The Deadly Duo

I was scared…very scared…it’s that time of the year when u go to visit the in-laws…the in-laws to be precise refer to my MIL and my grand mother in law.

They have been torturing me demanding this since 4 months of marriage (I AM NOT EXAGGERATING) – yes however dramatic i make it sound…u all know I am talking about a baby!

Initially i did try to give the gyaan on career and being ready and all that, but those pretty much went this way

The dutiful bahu aka me: Want to do blah blah in career and blah blah
The baby wanters: Woh sab toh theek hai but bachche sabse zaroori hai (That;s all cool but kids are most important)

The dutiful bahu: You need to mentally ready, financially blah blah
The baby wanters: Hamare jaane ke pehle Tall one ke bache ke saath khelna hai (Before we go to say hello to the good lord, we want to play with the Tall one’s kids)

So ultimately i decide to do what i do best: SMILE and act deaf dumb and blind!

Usually the Tall one is spared this discussion or disappears from it. Apparently Tall one ko toh bachche bahut pasand hai (Tall one really likes kids)…so it must be all my fault…coz i think that they think in my free time i go around spanking kids!!! Hmmmph

So anyway to get back to the main story…i was really worked up before going to Delhi…coz nowadays the pressure is immense…worrying almost…so i went to get advice to shake the baby wanters off

So i consult my very intelligent friend A who tells me of her even more intelligent friend hence forth referred to as EMI. even more intelligent

Now EMI’s MIL asked her about kids…pat comes her reply “Try toh kar rahe hai but G (EMI’s Husband) ko tests ki zaroorat hai…(we are trying but G needs some tests).

apparently EMI’s MIL has been silenced since.

Armed with this knowledge i went to Tall One and said that this time if he escapes when the topic starts this would be my answer…he of course didn’t cooperate with my idea..and being the eternal optimist he said he would handle it with some elaborate discourse on the future of his career.

So anyway armed with our superior weapons – The first being a consultant’s 4 year horizon plan on our future and the second an atom bomb to my husband’s ego, we bravely left for Delhi.

Ummm…well it was an anti climax…we hardly got any baby questions other than the fact that when Tall one was being congratulated for his promotion…i was told that my next promotion was to be of a “different” kind.

to tell u the truth i was getting freaked out that noone was asking…maybe they had some grander scheme in mind like voodoo or something to ensure the baby reaches my tummy when i eat an apple or something

Anyway…Singing La La La…The tall one and the nut are leaving for Mumbai when…

MIL : Next time this year i want an addition to the family
TALL ONE AND THE NUT : DEAF DUMB BLIND
MIL : Yes Yes next year THIS time
TALL ONE AND THE NUT : DEAF DUMB BLIND

GMIL: Mera Jaane ke pehle (BEfore i go)
Tall One: Kahan Jane ke pehle? Bangalore? (Before u go where? Bangalore)

MIL : NO NEXT YEAR THIS TIME! AN Addition

MIL : NUT, are u listening
Nut: No Mummy
MIL: Tall One,Are u listening
Tall One: NO

Ha! We are a team after all!!! Hi-Fi!

p.s. do u think a puppy qualifies as an addition? Do u think my MIL would have found me cute if i mentioned a puppy!!!

Hurricane baby turns 1

Dear Baby Hurricane,

I still remember the day ur dad announced to us – that they were going to have a baby. i remember feeling a little like – “why god why” -(Joey from friends style). Gone were the impromptu weekend plans, the late night tabboo and teen patti sessions, dinner parties, the going away on a holiday…Sigh! i remember not wanting one of us to grow up.

But i can proudly say we have done all of the above mentioned things even with u around…except the impromptu weekend plans…which we never made anyway…u know with ur dad around – impromptu plans are thrown out of the window.

And i think all this is a testimony to what a wonderful baby you are. You never once wimpered on the long drive to panchgani, you never once cried or slept thru our boistorous tabboo, jenga and teen patti sessions, you slept thru your first movie in the movie hall as a three month old, you let ur mommy and daddy go out for dinner, you endured the smoke and noise in goa…

And yesterday sigh u turned One!

I can’t believe it’s been a year – a year since an excited Tall one and an excited Mema (Me – In malayalam – mema means father/mother’s younger sister) came to meet you. Yesterday as your “Happy Burrday” cake was being cut, i felt my eyes go wet! i dont know why…they just did.

Of course the mood changed when i heard this really cute song and saw u dancing in that nut’s daddy’s handsalbeit with a frowny face.

I sometimes wonder why i we adore u…is it just coz u are such a munchkin or is it coz ur dad & mom are the bestest couple friends we have. or is because we have watched u grow in ur mommy’s tummy and then watched u grow from a ugly little bean like thing to the round little golgappa.

Maybe cause we watched u grow in fascination despite while these 2 beer guzzling, tabboo and teen patti playing adults grapplled with this whole parenting business. We watched ur mom play with you like u were a toy…right from annoying you with booties…yes we will spank her. We watched ur dad proudly talk about his “son”. We watched them evolve into “real” adults.

Somewhere in a small way, u changed us too..I can’t help but smile when u show me those six little teeth…including the four which bit me real hard. Thinking of you take ur first steps makes me feel proud.

Baby boy – u may not “technically” be family but u hold a special place in our hearts..and we both love it when u recognize us more than your grandparents (Ha!) and jump into our hands. Yes, we are pathetic like that and all.

May the world let u remain the happy little baby…may ur cute little frown remain and if u are really really lucky…may u stop looking like ur father and look a little bit more like ur beautiful mom.

God bless mah little hurricane,

Lots of love
Mema
(p.s. when u grow up u will realize i am better than the TAll one and jump more into my hands…hmmmph why him more than me – of course we keep score)

–X—X—-X—X—X—X—X—X

Now i know u guys well and No this is not an indicator that i am ready for a baby…my next post shall proove that..!!!!

Musing from an aeroplane window

Darkness is always associated with something evil or something depressing.
But we who live in the city don’t know what darkness is.
You realize when you look out of the window from a dimly lit night flight.
You are flying over deserted land and see darkness…so dark and beautiful – so peaceful and serene.
You wish you could sleep every night in this environment.
Am sure the weariness we feel would be lifted if only our nights were as dark as this

You realize in wonder that the world is round after all
when beyond the darkness, in the horizon you see a light pink light.
In that land beyond, someone is packing their bag to go back home,
Someone is looking forward to the best time of the day with their family
They have a little bit of the day left – just a little bit.

And then you see your city from the air.
So beautiful at night with all its lights
The lights look like a cluster of diamonds
The dirt, the slums, the ugliness all hidden
You feel a tug in your heart
A city you have spent 13 years of your life.

There was a time when this city meant
Coming home to mamma,our happy life here – shopping, fighting et all
It meant friends and hostel and all the madness that friendship involves
Today sometimes the city seems a mechanical place where i drift in and out of an office
But then comes the weekend and the city transforms
To a happy place with my home, friends and my weekend life
Ensuring i can never be indifferent to this tough city

The flight lands,
I have been away from this city only a day
A few minutes of “intense” coordination see me in my comfortable swiffy reddy (red swift…duhhh)
With him who makes any place home.