Happy New Year!

Different Childhoods

“Be careful! Where are you going?”
Well-dressed, sheltered kids curbed their naughtiness as they heeded the warnings let out by the elders. The polythene, trash strewn water could be deep. They wanted to have fun but not at the cost of their clothes or the anxious commands of their elders. As they climbed up and down the steps cheerfully and carefully under the watchful eyes of their parents, two other kids jumped down from the platform in the middle of the pond.

The new entrants playfully jumped through the shallow, dirty water towards the side of the pond. The sheltered kids watched spellbound with wonder and amazement at these kids gamboling through these dirty waters. Do not know what was going through their minds as they looked at the kids who freely frolicked in the waters. Different childhoods – sheltered versus unshackled!

As parents or elders, do we sometimes shelter our kids too much? Should we let them enjoy the simple things in life? Do we curb their natural, curious instinct, exploratory spirit in the process of sheltering them? I remember we used to sometimes float paper boats in the roadside puddles. Do not see that happening very often now a days. Are the kids today more mature, more worldly-wise albeit minus the playful, exploratory spirit?

I feel fortunate and blessed to observe my niece at close quarters in the everyday things she does.  I marvel at how she picks up new things and her curiosity, her ability to grasp new things.

Here are some of the moments she presented to me…

At the playground, she loves to play with the swing, the slide and to pick up and throw the little pieces of playground surface materials like wood chips and shredded bark mulch.  On being asked what she is doing as she throws the chips away, she always replies – ‘tafai!’

(i.e. she is doing ‘safai’ in Hindi or cleaning up the place).

On the steps up to the slide, it is time for a peek-a-boo. As she says, ‘peet-a-boo!’  Here, she is lost in thoughts after pausing for a peek-a-boo moment.

Peek-a-boo

At the beach, she totally loved the sand and the way the grains flew in the wind. Her mom showed her how to cup sand with hands and release it slowly. The little kid spent the next hour ‘showering her baby’ with sand.

Sand shower for her baby

In the afternoon light with the sun on her shoulders, she pauses her play to look at me through the tunnel in her tent.

Through a tunnel of love

When I showed her how to hold a small drum, she would remember the ‘dam-moo’ (for damroo) from time to time. Here she surprised me by bringing the drum to me and then, proceeding to drum up her own beat.  Her expression says it all.  The delights of drumming.  Maybe, we will join a drum circle one day.

Delight of drumming

The water baby that she is, she loves getting into water.  She is taking swimming lessons.  When you ask her what she did on the day of the class, she would say in a sweet, lilting voice – ‘teet-teet!’ For the uninitiated, it is ‘kick! kick!’ as instructed by her swim teacher.  On this particular day, she started the water in jacuzzi, stood on the edge and wanted to ‘teet-teet’.  Here, she shows us the fish as the water drains after this soak session.

My fish

Yes, she is all of a year and a half!

Long back I wrote -
“At any point in life, the child within, devoid of any sophistry, wants to roam free. But, the adult self, having learnt the artificiality and bound by the society, walks in the direction opposite. This is life, at the crossroads, where the child and the adult meet……”

And, I get to see her at the crossroads everyday.

Happy New Year!

Splashing in the puddles
rain drops dance
off the red umbrella
It’s time to float
my paper boat
Notes of innocence
waft in the air
the spirits
play a rain-song
as two little kids
marvel at the skies

Such is life…high up in the sky, feeling the invigorating, refreshing air. Carefully holding on and enjoying the ride. It’s New Years’ eve and another year is passing by. Be safe and have a great time. I will, I am sure.