A 2 minute ride to your childhood days

The Kahaani Studio produced its first music video ''Bachpana Gaya Nahi'' on the eve of the Children's Day. It is a 2 minute ride to your childhood days.

Watch it, if you have not. It has crossed 2k+ views on Youtube as I write this.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PkmUOnPKRuM

The lyrics are written by Neeraj Upadhayay and the somg is sing by Archana Chauhan.

Being involved on this project was a great experience.

But it was not supposed to go on like this right frok the beginning. It was NOT supposed to be a music video right from the beginning. We had two shoot days for the video and the  song was recorded after the shoots. So it was ij the editing that we had to coordinate the song and the shots...which is not the ideal way of doing it. The song comes first and the video is done later.

But, I guess thats how this Youtube video production goes. We have a pkenty of ideas but not the necesary resources at our disposal at all times. We have to make our way with whatever is available.

Video making is not an easy thing, everyone imvolved in this ondustry will tell you. So yes, when you see good content anywhere, do appreciate it. It is mostly what we want.

12 Golden Rules To Parenting In India

  The role of a teacher is just not transmission of subject knowledge, but it extends to making the child a complete individual, drawing out the best in the child's personality. This task  cannot be accomplished on its own; the role of parents play a vital part.  One of my moving complaints regarding parenting in India is that there is not much talk about it. Few parents read a book on parenting. Few attend discussions and workshops on the subject. Few consult an expert in case of a problem with their child.

This does not imply that Indian parents are miserable at the job of parenting.   Indians are righteous and upright people as a community . They are emotional and religious by nature. Hence there is immense love and attachment for family and children. But parenting is a complicated job. Behaviour of a child is unpredictable. The factors that affect a child's life are dynamic and a parent has to be aware about these before trying to find a solution. Because Indian lack the tendency of talking about parenting and bringing up children, these problems are left like open wounds, made worse by the nose poking society we live in.

Parenting is an art. To be good at any art, one needs to learn the basics, the fundamentals, the general norms associated with it. I have prepared a list of 12 golden rulew for Indian parents:

1.  Recognise your child as a different individual than you:

A child comes out of his/her mother's womb, and is a  different indivual. Treat him/her like one.

2. Do not try to live your life through your child's life:

Your parents night have made this mistake. It's typical in India. One must remember that we have a right only on our life and not somebody else's, even our children. We can offer advice and aid, but should not impose them.

3. Mind your language:

The is important for two reasons. First, you don't want your children to learn bad words when they are young. Second, saying bad things to your children when you are angry leaves a great impact on children. It affects their personality for years to come. So, mind your language when talking to your children.

4. Express your love
.
Indiams lack the art of expressing love. a kiss on the forehead or cheeks, a pat on the back, a simple hug can do wonders to the confidence of your child.

5. Understand their world:

Generation gap is tough to bridge. But as parents are gemerally the more experienced and learned people in this relationship , they should take the initiative of bridging it. They should be aware of all the factors that affect their children. But they should do so from a distance.

6. Motivate them;:

Go for positive motivation as far as possible. This would develop confidence in then. to direct yourself to the right girl.

7. Show confidence in their decisions :

Involve your children in decision making. Ask them for their advice on small matters like which colour should they use to paint the wall , or where to go for vacations. You may not listen to everything they say, but do explain to them why you sre rejecting their suggestion.

8.  Give them their right to err:

Especially important with teenagers. It is an age of storm and stress. Children can behav:e very weirdly at this age Try to understand them. Give them some space. Even let them make a few mistakes. This is how we all learn.

9. Avoid direct talks:

Never start a discussion with 'what is your problem?' They are children, not experts. Most times they lack the ability to know or explain their problem. So be wise, have develop an atmosphere of healthy communication where they express themselves and in that way, split out what is bothering them.

10. Take help if necessary:

As I pointed out earlier in this article, never shy away from talking about the art of parenting,   read literature associated with parenting and take expertise help from counsellors and experts in case of a problem with your child.

11. Set the right example:

Children look up to you as their role model. Be the person you want your children to be. If you expect your child to hsve healthy habits, you cannot be telling them so with a lot cigarette in your hand.

12. Love; the secret ingredient to parenting:

The secret ingredient to parenting is of course love: never shy away from expressing it.

Top 10 interesting kids at school

Just one month into my internship at Bal Bharti Public School, I have had developed a strong indifference towards children that I almost consider the sterilization policy during emergency as the best one we had. It is because of the following type of children that my perspective towards children changed.

1. The speherical kid 

I enter class three and anmounce that it is arrangement. This kid does not conceal his excitement and goes 'Balle balle.' And as teachers, we are encouraged to surpress basic human instincts, so I decide to turn him out of the class. But he refuses my command. So I started pushing him out. But this kid is an 'all rounder.' He is the perfect example of a sphere. So I struggle to push him outside the class, much to the amusement of the third graders. I need to work out.

2. The Diva 

We all have seen teenagers with their out of place and overdone 'whatever's but this girl in class four could beat all of them. She did not use any urban slang or accent. She spoke nothing. Everyone had followed my instruction and took some work out, but this girl resisted my instruction. I tried taking to her. But she just listened, without an expression on her face. I swear even the 'tota' (the hottest babe) never gave me that look. She was like 'Who are you? Why are you talking to me. Go away.'
 I felt like bewaring boys about this heartbreaker in their class.

3. The well wisher 

'Good morning, Sir' this girl from class eight wished me in the corridoor. . It was nice. I replied with a smile. And them within a minute, she wished me a good morning thrice. . Everytime I pass through her way or she passes mine, she wished me good morning. . One morning I was waiting at the library. She saw me from outside and yelled 'Good morning. Sir.'  Finally I had to stop and ask her if the only purpose of her coming to school was to wish me good morning. They can make the next Conjuring movie on this girl. Imagine a girl popping out from anywhere and haunting you with those three words: Good morning, Sir.

4. The Pervert

He was short and tiny, hoarse voice, irksome laughter and a face only a mother could love (provided she has no other kids or pets.) But he had the guts to ask me to explain him that dream chapter for young boys who recently realised the presence of an organ in between their legs:  reproduction in animals . I asked this eight grader if he remwmbered what he had learned about this process from class seven: reproduction in plants. He said he did not remember anything from the previous classes. And so I explained him the process of reproduction in as vague terms as possible. (just the way we were taught.) But actually I wanted to say 'Reproduction is a process through which organisms give birth to their young ones, and also it is a process ugly snobs like you are incapable of.'

5. The back talker

A round of applause for me. I kept shooting at this eight grader to come out and stand at the front, and I raised my voice and anger to a level that he obliged. Sweet victory. Momma will be proud.  I sealed my victory with 'Are you moving yourself or shall I take you out physically?'
He got up at this, but murrurring 'Sir, physically? Can you also get me up chemically.?'
'I would spray pepper on your ass and when that reacts with your ass, and you bounce up from your seat, that would be a good chemical equation. ' I could never execute this comeback.

6. The 'You know who my mom is?'

It happens everywhere. The children of staff can be recognised from a distance. They fear no one. They are never on their seats. They are fighting. They are jumping. They are Monglis except that Monglis at least followed the rules of the Jungle. It is an irony that their mom is perhaps in the adjacent class commanding kids to be disciplined.

7. The athletes

They play sports and they are so much into it that they make a game out of everything. I saw this boy running from behind and sliding under the table. He did it so well that I was about to congratulate him when I realised that we were in a classroom and he could have banged his head doing that stunt. Imagine him going to his mom saying, 'Hey, mom. Look Sir gave me a gold medal for sliding under the table. Also Mom, could you please fix my bleeding head?'
And the parents these days are di competitive about their kids that she would have said, 'Yes, son, we will go to the hospital  but let's take a selfie first and find a spot to showcase the medal.'

8. The complaint box

You should think that they breed in primary classes only but much like micro organisms and Arijit Singh songs , they are everywhere. 'Look at him. He is not studying.' 'Look at her. She is beating me.' 'Look at Ram Leela. They are making out.' All these complaints and many more come simultaneously, so as a teacher you ignore a few and find quick solutions for others.
A quick study on how I resolve problems.

Not studying. Ignored. That's the tuition teacher's headache, not the school's.

The beatibg girl.  Ignored, if the aggressor is weak than the defender. Warning, if the aggressor is strong. And play a spectator, if they are equally matched, mentally picking up and cheering for one.

Ram Leela. Ignored. Privacy respected. Quick advice, find an empty room in the school and use protection. We don't need any more children in the world than we already have.

9. The Panchayati girls

A girl from a backward bench, fighting against the majority of the class, broke out, when the Panchayat (consisting of three girls, who for half an hour, listened to the two girls with their issue 'who will sit with whom.'.) But much like any other government, this panchayat was less concerned about the problem and made fun of the sufferers at their back. When I played the police, I was told to back of as they could resolve it themselves. You know what they say, children are future leaders and classrooms are their training centres.

10. The loudspeakers

I am someone with a feeble voice. My vocal cords much like my luck, cause me pain, when I try too hard. But there are children in each class with much louder voices, and the problem with super powers is when you don't know how to use them for good purpose. So these loudspeakers would scream at the top of their voice (without trying too hard) just to address the student sitting beside then. And I am wondering why God hates me so much.

...
Thank you for reading. I would love to know which type of kid you were and you are familiar with.

#MorningWalk 02

I don't think one can plan a murder in a park, not in the morning anyway. It is too positive a place for that. Not just the chirruping birds and fresh air, but also the people around. Not sure if it is the case everywhere, but in the park I visit, I see a lot of elderly people. They are elderly, but not aged and some of them would have more stamina than me. It is a notion that the present generation is not as fit and healthy, and I truly believe in it. We have grown on machines and don't know the value of exercise and physical activities.

There is a group of people doing laughter yoga. I don't know the exact health benefits of it, but whenever I go walk around that group, I smile. There is a nice sensation in my chest. Laughter and smiles would forever remain the world's most desirable infections. There is a group doing a normal yoga as well. Occasionally I overhear a valuable health suggestion from them. They often chant a Gayatri Mantra or any other hindu hymm, which is always good to hear in the mornings. Thr familiar walkers also greet each other pleasantly, often with a 'Ram Ram' or 'Sat sri akal' or such greetings.  A few clap while walking, an action performed for better blood circulation. The sound is quite musical.

At another side of the park, children and young men play cricket or football, some of them come to the park with their whole family. Precious thing that  parents and grandparents give to their children; a healthy habit and a way of life.

A morning walk is like a 'difficult task we choose to accomplish. It teaches us that it is important to keep moving. One accesses his pace and does not mind being overtaken or boasts of overtaking others. That's how perhaps it is different from the outside world, where one is always and since forever competing. Here the challenge is only to improve on yourself. Wish we could take this practice into our actual lives,  just focus on our progress at all times. 

The idea of a perfect happy birthday

I don't know how to react on my birthday.

I am not a fancy person.  I never planned anything extravagant on my birthday, had a grand party or bought an expensive gift.  Mostly because I could not afford it.  And I never liked to rob my father's money for my pleasure.  I have been a good kid.

I believe that all days are alike and we should try to make every one of them special.  So why put extra emphasis on birthdays?  But much before the day comes,  I have an expectation in my heart that something special should happen on the day.  Someone must take initiative to make it special.  I expect phone calls and long messages wishing me well.  And recently on my 23rd birthday,  I realised that how more people come to know me every year but lesser people wish me on time anyway.  It is different that you wish someone via a phone call or even a message at 12 sharp and you post a half hearted 'hbd''  on their Facebook wall when Zuckerberg instructs you to do so.

I have to digest the fact that my friends are moving along in their lives  and are involved in activities,  work,  career,  family life and such  things.  It is possible to forget that the new date that has just come once held some significance in their life.

The thing is about expectations.  My parents would never forget my birthday.  My sister would want to try her best  to make it special.  A few friends would always wish me,  even if they do it later,  it would be from their hearts.  But I would not be grateful for that.

I would not accept the fact that people do not call anymore on birthdays.  WhatsApp has changed the tradition.  It is the emozies that are the perfect substitutes to express our heartfelt feelings for somebody.

I would not accept  the fact that I can never have as happy a birthday as I used to have till the number of candles on the cake were in single digits. Maybe birthdays are for children.. Because it is only children that can be contented on birthdays. They would not want everyone on their contact list to wish them to start with. They would enjoy the little toys they receive.  They would enjoy plying with balloons,  eating cake and chocolates.  They would enjoy running,  playing,  dancing, anything,  everything,

My idea for a perfect birthday would be pleasant weather and no mosquitoes..  But that is not in one 's hand.  On my 23rd birthday,  my internal examinations began.  I had to attend college. Again something not in my hands.  My idea of a perfect birthday would be to spend the day hanging out with people I feel comfortable with (termed as 'friends'  in common usage) ,  doing random stuff,  chatting,  maybe singing and dancing,  or anything fun that comes naturally to anyone. I would like to have one meal of the day with my family as I know they are the ones who would unconditionally stand there for me when i am in need.  And maybe when I sleep at the night,  I should have a smile of contentment,  feeling gratitude for the company I had.  That would be the last piece.

Do you have happy birthdays?  What is your idea of a perfect  happy birthday?