Hummingbird
28th December 2011, 01:20 AM
Everything since morning turned about to be so pleasant that day. A pleasant weather, lucky to get away from the hustle and bustle of Chennai and hit the highway nice and early, a rather smooth journey into my native town after god knows how many years, a happy get together with some of my aunts and uncles at a family function, a relaxed trip to the local temples, healthy and a sumptuous lunch followed by a kumbakonam degree filter coffee…….. a perfect day on a perfect vacation.
It was time to return. There was just one more place to visit before going home back for good and so there we were, on our way to the last scheduled stop at a relative’s house
I was sincerely hoping that the 2 year old kid at this relative’s house should be awake. For I am one of those grown-ups, who consistently fails to feel part of the grown up world of gossips, self-proclamations and formalities. Luckily for me, the kid was awake. So, when the adults got busy having their conversations, I quietly slipped out of it and started focusing on befriending this little angel.
I took her in my arms and went to the balcony so I could get some private time with her. As soon as we went to the balcony she literally screamed “TATA” car, and I was stunned. She was actually pointing at the TATA Indica car we came in and said that. For a 2 year old to know the difference between TATA and other cars…. I was amazed. It was not until her mom came and explained that I realized what she actually said was “Thatha” car. Apparently, the thatha downstairs has a similar car and she usually gets to go with him for a ride or two. Because I knew it was a TATA car, I heard what I wanted to hear and not what she was actually saying. May be, if we had come in a Maruti or a Chevy, I would have taken the effort to understand what she actually meant or may be, I would have presumed that she was just a kid and so naturally doesn’t know the difference between TATA and other cars. I stood there, a victim of my own knowledge.
Back inside the house, now she lost interest in taking photos with my smartphone and started digging into my bag for anything more interesting. And the first thing she got hold of was a Kleenex tissue paper. She was so happy on finding something new to play with that she dragged it out and as she was trying to hold it with both her hands, ended up tearing it. I wish I knew what went through in her mind when it happened, it suddenly threw her into fits of laughter. To my question “whats that sweety?”, she said “paper” and carried on with her laughter. The realisation that she was by then the center of attention of all of us, she got even more excited and tore the tissue again. After a bit of laughing and tearing, she finally decided it was time to find another toy to play with and so, went on a dig again.
She again caught hold of something and started pulling it out with her cute mischievous smile and what came out was actually a Rs.50 currency note. I asked her the same question again “whats that sweety?” and bang came the unwavering answer with the same mischievous smile “paper”. There was no doubt in her mind that it was not any more or less important than the tissue that she had just finished playing with. It was just another paper. But by now, all others around me were tensed this might meet the same fate as the tissue. Her mom hastily came near us, took the currency note from her hand, put it in my handbag and told her “no honey, that’s not to be played with” and returned the bag to me. But the kid carried a quizzical look on her face “but isn’t it just another paper…. whats so special with this that’s not with the previous one?”. Her mom brought some other toy from inside and as soon as the kid saw yet another new toy, she quickly moved on and started playing with that.
But I was left with questions, “isn’t it just another paper? when do we start losing the knowledge that god gave us to see things as what they really are and not for the material value they carry? when do we start becoming a victim of our own knowledge? And when will we realise that it is not the kid who learns from us, it is us who fails to learn from our little ones”
Call it ignorance or innocence – it indeed is a bliss.
It was time to return. There was just one more place to visit before going home back for good and so there we were, on our way to the last scheduled stop at a relative’s house
I was sincerely hoping that the 2 year old kid at this relative’s house should be awake. For I am one of those grown-ups, who consistently fails to feel part of the grown up world of gossips, self-proclamations and formalities. Luckily for me, the kid was awake. So, when the adults got busy having their conversations, I quietly slipped out of it and started focusing on befriending this little angel.
I took her in my arms and went to the balcony so I could get some private time with her. As soon as we went to the balcony she literally screamed “TATA” car, and I was stunned. She was actually pointing at the TATA Indica car we came in and said that. For a 2 year old to know the difference between TATA and other cars…. I was amazed. It was not until her mom came and explained that I realized what she actually said was “Thatha” car. Apparently, the thatha downstairs has a similar car and she usually gets to go with him for a ride or two. Because I knew it was a TATA car, I heard what I wanted to hear and not what she was actually saying. May be, if we had come in a Maruti or a Chevy, I would have taken the effort to understand what she actually meant or may be, I would have presumed that she was just a kid and so naturally doesn’t know the difference between TATA and other cars. I stood there, a victim of my own knowledge.
Back inside the house, now she lost interest in taking photos with my smartphone and started digging into my bag for anything more interesting. And the first thing she got hold of was a Kleenex tissue paper. She was so happy on finding something new to play with that she dragged it out and as she was trying to hold it with both her hands, ended up tearing it. I wish I knew what went through in her mind when it happened, it suddenly threw her into fits of laughter. To my question “whats that sweety?”, she said “paper” and carried on with her laughter. The realisation that she was by then the center of attention of all of us, she got even more excited and tore the tissue again. After a bit of laughing and tearing, she finally decided it was time to find another toy to play with and so, went on a dig again.
She again caught hold of something and started pulling it out with her cute mischievous smile and what came out was actually a Rs.50 currency note. I asked her the same question again “whats that sweety?” and bang came the unwavering answer with the same mischievous smile “paper”. There was no doubt in her mind that it was not any more or less important than the tissue that she had just finished playing with. It was just another paper. But by now, all others around me were tensed this might meet the same fate as the tissue. Her mom hastily came near us, took the currency note from her hand, put it in my handbag and told her “no honey, that’s not to be played with” and returned the bag to me. But the kid carried a quizzical look on her face “but isn’t it just another paper…. whats so special with this that’s not with the previous one?”. Her mom brought some other toy from inside and as soon as the kid saw yet another new toy, she quickly moved on and started playing with that.
But I was left with questions, “isn’t it just another paper? when do we start losing the knowledge that god gave us to see things as what they really are and not for the material value they carry? when do we start becoming a victim of our own knowledge? And when will we realise that it is not the kid who learns from us, it is us who fails to learn from our little ones”
Call it ignorance or innocence – it indeed is a bliss.