Of half a century of togetherness

(Note: I started writing this on the actual anniversary day of my parents..when I was feeling extremely sad to be so far away from them. But I never intended to finish writing it in day or in a jiffy. A story that has spanned 50 years, I needed my time to put it on paper. The only problem was ..everytime I started writing, my eyes would be flooded and mind overwhelmed. I hope I did justice to bring out some key elements from my parents' journey together)

He was a high school dropout, pulled into the family business too soon. She was BCom Hons in Economics whose final year exams were put on hold because a suitable match was found for her. And just like that, they were married. Settled into the joint family, she soon adjusted into the new family. A pampered daughter into her own family, became the oldest daughter -in-law in the family. Time passed on, they both had kids...3 daughters and a son. They were like fire and ice, she like a fire...being a strict mom, enforcing the rules and discipline for kids. He was like ice...the cool parent for the kids, always mellow, willing to bend the way his kids wanted him to. He was the parent who would quietly sign the late homework note for kids without letting their moms know. In an era when the feminist word was not even discovered, he would be the one who would let her wife go and care for her dad and stay back to take care of his 3 kids on his own. 

But then the winds changed. Times and circumstances made them leave their hometown and move to a totally different city and kind of start from scratch. They started on a high note...Everything looked good, new town, new beginnings, closer to family. It should have been good, right? But it was the calm before the storms. Because very soon, the tsunami waves started hitting and life went upside down. All of a sudden, they very own folks they trusted, turned their backs on them, some showed their true self and few others started trying to look for every possible way to pull them down to the rock bottom. 

And life did hit the very ultimate rock bottom for not only both of them but their four kids too. Life became a daily struggle, unsure for both of them as to where to start pulling it together. All this while, their 4 kids were watching this entire life drama play almost daily in front of them and unknowingly learning some very key lessons about money, people, relationships and how everything changes with time. 

Initially, they both stumbled and kind of started losing their control on things and felt helpless. But then, she decided to keep the fear of "what would everyone say" on the side and make every effort to bring things into control. She had two big tasks in front of her - one to keep sinking ship afloat and find ways to get to the coast, and second, to pave the ways for her kids' future despite everything being turned upside down. And the biggest one was to become the backbone for that one person who was so beaten down by circumstances but never showed it at all. It wasn't a task for the faintest hearts; it was not rosy at all. It was bumpy and scary ride. But they did, fell, stumbled and then again got up. Got again beaten down, sometimes by circumstances, sometimes by people they trusted, sometimes by their own mistakes. But the only thing that kept going was all 6 of them being there for each other. Life and its ways had changes a lot in those years; Some of the normalcies became luxuries and some different things became the new normal. they say you have to hit rock bottom before you can bounce back. So life was at the lowest point but they all kept hustling and swimming.

Over the next several years, things started to return to somewhat normal because the thing called life never stops, right !! The kids grew up, got settled into their career, got married. And each one of them took their own lessons from the turbulence and its repercussions they saw on the family. But the one lesson they all took away from this whole saga was the never faltering strength and support they had for each other. 

Now, they are both at a stage of life where have the time to sit back and reflect back on how it all unfolded. In good, bad and worse times, they gave up a lot and held on to each other and came out of the storm.  Sometimes, they have their own regrets on not being able to do things for the ones they love when it was time. But then it does not stop them from going overboard now when they can.

Theirs is not the only story I have seen unfold; I saw my nana nani, my amma -babaji, my chacha-chachi..all those stories too !! But theirs was the one I grew up watching so close and being so touched by it.  

As they marked a milestone in their journey this year, all I wish for them is maximum happiness and that feeling of peace and content that they so much deserve; to have the means and time to do what they always wanted to do for each other and their loved ones; to enjoy their time with their grandkids.

Love you Maa and Papa

Happy Birthday Papa

 This blog has now become a repository of my emotions and outlets for the days and occasions that matter for me most. The month of April marks 3 main celebrations in my family: my sister's birthday, my brother's anniversary and then my dad's birthday. I wrote about my sister's birthday. And today is my dad's birthday. For my brother's anniversary, I have to find the courage to relive that day and write about it sometime.

So, my dad...my papa..my earliest memories of him is of the person who used to save us from any troubles we used to get in. My mumma was the tough parent, so he used to be the good one...the one who would sign our late homework or less grade papers secretly; get us kulfi from the roadside (mumma was strict against the roadside food) or even let us sleep till late and skip the schools on rainy days. And his mantra used to  be "Itni baarish ho rahi hai? Koi teacher nahin aayegi, koi bache nahin aayenge. Kya karoge school jakar?".

He loves to eat and make others eat, especially sweets. When we were kids, he was the one who got the first gold coins (chocolate coins), peppermint cigarettes for us !! Even now, before even I get home, he will have garma garam jalebi at home ready for me. And will keep asking mom, when is she going to make halwa for the kids. On my return, I always have a huge box of home made laddoos with me.

It breaks my heart to see him struggling with his blood sugar levels now and not able to eat the things he so used to love to eat. 

Over the last few years and especially this pandemic his health, his anxieties and his carefree spirit have taken a toll. That hearty laugh that I used to adore about him is not that hearty anymore. It is as if there are clouds of doubt, anxiousness and pain in that, words I never related to my dad, even in the worst of the times.

Sitting so far away, I try to cheer him up as best as I can. Conspire with sisters and brother to surprise him, coerce mom to cook his favorite dishes; call up neighboring uncle to see how their card games are going. 

Papa..for today and the years coming, I wish you become the version of you that you are content and happy with. You get to experience moments and relations that make you happy. And you continue spreading that to others too. Because trust me, your always smiling face and your response of "First Class" to anyone who asks how are you, is extremely infectious. 

Love you papa, and you, the one really up high there, you make sure to make things better for him, please !!

Sisters are everything

 Sisters..such a strange yet sweet relationship that someone created !! I was fortunate enough to grow up with 2 younger sisters.

When we were growing up, we all didn't call this relationship "fortunate". We had a love-hate but symbiotic  kind of relationship with each other. We shared clothes, shared room and closets, divided house chores where everyone picked what they liked to do, tolerated each other's that one "irritating" friend and kept her secrets but only because she knew some of mine too !! 

But as we started growing up, each one started having their own personalities, without even realizing, we started depending on each other - to complement us, to support us, to complete us and lend a shoulder when we struggled to stand up for our own self. And there were many many such moments...when each one of us was trying to lend a hand to support the family during our worst times, when each one of us was trying to find our footing into careers we wanted to land into. Every time, one of us stumbled or fell, the immediate reaction of other 2 was to pick that one up. Now, when I look back, that was the start of a different kind of relation between us.

Having said that, doesn't mean we didn't have fun with each other. Stealing remote control batteries when SRK movie was playing or making fun of Rishi Kapoor's sweater designs (my youngest was his fan at some point) or pulling my younger's sister by asking her to recite a Sanskrit shlok or giving her a number in hindi(she could not differentiate between Dhai or dhedh(2.5 or 1.5 in hindi)) ..these are still our usual jokes with each other. 

Then, life happened...we all got married..to 3 strangers and for a moment, each one of us panicked that it will all change !! But after a few hiccups and speedbreakers, we were back in our groove, lending an altogether different kind of support for each other.  And time has only cemented the foundations of our relationship. We have a telepathy for each other...No matter what is troubling me, I just need a chat with one of them and I can be back to being myself. We can read each others' emotions and know what's bothering the other. 

Life wouldn't be same if not for you, dear R and S.

And on that note, a very happy birthday to my sis !!

May always be laughing, giggling and spreading the cheer everywhere.

When everything was lost, all that was left was us.

 I have been binge watching this series on Netflix called "Schitt's Creek". I have just absolutely loved this show so far. Most of the times, when I love a book or movie or series this much, it is because I find a common connection to them somehow. And I had been wondering how was I connected to this goofy story.

And then, it just struck me out of the blue today. For those who haven't watched it or dont know what the series is about, it is a story of a couple and their two grown up kids who had been very rich and spoilt at some time, lose their everything and then build up their lives in a small remote place called Schitt's Creek.

For some reason, one of the episodes I watched recently took me back to  rough phase in my own childhood when my dad had lost his everything in the business and we were down to rags. It was a really painful and bleak phase of life. Lots of incidents that I have sort of blocked out of my memory. Oldest among my siblings at 16, I knew what was going on in the house. All 6 of us, including my siblings and parents were trying to turn those dark days but somehow fate and time was just not in our favor. 

Yet, there is this one incident that I still to this date, remember very clearly. It was late in the evening during summers and there was a power cut.  So we were all outside in the verandah. It had been one of those days where things had taken a turn for even worse. I had just come back from college and papa was lying on a charpai, too silent for his usual self. Mom was sitting there too, as if in some deep thoughts. My sisters were already home a bit early that day and brother had also come back from market just at that time. My sisters, in their usual goofy nature, were doing some comedy about a neighboring nosey aunty; my brother was laying with his head in my mom's lap and adding his flavors into their jokes. I was sitting next to my dad and rubbing his head.  A few minutes went by like that...then my papa got up and sat and looked around and said, "Sab kuch kho diya, lekin tab bhi sab nahin khoya hai !! Agar itna sab khokar bhi hum milkar hans sakte hai to isse badi koi baat nahin ho sakti !!" Even in that darkness, I could feel the pain on my dad's face and sense what was going on in each one of ours heads. And that line of his has stuck with me ever since. 

Things did not change overnight like a Hindi movie; we went through hell and worse !! But the only good thing that came out of it was how close it brought us all together and how strong it made my dad's kids. His daughters can fight a mountain and survive in a desert. We learnt the importance of money and relations in life. And my brother, he learnt to only trust and rely on his own hard work and gut feelings and nothing else in life. Even so far away, he knows his sisters has his back.  Anyone who knows me well, know how close I am to my siblings; they are like my own kids. And a lot of it comes from that phase. We understand each other like no one else. When one of us makes a decision, even without talking, we know what was going in their head for them to act that way. Nothing in the world can turn us against each other.

Because when everything was lost, all that was left was us and only us !!

What do you do?

How do you reach out to a person whom you have not spoken with for years?

When you last spoke, none of you said good byes, yet neither took the first step to restart the conversation?

When you have tons of things to share and ask and get mad at, but are unable to get past the walls of prolonged periods of unexplained silence?

When you are not even sure if the other person will ever respond or not?

When you don’t want this conversation to be through phone or emails or chat but face to face because you want to see the clouds of emotions on that person's face?

when you know that the stars will never ever again align to put you two in the same space at the same time?

.

.

.

.

You just let it out on a piece of paper, for hours !!

and then rip that apart into thousand pieces after a few days, after re-reading that conversation just to yourself thousand and one more times !!

Just because

Stereotypes... I tell you
They box a person inside a cage, tend to define them based on some assumptions !!
But I truly believe every person is unique in their own ways
No 2 people can have the same personalities or traits

I found these lines while searching for something and this could be very well written by my younger one, who so dislikes herself being called "girly" or "pretty"

Image source: https://www.girlsempowermentnetwork.org/clubgen/clubgen-girls-share-their-just-because-poems/

I am enough

This is more as a reminder and note for myself, when I start feeling down and defeated.
That I am enough !!

H is for home

For a girl who left home after graduate studies and never finally came back for good, what is the definition of home?

Was it that corner room in the hostel where she spent 3 years with her dreams, aspirations, solitude and everything she learnt from the adventures in a new place?

Or was it the room in that shared apartment with 5 new girls in a complete new city with a new found independence? That bare room with almost no furniture but with always crowded with friends and not so friends as well.

Or was it the so called my room in the house I got married into, where I tried my best to make myself feel like home. 

Or was it in the one room apartment where I started my life in a new country with limited resources but unlimited dreams and aspirations?

Or was it in the next apartment we moved into after getting the first job when a place with just more than one room was affordable?

Or was it in the house where I welcomed and raised my 2 kids in this world, made memories of their firsts?

Would you call me weird if I told you none of those felt like home. I was home only when I walked into familiar old house, threw my bag in one corner and laid lazily into her mom's lap, chatted freely with dad, ordered bhai to get me some jalebi. Just that, and nothing else !!

G is for grandparents

Grandparents: What an amazing relationship this is!!
My dad always says:  Sood hamesha asal se jyada pyaara hota hai (Interest is always loved more than the principal)
And this saying is so relevant in case of a grand parent and grand kid relationship

I grew up in an extended family, surrounded by my dadi, babaji, buas, chacha, chachi !! Now that I think about it, every day seemed like a party with so many folks in the house. But, that also gave a lot of help to my mom, who was raising 3 toddler kids. 

My dadi, as I can remember, always dressed in her saree and glasses, sat outside in the verendah in her chair, making sure the house help was doing her work diligently, the presswala bhaiya did not miscount any of the clothes and reminding  doodhwala every single day to not mix any water in the milk.

And my babaji, such a simple and down to earth man. My most distinct memory of him was making sweets. Yes, every Diwali, we had a huge sweets making routine. He would start by making "bura" out of sugar syrup in a gigantic kadhai. From there, the rest of delicacies making routine for the festival would continue. And then distributing them among the factory workers on the Diwali night.

Those days were so simple, yet so precious.
Both of my grandparents are no longer in this world. I hope they are spreading peace and happiness in their new abode.

F is for finances

(Still playing catch up, and I am STILL confident I'll make it to the end of April)

Finance, oh the talk about the dreaded money !!
But it is my favorite topic for various reasons: One because I love numbers.
Secondly, I very strongly believe women should be financially independent and be in control and knowledgeable of the money. All my life, I have seen such strong women who managed and kept tabs on the family finances.

I come from a business family,  but still my mom, my dadi, nani, chachi were never careless about money. Even if they were not CA's or CFA's, but they were so diligent about money. Folds among their costly sarees and their jewelry boxes were their CDs which were found only when money was needed in urgency. Their kitchen budget was always fixed and balanced.
All the shagun monies that used to be exchanged, was always accounted for and saved for future gift giving. Everything was so methodical and organized, at least it seemed like that to us as kids.

As I was growing up, there was also times when money was a crunch; even in those times, my entrepreneurial mom came up with creative ways to manage the home finances and kept everything going.Those times and the hard lessons learnt during those times made me very conscious about money.
And so, I made every effort to understand where was money coming from, where I was paying, how much and for what, where to invest and how and how to look for ways to save the currency. 

I take time to learn about the investment options, benefits available at work, tax saving options, tax laws and the list goes on and on.

The bottom line is universe can keep on making jokes saying men go and earn money and women are only good for spending endlessly on credit card. But, every women, working or a home maker, need to take control of their finances and be knowledgeable to make those decisions.

E is for expressing yourself

Expressing yourself is such an important trait or skill, I must say.
As I always tell my kids, no one can know how you feel or what you want unless you express it somehow.

I myself haven't been great on this trait... I have a hard time expressing myself - be it asking for something, telling someone what I like or dislike about them. Let's just say that it is a work in progress- slowly learning to do this.
As for the next gen goes, I am making sure to teach my kids to thoroughly express their feelings, likes and dislikes.

I guess a lot depends on personality too.
My older has gone on me on this nature.. I can keep on asking him questions but he rarely makes anyone know how he is feeling. I have to keep probing but at the same time keeping boundaries.

My younger one on the other had (at least so far) is good about it. She loves writing simple thank you or love you notes, giving "just like that" cards to her friends. I hope she retains this side of her personality as she grows up.

D is for Dear Zindagi

Dear Zindagi:

I am writing this letter more to myself than to you. To convince myself that there have been lots in life that I should be thankful about. Whenever I was at cross roads wishing for something I thought I couldn't reach, you paved ways for me. You showed me the options and dropped hints along the way to lead me to the right path. Lately, I haven't been a very optimistic person. Tend to look at glass half empty rather than half full.
But I have hope that I have what it will take to fix that in my life.

Ab chitthi likhne baithi hoon to shaikayatein kaise nahin karoongi... uski bhi bohot lambi list hai
Jinse main judi hoon, jinme meri sansein atki hai, unhe takleef mat dena kabhi !!
Aise doraahe par mat lakar khada karna ki main decision na le paoon.

Jin lamho ko, jin rishto ko peeche chod diya hai unse na milwana kabhi. Jitni strong dikhti hoon utni hoon nahin ab.

Continue to stay on my side 
Love
Me

C is for Candle light homework

Did you ever do your homework in candle light? Candle light dinners may sound so romantic but candle light homework.... they were created out of necessity. Out of necessity to finish that one assignment that was definitely needed the very next day and the Bijli board decided to cut power in the evening. Generators and Invertors were not the most popular trend of those times and only a selected privileged homes used to have those. So the only option used to be to try to use the day light to do all your homework, but if some of your friends from the street engage you in a game of Lock and Key or hide and seek for the evening, then keep some candles and match sticks handy as it started getting dark and just hope the power wouldn't go away till you finish that last sentence of the assignment.

Those were the days ....

B is for busy

One of my neighbors always says "Busy is the new buzzword". And I have been thinking. Is this really a buzzword or are we all  really busy?

We must be, otherwise what could be reason for having a 5 line conversation with old friends only 2 times a year - one on their birthday and one on my birthday

what could be the reason that we would rather quickly hit "Like" on social media posts but not take a moment to write a real message or comment?

What could be the reason that when someone asks "How are you?", they are really not waiting for a long winded answer, it is being asked just for the sake of asking !!

But isn't this busy-ness self created? we immerse ourselves into so many things that we hardly have 100%  time or attention span for any one of those.
And that's the same lesson we are passing on to our kids
To keep them occupied every single second of their awake life.

I am not sure if it is good or bad. Some folks may justify it as a way of living their life and that's fine too.

But I have been struggling with this phase a lot lately.
I want to get out of the stage of busy. I want to be idle. I want to be with myself, completely shutoff from everything. Not sure how or when that will happen.

A is for Again

Don't you think the word AGAIN is such an optimistic and forgiving word?

You could have been trying to do something, kept on failing and then you get up and try again, with the hope that you'll succeed this time.

You work on a relationship, it keeps on disappointing yet you give it a chance again.

This whole repetition cycle is what keeps the world going.

This word "again" is also a reminder of temporary nature of some things, that cannot happen again !!
Moments lost, words spoken, broken relationships... cannot come back again.
Just a reminder to not to take this concept of again lightly.

In the spirit of trying again, I'll be using the month of April to get back on some of the things again. And getting back to writing on this blog is one of those things.

So, here I am (albeit one day late) jumping into the April A to Z blog.
Hopefully, some of the readers will come back again
Hopefully, I'll get to express myself ... again.

Only for you, G

I have tried writing this several times and every time the cloud of tears in my eyes have stopped me from going beyond the first 2 lines. But over the past few days, I have realized I need to write this. 
I am writing this for that one person with whom talking has become a rare event, but I still need to communicate this message, for that person, for myself, for everyone else that is connected.

Only to a certain extent, I understand why you are cutting yourself from everyone.
But think about this.. Is it solving anything? Is it making anything better? (Well, may be for short term !!)
Who is losing in all this? Only you and us too !!
I dont want those casual easy flowing conversations, laughter and jokes between us to turn into awkward "Kaisi hai" type lines.

I hope and really really wish you find the courage to break free from these invisible shackles and do what you think is right. Don't do it for anyone else; do it for yourself.
For once, please be selfish in life and do things just for yourself.
Please come back, G.

What I did not say in the letter

What I did not say in the letter is that life is not so easy as your mom and dad make it appear for you. There will always be problems and things you do not like or want to do. What's important is how you tread your way through those waves and come out.

What I did not say in the letter is that winning or losing is not everything in life; what's more important is the experiences, the lessons, the people you meet on the way, how much fun you had on the way.Winning or losing is just the final outcome and it wont matter if you cannot value the whole process to get to that outcome.

What I did not say in the letter is that always be brave enough to speak up your mind. Always speak up. Do not hesitate for a second thinking what will they think. Because "they" will always think, no matter what. So have your voice and speak up.

What I did not say in the letter is that do not ever let anyone, not even me and your dad, make decisions on your behalf. You have a mind of your own. Make your own decisions. Learn to say No when you want to. When you start delegating your decisions to others, it starts small and pretty soon you end up not having a say in the bigger decisions of your life.

What I did not say in the letter is that almost all types of relationships will come and go in life. What will stay with you forever is the one you'll have with your sibling. Do not ever give up on this relationship. I see so much of myself and my brother in you and Aayush and I'll always make every effort and wish that you two are always there for each other.

There will be many many and many more life lessons from me but for now, this is all I wanted to say that I did not say in that letter.

Love  you

A letter for you

Dear Kashvi

I am writing this letter to you on the day when you are start student for the week in your class at Corbell. I hope you had a great day so far at school. I know how much you love going to school, meeting your friends and teachers and doing your work. And I hope your zeal to learn and explore always stays with you – Your never-ending questions, your little experiments at home, making little crafts out of anything, those impromptu parties that you plan for everyone, your super excitement on earning houses and hotels when playing Monopoly – I do love all of them.

You know kindergarten is the most important foundation for your learning. The skills, the lessons that you learn today – you will use them in all your upcoming grades. And more importantly – the friendships that you will make now, will stay with you for a long time.

But besides learning the numbers and reading and all that is in the books, what I want for you is to utilize this time to develop the most important things you’ll need in life – To be kind and helpful to everyone; To be confident and being able to speak up for yourself needed and knowing to differentiate between what’s right and what may not be right.

Please know mom, dad and Aayush – we all love you a lot. And I sure do love that tinkling smile of yours, so do keep smiling always.

Lots of love and hugs
Mom                                                               

PS: Watch out for the next post "What I did not write in the letter.."

Expressing Love

My sweet little Kashu is on a drawing and writing spree and expressing her love and feelings for everyone these days

And mommy, daddy and even Aayush gets equal share of love through these drawings and writings.

And because I want to treasure these little drawings and writings of hers, I took some pictures of them  and am saving them here on the blog.

Her brother Aayush, even till today, expresses himself the best through his drawings and little notes.

On days when he messes up something, he will leave a quiet sorry note under my pillow

I rarely travel for my work; once when I did, he made the cutest "bye and miss you mom" card for me

Even the letter he wrote to Santa the year he became a big brother, was full of things he wanted not for him, but for his little sister...

(Just FYI.. they are at a age now where they fight and argue and then make up like typical siblings. So now Santa's letters are more oriented to X box and bike and iPod and all !)

And all these pictures and the writings that my kids do, reminds me of the time when my brother was a little kid.

He used to make up stories and write little love notes like these

His imaginations always created the funniest stories

He used to leave a little bite of his lunch for me every single day since I was the first one to check his bag and lunch as soon he got back from school.

Or the biology diagrams I used to beg my sister to draw for me, in lieu of doing the Sanskrit translation for her 

Sure, at that time, there were no cell phones or blogs to keep those memories safe

But they are all tucked neatly safe in my memories and heart.

Drawing here showing "Mom I love you"

And also that her hugs are the best !!

Dad also gets his share of "I love you"

Whole family picture with her most favorite thing , the rainbow

And that "My mom is not a cat"

Love this phase of childhood where expressions are so pure and innocent!!
Love you to moon and back my Kashu...

Bachpan ke din

The days of childhood are the most precious..talk to anyone about those days and the eyes shine up with a gleam and a sparkle and I am no exception to that.
I have so,so,so many stories from my childhood days. And I like to keep them intact in my memories by narrating them to my kids now; they are also intrigued by those stories; more so by the fact that even their mom was a kid (like a REAL kid!!!!)

I grew up in a joint family,a full house with Babaji, Maa, Chacha, Chachi, bua and my sisters and brother.
We did not even know the concept of cousins, so everyone was simply sisters and brothers.
And then we had some common toys in the house that we used to share, like the wooden orange,yellow horse like this (Remember???)

One toy and 5 kids to share and yet we were able to come up with a sharing plan between the kids, without any of the grown ups getting involved. We assigned specific rooms and areas of home to each kid. If the toy was found in those areas, that kid had the privilege to ride that toy. And even till date, my mom, chachi and buas tell the stories to their grandkids that with that arrangement, we never had a fight for the toy.

Evenings used to be party at the house. All the kids from the street used to gather at our house and Pakdam-pakdai and chupan-chupai used to be usual games to play. All the auntys and mom used to have their evening tea on the upper gallery, discussing their knitting patterns and dinner plans for the night.

With changing times, the games that we played also changed. But the theme was always the same, to have the most fun while spending the most time with the siblings and friends.
Whether it was the game of creating a towers out pillows and blankets for the little brother and making him sit as a king or playing shopping at home by accumulating different stuff from all over the house.

And then there were instances where mom became the strict on us when one of us did something really wrong or threw a fit on something. One of my favorite memory (not so favorite back then) is of a time when my brother got mad at something and decided to leave the house (yeah at the age of 5 years!) so when he said that, my mom very calmly asked him to pack his stuff and leave if he wanted to. So he looked around the house and packed all his valuables (which included 6 marbles, 4 stickers, 4 toy cars and few other knick-knacks) in his box and dashed towards the door. Me being the sentimental older sister wanted to stop him but mom asked me not to. So in the summer afternoon, he is out of the home, wandered around on the street for a while and then probably  was thirsty. So he went to the nearest park and tried to find some water. When he could not find any, rang the bell on the door and asked for some water. And that's when my mom taught him the most important lesson of life: Leaving what you have is easy but then only you realize how important it was for you.

As I remember all these stories and other anecdotes from my childhood, I cannot stop and wonder how easily we learnt important life lessons through these play activities. With all the focus now on electronic devices, video games and demanding work load at schools, the one to one interaction between the kids and free play is kind of lost on them. I try to include free outside play for my kids, just so that they can learn to interact, communicate, play and even handle their own disputes with other kids in their own ways.

I am sure they will have their own stories to tell their kids when they reach the stage to reminisce their days of childhood. 

This post is being written for the #BachpanWithFlinto blogger contest

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