Maa Tujhe Salaam!

Seeing Tripty and Siya today reminded me of Mom. The way Tripty was playing with her little daughter, and the way Siya was enjoying everything her mom was doing. From playing drums on Siya's back, to tickling her until she couldn't laugh anymore. From giving her enough time to catch on her breath, to doing the round-circles-on-hand followed by fingers-running-up-the-arm to make the excited Siya laugh a little more.

Of course, I don't remember any such playful moments from eighteen years ago, when I was two. But I can bet on my life - literally - that I had several of those. Make that numerous. Countless actually!

I remember when Hansag and I were old enough to start building memories for a lifetime. Back then they didn't seem so beautiful, or something to hold on to... but now, unfortunately, they're all I have left.

This is something that happened probably everyday around second or third grade. Our bedtime was something around 8 PM (or maybe 7, who knows).. but neither Hansag or I could fall asleep that early. To pass time we used to talk, or have a fighting match on the bed (the bed being the ring), or call in mom every five minutes and ask her for a glass of water. After drinking every drop, we'd ask for more. Two glasses were more than enough to make our tummies feel full again. So, we'd just stand up on the bed and hug and kiss her for several minutes. It must have appeared silly to her, at least it does to me now. What a silly way to pass time, to avoid sleeping, to talk a little more, to have an excuse for not waking up on time the next morning. Yet, a beautiful memory. A silly childhood routine, turned into something I often think about.