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The boy, the girl and a watch
Bubai is now in grade 7. He honestly feels that he knows enough about the world. And why not? His parents are in quite respectable positions in the public sector in India and have given enough freedom to their single child. Bubai does not have to justify why he needs to buy a particular story book like many of his friends. He doesn’t need to wait for two birthdays to get a full cricket gear set like his friend Sandip. Nor does he have to wait to get the new robot which has been the latest sensation in the toy market now a days. Thus, in any matter, there is ample opportunity for him to learn and explore.
Upon returning from work, mom asked Bubai – “All ok, right?” Bubai replied affirmatively. For some reason mom was not that convinced. Truly, Bubai is a honest kid. His face says everything all the time. She asked again. Bubai told her mom that he couldn’t finish his “history” test on time at school.
Mom was a little surprised. “Didn’t you time the answers? You are a great student Bubai. It happens sometimes, don’t worry.”
Sometimes Bubai thinks why his parents are “too cool”! Just yesterday, Priyanka told him that she was scolded by her parents for watching more TV than her alloted time. Bubai felt that his parents don’t scold him at all. Not that it is a bad thing, but strange of course.
Anyway, that night at the dinner table his father was the first to ask Bubai – “Heard from your mom that you ran out of time in your history test.” He continued, “Well, I would recommend you should get a watch.. and don’t worry, will give you a nice one which you will like.” It’s not that Bubai has never thought of a watch. He particularly liked a model which he saw in an advertisement in the “Sportsworld” magazine – a beautiful Casio watch, with an automatically updating calibrator, and on top of it it’s written “g-shock”. It was uber cool, but a little pricy – 14,000 Indian rupees. He never wanted to take advantage of his nicest parents, so never asked for it. Now that his father brought the watch topic, for a second Bubai thought to ask him for that watch. “Baba – I have a watch in mind. Can I show you?”
“Of course!” – Bubai’s eyes just glittered. He ran into his study room and brought the Sportsworld mag.
“This is the one Baba”. By that time his mom also eagerly came by father’s chair. Definitely, it’s a gorgeous watch!
“Looks really good, but costly! If you promise that you will take good care of it, will get one for you”.
That was “the” moment. Bubai just hugged his parents, and the deal was made. The next thing was Bubai got this watch the following Satuday, just in 2 days.
Bubai never wanted to show off his stuffs, but he always shared anything new in his life with Diya. Diya is a simple girl. She and Bubai had many things in common. For both Oscar Wilde was their favorite author, “The Happy Prince” was their favorite story and Maths was their favorite subject.
Diya noticed Bubai’s new watch on his left wrist. “Wooow” was her reaction. “I am soooo happy for you…You know, I have been dying to get a watch, but my parents are still thinking. And I wanted a simple one, simpler than yours.”
“What are they thinking”, asked Bubai.
“It costs money. I wish…”
Bubai felt sad. So, what you get easily may not be the same for everyone, and that can be applicable to your best friend too. Bubai’s birthday was in just 3 days. His parents were planning to gift him two “Tintin” books which he had asked for. Bubai gathered courage and asked her parents that night – “Can I get another watch Baba, Ma? A simpler one from Casio… it will be 3000 rupees…I can get the Tintin books on my next birthday – no need to give me this year.”
“What ??” – his parents both exclaimed! “Why ?”
Bubai told them about his conversation with Diya.
On his birthday Bubai got another Casio watch, a simpler one, and Tintin was also not left out. Bubai’s glittering eyes were moistened. He could visualize the next day in school bus, and Diya’s innocent face filled with a smile which he loved to see always.
Thirty years has passed since then. Nita asked Bubai – “Hey, did you listen? Richa missed to answer one question is her biology test, apparently ran out of time. I think we should give her a watch…” Bubai remained silient… thinking, reminiscing….”Are you all right ?” – Nita asked. Bubai nodded affirmatively.
[Note: All the characters in the blogs are fictitious, and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, is purely coincidental.]
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The boy and the school bus
Bubai loves to go to school. It’s about the friends, the school library, the classes, the quizzes, and the school bus. He has stepped to grade 7 now. The studies have become tougher, needs more attention than before. ‘Buoyancy’ is a magical word to him now. He loves his mathematics, and science literally intrigues him. Archimedes’ principle has started to thrill him more than ever. Like every other day, today morning is a rush time too. His mom and dad have the time well compartmentalized. Breakfast, glancing off the newspapers, followed by quick studying and a light lunch – pretty much describe Bubai’s weekday morning. The chauffeur has arrived, and his parents are ready to go. And so is Bubai. All set for the day!
Bubai waits for the school bus, as he sees off his parents to office. He sees the cars disappearing into the winding roads, and maneuvers his mind to walk through the school-zone. It’s not long from then, that the school bus arrives. Bilayet opens the door, and Bubai gets into the bus. He enters a different world then. He knows exactly where his friends are sitting. Towards the middle rows of the bus. Sandip waves his hands and there he goes! Sometimes Bubai wonders that how can they have so many topics to discuss.
That day among other subjects, he also learnt a new concept in maths. He was quite thrilled about that. How quickly the school hours flew by. And it was raining that day. And school campus looks more beautiful when it rains. This is the time when Bubai has to wait. The school buses will be arriving one by one and the students get into them. So many buses, and nothing to say about the kids. Buses ply in their different routes. And a little more wait. His bus arrived. Who will say that kids can be so disciplined. Bubai and the others got into the bus with the eagerness to reach home. While returning, there is one habit which Bubai has grown. He reads a story book while in the bus. And that day was the turn of ‘The Happy Prince’. He was kind of immersed into the imagination of the reed and the swallow. “Hi – hope I am not disturbing you” – all on a sudden Bubai heard these words. A young girl, of the same grade of his may be. “I am Deepa. Hope I can sit here.” She just showed the empty seat besides Bubai’s. He, of course had no hesitation. In general Bubai had no problem in making friends. Being a part of school chess and quiz team, he was quite popular. She told Bubai that her mother is a new teacher in the school, and she has been a new entrant to the school too. They moved from another state in India. She told Bubai that she liked a lot seeing him reading book every day in the school bus. Bubai felt the genuineness in Deepa’s voice. Deepa could talk continuously for any number of minutes. She could switch topics. That day they talked about Oscar Wilde. Stories were their favorite topics. Bubai learnt a lot about special ‘south-Indian’ dishes, which were added to his food wish-list.
Unknowingly they went into a world day by day which was incomprehensible to both. Slowly the bus journey became one of the best times for Bubai. The days flew by pretty fast. But that day came quite quickly, as they would not have thought. Deepa gave him the news. Her father will be transferred to another state. It was damp that day. The sky was overcast. And this came as a shock. The about to be eighth graders were not thrilled. It’s strange, but they could feel a sense of future emptiness. It was quick. The school sessions were supposed to be over for the year. A long break was awaiting. And Deepa’s family was planning to move in 2 weeks’ time. This last day before the holidays was memorable for Bubai. They did talk a lot. Their new latitude-longitude and atlas obsession helped them in better understanding of the distance between Kolkata and Bangalore. And Bubai got a parting gift, a kiss on his cheeks.
Bubai’s favorite author had said already. The swallow had to fly. The reed had to stay.
[Note: All the characters in the blogs are fictitious, and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, is purely coincidental.]
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The boy and the book-fair
Bubai loved to read. That was one access to the world which he never wanted to compromise. The mornings were of two types. The weekday morns were conduits to reach the evening quickly, for this eleven year old. The weekend mornings were filled with “must to do” studies followed by “never to be missed” games with friends. The evenings were special to him. That’s the time when his parents used to come from work, and every single evening was like a reunion. Home cooked food, a little bit of studying, talking about any topic followed by his passion – reading books. Yes – that was something which kept him awake. No subject failed to catch his attention. Modern adventure stories to the classics to the mysteries of the universe. And then every year that time used to come. To him the most auspicious period. Calcutta Book Fair time. One of Asia’s and world’s biggest book fairs. He used to wait for that.
It used to be end of January every year. The cold weather in Kolkata (the then Calcutta) was always an added attraction. That Saturday morning seemed to be special when Bubai, his mom and dad used to get ready for the book fair. Excitement gripped his mind. The vast ground. And more to anything else – there were books. Books everywhere. His eyes, his mind used to reach that state of happiness, which had no bounds. He could as if fulfill his dreams. Bubai went through the list which he had prepared. He definitely needed to pick Satyajit Ray’s latest books, and so many others’. He had already read Oscar Wilde’s “The Selfish Giant” or “The Happy Prince” – courtesy to his parents. O’Henry was his next target even at that age. He was thrilled to get a copy of a couple of classics too – “The Prisoner of Zenda” or “Ivanhoe” were as if just waiting for him. The grass on the ground, the smell of new books, the long lines in front of stores and those moments. Unforgettable. He roamed around the fair. It always had the special attraction of the “focal country” pavilion. Bubai loved to see and learn about the world. Mom and dad never curbed his interest. They just wanted that to grow. They just wanted his growth of free spirit, growth of independent thinking. Bubai went from stall to stall, touched the books, heard the debates and enriched himself with the world’s depiction of human emotions. Something got instilled in him – his courage to know.
Those special days also used to end sometime. Bubai came back home with enough to read. Filled with power. The power of knowledge. And his eyes determined to move forward in life with the storylines engrained within him.
Swagata's Criss-cross 