The Tabla's refrain- An Excerpt

Siblings can be the most irritating and at the same time the most precious people in the world. Those of us who are blessed to have a sibling would not trade them off for ANYTHING in the world, though we may have asked our parents on many occasions why they had to get us a brother or a sister.

One of my personal favourites in the anthology of short stories that I have written is ‘The Tabla’s Refrain’ which looks at the relationship between two boys aged eight and six, their ingenuity and the unexpected results of childish pranks. For this, my two sons, Aditya and Arush, are the inspiration. They have allowed me to learn how a child’s mind works, how children view things with utter simplicity and without the complications that convoluted adult minds introduce. The truth is that this story would not have been written but for them!

I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it. An Excerpt from ‘The Tabla’s Refrain’ from “The Fly on the Wall & Other Stories”:


“Dada, why are you crying?”

“I am not crying.”

“Yes, you are. Don't lie. Have you not heard Ma telling us that it is wrong to lie?”

“I said I am not crying. See, see. Can you see any tears?”

Biru was proud of the self control that he had displayed back inside the house in front of his family. His brother, Akon, the irritating, looked at him with narrowed eyes, shook his head and with the solemnity of a thirty year old said, “No, you are not crying. You are angry. Why?”

Now that it was established that he had not cried, Biru ignored his brother's remark. He continued to throw his pebbles, aiming for a long, high arc and a splash that created large ripples.

“I know you are angry with Ma and Deuta for not getting you the tabla.”

Splash. Splash. Splash.

“Dada, tell me, na. I want to help. I can help.”

Splash. Splash. Splash.

“Okay. I will go and tell Ma you are hiding here. She is looking for you. She wants to send you to Rina Mami's house in the afternoon. `Too much trouble here, that boy. An afternoon at Rina's will do him good.'” Akon mimicked his mother's voice, knowing fully well that his Dada hated going to Rina Mami's place.

“You will not tell her anything.”

“I will.”

“If you do, I'll break your head.”

“Okay, I won't. So tell me why are you angry?”

By now, Biru had become tired of his pebble game. He sat down on the grassy patch at the foot of Akon's earthy throne and began catching the big, fat, red ants. These tiny creatures had a sharp sting. If they bit you, it hurt for hours. The trick was to catch them from their backs, their plump abdomens and keep them hanging, their legs flailing wildly in the air, trying to grasp their adversary to sink their sharp mandibles into his flesh. Biru was attempting a difficult feat, to make a chain of four of these crawlies, clinging on to each other.

Akon watched in fascination as his brother lifted four ants in the air, the last one trying unsuccessfully to cling on to a blade of grass. Akon clapped his hands in delight. He could manage only two in a chain. Biru grinned triumphantly and then placed his ant-chain on a tree branch. He felt like talking to his appreciative brother.

“Okay. I am angry.”……….