Holiday Special: Parents, don't forget your past!

I have been traveling a lot (approx 800kms per week) since last month. Traveling gives lot of thoughts and insights (but only problem, it doesn't give time to write!)

Last weekend, when I was at my hometown, I had to stay at my sister's home (of course, for escorting!) which is 4kms away from our house. I went to her house at 8:30PM. My sister's 2nd daughter Sriranjani (2.5 yrs) was watching a movie (Abhiyum Naaanum) from DVD player. I was tired and went to bed immediately.

Next day morning, I woke up only by 7AM. Sriranjani was seeing another movie (Poo) from the same DVD. I went to my home and then came back to my sister's house, that day evening for some other work. Again 'Poo'. I came to know that a round of Abhiyum Naanum-Poo-Abhiyum Naanum was over in the time between morning and evening.

This was crazy! I asked Sriranjani (in a polite manner), why she was seeing those movies repeatedly. She replied in her own way by putting some nail marks on my nose ;) Then I inquired about this to my sister (applying coconut oil on the marks) and told her that this was something crazy and unusual!

She gave a mild knock on my head ('kuttu' ku enna pa english la?) and asked me why I was seeing 'Thanga Padhakkam' and 'Gowravam' for months together when I was in my school days? Yeah I forgot my past!

It was the time Video cassettes were slowly losing existence but we had a functioning Video cassette player in our house. We know a person who was having a Video Cassette shop. He wanted to dispose some old movie cassettes and so gave us some 10 cassettes. 'Thanga Padhakkam' and 'Gowravam' were the 2 movies among the 10 (Vallavanukku vallavan, Paalum Pazhamum etc. were the other movies which I saw only once or twice)

I don't know why but just liked seeing those 2 movies in loop. This was happening for some months till I could tell the complete dialogue of both the movies. I will see at least 1 of the movies after returning from school and surely watch both on weekends. I don't remember why I stopped seeing those movies (may be I got bored and started doing some other crazy thing).

Kids, be it yesteryear or yesterday or today or tomorrow, do similar things (just in a different way like DVD player instead of Cassette player, cricket in hot sun instead of goli in hot sun, full day video games instead of full day ludo, the list goes on....)

Daughter lost her eraser at school. The advice+scolding lasted for more than a hour and now it became "how can I buy you scooty when you become older? You will loose that too" (Adangonnia!). My dear mother, you forgot that you ate '1 chalk/day' and was telling some lies to your mother for chalks getting over quickly.

Most important thing parents forget is the marks they got during their school days. Why is it that almost all kids don't have the guts to question their parents about the marks they scored? Where will most of the parents keep their face if their kids ask this question?

An auto driver was slapping his son outside his school in front of all for failing in a subject. "My father didn't make me study in a nice school and because of that I became an auto driver. I didn't want you to become like me and hence I am working hard to pay your fees in this big school but you are failing. Look at other kids....................................................". Stop. Stop. Mr. Auto driver, I respect your care and the hard work you put in making your son get a good education. One question. If I am not wrong, your father might have admitted you at least in the nearest govt. school. There are great personalities who have studied in govt school in remote villages. Why didn't you become one like them? Why did you stop going to school from 8th standard and learned to smoke even at the age of 14?

(Well, parents are going to kill me :P) I am not telling that parents should not keep a watch on their kids or advice them but just don't intervene them all-time. All of us have evolved over years. We have corrected ourselves over time. Give them that time. Don't pour all your 30-40 year experience on them. Show them the path but don't curb them (kadivaalam podaadheenga ndradha english la solla try panninen pa)



Remember, You have done everything when you were young! Don't forget your past!

Happy holidays, Kids! :)
 
Thinking of a sequel titled "Youth Special: Parents, don't forget your past!" . But I have to be even more harder. Keep watching this space! :)




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