It was a lovely Sunday. Bright, sunny, crisp with the smell of winter wafting in. Nothing on my mind, no errands to run. Just the sounds of a city humming on a lazy Sunday afternoon. And mindless chatter over a lovely lunch with newly acquired friends at UB City.
It's impossible to resist the open-air cafe's despite them being trapped in a building full of the YSLs and Jimi Choos who I honestly don't give a damn about or would not want to fund in anyway directly or otherwise (read visit the cafe's). I can't help but lament at the fact that there aren't more of such lovely places outside this trap. Bangalore has such lovely weather. Well for most parts, at least. Open spaces are not impossible to find in the heart of the city, and yet, for some god forsaken reason, bookshops, cafes, restaurants, and even the BBMP doesn't see the sense in capitalising on the loveliness. It's open, with fresh air...almost. Places to walk, places to sit and just be. And mostly without having to spend money. And no place for the kiddies to have a ball.
In fact, it's a shame that even the little water fountain at Mallaya's mall 'forbids' people from entering with a menacing sign right in the centre that reads 'This is a fountain, not a shower. Please do not enter'. And if kids are not supposed to freak out while their parents have a lazy brunch or lunch or whatever, what are they supposed to do? Sit staid? Oh no. Even that's not an option here. My friend said "These are stairs, not chairs". I started looking for the sign. It wasn't there, but then there was the guard who did the honours of showing people the door.
Coming to children, which is what got me to first start writing, it's an absolute shame that there is no place for children to roll in the mud, jump into puddles, big slides, squeaky swings and see-saws in open public gardens where you have all sorts of people coming - tall, short, dark, not-so-fair, wealthy, not-so-wealthy... you get the drift. Where on Earth are young minds supposed to develop? In malls, playing hide-n-seek behind clothes and changing rooms? Because that's where I seem to see them for most part. Bored to death, and finding ways to entertain themselves. But not allowing it to grow, parents know just how effectively to kill brain cells. Theirs and that of their children.
Once I noticed a two-week baby being brought into a shopping area by a lady painted and propped on stilts. I could be wrong, but that did not look like any emergency. That's not to say, parents must have kids and be strapped in the house, no. But 'play' with children their own age, older kids, parents, with toys, making and breaking things, falling, learning all of it is some of the most crucial things for a child's development. If not cycling or playing badminton, I would be playing scrabble or reading at home. Until I went to college, I don't recall where my clothes, shoes, toys or any of my parent's came from. The priority at that point was play.
It was only later, when as a part of the Kids for Tigers' programme, I spoke about how the first two years in the life of a tiger are so crucial. It's the time the cub explores the world through 'play', which play an instrumental role in the the tiger's adult life. The same goes for any species on the planet, including homo sapiens.
In fact, I just learned, through a rather life-altering experience called theatre on the importance of play through adult life. But then that affords another entry.
It's impossible to resist the open-air cafe's despite them being trapped in a building full of the YSLs and Jimi Choos who I honestly don't give a damn about or would not want to fund in anyway directly or otherwise (read visit the cafe's). I can't help but lament at the fact that there aren't more of such lovely places outside this trap. Bangalore has such lovely weather. Well for most parts, at least. Open spaces are not impossible to find in the heart of the city, and yet, for some god forsaken reason, bookshops, cafes, restaurants, and even the BBMP doesn't see the sense in capitalising on the loveliness. It's open, with fresh air...almost. Places to walk, places to sit and just be. And mostly without having to spend money. And no place for the kiddies to have a ball.
In fact, it's a shame that even the little water fountain at Mallaya's mall 'forbids' people from entering with a menacing sign right in the centre that reads 'This is a fountain, not a shower. Please do not enter'. And if kids are not supposed to freak out while their parents have a lazy brunch or lunch or whatever, what are they supposed to do? Sit staid? Oh no. Even that's not an option here. My friend said "These are stairs, not chairs". I started looking for the sign. It wasn't there, but then there was the guard who did the honours of showing people the door.
Coming to children, which is what got me to first start writing, it's an absolute shame that there is no place for children to roll in the mud, jump into puddles, big slides, squeaky swings and see-saws in open public gardens where you have all sorts of people coming - tall, short, dark, not-so-fair, wealthy, not-so-wealthy... you get the drift. Where on Earth are young minds supposed to develop? In malls, playing hide-n-seek behind clothes and changing rooms? Because that's where I seem to see them for most part. Bored to death, and finding ways to entertain themselves. But not allowing it to grow, parents know just how effectively to kill brain cells. Theirs and that of their children.
Once I noticed a two-week baby being brought into a shopping area by a lady painted and propped on stilts. I could be wrong, but that did not look like any emergency. That's not to say, parents must have kids and be strapped in the house, no. But 'play' with children their own age, older kids, parents, with toys, making and breaking things, falling, learning all of it is some of the most crucial things for a child's development. If not cycling or playing badminton, I would be playing scrabble or reading at home. Until I went to college, I don't recall where my clothes, shoes, toys or any of my parent's came from. The priority at that point was play.
It was only later, when as a part of the Kids for Tigers' programme, I spoke about how the first two years in the life of a tiger are so crucial. It's the time the cub explores the world through 'play', which play an instrumental role in the the tiger's adult life. The same goes for any species on the planet, including homo sapiens.
In fact, I just learned, through a rather life-altering experience called theatre on the importance of play through adult life. But then that affords another entry.
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