All 'bout lil Kuku - Part 2 - XII

We landed at Thanjavur and opted to catch a passenger train to Nagapattinam. We usually take a bus but this time we were taking the train. I cannot remember much of that journey except that I was fast asleep and Kuku was fast asleep in my arms. When I woke up, I noticed that most of my co-passengers including my relatives were all in different states of sleep as well. We got off at Nagapattinam and then took a taxi to Velankanni. It was warm and felt like 1 or 2 in the afternoon but it was barely 8:45 in the morning.

The moment we check into a hotel, all of us were glad to be out of the sun and Kuku was very happy that he was allowed to crawl. He went from one end of the room to the other and actually giggled.

The mundan was planned for sometime between 2-4 and all of us were ready or so I thought. Kuku fell asleep around 12. Completely and totally tired out with a light fever. I fell asleep in the middle of a conversation with the Arien. I woke up an hour later. Actually, I almost jumped out of the bed in fear that Kuku had fallen off the bed. But, he was still sleeping soundly. Everyone had had their lunch and the Arien had brought me something to eat which I gladly wolfed down. Just as we were wondering what to do - Kuku woke up on his own. He was a lil run down but very glad to see us, it seemed.

The actual mundan process took less than 20 mts. Kuku was totally oblivious of what was going on or did not care. So, the first part when smoothly. And then suddenly, he cared a helluva lot. He started screaming, I was ready to cry, the Arien hoped that Kuku would not get cut, and just like that it was over.

And the joke - Kuku does not think there is anything different in his reflection. I mean, U'd think he would notice that there was no hair but No, Kuku hardly notices. He waves to his reflection, tries to kiss it, and makes faces at me in the mirror. Well, glad that that is over. Big sigh of relief.

First Auto Travel, First Train Travel, and my learnings -- All 'bout lil Kuku Part 1 -- XI

Just when you think you can really post everyday, something will change that. Well, the trip changed it for me. It was Kuku's first auto travel and he was quite surprised that his Dad was not driving. He kept looking up at his Dad. It was funny :) It was also his first train travel. He seemed very enthusiastic and waved at the train. He was for most part well-adjusted and had a lot of fun but it was either too warm or too cold and so he was unable to sleep which meant most of us slept badly. I received a lot of unsolicited advice but took it well.

Of course, I have been in situations where I am thinking: "Oh gawd! They are traveling with a baby - bloody hell - I can as well kiss my sleep goodbye. The baby will squeal and scream through the night and I have to act as if it is all part of the decision I made when I opted to book tickets on this train. If the baby does not cry, the baby decides to be friends with me, while I am openly ignoring the baby by covering my face with a big paperback. And then, I have to go "hullo, hullo, kootchie kootchie etc." while the baby shrieks with laughter. Now, I was in the opposite end of the spectrum.

Anyway, train travel with Kuku was absolutely uncomfortable because:

• While it is absolutely stuffy, dirty, and smelly in the train,  Kuku wanted to explore every nook and corner by crawling to it or somehow reaching for it. When we did not allow him to crawl, he threw a tantrum and shrieked so loudly, people came to our seat to see why we were torturing the poor baby.
• The berth which is just 'bout bearable when you are the only one lying on it, can become absolutely impossible when you are sharing it with a baby. Especially since Kuku likes his space. He has his own bed at home that occupies almost half our bed. And he likes to sleep with his arm flung out and does not like it if his arms are moved closer to him.
• When I finally managed to get him to sleep, he slept for 1.5 hours and woke up crying because he was too warm. This continued till we reached our destination. 
• Trying to calm a baby in the lower berth while the middle berth is put up can be a very painful experience. It is a miracle that I do not have a permanent neck crick. 

And this was only the onwards journey. I think I was running on some adrenalin rush because apart from saying "This is hell.." out loud, I just looked at comforting kuku and trying to grab some shut-eye. Interesting!!

Planning for a pilgrimage and a tonsuring -- X

So, lil Kuku is going to turn 1. I cannot believe how quickly time flies. As part of our religious practices, tonsuring (chudakarana) is performed for the baby either before the first birthday or after the third birthday. The Arien opted for the former. This meant we were traveling just a week before his birthday. The Arien was caught up in the booking and cancelling of train tickets. After booking tickets for the entire family, we found to our chagrin that some of them cannot make it. The Taurean was traveling to the US on short visit and so we had 1 cancellation from my side. The Arien had a solid 5 cancellations and was a lil grumpy. Anyway, the religious trip was planned for the coming weekend (10-11-12 October). It is not a hectic trip but the place is in Tamil Nadu and is blistering hot most of the time. All the Best to us.