Shenoy - The Frogs

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Published by Westland Publications Private Limited in 2018

61, 2nd Floor, Silverline Building, Alapakkam Main Road, Maduravoyal, Chennai 600095

Westland and the Westland logo are the trademarks of Westland Publications Private Limited, or its affiliates.

Text Copyright Preeti Shenoy, 2018

Cover design for this ebook edition copyright Westland Publications Private Limited 2018

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events and incidents are either products of the authors imagination or used fictitiously.

All rights reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

The child was persistent, and even when her mother tried to distract her with a lollipop, she wouldnt concede.

Me want... me want... me want... she kept repeating on loop, pointing to the small figurine of the green frog placed in the middle of the dining table.

It was an ugly frog. Or perhaps it was a toad Esha couldnt tell. It had eyes that looked in two different directions. It was painted a dirty green. The strokes were rough, quick, barely masking the plaster of paris or clay, or whatever it was that it was made out of. Esha could not understand why her daughter had taken a fancy to it.

I am sorry, Aparna aunty, Neeru is being a pest today, said Esha, apologising for her toddler.

Its okay. I would have gifted it to her you know, but its... its just that I made it especially for your uncle. It was a gift, I made it myself... Aparna trailed off.

No, no, Aparna aunty, I wouldnt even dream of taking it from you. Children have to understand that they cant simply go anywhere and demand to play with things that do not belong to them.

But Neeru would not give up. Me want... me want... Frogu... frogu... she continued in the whiny, annoying way that only two-year-olds can. Her demands were gradually growing louder. Esha tried to take Neeru to the other side of the room, but she screamed and kicked in protest.

No, no frogu. Frogu needs to go to school. He cant go with you, said Esha.

NO... I WANT FROGU. I WANT FROGU. Neerus decibel levels increased as she arched her body backwards and made fists of her hands.

Look, Esha, why dont we just leave with the frog? Aparna aunty, I will return in intact in the evening. Neeru is very cranky and on the verge of falling asleep. It will be difficult to bear the cacophony she will make on the way home if we refuse, said Anuj, stepping in.

Aparnas eye twitched. This was the problem with modern-day parents. The slightest hint of displeasure that their little prince or princesses showed, and they would placate them, give in to their demands.

I am not sure that is a good idea, Aparna said, pursing her lips.

Aunty, please. I promise I will see that it doesnt break, said Anuj.

Esha looked at her husband helplessly.

Frogufrogufrogu, Neerus whines had turned into loud chants now, and it was almost impossible to have a conversation over the din that she was creating.

Suddenly Neeru leapt out of Eshas grip and lunged at the frog. She lost her balance, hitting her head on a corner of the dining table as she toppled over.

She began to bawl so loudly that Aparna thought her eardrums might rupture. Esha rushed forward to examine her and was relieved that Neeru was unhurt. Despite her fall, the girl did not forget the frog.

FROGU... ME WANT... ME WANT, she said as soon as she regained her balance.

Her parents seemed to be used to the yelling and the tantrums. But Aparnas head had begun to hurt and she could sense a migraine coming.

Between Anujs fervent pleas, Neerus howls and Eshas helplessness, Aparna had no choice but to yield.

All right. Take it then. But please be careful with it. If she drops it, it will break, said Aparna, as she reluctantly handed over the frog to Neeru.

Little Neeru finally quietened down when she saw that she was getting her way. Esha apologised profusely for her daughters behaviour again. But Anuj said, Relax, Esha, its just something Aparna aunty made. I am sure she can make many more like that.

Aparna was silent for a whole minute while Esha squirmed, embarrassed and uncomfortable.

Finally, Aparna said quietly, Yes, I can make another one. Do not worry about it.

When they left, Aparna sat at her dining table and gazed out of the window, watching their receding silhouettes, Neeru perched on Eshas hips, clutching the frog, and Anuj walking ahead towards the car. She stared at the empty space on her dining table where the frog had been placed.

It had been three years now since Ganesh had died. Aparna did not miss him at all. In fact, his death had been perhaps the most liberating experience for her. She was surprised she hadnt expected it to be so. Thirty-four years of marriage is a lifetime, especially if you were married off at eighteen to a man a good thirteen years older than you.

Ganesh was a traditional man. He believed in God, in waking up early and working hard. Every morning he would devoutly say his prayers before setting off for the oil refinery company at which he worked. He considered himself a good husband and, in due course, Aparna had dutifully produced the mandatory two children, which was necessary to be accepted into Ganeshs large clan.

Aparna had been a lonely child, raised by an elderly aunt. Her mother had passed away when she was three. She had been drying clothes on their balcony, with little Aparna away at kindergarten, when a large concrete block had fallen from the parapet above and crushed her instantaneously. On any other day she would have been at work, but for some reason she had decided to stay home that day. The contractor and the builder had been arrested.

Aparna had no memories of her father or her mother, and her aunt had no photographs of either of them. When Aparna started asking questions about her mother, her aunt was not very forthcoming and Aparna had to extract the information out of her in bits and pieces, which she did over the years. She was very foolish, she would say. When she asked about her father, her aunt told her that he was a good-for-nothing and her mother should have never got involved with him in the first place.

Aparnas mother had left home for Mumbai when she was seventeen, in the hope of becoming an actress. She had got a few modelling assignments but her acting career refused to take off. After a few years of trying hard and failing to get any substantive roles, she had finally ended up taking a job on the sets as personal secretary to an assistant director. The pay was a pittance, but she never gave up hope. After a few years she had met Aparnas father, an assistant cameraman, and had fallen in love. She had given birth to Aparna out of wedlock. She had never returned to her hometown and her family had ostracised her for the shame that she brought upon them.

Right from when Aparna was a child, her aunt had made it clear that she did not enjoy having Aparna around. Her aunt was a spinster and had retired after long service in a post office as a clerk. After she retired, she had decided not to return to her hometown. With her savings, she had bought a small house a few miles from where she had worked all her life, and had settled down in Kumily, in Kerala. She had looked forward to a quiet retired life, but instead she had been saddled with Aparna.

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