Okay this is definitely the first of its kind on my blog. Everything is usually always fashion related. I'm not sure if this is going to be a regular, and I can't promise any more of these, but this was one thing that I really have to share my opinions about.
As I was walking to the bus stop through my inner Kalina lanes, which is a bit like the inner Pali Bandra lanes, I came across a woman who was busy putting/taking out something from her handbag. She had a kid with her, who was very interested in looking at his reflection in the puddles. And he was merely 2 or 3 years, so picture his fascination.
Seconds later a man came riding on his cycle, and you know these guys never really ring their cycle bells, they just make noises like 'shh shh'or 'ksk ksk' or something that sounds vaguely similar.
The little boy was too little to understand what those sounds meant and didn't even react, but the mother was well aware and realized her child was not with her anymore and she yelled out to him. Nothing really happened, the man avoided the child and me, and went around us, but the mothers actions really horrified me.
She went up to her kid and yelled at him and slapped him. And of course he started wailing! If I was a brave girl I would have told her to stop and that she should be slapping herself for leaving her son's hand. But unfortunately I'm not.
I truly believe its the mothers fault for letting go of a toddler's hand, even if it is for a matter of 5 seconds. A lot can't happen in that small amount of time. Or at least a mother can train her child to understand that the streets are dangerous and they should always walk with an adult. Kids are smart and very understanding, and it's easy to teach them such stuff at a young age. I can understand talking sternly and even raising your voice a bit. But to slap a child? And in public? Isn't that a bit too harsh? It also embarrasses the child. No matter how young, they of course will be affected.
And since I'm talking about this, theres another thing that I've always noticed. If a child falls while walking on the streets, the mother/guardian always pulls them up rudely (and roughly) and hits them, like as if it's their fault for falling! And always the child will be crying, either from falling or being hit, but I really don't understand why hit the kid?
My mom and me always get angry when we see this happen. It is a bit silly. It's always better to pick up a crying child and soothe them, not hit them!
I'm not sure if this should be regarded as Indian mentality. But I can confidently state that I've seen both cases happen, a lot!
Any non-Indians reading this, feel free to share your opinions, if you've noticed the same in your respective countries and cultures.
And of course I would like to hear other opinions too. I'm not a mother, and not even close to being one any time soon, and maybe it's silly of me to say these things, but I think I'm right in small amounts.
P.S - If there are any typos or nonsensical stuff, please blame it on my ipod touch for auto correcting stuff. I typed this out in the bus!
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