Water filter

It’s an unforgettable bond between me and a small kid who I know past many years. Now he is an adult but a tiny memorable gift I gave him is being kept as a treasure. I was just thinking what he could have done with my toy which I gave him many years ago.

The story unwinds a whole lot of emotions behind the tiny gift which I gave him. A village amidst the back drop of a hill, with a water body as a source of water to the whole village. A few hundred houses with a landlord to rule the village, this was the scenario of the village.

I was born and brought up in the village. Being a member of the family of landlords I was respected by one and all.  It was a moment of pride when I was being considered a royal heiress of some kingdom. But I was very humble and down to earth; I would consider everyone my fellow beings. Either rich or poor every being have their own credibility and they should be respected. I was brought up with these principles by my parents who taught the affectionate binding between human beings.

 During my earlier days of childhood as a girl from small town and the daughter of the landlord, I had the opportunity to visit the villagers dwelling. I liked their simplicity and their simple cuisine which they would cook using mud furnace. The aura of the mud pots would enhance the taste of food being prepared. Without being noticed by my older lot of the family I would make a visit to my maid’s house to devour the simple morsel from their platter. These memories are something unforgettable.

There were days when I and my brother stayed in our maid’s house for a week as my parents were out of town on an emergency. My housemaid took care of so well that I still remember her cooking in her small thatched hut. Those were the days I enjoyed the most. 

I was a naughty kid during my school days. One day it so happened that I had a holiday in my school on that day where I did my primary schooling. I was getting bored sitting idle hence I went to my village school and I found a male teacher who had a squeaky voice was teaching the children. I just found him funny because of his voice. I was a prankster then, hence I just imitated his voice and this annoyed the teacher very much. I repeated the same thing three times; I would run away from the scene every time. But finally I was caught red handed. The teacher caught me by my ear and made me teach tables to the school kids. Those were the days which make me smile when remembered. The teacher who had punished me got a transfer to a different village hence a new teacher was appointed to the school.

This new teacher was a very friendly and helpful person. Hence he became everyone’s favourite. He had a small family a wife, and a small kid with another one waiting for arrival. A small happy family. He was transferred from a different school, hence the villagers made arrangements for their stay. The teacher became so famous that along with teaching he also put his hand into improvising the village scenario. Along with his interesting in improvising the village he was also a priest to our village temple. A man with versatile personality. A few months passed there was a moment of joy and happiness in his family the arrival of new baby to complete their family.

The teacher and his family became very close to our family. Hence they used to visit our place quite often. After a few years the teacher’s younger child grew up from his infancy to a small tiny tot. He would come with his dad to our place. He was a naughty kid and he used to move around the house finding things. With his sweet voice he would call me sister. One day it so happened that the kid visited our house and he was running around. When he was running with a sudden brake, he stopped and started staring into the showcase where I had kept my tiny toys which I used to play in my childhood days. He asked “Akka (sister), what is that”. He was showing me a tiny water filter which stood along with my other little toys. His tiny eyes had chosen the best. A steel water filter which had two containers and tiny tap which would actually filter the dirt. He asked” Akka (sister), is it real, does the water run down if you open the tap?” A series of questions followed. He would visit my house every now and then to play with water filter. He had put his eyes on that tiny toy. Hence one day with his cute smile said, “Akka do you play with that filter” I said,” No, I have grown up isn’t it I don’t play with toys anymore” Then he continued,”Akka , will you give me that toy, so that I can play with it in my house”. I was a bit reluctant, because that toy was my favourite and I couldn’t get departed with it. But I was very fond of that kid hence I sacrificed and gave the tiny filter to the kid. He was so happy that he jumped for joy.  He liked the toy so much that he played with  it and he has kept it like a treasure  He would always remember me for giving my precious toy to him. After a few years I got shifted to my granny’s house for higher studies and the kid grew up to became a young boy. His father got transferred to a different school. But whenever he would visit our place he would always mention about the water filter that I had given to his son as a gift. I was really surprised about the love and affection of the small boy towards a tiny gift I had given him.

Today he is a grown up adult with a wife and kids. I heard that he has given the same water filter to his son. The toy is passed on to the next generation. That was the priceless moment of joy.