A gift, any gift in any form, brings cheers and boundless happiness to the receiver. Especially if the gift is something that he/she has long been waiting for. And suddenly, one day it arrives in the form of a shiny package. You cannot wait to open it, immediately taking a liking for the contents inside. And when that gift becomes part of your life, its significance increases multifold.
3-yeard old Esha was gifted a set of 3 dolls (soft toys) by her parents during her birthday. To the parents, it was a simple gift, something to keep their daughter preoccupied. To Esha, it was as if she had been handed the key to the hidden treasures of the world. She immediately took a liking to it.
From the 3-doll set, her personal favorite was the Red Color Baby (RCB). To an adult, the soft toy looked unassuming, with dark set eyes, cute ponytail, fledging limbs, and flailing legs. To Esha, it was her best friend and something more.
From the moment she set her eyes on it, she would never let it go. If one wanted to find Esha, one needed to find the Baby doll and vice versa. The doll would stick with her like second skin. From the time she woke up at dawn, till the time she went to sleep at night, she would never let the baby be anywhere, but near herself.
Often, she would be found talking to the doll at length.
“Tuve mam kelo ni?”
“Tugele nhid jale?”
“Ata ami nhidya, ok? Magir ami parat kheluya.”
“Tu khay vachnaka, ok? Mhaje laggi rav tu.”
“Ho mhajo daddy, Hi mhaji mamma. Ho mhajo dada, Hi Ajji.”
One day, young Esha along with her parents visited her cousin brother’s place in an adjoining town. Obviously, she took the doll along with her. After playing for nearly 2 hours with her brother, she was exhausted and quickly napped off. Esha was still fast asleep as she and her parents started back to their place. On reaching back to her house, inadvertently, she woke up. The first thing she uttered “Magale baby khay asa?”.
To her parent’s dismay, they realized that the doll had been left behind at her brother’s place.
Her mother, Anita, spoke softly trying to pacify, “Esha, baby nhidlya. Raat jali nhay. Tu nhid ata, falya sakali good morning mhan magir.”
Esha, groggily and still in a sleepy mood “Na, mhaka babyk atach palovpak jay.”
Her father, Champak interjected, “Baby falya hadta ok. Tu nhid ata babu.”
Esha, now wide awake, and in defiant mood, “Mkaha baby attach jay. Had teka mhajekaden.” And without any further ado, she shrieked ever so loudly that the reverberated in the entire building. Her hysterics alarmed her parents.
With no other solution in sight, Champak lifted her, took her close and whispered in her ears, “Hav baby hadta ata ok. Please tu ogi rav ata.”
Unrelenting, “Tu attach hadun di.”
Finally, Champak with frowning eyebrows, set off to retrieve the doll. It was only when she laid her eyes back on the doll, did Esha’s tantrums dwindle. More than her, parents heaved a sigh of relief. It was only then they realized Esha’s unwavering attachment to her doll.
In a sense, the doll continued to live a charmed life under the steadfast guardianship of Esha. It was being fed, talked to, slept, played, and sometimes even tutored to listen with rapt attention.
Few months down the line, Esha and her parents decided to visit her grandmother’s place in the neighboring state. Obviously, the red color baby tagged along with its master for the trip.
An evening was planned for a shopping spree in town and so the troupe began. The trip traversed through numerous shopping points across town including groceries, super markets, apparel store, shoe shop, stationary store finally culminating in a dine-out at a restaurant. Esha was fast sleep through most of the shopping escapades. She barely ate at the restaurant wanting nothing more than to sleep and rest after the exhausting trip downtown.
She woke up next morning on what promised to be a beautiful day with sun gazing through the clear blue skies. As she woke up blearily, the words that she uttered shook the ground beneath, atleast her parents felt the tremor.
“Magele baby khay gele?” An innocent question with cuteness overloaded.
“Living room astale, palay babu, vach ani ghe te” replied her mother imperturbably.
Esha sprightly bounced from her bed and dashed to the living room in search of her treasure.
Mamma, magele baby na hanga.” Replied Esha with hint of hysterics in her voice.
“Astale re babu, go tell daddy.”
“Daddy, magele baby khay gele?” Esha now turned to her father.
“Hanga na jalyar te gaadi bhitar astale, magir hadya ok. Ata brush kar babu.” Pacified her father.
Not the one to give in so easily, Esha stepped up the pressure, “daddy, ata had ni, mhaka baby jay”.
Realizing his folly of trying to keep his daughter quiet, Champak waltzed to the parking garage to his car. He opened the car and swiftly searched for the doll, expecting it to be in the car. To his consternation, he could not locate the baby. He turned to the trunk at the back of the car, hoping to find his daughter’s prized possession. Nothing! Knowing what would come next, panic gripped him in instantly.
Exasperatingly, he looked around the scenic surroundings of the house, quietly nestled within the mountains. He dreaded the calmness in the air before the storm that would shortly break-out inside the house. He realized it was going to be long-ish day, certainly one that would put the cat amongst the pigeons.
He entered the house and quietly took his wife at the side and spoke softly “The doll Is not in the car”
“What? What are you saying and why are you whispering?” Asked Anita irritatingly.
“Arre, the doll..Esha’s doll, it is not there in the car” Champak tried to get himself heard well clear.
“No way. Did you search properly? Surely, if it is not in the house, then it must be in the car. Please go and search again or are you just pulling her leg.” Anita replied, thinking Champak is joking all this while.
“I’m serious Anita, I think we lost it yesterday while shopping around town.” Champak could barely believe what he was trying to say.
“No. Please tell me you are kidding. We can’t lose the baby, not THE BABY.” She eyed Esha with squinted eyes, while trying to appear normal.
Mumma, Dadda, magele baby mele tuka? Gaadi bhitar mele tuka? Di magele doll” Esha came running to her parents inquiring of the only thing that she was continuously thinking of.
Champak and Anita eyed each other, each one trying to defer telling the fact.
“Babu, mhaka dista tugele baby tegele mumma kaden gelya mhanun” Anita treaded cautiously albeit fearing a backlash.
Champak watched with abated breath, wondering his daughter’s reaction to this newfound information.
“Hai!! Pun kenna yeta khay te? Esha teka miss karta ni. Teka yo mhan begin. Phone lay ni tegele mumak ata.” Esha replied swashingly.
“Hai, after breakfast phone karya, ok” Anita tried to close the topic quickly.
“Na mumma. Tu ata phone kar ani yo mhan babyk, magir Esha breakfast karta” Esha laid down the gauntlet.
“Esha babu, tashi hatti karunk Jayna. Magir promise phone karya ok.” Champak replied diplomatically hoping to placate Esha.
5 minutes after breakfast, Esha once again reminded her parents.
“Mummy, ata phone kar ani sang babyk yo mhan!” Esha never relenting on the topic.
Not wanting to wait anymore, Champak took the car keys, lifted Esha and asked Anita to join him in the car. They would go Baby hunting.
“Ok, try to recollect where all we went, which all shops we entered yesterday evening. Let us try to go in the chronological order of the last shop we entered and then the Shop before that” Champak discussed the strategy within the confines of the car.
Sensing something cooking, Esha was almost close to her histrionics.
“Magele baby khay gele. Tagele mumma teka kityak sodina.” She inquired with hint of irritation.
“Ami ata sagele Shops khabar kadya, ok baby.” Pacified Champak.
“Baby shopping karpak gele ni. Hai, shopping karun yeta nhi, magele baby” Asked Esha.
“Hai deva, yeta te.” Replied Anita.
In the car off to town, Champak tried to recollect yesterday’s chain of events.
“We need to start from the 1st shop that we went to yesterday. Where did we go first Anita?”
“Hmmm..I think it was the shoes store first..Ahhh..wait, I think it was apparel store first.” Anita tried to force herself into overdrive.
“I’m no sure, I think we went to the grocery store first…Ahh, let it be..whichever store it is..we pretty much need to visit all the stores till we find the baby.” Said Champak.
“Magele baby khay asa, ami khay vata dadda? Esha’s voice broke through the tension in the car.
“Ami market vatat babu…”
Hoping against hope, the team first entered the apparel store…
“Are bhaiya, hum kal yaha pe aye the…hamara ek doll shayad piche reh gaya hai kya?”
“Nahi bhaiya, yaha pe to koi doll voll kuch nahi hai.”
Without wasting time, they drove to the grocery store only to find another negative on the doll being left behind in the store.
The journey to the shoe store and stationary store did not yield the result they expected, neither did the visits to supermarket and restaurant bore any fruits.
We have covered all the places that we went to last night, but baby seems nowhere to be found” Champak said dejectedly.
“Baby khay gela, mumma? Te yena kityak?” Esha once again inquired.
Anita could not get herself to respond. Breathing out, Champak was finally ready to break the bad news with Esha.
“Esha babu, mhaka dista ki baby khay tari dur gelya mhan. Ami ek new baby hadya, ok?”
“Naka, mhaka magele baby jai. Hav tegele mumma ni, so mhaka jai te red color baby.” Esha shrieked back.
“Arre, wait, we forgot to check one more place. Let us go check the store out.” A flash back memory hit Anita.
“Which place? Where is it? We already covered all the places. I think we should simply go to a toy store and buy a replica of the lost Red Color Baby.” Champak offered a solution with an air of resignation.
“No, just follow my instructions and let us go over there.”
Esha’s histrionics had decimated the decibel levels. She understood that her favorite baby would not be seen anymore.
“Hav tegele mumma ni. Khay gele te baby? Teka ghara yo mhan dadda. Mhaka baby ata jai.” She tugged Champaks trousers seeking attention.
While pacifying Esha, Champak and Anita stepped into the Pharmacy, both silently hoping for a miracle.
As soon as they entered the store, Champak started to speak..
“Arre bhaiya..yaha pe koi..” however he was abruptly intervened as Esha let go of his hand and started to run away.
“Esha, where are you going?” Anita called out.
Esha squealed with disbelief. Tears streaked down her cheeks as she eyed her Red Color Baby kept at a corner of a shelf.
She sobbed softly. ”magele baby. Tu khay ashille. Tugele mumma tuka miss kartale, khub miss kelo have tuka.”
Saying she kissed the baby vehemently. Hugged her tightly with no intention of letting her go. She smiled whole heartedly, placed the baby on her shoulders and patted it continuously.
The shopkeeper and customers alike were left with their jaws open. Initially they were perplexed with the odd request from Champak culminating in a shriek from a cute young girl. However, as the situation unfolded, they were overawed and spell bound by the affection showered by the young girl on a baby toy.
Anita and Champak smiled for the first time in 5 hours, more in relief than happiness. Esha had finally found the elixir of life.
Without even a second look, Esha turned on her heels, took her parents fingers and led them out of the store.
“Dadda, Mumma..magele baby mele. Hav uleylo taje Kaden, te mhaka sodun vasna khay. Ata ghara Vachya ami.”
With the baby firmly clutched in Esha’s hands, Champak nodded quick courtesy to the shopkeeper. However, just as he was about to exit the shop, he heard the call.
“Arre bhaiya” Champak turned around to realize that the person at the pharmacy counter was calling him out.
“Yes?”
“Sir, doll ke paise?”
“Doll ke paise? Arre, yeh to humara hi doll hai jo hum kal yahi chod ke chale gaye.” Champak was perplexed.
“Arre nahi sir. Yahi toh main bata raha hu apko. Yeh apka doll nahi hai. This is a new doll. The cost of the doll is Rs. 700/-“ said the shopkeeper with a straight face.
Exasperatingly, he looked around the scenic surroundings of the house, quietly nestled within the mountains. He dreaded the calmness in the air before the storm that would shortly break-out inside the house. He realized it was going to be long-ish day, certainly one that would put the cat amongst the pigeons.
“But, I thought it is our doll. Even my daughter recognized her doll” Answered Champak, now clearly flustered.
“No sir. You may check there is a price tag also. Plus, surely you will notice as well that the doll is new and clean. I’m sure the same was not the case with your old doll.” Said the shopkeeper in a cool and calm voice.
Champak was clearly confused. All the people now turned their attention to this conversation with innate interest.
Not wanting to make a scene, but feeling cheated, Champak paid off the shopkeeper and set out to join his family. He only drew satisfaction from the fact that Esha was happy having her baby back.
Back home and still in muddled state of mind, he narrated the incident to Anita. Perplexed and curious, they went to recheck on the doll while Esha was asleep. The doll sharing bed space with its master.
What they saw next clearly flounced him off their feet.
The Red Color Baby was having webbed feet, two ponytails and slightly marron color dress. Obviously, this was not their old baby doll.
“Do you think what I am thinking?” a shocked Champak turned to Anita.
“Not sure what you are thinking dear, but if Esha finds out, we will be certainly doomed.” She looked at Champak in bewilderment.
And then they both looked lovingly at their sleeping angel, Esha, deep in sleep, quiet for now, not knowing what tomorrow will hold for them.
