An Innocent Question

Come August month; everyone wears patriotism on their sleeves. Corporate offices bend the rules in terms of dress code & floor decor. Project teams plan & strategize elaborate bay decoration & prepare hard for competitions. As the organization had taken up an initiative to be eco-friendly, Kanika suggested adapting it for bay decoration competition.

Kanika planned to prepare a deck of unsung freedom fighters. Instead of charts/boards, they would play the deck on everyone's monitor. Teammates would dress in any of the tricolours & a few in blue. Next to pin sari falls of tricolours on cabin partition, avoiding any paper ribbons or decorative items. The sari falls would form the boundaries for tricolours. Sari falls & people collectively would lead to the formation of the flag. Everyone liked the ideas for their simplicity & budget-friendliness.

The following week, the team was busy with prep work. Group song practice was in full swing. It was a couple of days before the event when Preethi came up with a brilliant idea. She suggested, "Why don't we paint tri-colour on our cheeks?" Chandan added, "Kanika, you are tall; why don't you dress up as Mother India?" She laughed & sarcastically replied, "Yeah, right! I'll wear a sari, a crown & hold a flag!" Unanimously others agreed. She tried to shake it off & enquired, "Where will I get a crown from?" Swati jumped in & announced, "I'll get you a crown & take up the narration with judges. You dress up as Mother India." Kanika was not comfortable with the idea of being dressed as Mother India. She confided it with Preethi. Preethi stated, "No, it is a good idea. It is a highlight & no other team would have thought about it." She added, "Do wear a traditional sari; I'll get the accessories."

On the day of the event, teammates wore one of the tricolours & a few in blue. Kanika had draped a maroon, cotton-silk sari with a traditional gold border. The team completed pinning of sari falls & painting cheeks in no time & was back to work. In contrast, other project teams were busy with elaborate decorations. Unexpectedly, judges arrived early to the floor. The group speedily set up the deck to play on each monitor. Teammates shuffled places for the formation of the flag. Preethi & Swati rushed towards Kanika. Preethi got busy removing Kanika's watch & adding bangles. Swati crowned her & gave a flag to her hand. Kanika almost tripped over her sari to get to the center of the bay. The whole floor of people looked at her. Kanika's team beamed with pride, event judges were impressed & other groups envied. Preethi & Swati sensed Kanika's embarrassment for being the center of attention; they were determined not to let her remove the crown until the end.

The next event was a group song competition, held in the cafeteria. Everyone swiped their access cards & hurried to the elevator. Kanika finally saw her crowned image on the elevator panel. She exclaimed, "I look like this & you people are making me walk all way to the cafeteria?" Most of her teammates grinned. Preethi & Swati replied in unison, "You look fine. Don't you dare remove the crown!" The team walked through the lobby & towards the cafeteria. All heads turned at Mother India, her people in tri-coloured clothing & painted cheeks.

During the group song, Kanika stood tall in the center & her teammates on either side. They sang with pride & she couldn't stop grinning. After the event, one of the managers walked up to her & asked, "Why did you not sing?" Kanika giggled & replied, "Mother India does not sing; her people do!" The manager raised her eyebrows & smiled. Kanika's team won first place in bay decoration & second place in group singing. The whole team was ecstatic at the turn of events & a successful day.

Over the weekend, Kanika's cousins of age 9 & 6yrs visited her. Kanika inquired her cousins about the Independence Day celebration held at their school. Both girls were excited to share their experiences & stories of the day. Now it was Kanika's turn. She showed pictures of the events & told them about everything that happened. Girls listened to her with rapt attention. Kanika pointed to the photo & said, "Look, I was Mother India." The youngest of the two girls looked up at Kanika & questioned, "Akka, if you are the mother, who is the father?" Dumbstruck, Kanika uttered, "Huh? Father….aaa…."

The unexpected question stumped Kanika. She could relate to Kamal Hassan's statement in the movie Panchathantiram. He declared, "It is easy to ask a question. Answering that question is the difficult part." She was confident; whatever answer she gave, the girls would ask a follow-up question. Her head was racing with thoughts, "What use is my smartness if I cannot answer such an innocent & straightforward question? I could come up with intelligent solutions & smart ideas for bay decoration. The ideas were so simple yet effective to make us win. I could think on my foot & give a witty reply to the manager. I transformed into Mother India in a few mins. Now, who do I tell is the father?"

Two pairs of cute & innocent eyes looked at her waiting eagerly for an answer. She looked up the roof & let out a silent prayer, "God, save me!" Immediately, an answer flashed. She asked, "Don't you know the father? It is Gandhiji." The cute eyes widened & they responded, "Aaah... correct."

Take Away: No matter how brilliant the current generation (human & gadget) is, the next generation is always smarter & better.