New Age Thinking (Part -6) – Out of the box (Cage) thinking

My daughter is fond of birds. She has developed this affinity towards them as they can fly freely in the air which she as a normal human being cannot do. Parrot being a bird which can be tamed easily and has eye catching feathers with its ability to speak tops her list of most favorite birds. She keeps asking me to buy a bird cage with a parrot. I advised her stating, “Birds are born to fly and taming them in a cage for our personal preference is a cruelty which we do to the bird”. Even though initially, she dint accept this idea later she understood the truth behind my words and made up her mind.

Given the above information as a background, I would like to narrate a real time experience which I had with my daughter last month. It is the tamizh month of aadi (July 15^th to Aug 15^th) and every temple in the neighbourhood is filled with a festive atmosphere. The situation is no different in my native. My entire family headed to our village family temple to be a part of the festivity.

On the day of the festival, we proceeded to the temple to feel blessed and get soaked in the divinity. After offering our prayers to the presiding deity my daughter and I stepped out of the temple. The market place was filled with enthusiasm. Loud music filled the air. Small vendors selling balloons, fancy items, ready to eat munches where all over the place. Merry go around and giant wheels were placed to entertain the kids. My daughter had a good fun time as she is new to village festivities.

Image courtesy : youtube.com

As we walked further we say a man sitting under a banyan tree with a parrot in a cage. The man was a parrot astrologer, a fortune teller. It is a common sight in this part of the world to see parrot astrologers being part of such festivals. As the foot falls are more in such festivities they come there to make use of the hay days. My daughter curiosity meter shot up and she questioned about the man with the parrot. I explained her about what they do but she was not convinced with the fact that how come a parrot decide her future with a deck of cards

She persisted me to see parrot astrology but I was not game to it. I said that it is cruel to trouble the bird to come out of the way and force it to pick a card. My lack of belief in the practice made me convince her but she stood stubborn. This made me angry and questioned her rigidness. She spontaneously responded that “The bird in a bush is better than the one in a cage”. I could not do much about the bird with the astrologer as he cages the bird for a living. Hence I request you to see parrot astrology

“Not to know my fortune but to free the bird for a minute”

I was startled by her new age thinking and immediately obliged her request. Millennium kids are way ahead in their thought process. A proper grooming will make them future leaders of the world.

New Age Thinking (Part-5) – Your kid can be your teacher- Do not tame them

It was a rainy Sunday afternoon in the month of December.  Its monsoon and the chillness could be felt in the air. Trees swinging to the tunes of the wind. Lush greenery all around the place. Birds chirping sounded like melodies to the ears. I was with my family, away from the madding crowd in my native enjoying every moment of life. The feel was so heavenly and I was soaked in the bliss of nature.

The ambience was perfect to have something hot and spicy. So I asked my wife to prepare a piping hot coffee to be served with hot spicy bajji. As my wife prepared it, my daughter and I went to the first floor balcony and sat there to have a good view of the village serenity. My daughter saw a swarm of red ants moving in the railing of our balcony towards their nest at fact pace. Flash came a question “Dad, how come these ants are red in colour when the ones we saw at our home are black?” I answered her stating “There are different types of ants and red ants are one such species”

Our chit chat was disturbed by the aroma of coffee and flavor of bajjis which signaled the arrival of my wife to the first floor balcony. I was equally excited like my daughter to have those especially on a rainy afternoon. As we were immersed in the divine taste of the hot and spicy bajjis a chill breeze blew through our face from the farm lands which faced the balcony. The breeze was strong enough which blew the ants. One of the red ants flew and fell in my daughter’s coffee.

Seeing the sequence of events my daughter shouted “Oh, oh, an ant in my coffee”. I replied “No worries baby; the ant won’t spoil your coffee”. The reply which my daughter gave made me feel embarrassed. She said:

“Dad, I’m not worried about the coffee; rather I’m worried about the ant’s life”

Silenced by her answer, I rose from my chair and with concern written all over my face; I dipped my finger in her coffee and carefully lifted the ant. Later I left it near its nest, so that it can feel safe at home. At times, our kids behave in a matured way. It’s we adults who tame them and make them ordinary individuals.

Later I realized the ant and dove story which is a part of the nursery lessons which made her feel so. We as adults forget the values which our education system taught us and try to behave selfish at times. The lesson which I learned from my daughter that day which strongly etched in my mind was

 “Use things and love life; rather to have things and abuse life”

New Age Thinking (Part 4) – Kids are a source of learning – Always encourage their questions

It was a breezy Sunday evening. I was getting prepared to go to my relative’s engagement. My ever smart daughter sensed this within minutes and pestered to join me. The clouds appeared dark and I could smell the sand. The symptoms of rain were clear, so I changed my plans to take a sub urban train to reach the destination instead of taking my bike.

My daughter was all excited to travel in a sub urban train as it was a rarity to her. The moment we boarded the train, she rushed to a window seat. The wind gushed through her face and she was curiously observing every passing object. I allowed her to get sunk in the heavenly moment which gave me a breather from the barrage of questions which she normally posts at me.

As we entered the first station her curiosity meter started ticking. We had the below conversation:

My Kid : Dad , What does MSL stands for?

Me : (Confused with her question) Where did you saw that?

My Kid : I saw that in the name board of the station?

Me : (I was commuting in the same route to my office for the past 4 years and never noticed it. Still I managed to answer her) Baby, that should be the initials of the person who painted the name board.

(I had the satisfaction of answering her question. As we spoke the next station came in)

My Kid : Dad, Even this stations name board was painted by the same person?

Me : Why did you ask that?

My Kid : Even here it was mentioned as MSL and against it some numbers were written.

Me : Yes, it was painted by the same artist.

(Few stations passed by)

My Kid : (She was not convinced with my answer). Dad, still I could see the same MSL in all name boards. Whether the same artist paints all name boards?

(This raised doubts within me and I had a guilty feeling that I dint answer her properly)

Me : Let us watch together in the next station

(As the next approached, I did so. I noticed MSL in the bottom of the name board and against which some numbers were written. I immediately googled it)

Courtesy : en.wikipedia.org

MSL stands for Mean Sea Level (Average sea level). This means it is the average level for one or more of Earth’s oceans from which heights such as elevations are measured. The number against MSL denotes the height/elevation of the station from the Mean Sea Level. On further research, I identified the station name board has this displayed on it, to notify the common public the height of the place from the sea level. This can go as a reference to tourist in travel brochures to indicate the height of the place from the sea level. MSL is also used in aviation and marine navigation.

It was a new learning to me because of my kid’s curiosity. I have been travelling in the same route for the past 4 years and never noticed\bothered about it. It was good to know information which I shared with my kid later. I laughed to myself when I recalled the answer which I first gave to my daughter.

Never stop your kid’s curiosity. Many a times their questions will be valid. We may either don’t have an answer or don’t want to answer