033: WHY YELLOW?

“Happy Basant Panchami beta” I said as I tried to hug Junior.

“Do not come closer to me, give yourself a bath. I took a shower for half an hour to get ready for school.” replied Junior, pushing me back. They were scheduled for class photographs that day.

“Okay, cool down my boy! Tie this yellow handkerchief around your neck.” I told as I tried to pacify him.

“Why yellow,” he shouted.

“Because that’s the custom” I yelled back.

I dropped Junior to school and drove towards the office. Thoughts of his question were coming in my mind again and again. After a few kilo meters, I asked the voice assistant to play the mythological tales of Basant Panchami. They were so enchanting that I played them on the evening drive back home as well.

During dinner I asked Junior “shall I tell you stories of Basant Panchami?”? “No papa, I am busy with reels on Insta,” he replied. I looked at my wife. She said, “He needs to study after dinner, so this is the only time he gets the mobile.” I kept quiet to maintain peace.?

After dinner, I went to the market on my bicycle. From there, I brought a sugar cane, a few wooden sticks and some flowers. I made arrows by tying flowers on sticks and bow by tying a rope in sugar cane. I asked Junior and his mother for help in enacting a story of Shiva and Kama. In this story, Kama the god of desires shooted an arrow of flowers on Shiva to bring him out of meditation.

I closed my eyes and sat enacting the meditation. One of them threw the arrow at me. It hit me on my forehead. I shouted in pain. I stood from the floor and sat on the sofa holding my head in great pain.

Junior started crying and his mother checked on me. She said there was big bump on my top of my left eye. I asked them to take me to hospital. She gave me the car key, I did not take it saying driving not possible due to pain. Due to fear she could not locate the hospital in Ola App. She ran to get an auto from street. She left the phone behind, which Junior grabbed, stopped crying and indulged himself in Insta reels. We went toward hospital in auto. Instead of going to the hospital, I asked the auto driver to stop in front of the ice cream parlour. There, I applied ice cream to my forehead. I said no to hospital as pain was gone. Both of them were confused, but enjoyed the ice cream.?

“Why this drama?” asked Junior and his mother together.

“Because both of you are not bothered about learning to know the reason for yellow on Basant Panchami,” I replied while ordering for one more ice cream.

“They got me married to a man out of his mind,” She cried again.

“Let us do this every evening,” said the Junior.