MERA "CHANGA- MANGA" OMKAR !!
I was not sure if I could express my feelings in written words on Buddy Parenting, but Sujata my cousin bugged me to write this post. As I started jotting down my thoughts; my pen started flowing freely. It was because of my nephew Omkar. He is one in zillions.
"Changa ( Virtuous ) - Manga (Valuable)" Omkar has now, grown up as a smart young boy. On 21st June 2015, he turned up 21.
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| Omkar with his little sis |
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| Omkar with his Sister, |
Fond memories of his childhood are still fresh in our minds, as the morning dew!
It was one of my most joyful experiences to see my nephew, Omkar growing up! Omu was pretty, playful and innocent in his very early age and even later on. Charisma of his cheerful but mischievous nature was astonishing.
Some people are born smart and are adorable. Omkar is one of them. His childhood was the source of boundless joy not only for us but also for our neighbors in the society. All disputes in our society got dissolved as Omu began to perform his "BAL LEELA".
Omu was a very sweet child. He was born with a naughty smile and dimple on his cheek. His eyes were mischievous. He learnt many things faster than the other children. He was always with smile. No wonder, cheerful and smiling Omkar became an apple of our eyes. He was always in demand.
As he was growing up, apart from our family members everyone in our society wanted to hold him in their arms. He became "BAL GOPAL" (lord Krisnha) of our society.
Most of the time he would be out of our home, as everyone in society would like to have glimpses of him and would like to play with him. For our Sikh neighbors he was their "Changa, Para and Sona Puttar". In nearby gurudwara, where he used to go regularly with his favourite Charanjit Dadi; he was famous as "Charanjit da ready made pota". For another Gujarati aunty he was " Monga Manas and Ladlo Dikro".
We witnessed that all barriers of cast, religion and language were broken down due to lovable, pleasing and amicable Omu.
Haa! Happiness all around! He was instrumental in teaching us lessons of unity. That was the time when many unsolved problems (water problem, issue of cleanliness etc.) in the society were resolved unanimously.
For him all were one. He never differentiated whether she was his sweeper aunty or Kandadabatate wala uncle. When his sweeper aunty carried him with her filthy hand I got butterflies in my stomach. I don't remember a single day when Omu didn't call his dear "Kandabatate wala " uncle from our balcony. It was a fun to hear the conversation between them.
As he grew up little older, we realized that along with all above mentioned good qualities he is determined, focused and sincere.
When he was in six standard, he was selected for "Harris Shield Cricket Tournament".
Once while practicing in nets one unfortunate throw by his buddy player hit his tibia bone badly and he got a fracture. During this period he also caught Allergic Bronchitis. He suffered from that ailment almost for a couple of years. Even after this bad patch in his sports carrier he continued playing cricket and now he plays cricket for his college team.
He taught us how to care for loved ones and also how to take care of things. Till now he doesn't want to dump his toy car gifted by his beloved Mili aattya (Aunty) on his first birthday though he drives a Sx4 (a sedan car) in heavy traffics of Mumbai.
Now all kiddos in our society play with his collection of childhood-toys. I wonder how could he share his most precious possessions with them.
Omu's childhood was a learning process for us . We always wondered how can a child be so disciplined and well-mannered (without any special training). Even toilet training for Omu was not at all a difficult task for us.
We never taught him about mannerism and never forced him to do a particular thing. He was gifted with the wisdom and innocence at the same time.
He was dear to all his class teachers and loved by all his classmates. Not only that he is always the best companion and friend to his sisters (Riddhi & Mugdha) and brother (Apoorva). They all have strong bonds between them and the credit mainly goes to Omkar.
Only, bad part about him was his food tantrums. It was difficult for us to feed him and was a tedious task for us.
But he loves eating Kellogg's chocos. Thank god! as Kellogg's chocos are good source of nutrition for him. We know that Kellogg's are fortified with extra vitamins, calcium and iron.
His "KHIL KHILATA " childhood was a journey of happy moments. Actually, it was a learning process for all of us. It gave us a great pleasure. And along with Omu we also matured day by day ... Kellogg's way!
