Recently amidst a storm in Delhi we lost electricity and hence the elixir of life called INTERNET.
Shocked and devastated. MY Daughter comes to me with eyes as wide as a frog, Mom!!
My spanish quiz was going on and I was scoring so well, what's this?
Why hasn't the backup come on?
I said I've called the electrician and he should be here in some time. And by the way, I too was in the middle of my cardio and I can’t do it either without music, so let's just wait and not get all worked up.
Unassumingly I climb her cross trainer and start fiddling with it. Yet again, she comes running ‘Oh God mom i'll tell you how to operate it’. You and technology (eyes rolling). Now put in your body weight, time like how long you want to workout and last level. Should I put it at level 10? (tapping her feet)
She’s doing all this so fast that I am just standing like a blank doll and suddenly she said ‘start now’ (eyes rolling again).
I start but I can’t connect my phone to the bluetooth headphones, I can’t connect to youtube and yet again I look at her with a long face, waiting for my third dose of rolling eye’s.
My daughter is standing all this while with me, observing me, amused (I could tell) at my misery. Finally asked ‘What happened ? Do you need music?’
All I could manage to say was, ‘hmmmmmmm’.
Mom, how about I sing for you. And to my total surprise she actually starts singing ‘Arcade by Duncan Lawrence’, followed by ‘Selfish Love by Selena Gomez’ with lots of giggles and smiles incorporated.
There was a connection. We felt like a void being filled with her singing, I had missed her so much. She’s always around but in her own bubble of books, laptop, phone, friends, art, nothing involved me. As they grow it's very difficult to be a part of their lives, as they seem to have figured it all out. We just turn into Bus-Stops waiting for a bus to come along which is ready to have us as a passenger.
So thank heavens for the powercut, the compassionate and empathetic side of my child came out which was always there but got buried by the distractions of the digital world.
As William Wordsworth says ‘Where is the time to stand and stare’.
With all the singing and giggling time just flew and I realised I completed my 40 minutes on cross trainer on level 10, non stop. OMG
She clapped her hands like a 5 year old and jumped and I saw for a split second that she's still the same girl with the heart of gold.
The magic lies in helping kids disconnect from and on, so they can get back in touch with themselves and not let the invisible layers of digital madness take them away from the real world.
It was one of my most beautiful and happy days for both of us that we ended up getting wet in the rain, singing again ‘Raindrops falling on my head by BJ Thomas’.
I found my CONNECTION in DISCONNECTION.
Rasika Bhatia
( India )