A story for my children

I am a hot water bottle. Not those red, blue and other assorted coloured ones you buy at a chemist. I am different. I am a baby hot water bag. Call me junior or sub-junior size, I am perfectly shaped for little ones. Chemists don’t sell me. I am found in a toy shop. Can you believe that? A hot water bottle in a toy shop. I am a different shade of blue with a pretty patterned cover of smiling teddy bears. I am also a trifle vain. I always feel that I am better off not being bought by anyone. Perhaps my dainty size and pretty appearance makes me feel different from the rest.

The toy shop was my home but a boring one. My companions were pens, crayons, glitter glues and pencils with ‘Eeyore’, ‘Winnie the Pooh’ caps. I didn’t get a chance to be with the other fancy toys. The days passed by lazily and I had no inkling that I was going to get a new home very soon. My toy shop was a popular one. Crowds of gaggling mothers would come in often, sometimes to buy gifts for birthday parties, sometimes as return gifts and at times with their own persistent children. None of them noticed me though. My favorite pastime was to observe them silently, knowing very well that they had no interest in me.

One late evening, a lady came in with her young daughter. The shop was about to shut but the kind owner waited. While the mother was busy, the young girl looked keenly around as if taking note of all that was there in this treasure trove of a shop.Ah yes for children toy shops are always magical and tempting. Then she looked down into the shelf where I was lounging with my old companions-the writing instruments. And then she saw me. I saw her eyes actually light up as if she had seen something truly amazing. Was she looking at me? As far as I knew, she was!

She hurried to her mother and exclaimed, “Mamma, see what I found! A hot water bottle just right for Diti! The mother looked delighted too. And she told the shop owner that she would like to buy me for her little daughter. She looked around to see if there were any more hot water bags like me. I was dismayed. Would she change her mind?

“Maa’m, that is the only piece I have left. In fact hardly anyone buys that size”, the shop owner spoke just in time.

The mother replied, “It is just what I have been looking for and I never thought that I would find it in a toy shop”!

So much for that. I was bought, packed and gently carried by the young girl and her mother into the car. As I entered my new home I could smell the pleasant aroma of cooking, warmth and a sense of good cheer. I waited eagerly to see my new owner or perhaps I could call her my companion. I hoped she liked teddy bears.

“Hey Diti! See what we found for you!” her sister called out to her. The mother heated up some water and filled me up gently.Atlast I was full. She took me into the bedroom where a little 4 year old (I could guess) lay wrapped up in bed. She was ill perhaps; I could not guage.And, in pain as her eyes revealed. But her eyes seemed to shine with excitement and happiness as if waiting in anticipation for a surprise. And she let out a squeal of glee when she saw me in her mother’s hands. It felt like she had wanted something like me for a long long time.

I felt I had finally arrived home, a place where I belonged and would be cared for.
Now I keep her warm on rainy days and cold days when she needs me to and she snuggles and falls asleep holding me.

Savior

It isn’t every day that I get to play savior. Atleast not to my enemy. But this was different.

It was a warm muggy night, one of those which had me all worried and anxious. I could sense a storm brewing. The sky through my eyes seemed overcast and I couldn’t glimpse a single star in the hazy night. Just when I was settling down into my cozy, damp bed, the sky above me shook. There was a loud rumbling and streaks of white light blitzed past my watery home. I wriggled in delight. The rains were coming! Finally! I gave a loud croak and “ribbit’ in the deepest voice that I could muster. It was time for a song!

For those of you who don’t know me, I love water. It is my life. I like the earth too but there is nothing like being in water. Food is plentiful, so is the company. And I lay my eggs in it. My eyes and nostrils are high up on my face so I can see a lot more than what you could if you were in it. Just imagine gentle ripples on the water as tiny drops fall pitter-patter on the water’s surface. A cool breeze that wafts through the muggy night and a sky lit with a brightness that surpasses that of the moon and the stars.

Okay I am digressing. Coming back to the hot muggy night, it was different. The rain was incessant. Soon the water in my pond was brimming over and the downpour was relentless. I decided to hop onto the foliage besides my home and lay crouched well hidden, while the rain poured down. It certainly felt like the heavens had opened up.

I closed my eyes, hoping for a short snooze when the unbelievable happened. Something or someone fell right onto my back! What on earth could it be? I was so shocked that I leaped right back into my ‘safe haven’ the pond with the “someone” holding onto my wet back for all its life. My bulging eyes rolled upwards as high as they could to catch a glimpse of this object that had “dropped straight from the heavens”.

I couldn’t believe my eyes. But my eyes don’t lie you see. I can see in all directions. It was a mouse. Of all the things to land on my back-my ENEMY!!I stayed still, feeling its furry body and its whiskers, my little heart pounding away. It squeaked and said, “I am sorry Mr. Frog to land here uninvited. I mean no harm. I got lost in the deluge and cannot swim. I ran as much as I could and landed right here on your back, the safest place I could find, although it is extremely wet here”.
I croaked deeply not wanting to show my fear or anxiety. I let him be.

The rain poured down and he clung on to me continuing to talk. I croaked and he squeaked and we spent our unusual night together conversing about our lives, our families and whatever came to our weary minds...As dawn broke, the rain ceased and I hopped onto the land with my new found friend. We bid each other goodbye and I don’t mind admitting this, I was a bit teary eyed.

What a different night it had been! Not just the rains but also because I had made a discovery-enemies can make wonderful friends. And just by being a savior for a night.


Jyotsna
July 7th
This photograph appeared in the Times of India during the rainy spell we had -July 1st to 6th'2006

Tuftie my crow

Every morning with the sunrise
as the sky becomes gently bright
Someone comes pecking on my window
it's my early morning friend, “Tuftie” all right!

He has an extra tuft of hair,
which looks like a splendid crown.
All he needs is a royal cape
and he’ll be the king of the town!

He politely waits for his meal
and I serve him bread and rice.
But he turns his beak and tuft away
as if to say,” how about a yummy cheese slice”?

I have a weak spot for Tuftie,
he has been my visitor friend for long
he eats from my hands and watches over me
our bond is strange but strong.

If he doesn’t come a single day,
I pace about with worry
My kids and I call out for him
and get into a flurry.

We talk and speak in ways
that may seem strange to another
But the things I learn from him
awakens in me sheer wonder.

TV

There was a TV in my home,
Its screen was big and broad,
The pictures came in color,
The sound was clear and loud.

I watched it morning and night,
The remote was my best friend,
I pushed it,pressed it day after day,
Until my fingers started to bend.

I kept gazing non stop,
And would never go to bed,
Nothing on earth would make me shut it,
Until my eyes popped out of my head.

I would tune up the sound really loud,
To hear it in every room,
Nothing would make me tone it down,
Until my ears resembled a cartoon.

My fingers, eyes and ears,
My entire body began to change,
By then I had understood,
Watching TV was no game!

A ditty

There was a dog called“Puppy”
Don’t ask me how she got her name.
All she did was dance and prance
And play a silly game…
She went to doggy school
To learn new antics every day
To catch a ball, and stand straight
And obey what her master says…
She hated it and cried a lot,
She missed her babies and home,
All she wanted was her little spot
to curl up with her bone….
She dreamt of open spaces,
to stretch and laze and snooze
and then she thought of running away
far away from her school…
But, what about Diti and Anu
Who would miss her while she was gone?
And Ayush, Raashi and Ruchi
Who would be sad and forlorn…
They would be quiet and glum
And trouble their mummies all day
find doggie "Puppy” find doggie “Puppy”
and bring her back home to stay…
So she decided to stay back
And go to school each day
To learn her lessons as fast as she could
And get back home to play!


Jyotsna
Dec 2nd ,2005
I composed this on the spur of the moment for my daughters :)