A Regular, Boring Day
Aadya is bored. She has been caught up in a routine of regular, boring stuff, and is greatly bored by the lack of change.
When
she went to her Grandparents’ house yesterday, my mother – in law remarked that
she was looking and behaving a little off. The normally chirpy girl had refused
to crack a joke, or had not creates any ruckus for almost half an hour after
reaching the house, and that was most unusual. The council of responsible
adults consisting of my mother – in – law and my wife got together for a
serious discussion, and concluded that the young teenager was just a little
off. They decided not to take any special action.
Aadya has never faced such humdrum regularity in her life. Every weekday, she gets
up in the morning and gets ready for a non – challenging academic session.
Thanks to the greatly curtailed syllabus, she is generally ahead of the class.
There is hardly any online interaction between the students. The limited phone
calls between friends are typically made with a specific view to clear the doubts regarding
schedules. There is, of course, absolutely no scope of a non – virtual
interaction with friends, as Aadya is in a different city situated more than a
thousand kilometers from her school. In the past, she had spent only one
academic year in the city, so she does not have any close friend with whom she
can physically interact. The only close friend from her days in the city is
greatly tied up with studies, which makes her company somewhat boring.
In
the past, we have made it a point to go out for frequent vacations. We tend to
take at least one, generally two, major and three or four mini vacations every
year. Visit to grand – parents is not counted as a vacation, but a routine holiday. However, this
time, the holiday has extended itself for more than half a year and, somewhere
in between, has got itself mixed with the normal school life. So, while she is
in the same city as her grandparents, she is also attending classes regularly,
with a fixed routine, but without the fun (and pain) associated with dressing
up for the school, rushing for the van, and meeting, playing with and fighting
friends. The circumstances she is facing are too complex to be defined as
normal childhood.
A
couple of years ago, I had come across a child who was being home schooled. I
had discussed the concept with Aadya – who was completely repulsed with the
fact that there was absolutely no scope of meeting and planning pranks with
friends. Shaivi had considered the idea very seriously, but had decided that a
life in which she gets absolutely no break from her elder sister will be quite
a traumatic one.
The
two girls are actually very fond of each other. However, while Aadya enjoys the
company of a limited number of close friends, Shaivi does not mix around too
easily. She likes to mirror the activities of her elder sister every time. The fights that they have are also very mild ones,
which generally do not require any parental intervention beyond the usual
rhetoric. Also, unlike the elder child, Shaivi has never been stable in any
school for long, so has never found an actual chance to make friends over a
long term. We were really looking forward to a school where Shaivi will stay
long enough to develop close bond with her classmates, but the pandemic and the subsequent restrictions ruined
everything.
The
girls, led by Aadya, have taken to painting. While Aadya has always been good
with colours, Shaivi has picked it up only as an act to copy her sister, but
has the advantage of early beginning of professional training. Irrespective of
the beginnings, both the girls enjoy the lessons, and keep surprising their
parents with their skills. Both the girls are also good in singing, and have
earned the praise from their teacher on a few occasions, but are not too
devoted to the art. They also enjoy physical activity, but avenues to vent out
their energy are lacking at the present place. While they were with me, we used
to take them out for organised training, but this is not possible in the times
of the pandemic.
The
result – Aadya is bored, while Shaivi is able to enjoy life almost to the
normal extent.
“Aadya
is bored with her routine,” Shaivi declared one day. “She wants a change.”
The
solution for the change came from Aadya.
“Only
the class timings should be told to us,” she suggested. “The subjects being
taught should always be a surprise. That way, we will forever be in suspense
about the subject and the topic being covered.”
“What
about tests?” I asked.
“Surprise
tests are not such a bad thing, after all,” she opined.
“Good
for you,” I remarked, and then went on to explain about a forthcoming test to
be conducted by a coaching class that my wife and I have been discussing for
the past couple of weeks.
“But
I am bored of examinations as well!” she remarked.
Shaivi
pointed out a squirrel to her elder sister, and they both ran to the balcony to
observe the spirited animal trying to eat a nut, signaling an abrupt end to
the conversation.
Comments
Post a Comment