Shaurya's Chronicles

Shaurya 'shaves' the day !!

I am beginning to like my recent spurt in updating the blog and I’m sure Shaurya will really be proud of me some day, as from one post a month, I’ve come down to about one post a week. (Let's just hope that I am able to maintain this writing streak) Well, I guess I also need to thank Shaurya as he is the one who’s motivating me to write on and on by coming up with new pranks each day.

He has got into a habit of doing something interesting almost every day and even we, at home, have become accustomed to his varying naughty behavior. It’s amazing to see how a child gets bored of one prank and hooks onto another and then picks up something else minutes later. Well, in his case, the level of interest in a particular mischief can vary from one hour to a maximum of four days.

I am sure the title for the post has already revealed a lot about the contents and so without much ado I shall come straight to the point. Shaurya's latest fascination is the can of shaving foam.

He intently watches his daddy and 'chachu' use the foam and shave as they get ready to go to work. He keeps sitting in the washroom on the slab of the basin watching them keenly as they pick up the foam and apply it to their faces. No matter how busy he is playing with his toothbrush, the soap dispenser or the hair brush but the moment anyone grabs the 'Gillette' can, he drops everything and is all a picture of attention.

I am sure he has got himself hooked onto this routine and the foam can is now a much coveted object of desire for him. And I am sure that this desire is increasing manifold inside (craving for the forbidden is I guess an inherent human trait) since he is never allowed to lay his hands on the can because as soon as he tries to get hold of it, he gets a big ‘NO’ in return.

However, as it had to be, Shaurya got hold of the shaving foam one day and since he had seen his elders use it many a times, he somehow managed to take out a good amount of it on his hand. The first thing he did was to apply the foam on his cheeks. He got so fascinated by it, that he kept on applying it all over his face, including his forehead and even onto his clothes. He carried on playing, till all foam dried up and he realized that it was time to wash his face.

It was quite funny to see the way he was trying to imitate his daddy and even funnier to see him looking at himself in the mirror and make funny faces all the time. I must say, it’s a pleasure watching Shaurya do all these things, but then its equally tiring to clean up after him and clear all the mess he makes.

Hmm, my little one so, when you are all grown up and you read this I expect you to spare a thought about your old mommy and appreciate the fact about the number of times I had to bend my back to mop the floor after you had a fill of your antics.

For now, I will just chase you into the bathroom and clean you up again.

Shaurya & The Idiot Box - Part II

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I am sure, people my age who were children a couple of decades ago, would remember those special jingles and catch lines that played on DD then. Right from “I love you Rasna”  (Catch the video here) to “Lijjat Papad” (Watch here), from “Washing powder, Nirma….” to “Tandarusti ki raksha karta hai Lifebuoy” I am sure everyone would have sung those lines one time or the other and everyone would have had his/her favourites. (Now if you are getting nostalgic, click here. I found this while surfing randomly).

I guess children are fascinated by the fast moving visuals and the rhyme and music which are part of a commercial. I am sure most of these marketing and advertisement agencies are driven and propelled by the challenge of luring a kid to hang onto their commercials and then eventually pursue the parents to buy the product under question.

Well, commercials comprise a larger part of Shaurya’s TV watching time. So, at times when you are trying to watch two shows simultaneously by hopping between the break times of each show, you need to be real quick while surfing the channels. If you slack and get late in changing the channel and if Shaurya catches a glimpse of a commercial playing on some intermediate channel, he won’t allow you to change the TV channel again. You will end up wasting your entire time watching the commercials with Shaurya who would then prompt you to sing along every single line of the jingle or shall make you repeat the catchy lines therein.

At times, I wake up in the morning with a line of the jingle I was singing to Shaurya the previous night, playing in my head. Trust me, it is then such a pain to get the line off your mind and you tend to hum the tune of the jingle all day long, much to your own indignation and annoyance.

These, I believe, are the subtle nuisances that all parents have to undergo one time or the other. I guess the job definition of Motherhood states patience as the foremost desired skill.

I am yet to see how patient my little star can be with me, when I grow old, lose my hearing and pester him to repeat things for me over and over again. Who knows? Maybe I shall just keep my fingers crossed till then or rather keep my fingers busy on the keyboard, recording such incidents and experiences till I hand him his blog some day.

Till next time, keep sending me your comments and feedback and any similar experiences. Ciao.

So, it’s been some time since I last wrote. I guess I just couldn’t help it. Routine course of life has its own demands and at times these daily chores dominate and suppress the undercurrent of our personal being. Anyway, I am here now and I feel like writing and I guess this is what is important.

And as most of you would have guessed looking at the title, with this post I wish to emphasize the impact of the Idiot Box on Shaurya’s current behavior. As a teacher I remember having discussed the impact of TV overdose on children with many parents and guardians. Well, I guess I am looking at the other side of the fence now and actually realize how difficult it can be at times.

Shaurya is now two and half and his behavior has undergone a sea change. He has started expressing his likes and dislikes both verbally and using actions. He has developed a strong fascination for cartoons being aired on TV and now has his own list of favorites.

I guess I can dedicate this post to two of his favorite shows which play on channel ‘Nick’.

His first liking is an animated series called ‘Krishna’ which is primarily the story of the child manifestation of the Hindu deity Lord Krishna. The stories of Krishna appear across a broad spectrum of Hindu philosophical and theological traditions and are very part of the Indian culture. I introduced Shaurya to this series as I thought that it might be educational as well for him. However, little did I know that I was buying trouble for myself and literally bidding goodbye to my days of watching TV.

Since now if ‘Krishna’ is being aired, you can just not dare change the channel because as soon as you do that, Shaurya screams at the top of his voice and you are bound to come back to his show. 

He even has developed a routine for watching this show. He begins by singing along the opening theme of the episode and then keeps filling in the scenes with his ‘expert’ comments. His commentary at times is in sync with the scene being shown at other times he has his own exclamations for everything happening during the episode. ‘No Fighting’, ‘Isko Chhodh Do (leave him)’, ‘O o’, ‘Drop it’ are just a few of his chosen expert comments.

His other favorite TV series is ‘Perman’. Incidentally this one is also aired on Nick. (We are a ‘Nick’ family, Channel owners can pay us rewards for our loyalty).

Now personally, I do not hold either the caricatures or the story line for ‘Perman’ to be of any substantial quality. Perman is the story of a clumsy boy Mitsuo Suwa, who is chosen as an apprentice of Superman. (Here is a link if you want to know more about the Perman) To top that since it is originally a Japanese series, it has been dubbed in English and the dubbing sucks big time. 

Anyway, now the problem for me is that Shaurya somehow caught this show running on TV someday and has become fond of it. (Though I have not laid hands on any evidence as yet, I have a very serious hunch that probably one fine morning when I was away, Shaurya’s daddy got him hooked to the show, maybe in an attempt to get Shaurya off his back).

Now the issue is that Perman gets inside Shaurya’s head at odd times and out of the blue while he is watching TV. All of a sudden, he would remember ‘Perman’ and then will want you to put it on, no matter what. As a parent now you are in a sticky situation because Perman has fixed timings and is not available throughout the day. And somehow I find it so irritating and obnoxious that I really do not wish to buy its CD for Shaurya’s home viewing.

Though I know that it is most likely just a passing phase for my little superhero and it won’t be too long that he would grow out of these TV series and pick up something else to keep himself busy. Personally I want him to pick up something more useful and creative than just spending time before the telly and learn some form of art as he grows. He has been showing inclination towards painting and music, but I am yet to see that spark in him which can keep him interested and focused on these things for long.

I shall write more as and when it happens, for the time being I shall keep posting on his recent fixation – the TV. So make sure, you catch this space for more on the TV saga and Shaurya and keep sending in your comments on the posts made.