Living in the 21st century, are we?

It, undoubtedly, is the worst day in any parent's life...

As soon as I walked into Nitisha's house at 4 p.m. and greeted my eagerly-waiting students, Jai keerthi, Nitisha's brother and the youngest of the lot, couldn't stop himself from announcing in an excited voice: "Ma'am didi ke school aaj jaldi chhod diye. Unke class ka ek bachcha mar gaya hai..." I was so shocked that I forgot to sit down.

This was how our dialogue went:

"How, when, what happened?"

Nitisha and her classmate Harish narrated the whole incident. "He was bitten by a snake ma'am".

"When? And how?"

"Kal raat mein saanp ne kaant liya tha ma'am usko. Woh hamare gaanv se hai ma'am."

"Where did he go in the night that a snake bit him?"

"Kahin nahin gaya ma'am. Ghar mein so raha tha... aur saanp ghar mein aake kaant liya."

"Oh god! Didn't nobody notice? Didn't his parents take him to a doctor?"

"Raat mein teen baje hua tha ma'am. Aur doctor ke paas bhi leke gaye the lekin woh mar gaya. Pehle Gopalpur leke gaye phir wahan se Medical (MKCG, Berhampur) bhi leke gaye."

"Kaunsa saanp tha?"

"Pata nahin ma'am lekin ek chhota sa saanp tha jo ki hare rang mein hoti hai aur uspe blue lines hote hai. Woh saanp na ma'am coconut tree ke phool mein chup jaata hai,"said Monica, Harish's younger sister.

"Is it a rattlesnake," I asked wondering how much of her description is correct and what part of it is her imagination.

"Woh kya hota hai ma'am?"

"Okay never mind, but is this small snake so poisonous that the kid got killed?"

"Haan ma'am, woh bachcha pura peela ho gaya tha."

"Is everyone else in his house safe?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Is he the only son?"

"Haan ma'am. Uski ek chhoti behan hai jo mere school mein padhti hai. Donon ek hi kamre mein so rahe the lekin usko kuch nahin hua," answered Monica.

I was speechless and my thoughts kept going back to a lot of other tragic things I've been noticing in this part of the country ever since I moved here. Though I was trying hard to focus on my students, my mind kept drifting back and forth to the kid, and his bereaved family, so I let them off rather early as they wanted to visit the boy's parents.

As I made my way home, the unfamiliar face of a 14-year-old only son of a soldier bitten by a snake kept haunting me, bringing with it many thoughts - mostly revolving around the living conditions here and the lack of basic facilities. Are we living in the 21st century, and progressing at a rapid pace? Really?

May the child's soul rest in peace, and may he be the last child in the village to die due to inadequate and incompetent medical practitioners in the district... may the rest of the children in Digipur and its neighboring villages be safe and healthy! Amen!

Old-style morality or new-age parenting?

Of late, my daughter has been picking up quite a few English songs... so, what's wrong with that? Maybe nothing. Maybe I'm paranoid. Maybe I don't want her to grow up fast. Maybe I want her to be just my little girl, forever! Maybe I don't want to go through the trauma of explaining the meaning of a few lyrics to her...

The reasons are plenty, and my logic very idiotic! But, perhaps, if you know why I am acting so funny you may even sympathize with me! For one, it's not those cutesy songs for little girls like Cuppycake or Crazy Frog, or Sound of Music melodies that little S sings. She goes on crooning I'm a Barbie girl with all its wacky-weird lyrics :(... my heart does many extra, fast beats whenever she goes "You can brush my hair, undress me everywhere... imagination, life is your creation"!

Oh God, what am I to tell her? How can I divert her attention to something else? I tried making her listen to Boney M numbers like Mary's boy child, and Abba songs too, but in vain. Of all the songs by Abba, she picks up (besides Money money money and Dancing queen) Mama Mia, S.O.S, and Honey honey. And the least I speak of Boney M, the better... apart from Rasputin and Ma Baker, she doesn't have patience for any other song.

Now, what do you tell a smart seven-year-old who sings Beat it or Thriller, and finds Boney M and Abba "too slow"? Cheaters, love machines, and killers are what/who she likes?! Grrrrrrrrrrr!!! God save me, and paranoid parents like me... Just the other day I was horrified to discover that she is humming Shakira's Whenever wherever, and immediately deleted it from my playlist. Thankfully, she didn't catch the lyrics too well to sing along!!

But why am I acting like the moral police? I've no clue. Errrrrrrr, I guess it runs in my family. I remember my mom whacking me on a few occasions when I crooned Bhale bhale mogadivoy (Maro Charitra), Sirimalle puvva (Padaharella Vayasu) and Aresukoboyi (Adavi Ramudu) - I was just four then (three years younger than S currently is and with a quarter of her mental capabilities) and I had no clue what the lyrics meant... though I must admit that when I was listening to these songs a couple of days ago and mom walked in for lunch, I turned a deep red and quickly closed the window as I felt rather shy to admit (even now) that I listen to these songs.

At 35, I'm still worried what my mom would think of me if I listen to "dirty" songs. I wonder what would be her reaction if I post these songs on FB or use them as my status msgs in GTalk... Will she whack me even now?

As for me, I'm caught between old-fashioned morality and new-age parenting! I certainly don't want to whack little S for singing risque songs. But I also want her to stop singing Barbie girl right now... Is this some new definition of a cool parent where I want 'to be' and 'not to be' as well? I've no solution yet but I'm sure I'll come up with an innovative answer to this dichotomy, and my own social-cum-moral dilemma!!