I am beyond thrilled and supremely excited to announce that our first grandchild ARJUN arrived early this morning on the auspicious day of Lohri. We are completely Blissed out, Arjun is the first grandchild to the Dases and Guptas, What a brand new feeling of happiness this is! With Arjun, a new set of parents are born and two new sets of grandparents are born. For years, many who had already become grandparents before me told me of the joy, sheer delight and eager anticipation being a grandparent can bring.
Let me tell you, they were all so wrong …
What we are experiencing today far exceeds what I have always heard …. the feeling is essentially experiential…. Staring day-long lovingly at the face of this new Angel in the family left us with such an emotional high, what is this deep shift I am feeling inside? It opened up pathways of memories from when I had given birth, feelings that I thought I had forgotten totally
What an amazing experience this is…
To just sit and watch the exquisite creation of the Divine-a miniature human being’s tiny nose, a small little chin, little fingers and cute fists and marvel at the agelessness they bring with the newness.
The tears of joy that swelled in our eyes when we first held Arjun were such happy tears mixed with a profound sense of gratitude that he had arrived safely. Every time he cried both the grandfathers felt a severe tug in their hearts and rushed out of the room, while we grammas helplessly looked at one another allowing the brand new mommy to bond with her baby.
And the rest of the day, like experts of genetics we grandmothers sat trying to figure out who Arjun resembles…
Yes, Ashok and I have reached the land of GrandParentHood proudly, and in deep gratitude, we are simply thrilled!!!
Oh! And what’s going to be my Mantra as Arjun’s Grandmother?
Everyone parents differently, and it’s their turn to learn what works best for them.
Feeling grand With Ashok Das that Arjun chose US !!
March 19th 2017– Off to India
Arjun is blessed with very compassionate parents. They decide to take him to India to meet the extended family there, my two month old Arjun flies for the first time. Arjun enjoyed Delhi, with his Dad at the DLF Promenade Mall, And he sleeps holding his Daddy’s finger,
May 9th, 2018– Arjun Visits His Great Grandmothers in Asansol
There could not be a better celebration of life…
To experience the joy captured in this frame….
Ashok’s Ma and My Ma could hold Arjun in their arms….
And to give them both this experiential Bliss of a life-time….
Bir and Rashi dared to visit their Dida and Amma in Asansol…
With this three-month-old dude…
All because they wanted to see Arjun being blessed by his Great Grandmothers….
The high in their voices and the look on their faces can’t adequately be described in words.
Just looking at this particular picture, captured moments after the great-grandmothers met baby Arjun, is enough to bring a smile in our hearts and tears to our eyes.
The ecstasy …
The joy in preparing the house…
I believe the whole house was disinfected with Dettol….
Because Arjun is coming to be with them…
It’s an extremely hot afternoon in Asansol….
While the parents slept in peace in another room, the Great Grammas had Arjun to themselves, in between them…
I was told, he was constantly gurgling with laughter and chatter…..
They chatted the whole afternoon with this little hero of their hearts….
Bir being their oldest grandson…..
What a compellingly special and loving relationship…
My Ma said, “It is one of the BEST days of my life”…
My Ma-in-law said, “Your Baba has come back to the family”….
And Rashi said, “It’s as if he knows them”
He also meets his Nani’s mother and her aunts (Great Grandmother from his Mamma’s side) …. he travels all the way to Alwar to meet them….
May 2018
Arjun’s First Stroller Experience
Arjun is back after meeting his Great-Grandparents and Grandparents in India …..
And we are in a magical space of discovering a four-month-old’s gurgling laughter with all our wonder….
What do I compare it with?
The joy of receiving a gift from a lost friend….
Or receiving a long loving embrace from my Dida….
Or even an unexpected but delightful phone call from a School friend….
Or a handwritten letter from a grandchild…
I fail to explain exactly how truly special this bonding is…..
And now I am already dreaming…That together we are going share and explore passions and new interests….
Never knew that grandchildren can bring such a meaningful joy to our life…What a beautiful phase…
Arjun, I so look forward to MY role by allowing YOU to nurture this bonding and to watch you grow.
You have already increased our sense of self-worth and purpose on this planet 
We look forward to being a source of wisdom, entertainment, and, of course, unconditional love for you Arjun…
Together we will work towards our identity and belonging by feeling part of a larger family
And you will ALWAYS be our Oldest Grandson
