After a rough winter,a beautiful summer was around the corner.Neha was super excited about it,as that meant,"Summer holidays" was near by and that also meant,it was time to dump those school books,pack up and get ready to visit her grandma in a small remote village in the Northern part of India,Uttar Pradesh.
Her mom,Sita, had a condition though.The quicker she completes the holiday homeworks,sooner their journey would start.Neha saw it coming.Like mom,like daughter,she also put not one but couple of conditions too:-
1.Her mom should insist her dad to buy her a set of "Parker pens" which was in fact her last B'day wish-unfulfilled !
2..Her empty choco box should be filled to the rim with an assorted mixture of Ferrero Rochero chocolates,cream biscuits,truffles and fudges.
3.High time,TV cable connection should be taken at all cost.
Sita took a deep sigh.Neha's stubborn nature and she being the only pampered child ,Sita had to kneel down to her daughter's wishes.She promised she'll try her best to convince her dad about her over-the -top demands .
Later that evening,Sita conveyed those demands as it is to her husband,Rakesh.Rakesh was in a dilemma as last month only he bought his daughter,a brand new laptop.However,it was really hard for Rakesh and Sita to say no to their only kid,apple of their eye,Neha.
Anyways,Rakesh got her the jar filled with assorted chocolates for the time being.Parker pen ,he assured Neha that he'll ask Neha's aunt (Rakesh's sister) to get her from U.K.
And last demand, cable connection,he assured, he'll get her once they are back from their vacation.
Neha being very adamant agreed to do only half of the home work for the time being and later after the vacation, once her pending demands were fulfilled.
Since any persuasion would be futile,Rakesh said,"As you wish."
Neha kept her words,completed half of the home work and happily left to visit her beloved grandma.
Neha never liked the village and lifestyle over there ,but loved her grandma ,who lived alone with a maid and maid's little daughter ,Pushpa Rani.Pushpa, who was almost the same age as Neha,very soon became Neha's playmate.
Pushpa's day started by helping her mother in the Neha's grandmaa's kitchen and then washing especially Neha's clothes .Neha felt like a princess who had a very dedicated maid at her perusal.
She was so impressed with Pushpa that she wanted to gift something to her humble,loyal, always at service little maid,Pushpa Rani.
A week later was Pushpa's b'day.Neha asked Pushpa,"How she is gonna celebrate her b'day?"
Pushpa replied with a big grin on her face,"I'll go to my aunt's place,they have T.V.I'll watch Jungle book,Ramayan,Vikram Betal and then a movie."
Wonder struck Neha asked, "That's it? and what about the cake,"The b'day cake",are you not going to cut it?"
Pushpa ,little lost in her thought, replied,"Naa baba".
Neha was shocked and asked curiously,"Hey what about the gifts?"
Pushpa gave a wonder look back.
However,Neha thought of gifting her something anyways.So,she asked playfully,"Pushpa rani,tell me three things you would like to have as gift?"
Pushpa,smiled innocently and replied ,"Ummmm...a biig box of Parle G biscuits,a TV with Doordarshan and lots of natraj pencils."
Neha said,"Ewww...so cheap.! What if you get something better than all those things-more or less similar."
Pushpa insisted,"I only want them."
Pushpa said in a composed tone,"My mom says just because something is cheap doesn't mean they are not good and one should always learn to save money as much as one can.Money don't grow on trees,we work hard to earn it.We should always value money and put money for better use instead .Always be happy with what we have or get."
"Every month amma would buy me a packet of parle G.",said,dreamingly,Pushpa.
Neha shocked ,asked,"By the way,DD programmes ?Dont you get bored of them?"
"Do you know in cable you've got so many options."
Pushpa replied,"Amma says,"Too much of anything is bad."
Nehas asked sarcastically,"Now why do you like just Natraj pencils?"
Pushpa replied,"They have Lord Shiva's blessings I believe and they are good ,affordable and we don't get any in our village.Once my uncle got me few pencils from town."
Amma never buys me any as she can't afford me to send me to school.I want to study.
Pushpa bid good bye and hurried to help her mother to prepare lunch.
That left Neha in a thought provoking state of mind.
That evening Rakesh called Neha to tell her that her aunt is also gonna visit her grandma soon with her cousins for their vacation and guess what,her aunt will buy the parker pens for her for sure.
.
Neha said in a calm tone,"No papa,I don't want any Parker pen."
Rakesh called Sita and almost kinda passed out.
Sita surprisingly asked,"Are you sure?"
"Is this my adamant daughter saying?"
Neha interrupted,saying,"Actually mom,I want something else" and not for me..but for Pushpa."
Sita stood there speechless.
Mom, Pushpa taught me a lot of things,she inspired me big time.
I realized,"The things I take for granted are the only thing someone else is praying for."
Neha's dad replied gleefully,"Exactly dear,that was our intention of this vacation mainly."
Sita smiled and said happily,"That's my girl."Now get ready,let's go for shopping ..come come we've got to buy lots of thing for pushpa and You."
P.S.This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.
