Racing back to the window of Papa's room, I saw him still busy with the patient. I loved to see
him there before me, while I played. 'He must be liking it, too,' I thought, 'to see me play around in his room.' I dragged a chair and climbed onto the table.
This at last drew Papa's attention. "Baby, be careful, you'll fall down," he said tenderly.
"Look, Papa, I am taller than everyone," I grinned from ear to ear making my eyes disappear.
All one could see was a set of white teeth and chubby cheeks.
Both Mr. Singh and Papa smiled. Papa did not look convinced. So I said again raising my hands
above my head. "Papa I'm a big girl, now." He nodded with a smile and continued talking
to the patient. I touched all that I could reach with my hands till I got to the black switch. 'No, you should not touch it.' I was imagining what my mother would have said.
'If you touch it, you'll get hurt,' Bhaiya had told me once. This was a 'forbidden' article for
me, but how attractive it looked — black against the light blue wall. Unable to resist the temptation
to touch it, I pressed the switch and the light came on. I immediately switched it off. I was scared, I looked at Papa with large anxious eyes, but he was busy writing. He did not see me. I
looked at Papa again and then at the switch which begged my hands to touch it again.
'I'll do it just once more, okay?' I said softly to myself. I repeated the mischief once more and
was unable to stop myself from doing it again and again. I seemed to have disturbed Papa who was
concentrating on the patient's problem. Without looking up from the book, he said in a serious
voice, "Don't do that, you might get a shock." The klick-klack of the switch and the glowing
bulb fascinated me, "Baby, come here, let Papa do his work," called my brother.
