Santhosham Ponguthe: Happiness Abounds

My friend and co-host at most storytelling sessions is a little puppet who I named; Sukhi.
To me he brings happiness,and that I believe he likes to spread to all ....through him with giggles and pats, he touches a face, a hand or a shoulder or sometimes even goes as far as to kiss a cute little cheek in the crowd.

But something happened when I brought him out this time, I wanted to know whether the children of the village where I was doing a summer storytelling camp (at Kodanganallur) identified with this name or they wanted to take ownership and name him otherwise. 

Oh Yes! they did!
Voices yelled out, we want to change, we want to change...

Lets call him Santosh,they said; short for "santhosham", the near translation of Sukhi the Happy.

OoooLala...

Santhosham Ponguthe ( happiness erupts...literally, but we can also say that means Happiness Abounds!)
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I leave you here with a picture of me and Sukhi...now named Santhosh as I tell stories in another village near Chennai, organised by the Rotary Club of Madras South





I told them an Elephant story and the story of Ganesha and Kubera
Loads of Fun!!

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