Growing Up - Voice of Delhi 2015
'Im the youngest of 10 children'.
Thats one statement iv made a LOT!
I cant tell you how much iv enjoyed the different kinds of expressions iv got in response to this. 1. Cousins right? 2. Are you serious? 3. Wow! 4. The ones who don't react cos theyre worried it may upset me are the funniest!!!
My parents come from the 1930's set of catholic malayalees. Papa, a humble govt servant, firmly beleived children are a gift of God and He provides all thats needed for their upbringing. So we started joining the pack one at a time!
Even though as numbers increased there were some challenges, I must tell you it certainly was a lot of fun. We had a lot in common. Reading was one! And being the youngest I had the most wonderful access to a huge variety of books which my seniors brought in. So once my Library book was over I'd wait till the others finished theirs so I could read it. Really cant blame myself for reading Nancy drews in 4th grade and Ayn Rand in 8th! Sometimes we would even read books together, holding either side of the book as we lay!
Our lives were very orderly.
Got up at 530, got ready for school, had roti subzi and milk and left for school by 630. Mummy would pack all our lunchboxes!! Most of my uniforms, clothes, sweaters were stitched by my mum. Yes she was/is a superwoman. We were back from school by 230,had lunch and from 330 was homework time(so that mum could take a nap!!). By 530 we left all pretense of studying and leapt out to play as mummy prepared some evening snack and milk.
Since we were quite a handful we rarely lacked playing partners. Cricket, football, stapoo, kho, hockey, hide n seek, pakdam pakdai, chain, dumbcharades, chess, carrom, Cards we played them all! Thankfully we didnt have cable tv until I passed out of 12th so we all knew how to have fun without having a gadget to depend on!
Sharp at 830pm was prayer time which consisted of a Rosary, Bible reading and a song at the end. 9pm was dinner and 10pm bedtime. We even had a fixed menu! Thursdays was liver, Fridays egg curry, Saturday's fish curry and Sundays beef!
When I look back what I find truly amazing was the unchanging schedule. There never was a day when we didnt get tiffin, or didnt pray, or missed school or church!
My parents had great strength of character and depended deeply on God. I never heard them speak ill of a single person and were honest to the core. Papa taught us to be independent and build our own lives while mummy helped us learn to be content with what we had.
Now when I look at how couples struggle to bring up even 2 children, and widen their eyes in horror at the mention of a 3rd I know it was truly God and my parents unshaken faith in Him that pulled us through. I wouldn't exchange this fantastic experience for anything in the world.
Thats one statement iv made a LOT!
I cant tell you how much iv enjoyed the different kinds of expressions iv got in response to this. 1. Cousins right? 2. Are you serious? 3. Wow! 4. The ones who don't react cos theyre worried it may upset me are the funniest!!!
My parents come from the 1930's set of catholic malayalees. Papa, a humble govt servant, firmly beleived children are a gift of God and He provides all thats needed for their upbringing. So we started joining the pack one at a time!
Even though as numbers increased there were some challenges, I must tell you it certainly was a lot of fun. We had a lot in common. Reading was one! And being the youngest I had the most wonderful access to a huge variety of books which my seniors brought in. So once my Library book was over I'd wait till the others finished theirs so I could read it. Really cant blame myself for reading Nancy drews in 4th grade and Ayn Rand in 8th! Sometimes we would even read books together, holding either side of the book as we lay!
Our lives were very orderly.
Got up at 530, got ready for school, had roti subzi and milk and left for school by 630. Mummy would pack all our lunchboxes!! Most of my uniforms, clothes, sweaters were stitched by my mum. Yes she was/is a superwoman. We were back from school by 230,had lunch and from 330 was homework time(so that mum could take a nap!!). By 530 we left all pretense of studying and leapt out to play as mummy prepared some evening snack and milk.
Since we were quite a handful we rarely lacked playing partners. Cricket, football, stapoo, kho, hockey, hide n seek, pakdam pakdai, chain, dumbcharades, chess, carrom, Cards we played them all! Thankfully we didnt have cable tv until I passed out of 12th so we all knew how to have fun without having a gadget to depend on!
Sharp at 830pm was prayer time which consisted of a Rosary, Bible reading and a song at the end. 9pm was dinner and 10pm bedtime. We even had a fixed menu! Thursdays was liver, Fridays egg curry, Saturday's fish curry and Sundays beef!
When I look back what I find truly amazing was the unchanging schedule. There never was a day when we didnt get tiffin, or didnt pray, or missed school or church!
My parents had great strength of character and depended deeply on God. I never heard them speak ill of a single person and were honest to the core. Papa taught us to be independent and build our own lives while mummy helped us learn to be content with what we had.
Now when I look at how couples struggle to bring up even 2 children, and widen their eyes in horror at the mention of a 3rd I know it was truly God and my parents unshaken faith in Him that pulled us through. I wouldn't exchange this fantastic experience for anything in the world.
Imagine having 9 rock solid friends to live and enjoy life with ,not to mention
the experience of being brought up by the best people in the world! Priceless!
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