Family time!

We burnt the Raavan again this year.  This year it got bigger with even more people coming in. We got parents and children all involved in the making. To cope with the rush we made two Raavans. Two other kids used this occasion to celebrate their birthdays and it became a party with cake cutting and food. So first we made the Raavans, and then we burnt them and then we played with firecrackers. With the kids being a majority of girls there were no bombs, only lots of sparklers and flower pots to be lit up. That’s a nice way to celebrate it. Some kids from also joined in and it resulted in a whole evening of fun. This was all in the garden behind our home. For dinner, we moved into the garage. We removed the cars and lo – we had enough space to fit in 30 guests and a lot of fun.

This around though I haven’t yet asked Jispa if she enjoyed the party. I haven’t had the guts to ask her. kids came, we burnt Raavan and we enjoyed. Jispa was exceptionally well behaved. Normally when the kids come in in large number they are now at an age where they start having ego wars and groups. Kids start crying, one is set against the other and they want to do their own thing. One kid cried on something and the mothers were trying to mollify her. After some time, we had to proceed with the cake cutting at which I told Jasmine to read the riot act at her. Just get on with it and stop crying. No time for molly codling. The mothers were still trying when I just walked up and said – too much now…get on with it, there is no time for this. We are cutting the cake now! I think the kids too much attention and its spoiling them in different ways. But forget that.

Jispa was active in the process of making the Raavan. Devoid of any ideas the other kids simply made the Raavan faces and then left to play on their own. For Jispa this is not new. She knew what all the Raavan needed and she proceeded to make the sword and the shield for the Raavan. Quietly she stayed inside and made the relevant stuff and decorated the Raavan. I was impressed.

Buts it’s also a case of the parents being actively involved and showing the kids what to do. A few kids were sent it by the parents along with other parents. But that’s not the point of this event. The Raavan can’t be made by the kids. It is a big thing. It can only be made by the parents who also struggle a whole lot. I think last year we could make it as Jasmine and I were actively involved. Normally our partnerships work very well. This time with two Raavans we struggled. Then Jasmine asked me to help the other team and then I was concentrating on both the effigies and then it could translate into a semblance of form and structure.  It came out pretty good in the end. Some of the other mothers were also actively involved.

Everyone finally enjoyed in the end. Some craft work, some snacks, some coke, a chance to work and build something, firecrackers, cake cutting and pav bhaji. What else does a family want? What else.

Here you are - 37 heads plus two champions with ten each! What a lovely day!

used to being a dad

Activity wise things couldn’t have been better. The cricket season has started. The last season saw me so out of form I refused to pick up the bat anymore. I wanted to go and hide. I even dropped myself and didn’t play the last few games. I couldn’t justify my place in the team. Yesterday was the first nets of the season. I went along but I did not want to bat. When satish, who is the captain of the A team asked to pad up, I said yes but I was pretty apprehensive. The first ball I played hit the middle of the bat and sounded good. There, that’s not so bad is that? My feet were moving my head was ok, and the arms were coming in nice. A few balls lifted higher than I wanted them to. The next few were driven and I was on a roll. A few cuts, drives and straight hits behind the bowler. Nice. On Dushhera, I burnt the Raavan inside of me. I could bat again!
Speaking of which, I fulfilled another childhood dream. I always loved seeing the burning Raavan. There is something interesting about seeing a Raavan burn away. Especially the one you have built yourself. Last year too we built a Raavan to be burnt. But that was a ready kit with a printed head and cut outs. See here http://jaimit.blogspot.com/2010/10/burn-negatives-from-your-heart.html
This time around I asked Jasmine if she was keen to build a Raavan to burn. Jasmine has always been an art and craft person. She would be the one to put it all together. The one with all the implements and the vision to create something. A lot like her dad. These days though motherhood seems to have gotten the better of her and she doesn’t use her craft skills as much. I always remember when she and I had to do something; we would always team up and do very well. We had a lot of complimentary skill sets. She would be able to translate my dream into possibilities. Then I would be able to put some structure around it and then we would do it together. Of all the fights we have had, I can’t recall a single fight, disagreement or anything of the sort when we are working together on a project. We would talk to each other and explain our theories, listen and get moving. So I was pretty excited when she said yes. I don’t need anything more.
I asked her if we could invite friends and she said only if I coordinate. I called up the moms and two out of four agreed to come. So yesterday we met at the garden behind our house and started building the Raavan at around 4. Two and a half hours later – it was ready. The parents loved it, the kids loved it. We really had no plan how we were going to make the Raavan. We decided to get as many craft materials we could get our hands on, get old newspapers and then we were to build form there. The previous day I got some five strips of plywood, thinking we would figure from there.
Jasmine came up with the idea of building a structure like a Red Indian teepee with three wooden strips. Then we set about building the Raavan. Awesome fun. The mothers had coordinated to ensure that sandwiches and juice was always around. So was fevicol, wrapping paper, cardboard and other paraphernalia.
Here is the photo of the work in progress. I will upload more as soon Jasmine is able to download and mail them form her camera. It was pretty cool thing.

Jispa loved the process and the other kids also enjoyed it. It’s a good thing spending time doing things with your kids. The friends loved it as well and thanked us. I always maintained that more than kids playing by themselves they love doing things with their parents. Sure they want time on their own but more importantly they want to have fun doing things that they too can contribute equally with their parents. Out of the four sets of kids that were there, the two sets that had both parents working worked harder and enjoyed working on the ‘craft project’. I don’t think its mere coincidence. I think it’s another case of monkey see monkey do. They have their heroes very clear in their heads. That’s whom they like to emulate.
The Raavan was complete. Snacks followed and then we were ready to burn the fella. Such small pleasures in life. Jispa enjoyed the day and was saying ‘I am little sad to see this one burn’ :)
We burst a few crackers, lots of sparklers and wound for the day. As usual, when I am home in time to see her sleep I have to get into her bed and lie down alongside till she sleeps. This makes her sleep much faster. These days I normally get sleep alongside her before she does. Then I wake up and get into my bed. Yesterday after I went into my bed, she came by and said, she still isn’t getting sleep. Jasmine told her to sleep alongside me and that she would put her in her bad later in the night. I was completely tired but I love my teddy bear next to me. I too sleep much better holding a teddy I guess. So as she came in and lied down next to me, I told her “Now I too get sleep only if you are lying down next to me “. She replied “Dad, I think you have now become too used to being a Dad”