Child’s Play – Akshara Rajaram

Location: Chennai, India
Step 1: Introduce the student to the surroundings and explain the scenario by using analogies like: This is a big bucket of water, just like the one you like to get into, after your bath.

Step 2: Do something which the student is very comfortable with e.g. take photos and very innoncently position the subject close to the water.

Step 3: Conduct theory classes by explaining the advantages of knowing to swim e.g capability to swim with the ducks, explore coral reefs in Australia, ability to rescue dad and mom etc.

Step 4: Introduce the student to potential classmates (Note: Classmates have to be carefully chosen based on similarity criteria such as height, weight etc.). If the student is introduced to the pot-bellied, big moustached next door uncle, the reaction of the student could be unpredictable.

Step 5: The first step, actually the first step towards the first step into the water.

Step 6: But appa told me that i can swim with the ducks.

Step 7(unexpected twist to the story): Student: I am so happy for the duck. I am glad that the duck can swim and enjoy. Let me sit back, relax and watch the duck.

Step 8: In goes the duck and along with it, the student. But, things may not go as planned. The student may realise that she has fallen for a trap and want to be taken out.

Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Scenario: Exactly the same!

Steps 1-4 repeated as above.

But, the student sometimes notices the repetitiveness of the attempts, decides not to cooperate and just settle down.

To be continued…

written by Rajaram S

Akshara is already showing signs of things to come. Sometime back, we were to go out shopping. So, Vidhya had dressed up Akshara in a pink and white dress with matching hair-clips (of course they have to match, isnt it?)

I got the task of putting on the shoes. So, i got a pair (which i thought was the closest match) and started requesting/begging/pleading Akshara to stay put in one place. But, she was vehemently denying all such requests and was constantly pointing in the direction of the shoe cupboard and saying “Shoe, Shoe…”. I didn’t quite understand. But, after realising that she was not interested in putting on the shoes, i let her go. Off she walked to the cupboard, opened it and started searching inside. Then, with a big smile on her face, she came back with a pair and gave it to me and said “Shoe.Shoe..”. This time , she cooperated and in fact was happy was this pair. Well, if you are interested in the pair she picked, look below!

Well, my concern isn’t exactly towards her choice of the colour of the shoe. Being different sometimes is equal to “highly fashionable”, but the fact that she was insisting on wearing a shoe of her choice is what made me realise that she had grown up.

And, she is just one and a half years old….

written by Rajaram S

If you know, please do tell me!

Even laying her down on her bed in a direction facing away from the TV doesn’t stop her from watching TV!

written by Rajaram S

It doesn’t bounce, neither is it used outside pubs to scare off people, then why is it called a bouncer?

If it were called a rocker, it would have been more appropriate. Anyway, Akshara likes it whatever we refer to it as. Before she went to India, it was the best bet we had to make her fall asleep.

Nowadays, I am being used as a substitute for the bouncer for achieving the same result. As is common knowledge, energy can neither be created nor destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to another. Similarly, when Akshara wants to go to sleep at 3 AM , I have to rock her to sleep. In this process, Akshara grabs the “sleep quotient” from me and descends into a sound sleep, leaving me wide awake!

written by Rajaram S