Here goes another blog dedicated to my mommy!!!
Who would not have heard of duck tales - uncle scrooge, his nephews huey, louie and dewey but do you know the seven little ducks who went to meet baby Deepa in Manipur all alone way back in 1979 ..... no... then read on :)
Take One (In Chennai):
Once upon a time, there was a small little girl named Deepa in Manipur. She was very fond of animals and ducks...... she really loved ducks (Quack! Quack!). Deepa's grandmom knew this and she thought it would be good idea to send her sweet little deepa cute ducks as a bday present. So, she sent Albert mama (her son and deepa's mama) to the market to buy seven sweet little ducks. Albert mama went to moore market, bargained with the shop keeper and got seven ducks for Rs.10. Grandmom put the seven ducks in a basket, kept water and feed inside it and told the ducks they have to go and say Happy B'day to her granddaughter Deepa in Manipur. One of the oldest ducks (Sasi aunty) among them asked grandmom, "How will we recognize Deepa?". Grandmom said "Ok, I will teach you a song. When you sing that song my granddaughter will recognize you." The song goes something like this:
"We are going to see baby Deepa, daughter of Professor Suresh, Regional Medical College, Imphal, Manipur State.... Quack Quack Quack Quack Quack Quack!!"
So, Grandma waved the ducks bye bye with this song and with tears in her eyes and Albert mama took the basket to Chennai Central Station (Then Madras Central Station). Albert mama told his friend Krishnamoorthy Uncle (also the station master) that he wanted to send his basket to his niece in Manipur. Krishnamoorthy uncle then put the basket in the goods train and told Albert uncle that the train will go till Calcutta, and from there the ducks have to go by bus to Manipur. Albert mama told the ducks that in Calcutta, Rajan uncle (Deepa's dad's friend) will help them to transfer to the bus to Manipur.
When it was time to leave for the train, all the ducks got together and crooned their necks and started singing the family song
"We are going to see baby Deepa, daughter of Professor Suresh, Regional Medical College, Imphal, Manipur State.... Quack Quack Quack Quack Quack Quack!!"
Saying so,the ducks bid Albert mama farewell and the train started to move with the customary sound Qooooooooo.... chuck chuck......... After some stations, the youngest of the ducks Sweety was beginning to get scared as this was the first time she was traveling such a long distance and she started crying. Sasi aunty tried to console her but she didnt stop crying. Sasi aunty didnt know what to do. She felt bad that the kiddo was crying. At that time, the train started to slow down and Sasi aunty saw a shop selling dairy milk chocolates. When the train started to stop, she told the other ducks to take care of Sweety and hurried out to buy the chocolates for Sweety. However, it was her bad luck as the station was a short stop station and the train again started to pull away from the station. Sasi aunty started to run towards the train. All the ducks inside the train started shouting "Sasi aunty, Sasi aunty, come fast!!!" Sasi aunty didnt know what to do. She closed her eyes, made a small prayer and made a final dive towards the train (typical rajni style uh!!) and landed on the train (wow...... jackie chan duck yaar)...... All ducks started clapping their hands and hugged Sasi aunty. Sweety went running towards Sasi aunty, hugged her and said "Please dont do this again Sasi aunty. I promise I will not cry...... Boo Hoo Boo hooo......" Sasi aunty consoled her and gave her the chocolates which she happily ate.
Take Two (In Calcutta):
The train arrived in Howrah and Sasi aunty started looking out for Rajan uncle. Sasi couldnt find anyone near the train looking for them. She was anxious as to how they will reach baby Deepa. She told all the other ducks, we will sing the song so that Rajan uncle will find us soon and they started to sing in unison.
"We are going to see baby Deepa, daughter of Professor Suresh, Regional Medical College, Imphal, Manipur State.... Quack Quack Quack Quack Quack Quack!!"
A lot of people gathered around the ducks and were applauding them but Sasi aunty was worried that Rajan uncle had not come. Suddenly, somebody was pushing his way through the crowd. Rajan uncle had arrived. Seeing Rajan uncle, all the ducks started dancing and singing again in joy:
"We are going to see baby Deepa, daughter of Professor Suresh, Regional Medical College, Imphal, Manipur State.... Quack Quack Quack Quack Quack Quack!!"
Rajan uncle re-packed their basket with feed and water and took them to the bus stand and put them on the bus to Manipur.
Take Three (Towards Manipur):
Now, the ducks set towards their final destination but then even this journey was not to be smooth. The bus reached Nagaland but then there was a huge landslide in Nagaland and the bus couldnt cross further and would start for Manipur only after 2 days. The ducks were worried as they had to reach Manipur by the next day (it was baby Deepa's bday the next day). They started asking each passenger if there was a way to reach Manipur soon. Father Med was passing that way and asked the ducks why they wanted to go to Manipur. Sasi aunty told Father Med that they were going to meet Deepa and wish her on b'day but now they would be late for it. Father Med said "Ok I will take you to Manipur".... so all the ducks hopped onto Father Med's jeep and off they sped to Manipur singing songs all the way. Father Med asked them on the way how will they find Deepa's house. For this the ducks, started singing the family song
"We are going to see baby Deepa, daughter of Professor Suresh, Regional Medical College, Imphal, Manipur State.... Quack Quack Quack Quack Quack Quack!!"
Father Med said "Oh you are going to see Prof. Suresh. I know him very well. I will take you there" Father Med reached Manipur and moved towards Lamphel and stopped in front of Deepa's house. All the ducks gleefully jumped out of the jeep and ran towards Deepa who was waiting near the gate for her ducks. They all jumped into the pond and played happily ever after.
P.S. This was a bed time story told by my mom to my sis Deepa. I dont know if there were ducks in my house but there was a dog, a rabbit, 2 parrots, lots of chickens ... in short a mini zoo before I was born after that there were only dogs. All the characters except the ducks are not fictious.
