who was she?

There she was standing on her plump legs less than 2 feet tall trying her best to look up at me.. her kohl lined eyes were oh so beautiful and she was giving me the bestest of the toothless smile I have ever seen in my life.. I was just about to cross the road another 2 mins I would reach home… I was on my way back from office… it was at this juncture I met her with her granddad.. she was trying to take small steps in her pom pom shoes which made the cutest little sound when she wobbled around.. she had stopped to look and smile at me.. I smiled back.. “Jado ammi?” I asked her in tulu( my mother tongue) I am sure she dint understand nor did her granddad, but after that she did broaden her smile.. hey maybe she did understand!.. any baby I see I usually smile but this was the 1st baby who smiled at me first and was looking at me as though she knew me from beyond…
I bent down and touched her cheeks when her granddad proudly declared “ its her 1st birthday today”… Aaawwww I melted!.. regaining my composure back I rummaged though my bag and pulled out a big orange.( mom had given it to me in the morning to eat it during lunch which as usual I hadn’t)… just for a second I felt silly..
1.I dint know the baby or its granddad.
2.Why am I giving an orange of all the things?
3. what if the granddad threw it back at my face?

Strangers on the road offering his precious granddaughter a citrus fruit is not common is it?… strangely the granddad gave me a smile and told the baby “akka hathra thogoma”( take it from sister) AKKA! What nonsense! I have had even high school kids calling me aunty and iam akka for this baby??!! Not that I like being called aunty :P but this time I was more than willing for this baby.. I bent down and held it, she tried to grab it with her plump little hands. Ofcourse she couldn’t , she would need 4 such hands to carry it.. after the granddad took charge, I waved my hand as to say bye.. she did too, all the while smiling so sweetly at me… It was like she knew a secret and I was in it.. the grandpa and grand daughter moved away with the baby trying hard not to fall sideways off while walking… I started on my way too, the opposite direction.. I suddenly realized like a dodo I hadn’t even asked her name ... it dint matter.. all 3 of us were smiling thats was enough..

There was something intriguing about her.. I felt she knew something about me before hand…had we met before?when? she was just one year old...who was she??
Yer ammi ee?

Comments

KB said…
didnt know u knew tulu!

btw nice to know that the 1 yr old putti cd walk , my somaaari nephew took all of 17 months before he started walkin! lol! :)
u dont like oranges?
March 27, 2008 at 9:35 PM
Anonymous said…
sweet! :)
March 28, 2008 at 8:37 PM
Changelance said…
Buddy.. This is real you :)))Emotions witnessed there?? Priceless :)))))))) I wish I knew how to get my thoughts across in tulu coz words fail me to establish the innocence in the post.. let me try though"tigaleg tedil aakina lekka aand.. Lokesh ge kushi aan.. Au panper atha vou aapoondu yedddege aapoondu Sari panper :-)
April 1, 2008 at 7:57 AM
realistic dreamer said…
@Kb- ofcourse i know tulu! though not your "jeeeee" "neeeee" kinds. dont blame your nephew, its not his fault. He has inevitably inherited some genes from his somberi maaama for sure.

@shradha- you should have seen her!

@lokesh- Thnak you so much! :)) thats really sweet BTW you know TULU!!!! iam so glad to hear you speak in it!
April 3, 2008 at 3:24 PM
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