Decoding Children Dreams
November 9,1994 was a blissful day for us when our family got blessed with non-identical twins -a girl and a boy on this auspicious day.
Celebrated English romantic poet William Wordsworth did make amazing a remark about tiny tots: “The child is the father of man.”
Delighted by this Wordsworthian adage, then child artists’ dialogues as well as scenes of some Hindi movies too naturally started floating over the screen of our minds where the kids in films are at times heard delivering the dialogue, “Papa, I am mature enough now, can take decisions of my own.”
I am amused to recall these two poetic and filmy styles pertaining to Pom and Anm -our twins’ childhood tales worth recalling who are at present well settled in their medical profession in Punjab attaining their skills and degrees with flying colours in the disciplines of Radio Diagnosis and Radiotherapy.
Their two very funny fables cheer up even now making us laugh in our heart of hearts at their childish as well as innocent actions and thoughts.
Around the Lohri festival days, two girls knocked at our door requesting some festival bounties. My better half Guddi a little bit busy in her household activities, taking out a two rupee note handed over the same to our twins asking them to offer it telling the largesse seekers to share the two rupees note with each other. The twins on the way to the door thought that there should neither be any confusion nor clash between the two beneficiaries for the cash, tore the two rupees note into two pieces from the middle offering one piece each to both of them. My wife taking the issue to be settled once for all was startled to find those girls again at the door. She asked them what is the problem now, they informed her showing the two pieces of the currency note complaining that nobody was accepting the torn two rupee note anywhere?
Then the other episode- while preparing to go to a marriage palace for a marriage ceremony, Anm in an attempt to take his party wear coat out from the cupboard fell down as the support table slipped. A sharp corner of the table in the fall afflicted a deep cut on his chin. He overheard his mother saying that cut was too deep needing stitches.
I took him to my very intimate family friend surgeon Dr. Sidana. To administer stitches, he requested me to go out of his dressing room. Anm knowing fully well that his wound required stitches. He asked the Doctor very innocently how will you give stitches. The Doctor very jokingly responded, “Don’t you worry, I shall give you stitches now very well before your eyes.”
Just to deviate his attention from the pain, involving Anm in dialogue he asked him, “What do you wish to become in life?”Anm replied instantly, “I want to be the Prime Minister.” The doctor asked, “Why?” He answered quite innocently “The Prime Minister has not to go to the market to bring household items.” The answer indeed at the back of his mind actually had his own day to day very strange experiences as we asked him off and on to ferry many items from the provision shop situated at the corner of our street.
Further, as reminded to me by my better-half Prof(Mrs).Sudesh Sharma(Guddi) who was also accompanying me and after Dr. Sidana finished stitches giving act, he was asked, “Doctor Sahib, your *Sewafal*(the fruit of service done-charges) for giving stitches ? ”
The Doctor quipped, ” Which Sewafal ,when he happens to be the Prime Minister in waiting ?”
–Prof P K Sharma Freelance Journalist, Associate Professor of English(Retired),
Pom Anm Nest, BARNALA (Punjab)