By Savitri Narayanan
“How big is the sea, papaji?” asked Guddu as they got into the auto-rickshaw.
Guddu studied in a primary school near Kanpur. It was summer holidays so Guddu with his parents had boarded the train and reached Goa the previous evening. Now they were headed for the beach.
The travel plan happened rather unexpectedly!
“Kunal said they’re going to Lucknow,” said Guddu over dinner, “Can’t we also go to Lucknow?”
“It’s Guddu’s holidays, let’s go somewhere! Anywhere!” Mummyji supported.
“How about Goa?” asked Papaji. “Kunwar mamaji has been inviting us for so long!”
“Goa’s near the Arabian Sea!” Guddu was excited, “Our EVS book says so!”
Soon the auto-rickshaw pulled up on the beach.
“Parking?” asked the guard at the parking lot.
“No, no, we’ll be here till the evening!” said Pavan as he paid off the driver.
Full of anticipation, they moved to the seashore. Beyond the bushes beside the parking lot, they stepped onto the sand.
“The sea is so big!” exclaimed Guddu.
They crossed the beach and stepped into the sea. Gleefully they watched the waves rise and fall. Guddu splashed in the water, jumped on the waves and even tasted the sea water to see if it was really salty as the EVS book described!
“Let’s eat something, aren’t you hungry?” reminded Mummyji.
Mamiji was up early and got busy in the kitchen.
“The food there is very expensive!” As they left Mamiji had passed on the food bag with a smile.
They found a quiet spot, spread a towel and sat down to eat. Eyes still glued to the sea, they ate the sandwiches and paranthas.
As the day advanced, the beach got rather crowded. Tourists, youngsters in pairs or small groups, families with children and hawkers – all busy with their own things!
Guddu found a stick with which he started digging in the sand.Sunita and Pavan sat down, their eyes on Guddu and also on the sea.
Guddu kept on digging hoping it would become a well like the one back home. Soon, he lost interest, threw away the stick and ran around in the sand.
“Have fun but don’t go near the water!” said Sunil.
“Run around here only, near us!” Sunita said. “If you get lost how can we find you?”
‘It would be so much fun to splash in the sea!’ thought Guddu but the plan was different.
“We’ll spend an hour or two in the sea and then go home,” Mummyji had said. “We’ll shower and change at home, not in these public bathrooms!”
Guddu noticed a boy tossing a ball. Soon they became friends and started kicking the ball around.
“He’s found a friend!” Sunita and Pavan looked fondly at the boys and got back into their family talk.
There was a distant sound of a horn.
“Must be the ice-cream trolley!” said the boy.
“Let’s have ice-cream!” said Guddu his hands on his pocket. “My Dadaji has given me some money!”
“There he is!” the boy pointed at the ice cream trolley, on the road beyond the parking lot.
“Uncle, stop, we want ice cream!” they called out and ran ahead.
Each chose his favourite ice-cream. Just as Guddu pulled out the money from his pocket, a car pulled up beside them.
“There you’re darling!” a lady got out of the passenger’s seat and hugged the boy.
“And you’ve a friend too!” she patted Guddu’s hair and opened her purse. “Save your pocket money, dear, this is my treat!”
“Hurry up! We’re causing a traffic jam!” called out the boy’s father. Quickly the lady and the boy got in and the car drove away. The ice-cream trolley too moved on.
Guddu stood there on the roadside, holding the ice cream candy, feeling lost. Many vehicles honking away the horns! Guddu felt a little scared as he walked cautiously back to the beach. How to find his parents?
Guddu remembered the bushes near the parking lot. In the morning it was along those bushes that they had gone to the beach.
The sun was getting hotter and the ice cream candy melted in his hands. At the sight of the endless stretch of sand bordered by the sea which looked endless, too, Guddu felt like crying. Like the road, the beach too was crowded with people. Probably by now Papaji and Mummyji too may be looking out for him! But where? How to find them? What if he couldn’t find them? ‘Like in the movies, would someone kidnap me?’ he thought.
He was scared and felt like crying too.
“You there, boy!” someone called out, “Why’re you standing there all alone?”
Could it be the kidnapper? Why did he ever go with a stranger to eat ice cream? If only he had listened to his parents and stayed close by!
“Come here boy!” this time the instruction was followed by a whistle. It was the parking lot attendant calling out to him. Guddu hesitantly walked to him with a mixed sense of fear and relief.
“Why are you alone?” he asked.
“Mummyji, Papaji”, Guddu pointed at the beach and broke into tears.
“It’s your mistake! You should’ve stayed with them!” he said. A vehicle honked the horn seeking entry. The security guard noted down the vehicle number in a book and took money from the driver and gave him a ticket.
“What’s your name? Your parents’ names? Where do you stay?”
Guddu tried to answer in between sobs. The vehicles kept coming in and out demanding the guard’s time and attention.
The guard took out his phone and talked to somebody.
“Friend, I know you’re off duty but I need your help now,” he said. “A child is lost, looking for his parents; you handle the gate for a while, that’s it!”
Soon he gave the entry book to his colleague and held Guddu’s hand.
“We’ll take a walk on the beach, you look out for your parents, ok?” said the guard as they moved on. “What’s your mother wearing? What colour?”
Guddu felt a sense of trust that the guard would find Mummyji and Papaji.
As they combed the beach, the guard connected his phone to a loudspeaker. He called out Mummyji’s and Papaji’s names asking them to contact him. As they walked along, many heads turned their way.
“Don’t worry betey, we’re used to this! If we can’t find them in a while, we’ll report to the police; find your parents, we will!”
As they crossed a food joint, he asked Guddu, “Are you hungry? Want a samosa?”
Guddu wasn’t! Among the crowd all he was looking for were two familiar faces!
“Let’s go back,” said the guard as they reached the end of the beach, keeping their eyes open!
“Uncle, there they are!” Guddu pointed out. Far away in the crowd he thought he could see Mummyji’s green sari!
“Madam Sunita Devi and Pavan Verma Sir from Kanpur please come to the Boat booking point; your son Guddu is waiting here for you!”
Guddu could see the green sari coming closer.
“Mummyji, Papaji!”, Guddu left the guard and ran to them. Sunita and Pavan hugged him close and shed tears of joy. Still in tears, they approached the guard and said, “We have no words to thank you for keeping our Guddu safe!”
The guard smiled at Guddu, “Hold both your parents’ hands, don’t let them get lost!”
Then he turned to the parents and said, “All’s well that ends well! Must get back on duty at the parking lot!”
With those words, he briskly walked away.
(The author is a retired educationist at present in Goa. A mother and a grandmother, loves reading, writing and travelling.)