Kids

As summer holidays begin, there are children everywhere. In the trains, at the bus stops, malls, ticket queues, restaurants and everywhere else. It is like they have spilled out randomly into the streets and into our everyday life. As a student studying in Mumbai, who just recently started work, I only always came across the working class, full of energy in the morning train, dead tired at night. They were my faithful companions in the train journeys I undertook day and night. My routine was set. Although I didn't know any one person, I was surrounded by strangers, whose behavioral patterns I had studied, and perfected to my own advantage. Now suddenly, there was a shift in this universe. Chaos struck. 

It began gradually, with the train seating formula going wrong. In a second class compartment train to Churchgate, four ladies will sit comfortably together. Now with a lady bringing one kid and his/her younger sibling, the maths has gone out of the window. Does the fourth or even third lady ask the mother to shift? Then where does the child sit? Does the baby count as the fourth person? 

The other problem was that I used the morning time to read. In the train, there was a lot of noise, ladies being chatty early morning. But having made my peace with it, I could translate Dickens into a language that I enjoyed. Now, the kids disturbed this peaceful harmony. It's not that they screamed and shouted. But ladies get excited when there is a baby around. Or a young child. So there is a lot of, "Kya naam hain" (what is she/her called) or "chuttiya hain eskool ko?" (summer holidays, eh?) going on. On one memorable occasion, a fellow passenger asked the mother of a child, to please pass the baby to her. The mother held her out to me, intending for me to be the intermediate carrier. Wide eyed, I continued to stare at her, not believing it. She soon got up herself and passed the baby around. 

At another time, a young boy, fascinated with my phone, my book, my bag, was seated right next to me. Almost immediately he felt an intimate level of comfort as to perch himself on my lap. As I tweeted, 'An unknown kid is sitting on my lap. When does school begin?' he looked into my phone, quite pleased with himself. 

Then there is the story of when two kids meet in the train. One lady got her young girl into the train and immediately bought her some wafers to munch in the train. Presumably to keep her engaged. All the kids in the compartment started eyeing this privileged child who had been handed special wafers. Quite soon, all the mothers hailed the waferwallah and bought all sorts of junk-wafers, chocolates,biscuits. Soon, the kids were all crunching into their wafers, feeling free to drop them around in the compartment or onto my lap.

Feeling tourist-y I took my mother to eat at the Juhu Chowpatty, on a Saturday night. At around nine in the night four kids, were playing around happily in the water. Unsupervised. They were as young as five, five, seven and eight. If they were lost, they were quite comfortable playing in the water, till their parents came to find them. 

Me and my mother took a brave trip to Elephanta Caves on a Sunday. In Summer, during summer vacations. It was quite an experience. But the darnest thing were the kids. Amazingly so, there were hundreds of children everywhere. On the roads, the Ferry, the Gateway, everywhere. Then again, I couldn't help but notice, a strapping young man, all of five take a photo of his parents near the Gateway. He was telling them to come closer in the frame, so that he could click a good picture. Smart kid. 

   

Let's talk environment.

The professionals on the panel were Manoj Khatri, editor of The Complete Well Being, Nudrat S, an environmental activist and Melvyn Fernandes, a successful attorney. The discussion was to be on ‘Saving the Environment’ and the panel discussion was conducted by Tabassum Barnagarwala and Newton Sequira, students of Xavier Institute of Communications (XIC) on the  Saturday 16^th March . The audience was students from Science and Environment module, from XIC.

One point that was stressed by all three panellists was the need for citizen involvement in environment on an individual level. Waiting for the government to do something for the environment or just relying on NGO’s to clean up after will get us nowhere. They said and we agree that environmental awareness is now every individual’s duty and we owe it to the future generations to do our best.

A bone of contention throughout the panel discussion was a point that most of the audience seems to agree on, the lack of alternatives i.e. environment friendly substitutes for harmful products. Nudrat made the point that everyone should make effort, in spite of personal inconvenience to avoid harmful products like plastic products. The students stated that availability of alternatives would go a long way towards making people want to avoid plastic, as at the end of the day personal inconvenience would make people cheat. Nudrat also stressed that making alternatives for plastic, like jute, a fad with the customers would also help. She said media needs to make environment awareness something to aspire for or something ‘cool’.

Talking about the legal provisions for environment in the Constitution of India, Fernandes talked about how the legislation of India is one of the most environment-friendly legislations in Asia. He stressed that the problem was not in the policy, but the execution of the policies made to protect the environment.

Manoj Khatri, Editor, Complete Wellbeing
Source: Google Images 

Khatri, while talking about environment related articles and news in the media stressed that media needs to highlight the problems and solutions. He also said that mainstream media is more profit oriented than other magazines. Talking about his magazine, The Complete Well Being, he specifically said that they make the space in their edition for environment issues that needs to be addressed.

The panel discussion made all of us think about how we are doing things that are harmful for our environment every day, just because we aren't aware or it is inconvenient. Even through the course of our discussion many of us realized how we could do some things differently, and contribute towards a better environment and an eco-friendly society.

We realized  thanks to this panel discussion that it is always going to be inconvenient to go that extra mile to be environment friendly. However, with time this would become a habit and would also motivate others to be more environment conscious.

Melvyn Fernandes, Attorney
Source: Google Images

It is now time for us to think about what kind of a future we would give the next generations. Making a few changes in our daily life today, would make the world a greener place to inhabit in the future. It is time to think beyond one’s self and change our habits for the better. Having thrived as a species, it is time for mankind to give something back to Mother Nature and do our bit to ensure that our race continues to flourish. 

Away

She was safe now. He couldn’t come here.

He was watching her. She didn’t see him but she was sure he was around. She didn’t even know what he looked like, but he kept appearing in the most unusual circumstances. He had stopped bothering her for eight months now. And then suddenly, when she had least expected it, there he was. Clear as day. She still got shivers when she thought of that day.

It was a Tuesday. The placement in-charge, Priya was telling the class about the campus placements. Companies were hiring in the college. After eight harrowing months of submissions and deadlines, learning how to be an honest journalist, and how to make the right journalistic choices, students were being recruited for writing content; online content, like ‘how to write a cover letter’ and ‘how to apply Midnight Blue eye shadow’. She was listening in rapt attention, when suddenly she felt a familiar cold shiver. In panic, she dropped her books, just when Priya was saying something about newspapers not wanting to hire fresher journalists. When she got back to her feet, he was standing right in front of her. He was carrying a blue college file, and was listening patiently to Priya. Only when she looked at him, he turned. Slowly his eyes locked with hers. It was a hard, cold stare.

The next time she saw him, was in the college canteen. That day, there was a lull in the usually crowded canteen. It was almost empty except for the Advertising and Marketing students who were walking around nervously. She was sitting with her friend, completing an assignment. She had a headache, which was getting worse. Her friend got up to bring more chai. She put her head down, blocking out everything, trying to relax. The assignment deadline was the next day. She wanted to finish earlier so that she could go home and start writing her CV, and send it to...
A tap on the shoulder. “Hi, this place taken?” She looked up. The stare was back, making her shiver inside. The knot in her stomach was tightening. He looked different:confident and dangerous. She looked over to her friend. He had spotted a friend from the Advertising class and was congratulating her for some reason. She had a big blue folder in her hand too.
“When are you giving it to me? I’m running out of time,” he whispered. He almost smiled as he finished the sentence.
“I told you the las....last time too. I’m trying. It will take some time.”
He chuckled and leaned in close. He picked up the sandwich she was eating and said, “Too bad you don’t have too much time. Tick tock now.” She winced as he said those last words; they were like sharp cold knives cutting through her skin.
“One special chai. You know, Priti just got a jo­­-What happened to you? Are you okay?”Her friend was back. And now, she was sure, so was he.

For the next couple of weeks, he was everywhere. In the hallway, in the classroom; he even followed her home, but always kept at a distance. She could feel him growing impatient. And every day, he would just smirk, and point at his watch. It was funny, she didn’t think he’d need a watch. She tried telling him she was doing the best she could to deliver it, but he was so restless that she was scared he would lose control. So she kept her head down, and kept working. The only way to get rid of him was to give it to him. But for that she needed time; and she needed him to be patient.

Then one day, there was a miracle. It was a beautiful day. She had a very interesting class on Literary Journalism. She always loved attending that class; there was always so much to learn. Then she ate her lunch with her friends, and laughed at their jokes. He was nowhere to be seen. She thought she saw someone who looked like him, but dismissed the thought when Priya gave them the good news that a news agency was coming to hire them. Her class project had got an A, and the group was heading out to the city coast, Marine Drive. She slung her bag over her shoulder, and walked with her friends, feeling relaxed after a long time.

Marine Drive is beautiful at any time of the day. The light of the sun setting behind the clouds, throws splashes of colour over the city line. The outline of the city is slowly unveiled, gently and softy. She and her friends sat in silence, looking at the expanse of the sea, and the gentle waves. It was spellbinding. She felt a calm she had never felt before. He could not follow her here. This was no place for fears. 

It's about the Journey.

Someone once said, 'It is not about the Journey, but the destination'. Now, I'm new to Mumbai (sorry, Bombay) so I'm not sure, but most definitely, it was someone who traveled, and survived that travel in the city.
The good thing about traveling in Mumbai is the local train. The bad thing about traveling in Mumbai is the local train. To catch the 9.50 from Andheri Station to Churchgate or CST, I need to prepare myself, mentally. And have a Plan B. These trains have a mind of their own and a mean sense of humor. Like when you reach the station and see that you're train has just arrived on the platform, you run for your life, throughout the length of the platform, huffing and puffing, looking stupid. You finally reach your compartment and jump in. You would expect the train to start moving immediately, giving you the 'Yes!'  - Fistpump in the air. But no. You're sweaty, our of breath, and fifty people are smirking at you. Because the train decides to stubbornly stay on the platform for five more luxurious minutes. Just when it is about to move, a girl walks by prettily, climbs in and sits next to you. Deranged, sweaty, out of sorts, you.
Or, the more frustrating happens; you arrive at the platform, all of thirty seconds late, and the train sticks its tongue out at you, and leaves. You run, trip, fall and then sigh.
Getting on to a train at places like Dadar is warfare. Literally. On the platform, where I get on the Ladies coach, the 'ladies' size each other up, before the train arrives. You're the enemy. You're competition. And if you're not ready to play dirty, get out of the way. When the train lords in over the platform, and the women go wild. They punch, kick, hit, push, pull. One they are in, they have won. Emerging victorious, they scramble to find the best seat. Here's the pattern, first you pick the side, forward seat, or backward seat. Then you pick right or left. Then if it's raining, aisle seat, otherwise rush to the window.

These enemies forget fast. Once inside, the women are best of friends. They chat, laugh, gossip, and share stories and lives. They know each other's families, kids, offices, and worlds. They have these 20-30 odd minutes to connect, before they are disconnected again. The network these ladies have is amazing. They know everything , yet nothing about a total stranger's life. Questions from, "How was your sons birthday?" to, "You should leave him, he's just not worth it." float. What is beautiful is that they are all in this, together. Last week, two women got into a fight, one having accused the other of pushing her kid, and the other one was probably having just a bad day. The fight escalated quickly and the screaming began. It was an evening train, with tired women traveling back to their husbands and kids, already planning  dinner in their heads. Tired heads began to turn to watch these women argue. ( A fight is more like an show in Mumbai. There are actors, an audience, side actors, and props). As women were enjoying the show, the argument elevated and the mood became tense. Statements like, "They shouldn't let people like you in" "If you can't handle kids, don't have them" were yelled. Just when I thought it was going erupt into something more, a sleepy, elderly voice called to them, "Arre kyo apni energy waste kar rahe ho. Dono ko ghar jaake apne baachoon aur patiyon ko sambhalana hain. Thodi energy bachake rakho.", after which the mood lightened. Women smiled, sighed and returned to their earphones. The two women exchanged small apologetic smiles and moved on. It was really wondrous to watch.
Speaking of passing time, people do everything there. Books, songs are the most preferred. Other than that, in a noisy train, people just close their eyes and disapparate somewhere. I can never do it. Interesting to watch is a woman who sits in the train, combs her hair, accessorizes, and proceeds to apply kajal and eye makeup, without poking her eyes out. I can only watch in amazement.
The sale business is enterprising. Apart from earrings, rings and makeup, the hawkers bring in freshly cut fruits and vegetables, phone covers, headphones, books, pens, pencils, nail cutters, hairbrushes, clothes, toys, you name it. They have it all.
Of all these things, the stories are my favorite. Every person in the train has a story to tell. You just need to ask. You can ask anyone about their day and get a story. These are hardworking, sincere, real people with fascinating lives. They have sons who won't study. Daughters who don't want to marry. Husbands who cooked last night. Parents being difficult. Friends in an accident. Friends getting married. At the end of the story, they sigh. It is the sigh that takes them to the next topic.
The train arrives at the station. In seconds the people climb out. They don't once turn back to wave goodbye. They are strangers once again. Until next time.

Walk.

I was waiting for three more songs to finish downloading. I had my shoes on, and my hair tied up. It was starting to get really hot. I wondered if taking a walk would really be worth it at this point. But it was an empty evening, and well, I had my shoes on. So walk I would. Besides, I really wanted to try out this new song, 'Paradise', by Coldplay, and what better way to listen to a song, than when its playing only in your ears, and you are walking.

Download complete. Great. I spotted myself in the mirror on my way back. To say that my shirt was crumpled was sheer modesty. And I was sure that I'd meet someone on my way. Damn Murphy. Oh well, I grabbed the nearest jacket on my way, and rushed out.

It was a beautiful, and rather late evening. Though a little too hot for my liking. Me, I like my evenings to be on the chilly side. And what more to say, I'd put on my rain jacket. So, so far, it was a hot evening, and I was going to get strange looks from people on the road for wearing a rain jacket. But what the hell, I needed a walk.

I'd been having some problem at, well, work. Its not 'work' work really, just some free lancing that I do. And all my articles were getting rejected by my new editor. I was not feeling good. I would walk.

On my way down to my favorite square and street, my mood started to change. See this is why I like walks. They make you look around. They distract you, and show you that there are a million people around you. A million people with a million problems. I saw a woman, with groceries in her hand, walking home. She was my 'crossing the road' partner. We stood for a long time, next to each other. She with her groceries, and me with my, well music. She cast a worried glance skywards. Here's another human tendency, when someone looks up, you look up too. And a beautiful leaf fell down from the branches, right in the middle, separating us. I saw the tree from below. Have you ever seen a tree from underneath? It looks eerie. Pretty it looked though today. I must have seemed like a total idiot, because when i looked down again, the woman had vanished and the road was empty. It was really getting stuffy.

This is when an old favorite came up. I was listening to 'Leaving on a jet plane', and thinking of my friends who would've left, this time next year. Isn't it sad that everything has a deadline?
I was walking by an old car, when I looked in it. Another reflex. Humans are not very respectful of feelings, I'm afraid. You see someone having a fight, you have to stand and stare, you see a couple on the road, you have to check them out, you see a dog lazing on the road, and you check the poor guy out too. Just like when you look inside of a car, when you pass it. At this point, I'm really hoping that I was brought up normally, and I'm not the only one who does these things.

So I looked in the car, primarily to check my reflection, and started to wonder what would happen to my gentle soul if someone looked back at me. Thankfully there was no one. Just then I realized I was walking on the right side of the road, which is just well, wrong if you know what I mean. While crossing the road, i eye crossed   a pizza delivery guy. He was wearing his uniform and a worried expression. I think its the 'thirty minutes nahi to free' theory that keeps these people worrying. I don't think its very necessary or fair. People at my house are delighted that its been twenty five minutes and the pizza's not here, and are sincerely disappointed when he reaches spot on, on the twenty eight minute. Talk about pressure. Why do we like to defeat the people who don't need to be challenged? I certainly would not like to drive halfway across town, having to zoom through the city, dodging traffic signals and hyperventilating about the time, only to probably reach a minute late, and lose your job. Or worse, have to pay for someone else's food. Though that's not probably what they make you do.

Leaves were falling faster now. I walked under a tree and some twenty five-thirty leaves fell, as if only for my welcome. It makes you feel special, that is for sure. To my left, there was a big sign, with a ferocious dog on it, saying (the sign said) 'Beware Of Dog'. Well, the gate was open, and there was no dog in sight. So i guess I was safe. The dog either ran away, or the sign was fake.
An old favorite came up on my screen. 'Quit playing games' Backstreet Boys, was on. Now don't go rolling your eyes. It was a very famous song once upon a time. And it is my comfort song. You know, like chocolate. Again, a falling leaf made me look up, and squint in the direction of a streetlight. Tiny drops of water, were highlighted by the light of that no-longer-dull streetlight. Its beautiful to see rain in light. Have you seen it? Sometime, when its raining, just go and stand below a source of light. Ignore the glances, and look up. Its beautiful.
Just like in the song, it started to rain. Well, drizzle actually. It was splendid weather, just a few drops of rain, and windy. With the correct rain jacket, you'd be just snug and comfortable. Ha! Who's looking silly now!

I smelled smoke. Naturally expecting a disaster I was drawn towards it. Meanwhile I crossed an old Police Station. There were twenty two wheeler vehicles parked outside it. Disowned. What a waste. But I had reached the source of the fire. It was coming out from an old house, and a watchman was sleeping soundly at its gate. So there was no danger, or excitement. Just some crazy guy burning his garbage. Some environmentalist huh.
It was late. I was six songs away from home, and rain was coming down faster now. Though strangely I didn't feel a drop. It felt like I was the only person for whom the rain was scheduled. I started walking back. I crossed the street.It was beautiful. I no longer looked around me. Now my eyes were on the road. When water falls on a road, it creates a small puddle. And when you see thousands of such puddles, its pretty to see. It was raining hard now. It seemed. Again i was oblivious to the rain. God had probably decided that I was not to get wet. I walked under the many trees on the road, and watched people getting drenched. At every tree junction, there were bikes parked and some  thirty people standing under a singular tree, with three leaves on it. But it was shade to them. Why wait under a 'tree' when you can walk in the rain?
Since it was raining so prettily, there was no traffic on the road, and no one one the roads. Everything was cleared for me. I saw an old guard, instructing someone on the road, how to park. While they sat comfortable and warm in their car, he was getting drenched. And the driver looked like in no hurry to park and get out of his car.
I almost reached home. And 'Fireflies' was the next song that came up. I had to look up again. A million fireflies, little drops of rain, were falling freely from the sky, all randomly, but they created a beautiful shimmering effect. There was no one to see them like I did, floating above me. I had to cross one last street to go home. It usually takes me twenty minutes everyday to cross this street, its always full of traffic. Today there was no one. Well almost no one. A car zoomed past me, taking full advantage of the empty roads, and spraying me with water,and another car was behind it. I waited for it to pass, when it slowed down. Reached right up to where I was standing, and stopped. A hand waved at me, to cross. An ARMY sticker glistened on the windscreen. I waved back my thanks. And crossed the street.

I was back. Hardly an hour. A little puddle had formed near the gate of my house. A little frog danced happily in it. I guess he was just glad that he had small things to be happy about. And found happiness in those puddles, no matter how small they were. 

TIME FLIES.

I've reached a certain point in my life ( although I really do hate it when someone uses the word 'life' in a sentence, I just can't seem to take them seriously) where again me and people my age , around me, are  faced with a choice, and a decision after four whole years of stability, laziness, routine and monotony. Even though we weren't sure if we had made the right choice for our careers or not, we were sure that till we graduate we don't have to worry about it, because, hell, we're doing this for four years anyway. My friend calls it her 'comfort zone'. We're happy moaning about our semester exams and we find literal delight if more severe torture is inflicted upon us as that makes the reason to moan, complain and hate, stronger. It makes us happy, comfortable.

Then suddenly you enter a certain year when people around you start acting funny. They don't crack up and burst out laughing when someone asks them " So beta , bade hoke kya banoge?" I mean its funny that they think we have it figured, but that's about it , now.
Suddenly everywhere people are in a flurry to join classes to pursue their GREat careers, they look solemn and pull very straight (and hilarious) faces when this is mentioned. People either already know what they want to since they were kids (freaks) or are figuring our what to do next. They eat up their " Ghaddyat jau de engineering" attitude that is so popular ten minutes before an exam , consult smarter and elder people ( evidently, the 'seniors') , impulsively agree to internships and write their first draft of their resume. They Google the outline for a CV (and the meaning too probably) and then conversations like " Abe mere achievements kya hain be?" " Are chod, ye le , mere likh le" float around a lot. Forgive us for the xeroxing act, but after a while, the copying just becomes a habit and no longer even registers after the initial few times. Training and Placement is an issue that everyone is talking about, and the T & P in charge becomes the most talked about person in college.

Photo: 4cherrylimos.com

My point is , that everyone is already started with their next lives. Slowly now people will begin to use new phrases like "application form" " accepted"and " package". You'll see the people who you've come to know in jeans, shorts , suddenly turn up after an internship or a job interview wearing trousers, shirts without three fourth folds or a brand new salwar kameez. You'll be left wondering if these are the same people.
The Sunday morning breakfasts will be rarer, the surprise birthdays at twelve am might demote to a phone call, the college friends bunking a lecture and running to a movie will not probably have a lecture to bunk..
And what is so great about moving on and growing up anyway? Growing apart so I have to miss my best friends engagement (Oh, did I mention, that might start to happen to.) or not be around for the simplest things like birthdays, holidays and Tuesdays?

Let Go. Photo: forums.soompi.com 

I wish we were given the chance or the time to stop and say " I've studied for almost 18 solid years of my life, going from school to school and running around for classes (It's a big thing from where I come) , and I deserve a break . To stop running, find closure for completing an era, indulge in its success, congratulate yourself for not turning out to be a complete mess, clear your mind a little, maybe think about my family and how every vacation was ruined due to the perfect combination of orals , practicals and  written exams, maybe spend a few weekends with them, or the friends that I met till now, get in touch with those who slipped in  your 'friend list' along the way, satisfy myself by   (finally) learning the guitar, or taking dancing lessons with my friends, getting back to an old sport. I deserve to take a breather and look around. " Live a little.
Kaash.
But during that time, so many useful things can be taken care of, further studies, jobs, moving out, moving in.. moving on? I'm just guessing so, I would never wholly agree upon it.
I think its only fair to mention that alongside this tab, I also have ' Top schools for further education in..' , 'Internship for students' , ' Procedure and requirement for application' and ' Top ten fun careers' open. (The last one doesn't have anything to do with this, but its just good Googlesense). So I guess we're all guilty here.

My sister is very prompt and particular about sending cards for my exams. I can always do with more luck during exams. This lastest one said, " All the best kiddo, Your last year will be easier- more time. Use it well. Learn languages, read a lot, indulge in yourself, hang around people who'll leave by this year, because , time flies." - Love, Didi.

How I taught my grandmother to text. And other stories.

I recently bought a shiny new phone. It's a smart (ass) phone which I'm completely stuck onto these days. I log in and out of Facebook (so as not to seem completely jobless), I play Angry birds all day long (you really should check it out), I shoot arrows at humans who are tied with a noose and save (yes, save) them, I play tic-tac-toe for hours and also play around with my very cute and a little annoying pet ostrich called Joe.
So here I was, coming home after a long and exhausting fifteen hour day in college , with this new phone in my hand. I had assignments and submissions that were screaming for my attention. I sat at my desk. Deep breath. Looked around. Opened the first page. Wrote one whole line. Looked at my phone. No. Will write at least one assignment . Or maybe just find out what this friend is up to. Unlock. Messages. Type type type..type type type..giggle..smiley. Silence. Silence. Bing Bing. Vibrate. New message. Open message. Click click.. Smirk. Reply...Type Type Type..
" Nice way of passing the time na?" Oops. Mom? Nah. Grandmom. Just saved.
"Okay, No problem. If you don't mind, I'll just rest my legs here. So tired after today" She said.
"Sure" I replied easily, already in the middle of another message. I typed for a while. This one friend said that she got admission in a nice university abroad. Congratulations. Another friend texted saying a girl from my college passed away today while driving to college in a freak accident. Shudder. Sympathy. Silence. A reminder from a girl in my class. Money for Seniors' farewell due tomorrow. Another message . Unknown number. Ditch. New message. Rajnikant forward. No thank you. One new message....

Silent cough. I look around. I'd forgotten my grandmother was still in the room. I expected her to be fast asleep by then, but she was very much awake, wide eyed and excited. "Are you messaging on your mobile phone?" she asked. I said I was. She got up and went and opened her bag, looked for something in it, shuffled around some things in it and finally drew out a small Christmas stocking-ish purse from it. She placed it in front of me. I stared at it. She took out her cell phone from it . It was a simple LG mobile . Nothing fancy. Nothing new. She looked at it with pride and her cheeks turned red. She said " Can you teach me how to do that? Send messages?" She looked so cute, I thought, with her light pink Saree and her white hair tied carefully at the back. She held out her wrinkled hand , and in that nervy hand was the handset. Her eyes twinkled and shone . Hopeful and expecting eyes are such a wonder to look at. She looked slightly taken aback at herself for having actually asked me that. Man, you don't say no to people who look like that.
I took her hand , her phone and sat on my bed . I switched on the phone. I showed her the options. We had to wait until she went and found her glasses. After she found them, I took her to the menu. Call options..Alarm clock..Calculator..Phonebook..And finally. Messaging.

Now the thing is, this cute little thing called my grandmother is going away on a Europe Tour next month. Along with her cousin sister. I can almost see the photos clicked at the Eiffel Tower. Bright yellow Sarees, and white sport shoes. So anyway, she always answered calls on her phone and made calls from her phone. But that is all she ever did. Recently it occurred to her that it would be kind of cool if she could message us something like , "Hello, reached London safely". For which she needed to message . Which was why we were gathered there, that time.
I told her about the symbol of messaging. A big white envelope. I showed her the right button to accept and the left button to go back. Then came the lengthy process of explaining how to type a message. Deciding that the dictionary mode would be too much to handle, I decided to teach her the normal text. Non-t9. So here, c will come after pressing a thrice. Press the button the number of times in order of the letter. I showed her how to. I typed a message. She look impressed, and a little worried. I handed the phone to her. It took a while. She kept missing the right button so that the whole thing would just refuse to budge. There were certain moments where I saw she was not finding this easy or encouraging. In the end she finally got the letter writing , I was trying to explain. Now,she said, she needs to write all the procedure down so that she could revise. Okay. Pen and paper were provided. She sat with me and we went through everything again.. Menu-Options-Messaging-Type message-Text message-Type-Select-Select recipients-Add number-Select-Okay-Send.
She wrote everything down serially, drawing symbols and making notes wherever needed. Then she read what she had wrote and was satisfied to try it out now.
We never really see our education like this , do we? As a need? A necessity? To satisfy our curiosity? To take notes on our own and to revise them for our sake. To make sure that we know. WE keep up with the world. There is no need for her to learn how to do this, is there? But she had explained once, that if one isn't inquisitive enough then that should be the end of his growth. I tried to remember when was the last time i put everything I had into my work. To make myself feel happy. When was the last time you achieved a sense of accomplishment because you did something for yourself? Something that you probably didn't want to learn. Was too difficult to. But something you felt like you should do. I looked at her. Her tiny body hunched up and her brow wrinkled in concentration and hard work. Here was a winner.
I smiled and no longer tired, left the room for a glass of water. I took my phone along with me and just as i left the room, it beeped. New message.
"Hello, reached London safely."