I teach at a boarding school, where the happy Enid Blyton tuck-box has cheerfully been changed into a tuck-shop. The shop is open for about an hour in the evening, and children can go get all the unhealthy, delicious things that the school cannot morally serve as often as children want. What makes me smile most of all is ice-cream, and the way children enjoy it, each child in a different way. Every year, when we went to Bangalore for the summer, our grandparents gave us the money to buy something we wanted once in two or three days. My cousins had the terrible problem of deciding between two treats – cold drinks or ice-cream. For me, it was simple – ice-cream all the way. It was a process. My sister and I used to run across and buy two chocobars. Then, we would come back and take out our beloved square blue plates. Then, we would open our chocobars and throw the plastic away. Then … [Read more...]

I remember how, a few months ago, two girls came excitedly to me in dance class. "Miss, we had a fire drill today!" "The whole period went in the drill!" said one child, immediately pointing out the highlight of the exercise. "Oh?" I said, interested. I was glad things like this were being done. "So what did you have to do?" "They told us how to leave the building in a proper way," said one girl. "So we had to form lines and all." "And they explained to us that we should never enter the building again, until the fire has been put out." "And we should leave immediately on the stone staircase not the wooden staircase." Impressed, I said, "Good! I'm happy that they're teaching you that!" Emboldened by my interest, one of the girls piped up, "And the teachers know how to use those cylinders also to stop the fire." "The oxygen cylinders," explained the other one, … [Read more...]

Sometimes, I look back and think, "What a foolish, foolish child I was." We lived in Vashi when I was very young, and like all children, I was always happier playing outside than being indoors. Unlike most other children, though, little Varsha loved to go and check that Mamma was still there. Just a little peek and a little hug were enough to keep me going for a long time. Once, my mother took my sister and me with her to visit friends of hers. As usual, my sister and I went down to play. We were inattentive little children and did not notice that even though we lived on the first floor, these friends were different - they lived on the second floor. After playing for a while, little Varsha decided to check on mamma. She went up to the first floor and saw that all four doors were locked. I still remember my heart thumping in my head with fear. I went down and told my sister. She came … [Read more...]