One to Nine (updated)

Nine months seems like a good time to put these photos up.
(with the two month pix from Purvi masi)

Day One with Mamma still all tubed up

One Month old and still pretty clueless

Two months old and still suffering from colic

Three Months old and finally 5 kilos


Four Months old and roams around in a stroller

Five Months old and has already tasted real food

Six Months old and a seasoned traveler

Seven Months old and can sit up by himself

Eight Months and a quadped (but serious attempts at bipedal locomotion)

Nine Months old and an experienced gourmand with two bottom chompers showing bright and sharp

Don't have any pix of Vyom at two months! Can Purva masi help?

(she did! And reminded me that all the 2 month pix are on Baba's comp. Thanks masi!)

Travelling Again

Today Vyom left with his baba for Kolkata. His thamma had left three days ago to open up the house for him and today he has gone to his dadu's house where his baba grew up for the very first time.


Mamma couldn't come along because mamma has to go to work but she plans to join them sometime after a few weeks. This was the first time that baba travelled with Vyom all by himself but he was so good at it that he actually got compliments from fellow travellers. Indian men travelling alone with a baby are a very rare sight in India.


So, for a few weeks there won't be any new posts but I'll try to put up pix and posts about his visit to Delhi in Oct.


For now, here is a pix of Vyom standing all by himself, taken with great difficulty.

Look Mamma No Hands!!

This is a short video clip I tried to take of him trying to stand by himself. He can usually stand for longer before having a great fall

Merry Christmas

Christmas was a super fun day for Vyom. He got to go to Doncy masi's new apartment to wish her. He was all dressed-up in new clothes sent by his Pinka masi and was very excited, but for some reason when he saw Doncy masi he almost didn't recognise her! After all he last saw her over 6 weeks ago and he has grown so much in 6 weeks (and has started recognising people). This came as a big surprise for all the adults because Vyom has been seeing his Doncy masi ever since he was a li'll babe with unfocussed eyes. He even went to the Infant Jesus Shrine with her when he was less than three months old, where masi and mamma gave thanks for him.

But after sometime, he was his normal friendly self and set out to explore.

He just couldn't believe his luck that he was actually set free to go wherever he wanted with no mamma, baba or thamma running behind him to keep him confined on a 3ft by 6ft carpet.

He loved the shiny new floors and the bright colour of the walls, but most of all he loved the christmas tree with all the shiny lights and baubles.

Doncy masi had made a fantablous christmas lunch of appam and mutton stew, fish fry, mutton cutlets, fish curry, Kerala kadhi, cabbage, rice, and caramel custard. Of course, Vyom couldn't have any of it so he has to wait till next year. He did try a teeny-weeny bit of the plum cake and made a grab for the sweet red wine.

For that he has to wait for many more years!

We were all wondering if he would refuse to recognise Sri masi as well because she has been so busy with her studies that she hasn't had the time to visit Vyom. But no, he gave her an instant smile and was happy to be with her as always

After the grown-ups had eaten so much that it didn't seem likely that they could move, they did, and Vyom had to say bye to Doncy masi. He carried home his christmas plum cake which his parents and grandmother enjoyed (thank-you Doncy masi!) but Vyom didn't mind because he was just happy to have been there.

9 months old

Vyom turned nine months old yesterday. And there are several important events to report:

• Vyom is not a shortie as feared by his parents (and thamma). According to the Babyweekly that I subscirbe to, at nine months old, babies usually range from 26.25 inches long and 16 pounds (10th percentile) to 29 inches long and 21.5 pounds (90th percentile). Vyom's baba and mamma measured him up with great difficulty (keeping Vyom on his back and straight is difficult even when he is fast asleep, when he is awake, it is next to impossible) and he is around 27 inches (or 26, or even 29, he really wriggles around a lot!). So, even by a conservative estimate, he is fine for his age, especially since the Babyweekly is US based and hence the estimates are for much bigger babies.
• My attempts to teach him what baba, mamma mean have had unexpected results. When asked where is baba, where is mamma in any of the three languages spoken at home, he immediately looks at the fish. So, baba is machlibaba and mamma maachma. Bengali genes showing through.
• Saved the best for the last. Yesterday, Vyom actually stood by himself (without holding on to anything), for 30-40 seconds. I tried to video the event but every time I would bring out the camera, he would get interested in snatching it from me (and this requires holding on to something with one hand). But today morning, I had put him in his cot and was sitting on the bed beside it having tea, when he not only left his hand and stood by himself, but also took very wobbly three steps forward before losing it all and plonking on his backside looking very bemused.

Nine months and already trying to walk! How about that ?

First Diwali and Tika

It was Vyom's first Diwali on 9th Nov. He spent it in Bangalore with Mamma and Purva Masi and it was a hectic few days for Vyom.

While mamma had to go to work before Diwali, masi got to work at home and did all the cleaning and decorating of the house with flowers and rangoli.

For Dhanateras mamma decided to buy a small little pressure cooker to cook delicious gloop (as Sri masi calls it) for her little gastronome. (More on Vyom's food habits in another blog).

On Chhoti Diwali , Doncy masi came to visit Vyom with a BIG present. Vyom now has an orange space-rider with a whole lot of colourful accessories. Only problem is that he has to wait for some more time to be able to use it as it is suitable for 18+ months. But that doesn't stop him from posing in it for a photograph. Actually, if truth be told, Vyom probably will not wait till he's 18 to ride this one!

Diwali puja was the highlight of the festival. Vyom sat mesmerised before the decorated puja place (Purva masi had made it so beautiful)

and heard all the mantras and aarti in total silence. He got to help in lighting the diyas and candles in the house and use his very own silver cup that Purva masi had got him for his first diwali.

Pinka masi had sent Vyom a plaster of paris kit to take his handprints for his first diwali but mamma decided that she'll use it for his first birthday instead.

Don't masi and Vyom look gorgeous in their diwali outfits?

Vyom visited Mamma's office along with Purva masi. After the combined effort of mamma, masi, Naim uncle and a couple of security guards, the stroller finally opened and Vyom rode in his stroller all the way to mamma's cabin and slept most of the time as mamma worked. On waking up, he didn't quite like the surroundings too much and decided to protest a little loudly. (Or perhaps it just sounded loud to a shushing and embarassed mamma, this was her first time too!)

Later Vyom was pacified by a stroll to the local shanti sagar, where mamma and masi had lunch.

Two days after Diwali was tika or Bhaiya dooj and Vyom dressed up in his new clothes to go and visit Sashu didi, Skanda bhaiya and Radhika mami. There Sashu didi put tika of saffron and rice sent by Keya didi on Vyom and gave him a little bit of sweet to taste.

Vyom gave Sashu didi bangles as a present to thank her.

All in all, Vyom quite enjoyed his first diwali but the best part was that Purva masi could be there to take care of him and celebrate it with him!

Fishy Tales

I had thought that I'll go chronologically over the events in the past few months but this is an important milestone that I want to record on the right date.
Vyom has been babbling for quite some time and can say baba, mama, dada, dey do, and a whole range of other sounds. We respond to his babbling and talk to him a lot too but till now we were not very sure that he can actually associate the sounds with any objects . He turns around towards you if you call out "Vyom" (but not if you say "Chandu" or "Bittu" or anything else) But today we know that he has actually begun to make the connection between other words and objects too. We have a terracotta fish hanging from the roof of the lobby and everytime I or Vyom's grandmom crosses it we point to it, say "fish" and make it turn. And today, when Vyom's thamma asked Vyom "where is fish?" he actually turned around and looked up towards the fish.
Needless to say we are trying this again and again and I am very sure that after sometime Vyom will get too tired of this silly game that all the grown-ups are playing.
In the mean time, I am pointing baba, mamma, thamma in the hope that he will learn that too!

Dharamsala Trip

In the second week of September 2007 Vyom accompanied his mamma to Dharamsala where she had to attend a summer school in linguistics. Baba, who had headed towards Manali some days before also joined them there. While mamma sat through long lectures on theoretical syntax, Vyom esconced in his baby carrier went up and down Dharamkot and McLeodGunj on Baba

He saw the mountains, and a Tibetan lady selling beads,

Tibetan prayer stones,

and even a cow eating noodles!!

Vyom turned the prayer wheels with mamma at the Temple of His Holiness the Dalai Lama,

where he saw a lot of monks and made friends with an old Tibetan grandmom who gave him a beautiful wristband to match his dress.

Later, his Seb kaka came all the way to Dharamsala especially to see him and Vyom went with him and mamma&baba to

Norbulinka to see Thangka schools in progress

and a beautiful huge statue of Gautam Buddha

Dharamsala is great fun,

you can eat in an Italian restaurant (and change diapers too, but that is another story), meet Akhil mamoo, sit and enjoy the view with mamma, and when it gets cold, snuggle into your warm coat.

But best of all you get to ride on baba and see the mountains from really close up!

Back after a long time

There have been no posts in Vyom's blog for almost three months because of several reasons. We were all traveling a lot in the past three months due to work and other personal crisis. Vyom's dadu fell ill in Oct and we lost him on 15th Nov. It all happened very fast and we are still recovering from the loss. Vyom may not remember his dadu when he grows up but he will have the pictures and the stories to know how special he was to his dadu. It is sad that he can not see Vyom growing up but we are glad that he got to see Vyom and arrange his annaprashana and spend whatever little time he could with Vyom.

Vyom is almost nine months now and getting to be a big boy. I'll be posting posts with pix from the last three months in the next few entries. Hopefully I'll be synced with realtime soon.

Here's a pix of Vyom mooing a duet with cow for red-bird and ladybird. Photo courtesy pupsi masi

Touch Down Delhi

Vyom flew for the first time on 5th with his parents and came to Delhi to meet his nanoo-nani.

He had his very own boarding pass even though as an infant he can only travel on mamma-seat or baba-seat.

At Delhi, he surprised his Pappu nani and Veena nani because they had no idea that Vyom was about to arrive. Vyom hid in the car with mamma and baba and then when both the nanis were inside with nanoo-nani, they ran inside shouting "surprise". This is the first time Vyom and Pappu-Veena nanis had met each other. And needless to say, like his mamma, Vyom too loved being there and felt like the king of the place

He also spent a lot of time with nanoo learning new songs.

Last time nanoo and nani saw Vyom he looked like this.

Isn't he almost a big boy now?

Annaprashana - the full story

This is about Vyom's annaprashana (see post below) that I had promised to post after I return from Belgium.
We started early in the morning by feeding and giving Vyom a bath. He was in a really good mood that day and though a little confused with this early start, bore it with immense good humour and lots of smiles. I was so sure that he will throw up milk all over his brand-new dhoti-kurta (embroidered in orange, mustard yellow and gold by yours truly) that I took him to the temple in an old onesie and changed him into the dhoti-kurta at the temple.


The dakshin kali (the benevolent form of kali) temple at Yeshwantpur was our destination that morning where the priest had experience in conducting the annaprashana ceremony in the Bengali tradition.

Vyom was very pleased with his new dress along with the gold bangles that Radhika mami got for him and the gold chain that dadu and thamma had given him. Unfortunately, Radhika mami and Skanda dada were not there as Skanda dada had fever.

The priest did the puja and arti of ma kali

as Vyom looked on sitting with his mamma and slightly bemused baba

After the arti and puja, Srig mama gave Vyom his first taste of payesh from the silver bowl and spoon given by Rama masi

At first Vyom wasn't so sure of the taste but then when everyone, including dadu, Sri masi, Doncy masi and Sashu didi fed him payesh three times each, he began to like it.

After such a tiring morning, which Vyom enjoyed thoroughly and did not once cry or create a fuss, he came home and spent some time playing with Doncy masi and Sashu didi. Sashu didi also tied him rakhi on behalf of Keya didi and Sushara didi, and herself , of course.

And then Sitaram mama and Katyayini mami came with Pranav bhaiya and Sriya didi.

Vyom had to change into his festive clothes again and put on the sandalwood tilaks and the flower garland for the next step in the ceremony. Srig mama sat again with Vyom in his lap while dadu offered him a plate full of choices for his future.

He could choose: pen or book if he wanted to be a scholar, rice or banana if he wanted to be a farmer, mud if he wanted lots of land and property, and coin if he wanted money (of course). After making a beeline for the pen and then throwing it out of the plate, and doing the same with the rice, Vyom decided he wanted none of it. So, he is either going to be a scholarly farmer or, if he truly didn't want it all, a sanyasi!

And then there was more food to eat...

All that lovely food made by Thamma

A little fellow gets tired with all that eating and needs to relax with his kaka

Sri masi is great fun all the time but in her pink and gold kanjeevaram silk saree, she is the best!