Twinkle in her eyes!

--- Satya  Betai  (c)  19 Mar  2020

CTRL-ALT-DEL…

SHUTDOWN…

The malls, cinemas, gyms, temples…..all ordered to shut down by the Indian government. Alas, this new virus called as Corona, has been wandering here and there doing long journeys from different countries and coming to India.

Lucky, that it was vacation time for my little daughter. But government orders meant enjoy the vacation indoors. Uuh; who has heard of an “Indoor Vacation”? My mind didn’t seem to tolerate the idea of my daughter having being restricted to stay at home. So, it played a trick. Minds always play trick. Don’t they! It translated the unusual two combination words to “Stick indoors within society premises”.  Sounds good, I felt. And then, I decided to teach cycling (without the supports) to my doll. 

Off I went to the cycle shop to get the cycle back in shape. And the training started. Good lights at evening 5 PM. All set. We chose the back side of our small society. After all we couldn’t afford to break our bones with the speed-breakers on the front. I started giving instructions to Zeel as she tried sitting on the cycle seat. Right foot on the pedal, put all your strength on pedal, face looking at front, holding the handles tightly….and ho ho, it started rolling with me holding her shoulders from the back. 

The emotions were running high. And, opposite to start with. Zeel, little afraid and me all excited (as if I was a cycle training coach). The cycle stopped and ran, breaks happened in between, emotions also tuning in up and down. Meanwhile, another girl Nidhi was watching this training session. A tall girl with long hair . She came to me and requested if I could teach her riding Zeel’s cycle. She gave a background of how her cycle’s seat wouldn’t stay in one place and there was no air in the tyres. And so we started. Zeel happily shared her cycle to Nidhi. After few rounds, she was more than happy to take a break. 

So, I poured in the same instructions. And Nidhi seemed to get those very well. After about 5 to 6 short trials, she seemed to roll the pedals twice independently. As a thought ran in my mind, she remarked “Aunty, my fear is gone. I used to be afraid. But trying this cycle today, my fear has vanished!” Her wavelength matched with my thought, that in 4 to 5 days she would learn to ride cycle without the supports. Voila!

The day’s session was over with a promise to meet next day. But Nidhi’s smile over conquering fear, remained in my mind. Bringing smile on my face too. The bell rang. As I opened the door, Nidhi was standing. And she asked if we could practice. It was 8 PM. I softy turned it down saying it was dark and so risky. Later, after dinner, as I and Zeel’s papa were sitting on the bench in the society, the sounds of cycling and some voices rang in the ears. And to my surprise, it was Nidhi, practicing her cycle with her grandfather. So, there was this girl, who had resolved to learn riding. The feeling of glee ran through again and again in my heart, seeing her enthusiasm. A class 4 girl, focused on her newly decided goal!

The next day was as usual. News of Corona virus all around. We had cycle riding session for Zeel in the morning.  It seemed that my excitement was at the peak, trying to conduct double sessions in a day, to make best use of the 15 day lock-in period. But no, it was Nidhi’s resolution that would now move the mountains. It was 4 PM. I heard her voice, so stood at the window. Thought she was practicing riding her cycle. But to my surprise, saw that she was riding it without the supports. One round, second round, third round and ho…she had learnt it! My heart was screaming inside with joy that she had picked up riding without supports in 24 hours!!

She asked me when I was coming down. And she would show her new skill. At 5 PM when Zeel and I went down, Nidhi showed her magic. Gracefully, no fear whatsoever, she rode her cycle. And she told me again “I could ride easily after my fear subsided. My feet were rolling the pedals automatically, as my grandfather pushed from back”. She wore a big smile. She had been enjoying riding cycle for 3 hours that day. There was no fatigue, but a twinkle in her eyes! 

Life’s simplest pleasures bring in the most joy.

Drop the fear. Carry the passion to learn in your heart.