my kids thoughts about Moholaya

Sheeja Panicker

19 September 2017 ·

Yesterday my kids father told them that tonight and all of tomorrow we will have to eat veg food as it is Moholaya ..a time when all those who have passed away... visit earth...
My Imports from Mars are happy that Michael Jackson will be visiting.....
I dared not LOL.... However....kids are sooo funny.... you tell them A ....they think of MJ .... never know what connections live wires make ....
They were Heartbroken the day Michael Jackson passed away....as till then they never had seen the person behind the voice on the CD in the car...a few weeks back I heard them discuss how tragic MJ's life was ... and how manipulative media can be...
Sometimes listening to kids talk is interesting...in Pune... the balconies of my house faced the play area of the housing complex adjacent to my building and evenings and holidays....I would get to hear...All kinds of Isms from little children....it made for interesting tea and coffee breaks ....

my thoughts before starting homeschooling both my kids ...

Sheeja Panicker

19 September 2017 ·

And I have Arabic to learn...coz day after is the Arabic language exam... which...the lady in school promised me ... Won't be happening😃😃😃
Icing on the cake... question papers are sent from Abu Dhabi... Ergo...it will according to what was supposed to be covered according to the lesson plan for All Bhavans schools in the GCC ... the going just keeps getting Hilarious😂😂😂
I have the alphabets and numbers and colours and few more words...
Plus I have saved a site that teaches Arabic in 21 days 😃😃😃
My little one has taught himself Japanese thanks to his favourite Japanese cartoons...spl the Goku series...
Now to see how much of Arabic we can master for the exam...day after...
Btw Grey in Arabic sounds better than my favourite colour blue :)
The reason I💙 the Bleu text book by Mauger is coz of the system it follows... every chapter has vocabulary and grammar and conjugation and snippets of extra Information....
If people like to cut copy paste in India...why not use the system too... what some Indian text books do is Pakaoo Khichadi Adroitly
What a Herculean mess ...they end up as

And may I Always remember to keep my mind open....

I wrote this post on 19th September in 2017

In 2016 I was wondering how my little one will be Ok without me in a far off land... Don't really know the reason for that matter closing down...it's very important to have an open mind for something to Really click...
That's the Beauty and Tragedy of Team Sports... even the last person in the team will have had a grueling schedule to get into the Best Team of any Team Sport...
What sets people apart is Perseverance and Dedication and Practice ...
Last year when my elder child was dealing with a problem with his hip bone...the diligence with which he did the exercises the physiotherapist advised...
This year I keep reminding my little one to exercise... and I have to keep reminding him to eat fruits...
On the field the elder child tends to panic sometimes.. whereas since the younger child was team captain quite often in school and Fun Fitness- the club they were going to...he rarely panics on the field...
Yesterday when I was discussing this year being the last the younger child goes to school...his father panicked and wouldn't listen...
People in India have Such a Negative view of homeschooling and NIOS ...that it confounds me...I sat and taught my child everything from scratch for his exam today and it's Very Easy to teach my younger child...he is the most cooperative student...
Why should I pay such high fees and then teach my child everything that he should be covering in school...
There are a handful of schools geared to Grooming future Sportspersons...
It's a Huge decision to tread a different path...in February or so ...I saw an advertisement for a course in film making at the FTII and I told my elder child... even though your exams are round the corner...I won't mind it ...if you want to do this course...he was very Vociferous in saying No thank you...
After a while I realized...spl when he has mastered using the Adobe Primer Pro on his own...that he learns Best ... what he teaches himself...will be making him give his 12 Board Exams next year...he asked for a year to concentrate on his YouTube channel and I support his decision....
However getting the father and my parents and other relatives to keep quite is very different Ball Game...
A career in Sports is a huge gamble... However... even if they don't make it...they can get back to studies even later in life...
The silver lining is the opportunities for allied activities related to Each sport...best example being their last personal coach in Pune...he collected money by coaching youngsters to fund his further studies in football in the UK...
The mindset in my country is so myopic that ...we Indians can not see beyond a few career opportunities...
It took me quite some time to accept football... fouling and injuries et all...
Once your child has a dream... many sacrifices are called for...
And may I Always remember to keep my mind open....

4th July

🇺🇸 Happy Independence Day!!!! The US of America …. the land of Freedom, Equality and Success that was and is Such a magnet to scores of Indians too …. Wishing that America goes back to being the land of Promise and Hope it used to be !!!! may all the issues that you as a nation are grappling with ...be ironed out … and may you Rise to be the Actual Beacon …. the Statue of Liberty stands for ….
millions saw that statue and hoped to enter your shores for a better Life … for Asylum … for Success and for Freedom from oppression ….
may you stop judging on the basis of colour, creed, race, status and all other standards that are Discriminatory!!!
Best Wishes America !!!

my first teaching assignment ….part 2

my first teaching post ….part 2

Peace finally returned to my class and my best student too started making friends in class ...
once when I was narrating what my special students were doing outside the windows of my class to my dad ...he warned me that ….the law college I was teaching in is a place where the rich sugar barons of a neighbouring district sent their kids ….. and I decided to give all kinds of shenanigans a smile and no more attention ….the last thing I wanted at that point in life was Trouble with a capital T

as it is I had enough of fears dealing with faculty rooms ...till then I was always standing outside them and asking for permission to enter
I would get scared of the other profs and I would ask permission to enter the faculty room of the law college too ...habit from college … one lady Prof used to not like the Sight of me ...not one bit ….she would ask me questions in Marathi and I used to get upset at the tone of her voice and rude comments
there is a rule in All the States of my country ….a person like me can Never teach in an Arts College …ergo I have Never ever taught students specialising in Economics like me ….. I could Only teach in a commerce college where graduation was in English and economics was a compulsory subject that was Much Hated ...
now in Commerce stream too there is one division of students who can do a Bachelor of Commerce course in vernacular medium ...like students in Bengal can do this course in Bengali and Keralites in Malayalam ...and that meant 1-2 Profs per department who taught in Marathi in my city

where as in an Arts college ...the number of students doing their course in the Vernacular medium was higher and people like me and even my friends who are Maharashtrians could not teach in Vernacular ...
the terms for each economic concept is very different in Vernacular languages ….
however in ILS college I had to teach in Marathi and English ….ergo after peace returned to my class I organised them into groups with a mix of vernacular and English medium students and I researched and found terms to explain topics in Marathi ...and this was a rule I followed in each college I taught in make groups with a mix of students who had come from the vernacular medium with an equal number from English medium colleges at the Higher Secondary level

my students realised I was doing my best to help and the whole class got together to help me when I would get stuck with any word in Marathi
however that one Prof would ask me pointed questions ….to avoid talking in the staff room I always carried a story book with me and I Never looked up from the book ….the only friend I had was a Bengali lady prof who taught English and we would exchange notes about our class or talk about general stuff when we were free together ...she was very helpful

then one day all hell broke loose …..one lady Prof who would sit and read like me most of the time ...eloped with her 5th year student from college ….that day the Prof who did not like me went ballistic about how people who read have their head in the clouds and are Never to be trusted … she went on about bad mothers who dumped their kids and were highly irresponsible ….
I was so petrified at the mood in the staff room ..and that lady prof told me to wear a saree from the next day and I was close to tears ….imagine travelling by two buses and walking so much to reach college ….that in a saree was enough for me to think about quitting
I had applied to colleges in rural areas and was hopefull of getting call letters for interviews
academics and news circles are a world apart ...a fact I would learn much much later in life ...in the new millennium to be exact ...lol
ergo I was surprised when the principal called me post my lecture and told me to go to the library and suggest books that the librarian could order ….and she sent the English prof with me ...what a huge and Awsum library that college has … I was hooked to that place ...

a very wise lady that Principal was ….she was showing me a different place to sit in ….from the next day onwards I avoided the staff room once I signed and I would be in the library reading before class
having a student much older than the class was Very Good for the dynamics of the class and that Sir helped me quite a bit with Marathi terms ….
ergo from day one ...I was learning as much as I was teaching ...and thanks to the kind Principal from the oldest law college in my city ….the library became my haunt in each college I worked in ….a peacefull place it used to be …………..
in the Mumbai college only I used the Prof's cubicle in the library ….it was my fav place to be
when I saw the PG Shiksha advertisement ...it sooo took me back in time ….
not one college from rural Maharashtra called me for an interview ….and 3 colleges from Mumbai did and I groaned at the thought of living in a fast paced city like the financial capital of India ...Mumbai ….
one thing I learnt from Mumbai was the work culture …..nearly everyone had at least 2 jobs ….even Profs taught as visiting faculty in other colleges after class got over at 11.30 am latest ….class would start at 7.30am and ended at 11.30am and teaching was a breeze ...students were docile and rarely troubled me after we got to know each other ….

my first teaching assignment ...part 1

life has such a way of Turning Tables ….after my 12th grade exams due to 1mark I did not get into the Govt Culinary school in my city ...plus I was livid with everyone as they did not even let me apply to the National Institute of Hotel Mgt …
finally after a few more Dhinchaak Twists and the Navy job fiasco … I found myself looking for a job after my M.Phil course work and exams were over ...
one needs Money to finance Research ...lmao ….and one senior from the university research cell told me to go meet a senior Prof from a govt PG college …. after much prodding and a stern shout I went and talked to said Prof ...
he sent me to my junior college Prof ...who sent me to ILs law college and The Hotel Mgt Institute... I Cried my eyes out for ...lmao … I did not want to go teach in that hotel mgt institute ….imagine teaching in a Culinary College ...specially because I knew a Mallu Prof there and he knew what a Fit I had thrown and how I had not gone to college for 3 months post my 12th grade …
he would grin each time he saw me ..his daughter was my junior in school and I would feel Highly sheepish every time I met him ...

I joined 1st year of degree college three weeks before the mid semesters … amidst much Drama chez moi
I used to Laugh at the notion of doing a graduation … I used to think only vela people do such things …. I wanted to work before I was 20 ...I had such a Mission in life ….being a Chef ….lol
the students in the Culinary College were the Sweetest I have ever taught …..they would get me food every evening from their practical class and they were students specialising in a baking course ...what aromas ...and if we finished the set syllabus for a day ...I would shut the door and play Dumb Charade's with them or some kid would sing or dance or we would play some games in class ...it used to be a 2 hour class and we got along like a house on fire
they never troubled me when I was teaching and life was good there

on the other hand ...I was the youngest person teaching at the Law College and it was Pure Hell....instead of only my students ...I used to have a jam packed lecture hall with 5th year students sitting at the highest level ...it was a hall with steps made of cement and benches on each step being at a higher level than the previous one ….
there were huge windows and 2 doors to the lecture hall and Pandemonium Personified ….Loud clapping and whistling greeted me on my first day in any college …..since the first college I studied in had some rowdy elements and I was used to public speaking ….. I just thanked them for a very warm welcome..... finished a round of introductions and realised something was Very Wrong when I was taking attendance

I ignored the Elements in my class and gave a brief about the course we were going to do that year ...I told them since we had both Micro and Macro to cover … I would need a co-operative and well behaved class ...
Fat Chance …
my voice was Hoarse in 3 days of a 1 hour lecture … they troubled the peons posted outside in the corridor ...and I am sure word must have gone to the Principal ...and she sent for me …. I told her how 5th year students were disrupting my class and bullying the young kids in my class ...the 5th year students were nearly my age and absolute rascals ...

in all of that chaos I had one Role Model of a student I used to address as Sir ...he was retired govt official and was in class to earn his degree in law … sooo very Earnest and Open minded ...he used to address me as Mam and that one student was Sir for me :D :D not one pip squeak
I got from anyone in class when I would address that student as Sir when I would take attendance …..the rowdy kids too were friends with the oldest student in my class

the Principal promised that she would help out and I guess she spoke to the 5th year students and she posted two peons outside the doors during my class ….life was slightly better ….however those kids would go into the hilly area outside the huge windows and yell ...''Koteh bolti hai ...Khoteh bolti hai'' on top of their voices during my class ...
it meant ...she is Fibbing ...she is fibbing ….it was hilarious actually but I Dared not laugh
once the peons were not there and the hooligans were back in class and going full stream with all kinds of loud shenanigans ….there was a class assignment coming up and I had to finish some topic that day ...ergo ...I stopped class ...banged the wooden dusters on the wall to make a loud clang and I got pin drop silence
I let loose my Trade Mark dialogue ...Please do not come to college and insult your upbringing by advertising your level of Being ….my regular students had this Stunned look at the decibel of my voice and the anger in my demeanour ….
Surprisingly those words hit home and hit hard ….my fav group came down and apologised and said that they were deeply hurt by me dragging in home and parents into a lecture ….
I realised those kids must have been outstation students and I said it is ok to have a bit of fun as long as I was not paying the doctor sooo much for my throat … and that teaching that one class was a huge Strain on my vocal chords ...

Kash enn Etth and how that became the Cashew Nut

kash meant ths smallest denomination of the rupiah during the British times … etth means 8
ergo Britishers heard kash enn 8 and named the Nut ...Cashew Nutt
saw a post about cashew nuts and it made me smile coz once I borrowed a long mallu skirt of my cousin's and went with her brothers and her to pick cashews ….
they taught me to recognise the noise a python makes when it is chasing hoomans ...I picked up the skirt and ran with them ...we used to build small fires and use coconut husk to char the cashew and then shell them and then eat them delicious nuts with ash stained hands ….
I would go off to my mom's elder sister's house even without my parents ...either my aunt or uncle would take me to their house …. my siblings used to find their house gloomy at night …. plus that place had a unique name named after bhoots mane ghosts … my aunt had all kinds of spices, rubber and rice and horticulture products growing on their estate ...

first time I saw mace and nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, breadfruit and little fish in the streams there …. they even had an ilimbika tree a highly sour dark green elongated awala kind of berry ….my aunt would let me collect stones and leaves and all that I wanted to collect … I would want to pack that to carry back with me and my parents always chucked my collectibles … used to pick up stuff and bring them home when I finished my 10th grade and was allowed to travel alone to Mallu land …I rarely eat kaju now ...specially kaju katli I can not stand ...lol
a decade later I Remembered or my Gut reminded me of the weird loud slithering noise a python makes ….one couple from Sheikalmudi estate in the Annamalais were going to Mumbai ….. and I was missing Pune sooooo much that I decided I Have to go say bye to this family in the late afternoon
and decided to take a shortcut via the tea bushes instead of taking the tarred Pakka road which would mean an hour long walk at the very least ...
so I started on my trip to this Guju and Sikh couple's house …. using the katcha footpath across the estate ….half way through my leisurely walk I remembered the Pink Wild Dogs which I had seen when on a Rare bike ride through the katcha estate roads ….I immediately searched around for a big stone and a big stick ...then I started singing loudly and thumping like an giant and increased my walking speed ….after a bit I heard sticks cracking and looked around to see if some workers were around … I tried calling out in Tamil ...

no reply
I stopped singing and walked briskly ...the noise got closer and it was that weird slithering noise I could not really pin point
the brain can be an ass at times …. but the Guts kick in with well fed and restfull Intelligence
I got this flash back of running through the cashew groves in Malluland ….
Ghost Mountain my aunt's place was called ...Bhootataan(ghost) Mala(mountain)

then curiosity which is another dumb feature we hoomans have Kicked in …. I wanted to make sure that it was a python
waited with baited breath and listened and then the noise got real close
and then Survival Instinct which Punches out the weird Indian concept of Maya kicked in
and I ran for my life in a Zig Zag way...best way to trick snakes I had read up about.... to reach the bungalow I wanted to reach …. the lady of the house saw me and asked what happened …. I asked her to ask her bungalow help IF they have sighted a python in those parts

the bearer confirmed my doubt …. I stayed and talked to the lady and her little child and her in-laws and they sent the cook along with me to drop me back home …...I practised my Tamil by asking him questions about the wild life in that Wild Life Sanctuary we were living in ...
I sent the cook back home after thanking him once I reached a point near my place.... after that day I stopped taking the footpath in the inside roads ….
then I made a Bigger Faux Pas
I did the Never Doable after that ...I wanted to go play badminton at the estate indoor badminton court ….it had wooden floors and excellent lighting …..one lady's kids who were good friends with me were on a break from Boarding school ….and they implored me to meet them at the club and I said Sure I will be there ...don't you both worry about how I will reach …. I like walking
the place outside my bungalow gate was a bus stop and I would watch the bus numerous times everyday ..it helped me keep time too ….
so that day I took the bus to the village ….OH MY GOSH … I was a tea estate Amma meaning executive's wife ….people like me could NEVER step inside a bus ...the LOOKS I got ….I felt like a Zoo exhibit
the firm gave a company jeep as the husband's car was in Assam
I told the kids mom that I took the bus and she shushed me and told me to not tell anyone and that I was supposed to call her if I EVER wanted a lift …..
boy oh boy is there any Privacy on an estate ...the workers in the bus were giving me Strange looks and the news was all over Everywhere ….
I used to babysit kids and avoid getting into any kind of dialogue with Double Entendre ….I never got their jokes many a time ….I never watched their kind of movies nor did I like listening to local news ...I had come from a circle where Everyone spoke academics and Research only …. and I read a major amount of classics and I was the Odd one out there
…. plus I used to teach and that too was held Against me by a select few ...plus despite being a Mallu ...I spoke in Fluent Hindi and that Irked another lot …. boy it was total Hotel California with a twist
then one mean dentist who was the husband's manager's wife sat in front of me during a party with her Coorgi friend who had a mallu husband (the only man I have seen eating tamarind like I used to as a kid) ...and both ladies went on about how I look like a maid, dress like one and behave like one too …. they named me The Nanny :/
I stopped greeting people at parties and that too was pointed out during another party ….
that estate was the Start of me donning my Anti Social garb
later on in Assam it became my Armour/ Suraksha Kavach