Introduction

It’s said that every human being is unique in their own way yet I believe that there is something that connects most of us, if not all – the feeling of being lost!!!

This post is my own story where a grown-up kid (still a kid by the way!) was lost in this mediocre world & how he was revived by a doe-eyed angel ???? Shreesha nicknamed as Poggo.

Inception

Shreesha, the goddess of wealth, endowed our lives in 2016. It was one of the scorching summers of May and my Sister, Sangita was about to deliver her first baby. It was an early delivery which meant we got an update just a couple of hours before Poggo actually came in this world. Back then I was settled in Kolkata, so my mom and I took a flight to Delhi where my sister was settled. As I remember, the auspicious moment arrived during morning hours, to be exact on Friday 13th May 2016 at 10:10 Indian Standard Time (IST) .

His dad was first to see her and I can hate him for being this lucky for my lifetime!!!

When I first saw her, my heart was ecstatic. I had my share of smiles throughout my life be it surviving through 10th Board exams or landing up in a job but this feeling, this was different. For the first time, I was happy to the extent where tears rolled through my eyes. I thought I never had a preference and would gladly accept whether its a niece or a nephew but when she arrived, my heart bluntly accepted that it always wanted it to be a baby girl. Wishes do come true, isn’t it????

When my brother-in-law asked me to hold her, he was scared but more than him I was scared, to be honest, I was terrified???? She felt lighter than rose petals and I never saw anything more adorable and sophisticated than her. I feared that I might end up hurting her, after all, it was just a couple of hours when I first saw her, it was 20:00 IST. I ended up living by my fears and didn’t take her in my lap on Day 1.

I spent the next few days going back and forth between hospital & my sister’s home as the Doctor didn’t allow more than one person to stay over and of course I was not even an option. Just imagine, she or my sister needing some help at night, all I could have done was gathering the entire hospital staff instead of taking any risk, be it the simplest of chores. As this was a sudden plan, I had to leave Delhi sooner than later and it was May 16th, when I had bid goodbye to my niece. In these 3 days, it felt like I was in love but then I do have a habit of falling in love quite often so I kept my calm and waited for the feeling to settle down.

Growing Up

Once I returned from Delhi, things changed. I was always a guy who never looked beyond dusk when it was dawn and here I was bothering about my job being incapable to take care of my love. In the next few months, my life turned upside down. Before Poggo, my life revolved around my first company, DualCube, in short I was a workaholic. It was more than just another company, it was a family and suddenly I was finding it falling short. Of course, there were other factors which played in too but I still feel, my insecurity was the final nail in the coffin and I left the family which gave me my identity. If you ask me, yes I still miss that part of my life.

As I decided to move on in life, the first and most lucrative option was to find a job in Delhi but then if you remember, I have been an insecure soul all through my life. A stupid thought bugged me for days, my affection towards Poggo might end up making her wishes stone-written. So I pulled out and instead ended up in Pune – The City With An Attitude.

It wasn’t easy, a completely new city, almost a thousand miles away from my family as well as Poggo. Though, the folks at my new workplace, rtCamp, ensured that I not only settle down comfortably in the new city and job but also progress towards my ultimate goal to fulfill all that Poggo wishes for or may wish for in near future. You can definitely say that I have a luck line that people wish for.

In the meantime, Poggo was growing up, learning something new every now and then, say crawling on forelegs. She is a brilliant learner and within 9 months, she was calling people in her own language which I must mention wasn’t easy for us to learn. I was restricted to catch her over video calls and pics that my sister and brother-in-law sent. Her parents followed a unique trend of celebrating her birthday every month on 13th????????

Foodie Traits

I rode on my luck line and met her next in October 2016 when I visited Delhi on occasion of Diwali and more importantly for her Poggo’s Annaprashana, her first interaction with food, held on 2nd November 2016. Her foodie traits were more than obvious the moment she was allowed to give it a go and I was happier than ever????

The next few months were crucial for my career and I had to stick to my workplace but as someone rightly said, you can’t hold back true love for long. It was Poggo’s first birthday and I couldn’t have missed it. By now, Poggo started to walk slowly on her legs and was calling me Mamu. Wow, she swept over my heart in that one moment ❤️❤️

The First Anniversary

Finally, it was my turn to meet my love, it was her first birthday. I can confidently say that this day had already become the most important day for our entire family. A lot of surprises were waiting for me the moment I landed in New Delhi . She has been a jovial kid from the very beginning though it was natural for her to take a while to get comfortable with a new face though with me the scenario was very different. The moment she saw me, the expression said it all. It was there, right there when I realized, she is more than my niece, maybe love or probably my life!!!

To see her calling everyone by their names, making those cute faces and running without any brakes are just a couple of things I can name, she was actually doing a lot more than that. We all tried our best to make her 1st birthday as grand as possible and she looked happy with all our hard work ????

It’s never easy to go away from Poggo, be it anyone but for me, it’s heartbreaking earth shattering. It almost feels like if there was one wish to make, I would wish for the time to standby so that I can spend more time with her but time waits for none. So soon, I was ready to go back to my day to day life but before that, we spent an amazing time together. By now, I had realized that she has a thing for the Camera and her angelic doe-eyes could win over anyone, literally anyone. The expressions she is able to come up with can make even theater performers to drop their jaws.

If it was up to me, everything she did would be a part of the highlights of her first year in this world but the key personality traits of this year included

#doe-eyes #captivating-smile & #staggering-steps.

The Expression Queen????????‍????????

The 2nd year for Poggo was much more eventful than we thought. As parents, we could plan trips without risking her health which was the case in the first year. In 2017, we together wandered over

• Gauriganj, a small town in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh to meet my maternal uncles,
• Pune, the Oxford of East to offer the first chance to host my love, my life,
  • Ganpatipule, a town on the Konkan Coast of western India known for its beaches to introduce Poggo with a sea,
  • Mahabaleshwar & Panchgani, hill stations located in the Sahyadri mountain range.

These trips helped Poggo and myself to explore how much we love each other’s company with endless pampering, games and much more. My days started and ended with a video call without failing. For someone at an age of fewer than 2 years, she was gorgeous with her expressions. The doe-eyes were cherry on the cake and it was a surprise if people didn’t stop by to adore her.

She made me feel special with different versions of my nickname

Tullu – Tuuuuuu, Tutu, Tuli & eventually Tullu

By Poggo

During these 18 months, I personally underwent a lot of changes. I know had a broader outlook towards life, career. The rules were simple, if something doesn’t includes Poggo, it isn’t worth it. I was obsessed, even today I am. I still can’t see her gift wardrobe filled with gifts from anyone else including her parents. It’s cute how she doesn’t talk with much people over video calls apart from me instead often it’s Poggo who nudges her mom to call me, I remember sneaking away for short romantic calls with my love even during office hours ????????

She was all over, my shopping destination had changed, my social media feed looked different and my smile was genuine than ever. In my wildest dreams, I imagine her growing up and myself getting in fights with guys who try their luck on her.

Afterall, she isn’t just my niece, she is my love, my life

View this post on Instagram

Poggo on a beach walk #poggo #loveforever #beachlove #smallsteps

A post shared by Sandeep Kumar Das (@phoodiemonk) on Oct 3, 2017 at 5:53am PDT

Thanks a lot if you are still with me in this journey ????????