Almost a year old

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.