The Times Table

​THE TIME TABLE

 

Little Pop came running into the house and dropped her heavy school bag off her shoulder onto the dining table and looked restlessly for her mother. 

 

“Amma, where are you?”

 

“I am here at the back. Why? Why are you sweating so much and rushing home like this? Are you okay Pop?”

 

“I am okay Amma. Can I ask for something? You can tell me no if you can’t afford it but my friends at school have it.”

 

Amma wiped the sweat droplets off Pop’s forehead and pulled her in her arms and looked at her curiously waiting for yet another request. 

 

“What do you want Pop?”

 

“Amma, my friends in class are wearing a watch. They are in bright colors and have a mickey mouse printed on the strap and there are exact numbers showing the time.”

 

Amma smiled and replied, “but Pop, you don’t know to see the time yet from a clock. Once you learn to see the time correctly from a clock like the one on our living room wall then I will buy a watch for you.” Amma stood up and walked back into the kitchen leaving little Pop wondering.

 

“But. But Amma, the watch they have shows the exact number. It does not look like the clock in the living room. I can see the time exactly if I get one of those watches,” Pop tried getting her way.

 

“Those are digital watches and they make you dependent and you will never learn to read time out of an analog clock ever. So, let's be patient till you have your clock lessons and you can have a new watch,” Amma ended the conversation easily.

 

Pop’s sister DunDun who was sitting at the end of the dining table just observed all of this and walked to Pop and whispered to her, “Baby Pop, shall I teach you to read the wall clock?”

 

“Yes DunDun! Please teach me! I want to learn it so I can have the watch earlier. I don’t know when school will have this lesson,” Pop replied eagerly.

 

“Alright Baby Pop. I will write down a times table for you. You will have to memorize it from table 1 till table 12. However, our goal now is to read the wall clock so let's jump to table 5.”

 

DunDun took out a piece of A4 paper and started writing down the multiplications of 5. She handed the paper to Pop and taught her how to memorize and read the table.

 

“Look here Baby Pop, you will have to repeatedly read it until you remember all of it. Keep saying 1x5=5, 2x5=10, 3x5=15 until 12x5=60. Keep reading it to yourself until you remember the multiplication from 1 - 12 and then we will move to learn to read the clock.”

 

Pop frowned at the paper, “It is a long list DunDun, I wanted to play.”

 

“Choice is yours Baby Pop. Do you want the watch or not?”

 

Pop grabbed the paper and sat by the staircase and started memorizing it. She whispered to herself over and over trying hard to remember all the numbers. 

 

Pop ran happily towards DunDun and gleefully said, “DunDun! I memorized them all! Let’s learn to read the clock!”

 

DunDun looked at her baby sister and calmly said, “Not so soon DunDun. I will test you now. Recite the entire thing you memorized without looking at the paper.” DunDun took the paper away and looked at Pop excitedly waiting for her to recite it.

Pop looked at DunDun disappointedly and gathered her frustration and started reciting the tables, “1x5=5, 2x5=10, 3x5=10…12x5=60!”

 

DunDun grabbed Pop into a strong hug and kissed her cheek out of joy. “Alright Baby Pop! We are almost there. Let’s go to the clock in the living room.”

 

DunDun took a chair and climbed on it and took down the clock and wiped off the dust on it. She sat down and placed the clock on her lap and tapped the seat next to her signaling Pop to come and sit beside her.

 

Pop sat next to her and a bright light was on her face all excited to learn to read the time on the clock. 

 

“See Baby Pop, all these numbers on the clock from 1 to 12 have a value. Just like the table 5 you just memorized. If you remember, we memorized till 12x5 because that's the last number on the clock.”

 

“Okayyyyy…but what does the table have to do with it, DunDun?”

 

DunDun adjusted the time on the clock from the lever at the back and continued teaching, “First of all, when the long hand of the clock is at 12 and the short one is on any other number like in this case at 4, then we read it as 4 o’clock. If the long hand is in 12 and the short hand on 5 then 5 o’clock.”

 

Pop interrupted and said, “Oh! So it is that easy?! Then it is just 6 o’clock and 7 o’clock and so on! Oh thank you DunDun I can now read the time!”

 

DunDun smiled and pinched Pop’s cheek softly and replied, “Not yet Baby Pop. Be patient. There’s more.”

 

Pop sat and faced the clock once again curious to know what more is left.

 

DunDun twisted the lever again and the long hand was now moving to number 1 on the clock and the short hand was still on 5. 

 

“Now we have to use the tables we memorized. The long hand is now in 1 and what is 1x5?” DunDun asked.

 

“1x5 is 5.”

 

“YES! Now look at the shorthand it is at 4. So we say it as 4.05 in the afternoon!” DunDun said word by word looking at Pop’s face figuring if she understood.

 

“I see. What happens when let's say it moves to 10? Pop asked.

 

DunDun moved the long hand to the number 10 and asked, “What is 10x5?”

 

Pop thought for a while and said, “50!”

 

“So the time is?”

 

“4.50 afternoon!” Pop yelled in excitement. 

 

“That is right Baby Pop! You are so smart! Come on, let's try a few other times to get you going smoothly.”

 

Baby Pop and DunDun spent the entire evening reading time on the clock and by night, Pop was reading the time on the clock effortlessly. Pop was too excited about her ability to tell the time like the adults, she forgot about the watch entirely.

 

Days passed and Pop was excited by her new knowledge and boosted her even more as she went to school and tried teaching her friends though she did not have proper teaching methods.

 

One Saturday evening, Pop was sitting on the swing under a tree in her garden with Amma. Amma was knitting and Pop had a children’s animal book in her hand.

 

DunDun opened the gate and walked towards them and smiled brightly and asked, “Amma, where are the others? Only you and Pop here?”

 

“They are all inside. Go and shower and have some food, DunDun,” Amma replied.

 

DunDun nodded and opened her backpack and took out a transparent plastic bag and gave it to Pop.

 

DunDun always brought snacks for Pop. Pop assumed it was another donut and took it and peeped into the plastic bag. Pop was quiet. She was speechless for a moment.

 

“It is a watch!!! DunDun you got me a watch! Thank you! I LOVE IT!” Pop screamed out of joy.

 

“Come let me put it on you,”Dun Dun said as she took it and wrapped it around Pop’s wrist. 

 

Pop hugged DunDun tightly and everything in life seemed happy and delightful for her. 

 

“This is a reward for you for patiently learning and for not expecting anything after the knowledge gained,” DunDun said as she hugged Pop.

 

Amma just looked at them and smiled to herself and continued knitting.