It was an honor when I was presented with an opportunity to spend a morning with an enthusiastic group of children at The St. Anne’s School in Palakkad, Kerala. A session that kicked off with a fun quiz, then gravitated to an interactive session to share bits of wisdom using write ups from my blog.
By early afternoon, I taught some, learnt some and had a big group of eager, happy teens (who forgave me for using their Physical Training hour) as my new friends.
This is what one lovely student of St. Anne’s Convent wrote to me.
What do you think?
It was a new moon night, a dark night that seem to make the crickets chirp louder and the countless stars that dot the Earth’s inky roof, dazzle and shimmer brightly than ever.
Mother and I sat under this dark canopy.
Breaking the enveloping silence I asked, “If you had a chance to become a bird, which bird would you choose?”
She smiled, a slow smile that warned me of the direction of her thoughts and her wise words that will soon add color to the dark night.
“You tell me, what would you choose?” she asked, throwing the question back at me.
The answer was obvious.
“A dove,” I said. “A beautiful, white dove,” I added for emphasis imagining myself flying free on the expanse above. If I were a dove carrying an olive branch, then I became the embodiment of peace and by my own lonesome self, I was a white beauty.
Oh! I couldn’t wait to become the ‘dove’ of my dreams or would it be a white swan, gliding gracefully in the placid waters.
“I would choose to become a crow,” came my mother’s voice, interrupting my flying thoughts.
“A crow?”I asked surprised.
Who would want to be an ugly, black crow? There were more than a million of them anyway.
Mother sat up, switching into what I usually termed as ‘her philosophical mode’.
“The crow is not ‘bird brained’ like most of the other species of their kind. They are considered to be one of the most intelligent species in the bird family as other than appropriating time for life’s basic necessities and raising a family, they indulge in group play among themselves and others of their kind.”
“This black bird has survived and thrived among us in the city scourging on our leftovers, cleaning up what has been dirtied and destroyed by us humans, becoming the lowly scavengers that keep our environment clean.”
I listened in rapt attention to the wisdom doled out by Mother as the black-coated crow slowly elevated to the rank of a super bird, my pearly white dove clearly forgotten.
“Beauty is beyond just a fair complexion. Beauty is confidence, the will to be yourself and most importantly to have a beautiful mind and become useful to the people and the environment around you.”
“Appearances can be deceiving, my dear and fairness creams can only whiten your skin, not your thoughts,” she concluded.
On that dark night, Mother’s wise words made me see a multitude of colors on the shiny black coat of a humble crow!
Shreya is a Grade 8 Student studying in St. Anne’s School, Palakkad.
Great words of wisdom from the elder. Crows also bring that indication of a guest coming in with a surprise visit. Also during offerings to the deceased, crows are the ones highly awaited to accept the offering. Superstitions though but have noticed this around.
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Yes, Ravisidula, the humble crow has a lot of significance in our Indian mythology and rituals. Whether it means giving offerings to the deceased or and its Kaw announcing the arrival of guests, these superstitious beliefs have its significance and explanations in the Indian literature. But a take on wisdom from a humble crow was inspiring, that too in a generation that is addicted to fairness and fairness creams. Thank you, Ravisidula. Yet to check your space, will visit it soon.
Good day!
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Thanks for reciprocating my comments.
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Beauty lies on eyes on beholder. Outer beauty is short lived and then the inner beauty takes the precedence. So very right the inner one should keep up its beauty.
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A promising write… very imaginative, at the same time down to earth! 🙂
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Absolutely, Indira, that too coming from a young teen was inspiring. Any new friends visited your garden, will check it soon, Indira.
Good day!
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Loved it! Words of wisdom.. “fairness creams can only whiten your skin, not your thoughts”. A true and clear message to the society.
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Beautiful words flowing from the 8 th grader, Pranitha. We somehow attach more importance to physical beauty and not the character or nature of a person. We need to shift our focus from appearance to attitude.
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I hope she is reading this too! Saw a lot of wisdom in her words, one that our fairness- orientated generation is obsessed with.
Thank you , Radhika. Yet to check your space. Will do so soon, apologies for the delay
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No worries dear. Have a great weekend 😊
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You too, Radhika 🙂
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Beautiful words of wisdom. Every bird is special and unique and that is how we too r. Great read.
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Beautiful writing and wonderful wisdom!
Thanks for sharing.
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Thank you too. It was my pleasure to share her wisdom.
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Such words of wisdom from an 8th grader and her mom. To look beyond the outer, and deep within..So profound.
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Thank you, Deepika. I thought so too, loved the wisdom. Will be at your space soon , Deepika. Until then , good day!
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A great piece. Take a bow, Shreya. Thanks, pranitha, for unearthing such a talent.
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Thank you, Santhosh, (will tell it for Shreya) and she is thrilled to read all the lovely feedback that she is receiving.
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This is such a beautiful story, and she wrote it very well. Inculcating such values in kids is easier in a conversational mode such as this one. Great job you did, Perfy. Am sure you enjoyed every bit of it!
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I loved her thoughts and the weight of wisdom it carried. I sure enjoyed doing this one. I thought it would be best to spread the word to the fairness-obsessed generation through her post.
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Yet to check your blog and your Instagram posts. Your pictures and specially the dishes you cook up are amazing, Varsha. You need to share some of your recipes with me too, so that my family gets some variety to eat too 🙂
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I am sure she has a lot of potential that will do more works beautiful as this when she starts writing more often…
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Yes, I am hoping so too and this is a small way to encourage her to do that
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I like the answers given by both of you on being a dove or crow to spread peace and at the same time, on appearances. The wise words of your mom on beauty, though philosophical makes for an interesting debate on the truth of life.
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Thank you,Vishal. Will tell it for Shreya. This is a conversation between a teenager, whom I met during a session at a school in Kerala, and her mother. She sent me this write up asking me if I could feature it in my blog. I was more than willing😀
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Oh! I thought your Mom but happy to see such conversation between Shreya and her Mom. A post that deserves applause.
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What a surprising (and very wise) response! I, too, probably would’ve chosen a lovely white dove, for on the surface, it would seem a crow has little appeal. But we both know better now, don’t we? 😉
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Absolutely! Loved the wisdom in her response.
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Wow.. hope you really had a nice time with the kids….hats off to the humble crows
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🙂 Yes, it was one best morning spent with such lovely kids, ready with answers to any questions asked. One of them wanted to come onto the stage to say a note of thanks. Just that he forgot what he was supposed to say and then said, “Your dress is nice, Ma’am. You are nice too” Coming from a seventh grader, I had no idea what to say. 🙂
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Lol
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Wow, such a beautiful story. Well done, Shreya. I loved the third last paragraph. Such beautiful words. Shreya has all the makings of an excellent writer! Great find, Nitha!
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She is now, has a blog of her own. So glad she is doing well too. Thank you, Shweta.
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Ohh that’s awesome. Can you please drop a link to her blog?
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Sure will do that, Shweta. Will send it soon.
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Thanks dear. ♥️
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