Ramayana...re-thought

Shriya:Paati, I think I know why Rama wanted to take Lakshmana and Sita with him to the forest

My Mom:Why?

Shriya: Rama was a prince and was used to having people help him, right? I think he took Sita with him so that she could cook for him and Lakshmana to do all the other work!!

Vaibhav: Also, Paati, I don't understand the bit where Lakshmana draws the line around Sita in the forest

My Mom: What's the confusion?

Vaibhav:Why could Lakshmana not take Sita along with him when he heard Rama shouting for help. I think it's silly to leave behind a girl all alone in a dangerous forest. If he had taken Sita with him, they could have both looked for Rama in different directions. And that way Sita could have also escaped from Ravana!!

Nobody like Paati!

"Paati, tell us another story",Paati, one last one..promise". And my mother will regale my little ones every night with story after story until I remind her that its way past their regular bedtime! Tenali Raman, Birbal, Ramayana, Gajendra Moksham have all been narrated. And my dancer mother, also a delightful storyteller, will add in sound effects, include her own side tales and enthrall the kids every night.

As I kissed the kids goodnight one day and left them in that darkened room with my mom, I was reminded of the days my brother and I would snuggle closer to our own paati and hear the very same stories mentioned above. It was a world where only the 3 of us existed.

Paati is indeed a special person and her stories even more so to every grandkid. The very same stories when retold by anyone else somehow does not have the same charm. Amma was not just helping me put the little ones to bed with her stories. She was creating such wonderful memories for them. I gently closed the door behind me and left the three of them to enjoy those precious moments in their own special world.