SS: Papa and his Pari
Chapter-1
"Children, today all of you have to tell Five sentences about your father. Okay? We will start with Ashwini. Yes, Ashwini, can you tell five sentences about your father?" The teacher was taking an English class in the First Grade, or First Standard, and was discussing about their fathers with the children.
"My father's name is Abhishek. He is a doctor. He is very nice. He plays with me on Sunday. I love him very much." Ashwini, one of the kids in the class rattled out five sentences about her father.
"Okay, good... Next, Binshi, your turn." Teacher was going turn by turn in the alphabetical order, and though some kids gave funny answers in their innocence and some tried very hard in forming sentences; but they could sail through speaking five sentences about their respective fathers.
"Okay, next, Suhana Bose, please tell us five sentences about your father." The teacher asked Soha, just like she had been asking the other kids.
Soha got up from her seat and ran a careful hand over her skirt, correcting it in case it lost its crease. Suhana wasn't a scared kid, that all knew, or she kept her front that way, that she looked one confident person, just like her mother. Very upfront and truthful, she spoke earnestly- "Mam, I do have a father. But I never met him. I don't know him. He lives in Delhi. He is may be, a nice man.". Soha spoke five sentences about her father, she knew so little about, that she couldn't make even five sentences about them, and she spoke her heart instead, in those five sentences... The entire class apart from the teacher, erupted with laughter.
"Silence everyone!" the teacher instructed in a strict voice, and the children were quiet. The teacher nodded at Suhana to sit down, and continued with the rest of the class.
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"Arre, Mohit, chal apan uss Miss. Suhana Bose ko mazaa chakhaate hain... Uske papa hi nahi hain... Aisa kabhi hota hai kya? Sabke papa hote hain..." Golu kept a hand on his mouth to giggle, ready to take a dig on the ever so confident Soha, who riled him up with her narrowing eyes and angry stance...
"Abhi nahi Golu... Recess mein... Mam ne dekh liya toh phir se punishment mil jaayegi..." Mohit, his friend advised.
"Haan... Main aaj lunch box nahi laaya na, toh Bighcha laake denge, dekhna. It would be fun with Bigcha on my side, and we will tease that Miss. Suhana Bose." Golu punched his friend's fist.
"Pakka!" Mohit punched back his friend's fist.
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"Silly little boy... Junior! Forgot his lunchbox. And nobody cares to check his bag while he is leaving. Should I turn into his Full-time parent, grandparent, guardian, friend, philosopher and guide all wrapped up into one?" Dev walked in the premises of St. White's International School, where his nephew studied, thinking about the least attention that the kid got. What he thought was to give his Junior a pleasant visit, made his lips droop when he reached the door of the classroom...
The class was relatively empty, with kids out of the class for the recess... Only a girl sat on the first bench, with two pigtail braids tied neatly and baby cut fringes covering her forehead sat with her head lowered, possibly upset. And surrounding her was Golu and his friends who were probably teasing her.
"Oye, Golu, she doesn't have a father..." the first kid guffawed.
"I have one you fool." Soha defended herself.
"Oh yeah! She does Golu. But she hasn't met him until now... Pata nahi kab milegi apne papa se." another friend giggled.
Soha was getting pink now... She was controlling her emotions...
"I think, she is a bad girl. Like she behaved badly with us. She must have hurt her father also. And he must have left her, never to return. Otherwise, who doesn't have a father? Everyone does. Miss Suhana Bose has no father... Suhana Bose has no father... Suhana Bose has no father..." Golu was teasing Soha...
Golu was having fun on Soha's expense, but did not realise that he wasn't just hurting the girl sitting on the first bench, who had tears swimming in her eyes, but also hurt immensely the man who stood at the door of the classroom, who was his Bigcha, and had his own eyes wet.
He saw tears ready to spill from the little girl's eyes, and the urge and pull he felt to wipe those tears couldn't help Dev that moment...
"GOLU!!!" Dev was livid, as he entered inside...
"Hi, Bigcha!" Golu raised his hand to give a high five to his uncle, but seeing his demeanour, pulled his hand back... "This is the girl I told you about." He tried diffusing the anger on his uncle's face by including him in his fun. "She is the only one who has no father." he giggled.
"That's not true." Dev's voice was steely. "Even I don't have a father for 27 years now. We lost him, and it was none of my fault, kids." He told them.
Suhana looked up at him with her eyes filled with tears, many of them had already wet her face. Someone else had a similarity with her, was a respite to know. "Golu, I have never stopped you from having fun, and living life to the fullest. I have also taught you to not tolerate injustice. But this is not what I have ever asked you. To tease anyone for not having a father or mother. There's a certain limit to all the tease. You are never going to hurt anyone like this, let alone this friend of yours." Dev, for the first time in years have scolded Golu in this manner. But there's always a first time, and of course Golu was surprised by getting this scolding, and had a fall of face.
"She is not my friend." Golu said with a long face.
"But, from now on she will be... Say sorry, and shake your hands with her. Even you wouldn't like if anyone teases you about your Mumma and Papa or about your Bigcha." Dev explained the little boy.
"Sorry... I shouldn't have teased you..." Golu had held his ears, finally understanding that he really did a wrong. The rest of his friends did the same... Soha nodded her head amidst tears and a quivering voice- "It's okay." She wiped her nose with her handkerchief.
"Good. Here take your lunchbox Golu, and off you boys go for your lunch." Dev patted the boys to go fast.
When the boys were off, he was on his hunches before the little girl- "Did you have your lunch angel?"
"No, I don't feel like. And my name is ..." Soha wanted to tell him.
"Why? Why wouldn't you have your lunch?" Dev sat next to Soha on her bench urging her to have some food. The girl sat with unabashed tears. She wanted to tell someone how much she missed her father today, and had no one to tell her woes, when everyone laughed at her for not having a father. She wanted someone to tell that she needs her father, but loves her mother way too much to hurt her to meet her father.
"Angel, if you want, I can call your Mumma. Or anything that you need?" Dev pulled out his cell phone, in case she wants to call her mother. He extended it to her. Soha kept a hand over his hand, negatively shaking her head, looking up into his eyes...
What was pulling him to her? Those beautiful light brown eyes? Or the sense of strong will, yet an emotional heart? Dev wondered.
"My Mumma must be in the office, and I don't want to worry her." She spoke.
"Do you want to talk to me? Just in case? I don't have a father too, and lost him when I was almost your age, a little elder may be?" Dev initiated, if only she wants to talk.
She kept silent for many seconds, may be pondering, may be deciding if she should talk or not, may be weighing her words? Or may be deciding the amount of filter she should use with this man, who seems to understand the same emotion she felt... What she spoke, broke Dev's heart literally.
"I love my father... I haven't seen him... I know his name though. My parents separated even before I was born. Probably when I was in my Mumma's tummy, when they walked apart... He doesn't even know if I exist or not. He must not know anything about me. My mother never contacted him. He lives in Delhi only, but where he lives, I don't know." Soha spoke for the first time to someone, let alone to a total stranger, who was probably the uncle of a classmate. But why was she speaking to him, she did not know. But she found him comforting enough to share her thoughts she never shared with. She decided to continue- "I feel so jealous when I see my classmates being dropped by their fathers, being hugged, kissed, pampered, they go for an outing with their father, have fun... Only I don't have one, even my mother has her own father..." Soha complained... "Mumma told me about my father when we were about to shift back to Delhi, earlier we lived in Kolkata. She even gave me his phone number... I was so excited... I wanted to talk to him, know him, meet him, feel how it feels to my classmates having a father, being pampered and loved by him, being dropped to school by him... My Dadu, I mean Nanaji drops me to school, but he is not my Papa na? I wanted all that from my papa, and I was so happy to be able to know all that now..." Soha's face was animated as she talked about her wishes from her father... But then suddenly her face started having a longing and a sad- "But then I saw the faces around me... Mumma was suddenly sad with the idea of me going to my father... My Dadu had an angry face... probably they did not appreciate my idea of meeting my father, though they gave me the independence to meet him." Soha spoke sadly.
Dev considered her doomed eyes... He was seeing something similar in them... Avoiding having any prejudices, he nodded at her understanding her point and asking her to continue...
"I love the idea of having my own papa... But I don't know him... Mumma says he was a nice man. But not right for her. Probably he wouldn't be right for me as well... I don't know anything about him. But I know my Mumma... She is very nice, she does all the works I need her for, at the drop of the hat. I can't hurt her for my own wishes... Can I?" Soha was unsure.
If anything was left to be broken in Dev's heart till now, shattered into debris listening to what this girl said. He always thought he was the only one to have suffered this pain to please the mother, to not hurt her, he kept killing his own desires, dreams and happiness; to keep his loved ones happy, to be happy in the happiness reflected in their eyes and lips... But he realised, he wasn't the only one, this girl was doing the same thing now knowing the impact this habit can have on her life.
Soha came out of her trance and took an inward breath seeing her open lunchbox, and that too empty... She looked at the man, astonished and asked- "Who ate my tiffin?"
Dev giggled this time- "Pari, you did."
"But when?" her mouth was agape.
"When you were talking." Dev was amused.
"But my hands are here in my lap all the time. I did not use them." She showed her hands to him.
"Because I was feeding you. What was it that you brought green vegetable and rice?" Dev told her smiling.
"Palak ki khichdi. And why did you feed me? I am not a small girl. I can eat with my own hands." Soha asked.
"But you weren't feeling like Pari... And I don't like when my friends don't eat their food, I feel upset. That's why I made you eat with my own hands." Dev told making a cute face.
"But we haven't yet made the friendship. How can we be friends?" Soha told him the fact.
"Okay, if you want, we can shake hands and be friends." Dev took out his hand to have a handshake.
"Arre, aise nahi Uncle... Aise..." Soha, tilted Dev's palm showing up, and patted her palm on his. Then turned his palm showing down and her palm up and hit his palm on hers, and then touched his nose tip with her index finger... "Mere bhi nose pe kariye uncle. Kuch kuch hota hai nahi dekhi kya?" Soha told him.
"Okay Pari." Dev giggled and touched her button nose tip with his index finger.
"Soha... That's what my name is at home..."
"No, I will call you Pari only... That's how I want to call my BUDDY." He declared.
"Okay Uncle." Soha smiled.
"Nah, we are friends na? You can call me BUDDY. Will you?" Dev told.
And she enthusiastically smiled and nodded at him... Oh God, how warm a smile she has, yet she was crying... Dev wanted to always keep this little angel of his happy... Today he did what, he had never thought to do in the past many years, neither expected of himself... He had befriended this girl...
The bell indicating the end of recess rang... He stood up...
"Pari, your secret emotions are intact with me... I won't tell anyone, I promise... Stay assured." He said his parting words...
"Will you come again?" Soha asked.
"Of course, Tell me about it. I want to meet you soon..." Dev promised...
And Dev left school after promising PARI that her BUDDY will soon come to meet her again.
~~THANKS FOR READING~~
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