Fifth Month

Mid May - Mid June , 2008

By the 5th month, we slowly started introducing solid food like banana and apple puree to Aarush. According to our custom, until “Annaprasanna,” we are not supposed to introduce solid food like rice or wheat to the baby. And his didu was also against using common baby food items like “Cerelac” as they contain rice or wheat. This resulted in his first solid bite being fruit — mashed banana. The first spoon he swallowed as my mom fed him, but the little man had a frown of disapproval, like “what the heck are they feeding me?!” Well, as predicted, he didn’t like that much for the second spoon and started crying. We had to try again and again. Though we had apples and bananas in the fridge for him, it seems he started liking bananas but not apple puree. His didu used to feed him, making him sit on her lap.

Our little one started to roll a bit; can be on his tummy. He tries to edge forward by pushing with his feet or pulling with his arms. Rarely an adorable, toothless smile was given in response to our talk. He can make different sounds come out of his mouth – and was delighted in experimenting with them.

By June 1st, when his sissies left, my son was a bit upset as the house was not buzzing anymore. He had a great time with them. After they left, he used to look around as if he has been deserted. On June 4th, his paternal uncle came to meet him for a day, and Aarush was happy and playful that evening. Suddenly, there was a strike in Calcutta, and the uncle’s flight was delayed, which helped to spend more time with Aarush than expected.

This month was very hectic for Santanu as well as me. We traveled a lot, almost criss-crossing the whole country. It was not only traveling but also moving from Bombay to Bangalore, Santanu had to do it single-handed. From finding an apartment to movers, closing or transferring various accounts and establishments was not an easy task. Many times we ended up in arguments over the phone for things not going in the way one wished for.

At first, Santanu came to Mumbai for 4 days when he spent two days with movers while they packed our belongings for Bangalore. After that, he ensured the gas connection is transferred, which is essential for living in urban India. But lots of bureaucratic paperwork, as all domestic gas agencies are controlled by the government, and it is a regulated market space. From Bombay, he came to Durg to take us to Siliguri. On June 10th, we departed from Durg for Calcutta after our long stay. Aarush cried a lot during this flight, but we had great service from Kingfisher hostesses.

After spending a half-day at Central Calcutta (Santanu’s uncle’s place), we left for Howrah Station in the night. The train was at midnight (23:50 to be precise). The journey by train didn’t make him happy. He was OK during the whole day, even though it was very hot and humid throughout the day. Surprisingly, the ever-crowded Howrah Station did not bring any adverse effects on him. But as soon as we got into the AC compartment, he started to cry incessantly. Maybe because of claustrophobia or some other discomfort, can’t say…he cried and wailed that were enough to wake the dead. Luckily, the compartment was empty, and we had no co-passenger complaining.

We went to Siliguri for his first rice ceremony which his thamma arranged. It was a five-day function similar to that of a Bengali marriage. On June 16th, he first tasted rice without any fuss. It was a lot of hard work, preparations, and although we were dog tired, it was well worth all the effort. All our expected guests came. There he met many relatives as well as people from the neighborhood. Things went smoothly once we reached there.