lights camera action

I can see this blog is soon on becoming a "parents blog" than a rustic kids one, but risking those raised eyebrows from some not-yet-parents, here comes my next piece.

My daughter is practising for her stage dance next Sunday. Reminded me of endless hours of practise we spent in our school days for the Big School Annual and also the Building Annual. In those days, most buildings had one day set aside for a communal gathering - there would be games (housie, memory, tail the donkeey, how well d you know your neighbour, etc) and of course, the kid's programs. From being part of a group dance - i actually slept in my first performance on stage, and had to be replaced by another little girl - I graduated to choreographing, anchoring the shows and co-ordinating for the whole event. It was fun.

rule no. 1 was: every child must get a prize
rule no.2: every child has to participate
rule no. 3: there has to be something for the elders and for the toddlers.

so the smarter children were the heroes, and the shy ones were given the roles of "asst. doctor" or "plumber" or "sidey" roles! i often got a boy's role - but mainly because of a too-many-smart-girls and too-few-boys scenario!

School annual was fun too! Plays in English - derived from abridged versions of Shakespeare's stories were a hit with the teachers! once i dressed like a Punk (this was the 80s, remember?) and smoked a ciggarette filled with talcom powder - that drew "oooh... how can they allow this" from the crowd! no prizes for guessing that i din't get any prize for my "bold" get-up!!

i'm now reliving my "stage" days through my daughter's activities... and its in no way any less exciting!

Parental crisis

Life was much simpler when we were kids. We went to the closest school - walkable distance - holding friends' hands, wore hand-me-down uniforms and used books that belonged to siblings 3 years older than you, and didn't feel anything awkward about this arrangement.

As a parent today, I feel much more pressurized - I'm currently looking for schools for my daughter. I'd only heard about donations - now I know about them - they come under various headings - admission fees, non-refundable / refundable deposits, one-time processing fees etc. Then there are the various boards - IB, IGCSE, ICSE, CBSE and our very own humble SSC, which, unfortunately has very few takers.

Where my parents paid Rs. 50 odd as my monthly fees, with "girl child" refund, today i struggling with the thought of "one-time payable annual fees - non-refundable under any circumstances - in ranges of Rs 35000 and above" plus uniforms, swimming fees, bus fees, books, dancing, art, craft, music fees.... and oh yes... phonetics for english speaking !!! And yes, your kids' lunch box must have only nutritional diet, fruit, juice and salad! Working moms - beware if you ever thought of packing off chips or chocolate!

whoosh.... no wonder several of my friends are just saying "no" to having kids!