The future’s not ours to see

In the month of June we went to Puri. It was not the best time to visit Puri. But we had a very good time. We always felt Puri can be visited any time of the year because as soon as you stand beside the sea you forget about time. We took the train from Howrah. The departure time was 8:50 pm. We planned to leave at 7 pm from home. Before that I had to pick Rich from music class. Generally his class continues till 7 pm. But we decided that I would pick them by 6:30 pm. His Mum-Mum accompanies him to the music class. I went to pick them on time. But they were late for 15 minutes. They came out from class at 6:45 pm. I was bit upset as this would delay the whole plan. My disappointment was evident on my face and in my words. We had to go to home, grab some food, pick up the luggage before heading towards the station. As soon as we started from the Guruji's house, it started raining heavily along thunderstorm. I knew that the rain would cause water-logging, traffic jam and make the drive longer. I was worried and blaming it on my wife as incessantly as the rain and as loudly as the thunderstorm. Suddenly Rich put an end to it saying – “You know Dad-Dad, the future’s not ours to see. How Mum-Mum would know that it would rain. Whatever will be will be.” Rich loves the song “Que sera sera” by Doris Day. I was about to mention that – “Yes, you cannot see the future but you can anticipate and plan.”  But I kept mum thinking if everything goes as per plan, life would be too boring. We got into the train at 8:45 pm. We had to run with the luggage.

Diesel vs Petrol

This January I bought Ford Figo diesel version. I exchanged my old Maruti 800. Before that I always thought nobody loves a machine. 

This summer was pretty hot. AC is no longer a luxury – it is a necessity. We have a window AC in the bed room and a split AC in the dining. The window AC is the aged one – bit noisy but works without complain. One day, it was bed time for RIch. I was trying to make him sleep. After some time I thought that he had fallen asleep. When i just rose to leave, he opened his eyes and said –

“You know Dad-Dad, window AC runs with diesel and split AC with petrol”

Punishing Playfully

Much has been written and talked over caning or punishing the student. I am vehemently against any kind of physical punishment because I know (form my own experience) it hurts and hardly helps. I asked Rich what kind of punishment they get for their wrong-doing.

He said – “He / she is asked to sit outside”

-          “You mean - asked to sit, instead of stand, outside the class?”

-          “No, outside the play ground”

-          “What?”

-          “He is not allowed to play. He is asked to sit on the mat and watch”

I felt that it was definitely a good idea. But still difficult to judge what is right or wrong for a child. Every child is different. You cannot have the same prescription for all.

Are we going back?

I was tied up for last few months. Need some time to digitize my fond memories as a Dad-Dad. This was about three and half months ago. My father had to undergo a surgery. We were returning from the Apollo hospital. We all were coming back by the bumpy, dilapidated bypass road after visiting my father. Recently the road has been repaired. I was driving. Rich was sitting beside me. Suddenly he said – “Are we going back?”

I said – “Of course not now. Can’t you recognize the road?” I thought that he might be bit upset as he was not allowed inside of the hospital.

He said – “Can you drive bit slow? Accident can happen anytime. It seems that we'll end up in Apollo”

I was driving at around 50km/hr. But potholed road made it worse. Also I definitely did not have any control on others. I started laughing. Immediately slowed down further and planted a kiss on his forehead. My wife, brother and sister-in-law, who were sitting behind, were left inquisitive. When Rich explained they also started laughing and planted their share of kiss. It is very true - an accident can change the direction of your life. Bypass was / still is the most accident-prone road in the city. May be that is one of the many reasons why most of the hospitals are near / beside the bypass.