SO NEAR YET SO FAR

When my daughter was pretty young, it had been easier to get her into a discussion with me, to play or to spend time over studies. The internet had not caught up then and chat machines and phones were not there. Once into her teens, her world became different, friends were anytime around on social media and chats and tastes and topics of a young adult like her became very different from mine. The Work From Home concept was not implemented then and although I had to travel about three and half hours everyday to office and back to home, I used to consciously find time on my return to spend with my daughter. I still found a way to connect with her through books, movies and songs.

With the coming of the coronavirus and the Work From Home concept, a lot changed. Extended hours of work and work calls kept me always glued to my laptop. When there were discussions in the family, she would voice out that the time I spent with her was pretty less. Yes, Work From Home has caused work to eat up a big part of my life. This has been so for more than a year.

Today, I consciously made some time during the lunch, tea and dinner sessions to watch a movie with my daughter. We had lots of things to talk, laugh and share and after a long time, I felt life was again smiling inside our home.

We had been so near to each other for more than a year but still felt as though we had been very far away. I realized that time management is going to be the key.

FOR MY WRITINGS, PLEASE VISIT THE LINKS BELOW (FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED):

POEMS OF LOST LOVE

Poetry book 'INDELIBLE ETERNAL ETCHINGS':

https://www.amazon.in/INDELIBLE-ETERNAL-ETCHINGS-emotions-unbridled-ebook/dp/B072J4L656/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=indelible+eternal+etchings&qid=1583428166&sr=8-1

https://www.amazon.com/INDELIBLE-ETERNAL-ETCHINGS-emotions-unbridled-ebook/dp/B072J4L656/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=indelible+eternal+etchings&qid=1583428402&sr=8-1

STORIES

Short Story book 'A PEARL FROM EVERY OYSTER':

https://notionpress.com/read/a-pearl-from-every-oyster

https://www.amazon.in/Pearl-Every-Oyster-Stories-Shorter/dp/1948473151/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3GI23X9JIKQGK&keywords=a+pearl+from+every+oyster&qid=1583428674&sprefix=A+Pearl+from%2Caps%2C302&sr=8-1

https://www.amazon.com/Pearl-Every-Oyster-Stories-Shorter-ebook/dp/B07948GRVC/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1H9GU3Q8JNH29&keywords=a+pearl+from+every+oyster&qid=1583428722&sprefix=a+pearl+from+ev%2Caps%2C363&sr=8-1

For other countries, please visit the respective Amazon sites.

JOY AND PEACE SHALL PREVAIL

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas. May joy and peace surround you in the days to come.

This year the Christmas was different. We had the tree setup, there was lot of food that was made, and lots of friends and relatives called up and we exchanged greetings. But what was more significant for me and my wife was to join our senile and extremely sick parents to the church and to break bread with them.

We had to exhibit a lot of patience as they are heading into an age where we need that patience that is required to take care of a child. Old age has lots in common with the very young age that we have come through. And to find joy in this patience is where my focus was in this year's Christmas.

When our children see this patience in us being exhibited, I believe they too will learn and exhibit the same in the long run.

MY DAUGHTER'S GIFT FOR MY BIRTHDAY

Happy to share this card with all my friends. I believe she spent a few days before the birthday getting this ready.

Kindly skip the adjectives like "Awesomest", " Greatest" and the words "Entire Universe" :))).

We spent a long time together going through this creation. This gives me much more happiness that anything that happens in my workplace.

I still believe that our entire time is our family's time in which we as parents are the main entities. It is a part of that time that we are committed to do the work at our workplaces that we are responsible for, with all diligence. The more we focus on managing that time well, so as to find time everyday for our family especially our kids, the more joy we will experience.

SEEING A CHILD TAKE ITS FIRST STEPS

Weeks back I had the opportunity to see a child take its first attempt at taking its first steps. God's creation is amazing. The child was trying out something it has never done before, something unknown and today most of us are not able to take big leaps and big risks because of the fear of the unknown that looms large in front of us. But as a child we somehow took bigger risks.

A baby for sometime crawls and then moves around on its hands and knees. When it tries to stand up, many times it falls flat on its belly, face down. Seeing that happen to my daughter years back was indeed spine chilling. I almost had a feeling that she would break herself. But even after the fall it rises and tries again. That is something I felt is a great lesson for an adult like me to rise up and try again even after a fall.

With every fall that we have comes additional fears, insults and a drain of self esteem. If little babes were to have all these with each fall, they would never have ventured to stand up and walk at all. How amazing is God's creation.

WHEN WE SAW A PLANE

Last Saturday my daugther and I were on a long walk. A plane flew past and my daugther kept seeing it till it disappeared into oblivion. 

When it was gone she asked me, "Dad, will you end up inventing something like the plane for the world to use through your job what you are doing now?". I did not know what to answer here. Several years of being a part of good universities and organizations in the field of engineering, have not got me anywhere near to making even a small invention.

I wish my daughter did something like that sometime for the benefit of the world. May be I should work with her to set some great goals for her to pursue.

MY DAUGHTER'S ATTEMPTS

My daughter has taken these snaps while at home in my absence. I like these pictures, not that they are great ones, but that they have been shot independently. Again it is not to sing eulogies on what she is able to do. But just that taking risk sometimes pays dividends. The risk I take to get her to do this, is to give her the freedom to use the digicam in my absence.

Yes, it is a costly risk, but many times the sweet results of taking a risk comes only with such an outer costly impact wrapper, that we don't see any risk involving minimal impact these days.

I have to see my character on how my mental balance will be, when she accidentally drops the camera down one day, in the middle of doing this. Will I still appreciate her pictures? :))

DESTINY'S CREATION

Several years back on that day,
When this earth heard your first cry,
You were a darling in every way,
Soaring our spirits sky high.

Dreams we did weave around you,
Day by day as you grew,
And today its time you knew,
Whether you did fulfill a few.

Deep into your heart you also did fill,
Choicest dreams that you did treasure,
And worked on these with all your will,
Seeing failure and success in varied measure.

Let your mind’s imagination soar,
Breeding it with selfless ideas, all fresh and pure,
To break open ego’s impregnable door,
And serve the mortals in need, both far and near.

The world will then, find happiness in your progress,
And life will give you its very very best.
The support and motivation for your success,
Will be showered by destiny with all zest.

May your deeds prove valuable to this earth,
Taking you to heights scaled by a select few,
And we would for sure take pride in your birth,
Seeing the world bow to a phenomenon like you.

IT'S PRIZES PRIZES ALL THE WAY

This is a small stage play plan that brings out the importance of the approach to imparting religious education.

Curtain
Scene 1:
Situation: Mathew is at his work place, into the last stages of his work for the day.

Actors: Mathew

Narrator: It’s another day in Mathew’s life. Married to Martha and a father of a son Rahul and a daughter Maria, he is a workaholic. Work is always hectic and always comes first in spite of all that he tries to do to get home early. Weekends have also started becoming very much like weekdays. A winner all the way, Mathew was the topper at school and college and even at the Sunday school. And this is still having its impact on his personality in that he strives to get to the top spot in everything he does. So much so that he even drives his kids to get to the top spot in whatever they do. But what has been the impact of this burning desire on him and his family in the long run? Let's see....
Curtain.Scene 2:
Situation: Its a Sunday School scene with the teachers announcing a competition. Mathew’s kids will be seen here as part of this Sunday school.

Actors: Sunday school teachers (Three of them out of which one does the announcement) and a group of children.

Narrator: It’s Sunday and here we are at the Sunday school, a great place opening up unique opportunities for children to learn about God and to get moulded in several facets of life.

Children: (9 students seated in few rows. They are in their own world. They keep talking in a moderate volume amongst themselves paying little attention to the teachers. Some of them create a few pranks too. One of them calls out a warning.) "Hey, look out the teachers are here."

Teacher: “Silence …” (again shouts out the same)…"Silence," (thumps the desk and moves up and down correcting children on the mischiefs they are upto). "Listen….there is an important announcement. Sunday school regional competitions are coming soon….we had our internal competitions here last month and we have selected Jacob and Rahul for the Bible Verses competition and Maria and Shilpa for the Songs competition."

Children: (They go into raptures and shout out the names of the selected ones)

Narrator: Maria and Rahul always find a place in the selected list of winners of the Sunday School competitions. This is the fourth time that they are heading for the regional competitions in the church. They also exhibit the same burning desire to reach the top in all competitions like their father.

Curtain
Scene 3:

Situation: Mathew’s family at their home. Mathew is into 24 x 7 working mode, always with a cell phone and laptop.

Actors: Mathew, Martha, Rahul and Maria.

Narrator: Here we are at the home of the Mathews. Mathew is on the cell phone taking conference calls and working on his laptop. Martha just has enough time for the house chores and her lecturer's job. She guides the children in whatever way she can in their studies. The children also attend tuition classes for their school subjects. But for Sunday school topics, where can we find a tuition teacher? Let’s hear what the children have to say. (Both Rahul and Maria try to tell their achievements first).

Rahul: "Daddy, you know something? I got selected for the Bible Verses competition at the regional level."

Maria: "I too got selected Dad for the Songs competition…I too got selected…"

Mathew: "Excellent....that’s my children. Your Sunday School master told this to me last Sunday....so I know. Rahul, I have prepared a list of Bible Verses with chapter references and left it on your table...make sure you study that well....I mean the verses along with their references, the chapter number and the verse number. Memorize it well and practice speaking on stage. Let me see that happen today. And Maria, I want you to memorize the songs that are listed for the competition…learn how to pronounce the Malayalam words and then practice singing it...learn it well...I want to hear you soon...I have written all the songs in one sheet and left it on your desk. "

Rahul and Maria (together): "Ok Dad."

Narrator: The children pick up the sheets that Mathew prepared and start their work diligently.

Maria: "Dad, can you help me with this….the meaning of this song “Charthum neethiye nin acharyan marum” (This is a song from the Malayalam Church Service Book ...we could apply this situation to any other song that you could take from Church Service books that is not so obviously easy for the children to comprehend it’s real meaning)

Mathew: "That’s not required for this competition…you just memorize it first and try singing….I will explain it later when I have time."

Maria: "What, if they ask me the meaning of the song in the competition Daddy?"

Mathew: "Look here my dear...Dad has been to so many competitions at Church and won so many prizes…I am sure they will not ask…so just memorize them…that should be just fine."

Narrator: Maria wants to understand the meaning so that she does not miss out any marks in case questions come in that direction. Mathew has been a winner at competitions, but the fact is that he has been singing these songs like a little parrot, right through the years of his life without understanding its meaning. Its truly embarrassing for him to tell his children that he does not know the meaning of the song….particularly when there is huge collection of trophies for all the Sunday School competitions he won in his time arranged so well in the showcase at their home….

Maria (Running upto Martha): "Mummy can you help me with the meaning of this song?"

Martha: "I am busy here my dear….well Dad is the right person …he knows best….listen to what he says…."

Narrator: And so Maria and Rahul spend their time memorizing the songs and memory verses for the competiton. Like Maria, Rahul does not bother to understand the meaning of the verses either nor does Mathew or Martha stress that he should understand the meaning. The Sunday School also does not spend exclusive time to explain the meaning of Church Service Songs or Bible Verses to the children. May be the time they have for teaching all these along with the other parts of the Bible School syllabus is too little or may be the teachers themselves are not sure. But then, on the Competition day both Rahul and Maria emerge winners…..their hardwork paid off and they come home with victory…both grabbing first prizes….
Curtain.
Scene 4:

Situation: Both Maria and Rahul come out of the Church with their trophies and meet Uncle Jose who is their family friend.

Actors: Uncle Jose, Rahul and Maria.

Jose: "Hey Rahul...really smart….keep it up….Maria…u sang well…..hey…let me see your trophies…very good eh…..like your Dad….keep it up…..do you know I was there at the Church for the competitions?…I saw both of you perform….."

Rahul and Maria: "Thank you , Uncle…"

Jose: "Maria, do you know the meaning of the song you sang? It's such a good song and it has such a great and deep meaning."

Maria: "Hmmmm…..well....(with her fingers running over her head)...I know little..." (She feels embarrassed and Rahul also feels the pressure).

Jose: "Both of you should understand the full meaning of all Church Service songs and Bible verses that you learn....its very important…..if u want I will help u ok…call me when u need….ok?...bye then…. "

Rahul and Maria: "Bye Uncle" (and they run and disappear quickly).

Narrator: Many times in our life…religious education takes a different path….this education sometimes can be compared to a boat heading for a great destination. We row with all the hard work but then if the direction is a little changed, the place we land can be a different destination all together. Tomorrow when our children step out into this world as matured people and face life's problems, they should have loads of faith that came out of their religious education. Taking the example of the Biblical story of David the young shepherd boy and Goliath the giant, our children when they face problems tomorrow of the dimensions of Goliath, religious education should have given them the foundation so as to overcome these problems of the size of giant Goliath with the kind of faith that the young shepherd boy David exhibited.
Stories and teachings like these should be able to fuel us with a faith of the kind David had. Learning other statistics like the weapons Goliath and David used or the place where the battle was fought and the tribe or clan they belonged to can always take a lesser priority.
Only then can we mould generations who have a strong and steady foundation of religious faith.

Curtain