Those Pesky Household Chores

Ten o' clock at night and I just finished sending the last email of the day. The dinner is done, and the kid is about to go to bed.

"What's for lunch tomorrow?" says a sleepy voice.

"I haven't decided yet!"

That's your standard answer. But inwardly you just cursed yourself, because not only have you really not decided what to cook, but you haven't even prepared the menu. And you still have to empty the dishwasher and reload it, fold the laundry, and also cut the vegetables for tomorrow.

Also, your kid wants to chat and delay sleeping!

Isn't that a usual scene? It certainly is in my house. According to me, three of the most boring chores are unloading the dishwasher, or if it's the maid who cleans the utensils, then putting the clean utensils back in their places, folding the laundry, and cutting veggies.

I never want to these tasks, and try to postpone them as much as possible. Invariably, it's the end of the day by the time I get to do them, and then because I don't want to push them to the next day, I end up doing them late at night.

I really, really want a Genie to get these chores done for me. All other tasks I can manage, although grudgingly. But these three really get on my nerves. They are boring, time-consuming, menial, and repetitive. Also, nobody helps me with them!

That's not entirely true though. My husband does help me with the cleaning and cutting of vegetables. I especially hate cleaning the green veggies. So he cleans them for me (sometimes). I now have found a vegetable vendor who sells cleaned, cut vegetables. Yay!

I shudder when I look back at a hundred years back or even fifty when women did these tasks at home. I cannot imagine spending time doing them day in and day out.

But here's what I realised. In those times, and even now, these tasks can actually be fun. Ever thought of putting on your favourite music when you're cleaning the vegetables? Or even watching an episode of your favourite show on an OTT platform?

Perhaps, involving the entire household, even kids really might be fun. It actually could be those times when the entire family sits together and talks. And you know, really talks. Without mobiles, TVs, and any other gadgets.

These household chores are repetitive tasks that can be done while multi-tasking. And what better time than to spend it with the family talking about nothing and everything? May be that's when you'll be finalising your vacation plan, bitch about the obnoxious person in your team, listen to your kid's school adventures, and even resolve the world climate change problem.

Remember those old movies when the grandmas or mothers were shown making those वाती for diyas? Or grinding masalas, making chutneys, cleaning vegetables, and even cooking? So many of these tasks have now eased up. You don't have to grind masalas or flour on the stone grinder manually, or even manually make those वाती for diyas. Those are all available easily in the market.

I also know that it is not easy doing all these tasks at home, especially for a working woman. And I'm not even against getting all these items ready-made.

But in case you want to do these at home, it might be a good idea if the whole family joins in to share the chores. After all, work shared, is work lessened.

Why Do Clothes Have Tags?

Have you ever tried a beautiful, new top that you had your eye on for quite sometime, only to get an itchy neck when you finally change out of it at the end of the day?

Why do all clothes have those hideous tags inline that scratch your skin and make your life miserable? Hasn't any designer ever, ever realised out of those hundreds and thousands of brands that those tags are terrible and one of the worst places to advertise your brand? Because, the first thing I do when I get out of that scratchy, itchy thing is to cut off all the tags to remove all traces of the awesome brand that I had always wanted to use! Sigh! Talk of brand power!

And then sometimes, you go to the shop of a pretty well-known brand and hope that you'll find something that you like. You step inside, and a nice dress catches your eye....hmm...trendy, nice colours, and for a change, it seems that it might really fit you well. But the fabric isn't that great. So as a last attempt to justify your buying impulse, you check the price, and that's when the 'brand' wall crumbles. You are left gawping at the price and touching the fabric several times, just to ensure that you didn't read it incorrectly!

The salesgirl is hovering around, hoping to get a good commission. And it's difficult to sound casual and nonchalant as you bow out as gracefully as possible, saying that the dress didn't really 'click'. It's hard hiding the fact that the brand, fabric, and price don't 'click', and that you get better options in half the price on that tag.

Remember one of those times when you saw a great clothing item on sale, and realised that the tag did not say "Made in India" but made in that one place that you don't want to buy from, that you've promised yourself you'll avoid unless in dire straits! Remember that all-consuming melancholy that threatens to overwhelm you for taking that vow of patriotism? All because of that one tag!

Really, life is made so difficult because of these clothing tags! Wish it was easier to unlabel! 

Work From Home, Work At Home, And Home Work

 ... that's our new normal! Each one of us is doing this. I could also add a few more...No Work So At Home, Not Working From Home, Never Want To Work From Home, Enough Of Work From Home....

This new normal has really become a different life from what we had five months ago. Nothing had prepared us for this phase of our life. When we started with this lockdown, we had assumed that it will be short-lived. But now after five months, our lives are irrevocably changed.

Being cooped up at home has changed our lifestyle. We are now spending so much time at home, just looking out of the window that I've now reconciled myself to the feeling of being a caged animal in a zoo. We really don't have a life outside. 

Milk, food, vegetables, groceries, even non-essential items are now delivered to our places. We just open our doors to our cages, get the parcels in and barricade ourselves back in our cages. No wonder zoo animals have such busy lives!

Back in March when the lockdown started, it was summer. The harsh summer set in April and we were glad we weren't out in the scorching sun travelling to work and back. Kids enjoyed extended holidays, exams were canceled, and for them it was heaven being home. Of course they did miss playing outside and meeting friends. But slowly, we all accepted the new normal.

As April galloped into May, our life had turned upside down. Mall visits, evening drives, shopping sprees, friend meetups all morphed into cooking, cleaning, standing in self-distanced queues for essentials, working from home, entertaining kids at home, and surviving on meager supplies. Shops were closed and stepping out of the house was strictly forbidden.

Most of the kids have adapted faster than the parents. They are all tech savvy, attending schools and co-curricular activities online. I've seen kids who are giving interviews online, solving puzzles, learning gaming and coding, all through the internet. Earlier, parents fought to keep the screen time limited for their kids. Now, parents have no choice but to allow kids to learn online.

My family is no exception to these changes. My kiddo attends school three hours a day and then moves on to watch her favourite cartoons and shows online. Add to that the TV that she watches and her screen time has exponentially increased.

 When we keep her away from the screen, she devises different games for us. Some of the games that she has devised are: Danger crossing race, Guess the word, Clock game, Chocolate fair, Running competition, Karate exercises, Dance classes, Mask making competition. Almost every day, she comes up with a new game in which Aaya-Baba are the opponents. The games have elaborate rules, and not adhering to them ends in us getting expelled out of the game, or worse, double punishment. Thankfully, the game conductor is biased towards Aaya, and ensures that Aaya wins most of the time!

The other big part of the day is home work. And I'm not talking about the homework that my girl gets from her school. This is the homework that I need to do that she assigns me.

And that is the reason why I am so very busy these day! Imagine how much writing and work I need to do at home: usual office work, household chores, and my school homework.

The pandemic has brought so many changes in our lives that it is hard to imagine how it was a mere five months ago. We are still unsure of how it will be, or in fact, whether it will ever be completely normal again.

Till then work from home!  

Games At Home

So the games in these Corona Lockdown times involve food that's no longer available, or is rare.

My daughter is right now devising games that are helping her tide these difficult times. She is at one moment a pizza shopkeeper, while at another moment she is an ice cream shop owner.

My area, although not completely under curfew, is facing shortage of fast food, biscuits, cakes, wafers, and every thing that kids would want to have.

But it is commendable that this young girl is holding her fort in these times. Although she keeps asking for these things, she recognises the fact that there really is nothing available. She is quick to quieten and wait for lunch or dinner time to quench her hunger.

Her dad found a pack of six cupcakes a week back and she is saving one for her birthday for tomorrow, because she knows that there won't be a big birthday with a big, nice cake tomorrow. (I have ordered one though from a society lady, which will be a surprise for her!)

And so here we are surviving on her game. In her latest game, she was dreaming for better days with her shop advertising loudly "भरपूर खाणं आणि भरपूर things असलेलं शॉप!"

Hoping for better days soon!

(पावसाळ्यातले) रस्ते

वर्षा ऋतू असे सुंदर नाव असणारा आणि खरोखरी आनंददायी अश्या ऋतुचीदेखील एक unavoidable आणि त्रासदायक गोष्ट आहेच - रस्ते!

पावसाळ्यातले रस्ते हा सगळ्यांचाच अतिशय जिव्हाळयाचा विषय! कितीही बोललो त्यावर तरी ते कमीच असते. 

कडक उन्हाळा सोडून, पावसाळ्याच्या सुरवातीलाच महापालिकेला रस्ते उखडायचे असतात! बरं ही कामं लवकर आणि वेळच्या वेळेस संपली तर महापालिका कसली! बरोब्बर पावसाळ्याआधी खणलेले रस्ते पहिल्या पावसात धोकादायक डबकी होऊन जातात. "माती, पाणी, उजेड, वारा, तूच मिसळशी सर्व पसारा" हे वाक्य तंतोतंत खरं व्हावं, ह्याकरता अविरत धडपड चालू असते खोदणाऱ्यांची. 

मग भर पावसात गाडी ह्या अग्निदिव्यातून, सॉरी, पाणीदिव्यातून नेण्याची परीक्षा आपली. प्रत्येक डबकं हे जेव्हडं खोल, रुंद, आणि भरीव असेल तेव्हढं कसब वाहनचालकांना लावावं लागतं. मला वाटतं महापालिका ही असली डबकी मुद्दाम बनवते. पावसाळ्याच्या ऋतूत RTO च काम कमी व्हावं असा सुप्त हेतू असणार. कारण ह्या डबक्यांना avoid करत तुम्ही गाडी zigzag चालवू शकलात तरंच तुम्हाला गाडी 'हाकायचा' परवाना मिळणार असे RTO चा गुप्त नियम असणार. 

खड्डे चुकवीत अथवा तुडवीत गाडी चालवून अगदी हेच आठवतं: "फिरत्या चाकांवरती पाठीला होतात विकार, बाईक असो वा कार!" म्हणजे खरं तर ह्या खड्डयांमुळेच कित्येक orthopaedic डॉक्टर्सचा गुजारा चालू आहे. जनकल्याणाचे अखंड कार्य पालिकाच करू शकते. 

पण त्याशिवाय अश्या खड्ड्यातून जाण्याची एक गम्मत आहे खरी. तुमची जर लहानपणची उंटावरून सैर करायची हौस राहिली असेल तर ती खड्ड्यातून जाताना पूर्ण होईल. तुमच्या पुढ्यात एखादी गाडी नाही हे बघून खड्ड्यातून जाताना ५ सेकंद डोळे मिटा... तुम्ही स्वतः उंट चालवत आहात असे नक्कीच जाणवेल तुम्हाला!

अश्या पावसाळ्यातल्या जलमय रस्त्यांवरून तुम्ही तुमच्या इष्ट स्थानी वेळेत आणि धड पोचलात तर तुम्हाला "सर्वात जागृत वाहनचालक" ही पदवी मिळेल असे पालिकाने जाहीर केल्याचे ऐकिवात आहे! पहिला मानकरी कोण असेल?

How Is It Going?

How is it going? That's what you tend to ask when you meet others after a long time. I too haven't frequented my blog site for a really long time. I do have a lot of topics to write on. But no time to pen down the thoughts.

Life has been really too busy: following a routine of school, office, home, weekends, festivals, and back to square one. I had a break from school and office during Diwali. But Diwali tends to be more hectic than the usual routine.

At work, there are multiple releases in the following months and it's going to be busier. I am really looking forward to a very nice vacation at the end of the year. Keeping my fingers crossed!!!

The English-Speaking Rickshaw Driver

Yesterday I boarded a rickshaw to return home. It was a Saturday, around 5.30 PM, and I was
returning from an exciting day.

As we took a turn, the driver asked me why it was so less crowded today, and whether it was because it was a Saturday. I just nodded, not ready to delve in any kind of conversation.

In a few more moments, the driver started talking about how he was learning English from his son and telling incidents about his passengers.

He told me about two Iranian girls who had boarded his rickshaw. One of the girls wanted him to go faster and faster. So his answer to her requests was, "Next time you call me, I'll come on bike."

He narrated how he was learning "good manners" and had a good sense of humor. He narrated another incident of how he replied to one of his customers by saying that he was "at your service."

He also asked me whether I knew who the father of the constitution was. When I answered correctly, he showed me some script tatooted on his right forearm.

He told me right at the start of the conversation that he was learning English from his son. But then he also quoted quite a lot of sayings in English. I thought that either he was too good at his studies to learn so much so quickly, or else he was lying about how he had just started learning.

Frankly, I was a little unhinged.

He probably had really good intentions. He didn't make any untoward remarks. He did seem respectable and honorable. But still I couldn't really be comfortable.

I just couldn't figure out whether he was real or fake, and what he really had in mind.

I still keep on thinking whether it was necessary to judge him. But I cannot help but also think that in today's world, one cannot be too free with strangers, especially those who start a conversation without any reason, and who try to be too familiar and pleasing.

My suspicion made me stop the ride a little further away from home. I didn't want to take the risk of letting him know my home.

It was kind of a muddled experience.

मांजर

गेल्या  आठवड्यात, मी आणि संजीव जेवायला गेलो रात्री बाहेर. तसा उशीर झाला होता. गप्पा आणि जेवण होई पर्यंत रात्रीचे अकरा वाजले. हॉटेल मधून बाहेर पडलो तेव्हा नेहेमी सारखे valet पार्किंग करता दिलेली गाडीची किल्ली मिळाली आणि आम्ही गाडीच्या दिशेने चालायला लागलो.

जेवण छानच झाले होते, त्यात गप्पा पण भरपूर झाल्या होत्या. एकंदरीत तृप्त वातावरणात घरी जायच्या विचारात आम्ही होतो.

तितक्यात छोट्या मांजरीच्या पिल्लाचा आवाज आला. मी आजूबाजूला बघून आवाज कोठून येत आहे ह्याचा शोध घ्यायला सुरु केला, पण काही केल्या मांजर दिसेना. संजीवने गाडी पार्किंग मधून काढण्यास सुरु केली, आणि अचानक मला ते पिल्लू आमच्याच गाडीच्या खालून ओरडत आहे असे लक्षात आले.

मी संजीवला सांगितले गाडी हळूच मागे घ्यायला जेणे करून ते पिल्लू आपोआप मागे राहील आणि गाडीच्या खालून बाहेर पडेल. पण पिल्लू इरसाल निघालं. जशी गाडी मागे जात होती, तसं ते अजून पुढे-पुढे जात होत. पिल्लाला काही गाडीच्या खालून बाहेर पडायचं नव्हतं.

आता आली का पंचाईत! आमची गाडी रस्त्याच्या मधोमध तिरकी, त्यात चालक बसलेला. गाडी सुरु होती, पण गाडी ना पुढे नेता येत, ना मागे.

पार्किंग attendant च्या लक्षात आले काही तरी गडबड आहे, म्हणून तो आला विचारायला. त्याला सांगितले की गाडी खाली मांजर आहे. तो प्रयत्न करू लागला पिल्लाला हुस्कावायला. पण पिल्लू हुशार निघालं. एक माणूस आपल्याला आपल्या लपायच्या जागेतून बाहेर काढत आहे ते त्याला समजलं. त्याने अजून एक युक्ती केली. पुढच्या चाकावर जाऊन बसलं. attendant  अजूनही "छुत छुत" करून पिल्लाला हाकलायचा प्रयत्न करत होता.

मांजर आता चाकावर बसल्याने गाडीला हलवणे अशक्य झाले होते. गाडी रस्त्यात तिरकी बंद पडलेली दिसते, काही मदत लागत आहे का बघावी ह्या उद्देशाने एका बाईक वरून दोघे जण गाडीजवळ आले.

"गाडी बंद पडली आहे का? काही मदत करू का?" अशी विचारपूस केली.

"अहो, बंद नाही पडलेली. चाकावर मांजर शिरून बसलंय. हालातच नाहीये"

"काय?! चाकावर मांजर कसं काय चढलं?"

"गाडीखाली लपलं होतं. बाहेर काढत होतो आम्ही, तर चाकावर चढून बसलं."

हा संवाद चालू असताना पिल्लाने अजून एक पराक्रम केला. चाकावरून चक्क आत bonnet मधेच शिरलं. गाडीचं  इंजिन चालू होतंच, मस्त गरम-गरम ऊबदार ठिकाणी बसायची जागा पटकावली. आता मात्र हद्द झाली! आता पिल्लाला बाहेर काढायचं कसं?

एका बाजूला हा गोंधळ सुरु होता तर नेमकं त्याच वेळेस संजीवच्या ऑफिस मधली एक मैत्रीण तिच्या होणाऱ्या नवऱ्याबरोबर त्याच हॉटेलच्या बाहेर उभी असलेली संजीवने बघितली. तिचे पण लक्ष गेले तर ती आली आमच्याशी बोलायला. तिच्या होणाऱ्या नवऱ्याची ओळख करून देऊ लागली.

माझे तर काही लक्षच नव्हते तिच्या बोलण्याकडे. ओळख करून दिली तिने तसं "hi" वगैरे बोलून झालं. पण चिंता होती की ते पिल्लू बाहेर काढायचं कसं. ज्या वेळेस ओळख करून देणं  चालू होतं, त्या वेळेस आमच्या गाडीच्या bonnet  मध्ये चार अनोळखी लोकांची डोकी खुपसून मांजरीला शोधणे सुरु होते.

आता ह्या चार डोक्यांमध्ये आतून आलेला वेटर पण शामिल झाला. एका माणसाने त्याच्या मोबाईलचा flash light चालू केला.

"अरे, ती बघा तिथे आहे, दिसली का?"

"कुठे?"

"तिथे खोपच्यात बसली आहे."

"हां, हां, दिसली. हात जातोय का बघ ना."

"इंजिन गरम आहे. आणि जागा नाहीये हात घालायला."

तेव्हड्यात कोणीतरी खराट्याच्या दोन काड्या आणल्या. bonnet मध्ये घालून, मांजरीला हुसकावण्याचा प्रयत्न करत होते. पण काही केल्या पिल्लू बाहेर येईना. अखंड "म्याव म्याव" चालूच होतं.

सगळा गोंधळ बघून मैत्रिणीचा आणि तिच्या होणाऱ्या नवऱ्याचा प्रश्न, "गाडी बंद पडली आहे का? मेकानिक ला बोलवायचा का? अर्ध्या तासात येईल मदत."

"अहो, गाडी ठीक आहे. गाडीला काही नाही झालेलं. bonnet मध्ये मांजर शिरली आहे."

"मांजर कशी काय शिरली? रिट्झ गाडी मध्ये शिरते माहित होतं, पण तुमच्या असल्या गाडीत पण शिरेल वाटलं  नव्हतं."

"आता माहित झालं ना!" मी माझ्या मनात म्हटलं.

तेवढ्यात कोणाच्या डोक्यात कल्पना सुचली माहित नाही, पण कोणी तरी पाण्याची बादली घेऊन आलं. मोबाईलच्या flash light च्या अंधुक प्रकाशात नेमकी मांजर कुठे बसली आहे ह्याचा अंदाज घेऊन पाणी ओतलं गेलं. तसं त्या पिल्लाने बचावात्मक पवित्रा घेऊन bonnet मधून बाहेर पडण्याचा निर्णय घेतला. पण पूर्णपणे बाहेर न येता, पुन्हा एकदा चाकावर बसण्यास पसंती दिली.

"निघाली, निघाली! गाडी खाली दिसत आहे का?"

"नाही खाली नाही आली अजुन."

"मग आवाज कुठून येत आहे?"

"अरे ही बघा, परत चाकावर बसली आहे."

"अरे घाल बिनधास्त हात. पिल्लाला काय घाबरतोस! चाकावर आहे तर पकडून काढ बाहेर!" असा सल्ला देणाऱ्या गृहस्थाच्या मित्राने शेवटी हिम्मत करून, चाकावर नखाने घट्ट पकडून बसलेल्या, बिथरलेल्या, बिचाऱ्या पिल्लाला सुखरूप बाहेर काढले आणि आम्ही सुटकेचा निःश्वास टाकला!

वीस मिनिटे चाललेल्या नाटकाचा अंत शेवटी आम्ही सगळ्या अनोळखी लोकांच्या आभार प्रदर्शनाने केला. म्हणजे प्रसंग असा होता की गाडी आमची, पण आम्ही काहीही करू शकलो नाही. बाकीच्याच सर्व लोकांनी अथक प्रयत्न करून पिल्लाला तर वाचवलेच, पण आमची पण सुटका केली.

मांजर हे कुठे कुठे शिरू शकतं हे त्या दिवशी मला उमगले. 

Tiring World

Too much work, too many things to do. Spending a lot of time on office work. Not getting enough sleep. Too many hassles at work. Too many egos to handle. Sometimes too much expectation. At times, taking a lot of shit from people. Collaborating with people. Giving help to all. But getting back roughness! Expectations that you should take the first step (as usual) because you are smarter. That's damn tiring and disillusioning!

Because you are too helping, and  too accommodating, you are expected to change. But then you have your limits.

All this happens when release comes closer!

But it will pass soon (I hope!)

God speed!

(Boring) Long Weekend Coming Up

We have a holiday on Friday, a long weekend is coming up. It's been quite a long time since we've had a long weekend.

I had proposed if we should go for a short trip. But as usual, Sanjeev has flatly denied. He has some presentation to be given in the next week and he wants to prepare for that.

That means entire three days will be gone, sitting at home, doing nothing. I don't believe he is going to work every hour in those three days. But he just doesn't want to take the efforts of managing things properly.

And because I'll be at home all three days, I am going to get totally irritated and angry. I am not going to like it at all. I am damn sure that he won't even be ready to step out of the house for a movie or an outing. He'll just loiter around, spend time the way he wants it, and spoil my long weekend.

I know I am going to be totally bored and irritated by the time Monday comes. Once Monday's here, it will be back to work. No respite, despite having a long weekend.

Tired of these repetitive happenings!

Time Is Flying

Another year gone by. Another year old am I. Another 364 days to wait for that one day! It sounds childish. But it is fun to have birthdays, especially when people remember them and make them special for you. But time flies. One day you find yourself an year younger, while just an angle change of the clock hand, and you suddenly find yourself an year older, on the other side of the twenties, thirties, forties, and so on. You realise that you've suddenly become old!

Time does fly!

Another Diwali will be gone and another year will be gone. Some things will change, some will stay the same. Lots of people will change and still others will be the same for you! New people will come in your life and the old ones will fade away.

In all this, life will move on. There's no stopping. You'll make mistakes, you'll be rewarded. You'll be idle, you'll be busy! You'll be happy, you'll be sad. You'll be lonely, you'll be among company. In all this, time will not stop!

Keep moving!

Nothing Much To Write About

...but just thought of writing...anything that comes to mind.

I finally completed that Myths and Legends of the Hindus and Buddhists book. I was rather disappointed with the book. I had imagined to contain quite a store of information about our Hindu gods and goddesses, and about Buddhism. But it was nothing more than a compilation of stories and myths. The language too was not to my taste, pretty didactic, and written from a western point of view. So, all in all, I am happy I pursued though totally bored with the book and completed it. And I am supremely glad that I am done with the book and can now move on to better and more interesting books.

The next one I have started on is Gerald Durrel's My Family and Other Animals. It's funny, interesting, and full of life. But what I am really waiting for is The Secret of Nagas. Let's see how long it takes for me to complete Durrel's book and move on to the Nagas.

XXX

Dussehra is gone and Diwali is round the corner. How will life change after that? Will it change? For better?

At work, new and interesting responsibilities are coming up. New challenges are there on the road. It's going to be my test. I'll have to be careful performing my new responsibilities, making sure I am fair, confident, and understanding. At the same time, I'll have to keep learning new things and keep myself updated. Let's see if I can handle all that.

On the personal front, looking forward to new beginnings. Looking forward to better things and better life. Let's see if life gives me all that!

XXX

Tomorrow's Friday and Saturday, hopefully I'll spend time with me family. Looking forward to the fun!

Totally Bored

Seriously! Nothing exciting happening at the office, or elsewhere. Need something to do, something to think of. But really can't find anything. Can't even think of a good book that I can start reading, unless someone gives me the The Secret of the Nagas.

Our manager had his last day in office as he moved on for better prospects. We had a big lunch for him, got him gifts, and clicked pictures, and also gave him a nice farewell card. Apart from that small amount of excitement, nothing much happening.

I had also called my colleagues over dinner last Saturday. That was a huge success. Even that is over now.

Sunday, we are watching for English Vinglish. Hopefully, just I have heard and read the reviews, it is enjoyable and fun.

At work, there's not much writing at the moment, more of managing and reviewing. Not a lot exciting.

So, in short, nothing new or happening occurring anywhere. Guess and hopefully a passing phase!

ती. बाबांस आणि सौ. आईस,

ती. बाबांस आणि सौ. आईस,

शि. न. वि. वि. पत्र लिहिण्यास कारण खरं काहीच नाही. सहज मनात आलं, की तुम्हा दोघांशी पत्रातून बोलावं. म्हणून हा प्रयत्न. खरं तर मी तुम्हा दोघांना खूप जास्त miss करते. बऱ्याच वेळेस असं वाटतं की तडक तुम्हाला येऊन भेटावा. पण वेळे अभावी नाही जमत.

आज लग्न होवून दोन वर्ष होत आली. मी रुळले आहे नवीन घरी, नवीन ठिकाणी. तरीही तुमची आठवण पदोपदी आल्यावाचून राहत नाही. आज आई-बाबा काय करत असतील? आई निघाली असेल का कामाला ? बाबांचे क्लास्सेस कसे चालू असतील? असे कायम विचार येतात.

तसे आता "रुटीन" चालू झाला आहे. खर तर, काही महिन्यांपूर्वी असे व्हायचे की खूपच आठवण येते आहे तुमची. पण आता, जसे प्रत्येक जण सवय करतो, तशी मला पण झाली आहे सवय तुमच्या शिवाय राहायची. तुम्हा दोघांना पण झाली असेल कदाचित. तुम्ही "मुलगी सुखात आहे" यातच तुमचा सुख मानता. पण म्हणून मला तुमची आठवण येत नाही असे नाही.

घरात स्वतः काही गोष्टी करताना विचार येतो, की मी कशी होते लग्नाआधी. मग विचार येतो की आई-बाबांबरोबर कसे करायचे मी ह्या गोष्टी. मग थोडा लग्नाआधी करायचे ते, आणि मला जे बरोबर वाटते, अथवा करता येते, जसे करता येते तसे, असे दोन्ही एकत्र करून एक वेगळ्या प्रकारे केला जाते. त्यात पण गम्मत आहे.

आधी सगळेच नवीन आणि वेगळे वाटायचे. पण आता माझा स्वतःचे वेगळे आयुष्य चालू आहे. काही गोष्टी ज्या मी आधी कधीच करायचे नाही त्या करते. आधी ज्या करायचे, त्या आता बिलकुलच करत नाही. खूपच वेगळे आहे, तरीदेखील सारखेच आहे. प्रत्येक लग्न झालेल्या मुलीला असेच काहीसे अनुभव येत असणार.

मला फक्त कधी-कधी असे वाटते की मी मुलगी असल्याने तुमच्या जवळ नाही राहू शकत. त्याही पेक्षा, मुलगी म्हणून स्वतःच्या आई-बाबांची जबाबदारी कमी, आणि सासू-सासर्यांची जास्त, हे बऱ्याच वेळेस ऐकते, त्याचे वाईट वाटते. तुम्ही देखील किती तरी वेळेस म्हणाले आहात...की आता त्या घरचे आधी सांभाळायचे. त्याचे थोडे वाईट वाटते. मग जास्त आठवण होते. असा आपल्या समाजात का विचार केला जातो, हेच कळत नाही. आणि आवडत त्याहून नाही.

मला कायम वाटत राहते, की शेवटी मुलीच्या आई-बाबांचे हात रिक्तच राहतात का?

असो! एव्हडेच सांगायचे होते की मी मजेत आहे. काळजी करू नये. पण तुम्ही दोघे नक्की स्वतःची काळजी घ्या.

तुमचीच,

प्राजक्ता

To Babai

Babai in a pensive mood

Dearest Babai, who is right now not as healthy as she used to be. It is heart-wrenching to see her like that.

Babai, my Aai's Aai, has always been this one strong woman, who has never ever bowed down. To see her in the bed all the time, too weak to talk is very disturbing.

When me and my sister were kids, we used to stay at my grandmom's place after our school. We used to be dropped by our rickshaw-wale kaka in the afternoon, and stayed there till evening, when Baba used to come to pick us up.

Those were magical days! Babai and Kaka (my Ajoba) used to stay at Prabhat Talkies, literally in the heart of Pune city. They had a two-room home that housed so many people at a time. We used to have all our cousins, uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces, all together under one roof. But the house always seemed enough for all.

Babai was almost the head of the house, taking care of the kitchen, the kids, the grocery, everything around. She was a solid support for my Mami who continued working as a nurse. My cousin, my sister, and I used to spend afternoons together after school. We used to fight during lunch for the place closest to Kaka. We used to fight again for the afternoon siesta for a place closest to Babai. She would pacify us saying that she had long hands and would reach up to all.

She was the one who taught us to read time. She had this old, broken-down clock that she used to tune and change the hour and minute hands, and then ask us to guess the time. I can never forget that red-faced clock and those "timely" hours spent in the balcony.

Babai had always been strong, at times very, very headstrong, to the point of being irritating. She always gloried in the work that she did, the contacts she maintained in her big family, be it on her own side, or her husband's side. Everyone in the family used to respect her, love her, and never forgot what she had done for them. And she really did do everything possible for everyone. No one left her threshold unsatisfied. She was there for everyone, a lighthouse, a beacon, a solid wall of support.

She had her flaws. She was too headstrong. She had been too much in the limelight, too much in the power to give up easily. She always wanted things her way. She has had a tremendous ego. But all in all, she never bowed down, never gave up.

Today, when I see her in the hospital, I can only remember how she was once upon a time. She is diminished, faded, and tired. After 85 years of being headstrong, it is hard to see her bowed down due to her age. She is slowly losing against time.

We all love you, Babai! Just one more loving request we make of you...do not go away by losing away to life. Fight back! Be your own self! Be the iron lady you have been! Make your final exit on your own terms. Not by simply fading away!

The Fiasco Of Planting Trees

Today morning dawned a new scene. Around 9.30 in the morning, just as we were getting ready for office, there was a kind of sober commotion outside house. Some people from the municipal corporation had come to plant trees in the neighbourhood. Everyone started gathering around as people realised what was going to happen.

Everyone in the area had been unprepared for this surprise visit. Rather, all were taken aback that new trees were even required in our area. My locality consists mainly of self-occupied houses surrounded by small gardens. Most of the owners have created their own greenery and plants in their little gardens. Also, the area has never been barren what with gulmohor, palm, parijatak, and other variety of trees growing in the area. Naturally, a tree-plantation drive was as much a novelty as an unnecessity.

The worst part of the drive was that none of the residents were informed in advance of such a drive. And secondly, to plant those saplings, the corporation workers were digging up the newly-laid footpaths. The workers went about their work unashamedly, and have already dug up the footpaths on both the sides of the road at several places. The dug up footpaths are now easy pitfalls for idle walkers who may not always look down as they walk.

The irate residents were very vocal in their disapprovals. One of the men in the group was heard saying: "पण मी म्हणतो, चांगले फुटपाथ खोदायला कशाला पाहिजेत?" The other one was heard saying how these men would just keep the pits open and never bother about planting trees or even covering them up. "ते लोक काय, त्यांचे काम करून गेले, आता कोण येऊन बघणार?"

Another irritated man angrily was showing everyone, who was ready to pay attention, how those workers had dug up exactly in front of his gate. The kaka who live opposite us had already shown all the trees in his own garden when those people had dug up the footpath on their side of the road. But of course, that didn't budge the workers. Their target was to dig up the platform for trees outside the compounds, not inside. What mattered if there were scores of trees inside! There were none on the footpath or at the edge of the road. That meant there were no trees!

One other man with an upright civic sense was ranting about how the local corporator was really not of much use, how he knew the corporator had climbed the ladder to success, and how he was irresponsible. The resident was also unhappy about how most of the residents had not even bothered to come out of their houses even when someone was digging up right in front of their houses. He ranted on loudly of their indifference to the wrong doings of the civic body.

Honestly, I found the situation hilarious. Here were people who were angry that the footpaths were being dug up, while the workers nonchalantly and diligently completed their digging and went away.

What I would certainly like to know is, who really had this great idea of digging up the footpaths to plant trees in an area where there were quite some trees? Who also gave them permission to do that? And why is it always that digging is done when the road is newly made or when footpaths are newly laid?

An Hour Of Drive

I got up early, cooked, cleaned, got ready, and we left for office at 9.30 a.m. on the dot. In hopes of reaching early to office, we were to meet only with disappointment.

As usual, for apparently no reason, the signal at Khadki Bazaar was not working. That affected the traffic till almost a kilometer behind. I have just not understood the reason of shutting of traffic signals and manning the traffic manually.

Why can't the right authorities understand that it just does not make sense! With one signal off, there is so much of wastage of time, money, petrol, and an overall increase in the frustration of thousands of drivers. Not to count the extra work the traffic police have to do! It's sheer madness!

And because there is already a bottleneck, everyone just wants to go before the other. No one is ready to stop, allow others to move, or follow traffic rules. Two-wheelers encroach on the footpath, pedestrians cannot walk on the roads, trucks, buses, cars just race to move ahead. Pandemonium!

So today, even after starting at 9.30 a.m., we just did not reach early. It was an hour's drive! The futility of starting early!

Doing Those Things

I have again started following a couple of Marathi TV serials that are there on air. I like them. Both these, I wish I can follow everyday. But I know that is never going to happen. Firstly, I don't get to watch what I want on TV when I am home. And secondly, we usually don't reach home by the time the serials are shown. But both serials are good: उंच माझा झोका and एका लग्नाची दुसरी गोष्ट.

Both deal with different subjects, both are directed well, and the most important point is that they are not about the fighting, conniving, saas-bahu stupid themes.

Apart from that, I am also reading different types of books. If I am reading fiction at a point, I complete it and move on to something like autobiography or philosophy, or facts and mythology, or even something as simple as children's book. It's exciting.

And one thing I have done plenty is thinking, thinking, thinking. Speculating, rethinking, regarding, judging,  doubting, understanding, surmising, supposing, recalling, grasping, fathoming, realizing, theorizing, suspecting, concluding, hoping, awaiting, assuming, and getting exhausting doing all this.

That's how life is at the moment! 

On Watching Agneepath

...the new Agneepath, starring Hrithik Roshan.

It affected me in many different ways. We were around 10-12 minutes late for the movie. We missed the start. But I don't think that mattered much. I have not seen Amitabh Bachchan's movie and so this version was totally new for me.

The first thing that stuck me was the tremendous violence in the movie. It is downright nerve-wracking. I was on the edge of my seat and was not sure I had done the right thing by coming to watch the movie. The movie starts with violence where Vijay's father is murdered by Kancha, the main antagonist. It is an incident that drives the movie. It drives each and every move that Vijay makes. It sets a grim tone to the whole movie. There are almost no light moments; emotional, yes; but lighter moments...I really cannot remember.

Vijay's father, a school master had tried to oppose Kancha's dream of turning the village in a drug center by renting the lands of all villagers. Kancha successfully removes the thorn (Vijay's father) from his way, while the whole village celebrates that they can now freely help Kancha. Kancha lures them that their lands would be used for a salt factory and they would get money out of it. This grim victory is actually the downfall of the villagers. They win the battle of doing away with the schoolmaster and in turn lose the war of having a happy and prosperous village. They literally walk towards their downfall.

When Vijay's father is murdered, his heavily pregnant mother is shown being trampled at the feet of the angry village people. I was hoping that they wouldn't show her bleeding to death, and thank God, they didn't! Eventually, the mother and son escape to the big city and arrive in a basti. The mother goes into labour pains and a daughter is born.

Soon enough, Vijay-a boy of 12 years, witnesses a murder by Rauf Lala, and lies to the police about the murderer. Vijay  also murders the police officer who tries to get him tell the truth. His mother severs all her ties with the son and moves out of his life to lead a life of her own with her daughter. We now see a Vijay that's all grown up handsome and all with a girlfriend, who works as a mafia leader for Rauf Lala. Rauf is not just a drug mafia, but also a human trafficker.

As Hrithik Roshan entered as the older Vijay, I found it very similar to Fiza, a movie directed by Khalid Mohammed. Fiza is the story of how a sister seeks out to find her brother-a troubled boy who goes on to become a terrorist. Vijay in Agneepath too has had a disturbed childhood that has made him a violent mafia leader. I think I made that comparison more because Hrithik Roshan has played the troubled boy in both the movies.

I won't give away the whole story here. But what with songs in between, more murders, mass killings, double dealings, we are finally led to a climax, that's again a replication of what we saw in the beginning.

The once happy and prosperous village that Vijay and Kancha hailed from, has now turned into a barren land. Death, disease, poverty, unhappiness, and distress is what you see and it makes you feel all the more horrified and hollow.

At every violent, illegal, unhealthy event in the film, I was more and more engrossed with feelings of futility, hopelessness, dread, and loss.

What also aided these feelings was the tremendous background music given by Ajay-Atul, the Marathi composers, who have done a fantastic job. The tension, the evilness, the futility, the murderous villains, the dark atmosphere is all enhanced by the background score. It increases your heartbeats, it gives you the chills, it makes you all nervous. Salute to the two.

The duo have also provided the music to the songs in the movie. One particular song affected me in a totally different way. The song is "Abhi Mujh Mein Kahin" and shows how Vijay enjoys his time with his sister and girlfriend together. The lyrics are really nice and the song made me cry. The emotions of Vijay meeting his sister after 15 years, and how he had lived each unhappy day to enjoy this one happy day in his life resonated with me and brought out completely different feelings. I don't know why that happened. But I cried remembering my parents, how sometimes I miss them very much, how they miss me, how we are unable to be with each other in our moments of distress and happiness too. I thought how each day I hope to have them with me and meet them. I cannot describe all that I felt as I cried dearly. It was a very, very distressful moment for me. I miss my parents a lot. A lot.

My life has been so very different since my marriage. The song brought it all out. I was quite disturbed for that evening and night. The violence and this song of the movie have made a major impact on me.

Agneepath has really been a different experience for me. Unforgettable!

Desperately Needing A Break

Working harder than ever for the release on December 15...Getting tired of closed environments...Sick of unhealthy surroundings...Frustrated at the inertia...Wishing to create my own space...Bugged up with unasked for scenes...Desperately needing a break!

At times, life really sucks!