'How many tuitions does your son
attend?' asked a mother of my classmate-to-be while I was inside giving an
admission test to get into one of the venerable schools in the city, that all the
other institutions apparently bowed down to. The question was aimed at my mom who, with a
mild hint of amusement had replied 'He's never really been much keen on any
tuition.' To her surprise, the reply was met by suppressed laughter and
scornful smiles and conspicuous sarcasm from everyone.
'My son has been training for
this admission test for the last 2 years!' replied the other woman, in all the
hubris as a mother. The others sitting there spoke up, almost synchronized,
about the span of time their wards had prepared under a number of teachers and
ex-school teachers from the same school, 'One year!' 'Two years!' 'Three years!'
In the end, while most of them
got in, many didn’t. And surprisingly, I ended being among the former, only to
discover that the school was a medieval patriarchy unwilling to change with
time.
14 years later, I met my sister’s
friend who, at that time, was enjoying the livelihood of being a successful tutor
to a couple of twelve-year olds. She tells me of this particular kid, who was
naturally tensed before her half-yearly exams. Having made a few mistakes here
and there, she kept up with her tutor anyway. Her mother in contrast, was
howling from the kitchen 'Beta, 10 more
minutes beta! Ask her questions, revise
her answers and give her a test!' while it was already an hour of overtime.
The mothers of the metro have
their own competition, their own vendetta, waging their own personal wars against
the other mothers - their colleagues in the office or in their husbands' office
or sometimes even their own sisters. They’ll neither let their sons and
daughters play games, nor let them read storybooks. It'll be an hour of falling
behind, and its cumulative effects could apparently destroy the balance of the
universe.
All through the week, tutors come
and go. While on some special days, a mid-level tutor arrives, the one who has
been to the IITs, to revise only the lessons taught by another high-level tutor
who apparently knows nothing about the existence of this parallel universe of
tutors!
It’s clear that the mothers of
the metro have not heard of the idiom 'All work and no play, makes Jack a dull
boy!' In my city, they might just tell you that there are no ‘Jacks', but a
number of unpronounceable Bengali names who are blessed with mothers, unmovable
in their resolve to achieve for their children nothing short of a well-heeled
establishment.
Ahhh..!!! loved it..!! Well, I think its a common syndrome amongst all the Bengali mothers, who right from the time their kids gain some sense push them into this never ending rat race of life.Sad,kids today are undoubtedly way more smarter than we were at that age but what the heck they are missing on the most precious moments of childhood.
ReplyDeleteRecently saw the movie "Icche"(2011)... ought to be a wake-up call for all such ambitious mothers...
ReplyDelete@Lucifer's angel: Our childhood has been very different than that of the kids these days.. they have competition from class 4th! Me thinks half of them won't even be able to spell 'competition' the right way! (and to add to that, I think the schools won't even stop to correct it for them..) its not just the mom, its the whole system that needs changing.. again..
ReplyDelete@Ayan: couldn't see the movie, but read the synopsis somewhere.. we need such movies in the mainstream more frequently nowadays.. I think the movie 'Chalo Paltai' is also a good movie, though very loosely based on this matter.. ironically (and I thank heavens for this!) my dad asked me to watch the movie.. :)
Couldn't see the movie, but read the synopsis somewhere.. we need such movies in the mainstream more frequently nowadays.. I think the movie 'Chalo Paltai' is also a good movie, though very loosely based on this matter.. ironically (and I thank heavens for this!) my dad asked me to watch the movie.
ReplyDeleteOur childhood has been very different than that of the kids these days.. they have competition from class 4th! Me thinks half of them won't even be able to spell 'competition' the right way! (and to add to that, I think the schools won't even stop to correct it for them..) its not just the mom, its the whole system that needs changing.. again.
ReplyDelete