Back to School

Nope, I'm not writing about the "back to school" fever which hits the US every September. I was pleasantly surprised to see this write up on wikipedia

I do a lot of searches on wiki just for the heck of it so I eagerly lapped up this short article about my old school which has lately become quite famous due to MS Dhoni's rise in Indian cricket. Actually the school was always in news atleast locally for the steady stream of talented students it churned out every year who got thru to IIT's, AIMS and the likes.

I still remember the meeting with the then vice principal Mrs Thind- a strict, upright Punjabi lady. The occasion was my "interview" if I can call it that before joining the Nursery grade!. I was shown a rose and asked to name the flower,I declined to answer due to reasons I cant remember now and was promptly admitted to the school nevertheless. Those were the good old days for now I read that only those scoring 95% and above get entry to the science stream.The article also told me that the school now runs in two sessions morning and afternoon to accommodate the burgeoning student population.

Mr RE Singh used to be the Principal in my time. He was the butt of many jokes I don't seem to recall now. What I do recall is his highly agitated frame on the assembly platform when a loud cracker went off with an ear shattering bang right in the middle of the morning prayer session.
This auspicious incident would normally precede the Deepawali festival. The current school Principal Mr DR Singh used to be the Chemistry teacher. He was a pretty good teacher but had a particular quirk of gesticulating with his hands as he described a dumbbell shaped ionic bond
If I remember right,he had spent some years in South Africa on a teaching program and he would recount tales from that sometimes.

I was quite amused to see the name next to the Dean's column on the website. SN Thakur our dreaded Physics teacher-fondly known as TNT is now the Dean of the school. I think this position was abolished after a few years when I started school. He once told someone in our class to see him afterwards for extra coaching. This was a subtle recommendation to join his private tutoring class. It was rumored that those who didn't would suffer when he evaluated term papers. I seem to forget now if there was any truth to this.

As I read that article, a plethora of memories and visions from the past rolled up in front of my eyes. Funny how a couple of pictures of old school buildings can take one on an express trip down the memory lane.

It's a Boy!

I became a father recently and lots of people asked me this question-How does it feel? Well,there are some moments which words however grandiose cannot do justice to. The moment of a child's birth is one such seminal event. This miracle of nature has it all- exasperation,moments of impatience,fear and ultimately sublime bliss. 

We were witness to this moment of joy and wonder as our little boy announced his arrival into the outside world at 1344 hours,Oct 15th,2007 with an ear shattering cry as the doctor held him up for us to get a first glimpse. Baby Nishkarsh weighed in at 8 pounds and 5 oz and measured 21 inches. The doctor and nurses were fabulous and so was the entire delivery and post-partum system at the Bethesda North hospital in Cincinnati. All three of us were strapped on with security bands on our wrists which was connected to the hospital's communication network.This is done to trigger alarms if someone tries to smuggle the baby out. Not that it happens but its a pretty reassuring feature. The mother and the baby's wrist bands have a special software which plays a nice little soothing tone every time the baby is near the mom.

"Rooming-in" with the baby post delivery is encouraged as it allows the baby and the mother to initiate that first bond of love and care. The hospital provides free in room meals for the mom but dads are expected to buy their lunches and dinners from the cafeteria or from outside. Not that I was particularly enthused with the cafeteria which served on a military like schedule-Breakfasts at 8 AM,Lunch at 11 AM,supper at 6 PM. That type of eating timetable is a bit too much to ask of an IT guy used to crazy timings and bad food habits:-). The nearby Mc Donald came to the rescue!

The much maligned Healthcare companies in the US are federally mandated to provide 48 hours of post delivery care for the mother and the baby in case of a natural birth and 96 hours in case of birth by C section. Anything over and above this mandate requires a medical order by your caregiver. Fortunately for us everything went well and since it was an uncomplicated natural birth and the fact that both the mother and the baby were doing well,our release orders were provided to us within 48 hours of the birth. This could be the only time when you feel a slight tinge at leaving a hospital. I mean all is so gung-ho in there,you press a bell and the wonderful staff is at your beck and call and then they hand over your baby and you're in the cockpit...no more autopilot!

The amount of reading material you get stuffed with during the 40 weeks of pregnancy can be intimidating and then there is the wonderful internet. In my opinion all this helps since babies do not come with their operating manuals!.A trip to Baby'sRus is another watershed.Do these small adorable beings require so much gear? There are lots and lots of innovative stuff which are life savers for new parents but a lot of stuff is plain junk invented with a purely business mind. A wet wipe warmer?....wonder who uses that!

On to probably the biggest life saver- Disposable Diapers-Babies in the US consume on an average 5000+ dipaers a year!!. That's a staggering statistic. And of course they are NOT bio-degradable.What a mess!.Just like the oil companies the Diaper manufacturers like Pampers and Huggies and other brands must be sitting on a steady supply of gold.Did I mention the sci-fi looking Diaper disposable system like Diaper champ or Diaper genie. Toss the soiled diaper in and turn the handle and you're done. No odor, no mess...neat!

The first few days were kind of rough as we struggled to attend to needs of this little being who demands so much attention and care enough to keep you busy morning,day and night.It does get better as time passes and you get to understand what those baby cries mean. I think I can safely say Parenting is a journey- tough,occasionally frustrating,exhausting but just like other momentous journeys of life- rewarding,blissful and joyful in itself with no particular goal or destination. One keeps traveling and keeps learning. This quote about sums it up in my opinion-

"Before I got married I had six theories about bringing up children; now I have six children, and no theories.  ~John Wilmot"

"