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| Trying to figure out the vastness with daddy |
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| Pahal trying to catch a butterfly in our garden |
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| Watching sunset; She was trying to play with the sunrays here |
Pahal was barely six months old when we first moved to Andaman and Nicobar Islands in February, 2011. After landing in Port Blair, we straight away headed to Diglipur, which was about 300 kms away from Port Blair and required transfer by ferry twice on the way.
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| Enjoying the boat ride in Andaman sea |
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| My first encounter with nascent life other than a human child; three bird hatchlings on a nest in our garden |
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| Pahal walking on her own. She was about 13 months old when she went down that road all by herself without looking back! |
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| This was Pahal’s favorite goat or rather a baby goat; Pahal was about 14 months old then |
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| Playing in the water on her own oblivion to the world around her |
Frequent visits to the nearby beaches made Pahal extremely comfortable even in the strongest water wave currents and she revelled in the frothy sea waves when other kids frighten at the sight of water. She spends her time in the nature and with the nature.
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| Frolicking on Avis Island with Mumma |
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| This bird would often come inside our home and one day while she tried to play with my dupatta, I decided to play with it! |
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| Father and daughter relaxing on Ross and Smith Island |
We three have formed our relationships with nature in our own sweet and personal ways. Sanjay loves to relax in our garden on a weekend after a hard week’s work or prefers playing with Pahal on a beach than to spend time with her on video games.
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| Mother and daughter relaxing in a hammock in our backyard |
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| We are so in nature that my birthday gifts to Pahal are also these hand painted seashells that have her nickname written |
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| Here is Pahal holding a baby bird that fell down from its nest |
But the most important story of love is the story that my baby shares with her mother nature. Her day begins with the sunrays that come sieving in our room through the window, progresses with the various living beings she plays with – kittens, puppies, calves, fish, butterflies, baby turtles and baby birds and finally ends when she finds her chanda mama among the confusing galore of shining stars.
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| Pahal playing.. err..caressing her cutest kitty |
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| Pahal’s another pet; We call her magic fish because we dont know its English name! |
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| The mother of the Pahal’s favourite Kitty |
At the tender age of 3, she knows that eating non-veg means killing animals and that is not a good thing to do. She understands that snakes also need a home and when it rains heavily, their homes are destroyed, which is why they come into our house to find refuge.
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| A snake that was resting on a plant in our garden and I spotted him while I was strolling around! Many more snakes have appeared in our house – in bedroom, in kitchen, bathroom, gate and right in the mainhall |
Unlike many kids of her age, she has learnt that Centipede is so called because it has numerous legs and that at the sight of a centipede, she should get onto the chair, for it can not climb.
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| A centipede that suddenly made an appearance in our wash basin and I saw it as the first thing in the morning! |
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| I couldn’t realize that my young daughter is now big enough to hold a coconut all by herself and drink from a bamboo straw; She loves coconut water and can now tell you which ones tastes better! |
Like every curious mother, I sometimes compare her with other kids. When I talk to my friends who tell me how their kid participated in a fancy dress competition or finished X no. of levels on a computer game, I do not know whether I should pity them or pity myself.
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| Clicking pics of the flowers that bloomed after a long time |
Though rarely but sometimes it hurts to know that Pahal does not know about the latest gadgets and toys but at the same time, it is delighting to know that she understands the seasons. She can tell whether it would rain the evening and she knows it because she stays outside a lot and because she watches rains, clouds and sky. She may not know about cars and bikes but she knows high tides and low tides of the ocean.
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| Caught on the camera while she was secretly making a house in the water! |
Last weekend, I went to Havelock Island and there I showed her a Sea cucumber. Few minutes later, she showed me a family of Sea cucumbers resting near a coral.
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| Pahal was showing me sea cucumbers; we counted some 120 sea cucumber on that beach and we know there were many more than them |
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| Pahal caught hold of this bird on its first maiden flight; poor thing couldn’t fly so Pahal held and later we gave the food to this bird; it now perches on our roof every morning |
It has been more than three years now that we have lived in different parts of Andaman and we have loved it. In a place, where people call it a punishment post, we feel we have been bestowed with nature’s love which is a rare gift these days.
There can not have been a better place to bring up Pahal, than a place that is abound in natural beauty, nature’s resources and nature’s creations. Pahal has grown with nature.
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| I am showing a baby turtle to Pahal; She was watching it excitedly while we clicked the hatchling |
We are now moving to Delhi, maybe in a month or so. I understand that she may find it extremely hard to find her Andaman companions in Delhi but nevertheless, I am prepared to create a garden for her inside the house, if I can’t make one outside.
Hi surabhi…
I ll say ur daughter is learning all those qualities in her childhood only which takes years….. finally wat matters is wat we carry in our hearts,not in our minds n nature makes us feel n realize emotions buried in our heart. Btw nice pic n keep writing i miss ur articles vn u suddenly get vanish from womanatics
loved reading this post….
Hi, Thankyou so much for the kind words. You have made my day! 🙂 You are so right. I think she has learnt some important lessons of life early that we adults take years to learn.
Anu, glad to know you liked the post. 🙂
Hi Surabhi, liked ur post very much.The time ur daughter is spending and enjoying with nature is teaching her lessons for life.Mother is always the first and best teacher….MOTHER NATURE too. I desperately wait for ur posts .Keep on writing.Pics are awesome. RITIKA
Hi Ritika, dunno how I missed your comment. How are you? Thank you for liking the post. Means a lot and yeah, we learn the most with mother nature.
I just love the way you explain in details 🙂 And yes I also love nature who teaches us about love & sacrifice. And Pahal has grown up and yes I will also miss Andamans which I see through your lens 🙁 Take care and give a kissi to Pahal cutie!
Hey Shlipa.. how are you? Yeah Pahal is grown up now and she is growing up real fast! 🙂 I am glad you liked the post. :-*
Hi Surabhi.. An awesome post.. just loved it.. but more than the post what intrigued me is the Cat. I have a cat which looks exactly like it… Nice 🙂
Hey Shruthi.. thanks for writing in.. And this cat was adorable.. Pahal loved her. Do you have a cat as well? Whats her name?
Surabhi,
Nature teaches lots of precious lessons and we feel small before it. Payal is extremely lucky to have been part of nature at such an young age, a blessing not many children enjoy. Modern children are trapped in a concrete jungle where they can never stretch their legs. The pictures were beautiful and young Payal seemed to enjoy her time with the intense beauty of nature.
Hi Mathi, glad you liked the post. Yeah, I am happy that Pahal gets to be so close to the nature from a young age. I hope I can maintain that lifestyle for her always – a life close to nature in every possible way.
Very nice. You are very brave and a good inspiration as you dont fear snakes
Thankyou Ramaa. You have been to Andamans and you know how much the place is abound in nature. Isn't it?