The Brat Gang

Recently, I was at a family gathering in the outskirts of Bangalore where I got to meet some of my relatives I hadn't met in ages. I was returning home with some of them who are based in the US and had come to India for the summer holidays. It was a long journey home and there was this one young gentleman who took up the task of keeping me company solely upon his tender shoulders - five year old Sharat who was visiting India for the first time!

When I got into the car, he was wondering why I was coming along with him and his parents and like any good five year old, asked his parents the reason for the anomaly. His parents patiently explained that there was no cause for concern and that 'the girl' (moi) coming along with them was in fact, his sister(to keep things simple). 'I have a sister?!' he startled. After some convincing on the part of his parents, he swallowed the fact and after some deep thinking, decided that he would like to get to know me, his newly discovered sister, better. 'So how old is my sister?' he asked his father. His father told him that it would be a good idea to direct the question to the sister herself. On being quizzed, I asked him how old he thought I was. Now for what follows, let me just tell the people who do not know too many five year olds. Sharat knows all the numbers and he knows more than what a kid his age would typically know. It is just that at that age, kids do not correlate the concept of age and the numbers they have learnt together.One more detail to understand what follows - I'm 22.

Sharat decided to give the puzzle a try and asked me 'You are thirteen?' . 'Sharat, your sister has finshed college and is working now.' , his father said to help him arrive at the answer. 'And people go to college at 21,right?' the kid asked his father. 'Yes, so what comes after twenty one?' his father prompted. 'She's older than 21...' Sharat thought aloud and he turned to me and asked' so you are......41?'. When a kid as cute as Sharat is says something like that in all earnestness, it hard not to pinch his cheeks and give him a big hug. But I had to fight all such instincts as he was yet to fully validate the ties that give me the right to do all of that. Later on during the journey, he warmed up to the fact that he had a sister and seemed pleased about it too. He spoke to me about what he thought about India (which he first thought was a place in Bangalore and was corrected by his mother), the autorickshaws and the autorickshaw drivers, rockets, cars, helicopters, gravity (that was an exceptionally gripping discussion), music and all that he thought I was entitled to know about him by virtue of being his sister. That is one entertaining journey I will remember fondly.

On a related note, last week we had a surprise visit by a distinguished young guest - seven year old Murali. He had allegedly thrown a tantrum at home about wanting to talk to his 'Ranjini akka' (I'm called Ranjini at home and akka means didi). So, his father had to chauffer him to our home one evening. On asking Murali what it was that he wanted to talk to me about, he told me all about his school, the Wright brothers, the Arctic tern and him wanting to join the army. Murali also happens to be an excellent dancer and loves all sports, especially cricket. So he actually enacted an entire scene typically seen while watching any cricket match on TV , which is when there has been a run-out and an appeal is made to the third umpire and there are umpteen replays shown on our screens. Murali enacted the replays and showed how the batsman is shown to move back and forth across the crease and how the fielder is shown to toss the ball towards the stumps. The best part was that he was showing how all of this looks in a replay! As a finale, he even showed the bowler's disappointed reaction when the decision is a not-out. It was a spellbinding performance that day!

It is wonderful to get to know these little brats who are otherwise amongst others of their own kind and are always upto mischief in some unseen corner of the house. It is amazing how they can turn out to be great friends!

For Mumbai and Srinagar after 7/11....

A prayer that all the causes, issues and discontentment that lead to such flagrant acts of cruelty may one day be completely eliminated......