My Experiments with Time

It all started as an attempt to distract Aditi away from the cartoon. I told her we will draw something. "You name it and I'll draw it for you, that's the game." Little did I realise that this was going to be a gargantuan challenge. I had clearly underestimated my mighty opponent. "Ok, we ll go for it" she said. I pulled out my notepad and pencil, thrilled at getting some time to sit and relax rather than run behind her. "Gorilla... " "What?" "Draw a gorilla", the 4 year old demanded. "Uhhh!?, that's a bit complicated for me, how about a monkey?" She nodded her consent and I scribbled something which a lenient teacher would agree was an animal,with some features of a monkey. "A monkey's eyes look like this!?" I couldn't really visualise, I made up my mind to Google the image of a monkey and check how it's eyes looked like. "Ok, cockroach next". "Wow, that'

It was 9.20 pm, the time of the day I cherish the most. That's the only time of the day I give my undivided attention to my little one and vice versa. Her heavy eyelids told me she would doze off in a few minutes. This is the only time the busy bee is still and quiet and actually hears every word that I utter. She loves to listen to fairy tales, supernatural stories, tales from the jungle and her favourite story of how she was born. When God appeared before Vivek and Remya and gifted them a little angel. I could see the sparkle in her drowsy eyes in the dark. This is again a challenging moment when I have to squeeze my brains and creativity to tell her new tales. Sometimes, on lucky days I get to hear tales of how she met her fairy Godmother (yes that's me). One of the many bonuses of being the mom of a drama queen is where you swap places and she plays the mom, grooming me and putting me to sleep, and of course chiding me for being disobedient. I must say I thoroughly

We all live life with a purpose, or in pursuit of something. It is this pursuit that keeps our spirit alive and keeps us going. But how many of us are clear on our life goals, or to put it simply, what we want in life/from life!? I had this feeling that kids had a better idea on how to keep themselves happy. I made a simple survey among 16 parents, through WhatsApp requesting them to ask their  kids in the age group of 4 to 14 what they wanted in life. I received interesting answers; some said what they wanted like books, chocolates, colouring books etc. While few others said what they wanted to become (cook, sportsman,engine driver etc). Interestingly, 2 kids said they wanted intelligence, happiness and success. My own 4 yr old said she wanted animals story books, beach kit and continued thinking for more. What I didn't tell her was that I was already tired of the 25+ odd toy animals scattered around the house and the Animal planet which is on throughout her waking hours.

It was 5.50 am, and today being third Saturday , was my day off. My biological clock though seemed to be oblivious to the fact and woke me up on my normal routine. It was the 'I, me, myself' time I hardly get these days, and I decided to get pampered. Sitting in the balcony of our 7th floor apartment in Chennai with my morning coffee was my idea of pampering myself. The smell of wet sand and the cold breeze after the late-night showers is something Chennaites always yearn for. And when all this comes sans the crazy honking of cars and smell of petrol, it's a tempting luxury package. I stared at the far away sight of miniature aeroplanes moving in the airport, that was my way of assuring my eyesight was intact. Its amazing how nature can be a source of meditation. My mind went blank as I stared into the morning sky, slowly unveiling itself. I suddenly could feel the rush of thoughts. It's been eight months since I moved back to Chennai. And Chennai as always, ha