It was finally the day of their travel. Ajja and Ajji were waiting at Delhi airport. After a while, Ajji saw their grandchildren, Krishna and Anoushka, coming with their mother. They carried a bag of vegetables and fruits between themselves.

‘What is this?’ Ajji asked.

Shuba said, ‘Just in case you need, I have some vegetables and fruits. You may not get these there. I have checked the weather report. Fortunately, I spoke to Shyam uncle, and he said that winter is setting and it will be very cold. So, I have kept some extra woollen clothes for you also.’ She turned to the children and said, ‘Don’t trouble Ajji. She has a lot of work there, unlike Shiggaon. Help your grandparents in the kitchen and other chores.’

She hugged Krishna and Anoushka, kissed their foreheads and left.

The four of them checked in shortly after and soon met Raghu and Meenu. They were waiting in the lounge and were accompanied by an airhostess, as their parents could not come. They took Ajja’s signature and left the kids and their bags with the grandparents.

Ajji saw a lot of chikkis and khakras in one basket.

Finally, the trip began. They sat at the gate and waited for their flight to Pantnagar. But to their surprise, it was delayed. The children became restless and began running around. Ajji was not able to manage them as she was also keeping an eye on the bags.

Ajja called all the children and said, ‘Come, let’s get juice for everyone.’

‘I want hot chocolate,’ said Meenu.

‘I want orange juice,’ said Raghu.

‘I want apple juice,’ yelled Anoushka.

‘I want tea,’ said Krishna.

‘No,’ said Ajja. ‘We will all buy watermelon juice. It is fresh and tasty. Everybody will get the same drink.’
The children refused in unison.

So Ajja said, ‘If you drink the juice, then I will tell you an interesting story about watermelons.’

Stories were always a great incentive for the kids! Excited, the children agreed, and together, they bought watermelon juice.

Once they had settled down with their glasses, Meenu said, ‘Now tell us the story you promised, Ajja.’

‘Okay, huddle around,’ he said, ‘and I will tell you all a story.’

Ajji raised her eyebrows and said, ‘Really?’

‘Yes, I may not be as good as you, but I will try.’ The children smiled at the conversation between the grandparents.

With the children around, in the corner of the lounge at the Delhi Airport, Ajja began his story.

~•~

King Sumant was generous and cared about his subjects. He immensely believed that he could make anybody’s destiny with his authority. One day, when he was travelling with his minister, he observed a gardener working by the roadside. Looking at him, the king said to his minister, ‘With my power as a king, I can change this man’s life overnight and make him a millionaire.’

‘Sir, please don’t say that. If he must become a millionaire, he needs to work hard and have luck, foresight and many other factors. By merely helping him, you cannot turn him into a millionaire.’

The king was adamant, ‘Let’s bet on it. I don’t even know this gardener, but I will see to it that he will be a millionaire soon, without letting him know that I am doing it.’

The minister smiled and kept quiet.

The neighbouring king was King Sumant’s friend, and they would cooperate with each other on most matters. The next day, King Sumant called the gardener and told him, ‘Go to the neighbouring king and present this letter.’

The gardener returned home. He thought about the travel involved in the hot summer. He didn’t have a horse, and he would have to walk. It would take two to three days to reach and deliver the letter. Then he thought of his friend who had a horse. The gardener asked his friend to deliver the letter instead, as he would not be able to withstand the heat and walk in the hot summer.

The friend happily agreed and went away with the letter.

After a month, the king passed by the same village to see what the gardener had been up to. He was still tending to his garden. Curious, he walked up to him and asked, ‘What happened to the letter?’

The gardener explained what he had done and how he had sent the letter through his friend. The king displayed his unhappiness and just walked away.

The neighbouring king had received the letter and it said, ‘Whoever has brought this letter to you must get one hundred acres of land and a house to stay. I have a specific reason, and I will talk about this when we meet. I trust you to fulfil this request. Don’t worry, and have faith in me.’

Since both the kings were thick friends, the gardener’s friend got to stay there and didn’t come back at all.

Within a week, the gardener came to the king’s court with a fresh, juicy watermelon. He thought about his last interaction with the king and felt the king must be quite upset with him. He thought he must offer him something. But what could a poor gardener give? Since he grew watermelons, he took the best one and presented it to the king.

King Sumant smiled and said, ‘You eat lunch and meet me before you leave.’

The king called his craftsmen and said, ‘Take out the pulp of the watermelon in such a way that nobody can see the difference. Then, insert gold coins in such a way that they should neither make any sound nor increase the weight. Bring it to me as soon as possible.’

In the evening, when the gardener was leaving, the king gave him the watermelon and said, ‘This is my gift to you.’

The gardener was disappointed. ‘I gave the fruit which I had grown. But he must be really upset with me, which is why he has returned the same thing to me. I have a long journey home, and I don’t want to carry this weight all the way back. I am staying with a friend tonight, and I will give it to him as a gift.’

So, the gardener gave the watermelon to his friend and went back to his village the next day.

After a month, the king went to the village again and saw the gardener still ploughing and busy planting watermelon seeds. The king asked him, ‘What happened after you left the court the other day?’

The gardener told him what he had done. The king smiled and departed.

The next time, the king sent the minister for a third opportunity to the gardener. The minister buried a pot of gold under the ground on the right side of a banyan tree behind the gardener’s house.

Then he approached the gardener and said, ‘Oh gardener, the king has ordered you to bring something which is on the right side of a banyan tree behind your house. It is one foot deep under the ground. Please find it today, and bring it to court tomorrow. It is important.’

The gardener felt tired of the king’s orders, resulting in nothing but more work for him.

In the night, when he went to the banyan tree, he got confused. Was it the banyan tree’s right side or his right side as he faced the tree? It was a winter night and very cold. Then, he felt that it was on his right side that he should dig. He dug and dug and found a big stone. He carried the heavy stone to his house.

The next day, he travelled a long way and presented it at the court. The king and the minister looked at each other and then the king said, ‘You are a great gardener. Please come and join my gardening team and serve me.’ The king thought that at least this way he could help him.

The gardener thought, ‘Now, when I am away from the capital, the king assigns me so much work, which is of no use. If I start working in his garden, he will see me every day and give me much more work.’ So he said, ‘No, sir. Your place is quite far from my house. I will be happy to tend to my own garden.’

The king smiled and said, ‘I agree with you.’ The gardener departed.

Later that day, the king had his soldiers bring back the pot of gold. He gave it to his minister as a prize for winning the bet. The minister denied and said, ‘Sir, opportunities do come. But one should have the intelligence and sensibility to identify them.’

~•~

Ajja finished his story and looked at the four little faces around him. They looked surprised. ‘Oh Ajja, we never knew you could tell such beautiful stories!

Actually, we all feel like drinking another watermelon juice immediately,’ said Meenu. She turned to Ajji and asked, ‘What did you think of the story?’

‘Not bad,’ beamed Ajji.

Soon after, boarding commenced, and the children took their bags and began running towards the gate.

Excerpted with permission from Penguin Random House India
Illustrations copyright Priya Kuriyan