The day the mall was to open in Muppathadam, Vani and her three friends arrived at the venue first. Nobody had invited them, of course. They were too small to make speeches and besides, all of them had runny noses that very day. But the four of them- Vani, Krishna, Sethu, and Unni- were the most enthusiastic participants in all social events that took place in their town. When the Chief Minister had come for a political meeting once, the four of them helped in bursting crackers and handing out fl yers. The Chief Minister cracked a smile at them as he was getting into his car and Unni gave him a smart salute. Vani, who had been admiring a policewoman with a lathi in her hand, told Sethu that one day, she too would own a jeep and wear khaki pants. And Gomathi Teacher would be too scared to send them out of class again.
Today, the four of them could hardly wait for the function to begin. The mall shone like polished gold, Krishna thought. The glass sides of the building caught the sunshine and sent it across the town like a song. He hoped there would be a toy shop and a shoe shop- two items that he desperately required. He looked down at his peeling rubber chappals and told himself that if the Chief Guest received fi ve garlands, it would mean that he'd get new shoes by the end of the week. "What car do you think he will come in?" asked Unni. "Ambassador," said Sethu. Vani shook her head knowledgably and said, "A Benz car. Actors only travel by Benz car."
Krishna, who had been concentrating on his rubber chappals for so long, said, "I bet he is bald." At this, the other three giggled. They settled themselves on Moosa Mama's low compound wall and munched on the peanuts that Sethu had thoughtfully brought along. "What all will be there inside, do you think?" asked Unni. His uncle in Dubai sent him postcards with pictures of big buildings just like this one. He was half-disappointed that Muppathadam was starting to look like the postcard, too. Soon, there would be no difference between the two and then, what good would the postcards be?
"A gold shop," said Sethu at once. "Amma told me that there is going to be a very big gold shop here. One of the biggest in the world!"
"A shoe shop," said Krishna urgently. The more he looked at his rubber chappals, the more protective he felt about them. He wanted to keep them tucked away in a corner in his cupboard. Or Amma was sure to throw them away.
