Riddles 2: In the King's Garden

Told in English, Telugu.

It was a hot summer night in the village of Kadiyam, where the nurseries are full of flowers. Sravya and her little cousin Kittu had come to stay at Nanamma's house for the holidays. They had just finished their curd rice with mango pickle when, click, all the lights went out.

"Current poyindi!" shouted Kittu. The fan slowed down, round and round, and then it stopped. The house became very dark and very warm.

"Nanamma, I can't sleep in this heat," Sravya said, fanning herself with her hand.

Nanamma laughed softly. "Then let us go up to the terrace. The breeze is always kind up there. Bring the mats."

So up they went, step by step, holding the rail. Nanamma spread the mats on the cool floor of the terrace, and the three of them lay down side by side. A soft wind came from the coconut trees and touched their faces.

"Ah, much better," said Kittu. "But Nanamma, what do we do now? There is no TV, no phone, nothing."

"Nothing?" said Nanamma, raising her eyebrows. "When I was a little girl, we had no TV at all. Do you know what we did on nights like this? We played podupu kathalu. Riddles!"

Kittu groaned. "I am no good at riddles. Sravya always gets them first."

"We will see," said Nanamma with a twinkle in her eye. "Let me start with an easy one. Listen carefully. Kita kita talupulu, kitaari talupulu, eppudu teesinaa chappudu kaavu. Doors that open and close all day long, but never, ever make a sound. What are they?"

Sravya sat up. "Doors with no sound? Our front door squeaks every time!"

Kittu thought about the doors in the house. The kitchen door creaked. The cupboard door banged. The gate went clang.

Think... think...

Nanamma blinked her eyes slowly, once, twice, three times.

"Oh!" said Sravya. "Your eyes! I mean, your eyelids! They open and shut all day, and they never make a noise!"

"Correct!" said Nanamma, clapping her hands. "Our eyelids are little doors for our eyes. Open in the morning, shut at night, and never a creak."

Kittu crossed his arms. "See? Sravya got it again."

"There are more," said Nanamma gently. "Here is the next one. Toka leni pitta tombhai aamada potundi. A bird with no tail flies ninety miles and more. What is it?"

"A crow?" said Kittu. "No, a crow has a tail. A parrot? No, a parrot has a long tail."

Sravya frowned. "Maybe an aeroplane?"

Think... think...

Nanamma smiled. "Long ago, your Tatayya went to work in a faraway city. Every month, something would come flying from him to me, all the way across the land. It had no wings and no tail, but it always found our house."

Kittu's face lit up in the dark. "A letter! Tatayya's letter came by post!"

"Yes, Kittu! A letter!" said Nanamma, and she hugged him tight. "A letter travels so far, but it has no tail and no feathers. Just a stamp and an address."

Kittu grinned from ear to ear. "I got one! I got one!"

"Now you two are level," said Nanamma. "One for Sravya, one for Kittu. Shall we have one last riddle? Whoever gets it first will get the last pootharekulu in my tin tomorrow morning."

The children looked at each other. Pootharekulu, sweet and thin and crackly, with sugar and ghee inside! Nobody wanted to lose that.

"Ready," said Sravya.

"Ready," said Kittu.

Nanamma lay back on the mat and spoke slowly, like a song. "Raaju gaari tOtalO rOjaa poolu, choosevaare gaani kOsevaaru lEru. In the King's garden there are roses, so many roses. Everyone can see them, but nobody can pick them."

Sravya thought of the gardens in Kadiyam, with rows and rows of flowers. "Is it a picture of roses? You can see a picture, but you can't pick it."

"Hmm," said Nanamma. "Not a picture."

"Is it roses on a saree?" Sravya tried again.

"Not on a saree," said Nanamma.

Kittu was quiet. He was lying on his back, looking up, thinking hard. A garden so big that it belongs to a king. Flowers that everyone can see. Flowers that no hand can ever reach.

Think... think...

Above him, the sky was dark and deep, because all the lights in the village were off. And there, scattered everywhere, were hundreds and hundreds of tiny shining lights, twinkling like little white flowers.

Kittu sat up so fast he nearly bumped Sravya. "Nanamma! It's the stars! The sky is the King's garden, and the stars are the roses! Everybody can see them, but nobody can pick them, because they are too high up!"

Nanamma laughed and laughed. "Kittu, you clever boy! The chukkalu! That is exactly right!"

Sravya looked up too, and her mouth fell open. "Oh, there are so many tonight. I never saw so many before."

"That is because the lights are out," said Nanamma softly. "When the village is dark, the King's garden blooms its brightest."

Kittu lay back down, very proud. "I thought I was bad at riddles. But the answer was right above my head the whole time."

"That is the secret of riddles," said Nanamma. "You must stop, look around, and think. The answer is often closer than you believe."

Sravya nudged her cousin. "You can have the pootharekulu, Kittu. But maybe you will share half with me?"

Kittu thought for a moment, then smiled. "Half for you, half for me."

Just then, with a hum, the fan downstairs began to turn again. The current had come back. But nobody wanted to go inside. The three of them stayed on the terrace, counting the roses in the King's garden, until their eyelids, those quiet little doors, slowly closed for the night.

Now, can you say the riddle with me? Raaju gaari tOtalO rOjaa poolu, choosevaare gaani kOsevaaru lEru. Good night, and look up at the King's garden tonight.