Rashmi's Space

It was 9:30am. The family was having breakfast. Priti poured out coffee for herself and the husband; and milk for sonny boy.  The husband sat at the head of the table, reading news on his smartphone, absently sipping his coffee. Sonny talked animatedly about the game he had played with his friends this morning. He’d taken two wickets, he informed them; and then all the boys had chatted, he said, sitting around on the lawn, sipping from their water bottles, cooling off.    “What did you guys chat about” Priti asked. “Oh, this and that,” sonny said. “Sharav saw that latest Avengers movie this weekend, and he was telling us all about that. Sandy went to watch the IPL match at the stadium yesterday, only to have the game abandoned due to rain! But then he got to see what the groundskeepers did to clear the rainwater and shit…” “Language,” “Sorry…” Priti smiled. “What else?” “Oh, you know Pranav? He went to this tea estate with his famil...

It’s that time of the year again! Exams are done and the summer vacations have officially begun for most children (and their parents). For children this is the time to wind down, relax and enjoy the sun! For most parents too this is the time to let their hair down. But for some (like yours truly) who work, vacations take on a whole different meaning. Even in case of parents who are at home with their children, keeping children busy for two whole months does seem like a daunting task. I mean, if left to be by themselves, most children today would choose to watch endless hours of TV and munch on as much junk food as possible! Right?  So then most parents start looking for summer camps and classes to keep their little ones busy. Many take this opportunity to teach their children something new, some try to start taking interest in new hobbies and all, but eventually either the parents get tired taking children to and from their classes, or children get fed up because of their...

Exams are done and it is now time for the summer to take over. With the impossibly high heat and the lack of enough company for outdoor play, most parents and children are looking forward to summer camps and places for children where they can indulge in indoor activities. With sky-high fees and the interactive, child friendly use of electronic media, many activity centres are only too happy to oblige us too..... Welcome to the 21st century summer vacations! Flashback  The year is somewhere in the 90's and schools have just let out for the summer vacations.