Shaurya's Chronicles

Shaurya and I travelled to Udaipur by ourselves in the last week of May to visit my sister and her family. My eldest ‘Jija ji’ and Shaurya’s ‘Maasad Ji’ is an army man and currently posted there and Shaurya is apparently quite fond of him. The way he follows him around in the house is a sight worth watching. Being in the Indian Army, my sister and brother in law have a different lifestyle, they have lots of helpers to run errands and look after all kinds of things. Shaurya, who is normally not used to such things, loved being pampered and was the center of attraction for not just my brother in law, but even the helpers.

Shaurya had a freezer full of ice creams and chocolates waiting for him and he did not take long to clean them up but then, Jija ji would quickly replenish it indulging him all he could. Being the eldest in the family we have always looked up to Jija Ji as a father figure but Shaurya’s attachment to him could only be seen to believed. Shaurya would sit up and wait for him to come back home for lunch, would accompany him on his smoking breaks and even stay up till late at night to listen to his talks and stories.

The funny thing was that Shaurya somehow always felt that we called him Jiya ji and not Jija ji and could not be convinced that it was not so. In fact, despite being coaxed by Jija ji himself to call him as ‘Maasad ji’,he could not be shaken and still chooses to call him Jija ji.

It is strange how children can connect to grown ups in the most uncanny ways and develop new bonds on their own and grown ups who are often feared, respected and admired by their peers and family succumb easily to a child’s innocence and reveal an unseen part of their personality.

Dear Shaurya,

With time perhaps this little bond that you developed will age and change into more formal respect. I hope this little post will forever account for what you shared during the summers of 2013 and will forever remind you that kindness is a virtue that leaves a lasting impression.

So here I am today, praying that God fills your heart with kindness and compassion and allows you to share it with everyone alike. Grow up to be responsible and sensitive and be a joy to the world.

I read it somewhere: How to ride a horse:

Step One – Mount the horse.
Step Two – Stay mounted.

It was the much awaited occasion of Shaurya’s chaachu’s wedding and everyone in the house particularly Shaurya was very excited about it. He is extremely close to his uncle and couldn’t hold all his excitement.

Now, according to Hindu rituals the bridegroom goes to the wedding venue, mounted on a horse and the youngest boy in the house has to accompany him as a ‘sarbaala’ on it. Being the youngest in the family, Shaurya got the chance to be the ‘sarbaala’.  I am sure he didn’t understand much about the significance of the custom but just knowing that he would be wearing a similar attire like his uncle for the special day, his joy knew no bounds. In fact he even got  a little henna pattern done on his palm like the groom.

Finally, when it was time to mount the mare, Shaurya refused to do so, as it was a full grown mare and really tall. He was scared out of his wits and thus, instead of being by his uncle’s side, he chose to remain with the others and did not venture near the horse at all. Every time we pulled him to come near it, he ran away howling. I am sure he heaved a huge sigh of relief when we reached the venue and he was spared of the ordeal.

As a mother, I was a little disheartened seeing him scared like this and at the fact that we could not infuse enough confidence in him to take a little ride but I also feel that it was our mistake as well, to not apprise him and mentally prepare him before the ceremony.  

However, it so happened that within a month after his uncle’s wedding, there was another wedding in the family and we all went to Chandigarh to attend it. Well, the horse again came into the picture and Shaurya was troubled at the sight of it. Having known from our past experience, we knew better this time around and did not urge him to ride it.

During the course of the wedding that evening, we returned to our hotel to change for another function later in the night. Incidentally in the middle of our hotel’s lobby stood a life like statue of a horse.

We were passing by it when suddenly Shaurya decided to overcome his fear and had the urge to mount that statue perhaps just to get a feel of it. I as a mother and a teacher normally would not have conceded to his demand, but having known how he was scared initially and seeing him make an attempt to go past his initial fears, I gave in and we let him sit on that statue for a brief while (of course, with the consent of the hotel staff).

I can’t say if anything really changed for him that moment, but there was a sudden spring in his feet when he finally got down from the statue. He was much more relaxed and kept looking at me for approving his little feat…needless to add, I gave him a little hug and encouraged him on.

My child,

I want you to remember this little incident and read this post when you are a little unsure of the obstacles in your way. It was a trivial situation but then you overcame it, on your own by making an effort and succeeded as well.

I wish that you take heart from this little post and remember before you say I can’t to something, you give it a try. As again, I promise to stand by you as a mother and a guide through all what you attempt to achieve and all your ups and downs.

All the best, my little knight :)

Shaurya has finally learnt to read and write. I am amazed to see the way he reads story books and his prescribed course books. He loves reading English books, and thanks to his DaMa, he is good at Hindi too. Well, I know am being too ambitious here, but yes I would love it if he becomes a voracious reader.

Parenting is a difficult task and even though I am an English teacher, I still cannot justify why ‘enough’ is not ‘enuf’ and ‘could’ is not ‘cud’. He puts me in a tizzy by asking such questions which I cannot even ‘Google’.

He made a drawing and labeled the things in it as small, medium and big and when I pointed out that the spellings were wrong, as he had put in ‘smol’, ‘meedeeyom’ and ‘big’, he was quick to add that the spellings were correct as they were articulated that way.

Goodness… Am sure William Wordsworth must have dealt with a child and that is how he must have written the famous one liner, “The child is the father of the Man”.

Well my love, you sure have taught me a lesson or two… never realized English would make my head spin, so much so that I would love to avoid all discussions related to it. But the most important lesson that I’ve learnt from you is ‘patience’. I have learnt to control my temper and instead of shouting at you for the many naughty things that you do, all I do is smile or share a laugh