Nannu: No Longer by My Side..... But Forever in My Heart.....

By Shruti Wason

Life Isn't a matter of milestones, but of moments.
Rose kennedy

Absent-minded approach of Avinash's daughter was the reason of his sleepless nights.his expectations was to see his daughter in an esteemed position in life but the circumstances were not favourable.Will he be successful in his quest to create a bright future for his baby girl.

• Language: English
• Publisher: One Point Six Technologies Pvt Ltd
• Release date: May 31, 2021
• ISBN: 9789354383274

Shruti Wason

Completing 7 years in the literature world with milestones like blogger of Amourmyself, Gorgeousamourfor Google and Author of two books Miraj and Nannu, Shruti holds her head high with expertise in qualification inBSc physics from Lady Irwin College Delhi and P.G.D.B.M with dual specialisation in Marketing with International Business from Apeejay School of Marketing. She has also worked for AT&T, Orange and Cap-one processes for Convergys in Technical and Admin fields.Her passion became her only purpose in life. Literature gave her persona the needed zest. Experiential knowledge in the psyche and spiritual sectors in writing is her forte. She believes in this quote and lives by it. “There is no austerity equal to a balanced mind and there is no happiness equal to contentment.

Book preview

Chapter 1

One night sitting on the porch in the courtyard of his comfortable house a loving father, Rajbeer, started telling his cute little daughter a story, in response to her babyish, iron-willed wish of hearing a tale from him. In his late thirties, Rajbeer was tall, well built with twinkling brown eyes and exuded a charm befitting a model. He looked relaxed and handsome in casual clothes as well as in his uniform as a police officer. In college he had always won prizes for writing essays and short stories. Now, he had developed a penchant for making up stories for Anaya. In fact, it had become her favourite ritual to hear a story from him before going to bed.

An only child, Anaya was at an impressable age and he wanted to tell her stories which were both interesting and educative. She was a dainty , pretty child with hazel eyes and long brown locks. Always beautifully dressed in pretty frocks, mostly in her favourite red colour, she was like a picture of a beautiful doll. She adored her father and always wanted to be with him. His duties towards his country as a conscientious police officer were important to him, no doubt, but so was babysitting this beautiful princess and syncing her with the different characters of the world. He was totally besotted with both his wife Nidhi and Anaya.

He wove stories around his journey of life and his childhood dreams for his darling doll. These moments were actually the most refreshing moments of the day for him. He began his story by saying that it was a long narration, so everyday he would tell her bits and pieces of the plot to which his darling daughter readily agreed. His 7 year old daughter Anaya was as puerile and adorbs like the first flower of the spring. The father lovingly used to call his princess Anam. And his doll was all ears as she listened to the protagonist ‘Nannu’s’ saga.

In fact Nannu had lived many lives in this single lifetime and he had many stories to tell about her…..

She lived in Ooty, which is a beautiful hill station in the Western Ghats. The uniqueness of this place lies in its strange trees. The mysterious names of these trees brings a lot of tourists to this place. The story of Nannu began in this small town.

Two children were fighting in a classroom in a school near the tea gardens in Ooty. This fight had turned the classroom into a chaotic and raunchy place. The peon rushed to the staff room to inform the duty teacher to come and take charge of the situation. The moment she arrived, her yelling made the class quiet.

She said in a stern tone,

Nannu and Krish stop fighting immediately and the rest of you get back to your seats and open your English book.

After giving these instructions that engaged the class she took the two students i.e. Nannu and Krish, who were creating the nuisance, to the Principal's office. When they reached the Principal's cabin the kids were still fighting. This noise in the school was so loud it could be witnessed by the pedestrians and cyclists on the street. The vendors started discussing that it must be ‘Nannu again!’

she was well known for standing up for the right point.

The Principal gazed at her from under her spectacles with her experienced sharp beady eyes as if scrutinizing every move and then said,

Yes Miss Fix It, What is the issue now?

Hearing this the teacher on duty reported the incident.

Turning to Nannu the Principal remarked, Now Nannu who were you taking a stand for this time?

Nannu responded Yes Ma'am, I'll explain the incident appropriately for you. Krish was torturing the girl sitting next to me by pinching and hitting her on her back.

The Principal intervened And then what happened?

Krish interrupted her and said Then this Nannu started beating me.

The Principal instructed Nannu to stop talking so she could hear Krish's side of the story too.

Finally, the issue was resolved by fixing up a meeting with the parents of both the kids with the Principal to enforce discipline on their children. Also the Principal warned them that if they did not behave themselves they would be rusticated from the school.

She gave instructions to the two defaulters to inform their respective parents about the meeting with the Principal on Saturday. The kids got very nervous and started crying but that didn’t help. After the noon break that day the teacher came to the class and made notings in both their diaries. They were asked by the teacher to get it signed by their parents.

This incident made Nannu's confidence rather weak. She was a 7 year old girl with an angelic face. She had lost her mother at an early age and that had made her emotional and over reactive. Actually she was a very simple and honest child with dark black eyes, joined eyebrows, cute straight nose and baby pink lips. A hairband that simply fitted on the bob cut styled light brown locks of hair indicated a careless lifestyle. She was beautiful no doubt but quite naïve in her habits. Today she was tensed as to how she would inform her father regarding the Saturday meeting. She even missed her P.T class to complete her homework so that she could impress her Daddy.

Her father Avinash Singh Rathore was a diligent, dutiful Police Officer. He was a man of high principles, a person with high empathetic intelligence and a nerve daring attitude. He was said to carry fortitude on his shoulder. Tall, over six feet in height with broad shoulders he had an imposing persona. His penetrating brown eyes gave the impression of a mind reader. His hair had streaks of natural grey which made him look very mature and handsome. His eyes would light up on seeing his sweetheart Nannu playing. But in contrast, his daughter Nannu was an apathetic day-dreamer and lazy girl. Losing her mother when she was very small had affected her nature.Nannu was a fragile and delicate child who always appeared as an untidy,unkempt figure.

Her careless attitude was responsible for the teacher’s and her father's annoyance. Avinash’s innermost desire was to see his Nannu become a fearless and brave girl but Nannu's fears used to tamper with his expectations. Avinash was a passionate patriot who would always quote-

Bravery is an overcoat that all soldiers wear, no matter what the situation holds.

One evening, on the way back home that day, Nannu was busy in her own intriguing thoughts when she abruptly spotted the body of a girl lying in the bushes near the trees.

She called out to Shambhu Kaka who had come to pick her up from school along with Rusty, her dog. Seeing the body Shambhu rushed Nannu home and when they got there he hurried to the kitchen to lay the table for lunch. He did not want Nannu to dwell too much on the issue. He was a simple villager, with an innocent mind but he knew that such a situation was harmful for the little girl. In the meantime Nannu had already narrated the incident in which they had witnessed the body on the way home to Ratna.

Anaya looked at her father with shining eyes filled with dreamy thoughts and asked Who was Ratna, Dad?

Rajbeer answered, smiling at her curious eyes. Ratna was the loving grandmother of Nannu. They did a lot of interesting activities together and would have a lot of fun all day long. Nannu was the apple of Ratna’s eyes.

Then he continued his story.

Ratna was really like a fairy Godmother for Nannu. Tall and fair skinned with beautifully tied up hair in a bun, she was always dressed in printed cotton sarees which gave her a graceful timeless look. Loving and caring by nature, her endeavour was to create a warm home for Avinash and his daughter.

As soon as Ratna learned about the incident she started checking Nannu for any bruises etc Nannu assured her that she was fine but that this information about the dead body had to reach Daddy asap. She called him at the police station and reported the incident to him. In about an hour her father Avinash reached the spot. She also arrived there after been updated that her Daddy had reached. When the police force arrived along with their search team they started noting down the props, and evidences at the scene of the crime by taking blood samples etc. and by swabbing every inch of the vicinity.

Nannu noticed a small piece of metal on the earth near the tree. She picked up the piece and bought it to her father. Her father was standing near the sand mountain checking the papers and photographs of the cadaver. As she bought the piece of metal to her father he took it nearer his eyes and examined it under a torch light and identified that this piece was made from brass with gold plating. He was sure that this piece belonged to a bracelet or a bangle, but to be legally accurate he had to get it tested in a lab for it was an important piece of evidence.

After all the investigations were done and they were heading home for dinner they heard a roaring sound. Nannu chuckled and quipped

It seems to be a mother tiger looking for her cubs in the forest.

Avinash was elated to notice that Nannu was no more scared or affected by the sounds of the wild animals. In fact she was trying empathetically to comprehend their communication in particular. Avinash felt happy that he had raised his daughter to respect herself and be true to the beings around.

She came home and jumped onto her bed. Her dog Rusty could sense the uneasiness in her mood. Nannu's uncomfortable behaviour also caught Ratna's attention and she showed her concern by saying What is the matter Nannu?

She showed her school diary to her father and told him he had to meet the Principal the next day. Avinash got annoyed with Nannu because everytime he had to go to her school to face the embarrassment of complaints against her. Nannu’s expression of shock and fear made her run out of the room. Ratna explained to Avinash that he should not have been rude to the child; instead he should understand the problem she was dealing with and solve it.

After her daddy’s scolding Nannu's mood got even more diminished and she hid in her room.

But the moment Nannu reached her room she heard the whistle of the Rainbow Queen which induced her to come out. The Queen kept staring at Nannu till she smiled and then flew back to her nest.

In the meantime Avinash started discussing the intricacies of the case with his mother. While he was engrossed in his conversation with Ratna, Nannu also became busy spending quality time with her best buddy - the Rainbow Queen. By the time he retired to Nannu's room to take stock of his darling daughter’s condition, he found her fast sleep.

The porch seemed dark and the brightness of the moonlight was falling on Anaya' s innocent face and made her skin appear satiny and sheeny under the twinkling stars. The moon smiled at the father who had been busy telling her the story while his baby doll went into a deep nap in his lap. He picked her up and took her to the room and placed her on the cot.

The next morning during breakfast while Anaya was getting ready to go to school she demanded her father for another slice of Nannu 's saga which he narrated to her on the way as he dropped her to school. It ran thus.......

Incredible Friendship

Nannu had two best buddies in this world. They were Rainbow Queen (The Himalayan Monal) and Rusty (a Labrador puppy)

‘Ingresses’, The Awe-Inspiring Rainbow Queen was the older of the two. Rainbow Queen was the name given to her by Nannu. Rainbow Queen came into Nannu's life on that fateful day when she was a 4 year old cute kiddo playing in the nearby small nature park where she used to go to meet her animal friends and neighbourhood children. She loved her unusual animal friends who stayed in the deep woods, who would also visit the nature park to play with other juvenile animals and look for food and water.

Nannu used to visit the nature park on weekends. Once when she was playing with her animal friends she observed that a bullet suddenly came from an unknown source. She jumped quickly on the tree and saved Monal, the bird sitting there. Then she took out her darts which were very sharp and aimed at the hunter's hand. He screamed 'ouch' and ran away. She then took her new friend Monal to her house. Monal looked at Nannu and gave a grateful whistle. She was a beautiful bird with Purplish lemon green shades on her body and wings, orangish yellow neck and aqua blue head with beak. The orange golden tail added the needed tinge to her persona. She loved berry fruits and all kinds of grains which Nannu would feed her with utmost love.

Nannu while stroking Monal's head with true affection named her Rainbow Queen. Soon Rainbow Queen became her friend and the morning alarm for Nannu. Her sweet whistle and chirping used to wake Nannu up every morning.

She stayed in a nest in the tree near Nannu's balcony. She loved her very much and Nannu was the world to her. The test of their love was that whenever Nannu was unwell her Rainbow friend used to sit on her balcony the whole day without drinking a drop of water or eating a morsel of food.

Rajbeer had promised Anaya that he would tell her the rest of the story when he came back from the police station. At this Anaya shook her head in a nod as if agreeing to his request. Anaya was aware that her father was a man of his word, if he had assured her he would always live up to it.

After school Anaya's mother, Nidhi, a tenderhearted lady who adored her Anam the most, came to take her back home. She always smelt of lingering and harmonizing fragrance of tuberose flowers. Her soft skin and scintillating persona was enough to relieve the senses. Her fond eyes, her fragrant body, and her fresh breath surrounded the space around her so that everything began to smell much like her. …..After Anaya’s meal and after letting her watch a cartoon on TV, her mother drove Anaya to her music classes and then, later, on the way back home to her swimming classes.

In the evening after her studies were over, Anaya was uneasy and fidgety, and it caught her mother's eyes. With an affectionate tone Anaya's mother inquired what was bothering her. Anaya retorted that she was awaiting her dad's return. But, it so happened that the following day Rajbeer had to handle an important case so he had to travel out of station immediately.

He had met Anaya in the morning but by evening he had gone out of station. So after school around 5.00 pm when Anaya came home she was very restless, which her mother noticed. She informed Anaya about her father's departure and that he would return the next day. Anaya felt disheartened and went to her room to watch the rest of the cartoon movie. She also played with her toys which she had put aside in expectation of her Dad's return. This 7 year old child felt so jaded that she coiled up on her bed and covered herself with a blanket. The excitement of the epoch-making moment when she could be with her Dad faded away as the moon hid behind the clouds. Suddenly she rose and ran to her mother and requested her to tell her a story. Her mother was busy handling chores in the kitchen so she forgot all about the story. However post supper when they sat down to finish her homework and do some revision work Nidhi remembered and told her a story about dolls and Barbie. This made Anaya happy and she soon fell into a peaceful sleep.

Early next morning saw Anaya approaching her school with her mother. Anaya had her school competition marathon race that day in which she was participating. However she appeared to be in an ambivalent and evasive mood. She ran the race half-heartedly and as a result stood third although earlier she had always come first. She felt very demoralized and accepted her certificate and medal quietly and then they both went back to their house. The moment she reached home she saw her Dad sitting outside waiting for his princess. She rushed into his arms and gave him a big hug. After supper she was all set for the rest of the story about Nannu's saga from her Dad.

Welcoming The Endearing Rusty

On weekends Avinash used to visit the forest veterinary hospital.

Although he was a tough and busy officer he made time to work as a free voluntary helper in the veterinary department. He used to take Nannu with him to the veterinary hospital every weekend to help look after the animals. Nannu used to help by fetching the swabs, antiseptics and also stroking the sick animals’ heads with love. She used to soothe their pain as she sympathetically understood the cruelity of humans on them. She and her daddy used to feed them with milk and medicines. This she had started doing when she was all of 3 years old.

One day the veterinary hospital got a new patient. It was a small cute Labrador Retriever puppy which they had found in a trash can. They were treating him, monitoring his parameters, checking his bruises and putting antiseptic swabs on them.

The puppy jumped with shock and pain when they did that. Observing this Nannu reached out to help him. She put her small hand on his head to assure him that he had her support and later she started caressing his head in order to soothe him. She held him in her lap with love, so he could be reassured. He started gazing at this 6 year old girl who was by his side and found a silent friend in her.

They had to feed him because he was so small. His tiny mouth muscles were not developed enough to suck milk from the feeding bottle or from other artificial feeders. He was unable to drink even a drop and this frustrated him. Inspite of being hungry he could not feed himself so he raised his head up as if asking for help from his silent friend. Nannu told the nurse she wanted to feed the puppy and the nurse readily gave in to the kid's demand. When Avinash came in Nannu was feeding the puppy with a spoon. He could trace something more than empathy in her eyes. When she saw her father coming near her she glanced at him with a pleading look.

Daddy understood her wish but settled on it on only one condition. Avinash enunciated that the puppy's responsibilities would only be shouldered by Nannu which included feeding him, keeping track of his medicines, taking him out for nature's call and all other jobs. Nannu agreed readily to all the conditions that her Daddy had laid down. Then he completed all the formalities and filled in the details required for adoption and then they handed over the puppy to Nannu.

Eyes gleaming at her father, Anaya was looking at him very pensively. She was trying to form her words to make a request to her Dad but just before she could cook up any question her father said -

We are not getting any puppy home darling.

She was astonished that he could sense her desire so easily still she