PTM

Her solemn face said it all.


' Her performance....'


The two anxious souls scanned her face, a dread creeping through their beings.


' She isn't able to cope'


We stared at her, our throats drying.


' She was so good... but of late..'


' Since when...she is showing this..this behaviour'  I was the one to get myself together first.


' Last fifteen days..' The teacher shrugged and went on for some more minutes while we listened helplessly and our five year old jumped around the class room and tugged at my arm in between ' Ma come na'


' Actually so many new words she is learning... it's going to take time. ' I tried to reason out.


' Other children are doing it... getting fifteen out of fifteen correct... no reason she'd make it to only six or seven' Her voice was cool and unapologetic.


Almost felt like a tight slap.


Finally embarrassed and guilty, i followed my five year old around the class as her father fumed behind. I stared at the walls where so many write ups and other tit bits were pasted along with the names of the child and the class teacher's words echoed ' She wrote so badly i could not find any work of her good enough to be pasted'


' He is doing so well'  I was all ears to her words to an elderly man, grandpa perhaps who claimed with pride ' I did teach him'


There were blame games, me and husband blasted each other, fought and didn't talk for a day or two, cancelled weekend outings. My mom incidentally present at the house day before was going through our weekend plans... PTM, shopping, visit to friend's house some seventy odd kilometers away couldn't help commenting ' Drop the PTM... what's the deal if you miss once'


' Never... i love to hear the nice things the teacher would say about her' I had chipped in immediately.


All blame games played and replayed, I began the tedious spelling sessions with the little one.


' How was today... could you write your dictation'  Anxious me just after she got down from bus.


After many uumms and aahs ... 'Today she asked sight words.. you only taught three letter words..mujhe ek bhi nahi aya' and off she runs...the cool soul.


So mama goes on with sight words... H-A-S ... has... H-A-V-E...have.


Next day at bus stop...


' How was today' I ask with bated breath


' Arey Ma aaj to Hindi... tumne sikhaya hi nahi' She joins her friends fervently for games.


Now where i had heard that before.. this alleging derogatory tone...aaah she just sounded like husband.


I try to ask other moms, most of the times i'm in awe of them and most of the times i try to camouflage my callousness under my erratic job schedule.


' How's Agrim doing... is he catching up...?'  I ask nervously.


' He's ok' The mom scans my face.


' I mean so many spellings together, it seems tough'  I try to smile.


' He's restless but he has learnt'


There goes... the supermoms and super kids, i return home with a long sullen face.


' I cannot... i have studied all my life... now for this five year old...don't blame me always'  I try hard to gain husband's sympathy.


' Talk to other moms.'


Huh... never again!!!


' Drop your arrogance and discuss with moms'


' You do that...' I fume with all the fire i have. ' Children have their own pace... give her time'


' Why didn't you give this piece to the teacher... instead of firing me!!!'


 Silence


' She doesn't even write within lines'


' If from five years you compel her to write within line... what will happen to ' out-of-the-box thinking'


There the damage was done as husband stared at me disbelievingly.


' Oh Oh'


More baffling arguments, the little one given ample doses of ' study study' ' write write' and sometimes she would chip in ' Didn't get a star Ma'


' Did anyone else get'   The obvious question, even if a self declared liberated mom can't refrain from.


She took some names.


' It's ok darling'  It isn't , it isn't.


Just dread the next PTM. Ma's idea seemed great.Drop it.


P.S. We send our child to a so called reputed school in NCR where every quarter husband writes the check with a fast beating heart and a dry throat!!!


Happy Parenting!!