Oh! The Pokemon!

Woman's Era. October (first) 2004

It is 10 pm but I cannot lay the table for dinner…its time for the great show. My 7 year old flung his hands in the air and explained how important it was for him to watch ‘Pokemon’! ‘Ma, the whole class watches this cartoon . If I don’t watch it how will I join their discussion tomorrow?’

I tried to be friendly, ‘So beta, on what lines do you discuss Pokemon?’

‘Oh that you wont understand Ma, you don’t watch it na!!’

I realized that watching this particular cartoon was the primary requirement of an advanced IQ! My husband, who for so long had been engrossed in memorizing the newspaper, sat up and looked at us and suddenly announced that he too would watch the cartoon show. He definitely did not want to be excluded from his son’s world so early in life.

We had initially mistaken the Pokemon for a Pokeman, a cousin of Batman or Spiderman. But our son enlightened us that Pokemon was the short form of pocket monsters, the hybrid animals with magical powers. The cartoon tells the story of their young trainer Ash Ketchum who dreamt of becoming the greatest Pokemon master in the world.

After half and hour of the show, my husband seemed to be a changed man… ‘Its all so innocently beautiful!’ he commented in a serene absent minded voice. ‘There were so many children with so many magical animals, creating an alternative world of their own. What strange names they have got, and some look so cute…Pikachu, Meowth, Charizard….’

‘And what’s new about hybrid animals? Didn’t the great Sukumar Ray write about all these…remember hasjaru, bokocchop and hatimi?’ I asked teasingly. He chuckled. ‘But did we go so crazy about Abol Tabol?’

We didn’t, but they do. They live and breathe Pokemon. They want Pokemon toys and Pokemon gifts and they all aspire to be Pokemon masters. Last Christmas I had a tough time looking for Pokemon toys. All the famous toy shops had a regret smile. ‘They are selling like hotcakes ma’m, here are only a few left.’ I, as the secret Santa was disappointed. The more favourite Pokemons were all sold out.

The trickier aspect of this all is that a food brand has started distributing free Pokemon tazos (whatever those circular discs are). So now it’s absolutely normal and cool for a child to get a packet of those chips on a daily basis. If old fashioned parental authority still exists in the household, then it can come down to twice or thrice a week. My son ruefully narrated the list of ‘affectionate’ moms who everyday gave their children, chips with free Pokemon tazos inside. I couldn’t help asking about the effect of this enormous junk consumption on the kid’s digestive system.

The answer I got was astounding. ‘No, they don’t get stomach problems, for they don’t have to eat the whole packet. Their mothers don’t keep other snacks items at home. Like you, they don't buy biscuits and mixtures…its only Cheetos. Rahul and Niraj and Sourav and…. Serve their guests Cheetos. Their parents too eat Cheetos when they come home from office. The ayah mashis also eat Cheetos in their house….’

I felt it was becoming a bit too much. Maybe I should contact some other hapless mom like me for more authentic information. I decided to call up Rohini. She was delighted to hear my voice but the moment she heard my real query she became gloomy. ‘Don’t ask me Nandini how I am coping with the crisis. Everyday the teacher is complaining in the diary. Rahul takes 10 rupees from home, buys the Cheetos, takes the tazo out from the packet and throws the entire packet in the dustbin. Imagine the waste and the attitude! His point is he must have the maximum number of tazos in his class. And when the teacher found the tazos, she threw them into the dustbin after school. But that didn’t stop Rahul! He dug his hands deep into the dustbin after school. So now the teacher breaks and then throws the tazos!’

I asked, ‘But Rohini why do you give him 10 rupees everyday? My son told me that you eat and serve only Cheetos as snacks nowadays?’

She was silent for sometime and then said cautiously…. ‘Er Nandini, my son Rahul told me the same thing about you people. I wanted to speak to you about it.’

I came down to Mother earth with a thump and did not know what to say. I was only grateful that Rohini could not see my embarrassed state over the phone. I fumed and brooded as I walked up and down my little flat. I imagined a thousand ways to confront the mischievous creature when he came home from school.

The culprit entered, washed and sat down for lunch. I looked for a suitable time to broach the topic but the look on his tired and innocent face made me melt a little. After all maybe he was only reporting what his more innovative friends fabricated. As he lifted the first morsel to his mouth, he shrieked in pain… ‘Its burning Ma. Today Ayan and Raj fought like hell. We went to separate them and we too got hurt badly….here see this finger, it is still bleding!’

‘Its high time you boys stopped this hooliganism during tiffin break!’ I reproached as I passed the spoon and stuck the band aid.

‘ But you should have seen them Ma. Ayan said he was Sunny Deol and Raj was Sunil Shetty. Raj hit Ayan so hard that he was bleeding from the nose. Ayan then gave a blow, Raj fell down and was bleeding from the forehead. And then Father Brian caught them by the ears and dragged them into his room!’

‘God knows why they are allowed to watch all that violence on TV!’ I said to myself. My son heard me… ‘No, not God only, I also know why…because they were watching too much Pokemon and their mothers stopped the cartoon channels. So now its only the dhisum dhisum channels and dance dance channels for them.!’

‘Oh Pikachu and Charizard, save me!’ I thought. Such insights on child rearing coming from the child himself.

Maybe the Pokemon is better, no violence, no sexual innuendo, but only a magical reality. What’s the harm if the children dream? As long as the chips and tazo menace is under control!! And that evening I served an early dinner. For the first time in his life my son ate within a reasonable 15 minutes! He had to watch the cartoon. Dinner table was no more a bargain centre for lesser food and more time!

‘But why so early today?’ asked both father and son as they got up to wash their hands. ‘Because I too shall watch Pokemon!’ I announced casually.

I heard giggles and some camouflaging coughs

Nandini Basu.