A Feisty Field Trip

I always end up volunteering for my child's class field trips, partly out of sheer guilt that I don't participate in other school activities and partly because, my daughter loves when I go with her. Not every day, you get to be a mini-celebrity in the eyes of your child and I wouldn't want to miss that chance for the world.

Now, to the trip. We boarded a public train to San Francisco, noisy 2nd graders, teachers, parents like me, et al. My group had about 5 kids. I don't know why this happens only to me, but I always get the brattiest kids in the class. What gives? No clue, but as a result I always end up with a permanently jarred larynx. Like a broken record, I go,"Follow the line". "Hold hands". "No, no lunch yet". Only about 60,000 times. Sigh.
But, the bratty kids turned out to be the lively ones too. When we went to the art museum, it was quite a comic scene. The museum had a docent to narrate mythological stories to the children. She was very good at story-telling, but with the kids constantly interrupting, correcting and questioning her, the poor lady was a nervous wreck at the end. She did politely comment on how knowledgeable they were, but you could see the strain as she mopped her brow too many times. It musn't have been very pleasant. People pay to come to a reputed museum and hang on to her every historical fact and treat it like gospel, and here, a bunch of noisy, boisterous, 7 yr olds were ripping her stories apart. Side note - The kids were factually correct, all the time.

Anyways, all was well that ended well and we finally landed back in one piece, And, I had to admit, it was quite a blast. Especially, when my daughter gave me a big grateful, "I love you," kind of hug that melted my heart away.

Minding the language...

So, the ability to use language as a mode of communication is one of the main differentiating factor between us and the rest of our primate friends. It gives us that crucial "one-up" to dominate the earthly scene, making us feel all superior. Of course, we easily gloss over the fact that some of us can share so many other traits with the animal kingdom - don't we have enough samples of sly foxes, wise owls, slimy weasels, scared chickens, sharp eagles, vain peacocks etc all around us? Makes one raise an important, poignant question: are we so different after all? Me thinks nah, not so much. More on this topic, it's also fascinating that there are around 3000-6000 languages spoken by us humans around the world (as per our friend "Wise Wiki"). In India, even if you're linguistically-challenged like me, there should be an average of at least two languages acquired over a life time by each person (this is my own extrapolation, so please don't ana...

You and your compass....

Let's talk about what each and every one of us have within ourselves. That deep, down voice that tells us strongly what to do, not to do, what we ought to do but choose not to and regret later on with a "I-told-me-so", things that we wish to do but dare not try in our lifetime....you get the drift. Yes, it is that all-pervading, metaphorical inner compass, or the SatNavs of our lives that I'm getting into. Young adults think they have an independent mind, and do and act that way. In reality, though, in most of the cases, it's not even of their own choice, but out of peer pressure. Which interestingly, brings a point- whose collective, mob voice is it then? If everyone is busy copying someone else doing the same, then who the heck started the fire? No clue, but let's assume for sanity's sake that some life form starts a trend which gets viral, bacterial, whatever. And, suddenly there's a strong urge that compels every youngster to do it ...

Buddha on the line....

That's how it feels after i hang up my mother's phone call. Almost every time. She always has an endless list of adages, stories with moral endings and time-tested maxims in her arsenal and never fails to bring them up with the same passion, in all our conversations. She'll even tell me things that i won't have use now, but will need them after 15 years. And, if you're in blues, you have to be ready for those extra doses. I sometimes groan and complain. And, love to tease her about it, but in my heart, am soaking them up all. Like a sponge. It's good to have someone tell you all about the basics of life - even if it's again and again. And again. Though, when i am listening, the words seems to pass like an arrow from one ear to another and nothing seems to have actually sunk into my gray matter. But, they all come back. When they're needed the most. See, life gets very edgy somedays. Especially when complex questions like 'why does my garden get...

C'est La Vie;That's life

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