Neither does he growl, nor does he pounce. He makes no brawl, eats no meat. Well, I’m talking about the one eyed tiger we have at home!
We had planned a big birthday bash for my son Nischal’s first birthday. On the day of the birthday, the photographer called and asked me to carry something which caught the attention of my one year old, so that he could capture expression of sorts in my little one.
I ran to the nearest Archie’s gallery and juggled through some stuffed toys before my eyes fell on a captivating tiger. I was convinced that this tiger was the one! I hoped Nischal would be surprised as a piglet in a muddy pit during the evenings party. But, jinxed as most first birthdays are, Nischal got a bit cranky. Neither my cajoling nor this tiger could get him to pose for that perfect picture we always wanted.
But there was indeed something that caught Nischal’s attention. It was a simple plastic toy train that was in the hands of another kid that had come to attend the birthday party. Nischal’s face, now bright as morning star, got the photographer started. The photographer quickly got on to his toes and captured, although a few, great candid moments of Nischal and us. One of which is a family portrait hung out on our wall today.
We returned home after a great memorable party with a whole lot of gifts and a useless tiger. Considering I had paid quiet some money, It was initially placed, decoratively, on the window sill In the living room and later moved to a box stuffed with old toys before finally finding its way to a cane laundry basket placed next to our washing machine!
It laid there for 3 whole years, staring hard at me in the eyes every time I emptied the basket. But I would stare back equally stone faced – as if to say – ‘duh, u are sooo wasted.’
Exactly 3 years later, my second son was born, sharing the birthday of his older brother on the lunar calendar 🙂 Now isn’t that a rare thing in itself?!! 3 months after his birth, he was named Ishaan.
When Ishaan turned 7 months old, he started hanging around me all the time. On one such day, as I was taking the clothes off the cane basket and stuffing them Into the washing machine, Ishaan accidentally happened to see the tiger – He was enchanted and captivated by the tiger, as if the tiger had cast his spell on my little one! It was love at first sight.
Ishaan instantly made the tiger his companion and to this day, they are both inseparable. That tiger is around when our little guy is in the dining room, eating, or in the bathroom, bathing. He sits with us when we watch TV in the living room and even accompanies us in bed.
Now instead of lying somewhere at the bottom of the cane basket amidst dirty linen, he is washed with utmost care under the delicate setting in the washing machine along with ishaans other pristine stuff toys like the blue elephant and red panda. He is then sun-dried and examined to see if he has lost his shape during the wash, lest our captivating tiger should look like an ordinary cat. He is then neatly placed on the sofa, only to be picked up by Ishaan’s supple hands again the next morning.
In the process of being fed, put to sleep, being bathed and made to read books, our tiger happened to lose an eye – his beautiful hazel colored eye could not be found amidst Ishaan’s other toys, on the bed, in the bathroom or the kitchen.
I was worried Ishaan would stop loving him, for, the one eyed tiger now looked old and withered. But this was only in my mind and I was proved wrong. I was surprised to see Ishaan’s unconditional love for the one eyed tiger.
Every time I asked Ishaan -‘Ishaan, what happened to the other eye of the tiger,’ Ishaan would instantly say ‘abbuuu’ with a serious face which meant ‘wound’ in his baby language. More hugs and many more kisses to the tiger would then follow.
Our once useless tiger suddenly seems extremely important coz Ishaan gave him an identity and placed it closer to his heart.
That, my friends, is the perception of beauty. Beauty is no quality in things themselves: It exists merely in the mind which contemplates them. While Nischal found beauty in that plastic toy train, Ishaan loved his tiger all the more when the tiger lost one eye.
When we learn to appreciate small things in life, smallest of joys bring happiness, and the entire perception of life changes.
So what’s your perception of beauty? a plastic train or the one eyed tiger?!
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