The Momma Clan

Daughter Tale 1:

My four-year-old daughter Disha back then used to share with me some of the most amazing and amusing stories firsthand, during her early childhood years.

Often at home, she narrated a fairy tale with pictures shown in the storytelling sessions in her kindergarten. She used to listen to all of them with rapt attention. 

Though she had adored most of the Disney cartoon characters and the Disney fairy princesses, the one who stood out from the rest was brave and charming Princess Jasmine.  

The day she used to return to home merrily with a spring in her steps, I could make out from a distance… that her Ma’am must have shared a new story in the classroom.

“Mumma… today Ma’am told us the story of Aladdin. Last week she told us about The Jungle Book, which was also very interesting.” With a lot of animation in her gestures, my little one explained.

“Ok beta… what did you find so interesting about Aladdin?” I had curiously asked.

“Mumma… I felt as if I’m Princess Jasmine myself, moving around her palace with her pet tiger.” She exclaimed and then ran outside to bring in our six-month-old pet Labrador by holding its latch. 🐱 

“This is Princess’s pet.” She beamed.

“Ohh… isn’t the tiger too black, my dear?” I tried to correct her, pointing out the silky black color of our Labrador dog.

“But Mumma… There is a small change in the story. Princess’s pet is no more a tiger now, but the silky black Bagheera of The Jungle Book.” She said with excitement, caressing our Labrador Jennie. 🐱 

“Ohh wow… mixing up the stories of Aladdin and The Jungle Book.” I couldn’t stop smiling at her and her pet Bagheera.

“Yes, Mumma… I wanted to feel like a princess, moving around with her pet. And our Jennie is the best pet. She’s black, she too remains silent and is loyal just like Mowgli’s Bagheera.” 

She kept on counting the qualities of her new loyal and royal mate. More than Aladdin and his lamp, my daughter had found Princess Jasmine and her pet to be fascinating. Not that she didn’t adore our pet dog Jennie before, but this time she was doubly proud to own her. 🐱 

My little one repeated the same tale in front of her father, her Granny, and her uncle (my brother-in-law) when they returned home from an event. This was going to be repeated in her school the next day, and also before the guests who arrived at our home in the coming days and weeks ahead.

I was happy to know that Disha had found a reason to be proud of, and cheerfully shared with her teachers and friends alike at the kindergarten, about her renewed obsession.

Her fondness for Bagheera (the elusive black panther of the famous children’s book) and Princess Jasmine grew much stronger, when a couple of months later those days, she got to see the animated movies of both Aladdin and The Jungle Book, on national television. 😍

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Daughter Tale- 2:

Disha was a bit of a bully and a feisty chatterbox in her nursery school back then. And was reprimanded by her teacher for talking non-stop with her classmates one day.

I had no qualms about my kiddo’s ear being pulled up by her Ma’am for breaking the discipline in the class. It served her right. But the way she reacted and what she said to her Ma’am left me embarrassed to no end. 🙈

Her teacher during the parents’ teachers meeting had said that when she scolded and pulled her ear, with wide eyes this girl had the temerity to tell her,

“I will let my doggy bite you for this!!”

Hearing that I instantly whacked the back of my offending munchkin, in front of her teacher. But instead of sulking, this naughty girl grinned and ran away from my clutches and the room too.

On her behalf, I apologized to the teacher, who said that it was the only single instance when Disha had uttered threatening words. Otherwise, she was a decent kid, grasping everything well that was being taught in the class.

I heaved a sigh of relief, after knowing that. But I was also told to keep the kid happy at home. Often, the children vent their frustrations outside, if they feel dissatisfied at home. 

I took the teacher’s advice seriously. Though I was unable to tell her that in my house, all of my in-laws including my husband usually speak loudly, laugh loudly and quarrel loudly too. Eventually, Disha had acquired that peculiar family trait. 🙈

When I reported this to my family members at home, they all had a hearty laugh.

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Daughter Tale- 3:

On our trip to our ancestral home of my father-in-law in a village, Disha encountered a family of hen, cock, and their chicks. She enjoyed roaming freely in the backyard where there was a hen’s pen.

When we arrived there, the hen had laid out four eggs, which it had carefully hidden with straws for hatching. I told Disha that this hen would become Mumma soon when the chicks would come out of those eggs.

My girl became curious and pondered for a while. With a straight face, she then said to me something which bewildered me beyond words. 🙈

“You are also a mom, aren’t you? Then why did you give birth to me alone? If you had given birth to 3-4 babies together, how much fun it would have been? Is it not, Mumma?”

Sheepishly I had looked sideways. One of my younger sisters-in-law, who was with us, roared with laughter. I pleaded with her not to report my kiddo’s lecture to anybody inside the home. 🙈

Aww… from the child’s big mouth… Whatever we listen to their conversations during childhood makes us laugh and surprises us to no end. And these dialogues spoken so innocently remain etched in our sweet memories for a lifetime.😍

-Shashi Thakur