It is Shruti's happybirthday today. Mother gave her toffees left from Shrey's and Prey's happybirthday one, two months back. She gave the toffees to her friends. Everyone sang happybirthday to her. She skipped happily from where the van stopped, carefully holding onto Mother's saree as she held up Shrey and Prey in her arms and coaxed them to tell her how school went.
Shruti got home, untied her shoes, and slowly folded up her uniform that she knew she would have to wear tomorrow. Shrey's and Prey's, she put into the machine, they were boys, they got it dirty playing in the field. They had three sets each. Three sets of identical red checkered shirts and brown shorts, but only one red checkered girls' frock. All this while, she skipped, humming happybirthday to herself.
Shruti had to do homework, even though it was her happybirthday. She was a big girl, big girls never had happybirthday parties with friends. She had once asked Mother, the fingers on her cheek still stung. Mother was a big girl, Mother had happybirthday parties with her friends too. Maybe she needed to be as big as Mother to have them again. Shrey and Prey were small, they had happybirthday parties too.
Kakoli auntie was making Shrey write her 'Q' while Prey chewed his pencil. Shruti looked at her own book. "Lata and Gita went to a party together. Lata had 2 cakes and Gita.." She looked at the problem sum again. Kakoli auntie had told her it was of addition. Maybe Lata and Gita were not big girls like Shruti. That is why they still had parties. But was the cake for happybirthday party? Shruti stared at the problem some more. "..Gita had 4 cakes. How many cakes did they have altogether?" But was it not necessary to know what the cakes were for? Were Lata and Gita like Shrey and Prey? Was Shruti the only one who was all alone stuck with no happybirthday parties?
Kakoli auntie's hand moved, and before Shruti knew her left cheek was red and tears were streaming from her eyes. Shrey's Q's looked like balloons moving away through her hazy vision, as Kakoli auntie screamed at her for not knowing how to add 2 and 4. But.. Happybirthday..
After Shrey and Prey had finished their pagefuls of Q's and R's and Shruti had managed to count 6 cakes on her fingers, Mother entered with a bowlful of kheer and samosas, and told Kakoli auntie that it was her birthday. "But wasn't it happybirthday", Shruti asked. Mother told her to get back to her book. Shruti bent her head into Mathe-magic for Class III, hoping to find an answer.
When Father came, and Shruti had done four additions one after the other, and Shrey and Prey hadwatched Doraemon on the TV, Shruti tugged at her Mother's saree again and asked if she would get a gift because Anjali from school said she would. Mother asked her to finish addition.
Maybe all of life's answers were in Mathe-magic for Class III.Father gave her a kiss as she packed her bag after dinner. Mother also came after putting Shrey and Prey to sleep. They kept a tiger on her lap.
Shruti didn't cry. Her happybirthday had ended. With a tiger whose head Shrey and Prey would tear away tomorrow.
They were boys.
Shruti got home, untied her shoes, and slowly folded up her uniform that she knew she would have to wear tomorrow. Shrey's and Prey's, she put into the machine, they were boys, they got it dirty playing in the field. They had three sets each. Three sets of identical red checkered shirts and brown shorts, but only one red checkered girls' frock. All this while, she skipped, humming happybirthday to herself.
Shruti had to do homework, even though it was her happybirthday. She was a big girl, big girls never had happybirthday parties with friends. She had once asked Mother, the fingers on her cheek still stung. Mother was a big girl, Mother had happybirthday parties with her friends too. Maybe she needed to be as big as Mother to have them again. Shrey and Prey were small, they had happybirthday parties too.
Kakoli auntie was making Shrey write her 'Q' while Prey chewed his pencil. Shruti looked at her own book. "Lata and Gita went to a party together. Lata had 2 cakes and Gita.." She looked at the problem sum again. Kakoli auntie had told her it was of addition. Maybe Lata and Gita were not big girls like Shruti. That is why they still had parties. But was the cake for happybirthday party? Shruti stared at the problem some more. "..Gita had 4 cakes. How many cakes did they have altogether?" But was it not necessary to know what the cakes were for? Were Lata and Gita like Shrey and Prey? Was Shruti the only one who was all alone stuck with no happybirthday parties?
Kakoli auntie's hand moved, and before Shruti knew her left cheek was red and tears were streaming from her eyes. Shrey's Q's looked like balloons moving away through her hazy vision, as Kakoli auntie screamed at her for not knowing how to add 2 and 4. But.. Happybirthday..
After Shrey and Prey had finished their pagefuls of Q's and R's and Shruti had managed to count 6 cakes on her fingers, Mother entered with a bowlful of kheer and samosas, and told Kakoli auntie that it was her birthday. "But wasn't it happybirthday", Shruti asked. Mother told her to get back to her book. Shruti bent her head into Mathe-magic for Class III, hoping to find an answer.
When Father came, and Shruti had done four additions one after the other, and Shrey and Prey hadwatched Doraemon on the TV, Shruti tugged at her Mother's saree again and asked if she would get a gift because Anjali from school said she would. Mother asked her to finish addition.
Maybe all of life's answers were in Mathe-magic for Class III.Father gave her a kiss as she packed her bag after dinner. Mother also came after putting Shrey and Prey to sleep. They kept a tiger on her lap.
Shruti didn't cry. Her happybirthday had ended. With a tiger whose head Shrey and Prey would tear away tomorrow.
They were boys.
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