Kanush's first year (Dec 2005 - Dec 2006)

My daughter was born on the 6th of December 2005. As if to prove she had my genes in her, she hurried out and my tickets home weren't till a month later. But her mother called me and told me all about it .. or as much as she could manage between sobs and chuckles (oh!! Yeah .. I was firing away with my poor jokes even at that moment). I hugged the receiver, blew a kiss to my daughter thousands of kilometers away and soaked up the feeling of becoming a father. For the sake of those who haven't become one yet, I'm not going to spoil it by describing any further.

I flew down the next month and finally saw her. That's right .. saw her .. it would be a full week before I held her. She was born premature and she looked really frail. On top of it there was this thought in the back of my head about some portion in the back of her neck that needed to be supported. Altogether it was a task that required finesse and skill .. and the last time checked I dint have either. So I held back on my temptation to give her a bear hug and a high five and waited patiently for her to 'muscle up' a bit. After a week of waiting I held her anyway .. albeit with her mom also holding her from the other side. She looked into my eyes and smiled. We bonded .. right there.

All wasn't rosy though, there are so many obstacles to overcome. Like the naming ceremony, easily my worst moment, one that exposed my deepest darkest secret. I couldn't sit with my legs folded and that was what the priest asked me to do. Nor did the added bulk after marriage help my cause. After a long, arduous and painful struggle I finally managed to fold and lock my legs. They stayed locked right through the ceremony .. and after it too. It took another long struggle to unlock them. But it was over. We named her Kanush, it means beloved, and that is what she is to us.

Three months later Kanush had passed all the fitness tests her grandparents could throw at her and her mother and she were declared competent enough to live with me in Hyderabad. The big day came. I rose early and spent the whole day cleaning and decorating the house. In the evening I gave up and paid the watchman's mother to do it all over again. Then I rushed to the airport, made it in the nick of time, and brought them home. I spent the whole night looking at her and harassing her mother. "she doesn't look comfortable". "What do you mean she doesn't need a pillow?" "Get out!! How could you say that!! I'm just trying to help" And on and on and on. I had bought a few child rearing books but she, having read them all, made sure everything she did was out of the book . It was frustrating to me who had build my expertise on the strength of the books I had read. Little by little she opened up. First with smiles, and then with chortles and gurgles and finally with words. She learned to crawl and took a sinister pleasure in watching our faces as she made a dash for the edge of the bed. That game ended recently when she fell out of the bed for the first time. Her first birthday has just passed and she had a wonderful time eating the wrapping of the presents while more resourceful kids made off with the presents themselves. She has given us some heartstopping moments but it's been a fun ride so far. I hope the future is just as joyful.