my daughter's sports day
Yesterday, i.e. 21st of February was my daughter's sports day celebration and was an important day for me on two counts.. Firstly, watching my daughter perform along with senior kids was a sheer pleasure, her winning a race was a cherry on the cake. But the contentment comes not from her performance alone but also from the event as a whole. The discipline, dedication and dynamism displayed by the teachers and the students gave me another reason to rejoice. My beliefs which were under such a severe criticism that I almost started doubting them, stood confirmed in the form of my smiling and excited daughter.
As I said, it was the day of confirmation of two of my beliefs. Their confirmation is a reason of celebration for me because one of them was strongly opposed by my husband and the other one to which he readily agreed was against what you might call 'status norms'.
Now as the history goes, when we arrived in Mumbai in the penultimate year in December, my first priority, even before finding the cable or the cylinder or telephone connection was finding the right school for my two years and ten months old daughter, so that at least for those three hours a day for five days a week I will have three uncluttered hours to do other life settling jobs like the ones I mentioned earlier. Before I proceed further, let me clarify that it was also the first and in fact the only priority of my little kid as well, who was terribly missing her previous playschool.
At this juncture, my motherly emotions are taking over my rather sensible senses and are creating a huge distraction from the flow of the current thought. I am afraid I might not get another chance to gush over that cute memory of hers that is imbibed in my memory and causes me to grin from ear to ear even after years of its occurrence.
She was almost two or three months short of two years at the time when our next door neighbour in Chandigarh took her along while going to pick up his son from his bus stop. What she saw was a school bus full of excited smiling happy faces and concluded that school must be some fun place and immediately decided that she too must go. Next day she found some bag in her toys and filled it with her two-three picture books and was ready to go!!!..... saying 'Jiya-cool-bye'. I don't remember what I did first-shed tears of joy, laughter and pride or scooped her in my arms trying to prevent her from going down the stairs dragging the bag all along.
With utmost difficulties she was made to understand that no school take kids smaller than two years, and so...... she started waiting for her second birthday. Everyday on waking up she will ask 'aj-jiya-b'day?' ....because her little brain could not grasp the idea of days, weeks and months no matter how hard we tried.
In the mean-time we shifted to Noida and she lost her alternate family, i.e our neighbours to geographical distances but her wait for her second birthday still continued. As the day approached, we both spent many hours contemplating the strategy to adopt to postpone her most awaited moment..... because we both believed that she was still too small to go to a pre-school. So, we told her that since she still wets her clothes she can not go to a school, who will change her wet dirty clothes and other kids will say 'hooooo.....!!!!
Her desire to go to school was so strong that she soon got toilet trained as well and finally in August when she was two years and six months old we could not postpone it any further and thus..... I got the first taste of two free hours after an eternity.
There are many sub-plots in this story as well, like how she refused to come back from the class of the first school we visited and only after the promise that there is another better one to go to that she agreed to budge!!!! but let me come to my main topic now.....
When we came to Mumbai, she had done 3-4 months of her playgroup. Initially I set out to search for Playgroups only, but I was in for a shock. When compared to the dingy, small and rather expensive playschools of Mumbai, her playschool of Noida seemed like a luxury which we were enjoying for cheap. In all that disappointment, I chanced upon a school which was ready to let her in but for nursery and no playschool facility. I was willing to accept...... no!!!!! grab the opportunity while...... as per my husband she was too small. Now while I write this, I also tend to agree to him that she was actually small at just two years and ten months but it is also true that she had seriously outgrown those playschools and their still crying small babies.
I remember that we were visiting the best among those playschools and i had lost my interest mid-way our questioning the teacher there and made up my mind that I am not letting my child go through a reverse learning process. We had actually fought in the car, with Jiya trying to act as a mediator!!!
I wanted her to admit her in Nursery and was ready to let her repeat nursery class again..... in case she was not able to cope well.... just 4-5 months of the current academic session were left.
Now, in our relationship most of the times, I let him make the decisions, significant as well as non-significant. In case of dispute, I am usually the one to wink first, but there are some matters of belief..... specially when they pertain to our daughter that I refuse to relent even if all hells threaten to break loose. This is a perfect example of such a case!!!!
My husband's opposition to this idea was to such an extent that he refused even to co-operate!!!!
And for me, once that idea gained root, that seemed the only best strategy to adopt. So, I did a few more research, now to find good schools. And the names that would always crop up would be Vibgyor, Billabong, DG Khaitan and Ryan International. The glitch was that she would have the admission for the next academic session which.....again meant going back to same dingy playschools.
Secondly, and more importantly they were asking for fees..... for NURSERY, an amount almost similar to which my brother pays for his MBA at one of the most prestigious B-school.
At the fees counter of one such school, this was the decision I made to myself that irrespective of my affording capability.... my daughter....will not start her academic carrier at such place where the luxuries of life will become necessities for her, where she will try to weigh her blessings and gifts in terms of money. May be this is a prejudice which I have formed after passing through the era of DPS MMS scandal...... but as per my belief, knowledge and character can not be bought by money, you have to invest efforts and dedication to gain them. And where there are people to throw money....both in abundance.....true efforts might be overshadowed by glamour.
Saturday was the day of confirmation of my beliefs and that I had not misplaced my trust by choosing 'Learnium' as her first school. Ninety percent of the kids in my complex go to either of the above mentioned schools, and I can always smell an air of superiotity floating around them. But after one year of her schooling I am happy. My daughter goes to school happy....comes back happier. She might not be the brightest student of the class, but she is not lagging behind either. I can feel the laying down of the foundation of the much sought after character,confidence and intelligence in her personality.
Now, it is upto me and the school I have choosen to build upon this foundation.
As I said, it was the day of confirmation of two of my beliefs. Their confirmation is a reason of celebration for me because one of them was strongly opposed by my husband and the other one to which he readily agreed was against what you might call 'status norms'.
Now as the history goes, when we arrived in Mumbai in the penultimate year in December, my first priority, even before finding the cable or the cylinder or telephone connection was finding the right school for my two years and ten months old daughter, so that at least for those three hours a day for five days a week I will have three uncluttered hours to do other life settling jobs like the ones I mentioned earlier. Before I proceed further, let me clarify that it was also the first and in fact the only priority of my little kid as well, who was terribly missing her previous playschool.
At this juncture, my motherly emotions are taking over my rather sensible senses and are creating a huge distraction from the flow of the current thought. I am afraid I might not get another chance to gush over that cute memory of hers that is imbibed in my memory and causes me to grin from ear to ear even after years of its occurrence.
She was almost two or three months short of two years at the time when our next door neighbour in Chandigarh took her along while going to pick up his son from his bus stop. What she saw was a school bus full of excited smiling happy faces and concluded that school must be some fun place and immediately decided that she too must go. Next day she found some bag in her toys and filled it with her two-three picture books and was ready to go!!!..... saying 'Jiya-cool-bye'. I don't remember what I did first-shed tears of joy, laughter and pride or scooped her in my arms trying to prevent her from going down the stairs dragging the bag all along.
With utmost difficulties she was made to understand that no school take kids smaller than two years, and so...... she started waiting for her second birthday. Everyday on waking up she will ask 'aj-jiya-b'day?' ....because her little brain could not grasp the idea of days, weeks and months no matter how hard we tried.
In the mean-time we shifted to Noida and she lost her alternate family, i.e our neighbours to geographical distances but her wait for her second birthday still continued. As the day approached, we both spent many hours contemplating the strategy to adopt to postpone her most awaited moment..... because we both believed that she was still too small to go to a pre-school. So, we told her that since she still wets her clothes she can not go to a school, who will change her wet dirty clothes and other kids will say 'hooooo.....!!!!
Her desire to go to school was so strong that she soon got toilet trained as well and finally in August when she was two years and six months old we could not postpone it any further and thus..... I got the first taste of two free hours after an eternity.
There are many sub-plots in this story as well, like how she refused to come back from the class of the first school we visited and only after the promise that there is another better one to go to that she agreed to budge!!!! but let me come to my main topic now.....
When we came to Mumbai, she had done 3-4 months of her playgroup. Initially I set out to search for Playgroups only, but I was in for a shock. When compared to the dingy, small and rather expensive playschools of Mumbai, her playschool of Noida seemed like a luxury which we were enjoying for cheap. In all that disappointment, I chanced upon a school which was ready to let her in but for nursery and no playschool facility. I was willing to accept...... no!!!!! grab the opportunity while...... as per my husband she was too small. Now while I write this, I also tend to agree to him that she was actually small at just two years and ten months but it is also true that she had seriously outgrown those playschools and their still crying small babies.
I remember that we were visiting the best among those playschools and i had lost my interest mid-way our questioning the teacher there and made up my mind that I am not letting my child go through a reverse learning process. We had actually fought in the car, with Jiya trying to act as a mediator!!!
I wanted her to admit her in Nursery and was ready to let her repeat nursery class again..... in case she was not able to cope well.... just 4-5 months of the current academic session were left.
Now, in our relationship most of the times, I let him make the decisions, significant as well as non-significant. In case of dispute, I am usually the one to wink first, but there are some matters of belief..... specially when they pertain to our daughter that I refuse to relent even if all hells threaten to break loose. This is a perfect example of such a case!!!!
My husband's opposition to this idea was to such an extent that he refused even to co-operate!!!!
And for me, once that idea gained root, that seemed the only best strategy to adopt. So, I did a few more research, now to find good schools. And the names that would always crop up would be Vibgyor, Billabong, DG Khaitan and Ryan International. The glitch was that she would have the admission for the next academic session which.....again meant going back to same dingy playschools.
Secondly, and more importantly they were asking for fees..... for NURSERY, an amount almost similar to which my brother pays for his MBA at one of the most prestigious B-school.
At the fees counter of one such school, this was the decision I made to myself that irrespective of my affording capability.... my daughter....will not start her academic carrier at such place where the luxuries of life will become necessities for her, where she will try to weigh her blessings and gifts in terms of money. May be this is a prejudice which I have formed after passing through the era of DPS MMS scandal...... but as per my belief, knowledge and character can not be bought by money, you have to invest efforts and dedication to gain them. And where there are people to throw money....both in abundance.....true efforts might be overshadowed by glamour.
Saturday was the day of confirmation of my beliefs and that I had not misplaced my trust by choosing 'Learnium' as her first school. Ninety percent of the kids in my complex go to either of the above mentioned schools, and I can always smell an air of superiotity floating around them. But after one year of her schooling I am happy. My daughter goes to school happy....comes back happier. She might not be the brightest student of the class, but she is not lagging behind either. I can feel the laying down of the foundation of the much sought after character,confidence and intelligence in her personality.
Now, it is upto me and the school I have choosen to build upon this foundation.
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