All in the genes

One did for the livelihood and the other to make extra pocket money.

Door to door selling- ever wondered what is going through in their life which has brought them to knock at your doors, before shunning them out. I have got the privilege of hearing to the feelings of that knocker. Each time he used to knock with millions of  positive hopes, what if they buy the entire stock, what if they in some way act as a turning point in my life. This is  normal, but what if it's the hope he still has even after being shown the door at least a million times. I would call that a 'true positive attitude'. I would have been shattered, howling abuses, cursing each one of them for showing no empathy. He stood strong unaffected by each failure, with eyes towards the better future and an heart filled completely with positive hopes leaving no room for even the small tinker of negativity. Gives me goosebumps each time I recall that phase.
Now coming to the present- was astonished when meenu talked about making extra money for the unnecessary 'stuff' I refused to buy. Not fully supportive of her decision of door to door selling her rock paintings, but still allowed her with persuasion from the first hander(her father)to get the first hand experience. With full enthusiasm she got into action, with support from her teacher who shared her experience and gave her the much needed motivation. I was pleasantly surprised when she had sold half of her stock- just enough to buy the 'stuff'. Thanks to all those who saw something beyond the unfinished rock painting. That something could be the humanity, sympathy, not to dishearten the childs efforts. Thanking God each day for being surrounded by the lovely people who are guiding forces.

Trip to 'foreign'

There is a lot of buzz in the school today as a 3rd standard student had visited the land unseen, the paradise considered by the villagers, a foreign land.

People throng around her to update their geographical knowledge, New friends are made, the once upon a time enemies come back to her offering pencils, erasers with the sweet smell. The girl is amused with the sudden Popularity unaware of the fact that her foreign land she claims to have visited is not foreign.

Those were the days when anyone visiting or having a relative far or near never mind were considered next to God.

The news reaches the teachers and becomes a point of discussion in the teachers meeting. The class teacher decides to investigate this further as the child has been having a full attendance so far. She summons her
Teacher: so you went to foreign? How was it?
Child: v good, huge shops, clean roads, see through shops where you can see all the toys in the shop, even the teddy which had slipped in the corner. Toys running on their own, they come with their own house with kitchens.toys with frilled frocks, high heels.
Teacher: ok what else did u see?
C: on the clean road there were lots of clean buses and clean people with clean fancy dresses. Buses on the top of the other. I didn't want to take that bus as I didn't like the idea of the below bus moving with another one on top of it. What if the glue holding the buses together wears off . So I just waved at the people in the bus, pitying them on their ignorance of this simple logic.
The buildings were so tall touching the sky that we could climb our way to heaven. I also saw a lot of good people waiting to go up their.
T: good people?
C: yes, only good people go to heaven and As they were waiting for the vehicle that takes them to heaven they must be good people. The vehicle takes the people within seconds.
T: when did u go?
C: we went on Sunday.
T: when did you come back?
C: Sunday
T:how did you go?
C: bus
T:what was the bus number?
C:330 to MG road.

The teacher burst out laughing for having successfully investigated the foolish girl's foreign visit. The class who witness the teacher laughing to tears and having got an opportunity to prove how loud the class can raise the decibel meter start laughing. Except for the teacher none has understood why were they laughing. The girl feels the miss having the credit of listening the foreign encounter and that too being the first one is happy.

Not only this incident made the teacher feel that she could have been a better investigator but the girl now has another feather to the cap, for making a teacher laugh. Never before has any child in the school history has ever witnessed a teacher laugh.
For until a long time the girl indeed thought that she had been to a foreign land, it was true in her own sense as she did visit a new place and travelled far away for the first time.

Rich v/s Poor - child's view

The views expressed in this article are from a child of 5years, any resemblances, offences is purely co-incidental.

She watches as the beggar is seeking alms at each passerby. Perturbed by her long silence, very unusual of an always vocally expressive child, I know that the view she had seen outside the temple had affected her deeply. Wanting to restore her normalcy, I probe her, breaking her train of thoughts. 

The below is the excerpts from that interview.
Why do you think he is like that. Because he has no money to buy a computer.
Why does he need a computer of all other things.
Because these rich people are mean, very bad and bad. These people don't have a house to live, proper clothes, nice neat plates to seek alms.
Truly said. But why do they need a computer?
Because these mean rich people do not show them where the ATM s are. And They cannot search the ATMs address on the computer, as they don't have a computer. No ATM,  no money!!! the machine that keeps loads and loads of money.

A much debated global hot topic of discussion, for which great and learned leaders are unable to find answers, the rich getting richer and poor becoming more poor is solved in a jiffy.

I did not want to infiltrate her innocent thoughts and allow her a sense of achievement for analysing the situation with her little known understanding of the world. Here she goes an animal activist, a social worker, now a global thinker, trying to assess the next situation.

My experiments with Homework

Having exposed to various ways of bringing up a child to be confident,brave.,all that a mother would want a child to be, I brought many of the ideas to practicality, though outwitted each time by my subject of experiment. 
She was in pre kg, when I started to use one of the ideas to make her to write neatly in her 4lined notebook.'dear, you have to touch the lines and write else the alphabets would cry'. Having known her empathetic nature, l knew I had succeeded. That was my first and probably the last victory.
Getting her, rather coaxing her to sit her down for homework was getting difficult with each passing day.    
I bring in a role play model to get her onto work. She being the teacher and me the obvious and the only student. The play would go on and on,with her portrayal of the teacher in command very diligently. I would keep prompting 'ma'am now shall we write in that book(homework book)'. Pat would come the reply 'children, teachers don't do hw' or something like 'you shouldn't talk when the teacher is talking'. Remember I was the student. 2 hours of unsuccessful role play ended with me calling it off. Though I didn't achieve my goal, I realised how well she got into the character,her observation power.
One such incident stands out fresh in mind. I was getting beaten up with each such trial, I thought of a different game plan. Plan B: 'if you don't start with the writing work,mama will leave the house '. I thought why not give a real feel, so I go out of the door, keeping an eye on her from the window at the back. She gets up, rumbles all the books on the table. I was almost feeling emphatic and started to go when I realized she was looking for the remote to switch on the tv. I was determined not to call off and waited to see how it's going to unfold. Madam was enjoying a cartoon when a phone call breaks my monotonous wait. She picks up and starts sobbing 'momma has left Home . I didn't do my homework and she left Home'. Just can't imagine what the caller might be imagining. Finally the seriousness of the situation descends on her. 'I will do my homework TODAY, please bring her back'. The mom in me rushed to sooth the crying child. It was a partial success as she had promised to do her work for only that day. I relentlessly have tried many tricks on her, though with partial success, but has helped me to identify her other talents. My experiences have taught me that success doesn't always mean achieving the goal, but accepting all that life throws on us.