Sakshi Nanda went from studying Literature to serving the print media and finally settling with two publishing houses who called her editor for a couple of hard-bounds, no more! She writes as a work-from-home mother to realize herself as well as to be read, both – with her nearly 3-year-old boy and her sarkari babu beau as the greatest sources of ideas and inspiration. She stays somewhere ‘Between Write and Wrong’ at sakshinanda.blogspot.in
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. But why? How about going looking for a lemon tree instead? Maybe it is in full bloom, and shows you those pretty white flowers too?
There is much that nature has to offer a child. Or even a grown up mind. More so, because in our everyday lives there is just no time. No time to appreciate it and feel grateful for it, or even to simply realize its beautiful presence around us.
I write this as a woman who had to leave her mango and litchi trees behind in her home town to make a living out of life. And I speak as a mother to a 3-year-old being brought up in a typical big town flat, sans a garden to weed or trees to climb. Maybe a few potted plants to adorn the balcony, add some green to the concrete. But, that’s about all. It is this that makes me wallow in nostalgia for the color of flowers, but also makes me go that extra step to open nature’s treasure chest for my son to enjoy.
What is it, big or very little, that nature holds within its whorls?
Circling the children’s park stand trees, like sentinels. Their size creates awe in little pairs of eyes, enough to gape at them wide-mouthed on a windy day. Or collect falling leaves in their hands. We scratch open the bark, and look for ants inside. Hopefully not the red ones, which bite. On a more imaginative day, we even expect to find gold coins hidden inside tree holes. Why? Blame it on a Noddy fan and his mother hoping to find a fortune to afford baby food better. Since no coins come our way, we just hug the tree to please it. Maybe it will give us our jack-pot another day? In the meantime, let’s look for Chip and Dale, shall we?
And we started a Leaf Club, with wild leaves and wilder children. Each child sticks the “hairy” leaf of an unpretentious plant on their clothes. Membership ID, no less. What next? Well, whatever it is that you please. As long as you don’t pluck flowers as you run, or trouble ladybirds with your naughty fingers. Be curious, by all means. But be kind to nature around, that’s all. A mother did suggest singing the ‘Ladybird, ladybird, fly away’ song, hoping for it to fly right off the tip of the finger. It means success, she said. Was it me? No, it was my mother.
How lovely! Sure, nature can teach us a lot and in its beauty we can give so much more to our kids. I loved this post….and I do miss doing all those things (that you mentioned here) with my little girl. Going out in the open and just having fun!
Lovely!
Thanks, Kajal.
Loved reading it. Feeling one with nature is like melding with it, becoming complete and accomplished. Only if more people could understand and practice this.
Very nicely written post Sakshi.
Becoming complete and accomplished is a very beautiful way of putting it, Sangeeta.
Glad you liked the post.
Lovely Sakshi. All of us do some of the things you mention above but when I read your post, I realized the importance of those moments spent in the company of little minds and Nature’s beauty – from the grain of sand to the large trees offering their shade.
Thanks for reading, Poornima. And little minds are magical creations of this very Nature, are they not? Happy you liked this piece.
You get me thinking, Sakshi.
http://www.volatilespirits.com
And I do hope not thinking of throwing something at me for wasting your time by writing this here, Anupama.
I will, though, feel free to take this as a compliment. The ‘you get me thinking’ that is.
Sakshi!! That’s a fun ride underlying lessons for grown ups and how lucky ur son is to have u as his mom. Lovely with dollops of humor. Where u get these crazy ideas from? hehe
This was almost as if you spoke to yourself… dreamy yet purposeful… as if you were explaining… no teaching… your brand of motherhood to some unseen student. As if you knew that your words, uttered to yourself, would be caught by the universe and carried forward to where ever they are needed most.
You make the universe your ally, don’t you?
Dagny
Wonderful! Sakshi. You have said it correctly. We should help children blend with the nature and think of the numerous creatures living along with us on this planet
We can learn a lot by observing Nature and let the child’s curiosity open up. The science and later the biology chapters are important but the velvet feel of the leaves , the prick of the thorn and the sting of the ant has to be experienced.A great post Sakshi.