Everyday Inspiration,Day one: I Write Because

I write because I want my brain to be active. Keeping this thought alive I’ll begin with a quote by my favourite poet and philosopher, Rabindranath Tagore. His quote : It is very simple to be happy, but it is very difficult to be simple.

There are several occasions in my life, when our friends and acquaintances compared me with my sister. We are very different.

Once my sister and I were about to go out when one of my sister’s friend showed up, he looked at me and my sister and asked, ‘who is she?’

The reply was, ‘she is my sister.’

The friend looked at us both nodded his head and declared, ‘positive and negative.’

One of my teacher’s Sister Rose Bernard asked, ‘Is she your half sister?’

No, ‘I said she is my sister. We both belong to the same parents.’

We sisters are different, while she is all about fashion, her clothes from head to foot must match. I on the other hand did not care. She is an extrovert and I am the opposite.

I was a mystery to people we know. How can two daughters from the same family be so different.

My dad used to tell my mom, why is Ranu so different, she doesn’t comb her hair, put cream on her face; even the girls from the village look after themselves.’

Years went by people asked the same question, no one could figure out what exactly was the reason.

If they’d care to ask me, I’d tell them not all the fingers of your hand look the same. This was my mom’s quote.

I met countless people in my long journey, some liked me for who I am. Others called me stupid, dumb, you name it they used as many adjectives against me as they could.

There were times I felt like telling them off, but it could not help, it’d only make me upset.

What my critics failed to comprehend was I like simplicity. It’s the easiest thing to be mentally and financially.

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Writing 101, Day five: Hook ’em with a quote

Today’s assignment:  Hook ’em with a quote

Rabindranath Tagore says:

Don’t limit your child to your own learning, for she was born in another time.

 

Rabindranath Tagore is one of those personalities, who provided us with music, poetry and prose. I have learned a lot from his songs, poems, fiction and non-fiction. Today I feel it is time for me to honor him by using his quote.

As a child I asked many questions, but no one wanted to answer them.My eldest brother tried to stop me by using the famous quote,“curiosity killed a cat.”

When I read Tagore’s quote, I felt I wish I could ask him about certain things I was curious about.

It is true sometimes a child’s questions baffle us, we adults try to stop him/her, because we feel children’s knowledge should be limited to the alphabets, for they are too young to know more than the letters.

Once my colleague complained about her five year old son, “He is not cooperative,” she said.

“Why are you saying this ?” was my question.

She then told me, his kindergarten teacher complained, he refuses to participate in their classroom activities.

It seems the five-year old children were introduced to colors, each time the teacher mentioned a specific color, one of the kids was asked to run and stand on that color. When Jay’s turn came, he looked the other way.The teacher was upset and complained to his mother, that her son was not paying attention.

Jay knew all the colors and thought it was too stupid to run and stand on the color. This is one example, there are many others. This is where Tagore says, “Don’t limit a child to your own learning, for she was born in another time.”

Our world has changed a lot, back when I was a kid, we never heard of cell phones, today I see little ones with a cell phone on his palm. I’m awed by this, it makes me want to see what kind of messages are they sending to their friends.

Yes with every new generation we find kids know more than I ever did at that age. I’m not embarrassed for I know, our minds were limited to know what was available in our time. Today if we hold our children back on the presumption it’s well beyond their age, we’d be doing them a disservice. “As they are born in another time.”

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