India, May 28 -- A lot of mothers get to hear from their children that as grandmothers they are totally different beings than what they were as mothers. I often wonder, how I transformed into an epitome of benevolence, indulgence, patience and love when it came to my grandchildren. More so, when the same pranks invited whacks amid desperate sighs, with my own children. Rather, one had so much more energy to cope, back then. Mental exhaustion was always around the corner. Most young mothers, were desperately looking for play schools, that would ease our lives for a couple of hours, of the bundles of mischief we had unsuspectingly brought into the family. Ours was not a generation that could expect or demand help from either the family or insist on paid assistance. We pretty much did all that needed to be done. So much so, that one barely looked at one's own self. Once as I stepped out of my humble car to pick up my younger daughter from school, a friend pointed out that I was wearing two different slippers. Well at least I am wearing slippers, I sheepishly smiled away the embarrassment. Such was the rigmarole of the routine. With the same child, who drove me crazy, three decades ago, I mustered courage to pleadingly converse, the other day. "Do we really need to send this tiny thing to play school? He bawls and howls and I barely survived a heart attack, when it was my turn to drop him." She, of course, had her defence ready. "He is as big as the other children of the class." "Yes, but they all cry uncontrollably. A few keep sticking to the door, in the hope of seeing their parents somewhere," I said. "Stop it, mama," she said, brushing aside my apprehension. Pray, when did she morph into such a cold-hearted human. "They will bond with each other. The initial unfamiliarity will soon make way for a new interaction. They will learn basic skills, activities. Just a couple of days, and he will be looking forward to going there. Then it will be a smoother transition to the next school." Seeing the adamant response, I mentally began working on starting a nursery myself, so that my grandson is spared the exercise. Almost as if she'd read my thoughts, she asked me, "How come you had never thought on these lines when we two had to be pre-schooled? All children need to step out to learn, one day, mama." Yes, I believe so. Suddenly I remembered my elder granddaughter, who too took a long time accepting the change. She would feel distraught just looking at her uniform. Soon, we saw the transformation. The caterpillar is now a beautiful butterfly. She speaks, sings, debates, dances and even writes poetry. The bawling is a distant memory. In the school of life, the first steps are always the hardest. We all take our time, weaning off comfort zones. To be able to run, one has to first learn to crawl independently. The place in the sun that we all want our children to gain, is a journey that begins with sacrificing of the warmth of the lap. Tough call, yes, but it felt so much better today, when I wiped the huge tears off the chubby cheeks and whispered in his ears, "Walk on firmly my child. You are gaining the best privilege ever, of education."...