Naheen, Ma, Naheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen!

Already conscious about the way I look, especially when I am around her, Mishmash has been giving  me some fashion tips, free of cost. So, the other day after I picked her up from her day care and was heading home, she pointed at a pretty Aussie walking in a summer dress, on a perfectly chilly evening.  And she goes,

Ma, you should wear dresses like that. 

I looked at myself self consciously. Dressed in my regular Adidas tracks, sneakers and sweatshirt, I thought, I looked sporty and cool. Mishmash, to my misfortune, thought otherwise. I replied,

Well, baby, your  mumma doesn't have the money now to buy pretty dresses. She is in the process of making some. When she does that, we' can go shopping.

She looks confused and asks,

How does one make money?

I say- 

well, mumma is selling all that  jewellery you see her making in the study.

Utterly horrified she goes, 

But mumma, you don't need to.  You can always ask papa for money.

Amused, I tell her, 

Baby, it is good to make your own money.

Not one bit convinced, and with heightened horror in her voice, from the backseat of our car, she goes,

Ma, please, ma, pllllllllllllease don't sell the jewellery. I'll ask papa, or we can go to the bank and ask for some. But promise me, you will not sell your jewellery? Prooomise?

I try to reason, looking at her round eyes, distress laden face, in the rear view mirror-

but shona, that jewellery is not mine. I'm making it to sell it.

But to no avail...she continued to look stressed and sad..

It was such a classic hindi movie moment, that I was left wondering where she got that - yeh zevar lelo daaktar, par mere bachche ka aapreshan karwado - type of flavour laced conversation in a four year old's mouth ? She sure hadn't seen any Manmohan Desai movies. 

I think it was stupid to even wonder. She is my daughter after all. Its in her DNA.

My filmi bachcha. :) 

(So, after Raj got back home, Mishmash remembered to tell him, papa, please buy mumma one, two, five... thirty dresses. OK?)