Niha is Nineteen today

I was badly in need of a break and me and Niha (she had holidays after her first semester)had a good trip to Goa, mostly Old Goa.Now i am feeling fresh and this post is for my Nymphs. I had promised a few friends that i would blog about my trip. But Niharika wants to write about it so i am leaving it to her!!

When Niha was in pre school i remember, one day she had brought home a slate belonging to her classmate. I thought it must have come into her bag by mistake. But i was surprised when she said she got it on purpose. 'I liked the orange border' so i got it home. I had a tough time explaining  to her that one  just does not bring things belonging to other people. She also went on to say that she always took colourful eatables (those garish coloured things from Bakery usually in villages where they do not know that most of the food colours are harmful)from her classmate's tiffin box. I was a bit worried and hastened to the school to talk to the teacher and i was sure the complaint would be long...and i was not much wrong there. What do i see there? Niha was talking to her classmates, gyrating from her seat, nineteen to the dozen!! i would have run out from the class but alas!! the teacher saw me and beckoned to me!!

Teacher complained that Niharika would not write the proper spelling of words. after she came home i asked her why she did that..she said if the word is 'silent' what is the point of writing and wasting my time' hehehehe...of course i did not tell her teacher that...Instead we got into this game 'English is a silly language so we have to 'write' the silent letters.. her words usually ran like this first - fist, as long it is pronounced like this what is the point in writing  'r.:-). Later on she got all cent percent on her spellings!! and now her english is very good and she loves to read... a lot!!
this is her blog http://nihamemories.blogspot.com/

She and Malavika, both, used to observe us and the visitors to our home and mimic them to a perfection. To the people they were just two silent spectators..well behaved and all that...but once they left home all hell broke loose and we used to guffaw...even now they do that...

Then Niha would perceive of people in terms of colour and numbers.....just last month i learnt of the word 'synaesthesia' She says she still does that but is quiet about it.

She is a kindred soul....easily moved to tears at the sad plight of others....human or animal. At the same time time injustice angers her!!
Just the other day i found her crying silently. on asking the reason she said the stray dog on our street is going to die. It has huge cancerous tumerous on its body. some of the tumours were ruptured and oozing. I went out and looked at the dog which was licking itself all over. so i told her we have two options. one- i will sit  and cry with you. second-come we will take it to the vet. but i doubt whether he will really care for a stray dog. some how i dont really know why i thought the dog would cure itself. It was licking its sores vigourlously. strangely i proved to be true. gradually the dog cured itself...and i was glad to see the sunny smile back on Niha. :-)

The other day i got a call. 'Mom a bike just ran over a kitten and its hind part is all goner' what shall i do?? i asked her what she had in her mind..'she said she would take it to the vet and get it home' i said 'yes'. After she  returned what do i see..a tiny kitten its hind portion totally mangled. The Vet had cleaned and given it an injection and also given her the address of a pet care.
I love dogs and cats when they belong to others...but not in my home.  and Srikanth would never touch them with a barge pole.Our kitten was brave and adventurous..I clearly told Niha, the kitten would be kept in a box outside the home. She said 'yes, after feeding it i will let it out' So i got some milk and powdered a few glucose biscuit and fed it to the kitten' It gobbled it up and looked at me in such a way that my heart melted and i fell in love with it. i told it' well you can be inside for a short while' i found Niha and Malavika giggling and giving a high five 'see, i told you mum will relent and let us keep the kitten home' Well somehow the cleaning and looking after part fell on me.

Kitty was adventurous and started going about the house with its front paws dragging the useless hind part behind leaving a trail of blood and fluid all over my floor. it just would not sit in the box i had kept for it. soon i was tired cleaning the house with soap and phenyl. Next day Niha had to attend the IIT entrance exams and i accompanied her. On returning we found Srikanth Livid. he said our kitty got a bit more adventurous and gave a visit to our owners climbing all the 30 steps and dirtying their house. :-) They were really pissed off!!

I told niha and Srikanth to take the kitty and leave it someplace. Niha made it as comfortable as possible and left it with a watchman near the garden where we usually go for our walks..phew...

She is always out there teaching the tiny kids about our civic responsibilities, helping the blind cross the road, helping old people alight the bus and such small things that make the world a better place to live in. To me the sun absolutely shines out of her. She has a sunny and fun nature, keeping us in splits. She especially likes to trouble akka aka Malavika.

Today she will celebrate her 19th birthday. We are planning to present her with a good camera, for we think she has all the trappings of a good photographer. Other than that she writes stories, blogs once in a while, likes to experiment in the kitchen, is a budding guitarist, has not only composed music for a kannada play but also designed its banner all in two days time. She skipped college for an year to pursue a course in counselling!!She is also in the NSS and the college Netball and ball badminton team!!

Love you Nymphs and Happy Birthday to You. May you realize all your dreams. This is the last year you get to be a teenager, next year you are an Adult :-)

http://malathisanchiyinda.blogspot.com/2009/12/blog-post.html where i have tried to capture some tense moment when Niha was born..the babri masjid demolition and events that followed....
:-)