From Deepa's Desk

Atul peeked into the bedroom and saw his mother working on the laptop. She looked busy. Definitely the best time to... 'Mom, can I go to the park?' He tried out his luck. And lucked out when she nodded distractedly. Atul literally ran out of his home before his mom could remember that he was yet to finish his homework.  He walked towards the park with a smile he was trying hard to contain. Little victories like these made him happy. His happiness lasted only for a few seconds. Except for few elders, the park was otherwise empty. None of his friends had arrived. He decided to wait for them.  He went towards the slide and spent some time playing there. After a while, it got boring. There were only so many times he could climb up and slide down. He was about to leave when his gaze fell over the boy. The boy looked to be of his own age. Atul felt there was something different about him. The boy was clearly sulking. He was sitting with his arms folded around his chest and a morose ...

Ten-year old Atul felt very grown up indeed as he made his way towards his friend's home, all on his own. His friend Sanjay stayed in the same colony as Atul, but in a different building. And today was Sanjay's birthday. The 10th one. The first one of double-digits. Sanjay had invited all his friends for a party at his home. Atul tapped his pocket yet again to confirm the presence of Sanjay's gift. It was a beautiful golden-coloured pen that had black stripes on it. Sanjay's mother had complained to Atul's mother that Sanjay was not very keen on writing. Naturally, when Atul asked his mom about what gift he should give to Sanjay, she had promptly suggested a pen, the logic being, the pen would motivate Sanjay to write more. Grown-ups were indeed weird. Atul stood outside the building where Sanjay lived and hesitated. Although he and Sanjay had been friends since a few months, they had never really visited each other's homes. Atul smoothed the new t-shirt tha...