The Sound of Music

The little one is a darling. So far, she has been very cooperative - crying only when she is hungry, wet, uncomfortable, or when she is too sleepy and can't get herself to calm down enough to go to sleep.

Quietening her down is very simple in the first two cases. The third can be difficult, but once you nail what is bothering her, it is ok. The fourth case can be very tricky. Initially I tried singing lullabies to her. But singing a lullaby at a volume a couple of decibels higher than her crying volume is not very easy. I end up sounding like a hard rock lead singer. And it has no effect on her at all.

Now we have a solution. Discovered accidentally, as such brilliant solutions always are. Whenever she cries, and I ensure that she is not hungry or wet or uncomfortable, all we do is switch on the Electronic Tamboori (Tanpura).

The soothing drone of that blessed machine almost acts like a tranquilizer gun. The little one's cries stop as if a sound system has been abruptly turned off. Her big black eyes open wide and focus on some obscure point in space. Her flailing arms and legs stop in mid air. Slowly, very slowly, her arms and legs come down to ground level. Her tiny fingers unclench slowly, and she intertwines her fingers and places her hands elegantly on her chest. Her nostrils flare ever so slightly. Her eyebrows arch just that little bit. A miniscule frown appears on her forehead. Her mouth forms this cute little "O" and her upper lip juts out. She relaxes completely and just seems to listen indefinitely.

She just stays like that until a valid crying reason comes up, or until she falls asleep.

I just hope this fascination for that sound is not just a passing fad and I fervently hope that this solution does not stop working.

Besides, I like to think that this is an indication that she is a musical baby! Hurrah!

Yes, I know that in no way is an Electronic Tamboori comparable to the sound of a real well-tuned Tamboori. We have not one, but two "real" Tambooris too. But we don't have anybody who will drop everything and sit and play the Tamboori endlessly for the benefit of her little royal highness. So the Electronic Tamboori it is.