Little Nandini’s day of joy

Her father is a car washer. The little girl had to wash his brain and also wash off his wish just to be with hockey.

It is not a mind-boggling story, but all about the mind of a nine-year old girl called Nandini.

She has newly joined her school hockey team, but her dream of playing in a competition got a breaker when her lovable father Purushotaman, a car washer in the Manakulavinayagar Auto Service station in Puducherry, asked her to join him for a tour.

He planned to take the little kid to a pleasure tour as her school was having three
holidays on account of Independence day.

Exactly using those holidays the school hockey program was put on place by a NGO.

Every girl of her age would have delighted at this offer, even she would have otherwise, but for the forthcoming hockey match.

When her team mates in the Wiseman School, where she is in the fourth standard, felt bad, were down cast when Nandini, on the other day, told of her father’s wish, and the likelihood of missing the match in which Tiruvondayarkovil will face off her team, that too on her school premise.

Because,though Nandini is the only other student from 4th standard, she is good at the game, and the team wanted her for a good show.

Nandini somehow managed to win over her father, who reluctantly agreed to her wish, and then when she landed on the ground on time before the scheduled match, her team went sky-high with enthusiasm.

That day’s match was a mis-match, a team consisting of ninth class students was up against the team of 4th to 6th class of which Nandini is a member, probably the youngest of both teams.

So, the match started, and at half time, its not the senior team but the younger won that was up by 3-0 goals, and Nandini got the eyes with clever interceptions and one touch passes.

The match ended 3-2 in her team’s favour, the team celebrated it with a good photo shoot.

The opposing teams goalie was in tears even as her team was lining up for the photo shoot.

Small victory for Wiseman team, and a great joy for the tiny tots. When this writer was delighted at the enthusiasm of the girl wearing the jersey no 3 written on her back, coach Sudesh Kumar was happy to let know the above details.

A good day for Nandini, a bit of sweet turn around for the writer who is part of the One Thousand Hockey Legs which organized the match and for which he is here in Puducherry.

There may many Nandinis in the country, in each school, willing to play in preference to joy tour, but not often one comes across.