There is this kid in our neighborhood named Chhotu. And honestly, if you have ever met a seven year old who is equal parts dramatic, hilarious, and completely full of big ideas, then you already know exactly what kind of kid Chhotu is.
He lives in a small but very lively house in Kathmandu with his Baba, his Mummy, his little sister Mina who he loves to annoy, and a cat named Biru who has absolutely zero respect for anyone in the family including Chhotu himself.
Chhotu is the kind of kid who turns every ordinary day into some kind of grand adventure. And this particular summer, the adventure was all about one thing.
Staying cool.
🌞 The Morning Everything Went Wrong
It all started on a Tuesday morning in the middle of May.
Chhotu opened his eyes, felt the heat hit him like a warm wet blanket, and immediately decided that today was going to be the worst day of his life.
His pillow was warm. His blanket was warm. His teddy bear Mr. Bhalu felt like he had just come out of the oven. Chhotu lay there for a moment staring at the ceiling fan that was spinning its heart out but honestly doing absolutely nothing useful.
He walked into the kitchen where Mummy was making tea and threw himself onto the floor with the energy of someone who had given up completely on life.
"Mummy," he said from the floor. "I think I am dying."
Mummy did not even look up from her tea. "You said that yesterday also."
"Yesterday I was only almost dying," said Chhotu. "Today it is confirmed."
"Get up and wash your face," said Mummy.
"I cannot," said Chhotu. "I have melted."
Mummy stepped over him to get to the stove.
Chhotu decided the floor was actually quite cool and stayed there for another ten minutes.
❄️ The Life Changing Moment at Hari's House
That same afternoon, Chhotu shuffled down the street to visit his best friend Hari. He knocked on the door looking like a wilted plant, hair going everywhere, shirt untucked, one slipper slightly falling off his foot.
Hari opened the door.
And that is when it happened.
A wave of the most beautiful, most perfect, most absolutely wonderful cold air washed over Chhotu's face like a blessing from the heavens above.
Chhotu stood completely still. His eyes went wide. His mouth fell open. He forgot how to speak for a full five seconds which, if you know Chhotu, is basically a world record.
"Hari," he finally whispered. "What happened to your house?"
Hari grinned so wide his face could barely contain it. "We got an air conditioner!"
Chhotu walked inside slowly like he was entering a sacred temple. He stood under the AC, spread his arms out wide, tilted his face up toward the cool air, and closed his eyes.
He stood like that for a very long time.
"Hari," he said finally, in a very calm and very serious voice. "I live here now."
💰 Baba, We Have a Problem
That evening Chhotu ran home with a mission. He burst through the front door, tripped over Biru the cat, bumped into the side table, knocked over a glass of water, and finally arrived breathless and slightly damp in front of his Baba who was sitting peacefully reading the newspaper.
Baba lowered his newspaper slowly and looked at his son.
Chhotu straightened up, cleared his throat, and said in his most grown-up voice, "Baba. We need to have a very important family meeting."
"About what?" said Baba.
"About the fact that our house is literally a furnace and Hari's house feels like the inside of a refrigerator and I think we need an air conditioner immediately if not sooner."
Baba folded his newspaper neatly. "Do you know how much the air conditioner price in Nepal is?"
"How much?" asked Chhotu.
"More than what is in your piggy bank," said Baba simply.
Chhotu held up one finger, ran to his room, came back thirty seconds later with his piggy bank, shook it next to Baba's ear so he could hear the three coins rattling around inside, and placed it on the table with great ceremony.
"There," said Chhotu. "That should cover it."
Baba looked at the piggy bank. Then he looked at Chhotu. Then he laughed so hard his glasses slid down his nose and Biru jumped off the sofa in fright.
Chhotu did not think it was funny at all.
🐷 Operation Earn All the Money in Nepal
The very next morning Chhotu woke up with the kind of focus and determination that most seven year olds only have when there is chocolate involved.
He found a piece of cardboard, borrowed Mina's crayons without asking which caused a brief but intense argument, and made a sign that said:
"CHHOTU'S SERVICES. I WILL DO ANYTHING FOR MUNY. VERY CHEAP."
He did not notice the spelling mistake. He put the sign outside the front gate and waited.
His first customer was Mina herself who paid him two rupees to carry her doll across the room. That was four steps. Chhotu decided not to mention that this felt like a bad deal.
His second customer was Mummy who gave him five rupees to find the TV remote. It was under Chhotu the whole time. He had been sitting on it since breakfast. He did not give the money back.
His third customer was old Mr. Sharma from next door who asked Chhotu to help him water his plants and then also invited him in for biscuits and told him three very long stories about his childhood which Chhotu listened to very politely while slowly eating all the biscuits.
Mr. Sharma gave him ten rupees and said he was a very good listener.
By the end of the day Chhotu had twenty three rupees, a half-eaten biscuit he had saved from Mr. Sharma's house, and a very tired face.
He sat on the front step doing the math in his head.
The air conditioner price in Nepal was still approximately one million times more than twenty three rupees.
He sighed the sigh of a very small businessman facing very large problems.
🎨 The Greatest Show in Kathmandu
Chhotu did not give up. That was simply not in his nature.
The next afternoon he gathered every kid from the neighborhood and stood on the front step with the confidence of a Bollywood superstar.
"Friends," he announced, "for only one rupee each, you are about to witness the greatest show this street has ever seen."
Six kids paid their one rupee each.
The show began.
Chhotu danced to a Nepali song while wearing Mummy's cooking pot on his head. Mina did three cartwheels and then fell into the hedge. Their dog Kale walked onto the stage, looked at the audience, sneezed once, and walked back inside.
The audience clapped. Somebody's little brother cried but that was unrelated.
Chhotu earned six rupees.
He now had twenty nine rupees and a half-eaten biscuit.
He looked at his earnings and then looked up at the sky.
"This," he said quietly to nobody in particular, "is going to take a very long time."
😴 The Great Escape Attempt
That night after dinner, Chhotu decided he would simply solve the problem in the most logical way possible. If his house was hot and Hari's house was cold, he would just sleep at Hari's house every night until further notice.
He packed a bag with his toothbrush, Mr. Bhalu, his favorite pillow, two pairs of socks, and a small collection of snacks for the journey which was approximately forty meters down the road.
At nine o clock he tiptoed toward the front door in his pajamas.
"Chhotu."
He stopped.
He turned around very slowly.
Mummy was standing in the hallway with her arms crossed and one eyebrow raised in that particular way that meant the plan was already over.
"I was just going for some fresh air," said Chhotu.
"With a pillow and Mr. Bhalu and what appears to be four packets of biscuits?"
"I get hungry during fresh air," said Chhotu.
Mummy pointed to his bedroom.
Chhotu shuffled back to his hot sweaty room, dropped onto his hot sweaty bed, and lay there staring at the ceiling fan while Mr. Bhalu sat beside him looking equally defeated.
"Mr. Bhalu," said Chhotu very seriously. "We tried everything. I danced with a pot on my head. I carried Mina's doll four steps. I listened to Mr. Sharma's stories. I think this summer is going to be the end of us."
Mr. Bhalu had nothing to say about this.
Chhotu eventually fell asleep anyway because seven year olds always do no matter how dramatically they carry on.
🎉 The Saturday That Changed Everything
Three weeks later on a perfectly ordinary Saturday morning, Chhotu woke up to a sound he did not recognise. Drilling. Banging. The sound of something heavy being moved around the living room.
He came out of his bedroom looking like a small confused owl, hair pointing in every possible direction, eyes half closed, Mr. Bhalu dragging behind him from one hand.
Two men in uniforms were standing in the living room. They were mounting something on the wall.
Something white.
Something beautiful.
Something that Chhotu recognised immediately with every cell in his entire body.
His eyes went wide.
His mouth fell open.
He turned to Baba who was standing in the corner with a cup of tea and a very large smile.
"BABA," Chhotu whispered. Then louder. "BABA." Then very loud indeed. "BAAAABA IS THAT WHAT I THINK IT IS?"
Baba laughed warmly. "Your Mummy and I had been saving for a while. We knew the air conditioner price in Nepal is not cheap. But we thought you kids deserved a cool and comfortable summer."
Chhotu stared at his Baba for a long moment.
Then he ran and hugged him so hard around the middle that Baba almost spilled his tea.
"Baba," said Chhotu into Baba's shirt. "You are the best Baba in Nepal. In Asia. In the whole entire world and also possibly the moon."
Baba patted his ridiculous hair and laughed.
❄️ The First Moment of Cool
When the installation was finally done and the men pressed the button and that first perfect wave of cool air came flowing out into the room, the whole family stood there for a moment in complete silence.
Then Chhotu did what felt completely natural.
He grabbed Mr. Bhalu.
He sat down directly in front of the AC.
He pulled his blanket around his shoulders.
And within approximately forty five seconds he was completely and deeply and peacefully asleep right there on the living room floor with the happiest expression on his face that anyone had ever seen.
Mummy took a photo. Baba shook his head and smiled. Mina tried to wake him up because she wanted to play but even she could not bring herself to disturb something so pure and so peaceful.
Biru the cat came and sat next to Chhotu, curled up, and also went to sleep.
🌟 Life Was Good Now
From that day on, Chhotu became the neighborhood's most passionate spokesperson for air conditioners. He told his friends about it. He told his teachers. He told the vegetable seller. He told the aunty at the corner shop. He explained the best air conditioner price in Nepal to anyone who would listen and some people who really would not.
He even tried to explain it to Kale the dog one afternoon.
Kale licked his face and walked away.
Chhotu took that as agreement.
And every single night that summer, Chhotu climbed into his cool comfortable bed, tucked Mr. Bhalu in beside him, looked up at the beautiful white box humming softly on the wall, and felt something warm and grateful and happy settle in his chest.
He never forgot how hard Baba and Mummy had worked and saved to give him and Mina that cool, comfortable summer.
And honestly, he never quite looked at a ceiling fan the same way again.
🎊 The End
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