Bommai

Let her come today. Bommai her name is. She comes everyday. Mother likes her. Mother feeds her too. That too giving our food. I have to eat myself. She brings a little doll with her. She is very fair. Mother tells that she is beautiful looking. All I get from my mother is “behave yourself”, “you are ugly”, “you look like your father”, “you are adamant like your periyaachchi”…and what not. Bommai speaks Hindi. Everyone around here speaks Hindi. I speak Hindi too. I usually hide underneath the cot. Father keeps a special long stick to search for me under the cot. Mother complains to father all the time. She tells him how bad girl I am. Let Bommai come today. I am armed with a big fuel-wood. I am very clever you know, I am hiding behind the door. Mother is talking to Bommai’s mother. Here she comes… bang!! Oh.., she cries and becomes even more “good girl”. I have become even more “bad girl”. Bommai her name is, or, I don’t know, I never asked what her name is.

Place:- Calcutta. Age:- 4 years.

----x----x----x----

attention deficit disorder

n. Abbr. ADD
A syndrome, usually diagnosed in childhood, characterized by a persistent pattern of impulsiveness, a short attention span, and often hyperactivity, and interfering especially with academic, occupational, and social performance (from here)

Attention Deficit Disorder Association