ONE “Dad, let me take this summer job.” “What?! You’re just sixteen! People will think I can’t provide for my family.” “It’ll be good for my future, I’ll learn so much. Please?” “I’ll become the laughing stock of town. I’ve said no, discussion over.” The child fell silent, spirit crumpled under the weight of society’s […]
Children
Soul Food
If you could get all the nutrition you needed in a day with a pill, no worrying about what to eat, no food preparation, would you do it? On some, rare day I might want to pop a pill. But on a permanent basis? No way! Food is not just nutrition for us, just as […]
Hot Chocolate
“My my! Someone’s looking like thunder today? What happened Amrita?” Runoo Mosi’s (Mosi: Mother’s sister, aunt. Forming bonds with people one is not related to is very common in India) voice was concerned, her brows puckered up. “Nothing Mosi”, said little Amrita looking utterly woebegone. Her eyes lowered, she took her place amidst the other […]
A Cheap Silver Ring
Somali was excited. Her mother’s birthday was barely three days away. Somali had decided that this birthday she would buy a gift for her mother. And it would be a surprise! Somali was going to be eleven a few days after her mom’s birthday. They shared a birthday month. The thought made Somali glow with […]
Protected: Honey Girl
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
Hippocratic Oath
I read a post by a fellow blogger today. It reminded me of an incident which might have turned out as hers did. My son was two and a half at that time. He and I were both suffering from viral fever. We had both been running a temperature for two days and were both […]
Fragile
Raman’s heart sank as he feverishly searched his pockets. With rising trepidation, he turned his bag inside out- another blank. He ran his classroom and searched there. He even lay flat on the floor and peered under the ancient wooden cupboard. Almost hysterical now, he asked all his friends, begging them to end the cruel […]
The Educator
Contrary to common belief, the meaning of the word education is not to ‘give knowledge or wisdom’. Education comes from the base word EDUCE which means- Bring out or develop (something latent or potential). Edutation, therefore, doesn’t refer to a giving of knowledge or wisdom, it refers to drawing out the inner knowledge and wisdom […]
Religion
I don’t believe in religion. There! I said it! I was in ninth grade. There was a moral science class going on. Our regular teacher was absent hence our vice- principal Sr M was conducting the class. It was a combined class with three sections squeezed together. Imagine eighty+ fifteen year old girls packed together […]
Timeless Skills
In the past twenty years, the world has transformed. Communication has been the key to this transformation. It has shrunk the size of the world to amazing extent. Who could have thought that you could see people in real time from half way across the world? Who could have thought that complicated operations could be […]