They may try to Shanghai the city but innate taste remains unaffected. He's been to the malls, to the zoo, to Esselworld. On a recent trip to Mahableshwar, Somin looked out at the mountains and the view and asked, "Hedo mast kai thaayo aa? (Who's made this fantastic stuff?)"

Cool kids

Even as Somin looks up from his red monkey cap endearingly asking, "How's it looking?" Palakh came colour coded pink we think. Not only does she like pink clothes herself but other girls wearing pink dresses are her 'special friends'. At her bua's house recently everyone was trying to persuade her to wear a white sweater in her size, even tempting her with the Tigger print on it but she was adamant. "Just give me my mera wala pink," she said firmly.

Simran, one-and-a-half. Can't really talk much. Eating ice-cream out of a cup and a spoon one day as she was walking out of the house with her mum towards the garage. Encounters steps, has to hold mum's hand but both hands are busy. Even as Pooj was thinking of taking either the cup or spoon from her hand, she thought quicker. She plonked the spoon in her mouth, the hand in her mother's and gestured, "Let's go".

Scene: Saturday night, movie watching ritual with chatai on the floor and piled up pillows.
"Somin, can we switch off the light?"
"Chho, hey theatre thodehi aa" (Why, this is not a theatre")
"But, Somin we can make it seem like a theater if we switch off the light."
"Arre par po disar kiya eendo?!" (Arre but then how will we see?!!"

Palakh has figured out what a watchman is. "Jab watch man ban jaata hai to use watchman kehte hai."

Somin was about two or two-and-a-half and just about getting over his fear of haircuts after constant refrains of "Your hair has grown, your hair has grown". He was also keen to do everything everyone else did including typing on the computer ("Maa kam toh kaya") to watering plants. "They need water and food just as we do to grow," we had told him in answer to one of his innumerable whys.
So that's the background. One monsoon evening, we were standing on the terrace when it started raining. He looked at me and pointing to his head said, "Maasi, look my hair is growing!"