The Red Bag

IMG00072 I had no inkling of what is in store for me on Tuesday when I stepped out of car in front of my daughter’s school. My daughter is attending the pre-nursery classes conducted by one of the famous institutions in my part of the city. They run these classes out of the rooms rented in one of apartment complex that resembles a sprawling and endless metropolis.

I was greeted by my mother when I stepped out of the car. My mom is visiting and is staying with my sister. My sister’s home is hardly 100 meters from the school. So my mom waits patiently for her granddaughter everyday when I pull in front of the school.

“You need to get the school books, bag and uniform. We need to start the classes soon”, the class teacher reminded us when we reached the classroom. She also directed me to the office building. At the office building, I was informed to collect the school kit at 12 noon. Unable to make it to school at noon, my mom offered to collect the school kit.

By 2 pm, my mom and sister collected all the necessary material. But that was just the beginning. There were a dozen instruction associated with the school kit.

  • You have to cover the books in brown paper
  • You have stick labels on the brown paper.
  • You have to fill in the first two pages of the pink book.

I’m glad I have a girl. She has no qualms about the pink book.

We got all the necessary items by 8pm in the evening. The school bag was red in color and my daughter extremely pleased with the bag. She tried it on several times while my wife was busy covering the books with brown paper. After covering the books, we stuck labels on top of the brown paper and meticulously filled in the first 2 pages of the pink book. We also stuck picture of our daughter in the pink book wherever it was required. After the books were ready, we put these into the red bag. I sensed something wrong after putting the books in the red bag. Tired of the entire exercise, I went to bed without worrying much.

On Wednesday, my daughter was very excited on seeing the red bag. After dressing up, she put on the bag. I photographed her adorning the prized possessions. Once the photo shoot was complete, I sat down to put on my shoes. While I was busy putting on the shoes, my daughter approached me with a worried look. At that instant, I realized what was bothering me the previous night.

She complained, “My neck is paining. Can you take the bag off my shoulders?”. She couldn’t carry the weight of the books and the bag. She was overloaded!

Tags: Musings,The Red Bag,Daughter,Mom,Wife,School

Comments

  1. Oh poor thing! You did not have to end it that way - you carry her bag and drop her in the car....

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  2. @Shyja- Thanks for dropping by. :) I did carry her bag. But, they cannot even carry the books! I have heard jokes about the burden(weight) of the books. On that day, I realized there is a bit to truth to the joke.

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  3. I agree, poor kids.Nice writeup.:))

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  4. the bags are truly heavy, I feel really bad each morning when my kids take that huge load on their backs. Wish schools had lockers that could keep atleat part of the books. Great to know your kid!

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  5. @Zillion - Thank you. :)

    @Sujata - They have kept the red bag with the contents at the school. So, thankfully, she doesn't have to carry it everyday. In spite of the weight, she was complaining in the evening about her teacher not letting her take the bag back! :)

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  6. Broke back baby!....if a kindergarten kid has to carry this much burden what beget's next? Hope Kapil Sibal is listening

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  7. @Vaz- I really hope dear Kapil is listening!

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