Be-friending Ms Padmini Mohite...

Usually I don’t take too long to make friends with little kids but Ms. Padmini Mohite is a big blot on that track record of mine. Let me introduce her. Ms. Padmini Mohite is a big lady of 4 and half years and is the daughter of the taxi driver who stays in the helper’s quarters in the adjoining building. She also happens to be the “best friend” of Dinesh, son of our society's watchman, Maan Singh. Dare not call him “Thapa” or “Bahadur” coz’ of his looks. He would promptly correct you with a polite yet firm, “Shaab ji…mera naam Maan Singh hai” (Sir, my name is Maan Singh)…and would wait for an acknowledgement.

So as I mentioned, I and Padmini aren’t exactly on nodding & smiling terms. She always gives me a “not-impressed” frown and I also play along and return the same frown back. I wonder what it might be? Is it that she doesn’t find my sense of dressing good enough for a smile or is it the fact that her best friend’s father calls me “Shaab ji” (Sir) is something that doesn’t appeal to her? I don’t quite know what it is but the bottom line is that I and little Ms Padmini are always on frowning terms!

Like every other day, I left for work and like every other day I and the dear leading lady of this blog post exchanged our customary frowns. I walked briskly to the spot where the office shuttle picks me up and surprisingly in about 2-3mts Padmini joined me and stood right next to me but still maintaining her poise (what a word for a 4 and a half yr old!) and that frown. I guess she was going back home as the school had declared a holiday or something. Now this was a sticky situation for our dear little Padmini as I was the least-stranger amongst all the strangers around her. Occasionally, I did catch her stealing a quick glance but she quickly looked away and then pretended to be busy looking at the traffic ahead. There still was tension between us, clearly.

I was getting slightly impatient as my bus was taking an unusually long time to come but all the while I was trying to figure what the little lady is trying to do. She would take 2 steps forward and then 2 steps backwards. Sheepishly look up to me and then back at the seemingly un-ending flow of cars / auto rickshaws / buses etc. This pattern kept repeating itself for the next 5mts or so. Then it struck me…the poor kid was trying to cross the road but was too proud to ask me! I moved towards her and smilingly asked her, “…apko road cross karna hai?...” (you want to cross the road, rite?) Little Padmini shyly nodded her head. So I held out my hand and she promptly transferred her lunch-box to the other hand and held out her tiny fingers towards me. I held her hand firmly and together we snaked throught the busy Mumbai road.

Little Padmini smiled at me with gratitude and then shyly half-waved a bye to me as her big innocent eyes followed me warmly as I crossed the road back to my waiting spot. There was no frown this time around.

I think I and little Ms Padmini Mohite are friends now…