Riding High and Eating away

In three months’ time I’ll hit 30 and the weight of slowly and steadily stepping into middle age seems to burden me sometimes. That is why whenever I get the smallest opportunity to relive the childhood that I once had, I seize it promptly and wholeheartedly. One such thing which was an integral part of my childhood (and all of you too I’m sure) was visiting those typical Fun Fairs…more commonly called as Anand Nagari at our place.

As kids we waited eagerly for any such fair to come up since it promised us lots of enjoyment; all kinds of fun rides, games and unrestricted binging on junk food. Mom and Dad were lenient and didn’t mind us getting overtly demanding and vocal. We could buy anything of our choice; clothes, accessories, games. I remember buying cute hand carved pen-stands and hair clips for myself from there and guarding them with my life. What fun!!

This time when I went back home I got a chance to visit one such Anand Nagari. I did enjoy myself, but what I enjoyed more was A Jr’s excitement and insistence to see each and everything! Here are some pics from back there. Do you miss these too??

One would expect a kid of his age to be scared of a merry-go-round but he simply loved it!! I had to hold on to him tightly to stop him from dancing in the moving riders. I'm sure he had a better time than I did :P

This one was my personal favourite. The ride was probably not more than a minute long for one round and the ride had 6-7 such rounds. I always insisted on riding it over and over again but gave it a miss this time :(

A Jr had the first baraf ka gola of his life. A mix of Rose and Cola flavours, he devoured it and slurped it greedily. Needless to say his whole dress was drenched in the sticky liquid, but watching him have it so diligently made me ignore all that :)

We girls have a radar which detects any chaat stall immediately. Without the slightest care of an already upset stomach and even more calories I ate and ate lots of pani puris. This one is the pic of the chana chor stall. Had some of it then and there and carried some back home too :)

I bought lots of beautiful bangles too, but was so busy selecting and buying them that taking a picture didn't even click me, pun unintended! :P

My parents just couldn't get enough of his antics. Even at this age my father took him around everywhere. He was physically drained but had a proud smile on his face throughout. Ditto with my mother. She was the one who fed him that baraf ka gola. Loads of patience, I must add. But that's how grandparents are, right? :D

And such was an awesome fun-filled evening. Tell me, did I take you back into your childhood too??

A GRAND Weekend

‘We’ll come to your place this weekend then. Papa has some work and I hate to be left behind, so I’ll be joining him’. These were my mother’s words when she announced that they’ll be coming on Friday and will be spending the weekend with us. I couldn’t help chuckling all the time while talking to her and even after hanging up. Why? Because I knew that all these were mere reasons to see A Junior! Grandma couldn’t take it that Grandpa (who in turn was cooking up a story himself) would play with their laadla grandson while she’s sitting alone at home watching repeat telecasts of Balika Vadhu. :)

A Junior, in turn, couldn’t be happier with all the attention showered upon him. Last two days he’s been riding high, getting loads of chocolates (which by the way were introduced to him just recently), new toys that he can dissect and pull out open, and lots and lots of hugs and kisses which are best left unnumbered. It’s remarkable (not for me!) how he’s already learnt that it’s his victory when Grandma or Grandpa scold Mamma for being strict about his eating and napping timings!

I never told this to my parents, but seeing all this made me feel a bit jealous, good jealous, if there’s anything like it. I lost both my Grandpas when I was very young. My paternal grandmother never really bothered herself a lot with us. My maternal grandmother was the sweetest and purest human being I’ve ever come across in my life. She was the perfect Grandma; who told us lots of those raja-rani ki kahaniyan, made us our favourite dishes and saved us from our mother’s anger whenever we disrupted her sweet afternoon nap. Even at her age, her skin had a glow that no fairness cream can boast of, and shiny black hair, not one grey. I miss her a lot, and seeing my parents with A Junior I wished I could get a hug from her too. May her soul rest in peace. Love you Ma (that’s what we all called her).

I can now understand why my mother always grumbled when our Grandma took sides with us. It's amusing to see how our own parents change once they get this promotion. Any complaint about A Junior made to my mother falls on deaf ears and I've to eat my own words everytime. As she herself puts it, ' मुद्दल से ब्याज हमेशा प्यारा होता है'  (We crave more for the interest earned than the principal amount itself)! 

(My value seems to be depreciating fast...but I'm not complaining :P )