It's the longest hangover, and it's called...

The Prutha hangover. It was my best week ever. More than a week after that awesome week I am still thinking and smiling about it. Never thought I'd have such a great time. Of course, at the back of my head I was also worried about the pain Girija amma was going through in the hospital and was hoping she would recover soon. I also felt a little bad for Chinni akka and Vinnu jiju; the family came home to enjoy and even before 24 hours of their arrival here the unfortunate incident happened - Girija amma fell down broke her hip.

Chinni akka, that night, lay silently on the bed, clearly disturbed about the incident when Prutha climbed on to the bed, sat next to her and says, "Mummy, main kuchh bolun?" "Haan, bol chinna", Chinni akka said. "Mummy, tu mujhe bahut achchi lagti hai"

What else does a mother need to hear than her five year old daughter telling her how much she loves her. I'm sure that at that moment all of Chinni akka's tensions and tribulations disappeared and that she had a good night's sleep. I wasn't home by then. Mahi told me about this. It touched my heart so much I had to write about it so one day when I get Alzheimer's disease, I can still read this and smile.

The Week That Was - (Prutha, Mahi), (Mahi, me, Prutha), (Chinni akka, Prutha), (nanna, me, Mahi, amma), (Mummy), (Mahi, mummy, Vinnu, Girija amma, amma, nanna), (daddy), (Chinni akka)

While Chinni akka and Vinnu went to the hospital every day to the hospital to give company to Girija amma while they waited for the operation day which was a week later I had the god-given gift of spending all day (and all night) with the little bundle of stories. Nothing entertains Prutha more that telling stories. Most kids want to listen to stories but this one likes creating and telling them. I'll tell you one about a boy who likes bananas,  that made all of us laugh our guts off.

Ek din ek ladka rehta tha. Usko bananas bahut pasand tha. Wo shop se bananas laakar ghar me rakhta tha. Uske ghar ke baahar na... ek tree tha. Wo na... bananas ko tree me chipkaata tha. Wo theek se chhipkaaya nahi to wo bananas gir rahe the.

Laughter all around.
"Tum has kyu rahe ho?"
"Kuchh nahi. Bolo bolo"
"Tum haso mat. Main jab hasne ko bolungi tab haso"
Suppressed giggles. Such a cute little thing she is. Thinks fruits fall down because we don't stick them on the tree properly.

Which reminds me of another story which she told us when she was about 3 years old.

Ek din ek jungle tha. Uss jungle me ek monkey rehta tha. Ek din jungle me ek cat aayi. Wo... darr gaya.

"Ho gaya story?"
"Haan"
"Itna chhota story hai?"
"Naiii chhota naiii"
"To bataao na story"

Ek din uss jungle me ek billi aayi. Wo... darr gaya.

"Uske baad?"

Uske baad ek cat aayi. Wo... darr gaya. Hogaya.

How much more cute can kids get?

Another night, when I was at home, and Chinni akka, Prutha and I were relaxing we asked Prutha, "Prutha, tu badi hoke kya banegi?"
She said, "Main badi hoke moti banoongi"

She was kidding of course. She's already in a career dilemma, "Main artist banoo ya doctor?"


For the rest of my life, the songs Waka Waka, Wavin Flag and I Like To Move It Move It, will remind me of her. And of course, APKGK's Tu Jaane Na that turned into an action song that Prutha and I kept singing over and over and over again.

It was also so nice and amusing to see a little girl making the men of the house (nanna and daddy) do silly things that they wouldn't normally do, in the games that Prutha invented. I say men, because the women (amma, mummy, Chinni akka, Mahi) have craziness as their birth trait. So seeing them do silly things isn't a big surprise.
Not a moment of seriousness when mummy was around. Joke after joke after joke, she kept us laughing continuously. Cracking jokes on oneself is a talent not many possess. Sometimes you wish you could be like her. If there's any other place I'd like to be after my own, it's Mumbai... with mummy, daddy, Anil bhaiya and Chinni akka.


And boy, did I know we are a family of not-just-music-enthusiasts, but real musicians. With daddy, the genius around you can be constantly amazed at everything he does with musical instruments. As if that's not enough, Vinnu jiju also plays awesome guitar. Never knew until he played it here at home. Reminded me of my good old hostel days when Crystal played the guitar and I sang along. Mummy and daddy are learning Hindustani music now. And not just that, they're even answering exams! At 50+ years of age, isn't that awesome? 


Wish there were more nights with Chinni akka, Mahi and I having long talks and raiding the kitchen for cupcakes and chocolate sauce at 2 a.m. Bad that she had to spend all day in the hospital every day for almost a week. But there really wasn't any choice. After all, she is the "dil" of her mil.


In all it was one of the best weeks I've had in a long time. Girija amma too recovered surprisingly quickly. She was discharged from the hospital only 5 days after the operation. When she was back home, she showed no sign of pain. You'd think we were lying about her fall after seeing her laughing and talking like nothing had happened. Must commend her strength and threshold of pain.


I really could go on and on but I must stop. I had initially planned a Day1, Day2... blogpost because so many things had happened that I never wanted to forget, but with Prutha around there was no way I wanted to waste time on a blogpost that I could spend playing with her. This is a very long post, I know, but this is a hangover I never want to recover from.


Not that I've had hangovers before. No no. But still.