Tuhin Sinha - Daddy

Pick up household chores

Protect mother and baby

Sometimes you have to sit back and let go!

Plan a baby moon

Section C: THE BIRTH

5. Labour Day

Early birds

The final countdown

There will be blood!

So far but so good

Watch out for the waterworks

6. Managing Birth Complications

Testing times ahead

Managing the crowd

Is your hospital a safe zone?

Things to remember

Section D: THE HOMECOMING

7. Announcing the Baby

Finally, Tanish and mom re-unite

Bringing home the new addition

The longest car journey ever!

Of pujas and photo ops

Say hello to the virtual world

8. Caution! Speed Bumps Ahead

Getting down to business

At times, formula milk is inevitable

Don’t over-react

A separation

Things to remember

9. The Name Game

The key players

Google thy name

The perfect fit

Better late than never

Things to remember

10. Up All Night

Say goodbye to sleep

Adjusting to new sleeping patterns

Working your magic

Co-sleeping with your child

Things to remember

11. For Crying Out Loud!

Take a chill pill

The language of tears

Swaddling

To do or not to do?

Things to remember

12. Relax, Little One

Time to bond

The first bath

Safety rules to remember

Massaging your baby

13. I’m Always Anxious

Feeding woes

Obsessing over your baby

Finding a good paediatrician

Ruling out anomalies

Things to remember

Section E: NEW MOM, NEW DAD

14. Emotional Atyachaar

Mind your language

Everyone has an opinion!

Screen your visitors

Internal atyachaar

Am I fat?

Managing grandparents

More people equals more love

Things to remember

15. Pati, Patni or Woh! The Nanny Diaries…

Yes, we need help

The nanny from hell

Agencies or personal reccos?

Give the nanny a break

Things to remember

16. Getting Life Back on Track

No time for love

Reconnecting with your wife

Things to remember

17. It’s Not All About the Money, Honey!

Office politics before the baby

Is she worried about her job?

Maternity leave is over. What next?

Not without my baby

Things to remember

18. Daddy Needs Bonding Time too

Crazy, stupid, love

The new-age dad

Take note, corporate dads

Are you a Helicopter Dad?

Too close for comfort

Paternity leave in India

Things to remember

Section F: SIX MONTHS AND OVER

19. An Accident at Every Corner

Have a safety plan

Baby-proofing the house

Blink and miss!

The technological solution

Guard against secondary drowning

Things to remember

20. Separation Anxiety

What does this mean?

Our tryst with separation anxiety

How should I prepare my baby?

Things to remember

An Expert Take—by Dr. Seema Hingorrany

Things to remember

21. My Baby is the Boss of Me

Am I spoiling my child?

The early symptoms

Even parents get homework

Don’t let the tears fool you

It’s time for some tough love

Teaching habits

Things to remember

22. Keeping the Little One Entertained

Games galore

Gadget geeks start early

With a little help from friends

Malls vs open spaces

When to allow TV

Encourage physical activities

Power of age-old story telling

Things to remember

23. Protecting Your Baby

Don’t panic! This too shall pass

Are vaccines optional?

Common illnesses

Things to remember

An Expert Take—by Dr. Santanu Sen

An Expert Take—by Dr. Ninad Hebbalkar

24. Teaching Your Tot

School’s in session

Do we need one?

How to find the perfect school

The first day

Things to remember

Section G: A CASE FOR INVOLVED FATHERHOOD

25. Fatherhood across Generations

The way we were

My daddy strongest

Things I’d do differently

26. A Letter to My Son

If I Had My Child to Raise Over Again

Fathers Interviewed for the Book

Copyright

As I dwell upon what has been the most beautiful phase of my life, I feel blessed to have enjoyed the unflinching support of several kind-hearted souls who shared my joys and sorrows through this journey. Some of these relationships were inherited; others formed, often unsuspectingly, at different stages of life. The inherited relationships constitute what we call family, while the acquired ones include my circle of friends.

They say birth, death and marriages are made in heaven. What that implies is that we were destined to be born to a certain set of parents, marry a certain man or woman, and have a certain being as our son or daughter. While we choose our friends, the people with whom we’re closest to were perhaps always meant to be a part of our lives. An invisible, divine force plays a crucial role in determining these relationships.

The Hindu religion accords great reverence to our lineage. An important ritual in most of our pujas is to pay homage to our forefathers. The last five ancestral fathers in a family are invoked by the priest through chants and prayers and their blessings sought. I have always felt a strange kinship with those names, most of whom I have never seen or met. I don’t know what they looked like; how different their lives were from the ones we lead today and yet, I know that I am in this world because of them. I owe my existence to the vast lineage to which my forefathers and I belong. So while documenting my journey forward, I feel a strong urge to thank them for taking their generations ahead. They form the foundation of my being, my values and my beliefs.

In addition to the reverence that I have always had for my father, about whom I talk later in detail, I also greatly admire four other father figures who are worthy of emulation. Each of them belong to a different world—mythology, literature, sports and films. Their lives are a true celebration of fatherhood.

These are the stories of Nandaraj and his foster son Krishna, spiritual partners Debendranath and Rabindranath Tagore, novelist Ramesh Tendulkar and cricketing genius Sachin Tendulkar, and Aamir Khan and his surrogate son Azad Rao Khan.

According to Bhagavata Purana , Krishna was born not out of a sexual union, but by a divine ‘transmission’ from the mind of Vasudeva to the womb of Devaki. He was born in a prison during a period of political turbulence in Mathura. King Kansa, Devaki’s brother-had ascended the throne by imprisoning his father King Ugrasena. Afraid of a prophecy that predicted his death at the hands of Devaki’s eighth ‘ garbha ’, Kansa locked the couple in a prison cell and killed their first six children.

Krishna narrowly escaped death when he was secretly handed over by Vasudeva to his foster parents, Yashoda and Nandaraj, immediately after his birth. Nanda was the head of a community of cow-herders who belonged to Vrindavana. What fascinates me is the sheer selflessness with which Nanda offered to adopt Krishna and in the process risked his own new-born daughter Yogamaya’s life by handing her over to Vasudeva. He accepted Krishna and raised him with all the love his own father could not provide.

Scriptures do not delve deep into the motivation behind Nanda’s grand gesture. But what I learnt from the story is that fatherhood is a state of mind. It means protecting a young life from imminent perils and nurturing it to realise its true worth.