'Finch is now talking'.
That sentence is about 6 months old. At that time, the extent of her talking was limited to Mumma, Baa, Dahi, and Done.
Yes, at 19 months she knew that when she was done eating yogurt and needed a ride out of the high chair, the magic word was 'Done'.
Of course, she learned it from Beckett.
Now, at a little over 24 months, she speaks full sentences; much to my pleasure and relief, in Gujarati. And to my amusement, in Gujlish (Gujarati + English). 'Done', 'Look', 'Help' and some other words have crept into her vocabulary.
As of this writing, I've laughed out loud on several occasions after hearing her belt-out words and phrases in chaste Gujarati that only the most devoted Gurjari lovers can use and appreciate.
These include words & phrases like 'Maathachik' (hassle), 'Naarangi chupa chup khai gai ti' (I ate the orange with a lot of relish) and 'Ola' (that).
And every now and then she will exclaim 'What?' with two hands & shoulders out or 'Can I?' with the palm facing up and fingers curling.
The clincher definitely has to be 'Hu naani hati tyaare savare saanje 'Lo Mai Aa Gaya' karti ti' (When I was young, morning evening, I used to do 'Lo Mai Aa Gaya' (which is a line from a popular Hindi movie song).
I've been a much better father to Finch than I was to Beckett. But Beckett's childhood is significantly more thoroughly documented than Finch's. I don't know how many such things we've lost to the mists of antiquity because I missed writing about succumbing to the tyranny of the humdrum and the urgent.
But as they say in my beloved mother tongue, Jagya tyaar thi savaar (Morning starts when you wake up). Here's to hoping that I'll be writing more here and elsewhere going forward.
