Mintu is the youngest kid in the house and a visiting kid as well, who has come to this house in here holidays. She is his Grand daughter and very found of his stories. She does not like to get disturbed. Once she and other kids were listening to the story. The story was at a very interesting point. Everybody was excited to hear what happens next. Just to time the moment, Mintu’s mother enter the room. Every body turns to her. She simply asks which story is going on. Kids being excited and moved with the flow of story feel like a halt, but still no one says any thing. Then Mintu taking the liberty of being her daughter says, “We have brushed our teeth, taken our bath, had our breakfast, had our milk and now don’t ask us to do any other thing before the story ends!!!!!”.
This is one of the incidence from the book, which I just read. It was this sentence, which flew my thoughts to future when my niece would be about Mintu’s age. My niece “Gunnu” is only about 18 months now. She is already too sharp and too cute. With this paragraph, I felt like Mintu is actually “Gunnu”. Gunnu has come to our house in Khanna and listening stories from me or her grand parents. And in the above sentence she is like commanding her mother!!!!!!
After that all the text involved around Mintu became sensitive to me. As it was not Mintu now, it was my Gunnu. She is so cute and innocent. Her acts are so pure and full with life. When she laughs, it seems like purest form of laugh with no hidden secrets. It is just a full hearted laugh. When she cries, she is completely into it. And to me she looks so cute even while crying. (I am sure her mother; my sister-in-law; won’t agree with me). There is a photo of Gunnu in our house. It was specially captured in studio. She has her tongue out, like she is teasing someone. I go home on weekends and I generally sleeps in that room. Before sleeping, I look at her photograph. It makes me feel happy. She is so lively. It feels like she is teasing me. I mock her and do the same back to her photograph. Then I switch of the light and go to sleep with that innocent face in my mind and my dreams(if there are any, I hardly remember).Some how I feel like that acts done by the Mintu are actually done by Gunnu. I already have her image in my mind doing all those things.
Gunnu defines Innocence for me today.
Keep Smiling
Arundeep Singh