Misha* had just turned four, my son was a month short of his third birthday. But nobody could have missed their chemistry when they danced together at the Christmas Party.
"Is Misha your friend?", I asked tentatively.
"No. Misha is my girlfriend!", he replied authoritatively.
"And who is your brother's girlfriend?", I prodded gently.
"He doesn't have one. Only I have a girlfriend."
"And the other girls, are they also your girlfriends?"
"No. Only Misha is my girlfriend."
I haven't yet made up my mind about whether I should be amused or worried.
Or happy that he is not commitment-phobic.
* name changed
____________________
Drabble (n) - an extremely short work exactly one hundred words in length. The purpose of the drabble is brevity and to test the author's ability to express interesting and meaningful ideas in an extremely confined space.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
The old, and the not so old
Rickety Fiat taxis of indeterminate horsepower, and charming horse-drawn 'Victorias'- they all have to stop at the same traffic lights on Marine Drive.
Monday, January 5, 2009
The Star outside Amboli Church.
You can't really make it out, but the Star has the words Peace and Joy, surrounded by images of a Dove, a Cross, an Om and a Crescent. A more culturally sensitive message would be hard to find.
I think it is incredible that the congregation has made the statement that it has made, but I also wonder how many temples would have thought to make a similar gesture during their most important festival.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Mother and Child
Despite having brought up two babies in the last five years, I continue to be fascinated by how tiny babies actually are.
Looking at this picture, who could tell that in just a few more weeks, those tiny feet will be trying to fit themselves into the high heeled shoes they are now resting comfortably against.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
The Younger Child
“Mamma, I want to teach you addition”, said the older one. Since, even a month back, he was struggling to just grasp the concept, I couldn’t but agree to play with him.
“Okay, let us do five plus three equals ?” He wrote the numbers out.
“What do I now do?”, I asked, playing along.
“Which number is bigger?”, he asked patiently.
“Five?”
“Yes, five. Now keep it in your head.” He made me place my hand on my head. “Now, show me three fingers. Good. Which number is in your head? Yes, five. Now, which number comes after five.”
“I am not sure”, I stammered, playing along. But help was close on hand.
“Six!”, said the younger one.
“Very good. Now count the fingers”, prompted the older one.
“Six. Seven. Eight. Eight!!!”, announced the younger one triumphantly. “Now I want to do another addition.”
Soon, the two were happily playing away at addition, and the younger one got the mechanics of it in a jiffy. Whether he understands the concept of addition or not, I do not know, but the not-yet-three-year old can now perform simple addition sums with just a little bit of help.
Isn’t he lucky being born the younger child?
“Okay, let us do five plus three equals ?” He wrote the numbers out.
“What do I now do?”, I asked, playing along.
“Which number is bigger?”, he asked patiently.
“Five?”
“Yes, five. Now keep it in your head.” He made me place my hand on my head. “Now, show me three fingers. Good. Which number is in your head? Yes, five. Now, which number comes after five.”
“I am not sure”, I stammered, playing along. But help was close on hand.
“Six!”, said the younger one.
“Very good. Now count the fingers”, prompted the older one.
“Six. Seven. Eight. Eight!!!”, announced the younger one triumphantly. “Now I want to do another addition.”
Soon, the two were happily playing away at addition, and the younger one got the mechanics of it in a jiffy. Whether he understands the concept of addition or not, I do not know, but the not-yet-three-year old can now perform simple addition sums with just a little bit of help.
Isn’t he lucky being born the younger child?
Friday, January 2, 2009
No Clenched Fist
The other day, I got a mailer from the organizers of the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon, which ended with -
‘No closed fists. No angry rage.
Just the open road and the will to finish.’
My sentiments exactly!
Others who presumably received the same mailer did not quite agree. More than one columnist has written about how Bombay should channel all its anger and negative energy into the Mumbai marathon. But to what purpose? Will the government become more proactive when it comes to tackling terror just because a couple of thousand people run a race that they signed up for months before the Terror Attacks?
One guest columnist has written about how in the aftermath of the Terror Attacks, he has been able to increase the distance he is able to cover from three kilometers to seven. He may attribute it to the anger he feels against the terrorists, but I know that without any such motivation, I was able to up my performance by roughly the same level last year.
The Mumbai Marathon is now an institution- an institution that celebrates the growing fitness culture among Bombayites, an institution that has got people who would otherwise never have run running. That many of the runners also care about the country they live in and would like to make a difference is incidental- the main reason why runners run is because they have discovered that they love running. And to try and put a political agenda to it merely cheapens the whole thing.
Just last week, we heard about how a swimming champion, Vinod Ghadge, got enmeshed in fishing nets and drowned in the open seas while paying homage to the victims of the Terror Attacks. A pointless death, in my opinion. The victims of the Terror Attacks know that the nation is with them. Would one man utterly unconnected with the Terror Attacks swimming from Raigarh to Bombay alleviate their pain in any way. If he was hoping to raise money from the swim and donate it to the victims, it may have been of some use, but that did not seem to have been his intention. Then why undertake the swim at all, unless he hopped onto the ‘homage bandwagon’ in order to get some additional publicity?
I am glad the Mumbai Marathon is rising above that. If things going as planned, it would be my privilege to join thousands of others on 18th January, as ‘Mumbai runs to secure its future.’
‘No closed fists. No angry rage.
Just the open road and the will to finish.’
My sentiments exactly!
Others who presumably received the same mailer did not quite agree. More than one columnist has written about how Bombay should channel all its anger and negative energy into the Mumbai marathon. But to what purpose? Will the government become more proactive when it comes to tackling terror just because a couple of thousand people run a race that they signed up for months before the Terror Attacks?
One guest columnist has written about how in the aftermath of the Terror Attacks, he has been able to increase the distance he is able to cover from three kilometers to seven. He may attribute it to the anger he feels against the terrorists, but I know that without any such motivation, I was able to up my performance by roughly the same level last year.
The Mumbai Marathon is now an institution- an institution that celebrates the growing fitness culture among Bombayites, an institution that has got people who would otherwise never have run running. That many of the runners also care about the country they live in and would like to make a difference is incidental- the main reason why runners run is because they have discovered that they love running. And to try and put a political agenda to it merely cheapens the whole thing.
Just last week, we heard about how a swimming champion, Vinod Ghadge, got enmeshed in fishing nets and drowned in the open seas while paying homage to the victims of the Terror Attacks. A pointless death, in my opinion. The victims of the Terror Attacks know that the nation is with them. Would one man utterly unconnected with the Terror Attacks swimming from Raigarh to Bombay alleviate their pain in any way. If he was hoping to raise money from the swim and donate it to the victims, it may have been of some use, but that did not seem to have been his intention. Then why undertake the swim at all, unless he hopped onto the ‘homage bandwagon’ in order to get some additional publicity?
I am glad the Mumbai Marathon is rising above that. If things going as planned, it would be my privilege to join thousands of others on 18th January, as ‘Mumbai runs to secure its future.’
Thursday, January 1, 2009
A game of chor-police
My two boys wanted to play chor-police with their friend. The friend had a gun, my two didn’t. They wanted him to share his gun– he had no such intentions. I could see stormy tantrums at best, a no-holds-barred fistfight at worst.
“Why don’t you play something else?”, I intervened.
“We want to play chor-police only!”
“Why don’t you play terrorist-police instead? Your friend can be the terrorist, you be the police.”
“But we still need guns.”
“Not if you are the Mumbai Police, you don’t. Mumbai Police takes on terrorists with lathis.”
Sometimes Truth does show you the way!
Drabble (n) - an extremely short work exactly one hundred words in length. The purpose of the drabble is brevity and to test the author's ability to express interesting and meaningful ideas in an extremely confined space.
“Why don’t you play something else?”, I intervened.
“We want to play chor-police only!”
“Why don’t you play terrorist-police instead? Your friend can be the terrorist, you be the police.”
“But we still need guns.”
“Not if you are the Mumbai Police, you don’t. Mumbai Police takes on terrorists with lathis.”
Sometimes Truth does show you the way!
Drabble (n) - an extremely short work exactly one hundred words in length. The purpose of the drabble is brevity and to test the author's ability to express interesting and meaningful ideas in an extremely confined space.
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