Monday, March 14, 2011

On books and reading and pretending

Once in a while, we stumble in the library upon a book with just images, no pictures. Last week we found one called "A small miracle", about a homeless man and a lot of nativity statues.

One evening, Anjali read the story to Sophia. it was wonderful watching that bit of cameraderie.

I have begun to notice that Anjali and Sophia play for extended times together. Complicated games like cooking, and mummy and baby, and even dramatizations of their favorite stories.

"Mummy", asked Anjali yesterday after we returned from IEP camp, "Why does Shiv call Priyanka didi?"

""Because Didi means akka in hindi. And Priyanka is Shiv's akka"

"Sophia", she said immediately. "you must call me did ok?"

So for the next hour or so, Sophia was calling Anjali didi. And then they both got in the narrowest possible space in the house - behind the sofa and the wall, with a bunch of seashells that we had gotten from Sibu. There they played, god only knows what, while I mixed pudding and unpacked the suitcases from camp. Through out the period, i was hearing calls of "Shiv!" and "Didi". at one point, Sophia said "Priyanka!" and Anjali said "Dont call me Priyanka. Shiv never ca;;s his sister Priyanka. he always calls her didi". Whereupon Sophia went back to didi.

Things got a bit confusing to Sophia when i finished my work and tried to get them to take a nap. I refused to be Shiv's mummy. So Anjali, as usual had a solution ready. "You be Vrunda aunty ok?", she said. And then she spent the next ten minutes calling me Vrunda.

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