Do you know addition?
I asked a six-year-old.
She smiled at me
looking at me funnily.
Thinking she does not know
went on to ask
if she is familiar with the tables.
Breaking into laughter
posing a mischievous smile
she said additions and tables are for the old
manual and doing it by rote are not her way.
saying She brought to me sheets of arithmetic
taught by the Kumon method
I could not make head or tail of it
as I belong to the old school
where maths is taught with fun
counting with beads in kindergarten
with the carry over and carry forward
with a borrower and a lender
with speed and time, 
ratio and proportion
with measurements and distance
all in one go
right from class one upwards
we went in a steady flow
slowly and steadily assimilating everything in school
where none other activity or coaching became essential.
Meenas Poems 