Lockdown Days…. In the eyes of a 7 year old

It is about 9 pm on a Sunday, a seven-year-old is sitting on the floor near the wall completely engrossed in drawing something on the wall with a sketch pen. I thought it is better to wait a while else the artiste might get distracted and end abruptly.

After a while I went by, however the artiste was still busy, with a stroke here and there and some pondering. My presence disturbed the artiste for a moment, who proclaimed “because of corona everyone has to wear a mask, what a pity”. However, the good part is that the family is together including the grandparents. The virus can also be seen depicted in yellow and grey and can be easily mistaken for the sun; but then what right has the viewer to question the artiste? The lockdown also brought together different animals and birds, so one can see a cat, a dog, a parrot and a rabbit. For a seven-year-old, she has accepted the lockdown and all without much tantrums or complains. Her major frustration was that when school started, she cannot go to school to meet her teachers and friends. She said that watching a class on youtube is boring and un-interesting; I want to meet my teacher’s and be in class. Some of the different colours in the sketches and some improvement like the designed dresses are a contribution of the elder artiste

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The ambition of a young child

There is an interesting story of young Narendranath Dutta who later in life was known as Swami Vivekananda. It is said that one day when someone asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up, he replied “I want to be a tangawala”. In those days a tanga or a horse drawn carriage was the common means of transport. Young Narendra was so overjoyed at seeing how the tangawala (the driver) skilfully controlled the horses, and manoeuvred the tanga, that he desired to become one. There are couple of versions of this story, some say that this conversation happened between young Narendra and his Father, Vishwanath Datta in the presence of his mother, Bhuvaneshwari Devi; His father took the statement lightly however his mother, took young Narendra to the puja room and asked him if he really wanted to be a tangawala. Young Narendra was silent, upon which his mother got his attention to the picture of Lord Krishna being the charioteer of the mighty Arjuna in the Mahabharata war. She said “Your wish to become a tangawala is not wrong, however be like Krishna”. In another version it is said that his teacher at school had asked him this question in class. His teacher was stunned to hear the reply and his classmates started making fun of him too. He felt bad and dejected. Back home after school he told his mother of the incident at school. She quietly consoled him and led him to the puja room and pointed to the picture of the Lord Krishna as the charioteer of Arjun and said be a tangawala like Sri Krishna and lead the world. The words left a deep mark on young Narendra and the rest is history….. This story highlights the pivotal role a mother has in the upbringing of the child. It also highlights the role a mother plays in nurturing the ambition of a child. Many years later, Narendranath proudly said to an audience, “I am indebted to my mother for whatever knowledge I have acquired.”

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The ambition of a young child

There is an interesting story of young Narendranath Dutta, who later in life was known as Swami Vivekananda.

It is said that one day when someone asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up, he replied: “I want to be a tangawala”. In those days, a tanga or a horse-drawn carriage was the common means of transport. Young Narendra was so overjoyed at seeing how the tangawala (the driver) skilfully controlled the horses and manoeuvred the tanga that he desired to become one.

There are a couple of versions of this story, some say that this conversation happened between young Narendra and his Father, Vishwanath Datta in the presence of his mother, Bhuvaneshwari Devi; His father took the statement lightly; however, his mother, took young Narendra to the puja room and asked him if he really wanted to be a tangawala. Young Narendra was silent, upon which his mother got his attention to the picture of Lord Krishna being the charioteer of the mighty Arjuna in the Mahabharata war. She said, “Your wish to become a tangawala is not wrong; however, be like Krishna”.

In another version, it is said that his teacher at school had asked him this question in class. His teacher was stunned to hear the reply, and his classmates started making fun of him too. He felt bad and dejected. Back home after school, he told his mother of the incident at school. She quietly consoled him, led him to the puja room, pointed to the picture of the Lord Krishna as the charioteer of Arjun and said be a tangawala like Sri Krishna and lead the world.

The words left a deep mark on young Narendra, and the rest is history….. This story highlights the pivotal role a mother has in the upbringing of the child. It also highlights the role a mother plays in nurturing the ambition of a child. Many years later, Narendranath proudly said to an audience, “I am indebted to my mother for whatever knowledge I have acquired.”

There is an interesting story of young Narendranath Dutta, who later in life was known as Swami Vivekananda.

Read More