THE THIRSTY CROW

Subu, the watchman of …..society, had his own dreams; he dreamt of becoming a building contractor with a bunch of workers under him.

‘Only if  I could read and write! cribbed Subu once again, while locking the massive iron gate during his night duty.

He often built such castles in the air. His friends were sick and tired of the same old cry and no one heeded to his wishes.

He worked double shift to provide his only daughter, Rani with best education. She went to an English medium school. She also learnt music.

One day Subu was grumbling as usual while leaving for his night duty. Raani heard him.

‘Do you really wish to study, baba?’ she said looking up from her book.

‘Yes Raani. I always wanted to but I started working with dada when I was just twelve years. No one went to school then.  

 ‘But Baba you can study now too.’

‘Very funny! At the age of sixty one! Ha…Ha....!’ Subu laughed in embarrassment while packing off his tea and biscuits.

‘Yes Baba you can. Our brain never stops growing. We need to sharpen it time to time. More over we can learn new things at any age. It is like a muscle. It can grow. The more you stretch it, the more it grows, something like elastic’

Subu did not believe her.

‘Raani you are too young. You won’t understand. I know how tough it is to even read my name and as a person grows old his brain  cells become weak, memory gets poor and even vision deteriorates.’

‘That’s true Baba but our brain can still grow if you give it some exercise. Believe me. It’s what our Principal Ma’am says. Baba, why don’t you believe me?’

‘O.K. Let’s try. But who will teach me. People will make fun of me.’

‘I will teach you whatever I know and Baba I know quite a bit, don’t worry. I can calculate numbers, I can write and can read quite well.’

So it was decided. Raani would teach her father to read and write and to do basic addition and subtraction.

No one could learn about their secret plans. They would go out for a stroll and while picking up pebbles Raani would teach him addition. Sometimes they would both go out early in the morning and Raani would teach him to write and read. It took a few weeks for Subu to grasp but soon he learnt many sight words. He turned out to be a very dedicated student and  Raani equally sincere as a little teacher.

Days passed. Rani kept it a secret from all around. Subu too kept mum about it.

That day Subu was on his duty as usual. Aashish, the secretary of the society informed about the forthcoming event of the society.

‘Subu, next Sunday is the Children’s day and we are organising a small event for all our society children so please keep the courtyard and the backyard clean,’ he said while stopping by at the gate.

‘Yes sir, Sure.’

Subu was too excited about the event. He adored all the children there and often saw his own daughter Rani among them. But he knew his limits. Back at home he told Rani about it.

Rani thought for a moment and suddenly her eyes shone. She said, ‘ Baba, Can I participate too?’

Subu was unsure but could not refuse her dearest Rani. Next day he asked Aashish if his daughter could participate.

Aashish was overwhelmed at that idea and wondered why he never thought about it earlier. Rani’s name was also registered.

The whole society was all  eager to fling into the event. This year was special as the first prize was Samsung  I-Pad and many other gift hampers for the participants.

The society courtyard was merrily decorated with balloons and streamers. Children hung their cards and sketches and some of them even brought colourful kites.

The party began with musical chairs and then passing the parcel, Twenty Questions and finally talent show.

Sammy and Coco sang a song together, Rolly dressed as an easel and said beautiful words about artists, Golu performed some acrobatic moves and Sweetie displayed as usual her ballet dance. It was Rani’s turn. She was too nervous but she felt a different energy to come on the stage. She said,

 ‘Respected all, I have a small announcement.’

There was a sudden commotion in the crowd. She stood there, her legs trembling and voice cracking but did not lose her heart. She continued.

‘Please listen to me. I am not performing any thing. My baba will perform today.’

All were surprised. Amid the loud applause, Rani dragged Subu to the stage. She stood by him and presented a book for him to read.

With her insistence and children’s cheering words, he read. He read the story of ‘The Thirsty Crow’ and then quickly hid his face. He started weeping with joy and gratitude.

‘Yes, I have learnt to read and write but it’s all because of Raani. She is an excellent teacher. She believed in me. She says that brain has nothing to do with old age. It can grow and has the capacity to grow more if you let it grow. If such an illiterate man as me can learn at the age of sixty one, any one can learn to read and write at any age.  

He could not say much. All the children ran on the stage and gathered around Subu. They all cheered him with joy.

After a while the prizes were announced. The jury gave an unanimous decision – the first prize goes to Subu for his heart touching performance on stage.

Aashish said a few words for Subu.

‘Subu, you have lived the story alive. Just like the thirsty crow, you too have satiated your thirst for education. You have picked up the pebble of patience, faith, hard work and dedication and filled up the pot. Water has finally come up. You are the winner, a true winner.’

Rolly cried with joy, ‘ Hip hip hurray. I love you dad for such lovely words for Subu.’Subu was the hero of the day.

The largest hamper went to Rani and all the other children proudly walked about with their own gift hampers.