SURPRISE SURPRISE!

Seven year old Anshuman Jha is back from school. He knows that his dad (who came-in home from an out-of-town visit after AJ had left for school, and went away to office soon thereafter) has brought him a new tennis racquet. AJ sets out on a frantic search to locate it. His elder sister cautions him against doing so because the racquet is meant to be a surprise. ‘मुझे surprises पसंद नहीं हैं’ he ticks her off.

Predictably, he soon finds the racquet. He’s happy to see it. The sister attempts to puncture that glee by reminding him that his gratification has come at a cost. His eagerness has deprived their dad of the thrill concomitant  with present-giving. AJ goes quiet for some time. It appears he’s feeling guilty, but that interlude is only the soundless working of a dangerous mind. He soon bounces back with a plan. Though he doesn't use those exact words, what he tells his sister is quite on the lines of what Amitabh had said to Helen in the movie Don (the scene in the hotel room when Amitabh held a gun to Helen’s head and wanted to use her as a hostage to escape the policemen outside. The said remark was made in response to a smirking Helen’s “रिवॉल्वर ख़ाली है डॉन”) “सोनिया, तुम जानती हो कि रिवॉल्वर ख़ाली है, मैं जानता हूँ रिवॉल्वर ख़ाली है। मगर पुलिस नहीं जानती कि रिवाल्वर ख़ाली है“
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So yes, when I come back home in the evening and hand him the racquet, the brat has the gumption to throw open his eyes in surprise and shriek with absolute conviction “अरे वाह!”