School Days .....!!

It’s back to school time for most households in Bangalore! It’s doubly so in our household as I am back to black and white, with civil courts reopening after a month long vacation. Why…It only feels like yesterday when I was trying to work out an ideal vacation-cum-summer camp schedule for our seven year old to enjoy and be engaged!  Whoosh…..two months have flown past! Now we are back to the days of ….morning rush, lunchbox challenge, homework help, the re-imposition of the “Early to bed Early to rise” rule and not to mention the  parental rule “Early Bird in the evening gets to check on the school diary” ! :-) In many ways though, school days mean falling back on regular routine and schedules that had during the holidays got a little irregular if not more hectic, with back to back summer camps, sports/swimming coaching, additional activities to keep the kids busy and in some cases (in ours, actually!) parents enrolling into morning activities that would have been impossible on regular school days!!:-)  Phew!! So settling back to the predictable school-office-home routine with a weekly class or two can’t be that bad at all ….isn’t it??J

 

For our back to school read….we picked “School Days”, a collection of 16 short stories by different authors brought out by Children’s Book Trust publications. Frankly, I hadn’t expected much when I picked this up, but  should have known better, considering I’d bought this off the travelling bookstore supporting  Bookalore at Bookalore 's  annual event early this year. All the stories make a delightful read and may almost get one nostalgic about his or her very own school days. Some of the stories carried familiar names that had me thinking of my schoolmates!:-) Well written and easily relatable stories that brilliantly portray the conflict, mischief, determination and distractions of middle and high school students. There’s “The Boomeranged Prank” by Madhumita Gupta ( a prank played by Arpit, Aniket and Abhinav, a trio gang of backbenchers on the teacher’s pet backfiring - a story of any naughty boys’ gang) or the tension Smitha goes through at having forgotten her homework at home in  “The Forgotten Homework” by Manoj T Thomas (totally my story!) or about how Rumah overcomes her embarrassment of having to wear glasses in “School days” Vandana Kumari Jena (a story of someone close to me!) or confusion in the computer lab in “CTRL + Z” by R.L.Sailaja (could be Abhay’s story!). This book sure makes an ideal read at the start of the new school year as you read and reflect on those carefree days when life was all about homework, tests, school house rivalry, classroom pranks, and the unforgettable friends you make at school! Have a great school year ahead!  

                                             Abhay's first day first show!

Going to the library!

Going to the library has been a part of our weekly routine ever since Abhay was little over two years old, while we were in the US back then. Be it attending the weekly family story time at the local library, or enrolling into the summer reading program,  or simply checking out his favorite books, going to the library was an activity Abhay was familiar with ever since he remembers! When we came back to India, I was pleasantly surprised at the number of libraries in Bangalore catering to children’s reading.  No doubt, we had our circulating libraries or the state sponsored city central libraries when growing up in India in the 90s. But if you’d wanted to look up a new release in fiction or non-fiction, your only option was to buy the book. Thankfully, things have changed now and Bangaloreans (of all ages) are spoilt for choices when it comes to reading options! So the best way to inculcate the habit of reading in your little one, is to take up a library membership and stop by the library and let your little one explore the world of books! As for us, in between my court appearances and client meetings, and my husband's commute to work,  we are always making quick stopovers at the libraries we are members of….. for our little bookworm at home!

On a side note, I am happy to share that Onestoryaday was featured in “The Hindu” on the occasion of the National Library week announced by the Indian Library Association and I thank Bhumika K and my readers for all the support.  As a belated tribute to the National Library week, I had Abhay read “Eena’s library book” a Children’s Book Trust publication by Ravina Gandhi. This is the story of Eena (who reminded us of our friend's daughter Eera!) and how she came to discover the world of books through the library. It was Saturday and Eena didn’t have to go to school and her mother asked her to accompany her to the market. Eena got ready and picked up her little shopping basket and set out to the market. On the way, the passed Mr. Ranik’s house which had a signboard saying “Doctor” which she read with some help from her mother. As they went further, Eena found that there were a few other signboards that she found difficult to read. But as she persisted, she got better at reading, much to her mother’s delight. She engrossed herself by reading  everything from the names of the grocery items to names of the buildings around the market area. Just as they were about to leave, Eena asked if they could get something to put in her basket and her mother takes her to a big building with the board that said “L-I-B-R-A-R-Y”. as they went inside, her mother introduced her to the lady at the desk and asked if Eena could borrow books from the library. As her mom filled out the application form, Eena was shown around the library and located a picture book that was apt for her reading level. Eena checked out the book with the due date stamped out and was asked to be careful with the book. Eena couldn’t wait to go home and read it. So from then on, Eena went shopping with her mother every Saturday, with her little shopping bag filled with books to be returned and borrowed from the library! So here’s hoping that the National Library week ushers in more readers like Eena!!:-)

Happy Diwali!

The biggest Indian festival, Diwali or Deepavali as it is known in South India, is here as a culmination of the festive frenzy that has been around since Dassera! I guess, when it comes to festive season or the holiday season as it is called in the West, it doesn’t matter which part of the world you live in, it’s all the same when it comes to the crazy traffic on the roads, stampede threatening crowds at the stores, markets, malls, and cracker outlets. Man!….even the book store was crowded making me wonder if people are actually reading more during festival time! Anyway, last year, since we were celebrating Diwali after a gap of three years, we felt as if we were re-discovering Diwali in India. This time around, I can say we’ve become more seasoned. For instance, we are no longer annoyed when people burst crackers well past 11 PM or no longer shocked at how much a box of  sparklers or flower pots cost, and no longer upset when four out of six flower pots in a box don’t light up at all!

Anyway, my cynicism should not come in the way of celebrating the true spirit of Diwali and so we indulged Abhay with all the traditional trappings of the festival that celebrates triumph of light over darkness. After some confusion over when does Narakachaturdashi (the first day of Deepavali) actually fall on,  we decided to go ahead and celebrate it the day the State Government says it does, that is today! (whereas the Hindu Almanac declares it tomorrow!) As far as crackers are concerned, our house is probably the only one in which the roles are reversed. Abhay despises bursting crackers because of his legendary aversion to loud noises whereas we insist on lighting at least a few, in order for Abhay to be rid of his Bhay (fear)!

This is the most we could get Abhay to do!

 

As for picture books on Diwali, I must say that there has not been much progress since last year. This week’s “Young World”, the Children’s Supplement of The Hindu, has a write up about Diwali and the way it is celebrated across the country. “Titto and the Fireworks” a CBT publication by Mrinalini Srivastava and illustrated by Saurabh Pandey. I’d picked it up seeing its title but then realized that it wasn’t an ideal book for Abhay, given his phobia for fireworks. Anyway, Titoo is the naughtiest baby parrot who is always trying  to escape his mother’s watchful eye. Titoo is curious about the world outside and longs to fly out just like his brother and sister. Since his wings are yet to develop strength, Titoo’s mom forbids him from flying unaccompanied. Diwali is the day when most birds stay in their nests and so did Titoo and his family. But Titoo somehow manages to get out and perches himself high on a tree branch.  He reaches out higher and higher until he settles on the highest branch to witness what he realizes are fireworks. As he is startled by the sound, he accidentally loses balance and falls off the tree branch when he is caught by a fellow parrot who takes Titoo back home safe. Titoo’s parents though worried at first are relieved that their son had finally learnt a lesson. Not much of a Diwali story save for the message to stay safe this Diwali!” Happy Diwali to everyone!

Granny's saris!

The Indian Sari is probably one of the most elegant single piece-garments one can find in the world. Drape any woman in a sari, you transform her persona. Having said that, how many of us, especially,  women between the age group of 25 to 35 years actually wear this traditional Indian clothing on a regular basis? Well, I’m not sure of others, but the saris in my wardrobe have been relegated to the “occasionally worn” category, reserved only for weddings of close relatives! No wonder Abhay always associates saris with his grandmothers who wear no other outfits other than saris. I had earlier touched upon my mother’s passion for saris, but there is so much more  to say that it is certainly worth another post! Nothing gets my mother as excited as when we go sari shopping and her enthusiasm knew no bounds last week as we nudged our way through the crowded gullies (bylanes) of Rajkot’s famous sari shops! She had even devised an innovative strategy to combat ‘Monday Blues’ – wear a new sari every Monday to work! J (Well, she could afford that….as her college worked roughly for about 30 Mondays a year!) After she retires from service in February next year, amongst many of her contributions to college, she will also be remembered for her exclusive saris. She even recycles her saris, giving them away to the local women in our village, near Dharmasthala who are often spotted wearing my mother’s saris, whenever I visit the village! As for me, I don’t have to spend even a penny on saris as my mother’s  heirloom is enough to drape several generations to come!!:-)

So when I found a book titled “Granny's Sari”, by Asha Nehamaiah and illustrated by Subhir Roy, I just had to pick it up! This book is one of many picture books brought out Children’s Book Trust, Delhi  that is widely available in mainstream books stores at unbelievable prices. Anu and her granny sit by the veranda of their house where granny’s favorite sari is hung on the cloth line. Granny’s favorite sari has the picture of a forest and all over the sari are pictures of spotted deer, fat lions sleeping on the rocks, monkeys and squirrels and green parrots pecking on fruits, etc.  When granny wore the sari, Anu felt as if the animals were alive and as her granny walked, she felt as if the animals moved! As they sat admiring the sari, suddenly the wind blew and took with granny’s favorite sari! The grandma-grand-daughter duo embark on the hunt for the favorite sari. They first encounter a policeman who instantly recognizes the sari that entrapped a thief that he was chasing. Thanks to granny sari, the thief is now behind bars!  But the sari flies off going on to help Mrs. Rao along its path. With the help of granny’s sari, Mrs. Rao is able to pluck mangoes from her tree. But before Mrs. Rao could hold on to the sari, it flies again! Both Anu and her granny begin to lose hope when they stop by Lakshmi, the fisherwoman and in turn ask her if she had spotted granny sari. But before Lakshmi could respond, granny points to Lakshmi’s three children who are all dressed in green with the same print as granny's sari. Anu realizes  that granny’s sari has been sewn into brand new clothes by Lakshmi as she could not find the owner of the sari that flew into her hut. Lakshmi’s eldest son wore spotted deer on his sleeves, daughter had a picture of a parrot and the little boy sported the picture of a fat lion on his shirt and Anu had to concede that they looked wonderful on the children. Anu later asks  her granny as to why wasn’t she annoyed at what happened. Her granny replies  that her sari was so special that when she wore it, it had made her happy and when it flew away from her, it had made other people happy! Just like Anu’s granny, Abhay’s granny too made others happy with her saris! So dedicating this post to Abhay’s granny and her love her saris!