I have fond memories of my beloved Naniji’s and Nanaji’s home and the fun that we had as kids while at their place, it’s surely a different feeling and experience with grannies. I am sure that Gianna will also cherish the time she spent with her Naniji and Nanaji.
I was filled with joy to reach my home town because Gianna was meeting two of her first cousins and her eldest mausi for the very first time. I was waiting to see the action and reaction from all of them. As expected, everyone was more excited to meet Gianna than me! Gianna took few days to get accustomed to the new place.
Now, the situation is such that she knows each and every corner of the house. I have to constantly keep track of her movements to ensure that she is playing safely. There is a bright green color swing for her and a tri-cycle that keeps her engaged all day. Nani-Nana never stop smiling and talking to her. She is the apple of their eyes. She is so precious to them that every time I get all the scolding even if it is her mistake. Aah! I think it is a normal affair in every house where there are children… I believe that grandparents are more caring to their grandchildren! I knew this time that it will be a great learning experience for me too about the family bonding and better managing a kid.
Gianna knows how to cajole her Nanaji. She calls him as “nana”, and if he doesn’t respond to her at first then she calls him “papa”. This trick worked well with both her grandpas. Now the dear ‘nanaji’ has nothing more important to do but to give his attention to her innocent talkings. There is also an interesting way how they interact with each other. He whistles to her to bid goodnight and Gianna also whistles back to him in her own way. Isn’t it amusing? Since, its winter time in India, her nanaji keeps her fists in his hands to give them warmth. Whenever Gianna wants this to be done she calls her nana and says “dono”(which means close my fists under your fists). Gianna also likes to play harmonium with him. Nanaji loves her laughter so much that every day he fakes laughter to hear her laughs. Every night she asks him “nana pair dabaoo”…
“Nani teri morni ko mor le gaya, baki jo bacha tha kale chor le gaye…” this is how Gianna woo her nani. She sings this song for her quite a number of times in a day. I have seen such warm and childish expressions on my mother’s face after a very long time. Nani and Gianna eat mumphalis (peanuts) together. Gianna loves to play with bindis. One day she was looking at a video of her nani in nanaji’s mobile. Naniji did not have a bindi in that video so she asked naniji “nani bindi dedo”. She took the bindi from nani’s forhead and stuck it to her picture in the mobile. Giannu you deserve a big hug from all of us for this thoughtful act of yours!
Mausis are shooo qute(cute)- Ritu mausi and Richa mausi love her so much that they keep cuddling her whenever they get a chance to hold her. They love listening to Gianna saying “shooo cute” from her because her facial expressions also speak in it. Being the youngest grandchild of the family, she gets special attention by all.
Guddu-didi Cheena-didi wow, Sai-didi, Soham-bhaiya wow - this is how Gianna calls her didis and bhaiya. They all make best of their attempts and efforts to entice her to play with them. She is dearly pampered by each one of her elder cousins. Gianna sees videos with her didis and bhaiya plays bay-blade with her. These elder ones take chances to take her one by one.
Aarti didi, Pooja didi, Shubham bhaiya, aajaooo - These three adorable kids play with her every day. She spends hours playing with them in the living rooms, lobby area, and in the garden during evenings.
This time, I am much more contended with my stay at my hometown than ever, because Gianna and my parents had spent some beautiful time together and for me it was a treat to watch them. I thank God for giving Gianna and me this opportunity to stay with them for a good period of time. I wish that we get such chances often! Amen!
