Yash had expected Arti would join them the next day when he met with Dr. Ahmed Ansari and Zoya. When she didn't he was mildly surprised. He had picked up on Arti and Zoya's closeness and had assumed Arti would be at every meeting. When she didn't show up during the large family lunch either, he finally asked Zoya about it.
"Its Sunday. Arti is off limits on Sundays" Zoya exclaimed, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
At Yash's confused look, she added, "You dropped her off at the orphanage yesterday, right? Well she spends as much time as she can over there ' every evening after work and the weekends. But Sundays are sacrosanct ' she spends the whole week planning a special treat for the kids and Sunday is treat-day. So unless something earth-shattering is about to occur ' like my nikaah" Zoya said with a grin and a twinkle in her large black eyes, "Arti will not change her schedule at the orphanage on Sundays. The kids wait the whole week for the special treat ' she always plans something different for each Sunday ' and that is their bright spot of the week. She won't take that away from them."
"So what has she planned for this week?" Yash asked, curious now.
Zoya shrugged, "I don't know, she didn't tell me. It's something big and will take the whole day ' that's all I know."
After the luncheon got over, Yash made his excuses and left. He was on his way back to the hotel when he decided to go to the orphanage instead. Realizing he did not know the name or the address of the place, he asked the driver to take him there, instead of taking a taxi as was his original plan. He got down at the orphanage and let the car go.
He entered through the rusted gates and followed the gravel path to the entrance. The front door was open but as he stepped in a chowkidaar barred his way.
"Can I meet Artiji?" he asked.
Yash had to fill in his details in the visitors' book but then he was allowed entry. The chowkidaar pointed him towards the garden at the back.
Yash stood at the edge of the lawn and took in the scene before him. There must have been about 20 children there, ranging in age from 4-5 years to early teens. All were busy with some activity or the other ' he could see some with sketch pads, while others were crowded around a big table. Only the youngest two children were playing ' and they were the ones who noticed him. One of them ran up to the big table and tugged at some one.
Arti felt a small hand pulling her dupatta and turned to face Pia, the youngest member of the orphanage. "Kya hua Pia?" she asked, her body twisted in such a way that both her hands were out of sight.
Pia turned and pointed to him, "Artididi, see ' some Uncle is standing there."
Arti followed the pointing finger and to her surprise saw Yash. "Yashji? You here? Sab thik toh hain na?"
Yash nodded and came forward. "I was just curious...Can I join you?" he asked.
"Of course!" Arti exclaimed.
The other children at the table made way for him and Yash saw what they had been busy at. They were making 6-inch doll figurines with clay. Arti's hands were immersed in the pail as she kneaded the clay, keeping it moist and supple, while the children took what they needed.
Yash's hands reached out involuntarily towards the clay ' it was one of his favourite medium for sculpture. Taking up some in his hands, he slowly started rolling it between his palms, feeling the cool earth through his skin.
"What are you making?" he asked.
"The children are making a surprise for Zoya and Ahmed ' a wedding gift. They will present them with a doll house, which will have dolls representing Zoya, Ahmed and their families. The dolls are made of clay. We will make the other things like utensils, furniture, curtains, etc. out of wood and cloth" Arti explained.
"Clay is not my strong point. So we are doing the dolls first. Once we make them, there is a kumhaar I spoke to, who will bake them. And the kids will paint the dolls. Once that is done, the rest won't take long. But the dolls..." she trailed off. "We have been at it the whole day, and made only two. The rest broke." The frustrated Arti brushed a strand of her hair off her face with a clay-covered hand, leaving one more streak on her face.
Yash smiled. All the children looked as disheveled as her. "Well, if you allow me, I can help. I love working with clay."
The children jumped as Arti exclaimed in relief, "You do? Oh thank god! Clay is one thing I have not been able to master. Please Yashji, please do help us out. We really need to finish the dolls today and we need eight more."
Yash grinned with delight, "Come on then, children."
Relieved Arti stepped back, allowing Yash to take her place. She watched as he took over, directing the children, learning their names as he told them what to do. In less than two hours, there were eight perfect 6-inch dolls standing in a line in front of her.
"What about those two?" Arti said, pointing to the two dolls that had survived their initial effort. In front of the other eight, these two looked...mis-shapen.
"Easily fixed" Yash exclaimed, going over. She couldn't see what he did as the children crowded around him, but when they stepped back 15 minutes later, the two looked as perfectly-shaped as the others.
"Oh wow!" Arti said, amazed. "Thank you, Yashjji!"
The children crowded around Yash thanking him as well. Yash laughed, carefree for the first time in months, "I should thank you! I had so much fun."
One of the older boys turned to Arti, "Didi, do you think...?" he said, with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes Deepak," Arti smiled at him. "Let's ask Yashji." As Deepak turned to Yash two of the other boys rushed inside and brought out sheets of paper they pushed into Yash's hands.
"Uncle, we also need a doll-house. Didi has drawn it out ' and a carpenter is building it" Deepak started explaining.
"A wooden doll-house?" Yash asked in delight. Clay and wood ' his favourites!
Yash looked down at the sheets he was holding. And was impressed ' one page had the interior of the house drawn out in exquisite detail, with 10 dolls in various rooms and all the usual accruements a house would have. The other pages detailed the front and back, as well as how the house would split open on one side to reveal the interior in all its glory.
"This is amazing!" he exclaimed.
"Thank you." Arti replied. "But it's so complicated that we cannot make it without a professional's help. The carpenter has finished the structure and he will be working on the interior next'."
"Let's show him" Deepak interrupted.
The children grabbed Yash by the arms and rushed him inside. He entered a room to see all the furniture pushed to one side. In the centre of the room sat a 2-feet high, 2-storey doll-house. The structure was in place, even with the hinges added so one side could open.
"Wow" Yash said softly, walking around the wooden structure. "This will be beautiful".
"Yes! But we can't do anything till the carpenter is done. We don't know how to work with wood" Deepak explained, a trace of longing in his voice.
Yash picked up on that, a longing he recognized well. "Do you want to learn?" he asked.
"Yes!" Deepak exclaimed.
"Well, I can help a little. If you want, I will come tomorrow evening and we can work on some of the details and furniture your Didi has drawn" Yash offered smiling.
After cleaning up, as Yash was leaving, Arti joined him. She was going to get the special ice-cream treat for the children. Walking to the gate together, Arti said, "Thank you so much Yashji. If you hadn't come and agreed to help...I don't know what possessed me to choose clay when I don't know how to work with it myself. You saved the day! Thank you so much."
Yash smiled at her, his old smile that reminded Arti of the reunion evening so many years ago. "I doubt the day would have been ruined Artiji. The children were already enjoying themselves. I just helped to complete the task you set for the day."
She stopped and inadvertently placed a hand on his arm, "No Yashji. You helped give them a sense of success, of accomplishment. As important as it is for them to have fun and enjoy themselves, its equally important for them to feel they have accomplished their goal...And we couldn't have done that without you today."
Yash placed his other hand over Arti's arm, "It was my pleasure Artiji. I didn't realize till today, when I finally worked with it again, how much I missed working with clay. You and the children gave me a few hours of...bliss ' pure and simple joy that I have missed so much. So, thank you."
They smiled at each other and turned to go their separate ways.
The kids enjoyed so much today...thank god for Yashji. He really did save the day. The doll-house will turn out well ' perfect gift for Zoya and Ahmed...the kids are learning so much through this...
It was time to dust off the clay-wheel at home. Arpita had hated getting her hands dirty, had hated Yash getting all messy. So he had stopped working with clay. But it was time to get back to his first love...he had so much fun today. And Ansh would have a blast with it too when he grew slightly bigger. Yes...he would clean and get the clay-wheel ready again...
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Hi,
I am back again, leaving a note for my dear readers 😊. This time, its a disclaimer - like Arti, i don't know much about using clay. Did it a couple of times years ago, and dredged up memories to set the scene. So whatever was inaccurate (and i bet a lot of it was) - please blame my ignorance. And excuse it as a "creative" liberty 😉.
Thanks,
Kat
Cricket
Udne Ki Aasha
Veer Hanuman
Anupamaa
