Haircut

On the domestic front, our baby got her first haircut on the 13^th. She did raise a hue and cry, but it was only to protest our preventing her from falling asleep. The presence of Nagender and family made it a festive occasion. We thought she would not like losing her tresses but on the contrary, she’s enjoying her bald pate. She has been soaking up the attention that gets from her so many ‘uncles’ and ‘aunties’. In general, she enjoys the company of ‘uncles’ more than the ‘aunties’. I guess she gets turned off by the gossiping that starts soon after they meet. Whereas the ‘uncles’ give her all the attention she wants. They sing songs for her, laugh for her, let her tug their moustaches and pull their hair without feeling conscious.

CWG

The Commonwealth games are over. A lot of sleaze, corruption charges and other stink raising issues have since gone past. In a latest poll by newspapers and TV channels, Indians in metros think we salvaged our lost pride after the spectacular opening ceremony. But there some moments that brought the smile back on our faces. The opening ceremony was one, of course. The spirited audience singing the national anthem every time we won a gold added to the patriotic fervour. And of course, the players. The more media savvy, ‘one with the modern world’ didn’t do any wonders. It was the relatively unknowns from villages in Haryana who won us 14 gold medals in different disciplines. The icing on the cake came from Saina Nehwal, who took India to the second position after winning her final match. After the match, we saw how publicity shy she was, awkwardly posing for photos and enjoying the adulation with reluctance. Hope she stays grounded.

Aadya

It has been some time since I wrote. Events have a funny way of picking up speed. Or rather, Archana and I were missing out on the ‘roller-coaster ride’ that becomes part of your life when your kid is of that age where she wants to take the controls out of your hands. On July 12, Aadya was 5 month old. Around a week later, she had already started to turn over and crawl ‘backwards’. When she hit her 6 month birthday, she also started landing on her head from on top of the bed. One very good habit that she has (touch wood!!) is her sleep pattern. On a normal day, she is groggy by around 9 pm and asleep by 10. If not disturbed, she sleeps straight through the night, waking up at around 5-5.30 in the morning. I sometimes wonder how other parents cope with children who sleep in the day and spend the night, or at least most of it, wide awake. With Aadya, even the slightest sound will disturb her sleep in the day and (it has been our experience) the loudest of music will seem a lullaby in the night. But I guess we didn’t know what we had been missing over the past so many years.