Adventures of Advik (Part 1)

It was another typical day in the land of India. The hot sun shone on the sand brick colored buildings. Around an area were a group of houses made of white concrete. Standing on a small metal balcony was a young man, looking out in the distance. He wore a brown shirt, pants and a ring on his finger. Although he did not resemble an individual of high status, he had an air of authority about him. His brown eyes scanned the area as if he was looking for anything that seemed out of place. Then he heard a wailing sound from inside the house. He went back into the house where he saw his wife lying down on the bed. Her face was soaked with sweat and was yelling in pain. Her sister and mother were comforting her. “Come on, Samaira,” said her sister as she held her hand tightly. “Keep pushing, you are almost there.” She pushed some more until she let out a final screech. 

A head was slowly emerging and then the rest of its body followed. The sister cut the baby’s cord with a knife and the aunt went to get towels to help clean up. After the aunt cleaned the baby, she held it to Samaria, who was now sighing in relief. “Oh, my sweet baby,” she said with a warm smile on her face. She looked at it and exclaimed “It’s a boy!” Everyone admired the baby and the father beamed with pride. He held out his hands in prayer and turned to face a small statue of Brahma, the god of creation. “Thank you, honorable Brahma, for blessing this family with a new life.” 
After the naming ritual, a name for the baby was decided: Advik.  “Welcome to the family, little Advik,” said the grandmother. The grandmother noticed a Swastika symbol glowing faintly on Advik’s forehead. It reminded her of her own Swastika symbol that she once had. “Is there something wrong, mom?” asked Samira. Vanya concealed the symbol with a cloth and said, “Nothing.” When she looked again, the symbol had mysteriously disappeared.

Little Advik was a cute and curious kid. He would eat like crazy and would get food all over his face. He was walking earlier than most, but he was shy when strangers and family friends came to visit. He would roll around in the dirt outside and his mother would laugh and wash him. Advik would even go shopping at the market on his father’s shoulders. One time when they went shopping for clothes, Advik stopped to look. Hijabs, dresses and glittering jewelry caught his eye and he jumped up and down with excitement. “Dad, Mom, can I wear those pretty clothes?” Shray laughed and ruffled his hair. “Interested in girls so early, huh, son,” he asked with a laugh. He leaned down to Advik and said, “Silly kid! The boy’s clothes are over there!” He pointed to another shop window where pants, overalls, and small turbans were shown in gray, brown, and dark green. “Those are boring though,” said Advik. Samira rolled her eyes and said, “Aww honey, don’t be silly. Let’s get him both.” Shray protested, “But they are expensive…” After working hard all week, I think we deserve to spoil him for a while,” interrupted Samira. “It is his birthday, after all.” “Ok fine,” said Shray. “But only this once.”

Time passed and Advik was growing up. In the morning, he would recite his prayers with his father to stone statues of Shiva and Shakti, the divine deity in Hinduism. The blue skinned god statue with dozens of arms and adorned with jewels stood in the center of the house. Shaki stood beside him, arms raised with a pointed crown on her head, a long white necklace draped around her neck and traditional orange clothing. They were not as impressive as the ones in the temples and the upper class neighborhood, but they still served their purpose for the family. After the praying and meditation rituals were done, Advik put on his clothes for school and brushed his short black hair. His mother was in the kitchen, making some bread and fruit juice for her mother who was waking up. Samira held out her arms and Advik gave her a tight hug. “Have a good day at school,” she said. They pulled apart and he made his way to the front door. After a hug from his father, he put several rupees in Advik’s hand. “I’m off to work, my son. Have a good day and don’t forget to get us some food from the market.” “Sure thing, father,” he said as he walked outside.

Most of the time, the weather in India was extremely hot, and today was no exception. Heat waves radiated in the air and bared down on Advik. He wandered through the crowded market place, barely able to spot an empty space in front of him with all the people around. Occasionally, a group of brown and black cows would roam the streets. Cows were sacred animals in India and anyone foolish enough to steal them or use them for meat were greatly punished. Only on special occasions and rare moments did the people eat the cows and steak was quite expensive. Sweat had already formed on his neck by the time he reached the school building. It was square made of dark yellow concrete and green roofs. Advik pushed open the small wrought iron gate and made his way inside.

Advik walked down the hall and made his way to his first class: arithmetic. “Good morning,” Advik said with a small respectful bow. “Good day to you, Advik,” the older woman replied. She had black hair that was slightly gray and she wore glasses. Advik made his way to his wooden desk as the last students filed in. The lessons began and the students got out their notebooks. Some wrote the equations on slates with white chalk. Advik participated twice and wrote perfect answers on the chalkboard in front of the room. After the lessons were done, Advik walked down the hall and high fived his friends Hiran and Mitul along the way.

Great friends, the joy of my day

An unbeatable trio from the start

More adventures lie ahead today

We will never grow apart

Kalaripayattu, Indian martial arts was next. The girls went to one area and the boys to another. Advik changed into white and red pants and stood in a square with the other students. The instructor stood in the center. “Alright, time to pick up where we left off. Advik and Chung, come up.” Advik and Chung, walked to each other and bowed. A gong was hit and the fight began. Chung threw hard punches, but Advik blocked them with his arms. Chung locked him tight in his arms and Advik struggled. Soon, however, he escaped his grasp and gave him a hard punch in the stomach. Chung groaned and stood up to make his move, but fell to the ground after Advik tripped him with his leg. The gong rang again and Advik had won. He smiled and pumped up a fist in victory as he made his way back to his friends. Hiran and Mitul cheered and pat him on the back. The three of them made their way up to the front, facing their three opponents with confidence. After several more amazing rounds, they changed out of their gym clothes and made their way to their next class.

Hiran, the friendly one, always ready to have some fun

Mitul the hard worker, keeps us all in line

Advik, the kind one, helpful acts are never done

With the three of us, all will be fine

Writing and history were interesting, if not boring at times. He learned about India’s history and about all the various religions, including Christianity, Islam, and the branch of Hinduism that his family followed. Although he did believe in a higher power of nature and the universe, he would not call himself as religious as his father. More than once, he wondered why some people only believed in one god. How could that one deity rule all aspects of life at once? Surely there had to be other deities to help out. Oh, well; as his mother said to him, “live and let live.” 

As the school day neared the end, Advik heard rumbling from all around him. He looked up from his drawing and listened. The rumbling was heard again. Was it an earthquake? As a cool breeze swept through the window, Advik realized that the sound was thunder, and thunder could mean only one thing. The class was dismissed and Advik maneuvered his way through the hallway and out the door. Sure enough, rain was showering down on the land. Rain was a great relief from the oppressive heat-filled days that almost always occurred. Advik closed his eyes and let the rain fall on his tongue. “Hey, why are you standing there like a doofus,” asked a familiar voice. He turned around and smiled as his two friends, Hiran and Mitul came to greet him. “Says the guy who stares at the ceiling in class and rolls his eyes,” Advik retorted to Hiran. “I can memorize those equations with my eyes closed,” said Hiran. “Yeah, like that will help you during Kalaripattyattu,” added Mitul. “You remember when I kicked your butt.” “How could I forget,” said Advik and they all shared a laugh. “Come on, race you to the market,” said Hiran, and they all followed. They ran through the street that was less crowded than before. “Hurry up, slowpokes,” called Mitul. “You are slow,” answered Hiran. He poked him in the back and ran ahead, “and you just got poked!” They ran some more and they all jumped into a large puddle at the same time. “I win,” yelled Hiran. “No way, I did,” countered Mitul. “You both know I did,” said Advik. “Okay, Mr. Know It All,” teased Hiran. “You thirsty for knowledge, or thirsty for this!” He kicked up water from the puddle and splashed in Advik’s face. “Very funny,” Advik replied to his laughing friend. “Laugh at this!” More water flew toward Hiran, while also drenching Mitul in the process. “Oh it is on now,” cried Mitul. The boys were soon jumping up and down, stomping on the water and splashing at each other. They also were rolling around in the puddle, not caring if they got dirty. They drank the rain and laughed like crazy. Eventually they stopped to rest; their faces red and joy in their eyes. At last, Mitul stood up and said, “I have to go. I got homework and chores to do.” The reality of work set in, but they were still happy nonetheless. “Bye guys! See you tomorrow!” called Advik. Hiran waved with a smile and at last Advik was alone.

Great friends, the joy of my day

An unbeatable trio from the start

More adventures lie ahead today

We will never grow apart

Taking his rupees from his pocket, he headed to the market to get food. After he bought food for dinner, he headed back home. He had room for the food in his pockets and under his shirt. The rain had softened to a sprinkle. Before he could get any further, he heard a crying noise among the talking of the shoppers and the yelling of the shop keepers. Advik looked around and gasped. Floating above an alley like a ghost was the god of creation. He had golden skin and was shaped like a Buddha. He had an aura of light around him and it lit up some areas of the grimy walls and floor. Right underneath him on the ground was…

“A baby?” asked Advik. A white blanket was wrapped around a coco colored infant who was crying and shivering. Advik carefully picked up the bundle and carried it from the alley. He walked around and asked if anyone was missing a baby. They all shook their heads or ignored him and kept going about their day. Not wanting to leave the baby behind, Advik decided to take it home. During the walk home, the baby seemed to settle down.

Advik opened the door to his home and stepped inside. “Hi Advik,” called his mother. “How was your day? I made a…baby?” She stopped and stared at the bundle in Advik’s arms. Samira put down the cookie she was holding and went to the baby. “Oh you poor thing,” she sighed. “Where did you find it?” “I found it in an alley, abandoned” replied Advik. Samira started rocking the baby gently back and forth. She took a closer look and exclaimed “It’s a girl!” “What’s a girl?” asked Shray as he came into the room. He was wearing his work clothes and a white turban on his head. He stopped short and asked, “Where did you find that baby?” “I found her in an alley, Dad” replied Advik. “She was out there alone and no one seemed to want her.” A brief sadness crossed his face as he looked at the baby. “Her skin is darker than all of ours” Shray mentioned. “Why does that matter,” asked Samira. “Won’t some people think it odd that we are raising a child of a different race that is not our own?” he asked. “So what if they do? It is our business, not theirs.” Advik looked at his parents in shock and fear. He had never seen them fighting like this.

“I don’t want our family reputation to be ruined,” he replied. “We can’t leave this baby to die,” argued Samira. “Also, we are not even that rich. I think you are worried about responsibility.” “I have responsibility” he said, raising his voice slightly. “Every day I go to work, lifting bricks, helping with construction and maintaining a temple. I don’t have the time to raise another child.” “And what about me,” asked Samira. “I work long hours at a clothing factory plus I have to raise Advik whenever he is home. Let’s face it, we both work hard and you will need to do your share of taking care of the baby.” Defeated, Shray was at a loss for words. “Okay,” he said. Advik sighed in relief and went to his room to do his homework. “What shall we name her then,” asked Shray. “Since she was a tough survivor out in the cold, I think I will call her Eva.”