Gods on Fire!

My 3-year-old jetpack of energy is famous in the family for mischief and relatives would often ask about his latest achievement in the arena of mischief and without fail he gives me enough to boast about. Since he was one and half he had learnt how to unscrew bottle caps and till the age of three he emptied bottles of water whenever and wherever he could find them, mostly on the floor, sometimes on the dining table or the centre table in the drawing room and once on our quilt on a cold winter night.

His love for massacring make-up is well known too. A lot of Lakme, YSL , Dior and Chanel lost their lives in the battle, followed by a number of lotions and face creams getting smeared on table tops or bed sheets. Occasionally, there would be bloodbath with sindoor. Essentially, anything and everything in his reach is vulnerable. Decorative items in the house have also been kept to a minimum to avoid any major disasters.

One afternoon I was alone with my two kids. My elder son (3 years old) was done with his lunch and watching his favourite cartoon and I was heating lunch for myself with my five month old clinging to me, just like a baby monkey clings to its mother. So far, I was having a good day since my son had eaten his lunch without too much fuss. I was shuttling between the kitchen and the room he was in since I knew his capabilities, or so I thought.

I was about to enter into the room and smelt something burning and rushed towards the kitchen thinking it was the food, but everything was fine there. When I was coming back to check on my son, he came out of the room, pulled my t-shirt and in his usual sweet voice said “Dekho mumma maine kya kiya.” He usually says this every time he wants to show me something he made.

As I looked up, I was horrified. I saw flames rising up from the top of the wooden cabinet on which we place photos and miniature statues of our Hindu Gods and Goddesses. The red silken cloth placed on top was burning up rapidly, the orange flames growing stronger every second.

I ran and kept our baby in the adjacent bedroom and then looked for the closest source of water. At that moment, the bathroom taps seemed far although they are just a few steps away and I even considered if I should get water from the kitchen since it was going to be poured on the Gods. But, the kitchen seemed distant now.

I saw my son’s sipper filled with water sitting in front of me and without wasting one more second, I poured it on the cabinet. After two more trips to the bathroom for water I finally managed to douse the fire. Thankfully, all our Gods and my son was unhurt. Only the smell of burnt cloth remained.

Later, I realized that the source of fire was a small oil lamp that had been lit in the morning, a practice my husband had recently started and ended with my son putting the Gods on fire! With trembling hands I called up my husband to tell him the latest and the greatest from our son.

Lesson Learnt: Never underestimate the power of a small child and most importantly, no sources of fire in the house anywhere.

Parenting is a journey and I learn everyday. As my children grow, I grow too as a parent. They teach me something new, just the way I try to teach them.

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