Looking through the tear drop
That refused to fall off from my eyes
Clinging on to my eyelashes
It just held there my sigh
Looking back at the glass of mirror
That now lay broken, shattered
I stood thinking, reeling over and over again
To what just happened
Rushing, running, I had reached out to the door
Pushing strongly,
Breathless to see what happened inside
Those bright red drops,
Dripping onto the velvet carpet
From the pink pout of my own
Scooping my child
I ran to those white angels
They said they’ll try their best
To give me back my happiness
And after a very long time
I knelt and prayed
Prayed to all the Gods
And to the Universe
To take my life and let my heart live
My heart did beat
And as I counted the passing seconds
“I’m sorry, we tried our level best”
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Thursday, September 2, 2010
what work does your father do?
The reason for giving such a title to my post is because this is the very same question which prompted me to write a blog post after a very long time.
I teach as a part time job. And also earn. To one of my students, who is in the second standard, one day, I was teaching a lesson -Family. After reading the chapter, I had told him to answer the questions given at the end of the lesson. He was beautifully answering all the questions when suddenly he came across a question for which he had no answer- what work does your father do?
He interrupted me and asked what to write as an answer. Now, let me inform you all that his father is unemployed and his mother is the breadwinner of the family. He continued staring at me blankly. I too had no clue as to what to say or do so I stupidly read the question out to him again- what work does your father do? When I knew that his father doesn’t do anything.
After an awkward pause, I asked him to answer the next question presuming there must be something about the mother’s job. But alas! None! No question about what work the mother might be doing! THAT led me to muse on this subject.
There are two questions that disturbed me.
One, Is it so easily assumed that a woman cannot be the sole earner in a family? It has also seeped into academics. It is almost like telling the kids that your father’s job holds more importance than your mother’s. What fueled my annoyance was the fact that there wasn’t any mention of the mother’s job in the book. And ironically, the lesson was named “Family”.
Two, even if the mother is working, is her job of less worth than her husband’s that it doesn’t even find place to be mentioned in an EVS book?
Why isn’t it still acceptable that a woman does work? That she also earns? And that her job is also important?
Why is it hard to digest that a man doesn’t work and that the mother is the one who earns for the family?
Moreover why is it so easily assumed that the father must be working?
I have no answers.
I have nothing to conclude.
I teach as a part time job. And also earn. To one of my students, who is in the second standard, one day, I was teaching a lesson -Family. After reading the chapter, I had told him to answer the questions given at the end of the lesson. He was beautifully answering all the questions when suddenly he came across a question for which he had no answer- what work does your father do?
He interrupted me and asked what to write as an answer. Now, let me inform you all that his father is unemployed and his mother is the breadwinner of the family. He continued staring at me blankly. I too had no clue as to what to say or do so I stupidly read the question out to him again- what work does your father do? When I knew that his father doesn’t do anything.
After an awkward pause, I asked him to answer the next question presuming there must be something about the mother’s job. But alas! None! No question about what work the mother might be doing! THAT led me to muse on this subject.
There are two questions that disturbed me.
One, Is it so easily assumed that a woman cannot be the sole earner in a family? It has also seeped into academics. It is almost like telling the kids that your father’s job holds more importance than your mother’s. What fueled my annoyance was the fact that there wasn’t any mention of the mother’s job in the book. And ironically, the lesson was named “Family”.
Two, even if the mother is working, is her job of less worth than her husband’s that it doesn’t even find place to be mentioned in an EVS book?
Why isn’t it still acceptable that a woman does work? That she also earns? And that her job is also important?
Why is it hard to digest that a man doesn’t work and that the mother is the one who earns for the family?
Moreover why is it so easily assumed that the father must be working?
I have no answers.
I have nothing to conclude.
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