Daddy’s princess

"I am so hungry. Dad, please say that you have prepared some yummy food for me at home," exclaimed Mrignayani, after greeting her parents.

"Your dad has been toiling away in the kitchen for hours now. There is enough food for my little hungry monster," her mother said affectionately.

"Did you not eat any breakfast before leaving?" Raghu frowned.

As a man with science background and growing food as his job, he placed eating as a top priority for one to stay healthy. His belief was that one needed to eat within the first one hour of waking up and eat last four hours before going to bed.

"We left at 4 am today. Though we did carry snacks for the way, but I had too many hungry younger kids with me on the boat. So, I ended up giving my share to them," she replied with a smile.

At 14, Mrignayani was one of the few oldest kids left from the Northern zilla to attend the Gurukul. Most of the other kids from the zilla were either too young or had already completed their education at 16 and joined work, either in the zilla or in the capital, where the Gurukul was located.

"Oh, I have to tell you something important. But that is after I race the both of you to the house," Mriga laughed and took off.

"I cannot keep up with you women. Have some mercy on me," Raghu panted as the mother daughter duo started competing with each other at a blazing speed.

"This shows how unfit you are. When we had gotten married, I could at least see you when I turned around to look. Today, we have been waiting for you for the past ten minutes and there was no sign of you all through the way. This is it. No more procrastination. From tomorrow, you have to run with Mriga every morning," threatened Bela.

"Let me go look at my food prep. I don't have time for this conversation right now," he made his escape, wiping the sweat off his brow.

Mriga let out a content sigh after finishing a humungous meal. She picked up her parents' utensils along with her own to place them in the big tub placed outside the house.

"Leave the dishes in the tub and come back. It is my turn as per the schedule to wash them. But I shall take them to the community cleaning place later. For now, I am eager to know what you wanted to tell us earlier. Also, how have you performed in this semester? Tell us everything," her mother said with a smile.

Bela wasn't much into domestic chores but the husband and wife had common house duties which they took up in rotation, apart from their respective jobs. They had hung a timetable scroll on the kitchen's wall detailing their turns.

Under the current sanitation system, every twenty houses had a common washing area dedicated to the cleaning of their utensils and clothes. This water was accumulated in a small pond from the small man-made path from one of the main rivers, like a tributary. But the used dirty water wasn't released back into the main stream. There were minor filters which it passed through before it flowed into another segregated area where it was used for community's lavatory purposes. That waste water finally flowed into a large enclave which was located deep inside the closest forest area. It was a sealed place and had only one narrow exit, deep below the ground. This was a common practice across all zillas as per the latest sewage policy of the country.

"My exams went well. I have managed to maintain my grades. Also, I am now in the top five archers in my age group but my athletic and swimming skills have rusted off a bit. As for the big news, my project was deemed as the best one in the entire Gurukul for this quarter. In the first year as a senior, we had to submit dissertations on topics of our choosing. I decided to design and conduct special classes for eleven-year-old students. My topic was 'Menstruation; as essential boon'. Dad, I have to thank you for explaining it and preparing me for it so well when it had happened to me," she went and hugged her father, after saying all these words in a torrent.

"Well, it is an unusual topic for a project. I wouldn't have thought that there was anything special about it. What made you take it up?" her mother's eyes shone with curiosity.

"Umm... during the last two years, a lot of girls of my class got their periods for the first time. And many, if not all, were clueless, scared and ill equipped. Since they were away from their families, I helped them understand the reason for its occurrence and how to look after themselves during the time. Since we were to do the first solo project that carried significant weightage in the final assessment, I thought of doing something which would actually be relevant, impactful and different. Most of my classmates chose safe topics which had been picked by the seniors in the past and had earned them good grades. I wanted to do something which was relevant today rather than writing a cumbersome thesis on what could be or what had been! My project has been deemed – pathbreaking. Also, it would be a mandatory lecture henceforth for all 11year old's," she told them with a beaming smile.

"Well, it's a good thing that you told me this. I was afraid that you would turn out to be a carbon copy of your mother but it seems that you have managed to take a little something from me as well," her father said, with a twinkle in his eye.

"Really? And what would be so bad about the scenario if she was to indeed turn out exactly like me? Are you trying to imply that I am flawed, that I have no brain?" Bela had gotten up, hands on her hips.