In my other avatar as Jambav evangelist, I recently posted in the Jambav Jottings blog about Dhil-bert and Spasmodic Dysphonia. It is a rare condition that affects speech, and I was in fact shocked to know that Scott Adams, the creator of the comic strip, even had that problem, and was glad that he had overcome it, at least temporarily. Do read that link quoted above, for further details.

Meanwhile, I spent more time at that page (it is a very very long page, be warned!) and read almost every comment there, to see what made people happy! You see, Scott had ended his blogpost that day, inviting his readers to share their happy moments.

 What thrilled me was the number of people who came there to say, their happiest moment was when their child was born. Don't believe me? Go to this original blog post if you want, and do a search for the phrases "son", "baby", "daughter" etc, and you will know.

Six years ago, I might have thought this was all mushy emotional bullshit. But, now, I know better.
I think the gift of parenting, the chance that the Maker gives you to create life and nurture it and grow it so that someday you will be proud of it, is a gift like no other.

• It is the only post you can't "earn" by bribing, stealing, copying, backstabbing, palm-greasing.
• It is the only post you can't retire from either! It is a lifelong commitment!
• It is also the only post where you can't switch off (like you do with your official work once you reach home!).

So, it is quite interesting that so many people (almost half of those 1400 odd commenters at the Dilbert blog that day) have singled out becoming a parent, and being hugged selflessly by a toddler as one of their happiest moments.

I am proud to be a parent, and I wish and hope that someday, my son Aditya is proud too, that we (my wife and I) were his parents!

Rajendran.
P.S:- About the photo, it is one of 278 we shot during a five-day vacation to Kerala, in the southern tip of India. Here is the full set.

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We saw  two full-length kid DVDs over the weekend, my son and I.

Cars, an all-graphics, all-cartoon, all-3d, all Disney/Pixar oozing animation movie that hit the theaters just two months or so ago.
and,
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, a forty-year-old evergreen kids movie, interestingly created by the same person who created James Bond, yes, Ian Fleming!

And, guess which one he really sat from start to finish?
Which movie made him hum the tunes?
At the end of which he popped up a real stunner question, asking if there was a "Part 2" to it?

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang!



And, thinking back, I realized, I mustn't be so surprised.

Over time, movies for 'kids' have become movies for adults who think they are kids.
And, the whole game changes then.
There have to be endless technological innovation, photorealistic rendering of images, wisecracks aplenty, allusions to politics and sports and current affairs and OTHER MOVIES (just watch Shrek, you will know!) and so on, a love affair (for Godssake), and at least four rich-and-famous Hollywood actors giving their voice talents...
Gone are the days when a kids movie really meant it was for kids. Plain simple slapstick fun, soulful tunes, lots of comedy, some magic, and a strong but simple Good-Over-Evil storyline.

Yes, the cars in Cars were faster, better, and even TALKED!
Chitty Chitty was just a sputtering old tincan in comparison.
But, the fun my son had, and I myself (when I secretly re-ran the movie on the DVD later in the middle of the night), has a message for all of us, I guess.

I could even stretch this analogy of the Old versus New to toys that kids play with, books they get to read, programs on television, etc, etc. But, I will leave it to you all to think about it.

Old might not be always gold, but nor is all that glitters!

Rajendran.

I am a regular reader of a blog by Kathy Sierra, called the "Creating Passionate Users" blog.
After all, in my other avatar as team member for Jambav, I have a lot to manage, deliver, integrate and plan.

But, it is quite interesting, in how many unusual places you can find nuggets for parenting, if only you look.

Take this blog post by Kathy for example. She talks about how some managers end up SAYING they want mavericks, but actually secretly wish they get automatons.
Very interesting - Read here.

What was more interesting though, was Kathy's final twist about how parenting is quite similar to management!
This is what she says:-

And while I'm here... parents do this as well. Admit it. We have all wished that our children (for whom we worked so hard to instill a fierce independence) would be strong-willed, exuberant, questioning--everywhere but at home. I've never really wanted Skyler to be a robot, but oh how I've wished for a robot mode... ; )

Rajendran.

Visiting my son's school, watching him play with friends in the neighbourhood, surviving his hundred questions about common (for us!) things like why is the moon following me when I walk along, observing his tantrums at the dinner table, listening to him talk about incidents with schoolmates (like when he described a fullscale fight with classmates because somebody mocked at him in front of his very close girlfriend at school), I get a very interesting realization.

I realize now, that for the first time in his life, Aditya has grown to a point where I can have deja vus..

I remember stories of amazing kids (yes, there is one like that right here in Chennai) who say the first thing they remember is THEIR MOM BEING WHEELED INTO THE OPERATING THEATRE!!
I also remember stories of boys and girls whose earliest memories date back to middle school, and before that, it is one general vague grey screen.
For me, personally, my earliest remembrances are of my first-standard (Grade I) at school. This school doesn't even exist now! (Called Mahalakshmi School, in Besant Nagar, Chennai, India). And, I suddenly realized, hey, my son is at Grade I too!

Starting NOW, I am going to be able to relate to everything he does, talks, thinks, writes, with memories from my own sepia past. I don't know if it is good or bad, I don't know if I am going to be enjoying it or not, but given the unavoidable nature of this thing, I might as well sit back and enjoy the sequel play itself out.

Aditya! Here I come! With stories of how I myself handled all the interesting challenges you are going to be facing in your own life. (Yeah, I didn't have GMail back then, but so what! You don't have a mango tree in your backyard to steal from either!!)

Rajendran.
P.S:- A note on the photo up on top. The left, my dad and myself, circa 1976. The right, my son, and my good friend from Australia, Mr. Dean Ernst, circa 2006.