Brat Observations - Part 1

Brat #1 observes: You adults are funny. When we say we are full, and have a lot of food left, you say: "You will be hungry if you don't eat. Eat more". If we say we are full, and have only a little left, you say: "It  is just a couple of bites, why don't you finish it?" We can never figure you out.

Brat #2 meets my boy next door

Brat #2 has been feeling a bit left out. Conversations with Brat #1 have been whizzing past her, and she has been  pestering me to talk to her about the numbers that can be lines. I told her that she would have to wait for that. However, I would show her something else.

I asked her how many languages she knew.

"Five", she said with confidence. She really only knows English, barely knows Tamil, and claims to know Hindi, Spanish, and Chinese.

I said that I had counted all the languages she knew, and there were 6.

The sixth language, I told her, is Math. I showed her how an equation, is really a statement. Then, we took some random statements and wrote them in Math.

My name = Alice (My name is Alice)
My brats = 2 (I have two brats)
Brat 1 age > Brat 2 age (Brat 1 is older than Brat 2)
and so on...

She is pretty thrilled - less for having learned anything, more for having been the focus of my attention for a while.

More brat literature

My 5 year old niece wrote this recently:

Appa's computer

Always Busy

Always Tiping

Always Doing Work

Always Scraching his heaD

That's all...

Love, Love, Love those last two lines!

Li'l Brat's Writing

My younger brat just wrote a story this spring break. It goes like this:

"Ones upon a time there was a hole. Evry one new about it. It was the most famous hole. One day the first person came to visit the hole but suddenly splash! Water Sprayed in all directions. The person was who was taken by supries rushed home to tell his friends ...."

I have seen stories with poor character development, but I was struck by the fact that the main character in this story has no name, and yet it has such rich vocabulary, and has elements like "About the Author". It is interesting how people learn - especially spoken and written language.

Brat #1 meets boy next door: A chapter book

Chapter 1: Is it too early?

It is too early to introduce my precious brats to my first love. It is time, however, for brat #1 to get to know my boy next door.

Yes, he helps you make tea, pack suitcases, build boomerangs, count beads, knit, read music, resist buying that lottery ticket, and scores of other things. However, I came to know him better than that. I learnt that behind his helpful and sincere demeanor, lay a complex person full of poetry and beauty, with a Greek god body to match.

Is it too early for a child of but 9 years to be introduced to this complex and beautiful side of him?

Desi Cool!

Brat #1 has to do a presentation at school about a holiday tradition. We go every year door to door singing and collecting money for the local food bank. Brat #1 loves singing, and I thought she would jump at the opportunity to talk about it, and may be sing to her class.

She considered the idea for a while, and then decided, she wanted to talk about kolams and rangolis instead.

Gone are the days when auntiji forced Kishore Kumar upon her embarrassed kids and their unsuspecting friends carpooling in her van. They now want auntiji to play "Jai Ho". And they would rather draw turkey kolams for Thanksgiving.

Being Desi is cool now!

Image courtesy: Kamala's corner

A small step for brat. A big step for mom-kind.

Brat#2 decided to put away the kickboard and ball and just swam!
हम होंगे कामयाब ...

The gift of gab?

"Amma, Can I tell you something? I was just sitting, and teddy bear was right next to me, and I thought I should read this book to him. Can I read now?"

Brat #2 is a running commentator. She is constantly verbalizing her inner thoughts and checking that we agree. It is irritating and hilarious all at the same time.

Here is what happened today:

B2: Amma!

Alice: Yes?

B2: Amma!

Alice: What do you want?

B2: Can you come here?

Alice (to patidev): I am cooking. Can you check?

Patidev: What do you want?

B2: I want Amma to come here.

Patidev: She can't. She is busy.

B2: OK. Then, can you come?

Patidev gets up and walks to the far end of the house, to find B2 sitting on the potty with her stuffed dog (who she calls teddy bear).

Patidev: Don't take teddy bear to the potty with you! Here, let me set him on the bed.

Patidev: OK. What do you want.

B2: Long ago, may be yesterday, Amma told me something.

Patidev: hm.

B2: I was going potty, and I wiped. And I called Amma to wipe, so she can check, and you know what she said?

Patidev: hm.

B2: She wiped and there was no brown on the wipe, so she said I could wipe by myself.

Patidev: hm.

B2: So, I am going to wipe by myself today. I don't need you to wipe for me. OK?

Patidev (leaving): OK.

B2: Can you tell Amma?

Patidev: OK. I will tell Amma.

Scratch

It is end of school year and the kids are planning to bake cookies for their teachers.

Brat#2 hears "bake" and immediately thinks of "cake", which reminds her of "birthday" - hers of course - which is more than a month away. Brat#2 launches into plans for her birthday. She would like a cake. Definitely chocolate. No jelly. We would invite all her friends. R would come for a sleep over. No R would NOT be invited. R did not give her space on the tire swing...

We gently remind her about the "bake" plans and it pulls her thoughts back to "cake".

Brat: Amma, will you help me bake a chocolate cake for my birthday?
Alice (who is not the best baker): Did you know that Appa bakes the best chocolate cakes?
N: Appa bakes from the mix - but I bake from scratch. Maybe, you and I can bake together?
Brat: OK. Let us start now. Do we have scratch?

Brat Literature

Brat #1 wrote a few poems today. I have posted them in reverse chronological order - but you can see the progression in writing skills!

CATCHING BUTTERFLIES
I bought a net
In a set
A butterfly catching set
But, a butterfly won't let
Me catch them with the net
So I said
"I'll tie them with a thread."

O SKY! O SKY!
O sky! O sky!
You’re so blue.
O sky! O sky!
I like your shoe.
O sky! O sky!
The cats don’t mew.
O sky! O sky!
That’s because of you!

CHRISTMAS TIME
The stockings are by the fire
The tree is touching the sky
The ornaments are so pretty
The hollies are on the wreath
So I know Christmas is here

ME AND MY MOTHER
Me and my mother
We are always together
She is always by my side
We play together
We dance too
My mother is always my mother

The Middle Ages

The brats are growing up. Brat#1 asks questions such as "Where is Krishna if the universe is inside his mouth?". Brat#2 sees more than just her world and needs, and has even developed compassion for her older sibling. How did they get so big?

Patidev and I are at that age when we see the specs of gray in our hair but somehow don't associate it with aging. We subsequently look at the brats and are enormously surprised that they have grown so big! Is it possible that not recognizing one's age is a clear sign of middle age?

Quotable Quote

"The scribble in your mouth makes my head go away".

Translated from bratlish to English, it means: You are making me dizzy with your lecturing.

The immortality of the Immortal Picture Stories

A young cousin of mine, when asked to compare the prowess of Hanuman and Jordan, had said: "You cannot do that. You see, Jordan is an avatara of Hanuman". He was then, just a little older than brat #1.

These days, brat #1 talks a lot about Gods and His avataras. I try needling with questions, like: where does God live? if He lives in the clouds, can you see Him from an aeroplane? and so on. She usually has it all figured out: Some Gods like Siva live on earth, and others like Indra live in the clouds. God is smaller than air, and hence one can't see Him, feel Him, or touch Him.


I am convinced that Amar Chitra Kathas have something to do with this firm belief in the abilities of Gods. While, I devoured those comic books as a child; as an adult, I think the English is horribly archaic and complex for a kid, and the story-lines are often too gory. Brat #1 doesn't think so. For her, Super-man, Spider-man, and Bat-man are fictional; but Hanu-man, Lax-man, and Ra-man are real heroes.

All I can say is that Amar Chitra Kathas (translation: Immortal Picture Stories) are here to stay. Even if they use words like "beseeched".