7
A Blessed Day
A Morning of Surprise
It was a wet monsoon morning in Coorg valley. The chirping of birds mixed with strange cheerful voices coming from outside Bopu’s bedroom.
Bollu, his brown furry friend, leapt onto the bed, wagging his tail like a windmill gone wild.
Bollu (licking Bopu’s face): “Wake up, wake up! Something smells like...joy!”
Bopu (half-asleep): “Let me sleep, you four-legged alarm clock.”
Suddenly— BANG! BANG! Two gunshots echoed through the valley.
Bopu sat up, wide-eyed.
Bopu: “Ayyo! Did someone just shoot happiness?!”
Bopu knew the significance of single and double gun shots.
He ran out, Bollu at his heels. In the courtyard stood his Ajja, a proud war veteran with one prosthetic leg and a big heart, still holding his new double barrel shotgun bought for this day.
Ajja (beaming): “A brave boy is born today!”
Next to his Mother on the bed, in Avvayya's arms, lay a tiny baby wrapped in a soft white cloth, wriggling and yawning like a sleepy caterpillar.
Bopu (whispers): “He looks like a potato, but a very important one.”
Let the Celebrations Begin
The entire house buzzed like a beehive. Relatives and neighbours poured in, some with flowers, some with food, and many just with loud voices.
Bopu couldn’t contain his joy. He grabbed Bollu’s front paws and did a silly dance.
Bopu: “Presenting Bopu and Bollu’s Baby Welcome Dance!”
Bollu barked in rhythm and wagged his tail like a drumstick.
Just then, Kaveri, entered with a bowl of sweet coconut barfi.
Kaveri (giggling): “Is this a dance or a mosquito repellent ritual?”
Bopu (laughing): “It's the latest Kodava tribal step!”
Ajja stood up, wiped his eyes, and told Muthanna, the neighbour, to go to town and send a telegram to Bopu’s father, who was away serving in the army.
Ajja: “Tell him a warrior has arrived in the family!”
Muthanna (grinning): “I’ll write: ‘Mission Accomplished. It's a boy!’”
Father Comes Home
Three months passed.
The monsoon had washed Coorg green and fresh. One fine morning, a jeep pulled into the front yard. Out stepped a tall man in uniform—Bopu’s father, Col.Subbaiah.
Bopu ran to him and hugged him tight.
Bopu: “Appa! The baby still looks like a potato, but he smiles now!”
Ajji brought out the baby, now chubbier and curious-eyed.
When the father saw his son for the first time, he knelt and held him with trembling arms.
Father (tearfully): “He has your ears, Amma.”
Ajja placed a firm hand on his son’s shoulder.
Ajja: “Your grandfather would’ve been proud.”
Col slipped a bottle of Finest French brandy to the old man, in gratitude.
Ajja: “This is for the evening, for both of us to celebrate!”
Even Bollu sat quietly near the baby, as if understanding the weight of the moment. Then—sneezed loudly.
Kaveri (laughing): “Even Bollu got emotional… or allergic!”
The Naming Debate
The Ain Mane (ancestral home) was ready for the naming ceremony. Banana leaves were stacked, pandals decorated, and coffee brewed by the litre.
Relatives began debating baby names like it was a village-level debate competition.
One Aunt: “Let’s call him Chittiappa…Chitti! Sounds cute.”Uncle: “How about Ganapathi? Sounds spiritual.”
Then, Ajja stood up and cleared his throat.
Ajja: “He shall be called Thimmaiah, in honour of my Appa, a true man of the land, our Ex-Pattedara of the Family and Thakka of the Naad”.
Silence fell. No one dared to disagree with Ajja’s one-legged authority.
Ajji (softly): “We’ll call him Timmy at home. Easy for us and the dog to pronounce.”
Bollu wagged his tail approvingly.
The Ceremony of Timmy
The courtyard filled with the scent of nuputtu and koli curry.Drums beat. Relatives clapped.Ajja held little Thimmaiah high up, as if presenting him to the forested hills around.
Ajja (proudly): “Here is Thimmaiah, son of this Forest!”
Bopu and Bollu repeated their now-famous dance. Cauvery brought more sweets and teased:
Kaveri: “Timmy will think dancing is how we walk around in Coorg!”
Everyone laughed. Even Ajja chuckled and tapped his wooden leg:
Ajja: “Time to teach this little one how to walk... or at least how to march!”
As the sun dipped behind the Western Ghats, the family stood together in the Ain Mane courtyard— A proud soldier-father and charming mother, a war-hero grandfather, an elder brother who has won the title Anna, a furry barking friend, and the newest bundle of joy—Timmy.