The Youth of India are watching

There was time when I used to come back from school and share all the highlights and happenings with mom and she would patiently listen and respond as I finish up my late afternoon snack. 35 years later, the setting is the same, we sit across from each other, but our roles have reversed. I come back from work and mom hands over the evening snack and she shares her highlights and happenings from her day.

With my nephew arriving from Delhi for his summer vacation, I get a lot less updates from mom. She is busy feeding, engaging him and growing the special bond with her grandson. I watch their interaction from a distance, and it is a big entertainment when I get back home.

Earlier this week when I got back from work and I looked around for my nephew. The swing was filled with his story books and toys, but he was missing. When I followed the waft emanating from the kitchen, I saw him seated on the kitchen counter, and mom was making fresh dosas and he was intently listening to mom and getting his dose moral education through stories.

And yesterday when I stepped into the house, my nephew was not at home. He had gone to play with kids in our apartment. When I called for my nephew my mother walked towards me carrying pride in her chest. I immediately understood that she had something good and interesting to share. Before I let her share, I asked her for a cup of coffee and went to clean my hands and feet. And as I entered the kitchen to pick up the hot cup of filter coffee, I found mom gloating in pride and words queuing behind her lips.

Come on let’s hear her.

So now what?

Earlier in the day, an elderly resident in our apartment got stuck in the elevator. The alarm in the elevator had failed and she had to use her vocal cord to get attention. Since it was early noon, people had retired for a short snooze in the swooning heat and none other than my nephew heard her call.  He rushed towards the main door in the house, unlatched it and tried to find the source of the SOS call. And when he identified where it came from, he quickly went back into the house and got my mother.

My mother immediately established verbal contact with the resident trapped in the elevator and asked her try out a few things to get the elevator to the nearest floor. None of the tricks worked and manual intervention was the only way out. It would take a minimum of five minutes to get the key and move it to the nearest floor. While my mother went downstairs to fetch the key and carry out the next set of procedures, my nephew stayed in contact with the woman in the elevator.

During the next 10 minutes, my nephew tried to console and assured her of immediate help and diverted her attention by narrating the Cinderella story. Very soon mom got the elevator moving to the floor above and the woman was set free.

A hero by the afternoon

Drenched in sweat, the woman stepped out of the elevator. She was moved when she saw the 6 year old kid who kept her fear and anxiety at bay by giving her periodic assurances and diverting her attention by narrating the Cinderella story.  She took him up in her arms, showered him with a volley of kisses, and blessed him for his presence of mind and assuaging words. Very soon the tale spread across the apartment like a wild fire and that afternoon all the other womenfolk came over to our house to see and bless my nephew.

At the age of 6, my nephew was already swarmed by women and was showered with their appreciation, admiration and kisses (something we all need to be afraid of). He had no idea what he had done, but enjoyed till it all lasted and soon disappeared into his world of cars, cartoons and bi-cycle.

And that night, I interviewed my nephew like a journalist. I wanted to know who had asked him to keep speaking to the woman in the elevator and how did he get the idea of engaging her by narrating a story. He said, “Grandma always shares a story when I am sad or upset and so I decided to do the same to this woman who was sad and upset.” And then I went on to ask why he chose the Cinderella story. He said Cinderella is a girl and thought the woman would enjoy girly stories. His answers to my two questions were simple, plain, honest, instantaneous and unpretentious.

Every time he comes over for a vacation, my nephew doesn’t fail to amazes us with a new trick or talent. Two years ago, one evening, he effortlessly rendered a few krithis of Muthuswami Dikshithar and Shyama Sastri krithis in difficult ragas and made our heads turn and jaws drop. He was not formally taught those songs, but picked it up while he accompanied my sister to her music class.

While genetic science traces back a lot of qualities we exhibit to genetic material, psychological science attributes a lot of our qualities to the ambience we live and grow-up in. “Avar nallavar aavathum, theeyavar aavathum annai valarpiniley…” goes an old Tamil film song.

Kids are like sponge, they may not have the capacity to distinguish what is right and wrong and they tend absorb all that is around them. So, beware how you behave in front of your children and what you teach, share and show them. If you haven’t watched Behave yourself India, The youth of India are watching campaign by The Hindu Newspaper, watch it now and remember the future of this nation are growing up watching you.