I have decided to take a diversion from my normal blog and write a little something about someone really special. She entered our lives on the 14th March 1992 at 12.30pm whilst I was lying prostrate on my back, screaming at Ketan, one of my specialisms, and grabbing his hand so tight he was crying, a rare moment when I just wish I had had the camera on me! She arrived to the sound of music on Radio One and the first thing the midwife said was "My God I have never seen a baby with so much hair!". No matter how much pain had been endured by me, with all those contractions, and by Ketan, who was probably down to 8 fingers, this was the happiest moment of our lives... we had created something so beautiful together. The nurse smiled and handed Ketan our first and only child, a beautiful baby girl with a mop of ebony black hair, congratulating us. We had no words but words were insufficient and unnecessary at this moment... we simply cried tears of happiness and smiled at this bundle of perfection. Then the nurse apologetically took the baby away and placed her in a cot on the other side of the room. Whisking Ketan away for a few minutes, she said to me "If baby cries, don´t worry, don´t get up, just leave her alone... you are fragile!" As they left the room, I lay back... all the pain had gone... I could not feel anything and I simply thought of our creation, our work of art... I already missed her and wanted her in my arms. Suddenly, she started to cry, no not cry... wail like an abandoned orphan... I could not ignore it... that maternal instinct, that every woman must have programmed within her, kicked in and I leapt out of bed and ran to pick her up... not noticing the blood gushing down my legs... "Oh my god!" I thought "The midwife is going to kill me!". I didn´t care, as long as I knew that my baby was alright.
Since that day, everything changed and for Ketan and I, this special delivery became the centre of our universe. Where the last eighteen years have disappeared, only god alone knows and if we could do it all over again, we absolutely would.
We named her Krisha Kay Ketan Gandhi. Like many Hindus we were given a number of letters from the Gujerati alphabet of which we chose the letter which sounds like K in the English alphabet. Krisha was an idea that her dad came up with. There was a radio presenter on the local Red Rose radio station called Krisha and also Ketan felt that it had K from his name and Sha from mine so and ideal combination. Later we found out that it was a Polish name meaning little boat...now I look back and think how apt for someone whose dream it is to travel the world; Kay was after my very good friend at the time...and I liked it because it was short and sweet; and like most Indians, we decided to also give her her fathers name so her initials were an unforgettable KKK Gandhi.
Krisha is the first grandchild on my side of the family and for my late dad, she was his pride and joy. He was so besotted by having a granddaughter and like all excellent granddads he spoilt her rotten. He bought her bunches of green grapes which she loved and any other fruit or food she enjoyed. I wish he was here to see her all grown up. Krisha has been blessed with a great extended family...also cherished by her granddad in Preston too. It won´t be the same not having the daily phone calls from Meera and Ravi... wanting homework help, chat girls gossip (that´s with Meera of course!) or talk footy!
Krish is undoubtedly a daddy´s girl and I don´t mind at all because it is a joy to see the fantastic relationship she has with her dad... They are so alike in many ways and they connect like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Sometimes when they talk about footy, it is annoying as I am a dunce when it comes to this overstated game but deep down inside I am quite impressed at their knowledge of players and the all the latest gossip about which team has bought or sold which player for the so many trillions of pounds. I love it when they both kick the ball around outside the house and I hear their shouting and laughing. Krish's love for footy, especially Liverpool, and great taste in players, has now got me hooked too... I loved the Real Madrid match we took her to some years back just so she could watch Mr Beckham... and it was worth it! It was crazy watching the World Cup this year... we screamed at the TV as Spain got closer and closer to becoming the champions of the world and when they did we ran through the streets of Alicante with the Spanish flag and she got me to drive around the city, beeping my horn until it and I were both exhausted... it was an unforgettable night.
The last nearly six years in Spain have been amazing. They have been quality years where the two of us have become closer. Now I almost feel like she is my fifth sister as we chat about music and she helps me download songs legally of course onto my IPOD. She is fantastically technical and if she can´t do it, she knows a very clever Russian that can... Max!!! I will so miss all of Krish´s friends... I have loved having them over... the house feels alive when Krish has had her sleep overs... OK the Kitchen is raided and her room looks like a war zone but it is a sign of life and I can´t imagine the house without these regular friendly invasions. I´ll miss cooking curries for her friend Jordan (alias my adopted son) and I´ll miss taking her and Emma to local shopping centres... ohhh and even though it didn´t happen very often, we'll miss waiting up for her at dawn when she rolls in from a Spanish night out!!!
I won´t forget our recent trip to London to see Beyonce in concert and I so hope we still get to see Alicia Keys together one day. I have loved our holidays to Spain, Turkey, Africa, America, Canada and of course India to name a few... Looking forward to visit her in the far east next year.
Krish has made us so proud over the last 18 years...and pride isn't simply based on academic achievements but more than anything about being the kind and caring human being that she is. I missed out on her early childhood development because of my own career ambitions but the last 6 years have enabled me to be there... at parents evenings, at awards nights and at other major events. I remember one parents evening her teacher said "What I love about Krish is that she is so compassionate": I was so proud of her because this is a beautiful quality to have and not always used to describe a teenager. It has been a joy to see Krish grow up into a caring and thoughtful adult who constantly thinks of others, especially those less fortunate than her. Krish's close friends will know that she loves baking and often has baked goodies for charity bake sales, helping to raise much needed funds for local projects. Over the last few years, she has become passionate about fund-raising and being instrumental in her school´s fund-raising committee. Every year I go to awards night and I am one of many proud mums as I watch Krish receive an award but this year I am sure I can safely say that I was the proudest mum in the audience as Krish stood smartly on the podium as Head Girl and beautifully delivered an opening speech with Head Boy, Sam. I was even prouder as she received three awards including the COBIS award for Excellence... I was like a Cheshire cat, smiling all night and wanting to jump for joy. I only wished her dad had been there to share the moment with us.
Well here we are: 11th August 2010 and in less than a week's time, our baby will be jetting off to the start of a new and independent life in Beijing. It's not sunk in yet and probably won't for some time but inside my stomach, I feel like I have thousands of butterflies all fluttering about madly as if they are high on ginseng. I have tried not to think too much about the actual departure as I start to well up but I know it's going to be an emotional time... I know that 17th August 2010 will be a turning point in all our lives as we kiss our baby goodbye and watch her enter the next crucial stage of her life... adulthood. I know she will grow and develop and become more independent but I hope she always stays the compassionate and loving human being that she is... and keeps her mum, dad and her four moggies close to her heart.
Good Luck Krish! Rock China!! but stay safe and remember keep smiling and the world will smile with you!
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