A Baby’s Laughter
Personal Essay
Down Under, winter is drawing to a close, and Spring wonders whether it is time to put in an appearance, or wait in the wings, some more.
Asha, my granddaughter, all of seven months old, marks the occasion by wearing sleeveless dresses, or tiny singlets and a miniature pair of shorts. She is in her pram and her parents have taken her out for an evening stroll. The sun will set soon: but now the world is bathed in mellow glory.
This tiny link in our family chain then makes a startling discovery. Until now she was covered head to foot in her onesies, sweaters and jackets and socks. She discovers her fingers and toes. Now, she can SEE them. She is fascinated. She forgets her habitual boredom, and that this is the time she is supposed to rant and rave about the ills of the world: the ‘witching hour’ all parents fear.
All through the 30-minute walk, she holds up her arms and studies them. Then she throws up both feet, brings the toes closer to her face, subjects them to a minute scrutiny…and giggles. She can’t imagine what these things are, but she is tickled pink by the fact that they are moving, and that she can make them move.
She balls her hands into little fists, and examines the dimples beneath each knuckle. She throws up one foot, and wiggles each tiny toe. She carefully raises them over her head and laughs to herself at some private joke. Then she raises both arms and both legs and grabs the latter with the former, turning herself into a ball.
Now she doesn’t know how to let go. She wonders whether to cry or ask for help: but then just like that, her arms loosen their hold, and her legs go back to their original position.
She is amused.
She laughs.
Have you heard a baby laugh? It is a sound specially created to outrival the beauty of every other sound in the world. Because there is no sound that fills a listener’s heart with so much tenderness, love and gratitude.
And a world in which such a sound exists can’t be all bad, can it?
ⓒ 2022 Suma Narayan. All Rights Reserved.
