Teaching Ishan!! ;)

Ishan scored a zero in his drawing exam when he was in nursery!! From the very childhood he had a mind of his own and used to think unusually. The teacher announced to me on the report day - "Mrs. Nag, I am sorry to say that he has got a zero in drawing because he could not identify the colour that I showed him". I was stunned because that was the only subject I thought he would pass!! He was extremely good at colours, from a very young age he could identify colours very well. I was happy to see that although he FAILED in colour it did not hamper his promotion to the next class. But to be more sure what colour to teach him and how to make him 'colour ready' I asked the teacher as to which colour he could not identify. That was when I got the shock! He could not identify RED. Well, I thought to myself if that is the case then all my analysis of 'he knowing colours well' was a waste and I did not know my son well. Oblivious of what we thought about him, he was playing with his then best friend - Kanno. I called him where the teacher was standing and asked pointing to a red wall- "tell me the colour of the wall." He immediately said 'Red'. Now I was angry and embarassed, I asked him why he did not identify it when the teacher asked....  he looked sorely at the teacher and said - "Mamma this teacher cannot remember anything, she asked me the colour of the ball the previous day also and I said it was Red. So why should I answer the same question everyday... that's why I did not answer!! The teacher laughed and gave him a toffee and I learnt my first lesson - he has a solid mind of his own and EXAM is an alien word to him.

So, then I started to make him exam-ready - "Lovu whatever the teacher asks, you have to answer. They want to know if you have learnt all that they taught you". He obediently said "okay mamma". Job done, I was happy with myself. Then came the time when I had to take him to schools for admission tests. I did not teach him anything extra because I do not believe in all that, I wanted him to enjoy his growing up days. I asked him to tell the teacher whatever he knows. We went to a school in Airoli and the interview was just a formality there as he already got the admission. Once inside, the teacher asked me how I will manage with a job and I gave her the gyaan of how working mothers are the best ..blah blah.... Then came his turn and she asked him pointing to an apple - "what is this?" He said  - "An apple". He was bored and his look gave away that. Then the teacher asked him showing a ball - "what is this?" "It is a ball". There was a fish tank in her table and the teacher asked pointing to a fish - "what is this?" Ishan got up from his chair and said loudly and in hindi - Mamma chalo, iss techer ko kuch bhi nahin aata hai... mujhe iss school mein nahin aana hai!!!! I wondered why he did not say that in Bengali, I would have managed the situation in that case. But, for some reason, the teacher was happy and said "welcome to my school". Eventually he did not go to that school as he got into another school in Thane, but that was an EXPERIENCE for me. I came out and asked him what made him say so and that too in Hindi.... he said "you want me to come to a teacher who does know an apple, a ball or a fish?" Well the message was loud and clear - do not test my knowledge.

Till date, his stance has not changed. He hates tests and keeps on saying - Ishan knows all so why write and prove it? To teach him is no mean job, he expects you to know all. So, if he asks you the capital of Timbaktu ..you have to give him an answer and that too a correct one because he will remember it and refer to it the next time. During Durga Puja, he started asking me questions about the significance of 10 hands of Maa Durga and why she killed the poor asur and why she goes around in a Lion .... is she not afraid.... etc etc... the questions were endless. I used to answer him to the best of my abilities... I called my Mom and got answers for the ones that I was not sure about. One day, Ishan was very restless to know the name of all of the weapons that Maa Durga holds. I was cooking and so I asked him to wait for a few minutes. As he was impatient, so he went to his dad with the same question. Now I don't know what discussion the father child had because I was relieved not to be at the receiving end of the questions. I was apprehensive also, because I know my husband's knowledge in matters related to God!! But he was appeased and he did not ask me anything else about that. Next day being my off day, I went to pick him up from the bus stand. Two kids came rushing towards me - aunty aunty Siddhartha said Maa Durga has AK-47 in one of her hands, is that true! Well, I burst out laughing and said it is not true. Now Ishan or Siddhartha was very angry at me. He was proved wrong in front of his friends, he said "but Daddy said that it is AK-47!" Then I got the full story. He was asked in his class to tell about Durga Puja and he said Maa Durga is an extremely powerful Goddess, she has AK-47 in one of her hands. When the teacher tried correcting him he said that this fact is confirmed by his father. Post Durga Puja, Samir has not met Ishan's class teacher!

Blogpost title - “Love, life and the space in-between” - my entry to the GetPublished contest

Idea Description:

This story is about 2 women who have lived their prime time and are in the sunset of their life. Emon (Mr. Sanyal) and Sayantani (Mrs. Bhattachayra) are friends though they never give their relation any name. Their kids are grown up and so they have time to catch up every day and talk about issues that they face. Their little paradise of peace was rocked when Emon got a letter. From who and what is the story all about.

Extract:

Emon has this habit of checking the letter box whenever she passes through it. Today was no different, she opened and found some bills and a letter for her. Putting them in her coat pocket she went for her evening walk. When must have these letters come, she thought. She checked the box in the morning as well and it was empty. Letters are so fascinating for her, they have a charm of their own. Ivy does not understand this charm and she teases her all the time. At this modern age of emails, she still believes letters are written from heart, there is someone real writing it and you can feel and smell the person through letters.

Mrs, Bhattacharya was already taking rounds of the ground when Emon reached. They went around the garden discussing everyday things and sharing concern. Emon came back from her walk and sat down for a while, age has taken a toll on her health. Earlier she used to walk for an hour without getting tired but now she gets tired and needs rest after her walk. Sitting in her armchair, she goes back to those days when Shyam was there with her. Her Shyam, handsome, dark, medium built Shyam. “Dimma, I was looking for you everywhere. Where were you?” Ipshit’s voice woke her up. She went hurriedly to the kitchen, Ivy will come any time and she needs to make tea and give milk to Ipshit. Suddenly she remembered about the letter that has come. She gets tea for herself and settles down in the reading table. She takes out the letter from her coat pocket. It is a worn out envelop, someone must have used an old. The handwriting is not familiar but it is very lucid, has she seen it somewhere?

Em,

How are you? ….Emon sits straight with a start. After so many years someone addressed her as Em. Is it him? …after so many years? …who gave him her address? …why now? With trembling hands she read the letter twice. Yes it is him. No she does not want to think about him or the letter. She has to hide the letter before Ivy comes back from office. She needs to talk to Mrs. Bhattacharya.

"This is my entry for the HarperCollins–IndiBlogger Get Published contest, which is run with inputs from Yashodhara Lal and HarperCollins India."