Child's Play? Memories of 'Nursery' Admissions

Sixteen years ago, as a young mother, I went through the Nursery school admission process.

The playschools coached us and the kids. They held special seminars before the admission season where experts came to give talks (and everyone from book publishers to health food and insurance companies sponsored the events). 

The school principal almost ‘forbade’ me to go to my hometown for my younger kids’ birth (in February) because the elder kid’s admission ‘season’ began in October of that year.

If you think I was ‘hyper’ to give in to the pressure, let me tell you that:

• One of the schools used to give out only a limited number of forms on a first-come, first-serve basis; starting from 8:00 am in the morning. People queued up from the previous night.
• A family we heard of, had converted to another religion to get their kids admitted in a sought-after school.
• People shift residences to meet the address criteria of well-known schools. To counter this, one of the schools wanted prospective parents to provide proof of residence for the previous five years. (Maybe that inspired the idea behind one of the most contentious bills in our country).
• here were coaching classes for three-year-olds and special sessions for parents. This was eighteen years ago, now I hear the kids don’t have any tests/interviews. Maybe the parents go through extra-special-sessions now.
• One of the schools had written tests for parents. Both parents had to appear for the same test, sitting in different rooms-I guess the answers were then compared. I wonder what they did after that.
• Application Forms asked for our qualifications, qualifications of maternal grandfather and grandmother, paternal grand grandfather and grandmother only.
• One form asked us to list the most important people we knew in the fields of education, music, sports, arts, etc.
• Most forms asked, “How can you contribute to the school?”
• I guess the question asking, “What make of cars your family owns?” wasn’t even surprising.

We went through that whole experience and managed to get the kid into a great school. We kept photocopies of all filled-in forms because I was pregnant and would need to start preparing for the other one soon.

Wow! This was such an awesome exercise in confidence building.

Of course, I can handle college admission. I can handle it twice too.

Resolutions have to wait-there's a Dance

My princesses were going to have their first Kathak performance.

And I just had to dance around them.

In these enlightened times of extra-curricular activities it was just one addition to the “everything from Samba and Ballet to Bollywood” performances. And with a 12-year experience in motherhood, I was well-prepared for just-another show.

When it comes to getting it right for the kids, we moms are always ready to go those extra miles and alleys we’ve never stepped into. Exploring Nahargarh ki Gali in Jaipur to get the “just-right” jewellery for the show didn’t seem too daunting.

For my kids-I could always do it.

After a crash course in costumes (what makes the Lehanga-flare cylindrical instead of conical), to hair-styling (how to make a bun with 4-inch long hair and how to make short-wavy hair look neatly classical), stitching bits of sponge behind “poky” edges of necklaces, and making make-up stay on a bunch of boisterous kids-my confidence did start quavering.

The humbling blow was the lesson on how not to use safety-pins, when I had to get a tetanus shot and a course of antibiotics, as my thumb turned septic after pinning half-a-dozen duppattas.

Would I ever do it again?

Any day!

Letting go

Sailing when the wind is high, riding out the king tide in a wind so strong that it snatches the rudder from your hands-yes that’s how the journey feels at times. Bringing up my two daughters, managing work and home is so like trying to stay vertical in a force nine gale-at times. 

There are spells in between when the wind becomes gentle, lifting us over the waves and carrying us over the years. But it still takes a lot of faith to lift my hands from the rudder and just float. 

I am trying to do that now. To regain a bit of my hardly existent sanity and to cruise at a slower pace. So many years of trying to control the winds from taking over my ship has done that. This blog is to share and seek support in becoming a better mother. {The best compliment I’ve had on this is from our Princess Aurora “Mamma, can you imagine, Mukul’s mother is worse than you!” Unimaginable Indeed!}