Pradhikaran in Pimpri Chinchwad is one of the most well-planned areas in Pune. The roads are designed to allow easy access to various destinations, even when the main roads are congested. The lanes and bylanes open on the main road. The neighbourhood has numerous bungalows and market squares, these are less crowded than other localities. Many of these parks have lakes, and one can find over a hundred parks in the region. This place is particularly special for residents due to its beauty and abundance of flora and fauna.
It was a beautiful winter evening, Kay was out in one of the market squares of Pradhikaran with her mom, Leda. Kay was six years old and was full of curiosity. Unlike other kids, she never glanced at her mobile phone while shopping with her mom or on nature walks. Nature and animals were close to her heart. That evening, on her visit to the local market, she spotted a stunning pair of white geese walking confidently along the road amidst numerous vehicles. The passers-by looked on as the drivers stopped to observe while little children cried out in delight. The pair of geese consisted of a goose and a gander who felt proud and waddled stylishly across the road. Kay was mesmerised by their beauty and was taken away in the moment. She was filled with joy and wanted to feel them, hug them and walk them home. She ran behind them, yelling excitedly. The geese waddled faster, creating chaos. Kay jumped between the vehicles and waved her right hand as if guiding traffic, just like a policeman.
She saw a pair of teenagers dressed casually in spectacles, walking at their own pace while scrolling through their mobile phones, oblivious to where they were headed. Kay found this behaviour foolish and yelled loudly as they approached. The teenagers looked at her, startled, as if awakening from a trance. On the other hand, Leda found it inspiring, knowing that she would never have to advise Kay to stop looking at her mobile phone. The goose and the gander were clean and white, they did not make any noise but waddled slowly in the middle of the road. Kay ran behind in between the vehicles giving Leda a difficult time. The crowd disappeared and the goose and the gander walked to the other end of the road. Leda felt the goose and the gander must have flown from the manmade forest where there were many of them.
Leda had to complete her shopping quickly and drive a reluctant Kay home. That night Kay told her father Nico about the goose and the gander. Kay and her father visited the same spot the next evening. Kay did not have to go far as the geese were with the vegetable vendor near the shop that sold cakes. The vegetable vendor broke pieces of cucumber and they gobbled it bit by bit. Across the street was a little boy who had found a mobile cover. He was the happiest one. He sat on the road with folded legs and jumped on the folded feet waving his mobile cover.
The goose and the gander looked across and waddled slowly toward the boy. The boy picked up his mobile cover and held it tightly. The goose and gander moved closer and sat before him, making guttural sounds. Startled, the little boy jumped into a nearby clothing shop, while the goose and gander wandered toward a tailor’s shop close to where he had disappeared.
A lady was hurrying home with a shopping bag. A young man was riding his scooter with his three-year-old daughter. He stood near the lady and started talking to her while the little girl gazed at the goose and gander. As the birds made their sounds, they slowly approached the lady, tugging at the free end of her sari and trying to peck at her bag. The lady walked away hastily. The gander crept up to the glass case and peered into the glass case where the stitched clothes were hung. Kay wondered what amused the gander to keep looking in. She found that the gander was looking at its reflection. The gander kept looking into the glass case, fascinated by its reflection. The gander’s antics amused Kay, so she decided to draw it, she sat on the doorstep of a shop selling puffed corn and other savouries. The goose waddled close to Kay and sat looking amused as she sketched while the gander kept admiring its reflection.
It was getting dark and the evening crowd found the snack vendor close to the tailor’s shop a place to enjoy snacks such as panipuri, bhelpuri and others. The vendor multitasked numerous tasks as the crowd was growing larger. Kay moved away and sat on Nico’s motorbike. She and Nico watched the geese amused. The geese waddled close to a young man and made the familiar guttural sounds. The young man was about to pop a panipuri in his mouth but it slipped from his hand and fell close to the gander. It moved away and waddled towards the tailor’s shop and sat on the road The young man looked embarrassed and shook his head. The vendor quickly walked to the geese and gave them some puffed rice, they ate it bit by bit. Kay and Nico laughed. The young man quickly ate the rest of his food and walked away. The geese followed the young man as he walked away, quacking in unison. The vendor smiled and waved goodbye as the geese disappeared down the street.
As a result, Kay began pestering her parents every evening to drive her to the market square. The next day, Leda took Kay to the market for a few household things. The geese were dirty today, and their white bodies did not shine as much as usual. Leda felt it was time to leave the geese by the lake in one of the big parks. The geese waddled along the main road, making their characteristic grunting noises. Meanwhile, the vendors and passersby were too busy to pay them attention.
Raju, the cleaner, was on his way home, carrying a bucket and broom in one hand and a long dry scrubber in the other. He hurriedly moved between the vehicles as the geese waddled through the marketplace. Suddenly, the geese ended up right near Raju’s feet. One of the ganders pecked at him, causing Raju to drop his brooms with a loud bang.
Kay, who was watching, loved the commotion and clapped cheerfully for the geese. The nearby vendors rushed to help the startled Raju. One of the vendors turned to him and said, “See, I told you they were harmless. They just like to follow people.”
Leda noticed that the geese appeared to be in poor health from eating everything passersby offered them. Concerned, she took Kay and started asking people about the geese’s owner. One vendor told her that the owner lived at the end of the street and had domesticated the geese. Leda then pulled Kay along and walked to the owner’s place to learn more about the geese. Once there, Leda discovered that their owner had abandoned the geese and no one cared for them. Determined to help, she called a local animal rescue organisation. They promptly arrived to pick up the geese and promised to provide them with proper care. Leda wanted the geese to have a natural environment, so she suggested placing them in a manmade forest that featured a large lake and many other geese.
The next day, Leda and Nico took Kay to the man-made forest to witness the release of the geese into the protected area of the forest lake. The white geese waddled slowly alongside Kay, quickly adapting to their new surroundings as they observed the other geese on the edge of the protected lake. They grunted and approached the other geese.
Kay picked up a marker and drew a star on the necks of both the goose and the gander. She hugged them gently and then stood aside with Leda and Nico. She knew this was the perfect place for the geese. Embracing the cold weather and cool water, the geese plunged in and swam away happily, while Kay, Leda, and Nico waved goodbye.
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