The October weather was warm and soothing. Just a week ago, a storm had passed, ravaging the southern coastal parts of India through which Janaki and her family are going on a road trip. The fallen trees allowed evening Sun rays to peer effortlessly through the window. Janaki's sweet little princess adjusted her eyes to avoid the glare, but couldn't.
"Mom, can you engage her in the back seat?". Janaki's parents have occupied the rear seats of the car. They are returning from an unplanned road trip to South and are on their way back.
Janaki's mom took the princess into her fold, but the princess wouldn't budge. She wants to be with her mom. At this point, her grandma did what grandma's are best at; distraction. "Look there, Chutki's house is somewhere here", she said.
The name Chutki caught her attention immediately. "Does Chutki live here? Where is her house", the kid asked with her innocent voice. Soon, she started to look through the window in a mission to find out. Chotta Bheem and his friends are her favourite cartoon characters. To see Chutki's house is like a dream-come-true for her. She kept looking outside and every now and then asked her grandma, "show me Chutki's house. I want to see".
"It must be nearby only. She lives in this area", her grandma joined in her mission to find Chutki's house. Pointing out her finger to a random yellow-painted building, she said, "Look there? That is Chutki's house! That is where she lives."
The kid jumped in excitement after spotting Chutki's house. She starred at the house till the car went past ahead. Once the building went out of sight, she became restless again. She tried to engage herself talking to others or by listening to music. Nothing would keep her engaged for over five minutes.
"Wait for a while. You will find many more houses of Chutki on the way. ", the grandma added. "Do not go to mom. Stay with me. Only I can show you all the houses of Chutki. Even your mom does not know them", the kid got her attention hooked. Pointing out at many random buildings on their way, grandma said, "these are Chutki's other houses".
"But grandma, why do Chutki live in these many houses when we have only one?"
"Whenever Chutki gets bored, or if some evil demon come to tease her, she would just pick one house to hide. That way, she can save herself", her grandma reasoned. About fifteen minutes passed by in between. The kid was apparently bored, but she decided to keep the boredom to herself without disturbing others.
Sensing the silence therein, Janaki asked her little princess, "So how many Chutki's houses did you see? Did you also spot Raju or Chotta Bheem playing with Chutki in those houses?"
The kid replied, "These are not Chutki's houses, mom. These are some random buildings. Grandma showed them to keep me engaged! I had seen Chutki's place in that show. These buildings are nowhere near to how her house look like."
Hearing her smart response, we all laughed. She didn't end there. "Chutki lives in Dholakpur, not here", she continued.
"Oh, if you knew Chutki lived in Dholakpur, why did not you say it at the beginning?", Janu questioned her back.
"Mom, don't you know? Chutki, Chotta Bheem, Raju are all cartoon characters. Also, Dholakpur exist only in TV, its not a real place. Moreover, grandma was getting bored, so I engaged her by listening to all her stories".
There was a contemplative silence inside the car. Janaki started thinking how in her own childhood days, she used to think Shaktimaan was real!
Kids these days...!!!
