Let me get back to questions no. 4 and 5. I’m reproducing them here for reference. These are ones we get asked.
1. Our children face certain risks when they grow up: One, they will find themselves too different and very difficult to identify with others. Two, they may think of themselves as inferior to others and lack the confidence. Three, they may find themselves in a helpless situation given their upbringing, even if they have to get aligned to the others.
2. In 18 months, we’ve lost much of whatever money, relationships and enthusiasm we had and gained hardly anything substantial. At this rate, we’re neither making our life sustainable nor encouraging others to walk this path. Why not consider a U turn and get back to the city?
Both the questions are broadly about the future. One is about the children and the other about us. The question about children is quite a big one. I don’t know anyone till date who has been largely aligned at all times with our perspective regarding children’s education. Our perspective is not similar even to other people who’ve decided to home-school their children. I am not detailing our perspective here. That is not the question. The question is ‘Why are you experimenting with something so critical?’ But this question has been answered earlier too. So the real question is not a question really. It is rhetoric. It stems out of acute fear.
Fear restrains one from experimenting. We are experimenting, but we’re unable to deal with everybody’s fear.
As I’ve mentioned in my last post, our new life has been a fantastic journey for Siddharth and Shreya. During the last one and half years, there has not been a single instance, when I’ve doubted the correctness of this decision for children. In fact, I’m far more convinced that this move has been absolutely correct for them.
This does not mean that there are no concerns, no anxieties. But, these anxieties keep us on our toes. In many ways, we’re reinventing the wheel of upbringing or education. But there is no choice. The price we and our children will have to pay is that we are and will be too different and difficult to identify with others. We don’t know what lies in store in the future. So, hoont ghuma, seeti baja, seeti bajake bol bhaiyya all izz well!
I’m quite certain that I’ve tried and addressed all the concerns to the best of my abilities – this time and also earlier. It’s time I move on beyond concerns and anxieties.
I’m very happy we walked this path. Perhaps this happiness has not been fully visible to others yet.
