Living amongst lions, tigers, elephants & snakes

"Here are the lions, and the elephants are that side" said Nischal. I laughed, half at the statement, and half at the baby-talk. Snakes were elsewhere and monkeys owned their own corner too.

No.. this wasn't a visit to the zoo.
This was our apartment complex where we lived: The landscaping is pretty decent, and there are plenty of trees and bushes, but the jungles of Congo - it definitely wasn't.

Let me back up a bit, now that I've confused you just a little bit.
Nischal was around 18 months old then. 
The little always-drunk walker had one problem ( still has). He preferred being carried and would insist upon it with Gowri - his then nanny. Their evening walks would all be in the apartment complex.

She spun wild stories to get him to walk more.
Initially, it was "let's run & catch that butterfly up theere". Sadly, our area have primarily these light yellow colored butterflies.
So, you catch one guy, he's identical to his mother, brother, father and even his distant cousin.

Luckily for her, our visit to the Bannerghatta zoo/safari likely got her more fired up than Nischal.


Soon, Nischal was pointing out to me animals in specific areas in our apartment landscape where an lived. 
The darker corners where she didn't want him going, lived the snakes with big teeth. 
The bushes near our building lobby - where it was hard to lure him back home after playing - hid the lions. 
Pretty much any animal on his iPad zoo that she could pronounce was there somewhere in our apartment complex. 

Each time he mentioned this, I smiled indulgently and nodded in faked appreciation until one day it hit me.
All I saw were manicured bushes, while he every time just missed seeing a jumping lion or a trumpeting tusker.

It must be as wondrous to be in his shoes as it was boring to be in mine!

All for a gun

It was 9pm - time for the older brother to sleep. But he and little guy were fighting over the iPad for the Nth time. And this was after fighting N times over M other items.
Mom had been screaming at the older brother to go to bed. But neither was listening.

So, Dad found the need to finally step in.
"Nishu, go to bed!"
"But papa ..he .. "  he started
"I won't tell you again. I want you to go to bed right now and stay there" Dad said and turned away - not wanting to squabble about more life-and-death issues between a 9 year old and a 3 year old.

So, the older brother walks into the bedroom and gets onto his bed. He then realizes a crucial fact. His toy gun - the one which makes crazy noises and lights up like a christmas tree - was out there in the living room. He realizes that in his little brother's hands those fresh batteries would go dead before the little head hit the pillow for the night.
He calls out - not wanting to violate his dad's orders by coming out -  "Nischal! Can you bring my gun here?"

Nischal notices the gun. And picks it up with a smile.

'Nischal! Can you bring me my gun? Pleeease'  goes the brother.

"What did you say?" asks Nischal innocently.
"I said, can you bring my gun here?" says Nishu even more loudly.

Now - everybody in the apartment - in the far rooms were hearing this conversation. Only Nischal - practically standing outside his brother's room - was apparently not.  

"Sorry annaa ( older brother), I can't hear you" continues Nischal.

This continued for a couple more times before Nishu realized he was being played.

The forbidden drink in the fridge

Like his brother, Nischal also has asthma or asthma-like problems.
He also gets colds easily which turn into wheezing bouts requiring inhalers, nebulizers, etc.

So, his mom keeps a tight control on the cold stuff he eats. Ice creams are a rarity, sodas from the fridge border on extinction.
So, when pizza orders come with the complimentary pepsi bottles, or the occasional kiddie party where we ply his buddies with chips & colas - the left over bottle usually lands up in the fridge, and stays there.
Dad and Mom who are hitting their 40s in both age and hip-size - stay away from them.
So, that makes the fridge an awe-inspiring trove of the forbidden cold-soda for Nischal. He revels in watching the little fizz in his glass, and is immensely tickled by the little sprays on his lips when he gets the occasional sip.
The joy isn't limited to sodas.. but even juices and drinks like gatorade - anything chilled.

Now, mom recently got some gatorade powder that she uses to whip up bottles for his brother's tennis sessions. He's been watching with fascination, but didn't get much further.
So, yesterday night after mom went to bed started the project on dad.

He got hold of a powder sachet and started the be(u)gging. Dad tried ignoring him, but as usual, this one doesn't easily get distracted like the brother. Finally at 11 pm, dad was forced to make the drink, and give him a cup.
But the joy turned to anger when he saw that he could get only a small cup, and the rest was going to the fridge. Dad held steadfast - he had previous  bed-wetting adventures to bolster him.

Morning came, and a new strategy was put into action.

First, there was 'I love you, Papa!', and the hug. Dad was pleased with this rare preference.
And then came  'Papa, see!'  followed by deep breathing.
Last came the pronouncement - 'Papa, I have no cough, and no cold!'
Dad, glancing victoriously at Mom, widened his grin and made all the appreciatory noises. 'Great, Raja! You're  a strong boy!'
With the trap now set, Nischal turns around and runs into the kitchen. The fridge door slams, and out he came with the gatorade bottle and a glass.
Also comes out a sugary sweet smile and sweeter words laced with milk & honey - 'Papa, can I have some? '

As Dad is digging deep in his brain for words,
Mom lets out a sly smile that says 'He knew the idiot to target, didn't he? '

Is this juice?

Now Nischal is tall enough that he can almost pee standing up at the commode.
So, dad got creative: He started making Nischal stand on his feet - so he could reach the proper height.

But dad didn't count on the fact that Nischal could now see things in quite a different light.
So, the first day Nischal pops the question pointing in the commode.
    - "ಪಪ್ಪಾ , ಇದು ಆರೆಂಜ್ ಜೂಸ್ ಆ ? " ( " Papa - is this orange juice? " )
Dad - having visions of Nischal dipping a straw - quickly, and emphatically said "NO!"  

Nischal had a day to mull over it.
Next day comes another question:
 - "ಪಪ್ಪಾ, ಇದು ಬೇರೆ ಜೂಸ್ ಆ? " ( " Pappa - is this some other juice? " )
The hapless dad again went "ಅಲ್ಲಾ, ಅದು ಯಾವ ತರಹದ ಜೂಸ್ ಅಲ್ಲ!" ( "NO! .. thats not any kind of juice!" )
He stopped short of mentioning straws - realizing just in time that his horrific vision might get implemented if he did.

Now, he just makes sure straws from the restaurant never come home.

Naptime with grandma

1 Jan 2012. Nischal is 3.

He was spending time with his sushi ajji( grandma).. and dad/mom weren't around. Automatically he insisted with grandma that he wanted the TV on.
Ajji - willing to sell her soul for a hug & a kiss - readily turned it on.
Thankfully, while Chota bheem pranced on onscreen, nap time also hit. Our man's little eyelids were drooping. He would still hit surface occasionally to make sure nobody turned his precious TV off.

Unlike the all surrendering ajji, our visiting aunt Usha - a teacher - still had her conscience switch in the 'ON' position. She took the opportunity and cleverly turned off the fan, and then the TV.

The drooping eyes snapped open - " Who.. What ..  Why ..? "
Usha aunty was clever - " No beta, the power has gone".
The little guy looked around to verify, and gave up. He went around the rooms for a little stroll, and then decided to join his already semi-napping ajji in the bedroom.
Ajji - unaware of Usha aunty's subterfuge - had her little stereo turned on with her bhajans singing her a lullaby.

Pat came the question: "How come the power is on here? The stereo is playing?"

While ajji scrambled for an answer, came Usha aunty to the rescue again   " No beta, we've put batteries in it. Thats how its playing"

Satisfied, and after testing the bed thoroughly for its springiness, the little master fell asleep after 10-15 minutes.