And Now..

The dhinka chika mama is appearing on TV for some mosquito repellent ad..Punch is playing around and gives me the wrong impression that she has not noticed him on TV.

The bell rings and the Mr. arrives..

Punch opens the door and says Abba Abba very seriously

He says, what happened?

She says: Abba, Dhinka chika mama ko mosquito ne bite kiya

He just cannot understand what is going on...and asks me if dhinka chika mama is really not well!

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Punch is playing with her toy resembling an infant. she calls it as Baby S

Punch: Amma, S baby so gaya

Me: Kyon?

Punch: Usko thookam (sleep) aa gaya, isliye so gaya

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Punch's friend had gone to attend a wedding in her native place and Punch kept on asking about her

Punch: Amma, where is G ( friend's name)

Me: She has gone to her uncle's kalyanam (wedding)

Punch: I will also go, it is my V babba (uncle) kalyanam

Me: But V babba kalyanam is over

Punch: Ok then I will go to R thatha kalyanam

Me: That is also over

Punch: Then I will go to P paati kalyanam

The intention is to attend a wedding, so what if the grandparents need to get married again!

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Punch: Amma, you be a good girl and listen to me, then your Happy Birthday will come again and if you are good, I will buy a cake for you

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Dropping In

Dropping in here just to say

Do you know the Dhinka Chika mama?

we see him daily on TV doing Dhinka Chika ae ae ae

Hi All

First of all, thanks for your comments and emails in response to my previous post. I forgot to update the post and mention the reason behind that post. The Mr was kept under observation in ICU due to high Blood Pressure, he has since recovered and doing good now.

On the Punch front, she is her usual busy multi-tasking self...which means she never does one thing at a time..I have enrolled her in music class with the hope that she sings atleast some bhajans and she easily earned the tag of the naughtiest student. She never sits and sings, it is always a combination of jump/run/play with toy/do yoga pose/scream and then sing. No amount of threatening/bribing/scolding works out. Needless to say, wahan bhi ho gaya izzat ka falooda..

Punch has now joined Nursery class in a nearby school and she was eagerly awaiting the first day. She kept waving bye to us after taking every 2 steps inside the school. She looks forward to go to school and insisted that we put her on the yellow colour school bus. Her teacher told me on the second day " She has settled down well, no tears at all". I wanted to say " Madam, this indicates trouble for you and may lead to tears in ur eyes too!" but could not do so. Then we get another compliment " very naughty". Not to mention the loss of ID cards, water bottles, tie etc.

Yesterday, Punch's music teacher had arranged a small function where all her students sang. Punch had to sing two small 2-4 line bhajans, and both me and the teacher had no expectations from her. But surprisingly, she SAT peacefully on the mat, took the mike in her hands and sang flawlessly looking at all directions. So much that the teacher asked her to sing a third song which she promptly sang.. So, that was her singing debut as well...

That's it from me for now..

Help from unexpected quarters

I did not expect a relative of a patient (lying in coma in the ICU and hovering between life and death) to offer to look after my naughty 3 year old till I visit my husband inside..

I did not expect that the security guys sitting outside the ICU will offer to show videos from their mobile phones to keep my child occupied while I visit my husband inside..

I did not expect at all that a person to whom I lent my phone charger remember to give it to another person and ask me to collect it..fyi this man's son consumed pesticide and gave up the fight for life and he comes to me and says " Mazha mulga sampla..tumcha charger varti aahe.." meaning my son is finished, your charger is upstairs.

Least of all, I did not expect one unknown person who seemed to be an avid IPL watcher to offer to change to cartoon channel for the sake of my child.

and of course not to forget the night shift security guard who asked me where is your child, I have not seen her today, how is your husband.. when he could have easily kept quiet..

and also the friendly neighbours and office colleagues who offered to stay back and help in whatever manner possible.

God teaches us lessons in so many ways...I have learnt to be humane and humble from this experience..Its really great that you offer help when you are yourself not in a proper mental state (struggling with the health status of a loved one)..Thanks all, I do not know your names, but I pray for the good health of your loved one in the ICU.

Tongue Tied

I often warn Punch that she will have to listen to me and stop making mischief if she wants to go to playschool. One day, this same conversation was going on and I told her that since she is not listening to me, I will not send her to playschool that day. She replies casually " Amma, I will go to ABC (new school which she will be joining in June) school".

When Punch lies or does something wrong I tell her that God is looking at you, he will pinch your eyes. One day as I was trying to put her to sleep, she said " Amma, you have a black spot on your nose, has god pinched your eyes? what did you do?"

What else can I say except...Meri billi mujhe hi meow..

Chimdan Tales

Me: Punch, did u eat tiffin at school today

Punch: Yes

Me: what did you eat ( purposely)

Punch: Dosa, but chimdan spilled the sambar

FYI: I give her maximum 2 spoons of sambar in a tight container and I don't know chimdan spilled whose sambar?

Me: Punch, when is ur happy birthday

Punch: May tonty (20)

Me: what are you going to do that day?

Punch: Cut a big cake

Me: who will come to ur birthday?

Punch: A, B, C, D etc

but amma, chimdan will eat all the cake

so i will not call her

FYI: Chimdan is Punch's version of Simran, her classmate.

Damsel in Distress

Punch was having a nice time in the play area of our apartment complex. As usual, she protested when asked to come home. I finally had enough of her " 2 minutes" and "3 minutes" and I lifted her and carried her away from the play area. She started screaming " Mujhe Chhod do, Mujhe Chhod do" much to my amusement. What a talented nautanki we have here..and till two months back she did not know a word in Hindi.

Where are we moving towards?

Two recent happenings make me think so...

1) I had been to a temple and there was a puja going on..I was standing behind the last row as I was about to leave. All chairs were occupied with people waiting for the puja to begin. An elderly couple holding hands together for support were escorted by one of the volunteers and they were finding it difficult to stand. Can you believe none of the women/children seated in the first couple of rows wanted to part with their seat..Finally the volunteer left and the couple stood in one corner helplessly. It was of no use if they got a seat in the later rows as they would be unable to view the puja. After some time, one teenager got up and her mother offered that seat to the couple, they refused to sit there..Who would?

2) We were standing outside a shop waiting for an auto to go home. A small boy of Punch's age and height came up to us and showed some colouring books @Rs 20 each. He just said BEES RUPAYA (20 Rs) and showed the books. Its really sad that children are made to earn money at this age.

The Great Divide

KP (Known person) 1 (from chennai): so you moved to pune?

Me: Yes

KP 1: So, what do u eat? Do you get RICE there??

KP2 (also from chennai): So you moved to pune?

Me: Yes

KP2: Do you get SUN TV there?

Me: Yes, on local cable network itself..

KP2: oh, I thought u need DISH to view OUR channels...

Everyone knows we get all Indian items in foreign ( I mean USA only since the word foreign covers only the USA , not even Canada can be included )

I say this because a visit to any other country is as good as staying back in India itself! (in the eyes of ur relatives, neighbourhood and the local grocer and carpenter)

Unfortunately, our people fail to understand that within India, most of the time all groceries are available. So KP1 and KP2, I still live in my country and get fruits, vegetables n groceries in abundance and at almost the same rates as in Chennai.

My Hansa

We have a Hansa (Khichdi fame) in our house, only difference is our Hansa is fond of Hindi and here is why she is Hansa

me: Yeh kya hai (pointing out to the glass of milk)

Punch: Yeh Paal (milk) hai

me: Yeh kya hai (pointing out to the slide in the park)

Punch: Yeh sarkumaram (slide) hai

What a diplomatic way to hide the fact that you don't know what to say for milk n slide in Hindi..

Playing with words

I hereby confess that already Punch overpowers me with words at every possible chance..so, she does not take after me in this department too.

e.g.

1. I tell her patiently and lovingly that I am your friend, you must listen to me, I will get you your favourite things etc etc and she retorts back..yes amma, you are my friend, do not scold or hit me, then I will cry no, ok

2. Punch likes shortcuts such as peeing on the floor instead of going to the bathroom when she is engrossed in seeing TV. Inspite of many reminders, she just does not listen to me..but the smart girl she is, she gets up and puts the doormat over the pee area and then comes to me and says amma, get me another dress, this dress is wet and pretends to be deaf when i ask how did it get wet.

Any special tips for me to overpower her?

Want to feel Pampered?

Then come over to our house.. where you can get free service (namely trimming ur eyebrows and a hair cut)

yes, Punch is now in this business..

It all started with a visit to the beauty parlour for her haircut where she had a chance to see the above mentioned services being done while waiting for her turn.

Punch uses superior quality threads for threading i.e. the plastic thread from ur friendly utensil cleaner (brush).. I was subjected to this world class state of the art treatment..so be assured that she uses all hygienic equipments!

and our Mr (remember him) comes back late from work but feels rejuvenated after trimming his hair daily..first Punch uses imaginary spray on him ( with full audio support) and then proceeds with the hair cut and finally shows him the mirror ( and thank god not the main door).. and then the Mr is ordered in English (yes) " All the children, dance"..

So, when are you fixing an appointment? its all free so hurry up..

Ka Hua

This is Punch's first word in Hindi..

I wish it would have been Kya Hua..

and also she would have first asked me..

the lucky recipient of this question was her stuffed toy Doreman.

Now she also says Ye Lo ( take this)