Bring me another flower

I was reading the short story 'Kabuliwala' by Rabindranath Tagore when, lost in the thoughts of the connection between Rahmat and Mini, something similar came to my mind.

The pool car in which I go to school carries fourteen girls, big and small, to school. Amongst us all the youngest one is Indrani, just four years old, who reads in the pre-primary section now. Our driver, who is always referred to as 'uncle' in a way as if it is his name, is a very friendly, responsible and also a caring person. 

Indrani looks like this when she gets angry:

Indrani (as cute as a little puppy) is a very interesting person. Little and adorable as she is, Indrani has a very bubbly nature. She can be quite moody at times, and when she is so she can be quite rude as well as angry, not paying heed to anything else. But normally, on other days she is like the icing on a cake which attracts me and lures me to school. Her smile is broad and bright, like sparkling sunshine; her cheeks are plump and form dimples when she smiles; her eyes, black and round, glisten like marble bearings. But the most striking feature of her is that ponytail. Oh dear! How disturbed she gets when someone plays with her ponytail( which I do!). Her laughter can lighten even the heart which is heavy with all kinds of miseries and pains and her uninterrupted banter can make even the most serious Chief Justice laugh. She never forgets to carry her ID card, and driver uncle makes sure she hasn't. 

Driver Uncle on the other hand is very particular about his job. He is rarely late, makes sure that the girls behave like girls (and not like chimpanzees!) at the same time indulges in a hearty laughter when something funny happens. He himself is a father and therefore knows how to handle kids and how to win their hearts: probably that's the reason why he is Indrani's best friend in the car.

Indrani loves flowers: and almost everyday when I enter the car I see a flower in her hand. "Kaku kaku, arekta phul ene debe?"(means-uncle, can you bring me another flower?)
This is what she says and uncle goes and plucks a flower, or a bunch of them from the nearby blossoming tree. He can never say no to her sweet baby-like appeal. Though she ends up spoiling the flower, and the petals never get the essence of our school (because their life ends even before they reach school!), the smile and happiness that is seen in her eyes is enough to melt one's heart. Uncle is the person who makes her laugh on her 'not so jolly' days. He is the one who keeps on listening to her baby-talk and responds in a similar childish manner. He never gets tired of her and supports her when the other girls ('didis', to be more appropriate) irritate her or taunt her. Whenever someone does something to disturb her or to get her attention, uncle gives Indrani the idea of calling her mother and reporting it to her immediately. No sooner he tells this than she picks up her ID card, puts it to her left ear( like a cell phone) and says," Ma, ei didi gulo amake birokto korche!" And we all burst into laughter. Even I love to see how she reacts when I toss her tiny little ponytail; she turns and gives a mischievous smile. In the car, every passenger has a name, but not the one their parents decided on, but the one Uncle decided so that Indrani does not have a problem remembering them.

Uncle is like the Kabuliwala, Rahmat and Indrani is like Mini. I wonder, what if like in the story one day they don't get to see each other anymore? And what if one day he sees her when she has grown up into a young lady but does not remember her dear friend 'kaku'? I guess, just like in the story he will marvel at her, seeing how much she has grown...

But the thing he will miss the most is her saying,"Kaku arekta phul ene debe?"

Because, all she used to say was,"Bring me another flower."