This happened a month or more ago. Sheena was returning from work & had boarded a train at Trivandrum Central and managed to find a seat and was looking forward to an uneventful 1-hour ride home. A lady boards the same compartment with her kids and they take some time to settle down in the available seats.
The lady is speaking Tamil and having spent quite some time in Chennai, Sheena can understand the language and can even hold a conversation. The lady is getting out foodstuffs / drinks for the kids to have during the journey and is addressing the kids very lovingly as Kanna, which is a synonym for Krishna and a common petname used by folks in Tamilnadu. Actually the other week, I heard my sister call her son as Kanna, and we are Christians. :-)
Anyway, what follows is a constant litany of "Kanna, come have this" or "Kanna, drink this" or "Kanna, why don't you go to the upper berth and lie down?" etc. Sheena sees how sweetly the lady is addressing her kids and mininstering to their needs with patience and starts feeling guilty thinking of the times when she has been angry with Aman/Ishaan or when she had berated them. Guilt turns to a silent determination to avoid hurting the kids and to instead be more patient with them henceforth.
Only a few more minutes for the train to depart and Sheena is lost in her thoughts of more loving child-rearing when someone sitting nearby mentions the destination of the train as part of their conversation. And that is when the afore-mentioned lady learns that she has boarded the wrong train. She panics because in a minute or so the train will leave before which she has to get off the train with the now stowed away luggage and the kids.
She urgently asks the kids to get their stuff together and get off the train. The kids, oblivious to the mistake Mom has made, neither comprehend the situation nor the urgency and just sit there wide-eyed, wondering what has happened to Mommy dear. Having lost all patience and in her panic, Mom comes into her true self and starts blasting the kids. The endearing "Kanna" has now been replaced with "Naaye", "Kazudhai" etc. Somehow she manages to drag the kids out of the train just as it slowly pulls away from the station.
It is now Sheena's turn to sit there wide-eyed after seeing the transformation of the woman from a loving, gentle Mom to someone possessed. It hits her that it is OK to admonish the kids depending on the situation and there is no reason to feel guilty after getting a brief & incomplete glimpse into someone else's life.
The lady is speaking Tamil and having spent quite some time in Chennai, Sheena can understand the language and can even hold a conversation. The lady is getting out foodstuffs / drinks for the kids to have during the journey and is addressing the kids very lovingly as Kanna, which is a synonym for Krishna and a common petname used by folks in Tamilnadu. Actually the other week, I heard my sister call her son as Kanna, and we are Christians. :-)
Anyway, what follows is a constant litany of "Kanna, come have this" or "Kanna, drink this" or "Kanna, why don't you go to the upper berth and lie down?" etc. Sheena sees how sweetly the lady is addressing her kids and mininstering to their needs with patience and starts feeling guilty thinking of the times when she has been angry with Aman/Ishaan or when she had berated them. Guilt turns to a silent determination to avoid hurting the kids and to instead be more patient with them henceforth.
Only a few more minutes for the train to depart and Sheena is lost in her thoughts of more loving child-rearing when someone sitting nearby mentions the destination of the train as part of their conversation. And that is when the afore-mentioned lady learns that she has boarded the wrong train. She panics because in a minute or so the train will leave before which she has to get off the train with the now stowed away luggage and the kids.
She urgently asks the kids to get their stuff together and get off the train. The kids, oblivious to the mistake Mom has made, neither comprehend the situation nor the urgency and just sit there wide-eyed, wondering what has happened to Mommy dear. Having lost all patience and in her panic, Mom comes into her true self and starts blasting the kids. The endearing "Kanna" has now been replaced with "Naaye", "Kazudhai" etc. Somehow she manages to drag the kids out of the train just as it slowly pulls away from the station.
It is now Sheena's turn to sit there wide-eyed after seeing the transformation of the woman from a loving, gentle Mom to someone possessed. It hits her that it is OK to admonish the kids depending on the situation and there is no reason to feel guilty after getting a brief & incomplete glimpse into someone else's life.
