Sitting on the bed with a laptop, typing away, a cup
of adhrak waali chaai to help keep the yawns at bay, I can hear my 3 and a half
year old son chirping all around the house, one thing after the other catching
his attention.
Just a moment ago, he was on the verge of throwing a
tantrum, accusing me of turning off the TV too soon. "But we had a deal" I tried
to tell him, "that it would be just 10 minutes of watching Chota Bheem. You
already crossed the limit, and its half an hour since you started watching it,
and its OVER now. The show timing is up, and they are putting subtitles now, so
there's nothing I can do about it."
Nothing I said seemed to convince him, and he was
all set to yell out loudly. (Before you start having your doubts, let me tell
you, his tantrums, I am told, are nothing compared to other kids. He is a very
understanding child - touch wood zillion times - and this was the rarest of
occasions) So being the case, I seemed to be the lucky (and spoilt?) mom who
really didn't know how to deal with these rare outbursts. I tried reasoning,
ignoring, placating, and striking another deal - which was - deciding to end any
other sessions of Chota Bheem if he continuing whining and wailing. Bad luck.
Nothing seemed to work today.
Just as I thought I am in for it, Naani popped in a
magic sentence - "I have a pedha for you in your snack bowl, would you like to
try it?" Poof. The mood turned exactly the other way round and off went he
happily, had a nice little pedha and went on to arrange his little train engine
set, with little word blocks on the goods carrier. He came back into my room to
announce "Amma
I am carrying Goods train la full of dabba jalebi". (We are Tam Brams,
which explains his liking for food, especially sweets). Ready to burst into a
laugh, I tried to look serious and asked to see the train. He proudly led me to
show the neatly arranged goods train.
Such darlings, kids. No preconceived notions, no
inhibitions, no carrying over emotions, NOTHING. Just pure feelings for the
moment. It is heartening to watch them and oh, how they succeed in bringing a
smile into our otherwise serious lives!
Well, right now he is talking to his little cousin,
who is all of 4 years, warning her to be wary of scorpions when she travels to
Australia for her summer vacation. Can you beat that! :) Love you little
fellow.
