Thursday, September 20, 2007

Monsoon celebrations...

This monsoon Vasu was a part of a big school. He had a peacock party for which he had to dress up as a peacock. When I received the assignment in his diary, I was clueless how to accomplish it without overdoing it. I did not wish to go on a hunting spree for peacock feathers or hire peacock dress. I wanted it to be really original and subtle to go reasonably well with his school dress. I did not wish him to be a mess by the time he reached school.. Tough it was and I postponed the idea till late evening. By the time it was 7'O clock, I had to act or I was going to prove myself a non-performing parent. Well... I tried surfing the web... I tried asking for ideas... nothing really helped. Then I decided to make a big paper-fan for wings, pasting real peacock feathers on it that Vasu could carry along with him to the school and pose a peacock. I urgently set off for the stationery shop and there the child inside me woke up. I bought about a dozen colorful A4 size thick paper sheets under the pretext that I would use them for the wings. I bought two expensive hand-made papers, convincing myself that I needed them to make the peacock wings properly. By the time I started making peacock feathers, it turned out to be quite different than what I had planned... Honestly, I got carried away with my own inclinations. I ended up making many peacock feathers trying to use most of the colorful papers I had bought... I made a belt with paper and pasted those peacock feathers on the belt to tuck them around Vasu's waist. I assured myself that this way Vasu will not be bothered of carrying heavy paperwork around him. It would be quite convenient. My creative urge steered me further to make a mask with the deep navy blue hand-made paper that I had bought with much attraction. I pasted a beak made from one of the thick A4-size orange sheet, trying to be imaginative. I made eye holes on the mask and colored them with crayons. The end result may be made out from the photographs. Vasu loved his peacock mask and peacock feather belt.. though it did not receive rave reviews back at school for sure. I had to go to his school the same day, as Vasu had wet his white shoes in a puddle while boarding his school van. When I reached his class with a fresh dry pair of socks and black shoes, his paper peacock belt had curled outside at the edges and looked nothing like I had intended it to be. The mask was not worn properly either, rendering even me confused for a fraction of second whether he was at all dressed as a peacock. In short, I was a failure yet again. Disappointing it was beyond doubt that I always render Vasu counted among the average or even below average children of the class. Truly speaking, I did not mind the failure at school that I was. I feel quite blithesome that I took some good photographs just in time to show to Vasu, whenever he would be able to make good sense out of them.