Tiku !

vidya & pranav @ naming 

The big boy arrived – a bundle of joy - Pranav , fresh with every breath. While it was common to have a house name it was not common to have a nickname. Something sparked Tiku (short for Tiger Kutti – or a little tiger) and was an instant hit. Like a child is very creative, a child at home triggers endless creativity. Tiku sent a card to his grandparents saying he has arrived and they have to just pamper him, which they have taken to since then and not stopped at all... Tiku belongs to the Lion king generation when the entire world of cartoons transformed. The formal naming happened on the 11^th day – Anathakrishnan alias Pranav alias Tiku got set to add meaning to our life since then, making us do things we never thought of or at times even dreamt off.

simba welcomes tiku

In the early days in Chennai Tiku was a handful and kept people awake at night and I was forewarned to prepare for night shift of baby sitting. Tiku and Vidya arrived in Jan and by then a car had arrived Mumbai. The age of video also set in with a handycam  and the room for Pranav got prepared. Tiku glided into Mumbai and settled in with ease. The weather was good, the house convenient and Sulochanabhai would do a maalish and wrap him and he was all at peace. All the noise of him waking through the night vanished – nice music and a light lullaby glided him to sleep. Tiku kept rapid pace in progressing. He started recognizing early, turned, crawled and started sitting up early. Back from office one had to pick him up first and only then anything.  The joy a child gives is unparalleled and each one being different makes it special. Having been an uncle to my nieces and nephews,  my love for playing with children, made it easy for me to handle Tiku. Whether it was holding him as a baby, anticipating moves or figuring out to make him stop crying or have a good laugh, all the earlier preparation helped. And Tiku had his share of uncles and aunts smothering him with affection and enjoying while he grew up.

water melon chase

He had quite a few people visiting regularly and transiting through Mumbai to see and play with him. Friends advised that the best way to manage is to go with life as it was before the arrival and not to fuss and be at home because of the child. This was of great help. So by the time he was 4 months, we started going to restaurants, get togethers. He started sitting and would join on short trips to market in the car. He hated the walker and loved moving around. So the classic caution of moving things a few feet up and keeping the home free up to waist level worked, except in kitchen with open shelves stacked with vessels.

as little (sumo) krishna

Pranav loved food, books and music and it was more of what to do more which one had to figure out. Anything that rolled was a favourite – a doll, a car or a water melon and he could keep chasing it tirelessly. He about 8-9 months when my father had some health issues and he & Vidya spent extended time in Chennai. He got his first mottai (mundan / tonsure) at Tirutani and became fully mobile when he started to walk in the 10^th month. The only ways to contain him was to give a book or the car (toy or real). He could never say if he was hungry or sleepy and it was an art to figure this out. He had become a little sumo (like some of my friends would call him), liked walking, cackling with anyone new he saw. It was amazing to see how the body clocks worked so early in a child. Whether it was waking up or time for the evening stroll he would prompt at the right time.

Anathakrishnan - Pranav - Tiku

books -first love

and then came the car

The first birthday is always special and he had three celebrations – one in Mumbai, two at each of the grandparents. All of them were a hit. Birthday parties meant having activities to keep not the children but the mother also involved to play games, which they most happily did. The Mumbai birthday went off well though Tiku was not too well but in all the excitement, we later realized we had video but not a single pic of his first calendar birthday. But nevertheless, while there can be many things priceless, the sheer arrival of a new born and the things that happen at home and the way each child develops is one of the most creative, unconventional and unparalleled journey we go through as parents.

Tiku monopolised time and turned to be a great entertainer. Food and feeding him was a delight as he relished almost anything and appreciated it and strangely did not take to chocolates or other junk stuff. Has had an ear for music from early on and would amazingly select the best songs in an album and want them to be played more. Books fascinate him and went with him every where till the toy cars arrived and he would hold one in each hand all through - stretching the obsession to make us sing a lullaby with cars in it. Undoubtedly the period as a child grows till he goes to school is so full of experiences and rubs off to one's life, unique to each child and with Pranav it was and continues to be fresh with every breath!

the beetle -car birthday

the hyabusa bithday

the lion king birthday