"How long
will you be poring over that
newspaper? Will you come here
right away and make your
darling daughter eat her food?"
I tossed
the paper away and rushed to
the scene. My only Daughter
Sindu looked frightened. Tears
were welling up in her
eyes. In front of her was a
bowl filled to its brim with
Curd Rice.
Sindu is
a nice child, quite intelligent
for her age. She has Just
turned eight. She particularly
detested Curd Rice. My mother
and my wife are orthodox and
believe firmly in the cooling
effects' of Curd Rice. I
cleared my throat and picked up
the bowl.
"Sindu,
darling, why don't you take a
few mouthful of this Curd
Rice? Just for Dad's sake,
dear. If you don't, your Mom
will shout at me."
I could
sense my wife's scowl behind my
back. Sindu softened a bit and
wiped her tears with the back
of her hands. "OK, Dad. I will
eat not just a few mouthfuls,
but the whole lot of this. But,
you should..." Sindu
hesitated. "Dad, if I eat this
entire Curd Rice, will you give
me whatever I ask for?" "Oh
sure, darling."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
I covered
the pink soft hand extended by
my daughter with mine
And
clinched the deal.
"Ask Mom
also to give a similar
promise," my daughter insisted.
My wife slapped her hand on
Sindu's muttering "Promise,"
Without any emotion.
Now I
became a bit anxious. "Sindu,
you shouldn't insist on getting
a computer or any such
expensive items. Dad does not
have that kind of money right
now. OK?"
"No,
Dad. I do not want anything
expensive."
Slowly
and painfully, she finished
eating the whole quantity. I
was silently angry with my wife
and my mother for forcing my
Child to eat something that she
detested.
After the
ordeal was through, Sindu came
to me with her eyes wide with
expectation. All of our
attention was on her.
"Dad, I
want to have my head shaved off
this Sunday," Was her demand!
"Atrocious!" shouted my wife,
"a girl child having her head
Shaved
off? Impossible!"
"Never in
our family!" my mother
rasped. "She has been watching
Too much
of television. Our culture is
getting totally spoiled with
these stupid TV programs!"
"Sindu,
why don't you ask for something
else? We will be sad seeing
you with a clean-shaven head."
"No,
Dad. I do not want anything
else," Sindu said with
finality.
"Please
Sindu, why don't you try to
understand our feelings?" I
tried to plead with her.
"Dad, you
saw how difficult it was for me
to eat that Curd Rice," Sindu
was in tears. "And you
promised to grant me whatever I
ask for. Now, you are going
back on your words. Was it not
you who told me the story of
King Harishchandra and its
moral that we should honor our
promises no matter what?"
It was
time for me to call the shots.
"Our promise must be kept."
"Are you
out your mind?" chorused my
mother and wife.
"No. If
we go back on our promises, she
will never learn to honour her
own. Sindu, your wish will be
fulfilled."
With her
head clean-shaven, Sindu had a
round-face, and her eyes
Looked
big and beautiful.
On Monday
morning, I dropped her at her
school. It was a sight
To watch
my hairless Sindu walking
towards her classroom. She
turned around and waved.
I waved
back with a smile. Just then,
a boy alighted from a car, and
shouted, "Sinduja, please wait
for me!"
What
struck me was the hairless head
of that boy. "Maybe that is the
‘in’ stuff," I thought.
"Sir,
your daughter Sinduja is great
indeed!" Without introducing
herself, a lady got out of the
car, and continued, "That boy
who is walking along with your
daughter is my son Harish. He
is suffering from leukemia."
She
paused to muffle her sobs. "Harish
could not attend the school for
the whole of the last
month. He lost all of his hair
due to the side effects of the
chemotherapy. He refused to
come back to school fearing the
unintentional but cruel teasing
of the schoolmates.
"Sinduja
visited him last week and
promised him that she will take
care of the teasing issue. But
I never imagined she would
sacrifice her lovely hair for
the sake of my son! Sir, you
and your wife are blessed to
have such a noble soul as your
daughter."
I stood
transfixed. And then, I wept.
"My little Angel, will
you teach me
|
what love is?" |
~ Author Unknown ~
|
~ Thanks Jean for sharing
this with us ~ |