Hello people!
I'm back with another silly idea.
We all agree on one thing- the leads of PR have let us down very badly. We are no longer true fans of our once-favourite characters.
So why not enjoy their characters outside the realm of the show- in a brand new setup?
Presenting Kiddie PR- which showcases Little Archana and Little Manav in the mould of the most innocent age of all- childhood.
Basic characteristics of the characters- positive and negative- will remain the same in this short series. Below is the first part.
(Confession: Inspired by Archie Comics)
Kiddie PR- 'BACK TO BACHPAN'
"Oooowww.."
Little Manav turned back to see who had almost pushed him out of the mulberry bush behind which he was hiding.
Two little braids, fringe on forehead, brown eyes wide open, staring in surprise, plump fair cheeks and little red lips with an equally red tongue which looked as if they had been sucking on some sort of toffee- was what he saw. But what captured his attention was the second lollypop in the hand of the little girl who stood before him.
The little girl, dressed in a short blue skirt and checked light blue shirt, which was the official school uniform, came and sat down next to him behind the mulberry bush. "Make space." She said in a small voice, as he stared at her big brown eyes first, which reminded him of brown marbles, and then at the lollypop in her hand. He wondered which was better.
"Make space." She repeated, her voice more irritated now.
He came back to his senses. It was not worth risking his security for a lollypop, he decided, even if it was a strawberry flavoured one- his favourite. The girl and him had similar tastes, he thought.
"Go away!" he said, shoving her aside. "You're stealing my space."
Little Archu looked at him, her eyes opening bigger than ever. "You can't shoo me away like this!" she pouted. "Its not your bush."
"Yes it is." Said Little Manav. He pointed to a little piece of the stem of the bush. Written in scratchy letters was- Manav and Sachin.
"I learned it from my Aai." He said triumphantly. "She says people are very chaalu. One must be very clever in life."
Little Archu looked as if she would burst into tears. She looked at the piece of scratched writing again and again, and then at Little Manav's grinning face. Oh dear!- she thought. Boys were bad!! All of them!! She hated them all! Oh Bappa! Why did you make all of them so cunning?
She looked around. There was no other bush in the playground.
She looked at Little Manav with tear filled eyes. "Please let me hide." She sobbed. "Please!"
Little Manav was moved. A weeping girl with cute braids and a fringe and an extra lollypop was a difficult combination to resist. He tried to think about what to do.. oh dear! Thinking was such a difficult job.. it put a lot of strain on his brain. As it is, people said he had very little brains.
Slowly, he put an arm around her. "Don't cry." He said softly. "I will help you. But only one can hide here. If we both hide, we might both get caught. The bush is not large enough to conceal us both."
Little Archu kept crying. Little Manav felt very uncomfortable. He was sure that the teacher would punish him if she saw the little girl crying- just like his brother Little Sachin had got a whack last month for pulling the braids of little girls in his class.
"Okay okay." He said hastily. "You hide here, and I will go and hide somewhere else. Please don't cry now."
Little Archu seemed satisfied by this option. "Where will you hide?" she asked slowly.
He looked around, and ran off to hide inside the boys toilet.
A little later, the bell signaling end of lunchtime rang and all the children started assembling to go back to their classes. Little Archu, standing in the line for class I, looked out for her savior.
There he was- black messy hair, blue shorts, blue check shirt with a black tie- standing along with the other boys in the line for class III. He was laughing and smiling with them- he had a very nice smile and it showed two gaps in his front row of sparkling white teeth. Little Archu watched in amazement. He had already lost two teeth!! Wow!!- she thought, remembering with sadness her own front incisor which shook and shook but refused to fall.
She looked at the lollypop in her hand, and asking her friend to keep her place in the line to the class- ran off to meet him. "Hey!" she shouted.
Little Manav looked about. He caught her waving at him happily, and he saw the lollypop, but he did not budge. Instead he continued chatting happily with his friends.
"Hey you smiley!!" she tried again. The rest of the boys, who had caught her words, started laughing at poor Little Manav.
Little Manav felt angry at her. He went towards her and stood with his hands on his hips. "I saved you, and you embarrassed me in front of my friends!!" he said, sulking. "I don't like you. Go away!"
Little Archu was shocked. "But what did I do?"
"We boys don't talk to little girls." Said Little Manav, tossing his head smartly. "My friends would laugh at me if I talked to one."
Little Archu felt sad. "Sorry." She said in a small voice. "Actually I wanted to give you this." She said, showing him the lollypop. Little Manav's eyes sparkled. "I thought you would like to have it, since you were staring at it all the time. Strawberry flavor- my Aai bought it for me." She said proudly.
Little Manav was pleased. He liked this little girl with plump cheeks and red tongue who was willing to share sweets with him in such a lovely manner. His own brother Little Sachin always stole chocolates from his pocket and he could never say anything to him. He took it from her. "Thank you." He said, blushing, the two gaps showing even more prominently through his smile now. Little Archu looked at them, fascinated. "The toilet must be a very bad place to hide na?" she asked in a sorry voice.
It was- Little Manav wanted to say, as he remembered the horrible smell he had to bear for 10 minutes. But he didn't voice it. "Arey it was nothing." He said, grinning widely.
He is so brave- thought Little Archu. For my sake, he tolerated the bad, smelly toilet for 10 whole minutes!!!
"What is your name?" asked Little Archu shyly, her hands clasped behind her back.
Little Manav looked around to see if his friends were watching. They had gone. He heaved a sigh of relief. "I'm Manav." He said, flashing his two gaps. He had never talked to girls before. Everyone had told him girls were silly. This was his first encounter, and he felt shy and awkward.
"My name is Archu. Don't you have a nickname like me?"
Little Manav pondered. "No," he said, scratching his head. "My brother Sachin is called Sachu. But I don't have one." He looked at Little Archu worriedly. "How does one get a nickname?"
Little Archu pouted. She did not know. "I will find you a nickname." She promised. "I will tell it to you in the lunchbreak tomorrow."
"Alright Little Archu." Said Little Manav happily. He waved off, running to meet his friends in the class. "Goodbye!" shouted Little Archu, jumping up and down, waving her hanky. She walked to her class, thinking about a nice nickname and wondering why he was hiding behind the bush like her.
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Well people, that was part 1. Do leave your comments/criticism/suggestions on whether I should continue.
Anupamaa
Pocket Mein Aasman
Cricket
