So here are the answers to the QUIZ

1. Ammadiya means amma. You may well ask why the suffix trailing amma. Bunchin will answer that when he is able to some years later. Yes, it perplexes me and the entire khandaan.

2. Appagnya means appa. Please refer the previous explanation.

3. Nunu is poonai(cat). I have heard him say it so many times that when I see a cat now, my mind sees it as nunu!

4. Grrrr: is a bear.It is the sound it makes, because karadi is quite difficult for a kutty paiya to prounounce.

5. Another type of Grrrr is a truck. D says if we listen closely we can make out the difference in the sound. God bless her. I could not.

6. Umta is water

7. gumbe is a ball. Any logic? If there was we are yet to figure it out. D says he will say ball as ball quite soon. But saying gumbe is so charming no? Undoubtedly.

8. ju ju :  It means having a bath. It also means rain. Slight modification of jo jo that we tell a child to denote bathing.And mazhai jo nu kotardu (the sound of rain falling )

9. Gum tak tak; Is a train. It is the way it makes the sound. I taught him as oooo chik chik  with lot of hand movements. This is what he picked up.

10.ko ko: House coat and now also raincoat

11. thatha tata are almost sound alikes:

12.tha means kaanum(not visible) Thatha tha means thatha has left.
Tha also means 'give it to me'.

13. Doppa is anything falling down

14. Koo koo is any bird.Even the seven sisters who are hovering about in the balcony giving such gutteral sounds is koo koo

14. Aah too is  auto

15. thatha cah mama cah are thatha's car which is any sedan and mama cah which is any hatchback.

16.Dee tah dee or di di ta is a classical dance.

17. choo tah  is a scooter

18. baba is a bike

19.Nila is the moon

20.Aathiya is patti

21. The star question is a longish sentence,

atha din din din din atha din din taba, tudi taba

means that he is in a good mood
God is in his heaven and all is right with the world.!

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Dasavatharam of Train god!

I have said that train is one non stop passion with Bunchin now. He cannot have enough of it. He is either seeing a train or is chanting about the train all the time.

Yesterday we had just come back from seeing a train go past under the bridge and we were standing right on the bridge.So Bunchin had his eye and ear full. But we had just got home and he was sitting down to his dinner. His 'train' chant began. And D told him, just wait I will show you. I was wondering is she going to take him out again? But then she put him in front of the laptop and put on train videos. It was then I realised that train god has many avatars. I counted ten and there you have the dasavataram of the train go.

Seeing the train from the bridge as it streams past is Maha Vishnu.

1. The picture of a tiny train in one picture book, which you will miss but Bunchin will not is the Matsya avatara.

2. The picture of a slightly bigger train with three bogies in colour in the same book is Koorma avatara.

3. Steady stream of trains pouring out of youtube is Varaha avatara

4. A wooden train with bogies in bright colour which he drags around all over the place, as an extension of his hand is the Narasimha avatara

5 A very small and colourful train bogie which usually disappears in the pile of toys that are discarded is the Vamana avatara

6. A regular train set with rails and guest house and an engine and three bogies which runs on battery is the Parasurama avatara

7. A view point from the park which gives a sneak peak to the train as it streaks past is the Balarama avatara

8. A cute view point just outside our house is Rama avatara

9. A wide view point just outside the house near a lake on the small and winding road nearby is Krishna avatara

10. A brand new train station is slated to come up just outside the campus, the work for which has started already.Rajdhani to Delhi will actually stop there.

So that is our Kalki avatara!

What is in ; what is out ; Part II

Mental manathil is out and thillana of balamurali krishna is in:

We have heard enough of OKK songs and especially mental manathil as Bunchin's bedtime song. It used to drive D to have listen to it day in and day out. You play any melodious song and the tiny will keep wide awake. I said this to a friend and she says, think differently, with a rap song he is so bored that he prefers to go to sleep. But with a melody he is happy and wants to listen some more! Ok or rather OKK!

Simply holding a book is out and being fascinated by pictures in it is in

D has a picture of him holding a pg wodehouse book, of course upside down.He is seriously looking at it and we all had a good laugh that at such an early age, he likes to hold a pgw book. D is a great fan of his writing and there is a good chance he will pick up one of those if he picks up any book at home. But now he has his own collection. Lots and lots of children's books with fancy animal pictures and of the thick cardboard variety line up his bookshelf.He was fascinated by them till he got hold of a book having pictures of vehicles. He is hooked on and can endlessly gaze at them and keep repeating what they are till eternity. I bought him a book having pictures of vegetables and fruits. With lofty ideals that the colourful stuff will enthuse him to try to eat them. I had erred. He took one look and it is lying in a far corner of the bookshelf untouched and unspoilt by man and Bunchin. A book having pictures of birds has also suffered a similar fate.

Easy dressing is out and Mougli is in

He never used to have any opinion on dressing. Now he  has developed an intense  dislike to putting on any clothes.Yes, an absolute dislike. I call him digambar. If he is wearing a dress then to make him change it for any of the reasons that we normally change our dress is a marathon effort. A mini war zone is created each and every time.D did consider if the clothes had any rough edges and if they are scratching him and discomforting him in any way. No, he wants to be free.  A real Mougli!


Looking at other kids as rivals is out, and actually liking their company is in

He has yet to start playing with other kids. It happens that when other kids come home or he visits them, each of the kids take up the toy that they like and play comfortably alone with that toy. They are having a thorough inventory of toys in their friend's house.Like today A came visiting and wanted the 'red car'. I told D I have not seen a red car, as I had recently classified and put all the old toys away.She said it is very small and you could have missed it, but not A. It happened A was right of course. A was playing with a dog and Bunchin was busy with his ball. He was bawling about something and the mood changed completely after A came home .For the next one hour, actually adults could have some conversation, as the kiddos were busy playing. This is very new and most welcome.
Earlier the scene played out will be like this. A kid will pick up a toy.The other kid who was quite happy with some other toy will drop it and rush to pick up the same toy the other one has picked up. Now I leave it to readers imagination and experience as to the scene that would unfold.This scene is out!


 Sitting on the roundabout is out, holding the seats and steering it is in

I have never seen a tiny tot not wanting to sit in a round about and enjoy going round and round. He did sit in it for sometime, just to get a feel. But when he has grown sufficiently tall to hold on to a bit of a seat in it, he likes to steer it rather than sit idly. Ditto for the pram. He never enjoyed sitting in it much to all of our intense discomfort. He wanted to steer it. D does not have any picture of his, sitting in a pram but lots and lots of them where he is busy steering it on the roads. Even on the odd day that he deems to sit for a while, he is holding the handlebar and turning it as he wants(that is to the middle of the road, and away from home!) and we can hold the steering stick and twiddle our thumb in frustration.

He likes to do things and see how it works, rather than sit back, relax and enjoy.

What is in and what is out

I saw Bunchin after a gap of two and a half months. I was amazed at the rapid changes in his persona.

Two naps during the day is out replaced by one after lunch.

 D seems to prefer this, as it definitely saves her the long session of rocking him to sleep. Basically he moves around and runs so much he tires himself out to sleep. Yes, a good thing really.

Having a bharatnatyam dance video while having his dinner is out. Replaced by train videos.

He has got such a penchant for trains that we searched youtube and there is a whole world of train videos there. While Bunchin is clearly enjoying them, we are also learning a lot about Indian railways.

Mashed food is out and fried stuff is in

He has eight teeth in the front and four molars are just about peeping out from all four corners of his tiny mouth. He likes his murukku and it is good fun seeing him toss the food to various corners to get maximum chewing advantage.

Staying in at home is  out. Going out is in.

Okay home is a place where we get to eat and sleep. Yes and have a quick bath. Otherwise the wide outdoors is the place to be. He used to spend lots of time in the kitchen as it was the most happening place in the house. He has explored all the vessels and appliances and storing containers and vegetable baskets for long long time. Now he cannot have enough of the fun outside. 

Smooth baby skin is out especially around the knee, perennial blisters and band aids are in.

Everyday he comes home battle scarred.And he is not yet 20 months old. He runs really fast and so falls down every now and then. We tried making him wear full pants to minimise the hurt. But we have not reckoned with his speed and ability to run without seeing what is in front of him. If not blisters atleast a few insect bites on his smooth cheek greets us when he gets back home. He forays into any foliage, any outgrowth and sits there to see for himself what is interesting.And while he is so engrossed, the insects are also busy in their own way!

All toys are out and only train toys are in

He is dreaming trains if you can believe it. He is also chanting non stop about trains. He has his pet picture books, where he will fish out the tiniest of train pictures that you will surely miss. His vocabulary does not allow him to say all that he is excited about trains. But non stop chant will have to do for now.

Having a sip of tea with amma and appa is in and drinking milk is ou

He is crazy about tea and gets excited about the entire process right from the time the tea tin is picked up. What else can you expect from an Assam domiciled boy! He will begin reciting 'tea' mantra. Milk products do not agree with him, so his morning milk is out. Soya milk is in but that too restricted to twice a day.

Methodicity is in and disorder is out

He is a virgo. He could as well be shouting this from the roof tops for the way he is turning out. He finishes his food or anybody else finishes their food, he will collect the plate, cup and spoon and go with a very purposeful air to the kitchen and dump it in the sink. You change his dress and he has to take the old clothes and put it in the wash basket.  If we do something the first time and he has seen it(yes he does see and record everything in his tiny harddisk) then there is no way he will accept any other way of doing it. If it is done once in a way, that is how it should be done Always!
I made a mistake of throwing a ball and fetching it myself. So it has to be that I end up picking up the ball everytime we have a game.





 

mazhalai mazhai quiz part II

This is for the brave hearted. If you have waded through the first one and are reading this, then you deserve the real tough questions.

1. gumbe :

 Bunchin uses this word atleast a million times in a day with some reference or the other.Well even if there is no reference, it is his all time favourite word.Of course next to um tah tah tah! It is a favourite with any child, so this clue should help you..

2. Ju ju :

This is used in the generic version as well as in a particular context. I think this is one of the easier ones and shoud have found a place in the first quiz. Again, not wanting to be repetitive, this is something kids love.Yes, that is why out of the thousands of words in tamil, the kid has picked up this one.

3. grrrrrrr

This gutteral sound is an all pervasive sound, sorry word in Bunchin's vocabulary. It is like a joker in a card game. When he is at a loss for the correct sound to denote something of interest to him, he tells grrrrr, and sure enough looking at the context, D is able to zero in on the particular word. At the last count there are atleast six different words that Bunchin wants to say with this single sound.


4. Doppa

Yes, this is an easy one and again should have gone into the first quiz. Anybody and everybody will be able to crack this one and go with a feel good factor!

5. nila

No clue please.

6. Kooo

No clue again. Crack your brains and get the answer, quite easily in fact.

7. kho kho

This is not the game. He says this in such a sweet manner, that it really floored me what he is trying to say. Again refer D's dictionary and I felt I should have cracked this one easily.

Clue is ihis : He looks at  D and sometimes says "amma kho kho". So there!

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Answers in the next post!

It is raining 'mazhalai' in guwahati!

It is mazhai kaalam and mazhalai kaalam in guwahati. While Varuna is making the rains open up, Bunchin is raining mazhalai. Nobody is complaining about both the options! Bring it on is the war cry!

Now I am going to have a mazhalai quiz. All mothers are allowed to compete. Prospective mothers can have a try. But it would be a tough one. A quick sneak peek into earlier posts allowed only for first time visitors to this blog.

Now here we go.

1. goom tah tah tah.

 I can give a clue. Bunchin's face will light up and after a few more repetitions of the phrase will cock his ear and say  goom tak tak  ka. He will be a little despondent.Then he will say  'innonu' and look expectantly at the horizon. so that brings us to the next word

2. innonu.

This is a very common word in Bunchin's vocabulary now. He will say 'nonnu' or 'innonu' . Both are interchangeable words in his dictionary.

3.um tah

D is very happy when he says this word. Bunchin has had a tough climb expressing an interest in what this word denotes. Thatha has had a major role in getting him to learn to appreciate it! But now times are changing and Bunchin actually asks for um tah!

4. ta ta

Yes you guessed right. It means exactly what tata means. But then Bunchin has made a virtual world around this word, the way he will pronounce it, give it a peculiar accent and his facial and body language that go with it.

I will now give you the quiz questions:

He does not like to say tata when somebody is leaving. Yes, he does not want people to leave! But when they have left and gone a few paces away from him, he bursts forth into an inflexion of the word.What does he want to say now?

Thatha gum tah tah tah tata

Yes he actually says a full sentence. Decipher it at your leisure.

5. Dee dee tah

If you have been following my posts on this subject, you could crack this one. For new comers, this is a tough one.

6. Appagneeya

I am sure no other child has coined this tough sounding word when there is a very easy and rolling off your tongue word which means the same thing. He says this word atleast a thousand times a day with other words in his vocabulary to give news to us of what is happening in his world!

7. ammadeeya

D used to keep looking out for a very simple word which usually is a baby's first word.But no, Bunchin tried to bring out tough words first and again made a simple word a long and endearing one!

8. mama cah:  thatha cah:

I take him out and he goes non stop with these two words . Fairly simple to decode.

9. Aa too;
akka deeya and anna deeya

Again a very simple no brainer. If you solve this, you are allowed to go to the next question. No points for correct answer.

10. Atheeeya

Bunchin can say the correct word, but he has found a round about word for the same. I will give a clue, it started with 'thi' and then 'aathee' and now atheeya!

11. baba

No it does not mean 'appa'. Try harder.

12. choo tah

The clue is his mama used to say the same word in his mazhalai as "choo chai" .This should help!

13. We are coming to the end of the quiz:

We can finish with a flourish!

This is a star question and if you can even have a crack at it, then you will be crowned, "mazhalai mazhai wonder kid on the block"

Here it goes

"atha din din din din din, atha din din din daba, atha n n n n atha din daba,
huti taba"

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We will come back with the next level quiz after a short interval.

Bunchin wields the bow!

D had a movie date with a friend and Bunchin and his appa had quality time together. It happened that they wanted to fiddle with the violin which has seen more active days! So it was retrieved from its closet and Bunchin saw some new toy. He was excited and immediately caught hold of the bow. He has to do something, not sit there and stare at anything. So he took to wielding the bow and it went all over the place and he was thrilled.

Slowly he was able to make contact with the string and it produced a very nice sound. He went at it again and again and sure enough a melody emerged as if by magic. Bunchin was trying to tell his appa, see I can make a sound from this big toy!

Appa is overjoyed,  and he immediately took a video and put it up on whatsapp.
Patti is amazed at the wonder in Bunchin's eyes as he is figuring out a new toy.

God bless.

Bunchin greets thatha

Bunchin's chinna thatha celebrated his birthday recently. Bunchin, given half a chance would like to throw a wild party! But constrained by distance and his miniscule size, he made a grand performance.  D gently prompted him to say, happy birthday thatha. Bunchin reproduced it sound perfect. It came out beautifully like a sonnet!

."atha din din din thi thaba
.atha din thatha. atha din appa
. thatha thatha, thatha
 din din din thatha

This sound clip came all the way through sound clouds from Guwahati to chennai and sure clouded our eyes.

Wonder of childhood:  the child sees the world new everyday  and we see the utterly charming baby steps he is taking and rejoice in  Gods grace.

Not to be left behind, the wonder of technology to help us enjoy these stages, near perfect!