Everyone says that girls have their fathers wrapped around their fingers;
the littlest thing they do will melt your heart; she will convince you to do things you would have never agreed to and before you realize it, you have already completed it and it’s too late!
That’s what people tell me about having a girl.
At work, papa has a reputation of being quite strict, stern and serious. In a way, papa proudly likes to think that people won’t mess with him. And so when papa’s colleagues get a chance they make sure they tease him and try to get a smile out of him. When I told a colleague that we were having a baby, she said, “I hope it’s a girl. At least she will soften you up a bit.”
So, that’s what I know I have to look forward to when you arrive. Not that I haven’t softened up with Kian and mama already, but it seems like you are going to be this whole other kettle of fish. People at work don’t know that Kian has broken through that facade; the cracks have already appeared…
Should I be surprised? Not really. After all, Papa experienced this first hand with Sapna didi anyway. Remember, I am the older kid in the house – no offence, but that has its own privileges and special place in a family.
Being the first means you generally have first dibs on everything and you can’t be wrong.But… but being a girl in the house carries a whole other set of benefits.
I saw it when Sapna didi was able to get her way with Dada – be it things she wanted to do, places she wanted to go… or just about anything else. I could have asked for the same thing about 3 minutes ago and would have been told no, but if Sapna didi asked for the same, rest assured Dada relented. What’s even better, she was our Dada’s favourite too. She had all the men in the family wrapped around her little finger.
I am sure Mama can tell you similar stories about her time with Lolo and how she was (still is?) his darling, the apple of his eye. I still believe she has got Lolo wrapped around her finger, but she might disagree. I guess with Lolo, he still has two other girls in the family who he must bestow equal favours on (I only wonder how he feels sometimes?)
I guess I knew where my support lay; I just had to turn to Mama or my Dadi and I got similar treatment. Yet, it was somehow not so much fun being on the receiving end of it – you always wanted to be the only special one. Having been through all of this myself, I can only imagine what Kian is feeling now that you're here. As the first grandchild in the family (particularly on the Balili side), he does have a special place in people’s hearts. However, you come into this world occupying an even more special place… the first girl among four grandchildren… Poor Kian… and for that matter poor Ayaan and Arhaan too.
You are not going to just be Daddy’s Little Girl… you are going to be Mama’s Little Girl, Dada’s Little Girl, Dadi’s Little Girl… Lolo’s Little Girl (he will tell you about how he predicted you were going to be a girl long before anyone knew), Lola’s Little Girl… I think you get the gist.
I won’t even be surprised if you are going to be Kian, Ayaan and Arhaan’s little girl. All three of them are going to go out of their ways to make sure you are happy, comfortable, and well taken care of; all you are going to have to do is ask… or maybe not even that. Even though Kian now says “I will not share my toys with Taw-Taw”, I wouldn’t be surprised if those toys are all brought to you directly without you even asking for them.
So, while papa will try to maintain a degree of neutrality, a degree of strictness, I am well aware that you come into this world with a big advantage. But I also know that you are going to have your way with papa and at times papa is going to have no answer to your charms, your wiles and your ways… It is one negotiation that papa knows he is never going to win! I guess it comes with the territory and a role that papa is going to just have to get used to. Whoever said, “it’s a man’s world!”
Mansi Zaveri
Tanya Lemos
Charles Gilbert
KSP Team
Janani S Koushik
