Kallola

Also published  by  North BangalorePost  on June 29, 2018, in light of WHO declaring gaming a mental disorder . Two media reports on WHO including 'gaming disorder' in its International Roster of Disease , a school advisory and a massive hoarding for an online coaching course, got me thinking on my way back from school-drop.  My Son is high on the success of a social media campaign  and app which he believes has given him purpose in life. He is 16, runs his own not-for-profit website and does a lot of his homework on the laptop. But he is a kid at the same time and sneaks in the extra wandering in cyber space. He is far from addicted to any sort of gaming, but when on a digital high, he will not accept that his sudden bouts of unexplained irritability, fatigue or even a dull throb in his head could be related to prolonged screen-time . He will not consider, without a fight, that football on the field need not be followed up with team-trading o...

Emirates Parent Plus. December 2010 As usual, it began with a bang! There were tears, there was loud ranting. There were ground teeth. There was a lot of huffing and puffing. There would have been retaliation too, but this time good sense prevailed upon me. And had he clenched his fists any tighter, I am certain his fingers would have come through the other side! My crime of the day: Cutting the chart paper into the “wrong kind of half”!! “Argggggh!” Wanted: 'Natural', diagonal half.  I dared: 'Silly', rectangular half straight down the middle. He was right. There is no way, “this can be made right”! And even the stationer was closed for the day, so a quick replacement was out of the question. This is one of those occasions when it is best to stay very quiet and adopt a reverse conduct – do as told and do as expected (mind read, if that’s what it takes!). So I kept very quiet and hoping that it would appease him a bit, I laid out his colour cards, his paints...

Emirates Parent Plus. July 2010 It was a sunny afternoon. A surprise in itself, the day ahead provided us more. Bright faced and in increasing order of height, we, ten women, one man and fourteen children, trudged into the room, boys in one file and girls in the other. Sunlight flooded in from windows on the outer wall. I followed the girls and filled the benches on that side of the room. The boys sat on the other side. That is because, girls did needlework and such nimble activity needed all available light. Boys were given the rough bits like carpentry – not so intricate and less strenuous to the eye. During the rest of the day, all those below the age of seven wrote on slates; others wrote with metal-nib pens dipped in ink contained in small ceramic troughs built into the desks. All implements of use, like blotters, rag cloths and booklets were provided and had to be tidied away for the next time. The rules: 1. Silence. 2. Speak when spoken to. 3. Sit with your back strai...

Emirates Parent Plus. May 2010. At the end of her first day in grade-I at a local school in China, Ma Xiuxian thanked her teacher and five year-old classmates. A front-bencher, Ma, promised to study hard and contribute to the country. She is 102 years old. Starting work in a cotton mill at 13, she was married at 18 and has produced nine children, seven of whom she has seen through to university. One would think Ma’s contribution to the country was complete many times over but there seems to be more in her arsenal; and she’s not beginning to hold back now. For the family, she sold much of her jewellery. For herself, she caressed a dream. That dream has now come true. This is not something many of us can even comprehend. But ingest this: Ma Xiuxian, at 102, is not just one of the eldest living people on earth, she is its oldest formal student – a first grader with 12 more years of schooling to complete. Her reasons, whatever they might be, can only inspire. In April 2010, a ver...