From My Memory Diary

From My Memory Diary

  Published by Sunitha Bhaskar

  Copyright 2015 Sunitha Bhaskar

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  Acknowledgement

  “Memory is the diary that we all carry about with us.”

  -Oscar Wilde

  When I turned back the pages of my memory diary, I found some moments which I love to cherish. All the parents treasure the sweet moments with their children, especially watching the kids growing up. The stories in this book are inspired from small incidences in real life which reflected our children’s innocence, wisdom, and love. Most of the stories presented here are edited versions of some of my blogs in Sulekha.com under the pen name ‘Swapnashree’. I am greatly indebted to my friend, who is ‘Anneshwa’ to the Sulekhaites, for introducing me to writing and encouraging me always.

  I dedicate this book to our daughters, Anjali and Annanya & and special credit to Anjali for the cover page.

  Sunitha Bhaskar

  Dreams

   “Get up my children, fast.”

  “Let me sleep for two more minutes”. I got the reply as usual from both of them.

  “You are already very late. Get up quickly”.

  The usual drama to make them get ready for school followed and finally we rushed to the bus stop, which is at five minutes drive from home.

  There are two more children from the same bus stop and none of them were there when we reached. I looked at my watch; we are late by 5 -7 minutes. 

  “Amma, it seems we have missed the bus.” Anjali the elder one, was worried.

  “Oh, my 1st period is assembly, I can’t think of reporting late”. She added looking at her watch.

  “Annu, all this is because of you.   Every day, you get up late, then again go to sleep with paste on brush”. Anjali started scolding her little sister.

  “I have dance practice in the zero period, if I miss that, ma’m won’t take me for annual day”. Annu was in tears.

  “What is the point in fighting now, every day you put me in tension to make you both get ready while I am in total hurry to prepare the tiffin.” I said, while taking phone number of the bus in- charge.

  “We are just reaching.” These words of the teacher were relief for me.

  “Only today, the bus wanted to come late.” They both said in one voice.

  “Amma, you woke me up on wrong time.” Annu said.

  “We are already late, and still you say that,…”I got angry.

  “You broke my dream, it was so adventurous…” Annu complained.

  “Tell me, what was the dream?” I asked with a smile.

  “I was leading a group, our truck was nearing the place of kidnappers’ hideout, to rescue my friends…”

  “How you got the truck?” I asked.

  “Don’t you know that, in dreams you get everything you wish, we had guns too…”She said excitedly.

  “Ok, ok…you were driving?” I showed my curiosity.

  “Does any leader  drive a truck? I was making our Game Plan.   Noddy (her favourite cartoon character, who has a car) was  driving, Doremon (another cartoon character who is famous for making various gadgets) had made so many gadgets for defeating the kidnappers.   The exciting part of the adventure was about to come, and then you woke me up”. She said.

  “The same happens with me also. Amma wakes me up always in the middle of a dream, always the thrilling ones, she never does so in case of scary dreams.” Anjali said.

  “Ok, ok, from tomorrow, you invite your dreams as soon as you go to sleep and not when you have to get up for the school.  Every night, I get  only one dream -missing the school bus” I said in a serious tone, hiding my laugh.

  We were so engaged in this discussion, we didn’t see the school bus coming, and realized it only on hearing the horn.

  While waving my hands, I smiled at them specially, remembering their sweet innocence.

  A serious discussion...

  "Sreekutty, your Mom is not coming to pick up you from the crèche these days.  Is she alright?”Annu asked her friend. 

  “Yes, our driver bhiya is coming.  Mom can’t climb the stairs”.  Sreekutty said.

  “Did she hurt herself or she is not well?”  Annu was anxious to know.

  “Nothing like that.  There is a baby in her .......”  Sreekutty said with full excitement.

  “Oh, you are going to get a baby to play with…” Annu also shared her feelings.

  “Yes, I want a baby girl…..she will play with me…she will call me Didi….”Sreekutty said.

  “Oh, you like a baby girl; I mean you like to get a little sister?” Annu was curious.

  “Yes, the boys are very naughty….”Sreekutty clarified.

  Annu and Sreekutty are studying in class II, and are close friends both in the class and crèche.

  “When your baby sister will come?”  Annu asked Sreekutty the next day.

  “Mama says, in six months.”   Sreekuty said.  This has become their hot topic of discussion these days.

  “Anju Didi, I also want a little baby to me…like Sreekutty is going to get.  I will ask Papa and Mummy….” Annu said her sister while coming back from the crèche that day.

  “Aree, what are you talking….”  Her sister who is in class four asked her with a smile.

  “A little baby looks very cute….I can always play with her….If that is a girl, I will give her all my beautiful frocks …..” Annu clarified her point.

  “OK…OK…but do you know, if a little baby comes, Mamma won’t be able to take care of you like this…You won’t be able to sleep with her also.  She will be always busy with the little baby…like it happened to me when you were born…..and no one will let you play with the baby till it is slightly grown up, saying that ‘you may hurt her’….”.  Her sister was raising an issue.

  “I won’t be sleeping with Mamma then….no, that is not possible….I don’t get sleep without her…”Annu was confused.

  “Mamma,will sleep with you, but sometimes she will be busy with the baby, our grandma used to make me sleep when you were too small....and you took a lot of time to grow up and start walking, to play with me, you know...”, Anju said.

  “Come children, have this milk and let us do the home work”, I called them.

  “Sshh…Didi, I think I am going to cancel my wish…please don’t tell mamma about this”.  Annu shared her decision with her sister.

  “Sreekutty, do you know, when the little baby comes, your Mom won’t get time to take care of you….she will be always busy with the baby,….so, it is better you don’t take the baby to your home….”Annu was trying to convince her friend the next day.

  “But yaar, you have your sister to play with, I don’t have any one….that is why…”  Sreekutty said.  Her confusion was clear in her words.

  “Mamma won’t tell me bed time stories then.” Sreekutty asked Annu.

  “Ha, yaar, Mamma has to give full attention to the baby, then only it will grow.”  Annu shared the ‘information’ she got from her sister.

  “But, God has already kept a baby in my Mamma’s stomach…what can I do now?”  Sreekutty asked.

  “You can not do any thing now.  You should have thought this earlier and convinced your Mom. “  Annu said.

  “Yes, I have to talk to Mamma,….”.  Sreekutty decided.

  “Annu, you know, my Mamma has promised me that, she will be taking care of me too, even aft
er the new baby comes….She told me that, she will be paying a little more attention to the new baby, so that she will grow fast and be ready to play with me…” Sreekutty told her friend, the very first moment they met in school on the next day.

  “Oh…that is good”.  Annu said.

  “OK children, stop talking…take out your home work copy.”  The teacher was about to start the class.

  Sreekutty and Annu looked at each other and smiled. 

  I Love tiger…

   My daughter was only three years old then.  That day was a holiday for me, and hence she was very happy that she had me all around her for the whole day, no need to say ‘bye bye’ at the gate of the day care centre, as usual!!

   We were playing ‘hide and seek’ for some time.  Then she said ‘story time now’.  I decided to go for a ‘jungle book’ story; not the famous story of ‘Mougli,-the jungle book hero’; but my own creation with the forest as background!  I used to do so, just to introduce some new things to her through small stories.  I don’t remember, the story I told her that day; but when I finished, she said in a very thrilled voice, “Amma, I love tiger”.  I thought, she might be saying just like that, got impressed by the tiger in my story!  But she was very serious, I asked, “How do you know tiger”? Her excitement knew no limits when she narrated the ‘tiger story’ she watched on TV in her play school.   I was really surprised, she had just started her play school, and she was a little late in speaking also but was very vocal while recounting the whole