Festival of Eid: Premchand Story For Kids

Idgaah: Premchand Story [8]

The constable was made into a holyman; he could sit in one place and guard the village. And sometimes he was like the image of the deity. The plume on his turban was scraped off and you could make as many changed in his appearance as you liked. And sometimes he was used for nothing better than weighing things.

Now let’s hear what happened to out friend Hamid. As soon as she heard his voice, Granny Ameena ran out of the house, picked him up and kissed him. Suddenly she noticed the tongs in his hand. “Where did you find these tongs?”

“I bought them.”

“How much did you pay for them?”

“Three pice.”

Granny Ameena beat her breast. “You are a stupid child! It is almost noon and you haven’t had anything to eat or drink. And what do you buy – tongs! Couldn’t you find anything better in the fair than this pair of iron tongs?”

Hamid replied in injured tones, “You burn your fingers on the iron plate. This is why I bought them.”

The old woman’s temper suddenly changed to love – not the kind of calculated love which wastes away in spoken words. This love was mute, solid and seeped with tenderness. What a selfless child! What concern for others! What a big heart! How he must have suffered seeing other boys buying toys and gobbling sweets! How was he able to suppress his own feelings! Even at the fair he thought of his old grandmother. Granny Ameena’s heart was too full for words.

And the strangest thing happened – stranger than the part played by the tongs was the role of Hamid the child playing Hamid the old man. And old Granny Ameena became Ameena the little girl. She broke down. She spread her apron and beseeched Allah’s blessings for her grandchild. Big tears fell from her eyes. How was Hamid to understand what was going on inside her!

~ Premchand