Golu gets a new friend

Golu is a class two student in DAV School. These days she attends online classes, thanks to the pandemic.

Golu misses her class teacher and school friends very much. She meets them daily during the online class; however, she longs for the day when they will all be together again. Golu’s parents understand this, however they feel helpless as they are not able to offer much help to Golu given the current situation. 

One day Golu’s father returned from work looking quite excited. He is a scientist in DRDO, an organization which designs hi-tech products for our defense forces. Golu had gone off to bed early that day. 

He called out to his wife, “See Pushpa, I have got a new friend for Golu,’ saying this he gently placed a box on the floor.

The mother was cooking dinner, hearing her husband call her name, she came to the living room. She looked bemused and enquired, “What do you mean? A new friend, what friend have you got for her. That too in a box?”

“I have got her a pup,” the father said still sounding excited, all the while unwrapping the box.

“A pup!” Golu’s mother exclaimed. “Don’t you know I don’t like dogs, they are noisy, keep chewing things, and need to be potty trained, and I do not have the time to do all that extra work.” She said looking visibly upset.

She continued in the same breath, now sounding a bit worried, “Now, where is this pup hiding? In this box? Take it out quick or else it will suffocate.”

“Oh, come on Pushpa, don’t be so worried. This pup is not the type you are thinking.” Golu’s father replied calmly. He had unboxed the packet completely and gently took out the pup and placed it on the floor.

Golu’s mother seemed even more confused. She remarked in a tone hinging on sarcasm, “Alright, what type is it then, if I may ask?"

Then realizing that Golu's father had placed the pup on the carpet, she cried out, "Oh! God! What is the pup doing on my carpet? I hope he does not soil it, just the other day I vacuumed it and it is too much of an effort doing it all over again."

“Dear wife, you must allow me to explain, but first, please may I have a cup of tea, if you don’t mind?” saying this he headed straight to the washroom.

His tea over, Golu's father explained the mystery surrounding the pup to Golu's mother.

“What? Are you kidding me?” Golu’s mother exclaimed, her eyes almost popping out.  She was staring at the pup with a look of disbelief. The pup, in turn, was looking at her approvingly, his tail wagging.

“You mean, you brought Golu not a pup but a…did I hear you right? 

She had barely completed her sentence when Golu’s father interjected her and said, “Yes, you heard me right, this is not a pup, I mean it looks like a pup, but it is in fact a..."

"A robot...you mean a robot pup!” the mother completed her husband's sentence sounding completely bewildered. 

The pup by now was standing next to her, sniffing and licking her feet and wagging his tail to show how much he liked her.

Golu’s father continued, “We were asked to build these robots for a top-secret defense mission. Unfortunately, the mission had to be aborted and I thought it would be a great idea if I get one of these for Golu. I have seen her miss her friends dearly during this lockdown and I really wanted to help her. I am sure she will like her new friend."

The mother looked highly amused. Frowning she asked, “How do we take care of him, what does he eat, I mean, how does he work?” The pup had cozied up near her feet and she found herself gently stroking his head.

The father now assumed an air of importance as if he had been asked to give a presentation to his seniors. He began, “It is a highly programmed robot. It needs to be charged once every twenty-four hours and then it is on its own. It takes few minutes to get used to the surroundings, scans everything, picks up every possible sight, sound, scent, touch, taste and feeds it into its CPU or brain. The coding is so good, that the CPU functions like a real brain. It analyzes all the gathered inputs and in no time, starts behaving like a real pup.” By the time he had ended, he assumed his wife would be proud of him.

“Phew, this is incredible, I am sure, once Golu knows about this, she will be very happy, although I am not sure how will she react to the pup being a robot.” the mother said, and then went to the kitchen to get the dinner ready.

The next day was a Sunday. Golu woke up late. As she opened her eyes, she screamed her lungs out- "Maa!, Baba! Please come here!" 

Her mother and father came running to her room. Golu was sitting upright on her bed, her eyes were bulging out, her mouth wide open, her face had gone white - it seemed as if she had seen a ghost! The pup was sitting on one end of the bed and trying to figure if Golu's present condition was his doing. Golu's parents burst out laughing on seeing all of this.

Golu rubbed her eyes and pinched herself to make sure she was not dreaming. Slowly she came to her senses and realized everything was under control and they had a new member in their family. She became ecstatic and starting jumping with joy. The pup too joined the fun by wagging its tail and going around her in circles. She bent down to pick him up, rubbed her nose against his tiny nose and lovingly kissed him.

It did not take long for them to become best friends. They got along like a house on fire. She named him Agent KA9.

Golu does not miss her friends much these days, all thanks to Agent KA9. They are almost inseparable; the pup follows her all the time. Agent KA9 is also very sharp, it reminds Golu to drink her milk, finish her meals on time, ensures she goes to bed early and wakes up early, he even helps her with school work.

Together they play many new and exciting games. Agent KA9 is brilliant and thinks of all these games by himself. He also accompanies Golu to the park in the evenings and ensures no boy or girl dare bully her. A growl from him baring his fangs is enough to keep the brats away. 

Golu’s new friend is the talk of the town. Every child in her locality is envious of her and wants to have a pet like KA9. Although no one knows that he is a robot and not a real pup. Golu intends to keep it that way for fear of drawing undue attention on her friend.

Golu and KA9 will have many a adventures together, but that will be another day and couple of stories.

In the meanwhile, Golu has already started making plans to celebrate her birthday. She intends to invite her friends over to her place and together with Agent KA9 they will have all the fun.

Agent KA9 is also looking forward to the day and wags his tail to show how happy he is with his new friend.