This is Abrie’s, (a member of our extended family) rocking horse. I clicked this snap more than a year back.
The rocking horse & rocking chair used to really, (to use a modern day term), ‘rock’ ! Now, thats something that i can vouch for, for i rocked them too !! Many ages ago. While the innocence of those times flood through sluices in my adult mind, the power that it generates floods the keypad for this post.
Randy Pauch is no more. But his articulation of childhood dreams continue to kindle and stoke the flame of ‘aliveness’ !!
As a child, i recall wanting to be a journalist, much to the smirks of my parents’ colleagues who thought of it as a ruse by a dimwit, to wriggle out of getting through to an engineering college !
I didnt do journalism. But did management (by volition. The case of the fork in the road, and me having to chose one) ! With that choice, I thought the journalism dream was dead ! The passion to write & reach out to the world, stayed. Many years later, this blog was born. Do take a look at the tagline beneath the title of this blog !
Several other small ones have come true. owning a car, wearing a tie, speaking in an international conference, winning a tournament et al.
And several large ones remain. Flying was a passion. Becoming a pilot ( those were the Rajiv Gandhi years ) and maneuvering through the clouds was a mystical dream. I continue to harbour that dream. Some day !
Traveling the world, and seeing the people, animals & living in strange cultures mentioned in the ‘Great Atlas of the World’, specially ordered by a loving father with a degage look, through VPP ( value payable post ) from Readers Digest, remains strong.
As a kid, your imagination is limited only by your power to do so. And the rocking horse reminds me of the free spirited & untethered imagination. Blue sky thinking that flows freely in smooth harmony. And when i look at the kids of today & the digital age in which they are in, i realise that their power to imagine & think can be far better leveraged.
The rocking chair may not curry favour any more. But, sure thing, the kids do rock !!
If only parents give them space to think, soak up nature, believe in their dreams, wonder in wander, dive into experiences, reflect over their days, learn from stories, play with fervour and read at leisure !
Is that asking for too much ?
Kavi,
Dreams change in every stage when you see things or under pressure. To some they make it a point this wat interests them and stick to that.
No.
you are not asking for too much..
btw, we had a rocking duck! I am not kidding you..
wish it was still there somewhere in the attic so I could at least snap a picture of it!
🙂
nice one.
Lovely rocking horse! About your dreams – hold on to them! There will be a day when you will realize them 🙂
Lakdi ki kaathi, kaathi pe ghoda…
I still remember the song and nowadays taare zameen par…
Nothing has changed only the PACE.
Hey! That’s great direct from the heart! I liked it… and where did u get this horse i am searching for it for a very very long time for Siddharth!
This post of yours reminded me few of my dreams and the level of energy in Siddharth! Great!
I remember i having one…rather vividly…yellow coloured. also remeber head getting snapped and it being promptly put in the attic of my granny’s house. years later i climbed to the attic to get a glance. but then its ages now…let me check if i can get hold of it then/
memories 🙂
You, sure, did dream. No wonder you keep venturing into unchartered waters. I am sure there is more to come.
I am sure, “childhood” of my generation (70’s) did rock as there were not many toys. No TV. Is that a blessing or a curse? To think of it now, it is definitely a blessing. Most families have a mountain of toys for kids and the kids in today’s world don’t seem to rock as much as we did.
Like you rightly said, we need to give them the space to rock and show them what joy is all about rather than buying happiness that shortlives.
me meeeeeeee me tooo
Yes, I wanted to be a journalist, but no one supported me .. even my parents, their only no towards my career and education …
I would have done a course, even without any support but there were some family situations and I was forced to start working as soon as I finished my college…
and yea… this horse thing is the only memory I have about my nursery school … it was behind the church I remember… and we had to wait in queue to ride on this..
in essense that’s exactly whats needed from the parents, to provide a chance for dream. environments can defy the chances, but the true will is from inside, hence environments are not very important, the true chance comes when some doors are purposely left often. and this is made available to everyone. its a sad notion many will pass on without realizing their dreams, but its an assurance at least we can dream of giving the next generation that chance of achieving it.
and in readers digest too that I read about a costa rican child who became an astronaut and flew 7 times…and that being from where he came from is an achievement that was brought forward by opening the right doors… discovery. 🙂
http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/chang.html