Thank You...

There are parents who pester and nag kids with ‘study, study, study!’
And there are parents like mine who suggest grand holiday plans in the midst of exams and often implement them too.

There are parents who send their kids to coaching classes, tuitions, co-curricular activity lessons and yoga classes.
And my parents believe Saturdays and Sundays are fun days and that a child is abnormal if he/she shows too much interest in studies. Especially Acha.

There are parents who lock up kids in a room during exam time asking them to study.
And my parents used to drag my sister and me to parties, weddings, get-togethers, and temple festivals at our home town, the previous day of an exam. They have done that during my 10^th boards, 12^th boards, BA degree exams (all three years) and finally, during my final PG Exams.

There are parents who cut cable and internet connectivity during exam times, and restrict even watching of Doordarshan to 20 minutes, that too as an allowance only at dinner time.
And my parents have never even suggested such a thing let alone doing that. On the contrary, they make it a point to watch TV more than ever during this time. And never say ‘Enough...now back to studies’ if I join them. Amma would instead say, ‘Wait till the movie gets over ...only an hour or so left’ and I happily snuggle against her.

There are parents who beat and scold children to the point of tears and suicide attempts.
And there are my parents who are as excited to see me scraping through Maths and Science as they are to see me scoring the highest in English and Hindi.

There are parents who draw comparisons between their own kids, neighbours’ kids, relatives’ kids and any other kids they can lay their eyes on.
My parents have never told me ‘Look at her!’ or ‘Learn from him!’ The closest they have got to doing that is ‘See how your sister is doing her homework.’

There are parents who get hyper excited at the slightest hint of a parents-teachers meeting.
And my parents went only because they had to, skipping all the classrooms where they there was too much crowd.

There are parents who you have to give at least a month’s notice if you are planning a movie.
In my home, sissy and I used to ‘tell’ rather than ‘ask’ our parents about our outings and movies.

The only time my father said ‘no’ to me was when I wanted to go out of Kerala to do my PG. We talked and argued and he held his ground and I held mine. I said there were better opportunities outside. He said there were good colleges within the state and that if I was good enough I would do just as well here.

I was depressed, Acha even more. And one day, just to ease the tension between us, I told Acha that I had decided that I was not going anywhere, that I had made up my mind. ‘Happy?’ I asked. I saw his eyes light up; he smiled his heartiest smile, shook my hand excitedly and said animatedly, ‘Verrrrrry Happy!’

At that moment I realised why he had been so adamant on not letting me go. He just couldn’t bear to think of being away from me. And I wanted to slap myself for being so selfish. Acha and I became the best buddies we always have been once again and I enrolled into a college here and had no regrets right from the day of my interview.

Last week, the results of my PG were announced, and if you will let me brag a bit...er... I secured the first rank! I am really bragging now! :p

There are parents who might tell their kids in situations like these, ‘Didn’t I tell you so?’

And there are my parents, super cool that they are, who just went ‘Yayy!’ at the news and for once like typical proud dads and moms started shooting messages to their friends and colleagues. J

Love you both!

PS: A big thank you to my sissy, my little nephew who seems to have brought lots of good luck with him, all my friends, teachers and of course, all you blogger friends who make me feel special with your heart felt comments. :)