Choice!?

"He would regret it for the rest of his life. It will prick him through his life. I gave him full freedom you know, I don't want to force, this was his choice. He left....."

I heard these statements being made by a woman outside a supermarket. She was talking on the phone. I felt sad looking at her. She was educated, well dressed and came from a middle class family like most of us. Her voice quivering; pleading conversation. For a moment I imagined lot of things. Was her husband treating her bad? Was her son giving her trouble? What was the sad situation she was in that she didnt seem to care her surrounding.

I picked the basket and walked into the supermarket; got my stuffs and forgot all about her until after 10 mins. She was still on the phone talking standing out. This time I heard "He definitely wants to do engineering. That is his choice. He doesn't care about my choice and my wishes......"

I just rolled my eyes and felt stupid about feeling bad for her few minutes ago.

Children

plural of child (Noun)

1. A young human being below the age of full physical development or below the legal age of majority

I want to make sure I got the right definition of 'children' so that I could justify my frequent "mouth wide open in shock" reaction during my recent picnic.

Well, yeah its only the physical development that decides if a human being is a child or an adult. So if thats not taken into account; is it alright for them to curse, smirk, give that sensuous look like adults? :-/

People, this is an honest question. I get intimidated with kids around - for the way and the topic they discuss. 5 kids aged between 12-17 accompanied by their respective dads. Bandipur tiger reserve on a jungle safari - the kids were talking non stop. Guess what it was about? Brands - Nike, Puma, Reebok....each one had high end cameras with them. Another girl was incessantly yapping off about her trip to Singapore and how the safari here is so mediocre.

Their disappointed verbal expression of not spotting a tiger was the final nail in the coffin. I and Velu exchanged looks. What got us uncomfortable was this "Daddy, this is not done. I did not expect this. Lets go somewhere else. WTF!" Another one joined "Yeah! WTF!!" Others joined in chorus. All these among others also in the bus. The dads were indifferent; surprisingly. One of them gave a stern look; one kid was smart enough to catch that and exclaimed "WTF - World Taekwondo Federation". Our wide gaped mouths just shut!!

Now why am I mentioning all these is because I got reminded of my childhood. I was in 1st grade. I stole a pencil from school and got it home. My mom was so furious with me that she heated a knife and placed the red hot stuff on my hand. The mark still exists and each time I see it; I recall that day. Yeah that was harsh but that was the last day I stole.

Few years later; I should be 11 years old or so; a neighbor kid had a fight with me and she uttered an expletive. I didnt even utter it but just said "You too". My mom was a strict disciplinarian. She overheard it and on that occasion I was punished so hard that I never used expletive there after.

Again around that time; we had to attend a cousin's wedding. The groom's friends presented them with a packet. The bride and groom spent 1 hour unpacking it; as the gift was wrapped in layers of newspapers. Around a kg of gift packet reduced to a small carton box and a Lacto King chocolate. As soon as they discovered what it was; the newly weds threw it on the ground. I picked it up. I was playing with it; even about to attempt to blow the balloon ;-) My mom noticed it and knocked it off my hand. I was protesting when she gave me a stern look and that was all that I needed to keep shut.

We were so innocent then; where has the innocence gone? Its nice to see kids know the world and they are sharp and smart; but really sad to see what all they have lost.

Do we celebrate the gain or feel sorry about the loss? I dont know but I get intimidated with kids around

Wickedly Yours...

Dear B Log,

I hope you are healthy and active and are generating decent traffic. I learnt that you have sensible readers who appreciate you and criticize you for the better. Things are fine by me. But there is one stuff that twitches my brain from time to time since few days and its driving me to guilt.

Kids, as you know are very innocent and naive. They are pure in their thoughts and actions, maybe they do commit mischief but those are not intentional. But as a kid, I was wicked. I was cunning and bad. Please let me share my actions with you. It would soothe my heart.

This one happened when I was in my Upper Kindergarten. A girl in my class had a tiny toy which made noise as it snapped. It was to be held in the thumb and to be snapped. I liked it a lot. It was not that I did not ask her to lend it to me. She showed it off but would never let my hands on it. So I devised a plan. When she was away, I stole it and behaved as if nothing happened. When she realized that she lost her toy, she searched in vain and cried. I took secret pride about my successful actions. As soon as I went home that day, I hid it in a closet. My mom noticed it and investigated. She punished me hard and later, I never stole a thing, I did not even take anything from my home without letting my mom know.........Well, at least for few years.

Some other time, I vented out my anger on a friend for denying me what? I don't remember. You want to know what I did? I cut the strap of her new bag! And I seemed happy when she was crying!

I told you I stopped stealing after my mom punished me on the first occasion. Well, that was only for a few years. When I was in grade 3, we started collecting these greeting cards for the fun of it. What started as a fun, went on to become an obsession. We used to exchange cards depending on mutual likings and preferences. It was during one such day that I eyed upon a beautiful card with a friend. She did not part with it. I patiently waited until the class hours ended. We commuted in the same bus. When we were in the bus, I stealthily unbuckled her bag and pulled out the card that I wanted partially; waited for us to alight. When we alighted, I just pulled that one card out, hid it with me. I would have been still a good child had I left it at that. I was fuming at her denial and I pulled out other cards too in such a way that they started falling off from her bag as she walked away. :-(

The most cunning stuff I have ever done is this. I and my class mate would go to the same private tuition where I was the teacher's favorite. To be noted was that I knew her since my lower grade and was quite a close friend. At school, I took advantage of both these facts and would hijack things from her by blackmailing the poor girl that if she denied, I would complain to the tuition teacher. The girl was always scared as the teacher had a reputation of being strict. She would get annoyed about my act but yet would relent. I got my free supply of pencils, erasers etc from her.

These things really make me feel sick about myself as a kid. More than anything, I feel sorry for my actions and want to apologize to these victims. I was very wicked and cunning. But I have grown up now and I am no more the wicked kid. These were the only times I were wicked, but otherwise I was a good child. I hope those girls would not mind now.

Hmmm....finally; I shared these thoughts with you and I can be peaceful henceforth.

Wickedly yours,

Insignia.

My legacy

Now that my swimming classes were done with, I found myself free on Saturday after about 2 months. It was a lazy day and with nothing much to do, I went around digging my room to kill time; taking breaks in between my regular maniac routine of reading.

Snuggled in a corner of my wardrobe was this.


Its a churidar pyjama. Blue in color. By the way its MY pyjama; used to wear them when I was 2-3 years old. I vaguely remember the kurta. It had laced embroidery on it. Its in a bad condition a bit with stitches out and bruises; yet its magnificent.

I was awe struck seeing this garment. I cant even fit my hands into these leggings now. It was a nice feeling. Was I so tiny then? Did I really fit into this garment? Yeah I can recall I did. It was a bit loose then.

I have diligently preserved this piece of garment for 23 years now and would do for the rest of my life. I would want to show this cloth to kids around me when I am ripen old and tell them "I was a kid just like you honey bunches many many years ago"

:-)

Knock Knock! Who's Inside You?

This incident occurred yesterday evening. I take public transport for commuting to and from home-office as my workplace is very far away(or rather my residence is outside the city limits). I was waiting for the bus at the central bus station. The buses come in an interval known to them. I spotted a bus that goes to my destination and walked forward to hop on in. At that time; a lady; probably in her early 40s rushed through. In an effort to barge in; me and her put our best foot forward at the same time. In the process; I by mistake stamped on her foot. It was unintentional.
I was about to apologize; when she stood for a moment; stamped by right foot hard; then continued hopping onto the bus. Ouch!! That terribly hurt.
I got myself a window seat; just behind the lady. What I felt was not animosity; but happiness. Well; here it is why.

The lady just demonstrated that there is a kid within her; always looking for a chance to get unleashed and let her hair down. She was content with her achievement of stomping on my poor feet. She did it! Have we not done these silly things as a kid? How happy were we to go stealthily behind that bad girl; pinch her and run away.That ultimate surge of joy in pulling that poor girl's plait, the satisfaction of playing in the mud; getting our hands dirty; with not a worry on our mind.

As a kid, I wanted to grow older. I remember how I draped my mom's Saree; wore her sandals and walked like her; trying to be her. How I would grumble when my parents bought me shoes which had mickey mouse and flowers on it? Why not the the sandals as my mom wore? I remember courting the number of years for me to go to get out of school. Because that was ultimate freedom for us innocent kids. No need to wear the boring school uniform each day; no need to carry the lunch box.; and yeah above all no need to attend all the classes. We were looking forward to our future as we wanted to break ourselves from the limitation and rules set by our elders.

But what has happened now that we have grown up? Each one of us are fighting our way to survive in this mad dog-eat-dog world; trying to keep up with this rat race. We are being adults tackling our responsibilities; trying to fulfill our obligations; forgetting that the inner-most child within us now is waiting patiently to fulfill the essential part of being us - happy, peaceful and serene. What is preventing us from be the genuine part of us. Look beyond that harsh; wicked and cunning you; you would see the real you; yearning for a simple life - When you can

draw wings to a puppy and paint the sky green;
run around chasing butterflies;
fight over a broken toy;
get your hands and legs dirty;
cry to finish off your milk;
Jump into a puddle;
run around bare-footed;
enjoy your chocolate;
drench in the rain;
try to feed your pet;
Climb trees;
Laugh out loud after a nasty fall;
Cry over a broken shirt button;
Get scared of the ghost;
Ask silly questions;
Wait for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve;
Look forward to cutting cakes on your birthday;
Count the stars;
Draw a tree upside down;
Learn alphabets ;
Talk nonsense;
Forget to tie shoe laces;
Have a piggy bank;
Frown over long journeys;
Find elders' talk boring;
Laugh your gut out watching Tom & Jerry;
Be worried about your Math class;
Listen to bed time story of Alice in Wonderland;
And imagine having a town made of chocolates, ice creams and candies......................

The list is endless isn't it?

And yes, the best in you surfaces with the child in you.
A couple of my creation when I unleashed the child within me

Children, Innonence in its pure form

I started my swimming class....[:D]....Will talk about it later. Being the very first class, the coach was giving us instructions and answering FAQs. She was telling about the strokes we would be learning.
There was this foreign kid aged about 3 years old who had accompanied his mother for the class. We were all listening to what our coach was talking with apt attention, when she mentioned "We wont be doing the butterfly style".
The word "BUTTERFLY" caught the kid's attention. He was so thrilled and excited to hear the word; that he jumped from his mother's lap and clapped his hands and running towards the coach repeating "Butterfly!"..We all burst out laughing.
How innocent the kids are...and as they grow they lose their innocence. Obviously; even we would have been excited about a butterfly many years back...not anymore! Alas! The rat race, trying to keep up with competition, the dog-eat-dog world blinds us from simple pleasures.
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