When kids visit your office
One morning, my little son suddenly announced that he wanted to come to office with me.
I was surprised. He rarely went anywhere without his Baba. But children who have not yet entered the world of schools and routines live by instincts of their own.
Aashish looked slightly nervous too.
“Never been to school, and Sahib is going to office already,” he joked.
Aaryan grinned and replied,
“तुम थोड़ा sad हो लेना बाबा। मैं शाम तक ही आऊँगा।”
The ride to office passed cheerfully, with endless chatter from the seat beside me. Walking down the corridor, he looked around curiously before settling into my chair near the window.
“तुम काम कर लो मैया,” he said. “I am waiting for Baba.”
I handed him a few markers and pointed him toward the whiteboard. To my surprise, he sat there quietly drawing for nearly half an hour — something I had rarely seen him do at home.
After some time he looked around and asked,
“क्या ऑफिस ऐसा ही होता है मैया?”
“Do you like it?”
“Hmm… yes. But office में खेलते क्या हैं? Why is there no park here?”
Later he wandered around meeting my colleagues, asking questions freely and without warning.
“Do you know Kabir Dohas?”
“Do you know what I am wearing? It is Khalsa.”
“Do you know what Khalsa means?”
Someone asked him,
“Which school do you go to? आज छुट्टी है?”
“मेरी तो हमेशा छुट्टी होती है,” he replied confidently.
The poor colleague smiled politely, clearly unsure how to respond.
When someone offered him chocolate, he frowned.
“फिर से चॉकलेट? बड़े लोग हमेशा चॉकलेट क्यों देते रहते हैं? मुझे अच्छी नहीं लगती।”
He then announced that Farooque Uncle should receive an entire building made of chocolate for his birthday since he always seemed surrounded by chocolate anyway.
At one point he noticed the office phone lying on the desk.
“Can I call Baba?”
Before I could respond properly, he had already dialed the number himself from memory.
By afternoon he was visibly tired, so we sat quietly in the cafeteria while waiting for Aashish to pick him up.
The office felt strangely silent after he left.
That evening, the three of us sat together on the balcony swing and asked him what he liked most about the office.
He thought for a moment.
“Everyone was like a statue there,” he said seriously. “I did not like that. Why was everyone sitting like a statue?”
Neither of us had an answer ready.
Then I asked,
“And what did you like?”
“The God statues on Sheetal Didi’s desk,” he replied immediately. “Ganesha and Sai Baba. Those were the best.”
And for a brief moment, listening to him speak, the world felt wonderfully simple again.
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