To: Aarush

It’s high time that I write about him because my clue box under this heading has been growing longer and longer.

I am talking about my nephew - Aarush. The demand for writing this post came long ago by his mom. (It’s strange how equations change after the ‘tiny arrivals’; I could’ve written “demanded by my sister” but I chose ‘his mom’.)

I would start from the day 1. After getting the news of his birth, we visited him in the hospital. I slightly erred in holding him for the first time; amidst all the wonder of someone being so little, I could see his eyes slightly open as if he were sending signals, we would bond well. By the time, he was in the next one's arms he had shut his eyes and went back to his sleep. But I was also a little upset for I, no more, could enjoy ‘the youngest one’ tag.

In the initial months, we would constantly ask our mom “when would he start responding to us/sitting on his own/ crawling/standing/speaking.” After a few months, we realised that he is out of those kids who would, later on, come on some television show audition getting an introduction like “He started dancing/singing even before he could speak properly.” He has his specific favourites to which he would dance or sing. (Although his dance is more of a drunkard but one can take lessons from him, his steps are improving day by day.)

When he made a proper sentence for the first time, I realised that it won’t be that fun if he starts speaking clearly. Right now the situation is if he says a word, with his own version of pronunciation, we all stop pronouncing the word the way it actually should be and switch over to his version. 

Sometimes it so happens that he tries to say something, but due to his limited ability to speak we can’t understand what he is trying to say and he starts crying over it trying to say it again, more annoyed this time. One can’t help but feel helpless. Now he has started using pronouns and helping verbs as well; earlier it used to be all about nouns only.

Evidently, This is his favourite pose!!

I must say he is such a naughty kid. Every month or so, we are saying he’ll be fine in a few months but his deeds are getting naughtier each day. Leave the naughty part, he is such a ‘corrupt’ kid (and I mean corrupt) he won’t let a drop of milk go down his throat without anything in return. He’s been like that since he was 6 months old. He would (and still does) not open his mouth to eat food until you sing him a song/play a video/do some gimmick.

From becoming his talking tom to singing uncountable songs (I hate singing now) to playing innumerable videos to forming senseless stories for his hunger satisfaction. I must confess I've made a lot more paper-planes and know more poems now than I knew in my childhood. All thanks to his watching-youtube-videos-and-gulping-milk routine. I can even recommend what baby video channels you must follow.

https://www.youtube.com/user/LittleBabyBum

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6zhI71atP7YLoZyIyCIGNw

Some days he is such a darling that he won’t let me do work and offers to help me in lifting blankets from one room to another or in sweeping the home; he even protects me from Raavan (He was hell scared on seeing huge effigies of him on Dashehra, so he is the villain/monster in his eyes till date.)

But, in case you are sleep deprived or tired, it is not going to be an easy day for you. He literally lifts your head up constantly demanding to sit up and respond to his repetitive-nature-of-talks.

Earlier when he used to sleep for long hours, we would go to wake him up and that was after utmost efforts that he would open up his eyes. But things change slowly; he was a 'quiet infant' then and now he is a 'tantrum toddler'. He hardly gets ready to sleep, it is only after a lot of coaxing that he goes to the bed. And I want him to sleep for not less than 2 hours. It is more like a ‘refresh period’ so that we could start all over again.

PS He calls me ‘didi’ and it’s not out of respect but because he can’t say my name properly and I prefer not to be called masi.