Golis! – Short Story for Children
Golis! - Short Story for Children
Kannan was standing there putting his tiny hands around the coconut palm, like a kid hugging its mother. He was watching how the elder boys were playing goli. It has been exactly four days since he had started watching them play, or since he had seen the golis for the first time.
He was only five years old and didn’t know how to play goli. But he liked what he saw, golis! They were round and made up of glass, some of them were small and some were big. Whether they were small or big, each had a design inside it with a particular colour. He found them very attractive. No wonder, children can see beauty in little things! He wanted them, not to play, but to keep them.
“O Thampi, come here soon….!”
Kannan turned around. The sound was shrill, but he couldn’t identify the source. It was evening only, but the source stands at a distance and the evening sunlight glared in his tiny eyes. And what he saw frightened him. A silhouette of a dark woman, with her left hand on the hips and right hand on the head, scratching. Now the scratching did more harm to her figure, all her hairs were raised. Kannan now remembered the picture he had seen in the book, depicting a man who got electric shock and whose hairs were standing straight.
“Are you going to come here or should I come there?”
Now Kannan understood who it was and he walked towards the source, at the pace of a snail, with a half mind. Today he wanted to tell his mother about golis and he wanted his father to buy some for him. But, when he was near his mother, he understood she was angry.
“Hadn’t your father told you not to go beyond the banyan tree? But now, from where are you coming? You have crossed the banyan tree and gone beyond the fig tree too. Get the ‘gifts’ from your father today. You are still a kid, what will you do if some beggar kidnaps you? Even if you scream, no one at home will hear you!”
Kannan saw the tears in his mother’s eyes sparkling in the evening sunlight, he thought one drop will fall down her cheek now, but it didn’t.
His mother now dragged him holding his right hand and he found difficult to move. The thought of beggars have anyway frightened him. He had been advised to not to go with any stranger or eat what they offer, for beggars or strangers will kidnap children, abuse them, may even take their eyes out and make them blind beggars! Scary tales to frighten children exist everywhere!
He knew it was not the right time to tell what he wanted. Moreover, he was scared, imagining what would happen when father knows that he has crossed the boundaries set for him. Children always have boundaries of trees and fences, which are not supposed to be crossed!
They reached home, his father was not there. Kannan felt a little relieved. His mother was still angry, her face said. Kannan took bath and did the evening prayers, but his mind was full of colourful golis.
“Where is Thampi?”
He heard the voice from the front door. His mother was replying in a low voice. Now Kannan sincerely prayed.
“Hey Krishna, please protect me. Let me not get beatings today for crossing banyan tree……Also, give me golis of different colours, so that I need not cross banyan tree anymore to see them, please help me Krishna!”
“Thampi, come here!”
Here comes his father’s call. Surely the news has reached his ears. Kannan trembled with fear. While walking towards his father, his knees were shaking and seeing his father, tears were flowing down his cheek, he couldn’t help!
Seeing him cry, his father lifted him and pacified him. Without asking anything, Kannan told,
“I will not cross banyan tree again…. I like golis; that is why I went there to see those boys playing with them. If I have golis, I can play here in front of the house, but I don’t have….”
Saying these he started crying more profusely, acting or genuine, even he didn’t know. Anyway, today his tactics won. The usually short tempered father promised him golis the very next day, so that he will remain near the house. He wiped Kannan’s tears and gave him a kiss. Happily having dinner, Kannan went to sleep.
Next day, before Kannan woke up his father had left for his job. Kannan felt happy, he would get golis today. No matter whether they are big or small, they will have beautiful designs inside it. He searched for a container to keep his golis. At last he found among the waste bottles, an iron tin, not at all rusted, but clean.
Kannan went inside home and tore a page from the newspaper of the previous day and wiped the tin bottle again to assure it is clean. Holding the tin bottle, he remained in front of the house, waiting for his father to return with golis. When it was evening he was more excited. But as time passed by, Kannan felt tired and slept in the veranda.
He was awaken by some rushing sound. He couldn’t make out whether it was morning or evening. Slowly he came to the senses. Some people were taking someone on their shoulders and getting inside the house. He got up and went inside. It was his father on their shoulders. He didn’t understand what was going on. Someone was telling,
“It was a heart attack!”.
Kannan didn’t know what was heart attack. Kannan’s mother was collapsing and some women were supporting her. All what Kannan saw was his father lying on the floor with a small bag clutching in his hand.
“We tried our best to get the bag out of the hand, but the body has become so stiff, that we stopped….”
Another voice was heard.
Kannan ran back to the veranda, took the tin box and sat beside his father’s hand. He tried opening his father’s hand to get the bag. Someone hugged him and told,
“Thampi, you can’t get it…!”
He shrugged, “They are golis for me, he had promised me…”.
He tried again with all his strength to snatch the bag. To every one’s surprise, this time he got the bag, he checked it and found the small packet wrapped in paper. Opening it, his eyes sparkled… colourful golis!
He took them along with the tin box to the veranda. He was busy filling the golis into the tin box, with that typical disturbing sound,when something hits tin boxes. Everyone looked at him with tearful eyes.
“Thank you Krishna! These are really good, more beautiful than those in others’ hands. Green, blue, red, yellow, black… Now I am going to play goli!”
__END__
