This Republic Day, JWB in association with , search for little heroes of Jaipur. Nonetheless, with mothers by our side as our companions, see how we unfolded some HERoic tales of the day.  

Nayaab ‘HERo’.

Once upon a time there lived a pretty-pretty princess in a tall castle, surrounded by clouds of despair, hoping for her prince charming to come on a shining white horse and rescue the damsel in distress.. wait.. cut the crap.. back to present! Our daughters are women of the 21^st century, and they are no ‘damsels in distress’. It’s time to instil their young minds with love for our nation once again and show them how women have been rocking the world ever since and how they can do just the same!

A mother tells a story of a HERo to her daughter. #TakeOne.

While we waited and munched on some snacks (thank god for Indian Mehmaan Nawazi), there appeared a bubbly chirpy girl, all dressed in pink from head to toe, and introduced herself as Ada.

Wow, her name and her style caught my attention. She was 8 years old, studying in 3rd grade and had two best friends; she informed in one breathe. The moment we got past away the ‘Hi and Hellos’, there entered a beautiful lady, replicating the same pink blush as her daughter’s and we got smitten away!

Meenakshi Jain was a housewife until recently she had flagged off her latest designer wear exhibition. Well, kudos lady!

‘We always match each other’s clothing’, said Meenakshi. That sure explained a lot. The duo sat before me, pretty in pink! I felt the pink fever catching up on me (where there is a pink, there is a way)  so I popped a question:

Me:  Ada, Tell me one thing about Mumma which you are not very fond of.

Ada: *Gigglling* Ummm.. I don’t like how she is always after me, making me do my homework!

Oh, that’s one complaint of every child alive on Earth, I thought!

Me: True enough! So Meenakshi here is your turn to tell us one thing that you love about Ada the most.

Meenakshi: Having a daughter is itself the most beautiful feeling in the world; I adore how sensitive and caring Ada is for everyone around. *touchwood*

I asked Ada, which fairytale was her favourite, and she replied Rapunzel as she too had long hair, just like her! Awwww!

I then informed out loud, ‘ Ada, today mumma will tell you a different story, a story about an Indian female fighter, a hero in her stride.’ Ada beamed with excitement.

I presented Meenakshi with a pair of gorgeous earrings from , that matched her beauty perfectly, and promised Ada that the earrings had a magical power which would be revealed right at the end of the story.

The story of a brave heart: Rani Laxmi Bai

Meenakshi had it all etched neatly on a piece of paper, like a pro! While she started the journey of this heroic personality, she was stopped in the middle by an eager Ada. ‘Sshhhh’ she said and summed up on everything on her own, somewhat like this:

Rani Laxmi bai was one great warrior.

She fought against Britishers to get our land back.

She was married at an early age.

She rode a horse and learned fighting like a man.

She died  for our country at the age of 22.

Wow, kids nowadays know a lot more than we think they do! Sure she is eight, I wondered! Psstttt!

Meenakshi and Ada then recited some dohas on Rani Laxmi bai, in unison! * That made me miss my mother too much*

‘Khoob Ladi Mardani, Wo Toh Jhansi Wali Rani Thi’, they echoed!

Ada chirpingly listed qualities of Laxmi Bai like bravery and promised to follow in her suit!

Are you a hero too, Ada? I asked. To this she had an interesting reply: ‘No, I am a Heroine’!

And it was time for the most awaited moment, * drummmmmm rollllllllllllllll*, sprinkling some magic dust upon our HERtale.

Presenting our heroine with a medal of one of a kind. The mother beautifully unplugged one of Nayaab’s earring from her and pinned the same on her daughter as a sign of heroism. Ah, a perfect medal for a perfect heroine!  Both the mother-daughter duo were glittering like bright spring sunshine, right in cold January! Ada exclaimed: ‘I can’t wait to tell my friends about it!’.

Ada, seemed to have become too fond of us! She then showed us her various trophies, flaunted her violin playing skills like a pro, danced to  the tunes of her favourite chittiyan kaliyan, and we thought she was an ‘All in one’ package for us! She is a chatter box, her mother had warned us earlier and we couldn’t agree more!

After having said our goodbyes, we knew that this Republic Day, two new heroes had been welcomed into the world, one being Ada and another, a stronger India!

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