Sunday, September 21, 2014

Admiring Triambak

Triambak has a peculiar way of showing his admiration for a new thing. He does not exult in loud manner. First, there is a quite expression. Then a smile appears. He does not speak any word in admiration. If he is asked then he nods and keeps watching the thing for a while. He usually comes with fascinating questions.


Here I was lucky to capture his expressions when I clicked him on my laptop after I had installed the in-built camera software.

The first Expression on Triambak on watching the working of the in built camera on the laptop.


The smile which usually comes on the face of Triambak when he approves it.


The admiring smile persists if Triambak approves it.

New Cartoon by Triambak

New Cartoon by Triambak

This is what Triambak has made after the episode of cartoon making by Triambak. This is what I have found made on the sheet where I had seen his earlier a cartoon made before me. He has not coloured it at all.
However, there is complete proportion in making the figure.

Car by Triambak

Car by Triambak

The boy is crazy about cars also. He does not like the shape of Santro, a model by Hundai. He also does not like the shape of Wagon R, a model by Suzuki. Indica by Tata Motors does not attract him.

He says that when he will have a big house, he will keep good cars. He wants a big house because he wants large number of cars. For him good cars are Corolla by Toyota and Mercedes Ben. He also likes Honda car. But here he has drawn an insipid picture of a car. However, he has coloured it well and there is sense of proportion also.

Episode of Cartoon Making by Triambak



I had left my computer running. When I returned to my table, I found Triambak sitting on the chair and playing with the mouse. He did not even looked at me when I entered the room. I glanced at the monitor. I found that he made two concentric squares with nicely tapered corners. It was definitely a new thing for me. I did not disturb him. I occupied another sitter where I usually read. There was some pending work which I was doing earlier. I continued with that work after occupying the sitter. Just after sometime, I raised my head and again looked at the monitor. The squares had gone. I asked Triambak about the squares he was drawing. He told that he was not satisfied with his graphics therefore, he erased it. I just said in a lamenting voice that if he had saved them, then I would have posted it on the net.

At that time, he was using ink option of the Paint Brush. He was just making a spray of different colours on the sheet. There were no lines or figures on the sheet. It was mere dotted splashes in different colours. I gave a considerate look at his activity. Within short time, Triambak pressed the eraser option of the Paint Brush and started removing the splashes of the colour. At that movement I ventured to suggest him another option. I showed him ‘clear image’ option on ‘View’ on the tool bar. He just hummed but again preferred to use eraser. I did not insist and directed my attention to my own work.

After some time, I again raised by eyes and looked at the monitor. He had drawn an oval. While I was watching, he drew two perfect circles on the upper side of the oval. I guessed in this manner he would make a frog or something like that. Then he placed a circle right within center of one of the circle. It became clear that he was going to make a figure of a man or a frog. It was what going on in my thoughts. I kept watching. He drew another circle within the second circle. It was not perfectly placed within the circle. They boy showed some expression of exasperation and activated the option of eraser. Now I jumped into his activity. I stopped him. I looked at me with some confused expression. I told him to save the sheet first. Suddenly a gleaming grin returned to his face. He turned his head to monitor, went into the file option in the tool bar and clicked the ‘Save’ option. When the sheet of ‘Save’ option opened, I asked him about the name which he was going to give to the sheet.


"Cartoon", he said.


Then he spoke, "Papa, Spellings".


I said, "Caaar and tooone. Toooone is t o o n."


The boy typed the right word and saved it. I asked that why he was going to erase it. He said that he was not satisfied with the second eye. Now I was satisfied that the sheet was saved.

The boy afterwards continued with the job. He again picked the eraser and rubbed off the second eye. Then he again placed a circle within the circle. The picture, which emerged, had started making a sense. I was satisfied and directed my attention to my activity. He suddenly asked me to look at the figure. He had made a cute nose and a fascinating mouth. Now I was fully attracted towards his creation. He started colouring it. He picked a colour for the face. Then he tried to colour his eyes. On the colour panel, there were lesser numbers of shades. I ventured to give him some tips. I showed him how he can find more colours. I used the edit colour option from the tool bar. He picked some colours. After that, he framed the colours of the eyes and placed some straight horizontal lines below the eyes. There was now a weeping cartoon. The picture had really turned up as a good artistic creation. He coloured half of the eyes below in blue colour and rest of it as red. It was really an attractive picture. He then tried to make arms. He was not satisfied with the form. He rubbed it off. He then made the legs. He wanted to rub them off. I stopped him from doing that. He retained the legs and then coloured it. The whole picture had developed into a very attractive work. He then shyly said that he could open the edit colour option by directly double clicking the colour panel. I felt humbled. The boy knew how to edit colours. But when I had tried to show him, he just listened and allowed me to demonstrate. There, he was telling me about the alternative of editing the colours. Well, he is a smart guy.

I asked him to save the work and requested him to let me work on the computer. I told him that I would soon upload it. He left. I saved the cartoon but did not convert it into a jpg file.

We had to visit Ludhiana. Therefore, after finishing my job on the computer, I left the room planning that I would post his cartoon after returning from Ludhiana. However, I did not get time to log on to Internet after returning from Ludhiana. In the morning today, I started writing this detail of making cartoon by Triambak. I started writing the above material. In between I thought to look at the cartoon once more. I opened the file. There was no cartoon.

The boy had sat at computer in my absence. He had made another cartoon. He had demolished the previous cartoon. It was a great loss, as I understand. He has drawn another cartoon but that is not all that attractive. Alas, I could not show what he had actually made.

It is difficult to understand the mind of a child. You may think that he likes a thing in particular way. But you are wrong. The young ones have their own mind and liking. You may not understand it. However, now I have decided that I will save jpg files of his work. Earlier I had been deleting his work. Now he himself has deleted it. It was really a good work but it is now lost.

Second Hut By Triambak

Second Hut By Triambak
The boy is really crazy about having his own BIG house. However, he makes the traditional pictures. With Blocks, he sometimes really makes fascinating models. I am not going to suggest him to copy his Block Models on Paint Brush. I am waiting that he may get the idea on his own. On the other hand, he does not like his first hut. He has asked me to delet (Dismantle it) it.

Inlaid Squares By Triambak

Inlaid Squares by Triambak

Well the boy feels really encouraged. He keeps an eye on me. He is always in watch out for when I am out my room. Movement, I come out, he asks innocently, "Papa May I sit at computer".

He is also coming out with his secrets. He says that he had seen his friend Kartick making the chequered squares.

Similarly, in case of the Design, it was taught to him by his Madam, Ms. Navroop Kaur. He emphasized that the bubble forms, which was made on my suggestion was his own idea. He called them flowers. I suggested that to me they looked like clouds. He consented to my view.

In case of the star, he revealed his source of inspiration. He apprised me that he had virtually copied the star from one of his book.

Squares by Triambak

Squares by Triambak
The boy has strong likes and dislikes.

Earlier he made a design full of circles. He was making it nicely. I left him on his own. He came to me to help him save his document. But when I reached the monitor, I found the above drawn chequered design. I enquired about the earlier designs. He showed his dissatisfaction with his earlier design and apprised me that he had deleted the earlier one. Then he asked me the spellings of 'squares' so that he could save the design. It is now displayed above.

Star by Triambak

Star by Triambak


Today Triambak sought permission to use the computer. I was reading newspaper so I permitted him.

I checked the My Document and found this new file in the folder. The boy himself has saved the file and named it. So, he was right that he knew how to save. This time he has given a file name also.

Hut of Triambak

Hut by Triambak

The Hut is drawn by Triambak. I had foolishly deleted a hut picture drawn by him earlier. Today, he has drawn another one.

A Design by Triambak and Gratitude to Teachers


I was happy after posting the paint brush files of my son on my blog at Paint Brush of Triambak. I called him and showed him the display. He was also excited and elated. The guy is really a master in hiding his happiness. I know it when he is happy because I am his father and know him since his childhood. There was that typical quite posture and little smile on his face which conveyed to me that the boy was happy. It is other thing that after watching television and movies, he has borrowed some gestures of exultation. However, when he is expressing his normal feelings, he never shows his jubilation. He just becomes mum. You can only judge his happiness from his brightened eyes.

He tried to read the comments which I had placed against each display. He was more attracted towards the second display which I have titled as "The Greeting Card by Triambak". I helped to remind him that when it was made. He soon recollected and told me that it was when he was in nursery class that he had drawn that. I made some alteration to the comment which I had written there. He also enquired about a file in which he had drawn a house. I apologized to him that I had deleted that. He did not show any reaction. I suggested him that he should always save whatsoever he would do on computer and I proposed that I would display it on the blog.



A Design by Triambak





On the whole, he was happy. I was sitting on my chair placed before me computer table. The keyboard was just before me and had covered it as I was just sitting before the computer. He was sitting on my left side away from the computer. The mouse was just before him. I had placed my right hand on the mouse. Suddenly he spoke, "Pappa, May I draw one more picture like these ones!" I allowed him. He asked me to remove my hand from the mouse. He virtually grabbed it from me. Now there he was. He got hold of the mouse. Clicked start. Entered Programmes. Moved to Accessories and reached the paint. He opened a new file. The rest was a spectacle to watch. I watched him using the control panel. I accept that there were some operations which I did not know about in the Paint Brush. I just watched how he moved the cursor. Enlarged it. Then reduced it. Soon, I believe, within three two four minutes, he drew the presented figure. Then he asked me to save it. I clicked the save option and simultaneously inquired if he knew how to save. He nodded in affirmation. I then asked about naming the file. He immediately came up with the name. He asked me to save it as a ‘Design’. I did as he directed. I was actually amazed at the speed at which he had made this drawing. While looking at the Design I just remarked that the corners of the Design are empty. He immediately grabbed the mouse and performed some more actions on the sheet. I found it really amazing. I just kept admiring what he was doing. I again pushed ctl+s and saved the document. I was really proud of him.

A Gratitude:

Here I want to pay my gratitude to the teachers of my son Triambak.

I first remember Mrs. Ahluwalia. She was her teacher at Pre-Nursery School. She is the owner of Little Flower Play Way School, Passian Chownk, Phillaur. The same Passian Chownk where Shradaram Phillauri, the author Om Jai Jagdeesh Hare, the Punjabi Vartak and probably the first Novelist of Hindi and the first revolutionary of Punjab. It is Mrs. Ahluwalia who introduced him to colours, shapes and alphabets.

I then remember Vanita and Viney. It was Vanita at Victoria International Public School, Phagwara, who taught her in Nursery class. He can now easily read and write. He can understand English and makes good attempts to speak in English also. It is all because of her, that he is quite good in Hindi and English. Viney, her husband, encouraged him to use computer. The comfortable level which he had shown with mouse and the control panel was imparted to him by Vaneet. It is other story that the owner of the school, whose only qualification is that he is a rich man but hardly tenth pass, does not have the vision to retain teachers like Viney and Vanita. No doubt, I have learnt that he remembers them. This is not a story of VIPS only. It is a general trend now and bane of education in India.

I just asked Triambak that how he should pay his gratitude to Vaneet who has taught him the computer so well, he said that it was not Vaneet who had taught him those drawings. He said that it was his present teacher Ms. Navroop, who had showed him how to use the pain brush. Well this is what he thinks. I know that Vaneet has also played a role in it. I just then quizzed him about Vaneet. He told that Vaneet just allowed using the computer in his room. Well, it is what the child feels for his teacher. I pay my gratitude to Ms. Navroop Kaur also.


If someone reads this post, then I will just ask the reader to remember the teachers of Nursery and Primary School Teachers. They are the people who lay the foundation of the future of the child. But Alas, the society does not pay respect to this section of society, this section of experts. They are ready to respect the Doctors, Engineers, Professors and Bureaucrats. But, I strongly believe that these primary teachers are the real builders. Just a few days back, an article on blogging by school teachers had appeared in USA Today in which Elementary History Teacher has been featured. The teacher while reflecting on the article has given her impression separately on her blog. She writes , "I was quoted in the article saying, "As a teacher, I feel like people don’t listen to me. Parents don’t listen to me, politicians don’t listen to me, the media doesn’t listen to me---but everyone tries to tell me how to do my job.""

She further writes, "I could have probably added some other groups in the mix such as some researchers, authors, pundits and the biggie for me…my professional educational organization (union)."

She continues in one of the paragraph as, "We are the ones that sit across from the student, one-on-one, witnessing the child’s behavior, witnessing the child’s thought processes, redirecting the child, celebrating accomplishments with the child, and picking up the pieces by changing course to give it a go again when there is failure. Don’t get me wrong I’m not saying politicians, parents, the media, etc. don’t have a right to be part of the conversation. They do, but so often we only hear they are right, and we are wrong. I’m the one sitting there with the child." She was rather annoyed with some of the remarks she received. But the thing is that the society has to learn, that it is teacher at this stage of life of a human being which matters. But the society do not respect and recognize their work. This is how we treat them.

Now, kindly do not shrug off by saying that is about America. What about India? The politicians say that teachers are available for 500 rupees a month. This is how we rate them. It is they who make us. But we never recognize them. When a son or daughter is successful in their life and establish themselves in their profession, the parents proudly say that it is their nurturing which has played the vital role. Even the people, who make it good in life, do not remember their nursery or primary teachers. They may have expired when one starts reaping the fruits in life. The successful toddlers who are then globe trotters, never once ever think about them.

Anyhow, I also pay my tribute to my nursery teacher Mrs. Khurana of Bal Vikas, Late Mrs. Hardev Kaur of Government Senior Secondary School sector 16, Chandigarh, Madam Shaminder, Madam Brar, Sir Purohit and my Physics teacher (This is how you some times remember the teachers, only the subject of the teacher) who taught me at Kendriya Vidyalaya, Patiala.