Era and Cycling

Wheels on the bicycle go round and round, round and round, round and round all through the terrace.

Kid on the bicycle go make mango shake, make mango shake, make mango shake all through the terrace.

Sissy on the bicycle go make cappuccino, make cappuccino, make cappuccino all through the terrace.

Momma on the terrace go sing a rhyme, sing a rhyme, sing a rhyme standing on a corner.

Wheels on the bicycle go round and round, round and round, round and round all through the terrace.

Era sings ‘wheels on the car go round and round’ when she travels by car. So, I have modified that to the above version. Era and Vedanshi ride their cycles on the terrace and come back to us saying they have prepared a shake or coffee and sell that to us. The more rounds they circle through on the terrace, the more smooth the shake will be and the more flavored the coffee will be. I enjoy the imaginary shakes and coffee everyday.

One day, Era firmly states, ‘I am not going to ride this tricycle. I need a bigger cycle with balancer.’  My all effort to convince her that she should first learn to ride on this tricycle so that she can ride the bicycle with balancers well are nullified. She would not change her decision.

The next day, we went to Taneja Cycle works and there she finds a yellow bicycle. She would not try any other. She doesn’t need the pink of the same brand as Vedanshi which I had thought would be her choice. She needs this yellow and red cycle with white flowers. On our way back, she softly tells, Mamma, do you know why I choose this cycle over others? I asked her, ‘Why, baby?’ Her answer: ‘Because it has a yellow star!’

The next evening, she went upstairs to ride the cycle. It was not as easy as she had thought. She had tried riding Vedanshi’s bicycle two/three times – half pedal each time. She thought riding a cycle is easy. But it didn’t happen as her expectation. The chain being tight, she was not able to push the pedal. She was frustrated within a few minutes. She said, Mamma, I want to play with you.

For a few days, she gave up the thought of trying. I took her to the terrace every morning and evening and tried to convince how she should ride the bicycle. She was reluctant to the idea and got angry with me.  Gradually, she started sitting on the cycle but wanted me to push her.

Ayushi started helping her with pushing the pedal for full pedalling. Gradually, she allowed me to help her with the pedals and finally, Era learnt riding.

One day, she fell down while riding superfast. Then she started riding very slow. And now, has developed a pace, slow to medium. I am hopeful that she will gradually ride a bit faster and enjoy.

Gamala Luitel

I am a mother, author, content writer.

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