A Gift of Chappals

Mridu visits Rukku Manni's house in Chennai. Ravi pulls her in. She notices dusty slippers with scrawny toe marks before being dragged to the backyard.

Mridu arrives at her aunt Rukku Manni's home. Ravi and Meena rush out; Ravi pulls her inside before she can wonder about a pair of large dusty slippers with long toe marks.

Behind a bitter-berry bush lies a tiny kitten in a torn football, drinking milk from a coconut shell. The children found it at the gate and hide it from Paati.

In the backyard, inside a torn football filled with sand, a small kitten laps milk from a coconut half-shell. Meena says it is a secret because Paati would leave if she knew they had a cat. Ravi describes how hard it was to steal milk from the kitchen.

Ravi names the kitten Mahendravarman Pallava Poonai and claims it descends from Egyptian cat-goddess Bastet and the Mahabalipuram Rishi-Cat. Mridu giggles at his history lecture.

Ravi gives the kitten a grand name - Mahendravarman Pallava Poonai - and spins a tale linking it to Pallava kings, Mahabalipuram, and the Egyptian goddess Bastet. Meena and Mridu exchange looks while Ravi whoops with delight.

A kreeching sound comes from the window - Lalli learning violin from a master who plays like a train while Lalli keeps derailing.

A weird kreeching noise frightens the kitten. Ravi says it is Lalli learning the violin; the music-master plays smoothly like a train while Lalli goes completely off track.

A barefoot beggar with sores sits near the gate. The music-master's chappals are missing; Ravi says the kitten must have hidden them. The children give the beggar Rukku Manni's new chappals.

A beggar with blistered feet sits outside. The music-master searches for his chappals, which Ravi jokingly blames on the kitten. Quietly, Mridu and Meena bring out a pair of slippers - Rukku Manni's new ones - and leave them for the beggar.

The beggar is gone; the music-master gets an old pair. Rukku Manni is shocked her chappals are missing but smiles when she understands the children's silent charity.

The beggar disappears wearing the new chappals. The music-master accepts an old pair from the house. Rukku Manni scolds then softens when she sees what the children have done - a gift given without boasting.