Sanjana’s Smart Solution

“Malli, give me my Nethi chutti”.

“Nethi chutti?”, asked Malli.

“Ya! Nethi chutti! The forehead accessory”, said Deepa.

“First, you give my ear drops, Deepa!”

Mallika and Deepa were fighting severely.

It was their school annual day. They were going to dance in the programme for a popular song.

All the participants had got ready with colourful dresses and beautiful make-up. The class teacher, Aarthi, asked the dancing children to sit in the class quietly and went away to collect the snacks for them.

“My dear kids, you are all so cute with bright dress. You look like dolls, you know! Now, you all should sit like dolls for some time. I will bring you your snacks, biscuits, juice and chocolates. Will you be quiet?"                                                             

The moment the teacher left the class, Mallika and Deepa started their fight.

Aarthi madam had come back. Suba madam also came along with her, with the box in which snacks packets were there.

“Mallika and Deepa are fighting mam!”

“No, no, no one should fight here. First, all of you have your snacks.”, Aarthi madam said firmly.

Suba madam looked at the children. “Oh! Beautiful!  Well-decked! Aarthi, please be sure that they don’t spoil their dresses while eating”, so saying Suba madam left the room.

While other children were eating calmly, Mallika and Deepa were gobbling up the eatables.

There were competing even in eating the snacks!

“I finished biscuit”.

“Cake over”.

Pieces of food particles had fallen on their dresses. The faces were greasy and oily.

“Oh, what is this? Both of you sit separately. Don’t fight for everything”. 

As Aarthi madam was talking to them, Mallika caught hold of Deepa’s chain.

In a fit of anger, she pulled it vehemently. The three-layered beautiful pearl chain fell down from Deepa’s neck. The beads splattered on the floor.

Deepa started crying. Mallika also started crying in a louder voice.

Controlling her anger and managing her voice, Aarathi madam spoke to them in a low and firm voice.

“Look! Malli and Deepa! Stop crying! If you cry, your make-up will be disturbed. Then, I will not take you to the stage”.

The deep and firm voice of the teacher silenced not only the fighting duo but also the entire group of dancers.

All were calm and careful. All completed their snacks gently.

“Malli, come here! Collect the beads lying down here and there!”, said madam.

Malli started collecting the beads.

“Deepa! Come here! Let me adjust your make-up”.

“Where is the ear drop?”.

Mallika kept it on the desk. Madam fixed it Deepa’s ears.

“Look at the face. Now I will do it again. Sit quietly, Ok? Sanjana! You come next”.

Malli came near the teacher. “Madam, few beads are missing”, she said.

“Mm… whatever you have collected keep them in that bowl!”, said Aarthi madam.

Almost all the girls had got their makeup checked. Malli hesitatingly stood in the queue. She felt relieved only when the teacher touched her up. Her Nethi Chutti was fixed again.

Now all are ready for the call. All the girls looked bright and colourful. Deepa alone lacked lustre as her neck was empty.

The broken chain could not be mended as few beads were missing and even the hook part was also missing.

Sanjana came forward with a solution.

“Mam! I have an idea!”, said Sanjana.

“We can’t go out to buy one now, Sanjana!”, said madam.

"Mam! Just I will try with this white sheet”.

Sanjana took a sheet of white paper. She kept the chain on the paper and pasted it with the adhesive. Leaving the part of the chain, she cut and removed all the paper neatly.

The next step was to place it on Deepa’s dress. Aarthi madam also helped Sanjana. With the help of adhesive and safety pin, Sanjana fixed it to Deepa’s dress.

Now it appeared as if Deepa was also decked with the beautiful pearl chain like other girls.

There was a sort of happiness on the face of Deepa and a ray of relief on the face of Mallika. All clapped their hands.

“I thought of asking some extra chain from some other groups. Even such an arrangement would not be so nice. Uniformity would have been lost”, said the teacher.

The children were called on to the stage. The dance was the super hit of the day’s programme.

Next day, Malli presented a gift to Deepa. Deepa opened the box. Deepa’s face glowed on seeing the three-layered pearl chain.

Malli and Deepa thanked Sanjana.

“You are very brilliant. Thanks for your smart solution, Sanjana”.

The girls were laughing heartily.