to survey the effect and then continued, ‘Remember the rare insect-eating plant he brought back from the wettest corner of the Amazonian rainforest! He insisted that we keep it because it would eat the mosquitoes in the house and now that wretched plant requires a room heater to keep it alive in Chennai!’ ‘Ma!’ protested Arvind, ‘That’s not really true. Uncle Somu’s given us some really fabulous gifts.’ 10th - - ‘Right! Remember the tiny penknife he gave me last year, the one with a genuine shark’s tooth blade.
That’s been really useful,’ Maya joined the protest. ‘No one but you, Maya,’ Mrs.Krishnan told her daughter sternly,‘would describe a penknife that has cut open the pockets of three skirts and two pairs of jeans as really useful .’ ‘And what about the aboriginal boomerang Uncle Somu brought us all the way from Australia?’ demanded Arvind. ‘You can’t deny that it was a great hit with everyone.’ ‘Great hit indeed!’ Mrs.Krishnan didn’t bother to hide her sarcasm and continued, ‘Considering that the boomerang sliced through all the TV aerials in the neighbourhood, caused permanent damage to several cars in the parking lot, and knocked out our watchman cold, with the force you threw it.’ ‘But Zigzag is different. Somu says we are sure to love Zigzag,’ soothed Dr.Krishnan, ‘because the bird can talk and sing in about twenty-one different languages - mostly African languages, of course.
When it sings, it moves the listeners to tears.’ ‘It’s Somu’s thoughtless ways that reduce me to tears!’ Mrs.Krishnan said irritably. ‘What a time to dump this multilingual, talking-singing bird on us. Here I’m tied up in knots trying to get my paintings together for the exhibition next week.’ ‘May I take Zigzag to school, Papa?’ Arvind, as always, was planning ahead. ‘I want to display him in the science exhibition.’ ‘When is Zigzag coming, Papa?’ Maya was jumping up and down, all excited.
‘Uncle Somu said he would send Zigzag with his old cook, Visu, sometime today. I’ll have to leave for my clinic now. There,’ he added as the doorbell