Lighthouses Doll Houses
lighthouses doll houses
The Drawing
It was in my aunt’s house back in kolkata during the hot mid summer time. I sat on the bedside crunching into the juicy green apple and so lost was I in the depths of the atlas shrugged that I did not notice the maid had come in to clean the room. She was followed by her daughter who held her mother’s saree in one and in the other clutched an old ragged doll.
But when I finally lifted my head off the book, I saw the girl sitting by the wall starring with wild consternation at the book I was reading. A rush of pity swept over me as I saw her. Her small pale face streaked with dirt was framed in a mass of matted hair.
As I drew closer to her, she tugged at her tattered dress and crouched near the wall. “What is your name?” I asked. “Piku” she answered in a frightened but meek and soft voice. “Piku” I echoed and the girl fled from there and held her mother’s leg. I got up and casually joined the duo. “Your daughter is very beautiful” I remarked. The maid smiled. “Which standard does she study in” I continued. “She doesn’t go to school” answered the mail as if I had just slapped her with the question. “But why? A govt school is good enough?” I said
“Memsaab, it is not possible for me. Everyday I go out in the morning and clean the streets and houses. Her father is too lazy to do anything to eat drink and beat us up” she replied tearfully. Piku’s small face grew even smaller and her large round eyes looked hurt and ashamed. Those eyes haunted me the whole day.
“Let’s do something…. Something ma... anything” I whined to my mother. “Oh you and your bright ideas Shompi. You can do what you want, I’m sure she is quite happy” said my mother. “No she’s not” I said stubbornly. I did not let my mother’s assumption dampen my zeal.
I wondered the whole night what I could do for her, but everything appeared too far fetched. Next day when I went fro my usual walk in the morning, I noticed Piku petting a dog outside her home. This was the slum from where all the maids in our locality came from. It has structures of mud and roof of tin and tarpaulin. On seeing me, Piku started waving vigorously at me. She pulled my hand and beckoned me inside. Though I was one of those over germ conscious people I simply followed her in to the house. On seeing me, her mother who was cooking got up abruptly. Both felt equally awkward I suppose. She offered me some of what she was cooking. I took it and stared as if I were expecting some worms to spring up any moment, and when they didn’t; I put the whole thing inside my mouth and gulped it down with the water I was carrying. It had actually tasted good. Piku was making some shapeless figures on the mud floor out of the water that had fallen due to my hurried gulping. Yes!! I knew what I had to do. I got and as I was leaving “get your friends to your house at 10 today, I’ll come with a big surprise” I said smiling. Though she didn’t smile back, she nodded suspiciously.
I ran home, pulled out some pages from my cousin’s notebook, took his discarded crayons, slate and chalk and set off for the slum. They were there. 11 of them all so thoroughly excited. “Hello” I said. They stared at me. “Im Ritu. I’ll teach you how to draw.” All of them nodded. They all sat down and I gave them paper and crayons.” Ok first draw a round and draw lines from it” I said demonstrating it on the slate. “Then we will………….” I continued on till all of us had a completed picture of a sun with eyes nose and mouth, two big brown mountains, a blue stream and a disfigure house... when the picture was finally over each one of them was lost in the marvel of what they had just created with their own two little hands. “Who lives here?” asked Pompi whose artwork was the best. “Cinderella” I said. The name however caused them to double up and shriek with laughter. “Who’s that?” asked Raja more seriously. He wore spectacles of mended glass and appeared like a logical idiot among the other dreamers.
“I’ll tell u tomorrow”, I said realizing that it was time I packed and went home. “Tomorrow all of you come to the playground near my house and I’ll tell you”, i saw their excited faces and continued “but only on one condition- all of you should come neatly, take a bath fine?” “Piku bring them all right? Ok then I’ll leave.” As they all got up their faces fell. Slowly they got up and pretty reluctantly handed over the drawings to me. “NO NO” I screamed. “Keep it keep it. Piku you just collect all the crayons and keep. Please don’t return the drawing” I was literally wailing. The children were overjoyed. “Bye then. Tomorrow 10 o clock” I said and left. I didn’t want to look back at them. I felt weird. I still cannot describe how the feeling was.
The next day at 10 all of them came to the big ground and pretty amazingly very neatly dressed. Piku was spearheading the team. As they all sat down I could smell a different soap on each one of them. We all formed a circle and sat and I started “once upon a time in a far far away land…..”
Thus every alternate day they had a story session and a drawing session and soon Cinderella, snow white, sleeping beauty, Akbar Birbal all made their ways into their hearts. It was a weird feeling I experienced after every encounter with the children. Its totally inexpressible. Seeing them look up to you as a lighthouse of knowledge, zest and zeal truly made u feel complete. Each day they came so fresh to board the train to the next fairyland. I wasn’t a very good story teller but what I told them was probably beyond their dreams which caused them to listen so wondrously. With princesses finding their unicorns to knights slaying dragons, with princes reviving sleeping beauties to fairies turning pumpkins to carriages all paved their path in to their hearts and drawings.
Soon it was time to leave for Bangalore. I was bidding farewell to all my relatives….. but I had one special guest. It was Piku. In her hand was a newspaper that was sealed on three sides with mashed rice. “This is for you” she said. I took it gratefully and quite impulsively hugged the damsel in front of me. I heard retorts but who gives a damn, I loved this girl and I was going to miss each one of the 11 of them. I left… left the city of joy but took memories home with me.
In the train I remembered the little gift I had received. I carefully removed the sealed ends and the content inside made me give a short cry of joy.
Inside were 11 drawing, all the drawings had a big girl in the middle standing next to her were 11 children.
They all stood under the sun that had eyes nose and mouth, two big brown mountains a blue stream and a disfigured house.
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