What does it mean to be a grown up for a child ? Becoming a doctor, engineer or the old favorite pilot ?
If you are three years old it can be quite different. Take my son Sanjiv for instance. “When I become big, I will be able to put my hands inside the plug points, he says.This is because all of us at home do not allow him to go anywhere near the plug points. His other favourite refrain is, “When I become big I can open the medicine box”. My father who is a heart patient has to take a lot of medicines every day. All of us at home have expressly forbidden Sanjiv from touching the box containing medicines. Child that he is he does not realize that having to take so many medicines are really a curse and not a source of joy as he imagines.
His other aspiration is a little more in line with that of ordinary mortals. He wants to drive a car except that for this one he doesn’t want to wait till he grows up but do it immediately. For a start, whenever we hire a car for long distance travel he wants to sit next to the driver. That is because we don’t allow him to sit on the driver’s seat and get behind the wheel straight away. Nevertheless at the end of each journey, he insists that he sit behind the wheel and pretend to drive. Child that he is he does not see the Mumbai traffic and the attendant problems but only the joy associated with driving.
The world of the adult and the child are quite divergent. Many things that adults see as a problem is a source of joy to the child. Perceptions obviously change as children first metamorphose into adolescents and then adults. All of us would however be a lot more happier in life if only we could retain a bit of the child.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Daddy, Mummy and Baby
Daddy and Mummy had planned on seeing a movie together after many months. They had however reckoned without three year old baby. Baby who normally loved to sleep with grandfather and grandmother decided inexplicably that they were not congenial company. He was immune to any blandishments offered to him in the form of his favourite sweets and biscuits.
He realized with his child’s intuition that Mummy and Daddy were going out. He wanted a slice of the action. He made his views quite clear and chose the child’s way of expressing himself- he simply hollered at the top of his voice. Daddy’s fervent pleas that he wanted to go to work and Mummy’s assurances that she would be quickly back from the market fell on deaf ears. Daddy grew increasingly angry and Mummy increasingly upset. Baby responded by raising the decibel level. Daddy was worried that the tickets that had been purchased at a popular Mulitplex for a fancy price would go waste. Mummy worried about leaving a crying child at home. Further, how would the child react even if he was taken to the theatre ? Baby eventually won the standoff and he was taken to the movie.
The humour of the situation was not lost on Mummy and Daddy. Sheer, childish stubbornness had won the day. The best laid plans of mice and men had taken a backseat. At the theatre, Daddy tried to catch up on the movie while baby busied himself with popcorn. Mummy, alternated between watching the movie and keeping an eye on the baby as he was prone to go for walks. Finally, the picture came to an end. Mummy and Daddy agreed that one had to be extraordinarily unfortunate to watch a movie like “Bad Luck Govind”. Baby had really had the best of both worlds-he had come to the movie but had not really understood whatever little he watched. Daddy and Mummy agreed from now on baby would figure in all their movie outings for however bad the movie, baby could be relied upon to provide the fun.
Friends, this is the story of myself, my wife Vidya and son Sanjiv. It happened yesterday and it could have happened in a lot of families. No doubt it has happened before and will happen again for children like history repeat themselves.
He realized with his child’s intuition that Mummy and Daddy were going out. He wanted a slice of the action. He made his views quite clear and chose the child’s way of expressing himself- he simply hollered at the top of his voice. Daddy’s fervent pleas that he wanted to go to work and Mummy’s assurances that she would be quickly back from the market fell on deaf ears. Daddy grew increasingly angry and Mummy increasingly upset. Baby responded by raising the decibel level. Daddy was worried that the tickets that had been purchased at a popular Mulitplex for a fancy price would go waste. Mummy worried about leaving a crying child at home. Further, how would the child react even if he was taken to the theatre ? Baby eventually won the standoff and he was taken to the movie.
The humour of the situation was not lost on Mummy and Daddy. Sheer, childish stubbornness had won the day. The best laid plans of mice and men had taken a backseat. At the theatre, Daddy tried to catch up on the movie while baby busied himself with popcorn. Mummy, alternated between watching the movie and keeping an eye on the baby as he was prone to go for walks. Finally, the picture came to an end. Mummy and Daddy agreed that one had to be extraordinarily unfortunate to watch a movie like “Bad Luck Govind”. Baby had really had the best of both worlds-he had come to the movie but had not really understood whatever little he watched. Daddy and Mummy agreed from now on baby would figure in all their movie outings for however bad the movie, baby could be relied upon to provide the fun.
Friends, this is the story of myself, my wife Vidya and son Sanjiv. It happened yesterday and it could have happened in a lot of families. No doubt it has happened before and will happen again for children like history repeat themselves.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Revisiting Enid Blyton
In the last few weeks I have been reading the favourite author of my childhood-Enid Blyton- all over again. Specifically, I have been reading the series on the Five Find outers and the Dog. The titles that I have hungrily devoured include The Mystery of the Disappearing Cat; The Mystery of the Pantomime Cat; The Mystery of Tally Ho Cottage; The Mystery of the Strange Bundle and The Mystery of the Spiteful Letters.
The principal characters in the story are five children comprising Frederick Algernon Trottevile (Fatty); and two brother- sister duos—Pip & Bets and Larry & Daisy. Giving the children company in all their mysteries is Fatty’s dog Buster. Fatty is of course the brains of the group with Bets occasionally supplying some inspiration. The children are in constant competition with the local policeman- Mr Goon- who says clear orf by instinct on seeing the children. He feels that they are constantly interfering with the law and refers to Fatty as a toad of a boy. Buster also has taken a fancy for Goon’s ankles and has a go at them every time he sees them. Mercifully, no harm is done as Fatty calls him off each time but not before everyone has had their quota of fun.
In between solving mysteries the five find outers and dog munch on ice creams, scones, sandwiches, potted meat and drink lemonade. Reading these books acts as a tranquilizer as the stories are fun, pacy but not fast enough to get the adrenaline flowing.
Now as a child I enjoyed reading the children’s fights with Mr Goon. I loved it when Buster pranced around his ankles or Fatty led the policeman on a merry-go-round in one of his numerous disguises. As an adult, I cannot help thinking that perhaps Mr Goon was right after all about the “interfering with the law” bit. Further, does being amateur detectives really give Fatty the licence to lead ‘Goon on a dance’ or plant false clues. Even more strange is the attitude of Goon’s superior—Inspector Jenks who rises to become a superintendent during the series of books. He openly sides with the children in their fights with Goon. Granted Goon is not the brightest of policemen but surely his superior cannot be seen to be siding with his rivals ?
These are of course adult thoughts that intrude about books that are essentially written for children. Even as one sympathises with Goon, one cannot help enjoying the book which acts as an anodyne in a stressed world and brings back warm memories of childhood. Here is a treasure trove for children but are enough of them reading Enid Blyton in an era in which it is more fashionable for even kids to surf the Internet ? The answer to that question will determine whether the appeal of the Five Findouters and their dog lingers on to this day.
The principal characters in the story are five children comprising Frederick Algernon Trottevile (Fatty); and two brother- sister duos—Pip & Bets and Larry & Daisy. Giving the children company in all their mysteries is Fatty’s dog Buster. Fatty is of course the brains of the group with Bets occasionally supplying some inspiration. The children are in constant competition with the local policeman- Mr Goon- who says clear orf by instinct on seeing the children. He feels that they are constantly interfering with the law and refers to Fatty as a toad of a boy. Buster also has taken a fancy for Goon’s ankles and has a go at them every time he sees them. Mercifully, no harm is done as Fatty calls him off each time but not before everyone has had their quota of fun.
In between solving mysteries the five find outers and dog munch on ice creams, scones, sandwiches, potted meat and drink lemonade. Reading these books acts as a tranquilizer as the stories are fun, pacy but not fast enough to get the adrenaline flowing.
Now as a child I enjoyed reading the children’s fights with Mr Goon. I loved it when Buster pranced around his ankles or Fatty led the policeman on a merry-go-round in one of his numerous disguises. As an adult, I cannot help thinking that perhaps Mr Goon was right after all about the “interfering with the law” bit. Further, does being amateur detectives really give Fatty the licence to lead ‘Goon on a dance’ or plant false clues. Even more strange is the attitude of Goon’s superior—Inspector Jenks who rises to become a superintendent during the series of books. He openly sides with the children in their fights with Goon. Granted Goon is not the brightest of policemen but surely his superior cannot be seen to be siding with his rivals ?
These are of course adult thoughts that intrude about books that are essentially written for children. Even as one sympathises with Goon, one cannot help enjoying the book which acts as an anodyne in a stressed world and brings back warm memories of childhood. Here is a treasure trove for children but are enough of them reading Enid Blyton in an era in which it is more fashionable for even kids to surf the Internet ? The answer to that question will determine whether the appeal of the Five Findouters and their dog lingers on to this day.
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