Most Ekya parents like me were born in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s. These 3 decades in India witnessed profound economic growth. We grew up in an era that kept most of us far away from any shortages, lockdowns, wars. But this was not the case if we take the generation of Ekya Grandparents who could have witnessed an India of Emergency, the 1971 war, the 1965 war, Partition of India or some of them could have even witnessed effects of the Post World War II era. Shortages, lockdowns and an unprecedented situation like this have been witnessed in India before but fortunately, our generation was lucky to have never witnessed it. Living in Urban Bangalore we are still luckier than many others in the world as we have better access to Healthcare and Supermarkets compared to many others around the world.
Many of our kids like a cartoon film named FROZEN. In it, there is a beautiful song named ‘Let it Go’ which has an apt phrase: ‘Kingdom of Isolation’. As all of our cocoon into our Kingdoms of Isolation in this era of the Covid-19 lockdown it’s time for us as parents to take out our crayons, color pencils, storybooks and awaken the child within us. Only then we can keep our children busy. Teachers in the Ekya Montessori section often reward children with a small pen sketch on their hands, for example, a flower, Icecream, etc. Many of us are continuing this practice at home to bring the same smile on the faces of our children. In the AV Room at Ekya, children got to learn stories about Unicorns, Imps, etc. This lockdown offers parents a chance to learn these stories from our children. Speaking to some other Montessori sub-junior parents I understand that this lockdown has offered them a chance to sharpen their kids’ skills related to toilet training and drinking from the cup.
Speaking to some primary school parents I understand that some of the children got an opportunity to sharpen to learn computer skills from their parents and catch up on reading. Some parents tell me that this offers spouses of homemakers an opportunity to understand the difficult responsibility of their wives and share them. Children who have both working parents finally get to spend some quality time with them. In this time of crisis, we should remember that these tough times will not last forever and with that hope, we need to take it: One day at a time. Lastly, we need to remember that the Curfew is on Movement. There isn’t a Curfew on Imagination, Reading, Love and Conversations.
By,
Gauresh Mehra
Father of Ruhanika Mehra
Mont Sub Junitor E4
Ekya JP Nagar
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