Destination Moon

 Dear Koko, 

There is something truly out of this world about space travel, isn't it a wonder? Day before yesterday, India became the fourth nation to land on the moon and the first to land on the dark side of the moon. 

The entire experience of the Chandrayaan III had captured your imagination quite a bit. And not just you, but I can see the excitement and wonder with which all children have been talking about it.



I was fortunate to have witnessed this even with you, I could feel your excitement, your heart beating faster as the countdown to the touchdown began. The way in which you had devoured the newspapers the last few days, knowing every detail about previous space sojourns by India was amazing to watch. 

I, and I am sure so many others, hope that this will be a seminal point in the history of our nation. This will ignite many many young minds like yours. I am lucky to have witnessed the point at which these minds were ignited, the moment when there was that special shine in your eyes, the new way you all looked at the moon. 

You all are too young to understand propaganda and politics, but the pride in your nation that you have is pure. The excitement with which you speak about ISRO and how we are in the same city as these scientists, your sudden interest in IISC would make your Dadu so proud of you today. I am just filled with gratitude, and I hope some of these young stars go on to achieve even greater feats in the future. To a brighter tomorrow!

Love,

Ma

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Elementary, my dear Koko

Image
When I ask you how was school You smile, or frown, or play around You don't have the patience To recall the names of your friends, or teachers A slight yes here, and a no there That is all I know of your school Then I play Holmes And rummage your bag Or your pockets or almanac Do I see some sand on your bag? So you've been to the park Again rolling about Now, I'd need to wash your uniform again Do I see a toffee wrapper in your pocket? Must have been someone's birthday Do I see some paint on your pants? Some serious painting must be going on Is that some chutney on your napkin? So you're sharing food with your friends  When I ask you these to confirm You're wide-eyed  in awe I smile, it's elementary my dear Koko.
Read more

The Usual

Image
Dear Koko, I have been highly irregular, but then life has been highly irregular the last couple of months - no about a year now?  I am sorry you had to see all this now. Now when you should be going to school and filling up your pocket with sand and share everything with your friends. Instead we are teaching you to be wary of people, stay away from them, not shake hands, not hug, not share. What a strange world it is! The other day I was telling you to sit and complete your homework. I know homework is such a chore for you. You don't want to do it. You'd rather watch TV and play video games. I used to get very irate initially (full disclosure - I still do) when I'd want you to read and paint and you sneak out for some TV time.  I think to myself, watching so much TV will fry your brain. But then wouldn't this crazy loneliness too? This weird time when both parents are home but hey can't give you focused attention for whatever reason (work mostly, or their own sanit...
Read more

The 2024 Euro Trip: Chapter 1 - Take Off!

Image
 Dear Koko,  I would say I had the privilege of travelling with the most enthusiastic 9 YO ever on the most high-octane Euro trip ever. While we wanted to be lazy and relaxed, we ended up packing our days with so much to do, and you kept up at every step. There was never a complaint from you. I am so happy that you adjusted so fast and so well. I know you had a lot of fun, so did I. In fact we had so much fun that one letter would not justify what we did.  I had in fact kept in mind about our letters so I had kept a short journal of sorts, which I will now transfer to your letters. So here is the first in the series. Let us start at the beginning. This trip did not start now when we took our flight and set foot far away from home. This vacation started months ago when we first started planning. Each of us had opinions which were tugging us in three different directions so zeroing in one place which covers all our interest areas was the first hurdle to cross.  Once we...
Read more