Chilli !

Chilli!

Anandhi naming Thejas !

Toothless wonder - see the eyelashes?

In the millennium year a new light floated into our lives and we joined the club of parents with two boys! The shortlist of names kept getting longer to combo well with Pranav’s and finally the chosen one was the Bright Spot –Thejas (with the ‘H’ added South Indian Style), proposed by Bachhu (his uncle) an immediate hit with all at home. Thejas arrived on time, didn’t make a great fuss and was a cool cucumber happy clocking 16 hours of sleep a day. This time Anandhi the elder aunt was there to name him and she saw a naughty teasing streak in him and Thejas got his nick name – Chilli!

Mickey Birthday @ 1

Won't give a Kiss baby!

With the second we marvelled at the balance in god’s creation, ensuring you cannot take anything for granted. By now we were experienced parents to a baby boy and Pranav was a loving big brother to Thejas but Thejas was different. Diametrically opposite. If Pranav loved food, Thejas lived out of thin air.  If Pranav was bindass, Thejas was prim & proper. If Pranav slept through a storm, Thejas woke up to a whisper. If Pranav was early bed and early rise, Thejas stayed awake and enjoyed talking to the shadows of thecurtains and woke up late like a king. I don’t know of anybody who did it but we peeled the skin for Thejas to have grapes and squeeze pomegranate pod by pod –else it was no-no.

He loved to be carried on the shoulder!

Thejas was cool with his progress as an infant. He took his own time to turn, crawl and walk – never in a hurry. He had however, fairly early on, an uncanny sense of balance. He would insist on sitting on the arm of a chair, crawl at the edge of a table. And once he got walking only two options were left for us – either to carry him or let him run – he to date does not like sitting and can’t keep still especially for photos and loves to stand on one leg like a stork.

I am a joker na?!

Thejas is from the Y2K generation and took early to anything modern. He didn’t like books but loved playing with puzzles and assemblies. It was three when we sent him to school and promptly he stopped using his mother tongue (Tamil) and took only to English. He would be guided by big brother Pranav but had his own style. Those were days of Dil Chahta Hai, which was a hit not just with us but with the boys too. If Pranav would jump to Koi Kahe, Thejas would watch and do a cool kick dance for Dil Chahta Hai. But come a sad song like Tanhayee – both will get serious and sit in a corner with gloomy face. You can get Pranav to chuckle and laugh making fun of their serious faces but not Thejas.

3 wise men of Jerusalem!

Chilli was a man of few words – he spoke more through gestures and often just a movement of his really big eyes. But it was his long eyelashes which floored young girls. He would mischievously blink rapidly not letting them adore his eyelashes. He was 3 when we moved to Cairo. This together with going to a British school there sealed him to western tastes in almost everything – especially food.

as DASH - he loved his hair flying !!

Thejas revelled in mischief and being branded naughty. As a baby he would not kiss but taunt anyone asking for one. Food was anathema and he could sleep off trying to eat. Messing up and running away delighted him. Look at the string of characters he adored Jerry mouse, Tweety, Road runner, Spiderman (because he hangs around), Dash (from incredible)...

Here's the Tweety Birthday!

Those were days when I globe trotted and twice he got hospitalised due to dehydration. When they say we may not accept but it has affected him and to this day he does not look his age but much smaller and younger. He loved to talk in gibberish and keep you guessing the most nagging one being referring to almost everything as a ‘thingy’ – and we had to fit to context and figure what is this ‘thingy’.

Hey I'm ready for the shopping cart!

Here comes the Spiderman!

As we moved around, Pranav and Thejas kept great company. With just 2 ½ years between them they grew well together. We enjoyed armchair gaming – Thejas would stand behind Pranav in the chair or Sofa while he plays  on the comp or game boy and give him instructions or expert guidance – it was funny. Thejas was ultra flexible and could squeeze into anything from shopping bags to buckets. He loved dancing and Michael and Shah Rukh had competition at home.

Always playful and quirky he is there to brighten up our lives. True to himself he has chosen to head towards the fantasy land of animation and gaming...

...realised its been a year since I wrote last, but promise myself to get the millenium narrative moving...