My Nephew’s Dinosaur Obsession

I wrote about Gulzar earlier and today I was reminded of something he has written. It’s a child’s rhyme which goes “Chhipkali ke nana hai…Dinosaur” (He is the maternal grandfather of lizard, Dinosaur).

This song was introduced to me by my youngest brother and his new spouse shortly after their marriage. I found the song ridiculous but their shared love for it hilarious and yet adorable, so I never questioned where it was coming from.

This song resurfaced when my youngest nephew, their son, was born and he loved responding to it with “Dinosaur Dinosaur.” Needless to say, he is a big fan of dinosaurs. A lot of his clothes feature dinosaurs, and I was lucky enough to find dinosaur-themed wrapping paper for all his gifts for his third birthday.

Today I dressed him in shorts that had dinosaurs on them and a T-shirt that followed suit. That’s another thing he loves, outfits that match. He loves pretending to be a dinosaur and scaring us with his roar. Today, we were singing “Chhipkali ke nana hai dinosaur” and making up the song as we went along.

“T-shirt pe kya hai?” ( what’s on the T-shirt)

Don’t like ads? Become a supporter and enjoy The Good Men Project ad free

I asked, and he went “Dinosaurs!”

“Shorts pe kya hai?” “Dinosaurs!” ( whats on the shorts)

“Vishu kaun hai?” and he responded with “Chhipkali.” ( who’s Vishu)

We burst out laughing.

He has included his play-school buddies and teachers in the dinosaur game too. Now they don’t question it when he roars. In fact, they join him. It’s created this wonderful little community where his dinosaur enthusiasm is celebrated rather than quieted. His teachers have embraced his prehistoric passion, roaring back when he initiates the game. I can just imagine the scene in his classroom — a chorus of little ones pretending to be dinosaurs, with the adults happily participating instead of trying to redirect their energy elsewhere.

Thankfully he’s too young to be obsessed with specific types of dinosaurs. His elder cousins went through that phase where they’d memorise complicated names and facts. He’s still in the simple stage where dinosaurs are just cool.

I have so many interests of my own that I can’t do more beyond indulging him when we’re together. But I enjoy our little moments — seeing his eyes light up at dinosaur-patterned clothes, hearing his enthusiastic roars, and participating in our made-up variations of that silly rhyme his parents once loved.

These small traditions, passing from my brother and his spouse to their son, and now spreading to his school, have become part of our family culture. And while I may not share his passion for prehistoric creatures, I cherish being part of his dinosaur world, even if just for a little while.

—

This post was previously published on medium.com.

***