Ridhima is going to be 3 years old next month and Rinku has started planning her b'day bash. Early but never mind. Frankly speaking, this is the only birthday we celebrate. Everything else remains low profile. I have never celebrated mine as I am not sure if my date of birth is correct at all. Mom says something else and my certificates have another story to tell. Neither does Rinku who also has almost the same problem.
There has been a lot of development in between the last blog update. I changed my job and have been planning to start something on my own but nothing much as of now if you skip those tiny mini bit I write for clients that too through friends. Muntun, my younger brother, is blessed with a baby boy. It’s been six month since. Now he looks more a father and family man - he should.
Coming back to Ridhima, she now speaks almost everything. Can pick up a conversation and win hands down - even if it requires screaming crying and all that. She orders things and when not complied, we are reprimanded - well at least a thousand times daily. And we enjoy those punishments.
Of late, she has been complaining about some stomach ache, we took her to the doctor but nothing was worth worrying. Turns out, we returned from a very hectic tour from Kolkata, Bihar etc and that might have taken a toll on her health. April and May cannot be any better. She is now settled in Mumbai and we come to know when her tantrums and tactics reach new heights. I am happy the way she is growing up. I try and flash her imagination as far as possible and that in turn is making her a story teller. She shouts, and shouts a lot sometimes in English, do not know where does she pick the words from. Probably Youtube. 'Papa, get lost!' 'lets go', ready steady go...!' 'surprise party' are some of her favourite words and she uses them bang on.
Ritesh one my friends who also has a son - four months younger to Ridhima - called me one fine day all anxious and exhausted asking me about my plans to school Ridhima. I was not very serious about this issue at all. I never faced any problem getting admission or anything and thought the same will apply to my child also. Then he helped me open the Pandora Box of child education especially in the cities like Mumbai. Honestly, it made me really worried.
I have been checking playgroup schools and finding the know hows of modern education. Is this puzzling! All schools have their own rules and there is nothing standard in terms of curriculum, semester or fees. I remember going to a school - an international school mind you- along with Ridhima and the lady who was talking to me started to explain how their curriculum is superior. When I said, my child will all be 3 years by July do you think talking curriculum to her would be wise. She wants to play and dance and make friends she should be taught that first instead of subjects. That would be too early. Wouldn't it? She was not asked such questions before and she didn't answer them. Instead she explained about the fee structure in detail along with 'flexible payment' options and a discount if I said yes for admission that day itself. The school charges INR 60,000 for play school per year. I could not stand there any further and vanished.
The search is now over as I succumbed to social pressure, specially from my wife. Ridhiima has got her admission in a school nearby and the name of the school is 'Padchinh' - foot mark or pug mark in English. The fee is three times lesser, it is closer where I live and Ritesh's Krish will also go there. Yes, all positive!
My Dadi (grand mother) is not well and we are worried about her well being. She has become so weak and fragile due to her old age that she is not able to sit and eat. I hope she recovers soon. Mom and Dad at home are also worried. Relatives have been arriving to see her.
…Will have to finish writing this before Ridhima wakes up. She is enjoying her Sunday siesta along with her mother and I am loving this unusual silence at home.
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