Chapter 16

One night, Mr. Naman was busy working on his article or something. His parents called him for dinner but he said that he was busy and will eat later. His parents finished their dinner and then his mother asked him to eat dinner later and clean up the table after it. Little did she know what horror was to greet her when she would woke up next morning.

Mr. Naman, after sometime, finished his work, ate his dinner and started the "cleaning process". One of the utensils used to serve rice was looking too empty. Since most of the rice had been consumed, only a small amount was left, Mr. Naman did not like the idea of storing such small amount of rice in such a big container. So he decided to empty the contents in a small bowl. But it was not that simple. Rice quantity was more than that could fit in one small bowl. And surely using two small bowls was against some fictiously made principles of Mr. Naman. So he decided to look for another bowl with size bigger than the small bowl but smaller than the current bowl. Unfortunately, he couldn'd find any bowl that met the above requirements.

But Mr. Naman is the sort of the person who gets to solutions no matter what happens. Bowl sizes are trivial problem to him. He started scanning all kitchen shelves to find a suitable utensil. He saw a small teapot whose dimensions told Mr. Naman that it would be enough to store the remaining rice. Then, there was nothing left to ponder. Ten minutes later, he was sleeping safely in bed having stored the rice in a small teapot.

There are somedays when even Sun does not want to come. Yes, the Sun was skeptical to come on the day when Jesus was crucified or when MahaBharath begun or when it was Mr. Naman's first day at office. Today also, our Sun is delaying its arrival, hoping for a miracle that can save him the embarassment of what is about to happen. Sun, who gets all its information from the Moon, was very well aware of what had transpired in the night and for this very same reason knew what was about to happen. Many of you dont know but this is how fortune tellers work. Every morning they capture the sun's image on their crystal balls and that is enough for them. Nothing can escape the Sun. The only trick that those fortune tellers know is how to read the Sun which by the way is no trivial task. But with little persistence, it is easy to master as our Sun is not very good in hiding its emotions.

Coming back to the point, the Sun saw no option in front of him and with some delay was back in action. Mr. Naman's mother woke up as usual, a little late but she had a good sleep. She was happy on seeing that the table was clean. It was customary for people in Ugar to drink tea in morning. She made her way to prepare tea. Generally pouring tea into teapot is the last step in the tea making process but what made the calamity come sooner was that milk is stored in refrigerator and thats the place where that teapot was kept. She opened the fridge and was puzzled to see the teapot lying there. Curiosity is not a good virtue everywhere. She opened the teapot and was shocked to see rice in there. "Hey Ram!" (Oh God!) screamed, a very loud scream it was, loud to get her husband out of the bed without tea (a rare incident indeed!), even the Sun who had prepared himself for such a case flinched. All the birds nearby Mr. Naman's house flew in directions radially opposite to the house, neighbors also felt it. But it was not enough to disturb Mr. Naman's sleep. Mr. Naman's mother could have fainted but over the years she had experienced several such accidents. She was a much stronger woman now.

What is this? Why would anyone do it? Are there aliens on Earth? Was there a burglary yesterday night? were some of the thoughts that came to her mind first but then after a minute she remembered saying "Naman, clean up the table after you eat.". She had said this to him and then "Nooooooo". The realization was a big blow but whatever happens, happens for a good.

Mr. Naman woke up after a couple of hours and those two hours were literally like days for his mother. She was sitting like a solid rock in living room when he entered with the usual relaxed innocent look. His mother was trying her level best to maintain a calm face even though internally she was searching her soul for answers which she did not have. She had to ask him. So she started -

Mother(M) : How was the dinner last night?
Mr Naman (N): It was good.
M: And did you have a good sleep?
N: Good. You do not look ok, whats the matter?
M: I am fine. Why?
N: Nothing. Just your face looks pale.
M: Its nothing. Acha, were you the one who kept rice in the teapot?
N: Yes, whats the matter? We do have other teapots to pour tea into?
M: Yes, we DO have more teapots. But why on Earth did you put rice in a teapot?
N: I looked for other containers. Some were too small, others were too big. Teapot was perfect. Whats wrong with putting rice in a teapot?
M: You ask whats wrong with putting rice in a teapot? "Hey Ram" "Save me lord". Everything is wrong in putting rice in a teapot.
N: Why?
M: Because it is a teapot. It is meant to serve tea. Not rice.
(She could not control her anger this time. Her voice was becoming louder with each line and it was at the top now. Mr. Naman's father had gone for his daily walk intentionally to forget about the incident and precisely to avoid Naman's answer)
(The Sun also pulled Earth a little closer to itself to hear clearly what Mr. Naman was about to say. Human race had always fascinated him and it is in times like these when he always discovers something new about our race. Owing to Sun's pull, everyone was feeling the heat except Mr. Naman ofcourse).
N: Shhhhhhhh. Don't shout Ma. Speak slowly. The teaport will hear you. You know that the teapot is used to serve tea. I know that the teapot is used to serve tea. But the teapot doesnot know that its purpose is to serve tea. Until, the teapot complains, we can use it in a way that we find is appropriate.

There was silence everywhere. Mr. Naman had won! The Sun wiped sweat from his brow and was satisfied.