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| 1st June 2019 – Happy 10th Birthday Dearest Ava !! |
It’s a Hap-Hap-Happy
Birthday ! A Hap-Happy Birthday to You ! 😊
Take a bow, take a bow, on your
birthday, your birthday, show them how, show them how, on your birthday, a
Hap-Happy Birthday to You !! 😊
Dearest 10 year old Avani !! 😊
As I start to pen this, Daddy is driving us through the ‘orange
trees laden streets’ of Valencia – a beautifully laid out Spanish City of Arts
& Sciences, famous for its futuristic complex of museums & theatres. What
better way to bring in your birthday with a Summer Vacation break in Spain – one
of the many cultural centres of Europe, the land of Flamenco music and dance,
bullfights, fantastic beaches and lots of sunshine.
As you’re seated in the front seat with Abhijeet kaka, your
chirping doesn’t stop – so really, that’s the one thing that hasn’t changed
since the time you started to mumble as a baby! 😊 When inquisitive &
chirpy kids like you go silent, it’s usually a cause of concern. A signal that
your child is showing signs of withdrawal – and I would never ever want that! So,
continue to be, the sparkling self that you are! 😊
I’m sure, your “what’s, why’s n how’s” will only get amplified and
applied, in seeking answers to anything and everything – from “why can’t we
have a pet dog?”, to the very existence of this universe. ! 😊
As you turn 10 today, I can’t help but take myself back in time to
being your age. I had just finished my primary schooling until 4th
grade, in Narmada Education Socierty’s Dr. JW Iryan English Medium School in
Satara. We had shifted to Pune in our 1st self-owned house, resulting
from the innate desire of Abba and Lata Aajji to educate their children in the famously
known “OXFORD of the east” !
Abba had made innumerable attempts at ensuring I got an admission
to a convent school. Coming from an English medium in Satara, to a convent in Pune,
I battled my own sense of insecurities as a 10 year old. My command over English
was extremely poor, I had no idea what Grace, Poise or Diction meant – a criteria
used to set the benchmark for “ladies-in-becoming” at the convent of Jesus n Mary’s
St. Joseph High School Pashan ! It took me about a year, to get over my inferiority
complex and soon, I too walked around with a sense of dignity and pride, a sense
of belonging to my school and to our new house, that I still fondly call my “Real
Maher” – cause that’s where I grew up with Anant Mama, Lata Aajji and Aabba - from
a child to a teen to an adult! 😊
In those terms, I see a lot of the “Younger-Sayli” in Avani ! 😊 Your sense of nationalism that comes from watching / playing a
sport [while you chose badminton and I chose hockey], your divine sense of
belonging towards the school, your overflowing love for family and friends, a
great set of friends to call your besties, the way you unapologetically express
yourself – nice, loud and clear, how well you are able to reason out arguments
and express your disappointments, how cheerful you are with the smallest of
wins and equally graceful with handling failures!
Over the last year, you have been more than a daughter to me - You’re
like my guardian angel, 😊 and I dearly love you so ! 😊 As much as I love to give you varied perspectives on things -
that you like to call solutions, 😊 you’ve made my life a lot easier with yours! 😊 And If there’s anything Daddy and Me wish for you, it is hoping that
you are able to take more care of your eyes, apart from starting to write your
book of “Values! “
And before I sign off, I wish to reinforce the dreams you’ve had
as a child – at a tender age of 7, you already knew, exactly what, you wanted
in life! Following in the footsteps of Mayura Attu, You wish to become a doctor
for small children (child specialist / paediatrician). Inspired by Abba and
Lata Aaji’s house, You wish to own a bungalow with not one, but two dogs 😊 – you even knew the breed of the dogs you want – a Mastif and a
Boxer !!! (and Daddy always says German Shepherd) You want 2 children post marriage to a loving husband,
a Girl and a Boy apart from the 2 dogs!! 😊
You also felt that Mayura Attu doesn’t charge any money for
treating her patients and hence you would treat your patients for free!! 😊 I still laugh on recalling Daddy’s reaction to that !! 😊 However, at the same age of 7 you’ve been novel enough to say,
that you don’t want a lot of money, but just enough money for our family and the
house. And that’s why, after having that much, you would treat children free of
cost, which I think you very well must!!
Remember, we are all here for bringing about a positive change in
this world, through our Values, Knowledge, Wisdom and Work, and hence, it is
always a responsibility of the privileged to uplift the less-privileged!
Lata Aajji also has a dream, that her grandchildren should be
Nobel-laureates – I hope you achieve this for all of us through your great work!!
Wishing you a very Happy & a Healthy New Birthday Year June 2019-
June 2020 !! 😊
Here’s Mumma making a promise to write you a letter for each of
your birthday’s hereon – so stay tuned for the next ! 😊
Loads of Love, Hugs, Cuddles n Kisses ! 😊
-Mumma 😊
