Author: manjitlegha

A mother , a teacher , a workoholic , an educationist - all rolled into one. Children fascinate me no end and I am blessed to be a part of their world.
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COURAGEOUS WOMEN & FEARLESS MIDNIGHT RUN

manjitlegha

6y2a2151 (2)A group of motivated  and passionate women ran a Fearless Midnight Run in the city of Durg -Bhillai recently. They all came dressed in pink, in singles and as families , from young girls to young mothers to women in prime . Cheerful , enthusiastic and keen faces thronged the arena which reeked of high energy and great camaraderie.

The moment I read of the event , it set me thinking.

The word used was ‘Courageous women’ – in my eyes two synonyms used at the same time !

I mean, the word ‘woman’ tantamounts to courage , isnt it ?.

The very DNA of a woman speaks of courage . The very fact that the only homosapiens who dare to nurture , is a woman.

The one in whom Nature bestowed the life giving womb , is woman.

And in my eyes, to nurture and recreate is one of the biggest act of valour.

To all the women who made the darkness shine with their abundant energy on the night of the Run, the effort will bear complete fruition and multiply further  when you carry it to all the days ahead of you .

  • Nurture your daughters to follow their passion freely
  • Nurture your sons to speak of their fears freely
  • Do not fear to accept yourself the way you are
  • Drive away the cliché fear – what will people say ?
  • Stop fearing change – it’s the only constant in life
  • Do not fear another’s talent – appreciate it
  • Do not fear asking for help – it is actually a brave thought !
  • Courage does not mean absence of fear. It means taking a step ahead with ‘fear’ neatly packed in a backpack and slung over our shoulder.

 

On a lighter note , why do we never hear of a Fearless Midnight Run by Men ?

Does it mean that men are proven fearless and don’t need to re iterate that ?

Certainly not. A lot of gentlemen will agree that they are caught by fear many a times – fear at work, fear of wife :), fear at learning a new skill , fear of parent and so on. Its just that societal norms do not encourage men to talk openly about their fears.

And to the contrary , societal norms encourage women to feel the fear ! To be fearful at every new step.

When will Fear turn gender neutral ?

The day it does , that is the day we will celebrate as an epic one .

That is the day we will pehaps have many ‘Midnight Fearless Run by Men as well ‘.

Till then , a cheerful high Five to all the women out there who ran the midnight marathon !

Not just the night , but carry the spirit of fearlessness into all your waking hours as well.

 

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LET’S MAKE RESOLUTIONS A TOPSY TURVY AFFAIR

manjitlegha
scrabble resolutions
Photo by Breakingpic on Pexels.com

Every New Year witnesses a deluge of resolutions, steely resolves, promises and silent vows.

Then follows a flood of Whatsapp and Facebook posts , taking  snide potshot at all those burly resolutions.

And poof ! a lot of them start spiralling out of the window.

Lets turn the game around.

No resolutions.

Lets just break some rules instead.

I don’t mean to sound like a renegade or a rebel at all.

All that I am saying is that let’s make the resoultions a bit fun. Lets put them in a ‘new box’ altogether.

You have always enjoyed a late morning in bed. Break the rule . For once or twice, get up to see the sunrise and do nothing perhaps – just gaze at the sky with a cuppa coffee.

You are the diligent variety who goes to work diligently and reserves all leaves for sickness or family weddings or emergencies.

Break the rule – take a leave on a healthy day. No rhyme or reason at all. Just a ‘me’ day. Chill out the whole day with no To-Do-List. I guarantee, that you will love this outbreak.

You are a parent who wants to be the perfect role model for your child. Great. You are so mindful of the way you walk and talk. Awesome. Just reverse it for a day. Go drop your child to school in your pyjamas, pick up some candy floss on the way, ditch the car or bike, take a rickshaw perhaps . Enjoy the freedom you get when you break away from your routine.  Pick up your kid from school with a balloon wala by your side or perhaps an ice cream cart in tow. Treat the whole lot of kids to a simple ice candy. Your child will get to see the fun Mom or Dad in you . And all that happened because you broke a rule !

If you are a teacher and a disciplarian to the core (rightfully so ) , at least one day present before your class a ‘different‘ you.

Mix around the desks, ditch the black board, hang a placard on the back of each child and and ask the kids to scribble on those hanging behind the child in front. Get the desks out, spread out a few rugs and cushions and  voila the class is on the floor.

Wow ! ma’m broke a rule ! (albeit a harmless one) . Now  sit down on the floor and get the kids undivided attention!

Whoever heard of learning new stuff while breaking a rule ?

You take the elevator to your flat every day. Just for today , don’t ditch the elevator, just get down halfway. Admire the floor you got down at. Bet, you had never seen it before !. Now keep climbing up casually , soaking in each floor and neighbour, one at a time.  Look at the richness you gained by just breaking one routine.

The list is endless…….

Don’t just whatsap your family a god morning on one Wednesday. Call them instead.

While crossing a traffic signal , wave and mouth a big thank -you to the traffic cop standing there. You didn’t really break a rule , yet you will see a jawdrop ever so pleasantly.

Each of us enjoys a mid day coffee / tea with our colleagues. Break the rule – have this mid morning coffee on one Tuesday ,with your support staff – whether at home or at work. Get to know their world too . You broke a routine but I am sure you will get admiration in plenty.

TGIF – Thank God Its Friday . Turn it to TGIM – Thank God its Monday . Because Monday means work / office / routine. And this is what gets us our bread and butter. So why not be thankful for a Monday too ? Change your attitude towards Monday. The whole week will fly by in a jiffy.

Instead of finishing all your grocery on a Saturday , do it mid week. Break the routine. Squeeze out some time mid week.  Fridays will then have extra time for some more fun stuff.

Weekends are for mall hopping and shopping. Break the rule . Do go to a mall. Go hit the Café Coffee day . Buy a coffee  and sit in a corner with a book. All by yourself perhaps. Get to know ‘yourself’, right in the middle of a hectic weekend.

And pray , why do we reserve just the morning or the evening for our prayers ? Our conversations with God can be anytime , no ? Break the rule . Give a call to God at peak noon. He just might be more free in these off- hours and you may have a better conversation too:)

So, my friends resolve to break the mould. Resolve to make your life fun and easy and only regimented and compartmentalised.  There are some rules that are to be followed in letter and some in spirit.

Likewise , there are some rules that cannot be broken in letter ….but breaking them in the right spirit ?

Well, its all up your sleeve and entirely your choice !

 

CHILDREN, school, teacher, Uncategorized

ALTRUISM AT ITS BEST

manjitlegha

13986526986_3e7929294f

The dictionary states the meaning of ‘altruism‘ as unselfish regard or devotion to the welfare of others .

If that be so , there can be no better champion of altruism than a teacher .

A teacher is ‘born’ for the sake of children.

Its very difficult to pinpoint the moment when her / his altruistic journey begins.

There is no course or syllabus that can totally equip the teacher  with the much needed  ‘ child facing techniques’. There are hundreds of theories that she/he rote learns but none prepares them for dealing with the most spontaneous , pure and intelligent of the species – the child.

All theories fly out of the window when the teacher is left alone in a class full of expectant and dynamic energies.

There is no single glove that fits all hands , there is no single trick that works the magic.

Gauging , innocent , mysterious eyes watch every single move of the teacher (no mother in law in any Hindi serial can beat this 🙂 )

She is ‘one’ and the class is ‘ many’. And the teacher is devoted to all.

The teacher  does not give up.

Emotions are at the heart of what teachers do and why they do it. Educators take up  teaching with dreams of changing the odds for disadvantaged children, inspiring a love for learning or developing critical thinkers.

Maths and Language are taught through books  but there are no periods  for teaching ‘thank you ‘ ‘please’ and ‘ May I ?’.

Those are not a part of the teacher’s  penned down role and responsibilities , but it’s a given.

Teaching is an emotional practise but no teacher training college has a curriculum that helps them build these competencies.

The teacher takes it up very very bravely and goes ‘beyond the curriculum’.

She still does not give up.

A teacher is required to be omnipresent . The Prime Minister of a nation can manage to take a trip overseas but the teacher finds it impossible to leave the class even for a minute . Tired muscles and aching feet – a smiling child is all they need !

The school bell rings but it doesn’t cut off the teacher’s umblical cord. She carries the children in her heart and mind (and these days the phone 🙂 as well )

Her family is the audience to a hundred tales of  children in  her class. Their antics , their concerns , their behaviour is passed around more than the casserole at the dining table . Her students squeeze into her ‘family time ‘ so very neatly.

There are so many rules in the school almanac that talk about how to deal with children.

But there is no rule  in the Parent Handbook that talks about ‘How to treat your child’s teacher?’.

She faces parental disappointments , their anxieties and fears like a champ.

She still doesn’t give up

Literacy is a given goal but she takes great effort in cultivating emotional literacy as well. She diligently makes progress notes, tracks family history and studies children’s behaviour in the playfield, library and all arenas out of the classroom as well. Does she need to do that ?

I guess not but still does so , for some strange reason.

There are many  who dare to mock and call her ‘just a teacher . The pay cheque at the end of the month never spirals her  to the HNI segment , nor entitles her to enjoy  a bank’s wealth management services.

She still does not give up.

Children graduate to the next class and eventually storm the world and make their own niche place. Some come back with an occasional thank you note and some do not. She knows that years later , she may just be reduced to a middle spot in the class photograph .

She still does not give up.

Rules and policies change more often than the text books  and many a times they clam and choke her.

She still does not give up. She is doggedly loyal to her children.

All she remembers is that those 20 or 30 or 40 cherubic faces in her class are dependent on her . And that gives her a motive.

No pay slip , no promotion and no appointment letter drives her. What drives her is that she feels ‘good about doing good ‘. She gets a helpers high . It is the children who energise her.

She neglects her health and willingly sacrifices her ‘me time ‘ for her class children.

She dares to nurture those ‘not borne from her womb’

Can there be a better example of altruism ?

On this Children’ s Day , let us salute these altruism unsung heroes and send out a cheer for them.

 

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LADY CRUSH

manjitlegha
silhouette of four people against sun background
Photo by Dennis Magati on Pexels.com

The RJ on the radio is talking to the cine actress , Neena Gupta , basking in critical acclaim after the recent success of her newly released Hindi movie , “Badhai Ho”. The female RJ claims to have had a ‘Lady crush’ on Neena Gupta ever since the RJ  was a young child, sitting besides her mother and watching the actress storm the daily soap scene on Television.

The word ‘lady crush’ has stayed in my mind ever since and gave birth to a whirlwind of thoughts and sorts .

Having a ‘lady crush’ simply means to admire a member of the fairer sex, to look up to a female of the species , nurture a wish to emulate a lady idol or to simply  adore a girl /woman for a hundred reasons !

The choice lies solely in the eyes or heart of the admirer.

Why confine the word crush to the opposite sex or rather,why limit it to the opposite sex alone. Is ‘same gender’ appreciation  a taboo ? Or a rare phenomenon ?

Absolutely not .

An honest confession of a ‘lady crush’ breaks the commonly held myth that women can seldom admire each other.

Women can and actually do idolise  each other pretty much. It’s just that they get caught in the quagmire of ‘stereotyped boundaries ‘ and don’t break out into an ode or a song or a couplet for the same gender.  At the most ,we dare to hero worship our mothers or sisters , but seldom our contemporay female friends / co workers / partners.

We over think in this regard, perhaps. Apprehensions seize our thoughts before they dare to be expressed.

Let me confess openly that I have had more lady crushes than a so called boy crush

I have a lady crush on the young and vibrant actress Alia Bhatt for her sheer star presence on screen.

I have a huge lady crush on Sushmita Sen for daring to be a young single mother of two girls .

I have a strong lady crush on my middle aged school Principal who conducts herself with such elan and grace .

And I have a huge lady crush on my very own young daughter who is such a tigress and faces life with an attitude akin to what Simba had in the movie , The Lion King .

Admiration and adoration are not gender bound or age bound .

I would say they are ‘charisma ‘ bound !

Let’s get some admiration out of our Pandora boxes …..

Time for all my  friends to share their thoughts.

Who do you have a lady crush on ?

You may leave your comments  in the Comment box below

Remember , appreciation works wonders !

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TEACHER – BALLOONS ?

manjitlegha
balloons calm clouds colorful
Photo by Tirachard Kumtanom on Pexels.com

Balloons fascinate children as much as stories do .

Have you seen a child run after a balloon ? Her face is a pure vision of joy , focus, excitement and fascination .

Is there anyone who has not played with balloons in their childhood ?

Undeniably  balloons have been a part of every childhood – be it ours or even our parents and grandparents.

Air filled balloons may have slowly given in to helium filled ones but no birthday or celebration is complete without balloons .

If a party is festooned with balloons , the child will forever be looking wistfully at them.

The best take aways after every children’s party are the hand me down balloons . Even with the most expensive return gift in hand , the child will say , “Can I take that balloon as well ?”  .

Strangely , as we grow up , balloons form less and less, a part of our life .
Isn’t that strange ?  Why should that be so ?

Let us introspect ….

Balloons and children are so similar .

Balloons are vibrant and always wanting to fly . So do children.

Balloons  always want to bounce higher and higher . So do children.

Balloons are simple to manipulate – no folds , no layers, no gadgetry  . Children are just as easy to understand .

Balloons know no excuses .Big or small, green or yellow – all of them want to bounce higher. Just  like children.

Balloons form ‘play’ wherever they are placed. For children too , life is a playground, no matter where they are .

Balloons never tire , they are always ready for a bounce. So are children

Balloons inspire children to chase , bounce and jump. Such valuable life lessons . Isn’t life meant to be like that ?

Nothing can keep a balloon down for very long. Balloons teach us to rise after every fall. They are as resilient as a child .

If a red balloon bursts, children shift to the blue one or the next. “Oh ! that’s down and out, never mind, let me go for the next one”. Balloon play teaches our children such positive self talk .

Balloons carry no burden , they are as light as ‘today’ . There is no baggage of ‘yesterday’ or ‘tomorrow’. Children are as light in spirit as the balloon, isn’t it ?

Would it be right to say that children live life balloon style ?

So what happens when children begin to grow up and get infected by all adult worries , concerns and fears.

Our worries and concerns slow them down. Bouncing up requires an effort.

Life is no longer a playground, it begins to map out into a survival ground .

Getting up after fall is difficult as we begin to carry so much weight .
Weight of yesterday and weight of tomorrow .

With passing years , our energy begins to deflate .

Perhaps that is why the balloons slip away from our world………….

Time to change that.

Come, let us go back to being like a balloon aka a child.

And not let the balloon slip away from our child’s hands either.

Let us model to our kids that the air in the balloon is equal to the good that we do . The more the good, the more we bounce, because  good that we do keeps us happy and afloat .

The minute we  lose out on the joy of present  and lose faith in ourselves , we begin to lose air .

A simple inexpensive balloon teaches us what the most expensive possessions cannot.

Go, grab the balloon , you and your child, and never let it go .