I couldnt sleep properly there since there was no place for me to. I need a completely silent place and obviously that couldnt happen at a temple. But I met lots of people there and so that compensated for the lack of sleep.

Hey, do you all have a tongue too? I just found out a few days ago that I had one too. I've started eating Nestum rice ragi since I went to Trichy and so when I was eating it, I realized that there was something in my mouth which was taking in the ragi. Then I saw that it was a nice pink coloured thing and its apparently called a tongue. I keep snaking it out now and then to make sure its still there and still pink in colour.

noreply@blogger.com (Jagadish) — Fri, 29 Oct 2004 13:47:00 +0000

I really should have told you all about life in Bangalore earlier, but I fell ill a couple of weeks ago. I had a bad cough, running nose and some fever too. Thankfully though, we went to the doctor who prescribed some cough drops and nasal drops. I really hated them though and I cried every single time Appa and Amma tried to give me the medicine. The cough didnt go away fast enough, so we went in for a nebulization where I had to inhale some medicine vapours. I hated that even more and I cried even louder. It only lasted around 10 minutes or so though and I used to stop my wailing. In fact since Appa and Amma didnt know what indicator to look at to check if the medicine was over, they used my wailing stopping as a hint that the medicine was over and that we could go!

Anyway, I have to tell you that I am now in Bangalore at home sweet home! I came here nearly a month ago and I've loved every minute, except of course when I was ill. Satish chitappa bought me a brand new cot which I lie down in every day. I really love the space it provides me. Plus the cot has very nice cartoons which I look at as soon as I wake up. I also get taken out inside our apartment complex by Amma (and Appa, when he is around), sometimes in the pram. I love the way people splash around in the swimming pool and run around in the playground.

Even though I've now more or less perfected the art of immediately taking anything within grasp to my mouth, I still sometimes get confused and end up holding the object in my left hand and taking the right hand into my mouth instead! I think I was about to get it right, but this damn fever came in and spoilt it all. In fact for a few days, I couldnt even lie down on my stomach! Now it is all fine and I am as active as I used to be!

I have a new friend now, who takes care of me in the mornings when Amma is too busy. Her name is Ayesha and she teaches me some Hindi words now and then. All I do is gawk at her mouth move and tell her 'Bubbu', 'Gu gu' and scream out 'aaaayyyyk' when I am really happy. Nowadays I go to sleep any time between 7 and 9 at night and wake up around 6 or 7 in the morning, waking up once or twice in the middle of the night when I feel hungry.

I love the television, especially the songs and the advertisements. Santhanam thatha introduced me to the 'Kumkumam' magazine advertisement which goes 'Pudhusu kanna pudhusu'. In fact he changed it to 'Podusu kanna podusu' and sang it to me [Podusu means a little one] so I loved it even more! Whenever I heard the advertisement on TV, I turned my head around to see it! Then the advertisement words changed to 'Best kanna Best' and I found it hard to understand. After a week or so, I got used to the tune and the new words and I started responding to it. Then the advertising people made life miserable for me by changing it to 'First kanna first'. I gave up then. In case you know someone working at the magazine or their advertiser, can you ask them to go back to 'Pudhusu kanna pudhusu' on my behalf? If its tough for a small baby like me, I wonder how grownups will remember!

I also love the song in the movie 'New' which has 'Anbendraale Amma' in it. It really puts me to sleep and makes me calm. Amma sings it to me frequently when she bathes me! Last weekend, Thatha, Paati and Chitappa from Madras were here. Initially I didnt recognize them, but after a while I started playing with them and entertaining them. We went to a bookshop on Saturday and I had a nice time there, seeing so many people. I also managed to grab some of the books which were reachable and soaked them with my saliva. I believe this is what they refer to in Tamil as 'karaichu kudikardhu'! I even tried to soak another aunty's dupatta but Amma pulled me away before I could get down to business. Then on Sunday, we went to a nearby restuarant. Since I felt too sleepy and bored watching all the others eat, I decided to have a short nap and I ended up sleeping on the sofa! After I woke up, Thatha took me around the place and there was a uncle who was drawing pictures of people who had come to eat. Appa asked him if he could draw me, he vigorously shook his head in the negative since he was afraid I would never keep still. Thatha ultimately convinced him that I was a real chamatthu and so he kept me on his shoulders while the artist uncle drew me. It came out really nice and I hope to show it to you all when you come home.

Thats it from me this week, bye! Oh, and before I go, take a look at some of my favourite toys.

noreply@blogger.com (Jagadish) — Tue, 21 Sep 2004 10:41:00 +0000

Over the past few weeks, I've now started to put together sentences like 'Waawaa wuu wuuu gu gu glug glug '. My pastime nowadays is to have a little bit of saliva in my throat and say 'Aaaaaaaakkkkkk'. I have great fun when I hear myself. But sometimes I stay quiet for very long periods of time, content to gnaw away at my lower lip. Appa and Amma are afraid that I'll end up eating it up and not having a lower lip at all. Let me get teeth first!! I also love my daytime sleep and nowadays I sleep for hours at a stretch ... from 6 in the evening till well into the night. Amma wakes me up to ensure I dont stay hungry. Well, mostly Madras Thatha tries to wake me up in the middle after returning from work because he wants to play with me but Amma & Paati stop him.

Soooo many people have now seen my demonstration of how I easily flip over onto my stomach. It has now become child's play for me, really! I almost always sleep on my stomach and since my neck has become stronger now, I am able to hold it up for longer periods of time. Almost as a rule, when I wake up, if I cant find Amma around me, I look around for some of my toys and books. I greet them with a good morning. I especially love the yellow duck book. My other best friends are curtains. I love watching them move around and I talk to them. They come in all sorts of colours so it is very nice to watch them too.

A few days after I came to Madras, Trichy Thatha started missing me a lot. So he came to see me. I was awake at that time and we played for a while. Then I caught him off guard and urinated on his veshti. It was the first time I had done it to him and I was really thrilled. In fact everyone was. Trichy paati was doubly thrilled because thatha always used to ensure that he'd lift me/play with me only after I'd emptied myself. He brought my pram which Sekar chinna thatha had bought for me when I was in Trichy. Initially I didnt like being in the pram, I felt cramped for space. More importantly, I couldnt flip over upside down in it and I cried out in protest. Gradually I've started liking it. Santhanam Thatha and Janu paati make it a point to put me inside the pram every morning and evening. In fact sometimes they've even taken me to the gate of the apartment and I can see cars, bikes, cycles and people whizz past me. Some of my toys are also hung in the pram so that I can watch them move, talk to them and get a thrill out of it. I went to the nearby park a few days ago with Amma. She showed me so many people and cars when we were on the way there. When we reached the park, many people were walking around the park in circles. Many of them stopped to say 'hello' to me and say how cute and samatthu I was.

I have met so many people over the last month or so that I cant even remember them. Sometimes, even when it is someone I have met before, I feel that this is a new person and I pout my lips and begin to cry. I've done this to Sirkazhi kollu paati twice already and she wasnt too happy about it! I went to Meena chitti paati's new house celebration function and I met lots of new people there - Murali chinna thatha, Priyanka atthai, Seshu chinna thatha, Susheela chitti paati, Seenu Mama thatha and Raju mama thatha. Trichy thatha's brother Kalli chinna thatha came to see me along with chitti paati a few weeks ago. Yesterday Vasan chinna thatha came to see me after specifically finding out if I was awake or not. We had a lot of fun when he kept needling Santhanam thatha about his attempts to make me smile. Sriram chitappa, who has come from London, also came to see me. He is getting married next year to Kripa atthai!! I will be a year old then so I really hope I can wear a nice colourful paavadai at the marriage and catch everyone's attention. Kripa atthai was saying she wanted me to sit with her during the oonjal function.

I met my cousin Prithvi, who is just over a month older than me. He had come home with Sowmya Chitti, Jaya chitti paati & Chinna thatha. I didnt get to know him too much since we ended up taking turns to bawl our throats out. He does have very big ears though, so it could be interesting gnawing on it when I feel like I'm growing some teeth. When I see the way he grabs people's fingers, toys and books shown in front of his face, I feel so thrilled thinking that I will also be able to do this soon! I somehow manage to grab some toys, but I take a long while to get around to grabbing them. I met him again last Sunday when we had gone to his place. I was not in a great mood to play because I was quite hungry and sleepy. I think he can have his ears for a few more months.

I got my thigh punctured on Monday by the doctor. It was very painful and as before, I cried a lot. Ok well, getting the injection on the thigh was better than having it on the bum because at least it meant I could try to lie on my back. But ever since I found that the world looks far better upside down, I always roll over onto my stomach. I tried my best to do that and everytime I did it, it was very painful. Amma really took care of me a lot at night and had me on her shoulders for a lot of the time. Thatha, Paati and Satish chitappa also tried to reduce my crying by taking care of me or playing with me. The pain reduced towards the night and I actually slept uninterrupted from midnight to early morning. Throughout the night, Amma ensured that I was not in any pain because as was my habit, I tried to sleep on my stomach and somehow managed it and moaned in pain during my sleep. My next injection is a month away, but it will be in Bangalore and Appa should be around then!

I will be going to Bangalore by the Thursday night train!! Yippee!! Appa says that he will try to have a brand new baby cot ready for me where I can roll around to my heart's content. Unfortunately though I will be restricted by the sides of the cot. Who knows, you may soon see me holding the side of the cot and attempting to stand up!

noreply@blogger.com (Jagadish) — Thu, 09 Sep 2004 12:16:00 +0000

Over the last week or so I've met more people than I ever have in the last three months! Amma and I packed up our clothes, toys etc. and along with Trichy Thatha and Paati, left by train for Bangalore last Thursday night. At Trichy station, I was really thrilled seeing so many people going here and there. I kept jerking my neck from left to right to keep count of how many new people I'd seen.

On the train, I slept more than I normally do, mainly because of the rocking movements. So I was wide awake when we got close to Bangalore. I am extremely cross with Indian Railways. Our train got delayed by over an hour and instead of arriving at 530 am, we only reached Cantonment station at 630 am. Amma told me that this train always does it whenever she comes to Bangalore. Anyway when we got off the train, I was joyfully received by Appa and Santhanam Thatha. He had reached Bangalore just around half an hour before our train arrived and Madras Paati was already at Royal Palms getting things ready for the homam duing the weekend. We took a taxi to our new home while Appa came by his bike. I'd love to go on the bike too with Appa and Amma, but its definitely not going to happen for a couple of months at least.

After we reached home, Madras paati welcomed us with an 'aarathi' and then I was taken around the flat by Appa. I was given a couple of grains of sugar and I really liked the taste and repeatedly did a 'tack' with my tongue in appreciation. The Bangalore weather was quite cold and so I had to wear some nice warm clothes all the time. I slept for a while, then I got into my normal schedule pretty soon. It was exciting being in a new place and I could sense it because I kept looking around the room I was in. I was constantly wondering about why this place looked different from the Trichy house and sometimes I felt scared and cried. Then at night, there was a long power cut for nearly 5 hours. I was made to lie down in the hall along with Trichy paati. I slept well for a few hours mainly because the weather was so good that I didnt even realize there was no fan running.

Next day early in the morning, I went and snuggled up right in between Madras Thatha and Paati. Soon Sat Chitappa also arrived, completely shivering from the cold weather which greeted him. He played with me for a while and then I went off to sleep. Some workers came into the flat to do some grill painting, door painting, hole drilling etc. I got afraid and irritated with the noise and hugged Trichy paati tightly when I was asleep in her lap. Then the preparations for Sunday's homam started. Appa and Trichy thatha went and got bricks and sand while both grannies plotted out what else was required for the homam. Santhanam Thatha and Sat Chitappa played with me for a while when everyone else was too busy with the homam preparations. Amma tried to catch up on some sleep and she also went around the entire complex along with Appa. This was the first time she was seeing the apartments after five months and she really liked the progress. I will definitely go on a round once my pram comes here.

Next day I got up at my usual time and I managed to escape getting a morning bath because the homam was starting at 730 in the morning. The sastrigal arrived and he got things ready. Apparently I will be referred to as "Rukmini" when it comes to my name being introduced to the gods. I dont like it, I will always be Jaagruthi! Why were Trichy paati and Madras paati introduced as Indira and Janaki which are their real names but not me?! Apart from not using my correct name, the sastrigal was very friendly. He took me into his lap and I was surprised at how fast he seemed to be saying something. Apparently, those are called mantras. Anyway, after some time I decided that I needed other forms of entertainment. So I insisted on being carried around the house again so that I could get used to the place.

Appa and Amma presented both their parents & Satish Chitappa with new dresses which they wore in the evening. Trichy Thatha and Paati left for Trichy by the evening train. I wasnt able to say bye to them because I was fast asleep. Then we started packing for our night train to Madras. We went by a taxi to the station and I sat in the front seat with Appa. I couldnt really enjoy the trip though because I was fast asleep. I woke up after we reached the station and found that Bangalore station didnt have as many people walking about as Trichy station did. The train only arrived after midnight by when I was really hungry. Appa, Amma and I got into the air-conditioned compartment and I felt relieved. I had a reasonably good nap and was woken up when we reached Madras around 730 am. Sekar Chinna Thatha had come to the station to receive us and we went to Park Villa, where Madras Thatha, Paati & Satish Chitappa stay.

It was again a new house for me to get adjusted to. I tried to sleep for a while but my schedule had got affected over the last 3-4 days. Maybe I'll start sleeping more during the night and make sure Amma gets enough sleep. After some time, people started coming to visit us - well specifically me of course! First it was Abiramapuram Kollu Paati and Thatha. Then it was Sirkazhi Kollu Thatha and Paati. I noticed that she had worn a new saree and so I promptly wet it. She made the mistake of making me lie down on her legs. Its my bathing position and I always urinate when I lie down like that. She'll remember henceforth

In the afternoon when Appa was clearing out his almirah, I was asleep. After a while when he came to keep something in Thatha's cupboard, I had already woken up. But I didnt cry at all and when I saw him, I purred, as if to say I was awake and alone. He really liked the fact that I wasnt even crying and said I was a real samatthu kutti! YAAAY for me!

At night there were more visitors - Sekar Chinna Thatha had brought Padma Chitti Paati and Aravind Chitappa along. Aravind Chitappa is 10 years older than me and he seemed thrilled that there was someone younger than him! Mathangi Atthai also came to see me. She and Aravind Chitappa were bent on waking me up and Appa allowed them to wake me up only when it was past 8 pm. I played with them for a while. Then I went to sleep again around 11 pm and woke up a couple of times at night. I was up and awake from around 5 in the morning and played with everyone for a couple of hours.

I saw Ganesh uncle on Tuesday morning. Radha aunty couldnt come along since she wasnt well. I'm thrilled at the fact that they're going to have a baby soon ... younger to me! He played with me for a while and seemed really excited to meet me. Then I met my other set of kollu thatha and paati - chinna kollu thatha and paati. I really liked lying down on kollu paati's lap. I dont know why but I felt really comfortable being with her - maybe it was because she wore two noserings like Trichy paati does or maybe Amma had seen her many times when I was still in Amma's tummy. At night, I met Ramani Mama Thatha and Kripa Atthai (or should I call her something else?). I think I'll learn the numbers from 1-100 pretty soon given the number of people I'll be seeing over the next few weeks!

As you can see from the snap, I can now turn onto my stomach very easily even though I'm not yet 3 months old. Does that make me a prodigy? The moment I'm put down on a bed, my first instinct is to turn to my left and get onto my tummy. But suddenly on Tuesday, I seemed to have forgotten how to flip over and cried in irritation when I was not able to lie down on my belly. Appa and Amma helped me out by taking my arm from under my chest and putting it by my side so that I could pivot easily. Now I dont have a problem.

I was actually asleep like this on Monday night!

noreply@blogger.com (Jagadish) — Tue, 31 Aug 2004 10:05:00 +0000

I normally dont look forward to visiting the doctor, but last week was special. It would be the last time I'd go to the Trichy doctor for a looooooooooong while, hopefully! Actually my excitement started on Thursday when all of a sudden we left for Amma's school friend Praveen mama's wedding with Nisha aunty (or well, mami - but she's only 20, so I dont know if she'll like me calling her mami!). We left by taxi in the afternoon. The ride to Tanjavur was quite exciting but I felt too sleepy, so I slept most of the time. It was not a comfortable journey though since I'd never gone for such a long period of time in any vehicle.

After we landed at the mandapam in Tanjavur, I promptly woke up and flashed my million rupee smiles to everyone who came and played with me or spoke to me. But we didnt spend too much time there and so we left soon after Thatha, Paati and Amma had dinner. I'd love to have stayed back and played with Praveen mama's niece who is just a month or so older than me. But then, who listens to me?!

The journey back to Trichy was not enjoyable at all. I didnt feel like sleeping so I insisted that Amma must either put me on her lap or carry me in her arms. But I felt stuffy when I was on her lap and when I was on her shoulder, the lights from the cars behind us affected me and I hated it and so I cried a lot. It was a huge relief when I got home to familiar surroundings. Thatha commented that I had already gone for an outing by auto a few times and now it was a taxi outing. Next week I'd go in a train too! Am I excited or what?!

On Friday, I had to go to the doctor for my next injection. I hate injections. They cause me to cry more than ever. It is painful and in addition I have to take a few drops of medicine also to make me better. If I could, I'd tell the doctor that I didnt see the point in poking me with an injection and causing pain and then giving medicine to drive the pain away. Just dont give me the injection, doctor aunty! So for most of Friday, Saturday and Sunday I was moaning and complaining. I can now easily lie on my side for long periods of time. Unfortunately the doctor had given me an injection in my bum on the side which I prefer lying down on. So I wasnt able to even sleep properly and I cried even more. Since I couldnt lie down, someone had to keep carrying me. Amma didnt know what to do. She has also been without sleep during most of the nights since I stay awake. So she felt frustrated when I cried. I will try to change my sleep pattern slowly and let Amma get more sleep. I am much better now. But I still hate injections!

I have now progressed from turning onto my side to completely toppling over. I use my arms as a pivot. I discovered I could do it when I was lying on my side, busy sucking on my fist. Then with one motion, I managed to fix my hand on the floor and turn around completely all by myself. So I started doing this more and more often and now am an expert at it. I do fall over a few times, but thankfully Amma keeps a pillow below my face so when I lose my balance, I just bury my face in the pillow. When I lift my head up, I have no idea what happened! Trichy paati keeps saying "Viddhai kaatardhu kutti papa" (doing acrobatics). She speaks to me in a high pitched voice as though she is singing to me. I really like talking to her and playing with her. But I just dont like the liquid she forces me to drink in the morning.

Sansui Thatha & Janu Paati returned to Madras after a week's vacation in Thailand and Cambodia. They really enjoyed themselves. When they spoke to Amma on Sunday, I screamed out loud and clear indicating that I also wanted to speak to them. They were surprised at how loud I was. Oh yes, I can be quite loud. My voice carries to Bangalore and Madras easily! But Appa sometimes confuses the voices from the cocks and hens next door to mine. Day before yesterday when Amma was talking to him, he told Amma to see if I was crying. I was not, it was the chickens next door! Yesterday, when I suddenly woke up from my sleep and started crying, he didnt tell Amma because he thought it was the chickens again! What to do with him?!

We have now started packing our bags. First we go to Bangalore on Friday and then leave for Madras on Monday. All my toys will come along with me. My pram may not, since it is a little too big and we have a lot of luggage already. Of course, I dont count as part of the luggage. But I'm very important!

This photo was taken when I was rudely woken up ... possibly by Appa!

noreply@blogger.com (Jagadish) — Wed, 18 Aug 2004 05:51:00 +0000

The last few days have mostly been filled with frustrating attempts to turn over by myself to my side and then topple over to lie upside down. I'm just two months old but I just cant resist the urge to see how the floor looks so that when I will be able to balance myself properly on my hands, I can start digging into the floor and eat some of the tasty things I find there which everyone told me were bad!

Appa came over for a one day visit on Sunday and he tried to ensure that I stopped putting my fist into my mouth to suck on it. I dont think he succeeded. I am letting you all in on how I dupe Amma, Thatha and Paati and suck my fist. When I'm taken to the hall, normally in the evening, to watch television serials with them, I try to turn towards the TV set and when I'm lying on my side, I start sucking on my thumb. If I could, I'd in fact put both my fists into my mouth. I dont know why, but I really like the taste. I hope to bring my feet towards my mouth as well soon!

I end up making the mistake of sucking too loudly, sometimes making more noise than the TV. That ends up attracting their attention and my game is found out. I will need to think of a better way to fool all of them.

Nowadays Amma bathes me and it really feels good. I still cry when anyone (she or Paati) tries to clean my face or my head. Now that Amma is able to give me a bath, it means she can more or less handle me all by herself and that means we will be able to get to Bangalore real soon. From what I've heard and figured out, we're going to Bangalore for two or three days in early September and then we go to Madras for a few weeks. After that we come to Bangalore with no more visits!

I need to start packing all my clothes. Till last week, my wardrobe typically consisted of a few tops and torn bits of Thatha's veshtis. Nowadays I get to wear a bottom as well. Appa, Amma and I went out to the nearby temple and I didnt quite enjoy the sudden sunlight and the noise made by all the traffic. But it was great fun to go out. Amma carried me to the temple and Appa took his turn when we came back. I'm in fact a real chamatthu because yesterday Amma went out with her friend Vidya chitti's mother after putting me to sleep. I didnt wake up midway wailing that Amma was not around. She told me that she really enjoyed going out, but she'd prefer if she could take me along as well. I hope that will also happen soon.

noreply@blogger.com (Jagadish) — Thu, 05 Aug 2004 11:16:00 +0000

I saw Appa again last weekend. He looked different this time with a beard. Not that it affected me though. In fact he arrived earlier than usual and so I was actually awake to see him! I showed him my new habit of giving a smile whenever Amma says 'Ennnnnna daaaa' in a musical tone and he looked totally thrilled seeing me smile!

I stayed awake for a while longer entertaining everyone around and forgot all about my morning walk with Thatha. He takes me around the house and shows me all the rooms, kitchen, puja room, fridge, tv set etc. I'm going to ask him to take me to the backyard too and also the first floor. I really would love to make friends with the hens and chickens next door. As if to prove that I wanted to be awake when everyone else was, over the last week I've been sleeping around midnight, waking up a couple of times and then am awake around 6 am onwards. I take a few naps, not more than half an hour each, after food. I insist on being awake when everyone else is having their food. In the evenings, I wake up any time from 6 pm to 8 pm and I love it when I'm taken to the living room so that I can watch the TV serials with everyone else!

Appa also surprised me by not catching the Sunday train. Turns out he had taken leave on Monday. That was really thrilling since it meant I could play with him, be hugged and carried by him for another day! He doesn't like it when I put my fist into my mouth though. In fact I sense he likes playing a game with me where he just keeps blocking my hand from going anywhere near my mouth for a few minutes. Then all of a sudden he stops preventing me and when I try to put it into my mouth, I've forgotten how to do it. I'll soon figure out how to beat him at his own game!

Appa and Amma love it when I try to express myself and try to say something by smiling, opening my mouth and since I try to get some sound out, I just keep waving my arms around, often in a circular fashion. It is almost as though I'm winding myself up to say something!

This time around, Appa took a few snaps of me when I was awake. In case you're wondering, this is how I look now.

noreply@blogger.com (Jagadish) — Tue, 27 Jul 2004 07:12:00 +0000

I've not been feeling well since yesterday. I went to the doctor for a checkup along with Amma, Thatha and Paati. Amma's doctor was too busy but mine wasnt. I was given an injection (I still dont know what for!) and drops. When I returned home, I was really feeling bad and I was sobbing most of the time. I couldnt even sleep. The doctor had given a medicine to relieve some of the pain but that has not helped too much. This morning I am feeling slightly better even though I make it a point to complain to anyone who tries to talk to me and tell them about how much pain I am suffering. I talked to Appa this morning and he told me that the pain will go away soon and that I'd be normal by tonight. I was very happy yesterday when my doctor checked me and confirmed that I weigh 5 kg (or more, if you include the diaper and my clothes). She asked Amma if I responded to voices, colours, people and Amma proudly said that I did. I wanted to ask the doctor about when I could go to Bangalore, but I thought it'd be better to check with Amma's doctor as well. Its not enough if I'm ok, Amma needs to have recovered too, right?!

Last Sunday was a great day, I had lots of visitors. Appa came from Bangalore and then Sansui Thatha and Sat Chitappa arrived a while later. I was fast asleep when they all arrived but I woke up a while later and played with them for sometime. I got a couple of dresses as gifts from Thatha and a set of socks as well! Sat Chitappa will be my best friend because he was the only one who made sure that I didnt get disturbed by anyone when I was asleep. Appa, Amma and Thatha, all of them wanted to wake me up for some reason or the other - either to play with me or because it was food time. I slept through most of the day and didnt even care to wake up when Thatha's friend and his wife came to see me or when Krishnan Chinna Thatha and Chitra Chitti Paati visited us. In the evening when I was forcibly woken up by Amma, I played with everyone for some time and was really confused and kept turning my head from left to right because I'd never really seen so many people at the same time! Appa left for Bangalore first and then Thatha & Chitappa left later and the house suddenly became really quiet again.

I'm sleeping for longer periods of time nowadays, mostly at night though. I'm normally awake from around 7pm till around midnight and then from 2am to 4am. I wake up a few times during the day (its actually night as far as I am concerned) too. So any of you who wants to play with me should keep these timings in mind!

That is all for now. Hopefully I won't be feeling feverish any more and I'll have lots more stories to tell you next time. Bye!