Spare the rod, spare a thought for the grandparent and pamper the brat!

"Hey there !Come and have the mouthful ."screamed Vijaya.The little fella had given her the slip yet again.The imp was back from school and was waiting for his gang of naughty friends to show up.:rant

Vijaya had renamed the complex as Kishkindha.The forty plus apartments, housed respectable families with mischievous children....a bunch of fun loving pranksters ."Aah!!! isn't this what childhood is all about?" muttered a grumbling Vijaya unto herself.:hide:

Built in the late eightys when community living was not too popular,this particular complex boasted of a play area that catered to kids , adults along with added recreational facilities for senior citizens.

As Dhruv reached out to the bolt on the main door to escape,Vijaya pulled him by his arms.The young lad wailed and wept with the unswallowed morsels of rice in his mouth.:idontgetit:

The elder brother was cleverer.Hurriedly,he had partaken of his share ."Oh !Please let me finish first," he had pleaded ...and Vijaya had given in to his whims.

"How can you be so partial ?" Dhruv mumbled...With great difficulty,Vijaya was feeding a seven year old.

Rice and vegetables lay scattered around as the chimp ,with food splattered all over his face, ran from one room to another.It was a Herculean task allright and Vijaya was being taken to task for no fault of hers.

All that she desired was to fill the hungry stomachs....a desire that seemed to torment a young kid who would not see reason....and yet a desire Vijaya needed to comply with ,to satisfy herself.

This was routine though,and in the midst of the turbulence,it was also routine for Subu to step in and offer his expert comments.A weepy child is always the centre of attraction and receives a lot of attention especially from those who are not directly involved in his welfare activities.

Vijaya was the villain and Subu the angel who came to the rescue of the child.So it was customary every day ,for Subu to pick up little Dhruv,chide and cajole him...till the manual feeding was over.

Have you ever given a thought of how we earn,save and make a living in today's fast paced world ?Have you ever stopped to think how our dreams are being fulfilled ?Is it the hard work alone that is reaping the fruits?

Long long back ,when today's fortys plusses were kids,the moms were at home to welcome and take care.The forty plusses have now ventured out in search of greener pastures.

With the boom in the rise of day care centres and creches all over the world,are we depriving the children of true motherly and fatherly love ? For the fortunate ones however,help is still at hand in the form of grandparents like Vijaya and Subu .

Having nurtured their own rather timid children,they have now stepped back,yet again, into the shoes of a parent,to take care of their demanding grandchildren.It's a service that has been thrust upon them....a willing service that knows no bounds of happiness,a service that is unconditional and difficult though ,gives them immense satisfaction....

I wouldn't mind to burden my parents with such a responsibility , coz , I know that I depend on them totally and they are aware of it too :thumbsup