Everyday Life

Caught red-handed! (Or Who Stole the Cookies from the Cookie Jar?)

Forgotten Firsts

Traditional parenting involves a keen attention to all the 'firsts' of a baby's evolution. For the more enthusiastic ones even a precise documentation of The Moment. You know, the first time they smile, flip, sit up, crawl, take a step, say mama/papa and so on. I am ashamed to say we have fallen behind tremendously in this department. At what age did Tara take her first step? When did she first utter a legible sound? Er. These kind of questions leave Tara's father and mother looking at one another blankly, not quite sure whose responsibility it was to have noted and documented, and remembered these details!

So here I am going to try to piece together for posterity, some from memory, some from digital aids (like a Cybershot viewer which tells you when a photograph was taken!) and some from general asking around, some of Tara's important and not-so-important Firsts.

First Holi: Sunday March 4th 2007 (thank you Cyber-shot viewer!) Saket house, New Delhi. Well, technically this is not her first Holi. (On her first Holi she was not even a month old!) But this was the one she was actually in her senses! Here she is enjoying her first gujias (they had to be hidden from her greedy clutches) with her first smears of gulal... Holi Hai!!

First time on an aeroplane: January 2007, Delhi to Mumbai. She didn't really get it this time round. Our excited attempts to point out planes on the runway were just met with bored stares. The second time however, later in April 2007, there was uncontrollable excitement and she was hooked.

First time on a train: February 2007. Rajdhani. Remarkably well behaved.

First time on a Mumbai local train: Yes. I've taken her on the legendary locals. Only once so far. Andheri to Grant Road. On some balmy afternoon in May 2007. Not something I will be repeating very soon.


First time on the beach: January 2007, Juhu Beach, Mumbai. In a pink and white tennis dress Tara met the wonder that is the sea as the sun set on Juhu beach. She gurgled with delight and wriggled with excitement as the waves licked her little ankles. (She is now a regular beach bum as this picture will show - that's Tara digging at Versova beach near our house.)







First day at her Playgroup: 3rd May 2006, at KIDZEE 7 Bungalows. She wore a pink dress and bloomers, mauve pumps, and a pink clip in her hair. (Which she lost three minutes thereafter.) She only cried briefly and forgot about us as soon as she was taken into a room full of kids singing nursery rhymes. (She is now a play-groupie currently enjoying her first Summer Hols. Here she is, not her first day, but the first day we managed to get her hair into two pony tails!)





First time she won a painting competition: End of term day 30th May 2006 at her Playgroup at the age of one year and almost four months. Tara made a scribble-fest with crayons of all colours UNAIDED and was declared the winner of the competition by popular voting as she was the youngest participant who had created her piece without any help from Papa (who had taken off to go to school with her for the end of term celebrations) or any of the Aunties.



First time paddling in her pool: Sunday afternoon some sundays ago!