"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!
Friday, July 27, 2012
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