NIDHI

She came after 24 hours of labor. She was 21 inches long and weighed 3.3 kilograms. We called her Nidhi, because that’s what she means to us, Nidhi—a treasure.

She is my first and so the one I learnt my lessons on—fan speeds best for babies, the temperature of their baths, diaper sizes, packing baby bags, safe mosquito repellents, and more, much more. She rewarded each of my attempts, successful or failed, with a full, warm smile and a look of complete adoration.

She made motherhood seem easy. As an infant, her body clock was timed to mine. She would sleep when I slept and get up a little later than me. I do not remember many night shifts or mid-night nappy changes. It was almost like she had come toilet trained. She could do her jobs, big and small, on demand. This brought great pleasure to my parents for whom successful toilet training was the ultimate test of motherhood.

She helped us be family. All working members of our extended family, who would almost never make it home for dinner, would often land up in time for tea once Nidhi came. My dad ran a small business. A stickler for time, he would give us long lectures on discipline. After Nidhi came, he would simply shut office by 1 and be home by 2, just in time to rock her to sleep.

She had this knack of coaxing others to do as she bid. I still remember a hot summer afternoon when I met my father-in-law at a local general store when I was returning home after a days work at college. He was buying her the legendary Peppy. And this is the man who would never ever miss his afternoon nap.

Of course, there have been some stray incidents that remind us that she is human—the exam that she forgot to mention, the coin that had to be dislodged from the esophagus, some failed attempts at work-experience, the English class work book that was recovered from the local gutter, the gentle reminders from teachers that she sometimes holds court during class hours, and some such other incidents.

Today she turns nine. Her small hands don’t hold on to me like they once did. Her wide dark eyes do not linger on my face like before. Her opinions do not exactly match mine. Her body clock is set differently and her world includes many more people than just me. But she remains precious, my treasure, my nidhi.