Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Family (s)nap

So I was on the way to university after work when this tiny boy in his school uniform, wearing the traditional Malay cap and carrying a school bag that probably weighed twice as much as him, boarded the train and sat down next to me. The poor chap looked really tired and soon dozed off.

By about two stations, his head was slumped on my shoulder. Now usually, I'd send a head that deposits itself on my shoulder in the train flying in the other direction towards the person on the other side of the head in question, who is probably ready to push his elbow through the sleeping guy's skull. I was startled at first, but the poor little kid looked so tired and innocent, I let him continue his nap. I could feel his fatigue. After all, I was headed to attend a 3-hour lecture after a day that had spanned across 6 am to 6 pm. I myself could do with a shoulder on the train. Once in a while, we could all use a shoulder on the train. A familiar one, hopefully.

The train chugged on. He napped on. I think I even sang a mental lori (lullaby) for him.

Two more stations later, I suddenly realised that the couple sitting directly in front of me was giving us very amused looks and even having a discussion in whispers. I was pretty sure they thought the boy was my son. He was too tiny to be my brother. And I have been told more than thrice that I can pull off a Malay look. So I guess to them it looked like a nice mother and child picture - like a family snap.

Now when you're in a train that's gonna travel through 19 train stations before dropping you at your destination, you can get really bored. So I decided to play a little game with myself and try to guess what the couple was discussing about the kid and me.

"Awwww..."
"Poor kid... would you look at the size of his school bag?"
"She has a university lecture pad too... maybe she's a teacher?"
"Darn I wish I was the father of the boy..." (Okay maybe this was a bit too much...:P)
"Or a student? Looks quite young..."
"Yeah, too young to be his mother actually... unless she's maintained herself well..."
"Could be a single mother eh...?"
"Hmmm... Malay boy... but she looks kinda Indian... don't you think?"
"Maybe she married a Malay guy..."
"Or maybe she's the stepmother...?"

I looked at them. They smiled at me and then at the boy's peaceful face, deep in slumber.

I smiled back at them, trying not to move too much.

My son was sleeping, you see, and I didn't wanna wake him up. Shhhhh...



43 comments:

Anonymous said...

I can't believe I saw "0 comments" on your blog...Great!! I'm first for the first time...
Very cute post...I could picture you with the little boy napping on your shoulder...
You have a gift of imagination yaar...That was a neat dialogue...
"stepmother"!! ha!ha!ha!

Anonymous said...

So sweeeeeeeeeeet

Anusha said...

Third? :O *slaps self*

Ouch. And nope, not dreaming. Woo-hoo! :D

Anyway, awwww! And stepmom? To a Malay boy? Hee! Too funny!

Inder said...

did he wake up to get down at his stop or did he miss it???

dharmu said...

are bhai, apun confused hai! tapori bhai aur bunty ki mummy ka picture match nahi hota.

but i must say sleeping kids look so cute, i jsut adore to see them. i love to see my not-so-l'il-anymore brothe sleep, its..er... much more peaceful, you see

dharmu said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

ay ga..

Anonymous said...

Once someone mistook my cousin (who looks really young, but is only a year younger to me) to be my daughter.
Actually twice. It did not make me happy.
People have fallen asleep on my shoulder in trains as well, and I don't know the correct etiquette - if I move away, they'll slouch further towards me. The only deterrent I can think of is sleeping back on their head.

Iday said...

Hmm...
Single Mom, who has a Malay-looking boy!!!
ROFLMAO. *stops, imagines u in that pose and* ROFLMAO again :P

BTW - poor boy! I can imagine his state.

Nirwa Mehta said...

Awww!! That is so sweet!! I love kids (the ones which are known to me, and not unknown random cranky kids)

I've had a few kids sleeping on my shoulder and in my lap too! and they are such an angel when they're asleep.. :P they could be quite a terror too! :P

oxymoron said...

which lori did ya sing in ur head?

shub said...

Darn I wish I was the father of the boy
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!
you're absolutely and totally crazy! I cannot stop laughing! :))))


have a similar post coming up....only its conversations in my niece's head :)

Ajj Kaim Singh said...

I started reading your's , Smiling Kaur's , and Kurri from Ipanema'z blog around the same time. Ipanema was the best when i started following her blog, then Smiling girl grabbed the lead thanks to the ladka finding series, but now you are marching ahead with the lead thanks to some lovely articles....Amitabh Bachchan wala was great too...and this one surely puts you in the lead.Awesome job.
(I am not too sure if anybody else compares one blog from the other, maybe we should have BEST OF BLOGGING EVENT, where each of us can rate a blog, rate a post and stuff like that.....)

Shekhar said...

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.....................

Anonymous said...

hi sayesha.

post achha laga

vaise, last 2 sentences padh ke ek gaana yaad aaya.

" mera bulbul so raha hai
shor tu na machhaa"

what say?


PS : i hope i got the lyrics right,


- asha

The Ghost said...

ROTFLMAO

Sayesha Amma ne bhaigiri chhod kar family ishtart kar di... LOL

Jaise kisi purani hot heroine ne acha ghar dekh kar arrange marriage.. :))

Just too much.. ;))

Anonymous said...

i know what u sang to him:

soja munne sojaa,
laal palang mein sojaa,
mummy papa aayenge,
khoob khilaune laayenge,
ek khilauna toot gaya,
munna raja root gaya!!

BTB why does our munna raja is in sulk?? i mean theek hai toot gaya toh toot gaya!! hai naa!! aur first of all why this sad ending to a relatively happy poem??

Unknown said...

Aawwww, your last line was wayyy tooo sweet Sash :)

Your conversation with yourself, LOL :P

Cute post.. I love kids :)

Take care,
Aarti

Sakshi said...

That would also be my kinda of kid - do station ke bad kisi aur ki jhanjat

Sayesha said...

#Soumya,
First for the first time... heheehe :P
Thanks! :)

#Starbreez,
:P

#Anusha,
Hahaha! The things a bored part-time post-grad student does in the train... :D

#Aslam,
Wise choice of words! ;)

#Inder,
He got off at the same station as me - the very last one! :P

#Dharmu,
//are bhai, apun confused hai! tapori bhai aur bunty ki mummy ka picture match nahi hota.

Hahahaha! Bhai ka ek disguise hai yeh... pulis se bachne ke liye! :D

#Rene,
Hahahahahaha! You say it best when you say 'ay ga' my friend! ROFL! :D

#Singh,
//Actually twice. It did not make me happy.

Hahahaha! :D

//People have fallen asleep on my shoulder in trains as well, and I don't know the correct etiquette

Just send them flying the other way! :P

#Iday,
//BTW - poor boy! I can imagine his state.

WHAT?? Poor boy?? What about poor me?? I'm almost offended now! :/ :P

#Nirwa,
That's strange you know... I love sleeping kids... but when it comes to my own niece, I want her to wake up soon so I can play with her! :)

#Oxy,
I KNEW koi na koi poochhega yeh question! Don't laugh okay - I dunno any guy loris so I sang 'Surmayi akhiyon mein' from Sadma :P

#Shub,
:D

#Fishy,
//i hope u knew where he wanted to get off, nahi to comfort main he wouldve missed his stop!! :)

Nope I had no idea. We didn't speak a word to each other. Arre Singapore people are programmed to get off at their station no matter how deeply they are sleeping, so it wasn't really my worry :)

#PSV,
Err.. I think it's kinda hard (and weird) to compare blogs yaar.... different people like different things... and sometimes we like a blog just because it's our friend's :)

#Shekhar,
:P

#Asha,
Oh gosh! That's an actual song??? Aajkal India mein bache kam pad gaye hain kya, jo log panchhiyon ke liye lori ga rahe hain?? :O

#Pirate,
//Sayesha Amma ne bhaigiri chhod kar family ishtart kar di... LOL

Hahaha! It's all a ploy, my dear... one of my disguises to escape the pulis :D

#Satish,
Eh? Papa kahan se aayenge re?? Pehle meri shaadi toh ho jaane de, then my hubby and I will let random kids sleep on our shoulders and sing this song :D

Munna raja sounds like a dhakkan to me man! Looks like the baby-sitter is singing this for a spoilt child :P

#Rebellion,
Thanks :P

#Sakshi,
Hahaahahaha! What a brilliant idea! :D

Sakshi said...

Sayesha
Thank yo bhai. Aap ki kripa hai..

qsg said...

What an adorable post...! So, did the kid get off at the right station, though?

aydiv said...

well composed :) !!

Anonymous said...

_____
Munna raja sounds like a dhakkan to me man! Looks like the baby-sitter is singing this for a spoilt child :P
_____

hee hee!! i think so too. :D

but we want children to be a little spoilt, dont we??

Ekta said...

awwww,
thats was such a sweet thing to do sayesha..am sure the little boy owes u a thank u for a wonderful sleep!

Iday said...

//I'm almost offended now!:/ :P
Okay - get back to me once u move from "almost offended" to the "offended" state :P

Neihal said...

you come up with the best titles in the blogworld..."My son was sleeping, you see, and I didn't wanna wake him up. Shhhhh.." LOL
ok we will not.
Indian/Malay young/well maintained mother/stepmother ?

Wriju said...

The most innocuous incident, turns to gold in your interpretation :-)

Preethi said...

Congrats Baby Sash.. for becoming the mother of a 6-yr old Malay boy..;)

Preethi said...

$PSV: I read ur comment... :)
Will eavesdrop about it to Ipanema Girl.. wait till u see us both together with glaring eyes...:)
*hopes to put some drama in the scene*
What say, Sash?

Anonymous said...

Understand and have experienced your sentiments.....kids make you behave irrationally, rationally!!.. I think i.e why kids picture are use in advertisemnts...so as make adults lossen up their wallet strings!!...you two must have made a pretty picture...as for the comments you have imagined, you can always humm ...." kuch tho log kahege, logo ka kaam hai kahena":)

Anonymous said...

hey congrats and all the best for motherhood (in advance)!
lol...!!

Unknown said...

badhai ho!! kab?? kaise?? kahaan??? aur where's the partyyyyy???? :)
that was cute

R said...

mai mausi ban gayiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!
yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!



baale balle..
mithai fer evryone at sayeshaz!!!!

Rosh said...

Hey sash,

Nice post yaar. Such a beautiful ending...

"Darn I wish I was the father of the boy..." ;-)
Tumhara dimaag to chacha chaudhari se bhi tez chalta hai ....

Anonymous said...

:-)
cute post..wonder why nobody ever let me sleep on them when i used to travel as a kid...did i look that notorious!

The Inquisitive Akka said...

Sho shweet :) Did the poor kid get off at the right stop??:)

The Ghost said...

Or do I c a whole new desire cropping up?.. ;)... LOL

Anonymous said...

Ummm ummm ummm... what's the best way to do this?

a day that had spawned across 6 am to 6 pm

Spawn = produce or deposit eggs.

I am not sure what methods you adopted to get your 'son', but even for a superwoman like you, I am sure spawning would be a bit of a stretch.

Anonymous said...

#fishy,
Missing the woods for the tree, eh?

Anonymous said...

#fishy,
http://sayesha.blogspot.com/2006/07/and-yes-i-call-myslef-ediotr.html

Sayesha said...

#Sakshi,
:)

#Gemini,
Well, the kid woke up when Mummy had to get off, so I assume that was his station too :P

#Vidya,
Thanks :)

#Satish,
Dekhte hain... abhi time hai :)

#Ekta,
Hahaha! :D

#Iday,
Argh! NOW! :/

#Neihal,
Thanks :)

#Wriju,
Thanks :)

#Smiling Girl,
Hahaha! Beat you to it, eh? ;)
ps: Haan tum logon ko jo drama karna hai karo... waise bhi sab ki sab drama queens ho :P

#Saty,
:)

#Hdemus,
Whoa, changed nick again?? And long time no see! :O

#Ipanema Gal,
Thank you thank you :D Party bhi ho jayegi... bahut dinon se koi party nahin hui... especially after the e-bachelorette one... how about a belated baby shower for me? :D

#Raam Pyari,
Hahaha! Itna shor kyun macha rahi hai, tera nephew so raha hai, shhhh! :P

#Lonely Traveller,
Thanks :)

#Anand,
Hahaha! You gotta look in the mirror and say :)

#Akka,
I hope so! :P

#The Pirate,
Sheesh! Hey, I'm a girl with traditional Indian values, ok? Pehle shaadi phir bache... order nahin todne ka, kya? Sirf thobda todne ka! :D

#Fishy,
Normally I'd laugh with you at this silly thing, but you just caught me at a bad time, buddy. I'll correct it if I feel like it.

#Anonymous,
Thanks yaar, for saving me the trouble of finding that link :)

Sudeep said...

lil kids get arnd u many times i guess.. woh gym wala post yaad aaya

becahre baccho ko kitna weight carry karna padta hain in sacks.. hmmmm