Kulfi Girl
Chapter 1: The Introductory Days

8 years and 12 years

Naina Agarwal had just learned to cycle, an achievement she wanted to be proud about, but to her utter dismay it kept wobbling. Dressed in her favorite green frock, she cycled slowly, trying to get a hang of it, when suddenly an orange ball came hurling through the air, hitting the front tyre and she fell down with a crash. Her yell rang through the air, and a boy in navy t-shirt dashed out on the road, cursing, “oh shit…”

He lifted the cycle off the girl, who was whimpering as her leg was trapped. “I am sorry”, he said. She bit her lip, trying not to cry. The boy queried, “hey kid… are you alright? Dekho… mujhe Gujarati nahi aati… Tumhe English ya Hindi aati hai?”

Naina stared at him with teary eyes, “mujhe sab aata hai… and I am not a kid… main 8 saal ki hun.”

The boy smiled, “nice… you okay? Meri ball dekhi?”

She nodded, and pointed to the small patch of garden on the other side of road. The orange ball was lying in between some bushes, and he rushed to get it back. Naina tried to get up but her leg felt like jelly, and the cut was hurting. He came back and offered his hand, “main help karta hun.”

She shook her head, “Taiji kehti hai anjaan logo se, khaas kar ke ladko se madad nahi lete.”

He chuckled, “main Sameer hun… iss ghar me rehta hun.”

She looked at the house and said with an air of finality, “yeh Jaiprakash sir ka ghar hai… tumhara nahi…”

“Woh mere Nanu hai”, he clarified, “tum jaanti ho unhe?”

She nodded, “mere school ke trustee hai.”

He smiled once more, “that’s great… toh ab toh hum anjaan nahi hai na… help chahiye? Ya saari baate road pe bethke hi karni hai.”

She looked at the offered hand and after a brief mental debate took his help. She had talked to several boys in her class, but this was the first time some boy apart from her brother touched her… There was a strange trepidation in her heart, and she almost wanted to mutter some prayer, afraid of what would happen. But quite contrary to Taiji’s elaborate horrendous tales of how heaven would crack open and kill her with lightning if she let some other boy touch her, nothing really happened. In fact, his hold was secure as he pulled her up and helped her steady herself. He queried, “tumhara ghar dur hai? Doctor ko dikhana hai?”

She shook her head, quickly leaving his hand, “nahi… main yeh pados wali ghar me rehti hun.”

His eyes widened, “oh no! Tum uss Oh bai ki beti ho?”

She couldn’t help but laugh, “nahi… woh meri Taiji hai.”

He smiled in relief, “thank God… chalo, I have to go… bye.”

That evening, Naina got to know from Taiji’s persistent hollering that the new boy next door was Sameer Maheshwari, Jaiprakash Maheshwari’s grandson, who had come to live with him for vacations, and that he studied in a convent in Nainital. For the rest of the vacation, she didn’t see him much, and neither did they talk. The sightings were few as he was older than her, from what she heard he was 12 or 13 years old, and hence more interested in playing with other boys of his age.

9 years and 13 years

“Hey kid”, a voice hollered, “so tum cycle chalana seekh gai.”

Exasperated Naina glared at him, “I am not a kid… and naturally… ek saal me toh seekh hi jaungi na.”

He chuckled, “yes I remember… 8 saal ki ho tum.”

“9 saal”, she informed, “aur ab mujhe jaana hai warna yeh kulfi pighal jayegi.”

As she turned to leave, he asked, “oi kulfi girl… tumhara naam kya hai?”

She huffed, “main anjaan ladko ko apna naam nahi batati.”

He scratched his head, muttering, “pagal hai kya… last time maine apna naam bataya toh tha.” Before he could leave from there, she came back running and stuffed a kulfi in his hand, “mera naam Naina hai… thank you for helping me Sameer.”

He didn’t really understand for a moment as he watched her whirl around to leave after flashing a brilliant grin at him. It took him a full minute to realize that she had just thanked him for his last year’s help. Shaking his head at her, he walked away to his Nanu’s home, slurping on the cold kulfi. He wondered briefly at how she had an extra kulfi to give him, but then forgot about it as soon as his friends came to meet him. Next door, Naina pouted at her own weird action of giving her kulfi to that boy. Now everyone was having kulfi, while she wasn’t as she had said that she had miscounted. Preeti cheered her up though as she shared a bit of her own kulfi, and asked the real reason for the one missing kulfi. Naina confided, and Preeti gasped, “kya? Tune apni kulfi kyun de di…?”

Naina justified, “usne peechle saal meri madad ki thi.”

“Giraya bhi toh usine tha”, she stated.

Naina nodded, “haan… par galti se… chal chod na… ab de di toh de di… kya farq padta hai? Agli baar wapas kha lungi…”

Preeti sighed and shrugged, “theek hai… main toh bas isiliye heran hun kyunki tu kabhi apni chocolate ya ice-cream kisi aur ko nahi deti.”

Naina realized that her sister was right, but she had no idea why she did what she did. She just felt like giving him the kulfi… And even now she didn’t regret it; she just hoped he enjoyed it.

Two days later, he saw her again, and greeted, “hi kulfi girl… kahan jaa rahi ho?”

She smiled, “mandir… tum?”

“Kuch khane jaa raha hun”, he replied, “bahot bhuk lagi hai aur ghar pe Nanu nahi hai… Ramdhari bhi pata nahi kaha chala gaya.”

She suggested, “mandir ke paas bahot achcha pani-puri milta hai.”

He grinned mischievously, “are you asking me out on a date kulfi girl?”

She was confused, “date? Matlab…?”

Her evident confusion reminded him that she was just 9 years old… A kid… And here he was teasing her. ‘Pagal hai tu Sameer’, he thought. Aloud he said, “kuch nahi… ignore karo… mandir dur hai kya?”

She shook her head, “nahi… bas 10 minute… tabhi toh chalke jaa rahi hun.”

“Okay fine”, he fell in step beside her, “chalo.”

She nervously looked back at her home, “tum… tum mere saath aaoge?”

He frowned, “kyun koi problem hai?”

She shook her head, “mujhe nahi… lekin ghar pe…”

“Oh”, he scratched his head, “umm… mujhe rasta nahi pata… koi baat nahi… tum jao… main kuch aur dekh lunga.”

She thought quickly and then suggested, “society ke gate ke paas jo bargad ka ped haina… tum wahan milo… udhar se kisiko dikhega nahi hum saath jayenge toh bhi.”

He smiled at her quick wit, and nodded, sprinting off to the gate. Naina sedately walked outside with her puja thaali, and kept looking at the tree from the corner of her eyes… She crossed it, and soon spotted a movement, and in the next few seconds he was there, grinning at her. She smiled at him, not really sure why she felt exhilarated at the way they were sneaking out…

While walking she asked him where he lived. And he answered, “Nainital… Ghar wahi hai… Mom-dad ke saath rehta hun, lekin summer vacation me hamesha Nanu ke paas aa jaata hun. I like spending time with him.”

As they reached the temple, she removed her shoes and started to climb up, but noticed that he wasn’t there beside her anymore. Turning back she saw him still standing at the base, looking around. Puzzled she queried, “tum wahan kya kar rahe ho? Upar nahi aaoge?”

He shook his head, “nahi… I don’t believe in God… tum jao, main yahin wait karunga.”

She stared at him in shock, but before she could ask anything more he walked off towards the food stalls. Sighing she climbed up the remaining stairs, finished her puja and came down to find him already gobbling pani-puri. When she came to him, he asked the man to get a dish for her as well, but she refused, “nahi… main paise leke nahi aai hun… bas yeh thode se paise hai gau mata ke laddoo aur ghaas ke liye.”

He was confused, “paise kisne maange? Meri treat…”

She shook her head, “nahi nahi… tum kyun treat doge… kis khushi me…”

“Aree”, he persisted, “umm… tumne kal kulfi di thi na, toh aaj main tumhe pani-puri khila raha hun.”

She immediately quipped, “kulfi thanks bolne ke liye tha… mujhe chot lagi thi aur tumne madad ki… aise bina wajah main tumse treat nahi le sakti.”

He was exasperated, “uh… dost samajhke kha lo.”

She giggled, “tum mujhse bade ho… 5 saal shayad… hum dost kaise hue? Mujhe toh tumhe ‘aap’ kehke bulana chahiye.”

He scowled, “eww… aap mat bolna please… aur main 4 saal bada hun tumse. But usse kya hua… Aisa samajhlo I am treating a kid…”

She adamantly refused, “nahi Sameer… main nahi kha sakti… aur waise bhi ghar jaake khana hi khana hai. Tum kha lo, main gau mata ko khilake aati hun…”

He sighed, “achcha… treat mat lo… ek taste toh karlo… meri hi dish me se le lo… please…”

She relented after some deliberation and picked up the next pani-puri, sighing in delight at its taste. He smirked, “ab dish lagvau?”

She laughed, “nahi… mujhe lalach mat do…”

He watched her use whatever money she had brought to buy grass and laddoos and shook his head in confusion… Why feed a cow when it could very well eat the leaves of nearby plants? This particular cow already seemed to be too well fed because other people who came to temple also fed it… Why waste precious money on such things? She could have just had pani-puri or ice-cream instead… No one at her home would know… He even said so to her when he joined her later, but she smiled, “haan… ghar pe kisiko pata nahi chalta… lekin mujhe toh pata hota na… main waise bhi jhooth nahi bolti Sameer… Aur mandir aake, gau mata ko khilake mujhe achcha lagta hai.”

He watched her in confusion, “you are mad kulfi girl.”

10 years and 14 years

Naina returned with her family, exhausted from their visit to their ancestral village. She wiped her face with her handkerchief, and a voice grabbed her attention. A loud laughter… She turned her head to see Sameer walking down the street with two other boys who seemed to be of similar age as him, and they were laughing on something. They came closer and she could hear they were discussing about eating outside that evening… something about law garden…

Unknown to him Naina kept observing him… He seemed to have grown much taller than last year… His hair also looked longer and he kept combing his hand through it. He was wearing some black boots instead of regular sports shoes like before. She had not really thought of it before, but now staring at him as he stood oblivious she acknowledged that he was quite good-looking. There was something different about him… He wasn’t like the other boys in her school. Maybe because he dressed better… Or maybe because he was confident… The boys he was standing with paled in comparison to him, not because they weren’t wearing good clothes, but because he had something prominent in his personality.

As if feeling her constant gaze on him, he turned and his eyes glittered on seeing her… Naina… He was immediately tempted to holler ‘kulfi girl’, but resisted on seeing that she was with her family. Just like her, he also scanned her, trying to note the changes from previous year. There weren’t much, he thought… She was still dressed in frock, this time a pink one… And her hair was parted in center with two ponytails that were adorned with ribbons. Her feet were clad in golden colored shoes or belles and he shook his head at the appalling footwear.

Smiling at her he waved, and he saw her eyes widen a bit before she quickly scurried inside, probably worried about her family. He frowned… Couldn’t she at least wave back? He was not a monster that would whisk her away from her family… The way she behaved it was as if her family would kill her for just knowing him… He still remembered how she had been afraid to walk with him… Well, he did recall Nanu explaining to him about how Ahmedabad was different from Nanital, and the culture and values inculcated in children were different.

Later that night he couldn’t sleep properly and went up to the terrace, thinking he could sleep there. He breathed in the fresh night air, and heard a soft voice from next to him, “Hi Sameer…”

Turning his head he spotted Naina on the neighboring terrace. She was dressed in a sleeveless white frock, and her hair was open this time, the length falling till her shoulders. He grumbled, “toh finally pehchaan gayi mujhe… shaam ko toh bhaag gai.”

She smiled, “mere gharwale saath me the… unko pata nahi ke hum baat karte hai… umm… bas Preeti ko pata hai.”

He quizzed, “Preeti kaun?”

“Meri behen”, she informed, “hum saath hi padhte hai… same class me.”

He nodded, “aur who dusri ladki? Tumhari didi…?”

She sat on the parapet separating their terraces, “haan… Pooja didi…”

He watched her for some time, and then sat on the parapet too, next to her, but his legs dangling on his own terrace. Curious he asked, “baki sab kaun the? Main toh sirf Oh Bai ko jaanta hun kyunki jab dekho tab daant ti rehti hai ke yahan mat khelo.”

She replied, “kurta-pyjama me mere Tauji the, aur ‘oh bai’ meri Taiji hai… Chota ladka jo tha woh unka beta, Prateek… Hum use Pralay bulate hai. Safari suit me mere papa the, aur peele shirt me Arjun bhaiya. Baki do log, mere Chachaji aur Chachiji… Pooja didi aur Preeti unke bachche hai.”

He absorbed the information, and asked, “Arjun saga bhai hai?” She nodded, and he further queried, “aur tumhari mummy?”

She was silent for a moment, and then looked up at the sky with a smile, “wahan hai… sabse zyada chamakta hua sitaara…” He looked up, puzzled for a moment wondering why she was showing him stars. The next second she continued, “meri mummy… unse baat karne roz raat chhat pe aati hun.”

His gaze snapped back at her, something inside him wrenching on seeing her tear filled eyes gazing up at the sky, and the small divine smile on her lips. “I am sorry”, he whispered, “mujhe pata nahi tha…”

She looked back at him, “it’s okay… maine unko kabhi dekha nahi hai… jis din main paida hui usi din woh…” Trailing off on a sigh, she looked at the star again and felt tears filling her eyes as she recalled her father’s words earlier in the day about how he didn’t consider her worthy enough to be called his daughter. She bent her knees, crossing her arms over them and bent her head to hide her face, to somehow stop feeling weak. She never let Preeti or Pooja didi know about how much it hurt her when her father said such things, rather she would just assure them that she had Chachaji, but every time such an incident happened she would cry here on terrace. However, today here too she wasn’t alone… and she had to hide her anguish… Few minutes later she felt a hand on her head, lightly patting as if the person was feeling bit awkward on doing so… The gesture was so alien to her that she stiffened in surprise, but he probably didn’t register it because he continued those light pats and after some time she started to feel relaxed and amused both. Was Sameer Maheshwari, a boy she barely knew, really comforting her?

Next moment, he withdrew his hand and she heard his voice, “kulfi girl… please rona bandh karo na… dekho mujhe bachcho ko chup karwana nahi aata.”

She raised her head in indignation, hastily wiping her tears, “main bachchi nahi hun… 10 saal ki hun… bhulo mat, main akele jaati hun mandir, bazar aur school bhi… woh bhi cycle leke… aur… aur… tumse behtar yahan ke raste pata hai mujhe.”

He chuckled, “okay… fine… tum bahot badi ho, aur mujhe kuch nahi aata… happy?”

She grinned, “haan…” After a minute, she said, “kal shaam ko main mandir jaungi… tum chaloge? Iss baar main tumhe pani-puri khilaungi.”

He laughed at her innocent invitation… How could she be so naïve? He had met 10 years old in Nainital who were much sharper than her… Maybe it was the environment she was brought up in. And strangely enough he didn’t feel irritated with her innocence, rather when she had cried today he had felt an urge to protect her and make her happy again. Hopefully, next year when he was here she would have much more sense about what such outright invitations to boys meant… But for now he was just glad that it was him she was talking to and not anyone else. Still he asked, “tum dusre ladko ke saath toh aise baat nahi karti na? I mean… kulfi dena ya pani-puri khilane ka offer dena ya saath me mandir jaana…”

She frowned, “nahi… mera toh koi aur dost nahi hai jo ladka ho.”

He exhaled in relief, “good… banana bhi mat… sirf main hi theek hun, samjhi tum?”

She thought about it for few seconds and nodded, simply stating, “mujhe bhi koi aur nahi chahiye.”

He smiled, “that’s better… aur yeh pani-puri wala plan next year aaunga tab karenge… iss baar toh main jaldi aa gaya tha par tum thi nahi… ab main kal jaa raha hun.”

She gasped, “kal hi? Kyun? Ab tak toh vacation me kaafi din bache hai…”

“Dad ko ek business trip pe jaana hai”, he informed, “toh mom aur mujhe bhi le jaa rahe hai saath me.” She pouted, and he chuckled, “aree abhi toh hun na yahan… don’t be sad kulfi girl.”

Flashing a small smile at him she requested, “tum thodi der wait karoge? Main kuch leke aati hun… bas 5 minute.”

He was slightly sleepy, but thinking that he was anyways leaving tomorrow, he nodded, “sure.” He watched her disappear down the stairs and had no idea why he agreed to her… Was she a friend? Or a kid he was just indulging? Whatever she was, at least she wasn’t as annoying as some other girls he knew. To his utmost surprise she came back with a rolled up mat, a bottle of water and a bowl, which she kept aside on the floor and then spread the mat out. One seeing his confusion she explained, “yahan upar bethke baat karenge toh koi dekh lega… aur ghar pe bata dega… isiliye yahan neeche bethte hai.”

He once more tried to control his smile… Oh man… If she was the same age as him then he would have been in trouble, or rather she would have been in trouble… Did she even understand what she was doing? The answer was obviously a big fat no… Spending time at night on the terrace with a boy, hiding from everyone’s view… She just had no idea what that could have translated into or perceived as by some people.

“Betho na”, she urged.

Curious to see what more she came up with he moved his legs over the parapet, sliding off on her terrace and sat on the mat, leaning against the wall, extending his legs out.  She sat at the other end of the mat, crossing her legs, and shook her hair, moving them away from her face, “kitni garmi hai aaj… gaanv me toh mast thandi thandi hawa chalti thi raat ko.”

He queried, “toh tum gaanv gai thi?”

She nodded, and enthusiastically began to tell him about her vacation. Munching on the bowl of mixed nuts she had brought, he listened with total interest to the tale of tranquil village pond, loud mooing cows and buffaloes, a dog called Sheru, her adventures of climbing trees to pluck fruits, hiding in shrubberies to use catapult to harass boys, eating imlis, roaming around fields. It didn’t feel odd to spend most of the night listening to her animated stories, he didn’t hesitate to tell her about some of his own mischiefs in school, and none of them thought much when they finally said Good Night and made plans for the next vacation which included a pani-puri and kulfi outing.