Life's Little Surprises

My little-or perhaps not so little-niece, Jayati, is an interesting kid. All of twelve years, this young lady knows her mind and is very focused. In fact, a lot of times, she even tries to know other people’s minds, in the sense that she’ll plan things for them down to a T and then expect them to oblige. That doesn’t work a lot of times as, in these days of independent thinking since age 3 or less, no one wants to do something s/he doesn’t want to.
But what truly endears the kid are her warm, caring ways. From the time she was really small, she would make lovely cards for us on birthdays and special occasions, would always remember to call and thank us even if we did something very small for her and has always been very perceptive of people’s needs and moods. Coming from a kid 7, 8, 9 years of age, this was no mean quality. And of late, her sensitivity has been amply borne out by the beautiful poetry she composes-truly unbelievable for one so young. The depth of feelings she captures and the topics she chooses to write on have left us amazed.

But at the end of the day the kid is a kid-just that. A loving, caring kid who invests a great deal of herself in people –she has the ability to do a lot for folks who matter to her.

And thus it transpired that on Monday, she wanted my sister to bake a cake for her school friend, whom she wanted to ‘surprise’ on her birthday the following day. Now if there’s one thing my sister can claim, in terms of culinary prowess, it’s her ability to bake superb cakes. She makes the very Best-there’s no other word for it (perhaps, as she herself humbly explains- and as her family never tires of reminding her- because all her cooking talents get concentrated into baking that one gourmet item) So Jayati’s request was not uncalled for, especially as the occasions when she had carried cake as part of her lunch had always left her pals licking their fingers……….however, for my sister, it was a fairly tall order at the end of a week day, bogged down as she is with heavy responsibilities and long hours of work. And without prior intimation, mind you (in the government that’s pretty unthinkable I would say!) But mothers are mothers and the occasion was special, so, tired though she was, she agreed to do the needful.

A yummy chocolate cake-the very pinnacle of her repertoire- was duly baked. As it happened, in an effort to help my sis, my brother-in-law enthusiastically put the baking dish into the microwave oven. However, he placed it on the top shelf instead of the middle one and therefore the cake was crustier and of a darker chocolate hue than it ought to’ve been. Immense dexterity was brought into play and the object was inverted gingerly into a round, ornate box-the exquisite work on which would, it was hoped, distract the consumers from the unhealthy tinge of the cake. This strategic move also successfully concealed the burnt portion as it magically became the base, instead of the erstwhile top, and though it was considerable reversal of fate for the self-same top, it was a veritable lesson in military camouflage!!
It is another matter altogether that after all these precautions were taken, the dear girl informed my sis that she had asked for vanilla flavour in the first place! Adhering to the time tested philosophy of che sera sera, we’ll let that pass and move on to the more interesting happenings of the day.

Having done her good deed for the day, Leena, my sister, was feeling at peace with herself and was fondly visualizing the moving scene that would unfold in the school the following day, when delighted and dewy-eyed, the birthday girl would taste the chocolate delight and embrace her loving friend for the thoughtful gesture. Quite caught up in her reverie, she suddenly became aware of a loud wail somewhere in her immediate vicinity. Always quick on the uptake, she sprang to her feet and rushed in the direction from where the sound had emanated. And sure enough, it was young Jayati, sobbing away inconsolably. Marvelling at the mercurial change in demeanour-and feeling bewildered at what could have wrought such a drastic swing of moods so fast-Leena started her inquisition. Seasoned though she is at crisis management and handling tough situations- confusions and mix-ups being an integral part of the bureaucratic world- she was still taken a back when she made sense of the situation. What seemed to filter out-in bits and pieces- between racking sobs-was that the birthday gal was throwing a party to which all and sundry had been invited but not our loving protagonist. Any number of calls asking her if she had been invited had been received and the heartless world seemed to be mocking at her plight.
Now this was definitely a piquant situation and Leena’s heart went out to the child-but there was nothing that she-who organized international meets and conferences with enviable élan-could do about it. She felt helpless, watching the child cry and trying to console her that this happened to all of us sometime or the other. Parties and do s we were sure of being asked to, sometimes left us out in the cold, but her reasoning cut no ice with a twelve year old who had so set her heart on greeting her friend and spreading joy and sunshine in her life. It was a cruel anti-climax that the very same ‘friend’ did not seem to even consider her in her immediate circle of friends. Had Jayati possibly miscalculated the quality of their friendship? Were they simply ‘lunch-time buddies’ and not really close friends, Leena wondered? She tried questioning her but drew a blank, given the incoherent words and recurrent sobs.

At this point, I, who had so far played the role of the quiet listener admirably, decided to butt in with a query. As the surprise-springing had been planned for that very day and the news of the dear niece being dropped like a hot potato had cut me to the quick-I expressed the mean hope that the cake had not been taken to school then. The girl surely hadn’t deserved it, I reasoned.

No, I was informed. The cake had duly been carried to school. All the heartbreak of the previous night notwithstanding (Bless the child and the touching innocence of a childhood that knows no rancour.) And did the birthday girl appreciate the surprise, the super-thoughtful gesture …you may well ask!! For-and here’s the wonderful catch to this saga of love and tears- the said girl chose not to turn up in school that day!
Of course, with the native wisdom and resilience of the young, the other girls consumed the cake with alacrity but Jayati remembered to bring back a few slices so that her parents and sister could also taste the same.

And the post script to the whole merry event was that the birthday girl hadn’t invited anyone till then. These over-zealous gals had been going into a tizzy calling one another and checking if anyone had been invited, when the formal invite hadn’t been issued to anyone!! And since no one had thought it fit to mention that she had not been invited either, it caused such unwarranted misery.

The poor girl has most respectfully invited everyone to her party which is due tomorrow (anyone game?)……..and here's a toast to over-enterprising youngsters with super active imagination!

The Case of the Surpriser Being Surprised; eh!!