Children of the rose
NANDINI NAYAR
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We were working on a project on the great leaders of India, when Amma asked what the connection was between Nehru, children and roses.
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It was Madhu’s project on the Great Leaders of India that started the whole discussion about Nehru, children and roses. Amma, patiently sticking pictures on a chart, wondered, “What is the connection between Nehru, roses and his affection for children?”
Madhu, watching Amma to ensure she was doing everything properly, chanted, “Nehru loved roses and children. Children called him Chacha!”
Everyone, Amma said scornfully, knew that. What she wanted was the real reason why Nehru had liked roses and children. “Impossible!” I said. How could we learn such secret facts about people from history? That was when Appa cleared his throat, carefully folded his newspaper and began, “One day, a man, dressed in his new white-collared kurta, was walking in his garden…” Amma looked up to ask, “Who was it?”
“There were lots of roses,” Appa went on, “And the man was enjoying them when he saw something!”
“What?” Amma, Madhu and I asked. We had all stopped working and were listening attentively to Appa’s story, wondering what was coming next.
“A rose bush was shaking!” Appa said in a spooky voice. Madhu obligingly screeched.
“He peered around the bush, and saw … a boy and a girl! A pink rose in his hand, the boy was reaching for another.”
“Then?” I asked, feeling breathless with excitement.
Caught!
“The girl ran away,” Appa said, “The man grabbed the boy’s hand! And then he felt a stabbing pain that made him loosen his hold so that the boy ran away too!” The thorn, Appa said, had pricked the man, causing some bleeding. “And the children?” Madhu asked, “Did the man catch them?”
“He couldn’t!” Appa explained, “Because he had to attend to his finger, you see. So he quickly stuffed the rose into his button hole, and went home. All that day he was busy — meeting reporters, posing for pictures, answering questions.”
I wondered about the kinds of questions he was asked. “Questions about what he wanted for the country,” Appa said, “And … his opinion of children!”
We all laughed, wondering how the man had answered that question. “He didn’t know what to say!” Appa smiled, “He was still angry with the children for stealing his roses! And thinking of what they were doing in his garden, he said “Children … like roses!”
“And the listeners thought he meant children are like roses!” Amma exclaimed.
And Appa finished, “The photo appeared with his comment. And he was known as the man who loved children, the man who wore a rose in his coat!”
“And that’s why his birthday is celebrated as Children’s Day!” I finished.
“Oooh!” Madhu said, “So that man was Chacha Nehru?”
“It is nice to finally know the story behind his fondness for roses and children,” Amma sighed happily, going back to the project.
“Yes,” Appa nodded, “Though of course, we don’t really know if any of this happened…” And he walked out, leaving us speechless.
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