Santa Claus & circumference of our children's innocence!

“There is nothing like a Santa Claus,” said my son Appu after returning home yesterday. He had party at school and I could make out the 5-6 year old would have talked among themselves that Santa Clause is a mere idea; the chocolates and cakes he gives are tools used by their elderly to keep them happy. I was disheartened to learn this and despite my insistence, Appu remained stuck with the no-Santa Clause idea.

Then an idea struck me. I told him to ask something from Santa Claus by writing your wish on a piece of paper and keeping it below his pillow. “He would come, take away your slip and send you the gift,” I said. I could see the sparkle of an innocent joy run through his face. “Are you sure,” he asked. I left and told Jyotsna to inform me on what he wrote.

Appu & Juhi: I and Jyotsna try to linger the innocence

Night when I returned I woke him up and gave him VCD of Dabangg, which he had desired. “But where is Santa Clause,” he asked rubbing his eyes. “He had come and you were fast asleep so he asked me to hand it over to you,” I said authoritatively to which he seemed convinced.

Appu’s bout of enlightenment had left me jittery. We are living in tough times. Hugely materialistic, our social circles are getting limited to casual remarks over Facebook and LinkedIn. We have little time for our children for we believe there is no tomorrow to cut a deal or two. Children are growing faster than we did for they are made to fend for themselves – our expectations from our children today is 1000 times more than what used to be our parents’. Modern values and slit-throat competition have made life tough for children whose upbringing remain delicately poised amidst their parents' struggle and aspirations.

I strongly believe as children, our little ones need much more affection and caring than we needed. Because they do not have large, extended kinship to engage with; they are not growing up effortlessly amidst the laps of chacha and chachi and bua and phupha as we did; they may be fluent with laptop and cell phones but they do not have the social and cultural cushion which we had and which helped us shape into balanced personalities – I am talking of middle-town, middle-class generation of the 1970s and 1980s.

I strongly feel the circumference of innocence of our children should be zealously guarded. They should be enlarged as much as possible. I don’t want them to grow older sooner than they should.

They should live with the ideas like Santa Claus much longer. Innocence is a bliss, we should shield it, cherish it.