from green to black

just had to put this up

My wife called, 'How long will you be with that
newspaper? Will you come here 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.


I cleared my throat and picked up the bowl.
'Sindu, darling, why don't you take a few
mouthfuls of this curd rice?
Just for Dad's sake, dear'.


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?'


'Promise'. I covered the pink soft hand extended
by my daughter with mine, and clinched the deal.
Now I became a bit anxious. 'Sindu, dear, 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 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
TV programs!'


'Sindu, darling, why don't you ask for something else?
We will be sad seeing you with a clean-shaven head.'


'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 of 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.
'May be, 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 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,
you are teaching me how selfless real love is!'


The happiest people on this planet are not those
who live on their own terms but are those who
change their terms for the ones whom they love.

posted by green unseen @ 7:44 AM