Children Archives

Why It is Important to Raise Compassionate Children

There is an urgent need for compassion in the world as a resource. It’s evident everywhere; looming news of possible wars, trolls on social media, abject inequality in standards of living, the swell of mental health problems. How does something as basic as kindness get neglected to this extent?

Sangeetha Bhaskaran July 26, 2016

People

A Working Mom is a “Soti Hui Sherni”. Don’t Mess With Her

I got schooled in mommy politics recently, where everything from potty-training to the number of classes you enrol your child in is competition. The sticky marsh where working moms are judged for not being involved enough.

Vani Rane July 22, 2016

POV

How choosing not to be a mother brought me closer to my father

Motherhood is so often expected to come as a natural choice to women. Almost a year into the pandemic, I realised it is not for me. Here's how I revealed my choice to my father. It only brought us closer.

Divya Unny July 18, 2016

Pop Culture

Village Rockstars Review: India’s Entry to the Oscars is a Winning Ode to Childhood Dreams

The National Award-winning Village Rockstars, India’s official entry to the Oscars, is a one-woman operation. While Rima Das intended the film to be a tribute to her village, her sensitivity and warmth guarantees that it also captures the innocence of childhood – and the doting bond between mothers and daughters.

Poulomi Das July 16, 2016

POV

Three Cheers for the Mediocre Mommies

Wedged between the career woman and the domestic goddess, is the Not-So-Supermom. The world admires women who fall neatly into those two categories but can be quite cruel when you don’t fit into either.

Ashwina Garg July 7, 2016

Gender

Arré Checklist: Fairy Tales for a Post-#MeToo World

The Disney Princess trope has long been bashed as reductive and anti-feminist, but here are some fairy-tale heroines who are just as #fierce as Beyoncé.

Vidhi Maingi June 29, 2016

First Person

Lessons in Joy from My Autistic Son

I’d hoped that my child, diagnosed with severe autism could be mainstreamed, could be like other children. We didn’t know it but this relentless hope was killing us.

Rita Malik June 17, 2016

Pop Culture

Sniff and the Smell of Nostalgia

In Amol Gupte’s Sniff, Sunny, who cannot smell, thinks of himself as inadequate and different. And this great weakness brings him down. It’s like what many of us felt while growing up.

Parthshri Arora June 16, 2016

POV

Liberal Indians, Remember to Thank Your “Non-Woke” Parents For Your Broadmindedness

Growing up, my highly educated, intelligent parents, who ran a double-income household even before Cosmopolitan said it was in, were an inspiration. They taught me to question everything, which worked out great... until I started questioning them.

Anonymous June 14, 2016

Modern Family

Mere Paas “Maa-si” Hai: Do We Thank Our Almost-Mothers Enough?

Mothers are a separate species, the collective reason for a warm, comforting glow in the lives of so many of us. But after I lost my mother, I found pieces of her in other women in my life. Some of them look like her, some of them sound like her, and I realise that my mother continues to live and look after me through all these “maa-sis”.

Mugdha Singh June 13, 2016