Sometimes you are willing to go to any length to see a smile on your little one’s face. Even if it means eating atta(dough) pretending it to be a roti. And relishing it too,mind you!
Yes! I’m not kidding,people. That’s exactly what I did.
I was doing my usual chores in the kitchen when Namnam came running to me and said, ” Amma, can I have some atta and a rolling pin? I want to make ‘rothi’ ”
Now I remember how much I used to love playing with dough, amma’s kitchen utensils and the likes and run a ‘parallel house’ of my own when small. So when Namnam asked for the dough and rolling pin, not only did I not think twice before giving them to her, but also put some flour in a small plate and placed it in her ‘kitchen’ . C’mon she’d need flour to flatten the dough-roll, won’t she?? 🙄
I knew her room would be a mess by the time she would be done making her ‘rothi’, yet didnt want her to miss out on the little joys that I knew would be so exciting.
Anyway, I came back to the kitchen and got on with my work. After a while Namnam came running again, this time with a flattened dough in her hand.
She took out a plate from the shelf, placed the dough, put some cookies as a side dish and offered it to me saying, ” Here, ma, this is for you” . Before I could take the plate from her, she realized something. ” Oh oh! there’s no dal “.
Since it was about pretend-playing, I pretended to pour some dal in the plate. But I was wrong. The rules had changed!
Namnam insisted that I pour the real dal that had just been cooked. I didnt want her to get disheartened so I put a small amount of it and said,” Give the atta to me, Namnam, I’ll make roti for you properly” to which Namnam replied,” But I already made roti for you properly“.
I sensed there was no way she was going to let me make it so I pretended to take a piece and eat it.
Aha! Surprise surprise! It was no more pretend playing.
Namnam(clearly irritated by my lack of understanding of the ‘real’ situation) said, ” Oho, not like that! Come here, I’ll feed you “. I kept saying “I dont want“, “I dont like it“…but to no avail.
She took a piece of the ‘roti’,dipped it in the dal and shoved it in my mouth and said, ” Come on,Mama, try it once,if you dont like it dont eat it. But you try, ok?? ”
Thats when I realized its exactly what I say when she fusses over her food. She had clearly given me a taste of my own medicine.
I, not only ate that piece but gave out a “Hmmmmmmm” expression also, to which she was quick to respond with a wide smile, ” See, you liked it, no?? ”
Yes, darling, anything to see that smile on your face! 😀
I couldn’t help taking a snap of the ‘rothi’ & dal and of course the side dish which I was made to eat too right after. So technically the side dish turned into a dessert!
Perceptions 