Krishna’s problem – The Hindu

Krishna wished his teacher would excuse him for not submitting his essay. But no such luck. Angrily, she said she would give him one more day to submit it along with a photograph. He would have preferred being punished for not doing his work, rather than being given a second chance.

Krishna loved writing compositions, but the problem was the topic: My Family. An even bigger problem would be the photograph of his family. How in the world was he going to manage that?

Herculean task

Krishna belonged to a large family of 19 members! Family photographs had been taken on many occasions but usually had one or two members missing. It would be a Herculean task to gather all of them at one spot, make them pose, and fit them into a single frame.

He took three hours to write his essay. Now, it was time for the most difficult task: assembling everyone at one time and spot. Knowing whom to approach, he went straight to his dadi and explained his problem. She heard him out and went into deep thought. Finally, she winked at him and said, “Wait and watch.”

Post dinner, when some members of the family were stepping out for a walk, three cousins were leaving for a drive, and his grandpa was preparing to sleep, dadi let out a loud shriek and rolled over as if in great pain. Everybody across the three floors heard it, left whatever they were doing, and ran down to her room to ask her what was wrong. Dadi looked at the 18 worried faces around her and quickly signalled to Krishna. He ran out and was back in a jiffy, camera in hand.

Photo time

Looking sheepish, she said, “No worry. Just an emergency call. All of you please assemble here within 10 minutes. Krishna has to take a family picture to submit to his teacher along with an essay.” Everybody sighed in relief. Some even broke out into grateful laughter and stroked Krishna’s head.

Realising the importance of his assignment, they quickly dispersed to touch up on their looks and attire. Soon, they were back, ready to pose. His cousins helped him set up the tripod and checked the focus. They set the camera for five shots, promising to help him choose the best one.

On Monday afternoon, Krishna was a hero of sorts in school. The teacher had read his essay out. The students envied him his family where all outings were like picnics and daily dinners like parties. Besides his grandparents, two uncles, three aunts, and a cousin were good storytellers.

Secret’s out

There were family matches not just for cricket but also table tennis, badminton and even Scrabble, chess and Monopoly. They now knew the secret behind his multi-cuisine lunchbox; his mom and aunts were from different parts of the country and expert cooks as well. They also realised why he never agreed to attend sleepovers. He had fun-filled weekends and great times at home.

As for his teacher, she now understood his hesitation earlier. She held his essay in her hands; a pile of 12 pages. When she complimented him, Krishna smiled and replied, “Thank you Mrs. Gupta, but this is only a summary. The toughest part was to keep it as short as possible.”