There are Toys and Toys!

We have a one year old baby at home.Natural that we want to buy toys for him. We do check out with D every now and then, the type of toys that he would enjoy. She has some ideas and other times she says she is clueless. The ideas are
a) don't get him battery operated toys(that ruled out 99.999 percent of toys in the market.
b) get him something where he can do something with it, not be a passive spectator
c)multi coloured ribbons will be fine, he can wrap it around the chair or stool and unwrap it and fool around for a while
d)you can try getting  building blocks(the ones in the market are for 3 year olds and above.So!
e) get him wooden toys, the chennapatna variety.It will be totally child safe. (Yes, but they dont hold the kid's attention for more than one minute!)
f) get him a toy phone.So that he will fiddle with it when we are on the phone.

So I made a toy hunt. In Adyar neighbourhood I had never really seen any baby shop till we had a baby in the house. Now there is one in every street.Well, almost. But none of them have toys meeting D's specs. Well not entirely. I got a whole lot of colour ribbons and also a hoola hoop.Yes, for a one year old. I thought D can use it and amuse the child. I am very creative you see.

But then there are a whole lot of visitors who get toys which they believe a one year old will play with. A dancing horse which makes sounds and trots around, a drum beating toy, a screeching parrot and what have you. Chiku is fascinated with unpacking and he fools around with the shining wrapper when D is interested in seeing the toy. Yes, it has remained that way.

Let me explain. Today morning like every other morning last few days chiku takes us near his toy basket and wants us to lift all of them. He tells (eloquent sign language) us to empty them on the mat. I get busy with the building blocks and other toys and look up to see if chiku is there fascinated. No, he is far away and is busy with the idli plates, piling them one on top of the other. When I am dragging the channapatna toy train round and round to distract him,  he is piling washed plates in the side rack and busy arranging them in an order which makes sense to him. I am taking the satin ribbons and tying them around the legs of the chair and after a while lift my head up to see chiku is watching to possibly imitate and amuse himself later. But he is busy pulling his dry clothes from the cloth hanger and putting them away and taking his soiled clothes and busy putting them in the wash basket.

I saw Chiku's father playing with the toys and chiku fascinated with the folded clothes and trying out his father's tshirt!

Yes, toys for children are actually enjoyed fully by the adults at home. It relaxes them; helps them relive their childhood; helps them to see the new age toys which they never had a chance to play with.

While the children are interested in stuff that adults are doing and wants to grow up fast and do the same things.

Role reversal??

Chiku's ayushhomam

Chiku aka kutti krishna has completed one year as per indian lunar calender on 31st august 2015. The religious function was held in Venkateswara temple in guwahati. It is a beautiful temple built by kanchi kamakoti peetam and maintained very well. There are very good quarters for the priests who have all come from Tamil nadu.There are also guest rooms for visiting priests and guests. It has been built in a very large area and greenery all around. It is on the outskirts of the city and typical south indian style architecture and temple rituals. We felt totally at home.

A very cute nalangu function was held at home for kutti krishna. He did allow me to apply nalangu though I had to distract him a bit. D applied oil and I sang our family song of 'sri rama jaya jeya'.
Krish is always on the move and I was really surprised to see him running all around the bathroom and D deftly handling the bathing process. He had a quick headbath and then all of us got ready.
The rahu kalam on a monday morning sprang a bit of a spanner in the works. We had to start the function by quarter past nine and rahu kalam was ending fifteen minutes earlier. We had a half an hour journey and guwahati being quite famous for traffic snarls on the bridge on a monday peak hour, we needed to leave before seven thirty. It was tough but we managed.

Keeping Krishna engaged in the temple was more of a challenge.The weather was perfect with a slight drizzle. White silk dhoti and a silk shirt with a dark blue silk angavasthram made the dressing complete for Krishna. Of course nicely jingle bells kolusu and a gold chain completed the accessories! Krishna does not really sport flowing hair but I promise that his hair was flying all over the place that day and made a perfect picture. D and S were in their traditional attire

The function started and we prayed for Krishna's health and longevity and also for their parents.
We had brought flower garlands from chennai and I was very happy that they were reasonably fresh. It did take a lot of planning and goodwill to get them in good shape to guwahati. It was worth it.
Krishna was restless now and then, as his sleep time and meal time were all going for a toss. The priest asked D to take the baby just outside the sanctum sanctorum where she could enjoy the fan and calm the child. Goddess durga has a sannidhi here . Kanchi periyaval had said guwahati is a sakthi peetam and  was instrumental in having a sannidhi for durga in the balaji mandir.

Anna prayasam was also done. Amma had given me the silver basin which was gifted to me  by my patti  for my ayushhomamwhen I was one year old . Now I brought it and gifted it to Krishna  as kollu patti's asirvadham. So pleased.

We had darshan of Lord Balaji and Padmavathi thayar and Goddess durga. We collected prasad and then headed home.

Krishna was talking his own language with full hand and body gesticulations throughout the ride back. D says he is showing me the sights and sounds of Guwahati! It did appear so, as he was pointing out outside the window and then turning towards me and talking nonstop. It was a unique performance!

A fitting finale to a happy and cute function got up for him, for which we had come down from chennai.
Chiku, ayushman bhava!