Two weeks ago, I had travelled to Chennai and was returning to Bangalore with my mother on a train. Opposite to us, were seated a mother and her ~5-year-old son. The mother's father had come to the railway station to send off his daughter and grandson. The train was scheduled to leave at 3:35 PM and about 2 minutes before the scheduled time, the grandfather got off the train. He walked back on the platform to reach our compartment and confirmed with his daughter that she had water bottles, biscuit packets, sufficient cash, napkins, her government ID card, and lord Murugan's picture with her. She nodded for every item he mentioned and when asked about sufficient cash, she took out her purse to hand him a thousand rupee note. "Even if not for you, keep this for mom's sake" she said, forcing the thousand rupee note into her father's hand. He accepted it with the guilt of a father and the need of a family man.
"Why are you giving money to grandpa? Does he not have money?" the kid asked his mother, curiously. An awkward silence prevailed in the compartment for a few seconds.
The mother finally broke the silence, answering her kid, "Grandpa had given me a lot of money when I was in school and college. I am just repaying it now. It is always good to return what you borrowed, right?" The grandfather's face put on a forced smile. But the kid seemed convinced with his mother's answer.
"How much money did grandpa give you?" the kid asked his mom, after a minute. The mother's face expressed the helplessness of not being able to give her son a mathematical answer.
Before the mother or grandfather could come up with an answer that would satisfy the kid, he looked at his plastic watch that had spider-man casting his web from the center. He then turned to his mother and asked her with a serious face, "It is already 3:45 PM. Why hasn't the train started yet?" The passengers present in the compartment could not help smiling.
The train started its journey 15 minutes after the scheduled time. The kid's face remained pressed against the window rails for the next hour. And occasionally, he also turned to his mother to pose an interesting question.
"Why do people build houses amid rain water?", "Why don't people become happy when they see a train passing by?", "Why aren't farms and fields seen in cities?", "Why are there so many hotels? Don't all mothers cook food at home?", "Why do people feed crows but not dogs?" were some of the questions I remember now with a smile. As much as I fell in love with the kid's questions, I also felt sad for his mother. How do you explain to a kid that an adult's world is far removed from a child's world? Still, the mother responded to the kid's questions smartly, giving out answers that would not let the kid lose hope on humanity.
"The people who stay in houses amid rain water like to play with paper boats", "The people who see trains passing by are sad because they are not able to travel in trains", "There are people who stay far away from their mothers. These people go to hotels. And sometimes, mothers also need rest, right?" were some of her answers. Science shows that smart parents pave way for smart kids but this interaction between the mother and the kid made me wonder if the opposite also holds true - smart kids pave way for smarter parents.
Half an hour later, an old man stopped at our compartment asking for alms. The mother did not mind the old man and looked out the window. The kid could not understand this. "Why are you not giving money to him?", he asked his mother. An awkward silence prevailed in the compartment for a few seconds. The mother then took a ten rupee note from her purse and handed it over to the old man. "Why isn't anyone else giving money to him?" the kid raised a question, looking at us. An awkward silence, again. Slowly, the passengers fetched 2 rupee and 5 rupee coins from their wallets and handed it over to the old man. The old man looked at the kid and joined his hands in worship, shouting, "Live long, my lord". The kid smiled and waved goodbye to him. "Why did he call me a lord?" the kid asked his mother after the old man had left. The mother smiled and replied, "Maybe because he knew your name is Ishwar."
After ten minutes, an old lady stopped at our compartment asking for alms. All the passengers turned to look at the kid. He was looking at the old lady with a widespread smile on his face. A few minutes later, the old lady passed our compartment, shouting, "Live long, my lords".
For the remainder of the train journey, the kid continued his questions and a few of us continued our compassionate acts. Like how Carl Sagan had said, "We make our world significant by the courage of our questions and the depth of our answers", our compartment grew significant through the journey by the kid's questions.
"Why are you giving money to grandpa? Does he not have money?" the kid asked his mother, curiously. An awkward silence prevailed in the compartment for a few seconds.
The mother finally broke the silence, answering her kid, "Grandpa had given me a lot of money when I was in school and college. I am just repaying it now. It is always good to return what you borrowed, right?" The grandfather's face put on a forced smile. But the kid seemed convinced with his mother's answer.
"How much money did grandpa give you?" the kid asked his mom, after a minute. The mother's face expressed the helplessness of not being able to give her son a mathematical answer.
Before the mother or grandfather could come up with an answer that would satisfy the kid, he looked at his plastic watch that had spider-man casting his web from the center. He then turned to his mother and asked her with a serious face, "It is already 3:45 PM. Why hasn't the train started yet?" The passengers present in the compartment could not help smiling.
The train started its journey 15 minutes after the scheduled time. The kid's face remained pressed against the window rails for the next hour. And occasionally, he also turned to his mother to pose an interesting question.
"Why do people build houses amid rain water?", "Why don't people become happy when they see a train passing by?", "Why aren't farms and fields seen in cities?", "Why are there so many hotels? Don't all mothers cook food at home?", "Why do people feed crows but not dogs?" were some of the questions I remember now with a smile. As much as I fell in love with the kid's questions, I also felt sad for his mother. How do you explain to a kid that an adult's world is far removed from a child's world? Still, the mother responded to the kid's questions smartly, giving out answers that would not let the kid lose hope on humanity.
"The people who stay in houses amid rain water like to play with paper boats", "The people who see trains passing by are sad because they are not able to travel in trains", "There are people who stay far away from their mothers. These people go to hotels. And sometimes, mothers also need rest, right?" were some of her answers. Science shows that smart parents pave way for smart kids but this interaction between the mother and the kid made me wonder if the opposite also holds true - smart kids pave way for smarter parents.
Half an hour later, an old man stopped at our compartment asking for alms. The mother did not mind the old man and looked out the window. The kid could not understand this. "Why are you not giving money to him?", he asked his mother. An awkward silence prevailed in the compartment for a few seconds. The mother then took a ten rupee note from her purse and handed it over to the old man. "Why isn't anyone else giving money to him?" the kid raised a question, looking at us. An awkward silence, again. Slowly, the passengers fetched 2 rupee and 5 rupee coins from their wallets and handed it over to the old man. The old man looked at the kid and joined his hands in worship, shouting, "Live long, my lord". The kid smiled and waved goodbye to him. "Why did he call me a lord?" the kid asked his mother after the old man had left. The mother smiled and replied, "Maybe because he knew your name is Ishwar."
After ten minutes, an old lady stopped at our compartment asking for alms. All the passengers turned to look at the kid. He was looking at the old lady with a widespread smile on his face. A few minutes later, the old lady passed our compartment, shouting, "Live long, my lords".
For the remainder of the train journey, the kid continued his questions and a few of us continued our compassionate acts. Like how Carl Sagan had said, "We make our world significant by the courage of our questions and the depth of our answers", our compartment grew significant through the journey by the kid's questions.
