Special Relationships

Annaiya's being at home was a blessing for Aditya [and so for us, especially since I worked full-time [or more, often!]. Not that he actually looked after the baby, but I guess we felt more easy leaving Adit with the help, and they too might have been more careful in their care-giving, due to his presence. Naturally, the two became very close. Aditya would show off his skills to his grandfather, and they kept company at lunch-time from the beginning. When the toddler got to the stage of poring over picture books, and later to that of reading the books and playing with lego or meccano, he found a ready and appreciative spectator/audience too.
At the time of Adit's first birthday, Ramu was unable to come to Delhi to celebrate it; neither did I to take on a wider group all by myself, so I just invited Sundara and Prabha, the only relatives then in Delhi, over for dinner. Seeing Adit hurling himself from one end of the room to the other in his walker that went like a ring with wheels around him, Sundara remarked, 'This fellow is a menace in his walker!'

A very close family link was with Savithri and her family, especially Darshan, who was only a few years elder to Adit. We went often to their place and sometimes they came over. Later when Babi was transferred to Delhi, Adit did strike up a friendship with Uday and Malini, offspring of Lalitha, Ramu's second sister, but they were much older and since it did not begin when A was very young, it was less intimate. Similarly, later when Ramu's youngest sister, Tripuri and Vaman, were also transferred to Delhi, Sahana and Savitha, again elder to him by a few years, were such 'friends'.
Then there was Nirmala, Ravi and Gita's daughter, a couple of years younger to Adit, but they lived some way off and were quite busy themselves, so there was not so much interaction with her.

Adit's second birthday onwards, we began celebrating the anniversary by inviting these families and those of other children he was friendly with, in school or from our circle of friends. Being mid-winter, we would have the party on the pocket lawn in front of our house. When three years old, Aditya demanded an uniform, I think it was an air force one – probably in imitation of his uncle, Vaman. I had to scout around Delhi to get the bluish grey toddler size suit, hoping this was a passing fad, for I had no desire for my son to go into the airforce. Nor the army, for the next year, it was a soldier's uniform that he longed for – we got him a scout's outfit. [pix].
Anyway at about this age, he also had asked for bangles when once we saw some fancy ones; the vendor remonstrated that such things were only for girls, but I chided her, and bought him a pair, telling her, no problem if he wants them. That was certainly a very short-lived fancy.