‘Daddy! Don’t you sing me a song?’
Hailed Anand from the entrance
even before he walked into the room.
I was just wondering what the matter was for his unusual request.
He must have guessed it from my silence.
He said, ‘all my classmates are singing for an event.
It’s is only me who knew no songs.
Will you teach me one, daddy?’
‘I am sorry, Anand, neither do I.
I can read you a poem if you like.’
‘Then sing me a poem.’
“A son unkind to his parents
counts for little whether he is dead or alive
won’t termites in an ant hill exist and go extinct?
……………………………………..”
I did not complete.
“Thuuuuu” he said bitterly putting up a sour face.
“What song is this daddy?”
He did not hide his contempt.
“What can I do? I know only this.”
I answered apologetically.
“Pch!…” he held his head
in the crescent of his thumb and index finger.
After a while,
“At least, do you know how to dance?”
“No,” I said.
(One can guess the consequences if I had said yes.)
Moving his head rather uneasily, he asked rather coolly,
“Then what do you know daddy?”
There was a hint of despair and hopelessness in the voice.
My worst fears came true. I was in pits.
He asked finally, ‘Do you know swimming?”
“God!’ … My heart creaked. Soul rattled within.
My daughter began laughing at the other end of the room.
He closely watched the changing colours in my face.
“Go! Get lost in your poetry .”
And left.
.
Dr. Pulipati Guruswamy
Telugu
Indian.
.
- Image Courtesy: Dr. Pulipati Guruswamy
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