Spider Optometry

For well over a decade now, there've been several reasons to look forward to my yearly trip to Mangalore. One of those has been the cast-party with my fellow actors at the Cause Foundation - quite the stuff legends are made of. Of late, it's been more about spending time with two of my favorite people and their utterly beautiful children.

Aanya, the youngest of three, is all of 5. We got to hang out a bit during my trip last week. We sat with her books, reading stories. She got bored soon, and brought out a series of kiddy-encyclopedias.

"We'll ask each other questions from these and we'll find out who knows more", she wagered.

Challenge accepted.


"Name the nearest planet to the sun". I got Mercury

"What do bees make?" She got honey.

"What's the longest river in the world?"I got Nile.

"What do you call animals that eat meat?" Blank.

Aanya will forever remember me as the one who taught her to say the word 'carnivore'. She learnt it syllable by syllable and was pleased as punch when she could say out the biggest word she's ever used so far.

"How many eyes does a spider have?" Erm...trick question?

8-legged, they are. I couldn't recollect anything ever about spiders'eyes.

"Two?"

"Ha! a spider has 8 eyes", she gleamed in triumph. We were now on an even keel.

The conversation then veered towards how we could use 8 eyes, if we had the option.

"I want two in front, two behind me, and two on the left and right sides of my head", I ventured.

"You'll look so funny", she giggled,  "with your face full of eyes"

"Imagine how much more funny I'd be if I wore glasses for each pair of eyes!", I offered.

"How will you wear so many glasses?", she asked, quizzically.

"Why not?"

"You only have 2 ears."


Game, set and match, Aanya Jacob.