Saturday, September 18, 2010

" YEH TO HONA HI THA ! (THIS HAD TO HAPPEN )

Thanks to Amy, I am in the grandparents' generation. Till now, I was made to feel like a grand father on account of the confidence reposed in me and friendship proferred to me on an equal footing by children of friends and neighbours. I am one in reality now on account of the arrival of this American citizen. Amy is my grandniece. I have dandled her mother on my feet and now it is her turn. She was born in the U.S.A. where her parents werte residing. Grandfathership was till now a state of mind. Now it is almost a state of fact.

She is a typical female. Tell her to come to you and she will run miles away. Tell her you are busy and that you should not be disturbed ; she will pester you with kisses. Being a typical female, she is always fond of males. Her daddy is her ideal. My sons being called Mama ( maternal uncle ), though less important, are immensely proud at achieving this distinction at so young an age. How can I blame them when I am myself so vain about being called Dada Mama ( Grand Uncle ). We are all as proud of Amy as if we had won the Nobel Prize.

Amy has become Ami ( Indianization of an American name ) on arrival in India. Ami means nectar and that is what she is to us. The other day, her third birthday was being celebrated. We were invited to her residence. I was the last arrival. After wishing her a happy birthday, I picked her up. Hugging her closely to my prickly beard, I asked for a kiss. "Not here", she objected. "People might be watching". I took her to a corner and kissed her. Little did I know that she, a typical female was testing my masculine ardour. I hoped that I was adequate.

The answer came as soon as I put her down. She burst into verse, mouthing a popular Hindi film song, eyes dancing along with the rest of her body,
" Ek main aur ek tu
dono milay is tarah
aur jo tan-man main
ho raha hai..........
( One you and one me, the two of us met thus. And what is happening to the body,soul........ )

And then with a sudden accelerated pace but coming to prose from verse,
"Yeh to hona hi tha" ( Well, it had to happen ! )

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