November 12, 2011

Stuffed Toy No 2 - Shamu

Favorite No 2 is Shamu - the killer whale. In August 2010 we had visited our friends in San Jose, US, and all of us went on a week long road trip covering Los Angeles, San Diego, Grand Canyon and Las Vegas. We were 4 adults and 3 children and we had the most fantastic time together. At San Diego, we visited Sea World and of all the places we have travelled to with Adi, this is the one place that he enjoyed the most and also remembers the most - all because of Shamu - the killer whale. (I guess the whales have different names but the show is called Shamu and Adi calls his whale Shamu).

During his preschool days, Adi was fascinated by the blue whale (for its size) and the killer whale (for its  power). Even today if we ask him what his favorite animals are, he says 'Leopard' and 'Blue whale'. We had not told him anything about Sea World before we went there and so when we walked towards the whale section and he saw the huge killer whales swimming in the big pool he was simply awe struck! It was almost like seeing God! :)

Watching the 'Shamu' show was the ultimate thrill for Adi and after the show all he wanted was to buy a 'Shamu teddy'. So we bought one for him and since then, Shamu has been his best friend. At night, if he wakes up and comes to our bedroom, it is Shamu who always comes along with him. When we moved from UK to Bangalore, Shamu came in a box and I guess because of the way it was stored in the box, his tail is a little bent now. When Adi first saw him with the bent tail, he was heartbroken and wept for him. Adi takes Shamu whenever we go on long driving trips and plays with him a lot. Apparently Adi has been giving him haircuts these days and told me that whales need a haircut every week! Can't see any serious damage on Shamu so I guess all is well for now.










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