The Great Indian Brat

Just the other day I was having a really quite nice date at a swanky restaurant in Bangalore. It is a charming restaurant on the thirteenth floor with a lovely panoramic view of the city. This is the last place one would bring their children to. Somehow Indian parents insist on bringing children to late night dinners at expensive restaurants and wreck everyone else's privacy.

'Aunty, what is this?' I turned around to find a little kid tugging at my skirt.

'It's nothing baby. It's just a fork,' I smiled and turned to concentrate on my date.

'Aunty, is this your mobile?' the cuteness was fast fading for this brat had pulled out my mobile from my hand bag.

'Yes it is and now would you be a good boy and give it back to me?' I forced a smile.

After much deliberation the kid dodged me and ran with my mobile to his mother who was sitting two tables away. Politely but firmly I asked the mother if she could get me my mobile back as it was important. Instead of being apologetic she tells me kids are like this only and that I ought to be more tolerant.

I mean seriously, as much as we feel proud that our little Bunty is an active child bursting with energy, or love to see our little Chintu sing "Twinkle Twinkle", the rest of the world is under no obligation to indulge them. Parents should stop thinking they are entitled to some special rights.

Even at the movies I happened to get seats next to a boisterous family who had bought all the junk available at the multiplex and the kids were fighting over it all through the movie despite several refills. Also each kid by turn kept wanting to go the washroom, and each time he would have to cross me. I don't think I caught a word of what Captain Jack Sparrow was saying!

I don't know what we are proud of. We make monkeys of our kids. Feed them all the junk and make the world listen to them singing Jack and Jill a zillion times over, and force them to clap and cheer. So we all have sung Baa Baa Black Sheep, it has been the most natural part of our growing up, cute as it may sound it really is no rocket science.

So I think it's time to impose a few rules, Children below the age of 13 should not be allowed to

-Fancy restaurants at dinner. Even if they do allow children it should clearly mention they are 'child-friendly' or whatever, so that the rest of us can stay away.

- At the theaters for all shows from the evening show. The parents can rent the DVD and watch it later.

- At the beauty parlours where I like to get a my head massage done without having to hear pesky kids running around and trying to handle the equipments.

I don't have kids of my own, I am not even married. When I do I'll ensure they follow all these rules but right now I don't want be deprived of a good movie or a great dinner.

Published first at : Desi Critics

First Day First Show

I hate first days. First day at school, first day at college, first day at work, first day in a new city, first day at almost just about anything. There is always pressure to perform, to impress, to look intelligent and to be the best at whatever you do. And even walking up to the loo becomes an excruciatingly painful task. Everyone looks at you like you’re from another planet or so you think.

I changed my job recently so my first day on my second job gave me a rather queasy feeling. I had moved from an organization with not more than 30 people at any point to an organization with 250 odd people. In my first job, I knew every individual by name, history and geography and suddenly I found myself in an ocean where I couldn’t identify with a single face.

It’s almost like the fate of a Bollywood movie, the first three days of its release makes or breaks it. And the producer undertakes a pilgrimage in the interim.

I maybe exaggerating, but I would be lying if I claim that I am super excited about my first day at a new job, the second time over. True, I’ve gotten over the apprehension about jobs in general, a feeling I went through before my first job, but I still sweat at the thought of having to start again.

So on my first day, I got a huge bouquet of peach roses hmm… sweet! I must admit, but then I saw at least 3 other tables with identical bouquets. I felt even better, I had company!

Then I got sweets, my obvious guess ‘birthday’.

‘Happy birthday’

My boss chuckles and everyone around me seemed to be snickering. Ok, my first slip.

‘It’s my third day sweets.’ Replies the unidentified object rather bashfully.

‘Your what?’

‘Oh! it’s a tradition here. On your third day, you give out sweets to everyone and introduce yourself.’ My team mate was quick to explain.

Hence, three days later, there I was, doing the exact same thing. So before I get my paycheque, I’ve already spent a bomb on sweets, but it’s worth it if I am going to get to know people before I start.

Next is induction, which in my opinion is a boring monologue of the company’s values, its achievement, yada yada. A lot of people walking past my cubicle ask me whether I have been inducted, I couldn’t help noticing a mischievous grin on their faces. So I inferred it was obviously not any normal induction, another reason for me to worry.

All the newcomers assembled at the induction room at a given time with writing pads and pens to copiously take down notes. Treatment imparted to us was similar to that of sacrificial goats. A huge gathering of people from various departments assembled to watch the show. We had a round of personal introductions and then the latest item numbers in various languages were played at full blast and we had to dance just the way item girls do!

I was pretty much left with no choice, and so I did my bit of grinding and jahtak mahtaks. Now, I am on my second week and I still feel awkward approaching people, pushing them to do work. Besides, I get the ‘you’re the new kid on the block and your telling me how to do my work’ look all the time. In a month it wouldn’t matter, but this would probably be my longest month here.

Wanting To Make A Difference

The past week has been really exciting I have met so many interesting people wanting to make a difference in this world. All of them seemed to have one common passion and drive in life ‘to provide equal opportunity for every child. I found their stories inspiring and gripping.

Anusha Veluswamy

We were classmates and best of friends in 7th standard but after my father moved abroad and mounting pressures of school with every passing day, we eventually lost touch. It was only yesterday, after a decade, that I met Anusha again and we started off where we had left off. She was just the same with her dazzling smile and charming personality.

Anusha always loved children but went the conventional way and got a B Arch degree and landed a job with an architect firm in Bangalore. While learning the ropes of the trade she decided she would volunteer to teach at the Parikrma Humanity foundation schools. She put her architect skills to use and designed two of their 4 schools.

She then realized that helping society was her true calling and set up the Chennai branch of iVolunteer where she helps people who are interested in voluntary services, by placing them with the right organization based on the location, interest and skill set.

iVolunteer is a platform to bring together individuals, corporate houses and Non Government Organisations (NGO) for mutual benefit.

So if you think you can share you talent as a medical professional, designer, writer, engineer etc. get in touch with Anusha via email av.anusha@gmail.com

Also you can log on to their website (http://www.ivolunteer.org.in) and see what kind of work iVolunteer is into.

Shumit Vatsal

Although I know Shumit for a relatively lesser time than the others, he had a very passionate story to tell. After having completed his masters in economics from the States, he felt he could use his skills to help the poor

‘I think i am extremely passionate about poverty. It’s hard to run away, not that i can do too much to change the situation here right now but i definitely want to contribute.’

He has been one of the founding members of Chennai Runners and helps train underprivileged children of the basketball team ‘Success’ at the Sports Development authority of Chennai (SDTA), Egmore.

‘US is a completely built society. Nothing needs to be really done there right now.’

Chennai runners are now supporting his cause and want to provide equal opportunity for these kids. Besides providing them with shoes and jerseys, they also want to mentor the kids and help them stay out of trouble. They recently organized a Friday run where anyone could run with these young basketball players and spend some quality time with them.

The run starts at 6.00am on Fridays at Nehru Park Egmore. If you want to support the cause or participate in the Friday run you can get in touch with Shumit via email at shumit.vatsal@gmail.com

Remember, you are running for a cause so don’t carry your ipod or any fancy gadgets and scare the kids away.

Janaki & Shubha

Janaki and Shubha are 2 women in their forties and have been teaching for nearly 2 decades now. They have long since recognized the shortcomings of the Indian education system. Janaki feels the government provides no special aid for children with learning disabilities.

Ever since, these women have been associated with Madras Dyslexia Association, a non-profit, voluntary organisation established in the year of 1991 to support children with Learning Disabilities and to prepare them to cope with challenges in academics.

Since dyslexia is a hidden disability which does not allow the child to perform to his/her actual potential, the under achievement of an otherwise intelligent child is puzzling to both teachers and parents alike. Timely identification and appropriate help will ensure that these children continue in mainstream education and their potential is fully tapped.

You can help by organizing a debate or quiz, or by volunteering your time to teach these children music, painting or any sports. You could also join them as a teacher
Log on to their website www.mdachennai.org and see how you can contribute.

Their stories truly moved me and I have decided to contribute my little bit in making this world a better place.