Our prayer for Rohit

The apple fell from the tree and Sir Newton did not eat it. Instead he made a discovery. I thought the apple went wasted. When my teacher taught gravity, I blamed Newton for my misery. In an attempt to drill it into my brains, my dad twisted my ears red enough to make the apple look pale. But ask me now. I may not understand the science behind it, but I salute the phenomenon behind the discovery of gravity. Reason, the naughty little brat – Rohit!

Minutes after he is awake from bed, he possesses the restlessness of a million nuclear fusions. Whole marble floor is dotted with his toys, utensils, tubes, bottles and any rubble that can be held, dragged and pushed by his tiny hands. Shout a NO, would look at you, and dilute the protest by a smile before getting on to the next naughty act.

All was fine till he developed a new fetish. A curious entertaining one for him, a costly draining one for us. Picks up just about anything in his way, carries to the grill of the balcony, drops it on to the parking driveway and presses his tiny head against the grill to stalk the falling object with his gaze. Once his ears acknowledge the thud he sprints back with determination to find another victim. Cell phone, ceramic cups, cloth hangers, shoes, spoons, combs, toys, pens, clothe clips, ear rings, purse almost everything in house has once prayed fervently for a parachute. I hope this curiosity subsides before he is big enough to lift the TV.

Yes, I ‘hope’ that curiosity to either subside or get matured by time. I would never dare to stop it. A shout, a pull of ear, a slap may very well strangulate it. It’s up to us how we allow him to experiment with that curiosity and keep alive the flame of creativity. Our job for him is cut out. Teach the basics, show the direction. Rest should be left to him and his learning from life. If he wants to be a racing jockey, I won’t force him to wear a tie and sell an insurance policy. His fundamentals should tell him that even if his horse fells him off the back, he should make peace, climb back and complete the ride.

Kids need direction and not dictation. Few moments with them and we cannot fail to realize the bundle of energy, enthusiasm and creativity that they are. They have an unquestionable yet very simple sense of logic and reasoning in place. And we as elders commit a sin to take that innocence away and teach them - two plus two cannot be always four.

Our prayer is clear. Grant him the sagacity to decide between the good and the bad. Let him know the art of meshing his passion with skills to create wealth. And as far as he goes, let him hold his head high in pride!