Off The Cuff: A wry look at life

Out of the mouths of babes. The word 'babes' here not referring to the kind that elicit wolf-whistles. But to children. Who know how to get to the crux of the matter. No pussyfooting here. Saying what they feel. Their spontaneous reactions a delight to hear as they dispense great pearls of wisdom with utter conviction.

I am reminded of a niece who had this penchant for coming out with the most delightful observations. For example, she was in primary school and about to be introduced to the subject of general science. Her class teacher was telling the class about the subject that they would be studying for the first time. But she was stopped in her tracks with a firm 'No' voiced by this little girl. Surprised, the teacher asked her what was wrong. Didn't she want to learn a new subject. Now the spotlight was on her. Her classmates staring at her as if she were a strange object. But she stuck to her guns. And stood up to say with great conviction, "No, Ma'am. We can't study general science. We must start with lieutenant science, then captain science, then major science and then colonel..."

But she stopped when she saw the amusement on her teacher's face. Indignant, she sat down. Refused to complete her explanation. The rest of the class took time to understand her line of reasoning. But it didn't take long. After all, it was an army school and all of them shared a similar background. The teacher was so taken up with the answer that she went around telling everyone she knew about it. And that's how word got back to the family of this little girl.

The minds of children aren't cluttered with the baggage that we adults are burdened with. Their way of looking at life so much simpler and yet making so much sense. They see through to the heart of things.

My sister-in-law, who was living with us at one point in time, had just received the sad news of her father's death. She sat in her room, tears silently coursing down her face as she recalled happier moments spent with him. Just then her daughter entered the room. Stopped short at the unfamiliar sight of her mother in tears. Asked what was wrong. Her mother told her that she was sad as her father had died. The little girl looked at her for a moment. Thought over it for a minute. And then said, what are you sad about. You still have one daddy left (in reference to the paternal grandfather).

Words that dried her mother's tears as she puzzled over this pearl of wisdom.

And then there's the time that this same little girl was travelling in a rickshaw with an aunt in Chandigarh, a city divided into sectors, each with a number. Her parents happened to live in Sector 21. The rickshaw man asked in Hindi which sector did they want. The aunt replied Ikkis, which is 21 in Hindi. The rickshaw man didn't seem to have heard correctly the first time. So she repeated herself. The little girl was soon convulsed with laughter. A bewildered aunt couldn't get her to stop laughing to explain what had amused her so.

On reaching home, the girl jumped out of the rickshaw to tell her mother that her aunt kept asking the rickshawman for a kiss, and not just once but twice. Her basic knowledge of Hindi said it all. Ik to her untutored ear sounding like Ek which is 'one' in Hindi. And the second half of the word interpreted as the English word 'kiss'.

I miss that little girl. What happened to her? Well, she grew up much too soon.