Annu’s Antics

Father’s Day is around the corner in Australia this weekend. Last time when it was in some other part of the world, I wrote an emotional post. I wanted to write something different this time. My dad (I call him Annu) had a unique sense of humour and he was cheeky in his own way. I feel that I haven’t written much about the fun and sweet memories of my childhood on the blog. This post is solely dedicated to some of the memorable incidents related to Annu that still bring a smile on my face.

Annu would always wear a half sleeved shirt, a white lungi and his million-dollar smile. He only had a couple of trousers that he wore only on special occasions. We had a wholesale agency of a very popular FMCG company, say ABC. ABC once invited all wholesale dealers (WDs) from Karnataka to a 2-days conference in Bangalore. The accommodation was booked in a 5-star hotel, say XYZ. Annu took an overnight bus from Kundapur to Bangalore. He packed his trousers for the conference in his suitcase and travelled in his lungi as he was more comfortable in it. When he reached Bangalore, he hopped on to an auto-rickshaw and asked to be plied to XYZ hotel. The auto driver was flabbergasted for a moment at the proposal of a man in lungi asking to be dropped at a 5-star hotel.

Driver: Sir, where exactly near XYZ hotel do you want to go?

Annu: I want to go to XYZ hotel only.

Driver: Sure sir, I will take you to XYZ hotel. But tell me which place near the hotel do you need to visit. Give me the exact address.

Annu: Don’t worry about it bro. Just drop me in front of XYZ. I’ll manage from then on.

They finally reached the place. My dad paid the fare, got off with his luggage. Before seeing off, he sarcastically said to the driver:

Annu: Sir, can I please request you to stay back for a while. In case the hotel staff doesn’t provide me entry because of my attire, you might have to drop me elsewhere.

Driver: Ayyoyyo, sorry sir! Please forgive me. It was my mistake.

Annu just smiled and went about his business😀

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This incident happened during my parents’ wedding. After the wedding ceremony, when the newlywed couple enter the groom’s house, along with many other customs, they play a fun game. They are made to sit face to face with a big pot in between them. The post if filled with coloured water and lot of flowers I think so that one can see through it. The priest drops a ring into the water and both the groom and bride have to immerse one of their hands in the pot and fiddle around to find the ring. Whoever finds the ring is declared the winner. Amma was a 20-year old shy bride then amidst a crowd of strangers that she was going to call family from then on.

On the count of three, when the priest dropped the ring in the pot, both my parents put their hands in. Annu, being the cheeky groom that he was, naughtily clasped Amma’s hand inside the water and nobody noticed. Amma couldn’t react out of coyness. He did not let her find the ring by restricting her movement. He moved a couple of his spare fingers that were not holding Ammas’s hands and found the ring. He then let go of Amma’s hand and declared himself to victory. We grew up listening to this story from Amma.

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Annu was a natural at predicting things. Whatever he said would come true. But this nature of his mostly irked us during cricket matches. While we would all be engrossed in a match, Annu would declare out of nowhere “Six on the next ball!!” and what do you know? The player would obediently hit a six as though following Annu’s orders. We would pester him saying “Annu, please keep saying four or six”. He would say it seldom but whenever he did, it did happen. The worst was when he would announce “Out” and the batsman would promptly return to the pavilion. I remember one instance when he said “Out” thrice before three consecutive balls and the bowler claimed a hat-trick!! We would plead for him to keep mum mostly as he was more dangerous than the players themselves😀

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Once one of Annu’s regular customers came to the shop and bought his routine items and left. Surprisingly, he came back to the shop very evidently distressed.

Annu: What happened? Why are you tensed?
Customer: I had brought a bundle of notes with me but I can’t find it now. After buying items from your shop, I went to another shop to order the stuff I need but then I realized that I had lost my money. I really am clueless what to do.

Annu: Take off your lungi!

(There were many other customers and the staff members around who were astounded by listening to Annu’s comment too)

Customer: Whattt???

Annu: I said take off your lungi. Would you like me to help you to take it off?

Customer: What are you saying? I am sharing my problem with you and you are making fun of me.

Annu: Just listen to me and take your lungi off.

Customer (Puzzled, yet trusts Annu and takes the lungi off. The bundle of note falls from his hips onto the ground): Oh my god!! How did you know?

Annu gave the same knowing smile 😀

 

 

Mystery Box & Signature Dish

You must guess by now what I’m talking about? Yes!!! I’m talking about the reality show Masterchef Australia. This is the only show apart from Spelling Bee that we, as a family, watch on TV. During the last season, Mantam also watched every episode with keen interest and started giving me comments on every dish I cooked as if they were Gary, George and Matt. What started as fun conversations somehow inspired me to apply for the next season when there were ads asking if you had it in you? On a whim, I sat down to fill up a big questionnaire consisting of 60 odd questions and submitted my application for Masterchef Australia season 9. I had read on one of the previous contestants’ blog that she had applied for consecutive 5 years to get an invitation for the audition. Hence I forgot about the application and went about my life as usual.

To my surprise, in a couple of days when I casually checked my mailbox, I received an invitation to the audition of Masterchef. I couldn’t believe my eyes and I thought I must be hallucinating. In the evening when I reached home, the kids came to hug me as Abbas had told them about the audition. They were super excited. I told them I couldn’t go coz if I got selected then I would have to commit a few months of my life to the show. I was simply not prepared for it at this stage when we have our mortgage on the cards and also no support from family here to help Abbas. Honestly, I was too nervous to go and cook on such a big platform. I cursed myself “What was I thinking when I applied for it in the first place?” Mantam started giving me all the advice that I have raised them with “Mumma, participation is more important. Don’t worry about the results. You must go Mumma” They even started talking about how they will help around the house and began taking up a lot of responsibilities around the house as if preparing for my absence already. I asked them “What if I really go away and when I come back, you all would say that I’m not required here anymore?” They hugged me and assured that it would never happen. Mannu even warned me “Mumma, don’t go and purposely cook bad food so that you don’t get selected and get to be with us.” Tammu asked “ Mumma, do your parents watch Masterchef Australia? If you come on TV they will be able to see you.”

One of my friends H gave me a very practical advice “Don’t worry about crossing the bridge before it is constructed. Just go and gain the experience and have fun.” With Abbas and the kids too motivating me alongside, I replied to the audition invite in affirmative. The first round was to be a Mystery Box challenge. All I had to take with myself was my ID proof. They would provide ingredients under the mystery box and I had to cook a dish which had at least one of the ingredients as the prominent component of the dish. It was a nerve wrecking run up to the audition day as I lost sleep over a few days. I had no idea what would be under the mysterybox and there was no way I could prepare for it. Forget about getting through, all I hoped for is that I don’t make a laughter stock of myself and make something presentable and edible by the end of one hour.

The D-Day came and I went to the audition. The best part was meeting last year’s contestant Jimmy Wong. He chatted with us about how he knew exactly what we were going through and shared his experience. He also motivated us and shared some tips and advice. We were inducted into the professional kitchen and standing in that kitchen was itself like living a dream. There were so many rules around working in that kitchen. There were cameras just like in the actual Masterchef show. When the countdown for 60 minutes started, we were allowed to open the Mysterybox. I had to quickly plan what I would make and get going. I think I was calm and composed and hence was able to coolly put up a dish on the plate at the end of the hour. I had two cuts on my fingers which I had got nursed in between.

When I was called to take my dish for tasting, I was anxious. My fears were completely brushed away with the awesome comments I received. One of the judges asked me for the recipe, the other said that it was one of the best curries in the audition. One judge said that it was the first time ever that she wanted to have the entire plate by herself. I was on cloud nine and it felt surreal. When the judges had tasted all the dishes, four people were selected from our batch and I was one of them. I was asked to come for the second round of audition after two days.

The second round would be to make my signature dish. I was too pumped up from the previous cook that I think I became over confident. I attempted to bring together an unrealistic amount of elements on the plate in one hour. Because I had taken upon myself a lot to accomplish in the limited time, I unnecessarily stressed myself out and made some silly mistakes under pressure. Even before the dish would be tasted by the judges, I kind of had a clue that I had messed up. And their comments confirmed my suspicion. I was disappointed not with the verdict but with myself for having done stupid mistakes and not playing smart in this round. The mistakes I committed kept haunting me for a couple of days. I have come to terms with it now and back to business as usual.

Although I didn’t get through the second audition round, the experience I gained can’t be expressed in words. I am sure to try my skills next year again. I have one year to prepare better and learn new skills, techniques to hone.

I can’t wait already😀

 

Mantamism continued

Continuation of the last post with respect to Tammu’s current obsessions with becoming a waitress.

One evening,

Tammu: Can I please have your phone for a while?

Me (Surprised as they usually don’t use my phone): Why do you need it?

Tammu: I want to do some research on ‘How to become a waitress’

Abbas: Arey yaar Tammu, why do you want to be a waitress? If you don’t want to get into an academic career, it’s ok. You can get into some kind of sports.

Tammu (grumpy look on her face): Baba!!! Waitress also has to do a lot of balancing. So there!

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Tammu was going through some photos on my phone and laughed at one particular one meme.

Mannu: Tammu, what is it?

Tammu (holding the phone in her hand and turning it towards Mannu): Read it yourself

Mannu (couldn’t read it well): I want to hold it.

Tammu: You can’t hold it, just read it.

Mannu (throwing a tantrum now): I want to hold it.

Tammu (playfully handing the phone to Mannu): Alright! You can hold the phone, but can’t read it.

Mannu – puzzled, Tammu – chuckled at her own joke

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Abbas and I recently got our general health checkup done. Abbas was asked by the doctor to exercise as he is leading a sedentary lifestyle. He doesn’t listen to e anyway, so I use his darling daughters as ammunition to get him to do things these days J Constant nagging by Mantam finally made him plan a bush walk on a lazy Sunday morning out of the blue. Mantam and I didn’t want to lose this opportunity where the fly has walked into its own trap (borrowed expression from Tisca Chopra)

Before leaving the house, Abbas was bragging about himself

Abbas: I used to be a sportsman, so all these physical activities are nothing to me. I have done lot more than this anyway.

Fortunately or unfortunately, we ended up at a place called the Great North Walk which had an uphill trek. We had to climb a hill which was full of rocks and bushes. Tammu was leading the way for us. Mannu was able to trek with our help.

Abbas: Mannu, I will teach you how to balance your body.

After some time, Abbas started huffing and puffing, he just sat down at a place pleading us to start heading back.

Tammu: What is this Baba? You were talking about being a ‘Sportsman’, you were teaching us to balance the body. What happened to the Sportsman now? Where did the Sportsman go?

Man and I couldn’t hold back our laughter😀

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Man and I were slowly walking on the rocky path while two fellow trekkers siftly passed by us within no time.

Mannu: Mumma, how come they are going so fast while we are so slow?

Me (Didn’t want to say that we were being extra careful because we had Mantam along): Hmmm….

Mannu: Oh I know why. They don’t have kids with them. If we wouldn’t have had kids with us, we would’ve walked at their speed too. Right Mumma??

Me (Wondering who is talking about whom): Yeah right!!

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Tammu kept going ahead of us and at times we were losing sight of her. I kept yelling and finally I caught hold of her hand and told her that she had to walk with me. She was a bit sad as she was enjoying the trek independently.

Me: Tammu, I know you would like to go alone, and I would’ve let you do it had this been a straight path. It is a bit dangerous and I was so worried when you were not with us. I don’t men to control you but I just can’t let you go by yourself on this track.

Tammu: That’s ok Mumma. Worrying is a part of your job as per the family’s character role

Me: ??!!

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Mid-way on the trek, we found a beautiful natural spring of water. I took some in my fist and drank.

Mantam: Mumma, can we also taste some?

Me: Yes, come forward and try

Abbas: No no, you can’t taste the water. Just touch it and wash your face if you like

Mantam use that water to sprinkle on their faces.

Me: Baba, it’s ok for them to try. It wouldn’t be bad. Natural spring water is good. And they are just drinking a few sips any way.

Mantam: Yes Baba, please!

Baba: No way. You never know where it is flowing from. It might be susu (pee) flowing from some nearby hotel or something.

Tammu: Baba, then why would you want us to wash our faces with susu?

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Mantam-isms are back

It’s been a while since I recorded our fun conversations. Thankfully I have gotten into the habit of making quick notes on my phone so that I don’t forget these titbits of our lives before they get jotted down for posterity’s sake.

Here goes in my usual style:

Mantam have gone over Bollywood movies. Given their favourite cartoon show and a Hindi movie, no prizes for guessing that they would choose the latter. And the extreme dose of Bolly movies has had some side effects on them.

Tammu: What is the difference between Pyaar and Mohabbat?

Me: Both mean love, but Mohabbat is usually referred to the love between a couple.

Tammu: Ohhh, Baba and you mohabbat each other??

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“Jumma chumma de de” is playing on TV

Mannu (in a derisive tone)  : What’s so good about a kiss? Why are they even making up a song about it??? Huh!!

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After watching sholay,

Me: Mantam, one of you get in the shower. I’m gonna shampoo your hair.

Mantam: Let’s toss a coin to decide who’s gonna be the first one to go.

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Coming to their latest choices of profession, Tammu has decided that she wants to be a waitress. I have been cashing in on the opportunity in encouraging her to set the dinner table, fetch me food / water etc. Just a little bit of praise about how well she is on the way to achieve her dreams, and I get a lot of work done😀

One Sunday afternoon after lunch, Mannu gets off the table without picking her plate.

Me: Man, can u please put your plate in the sink?

Tammu (pops out of nowhere): Mannu, may I please do it for you? After all I am the one who is gonna be a waitress.

Man and I start giggling

While Tammu seems to have her life goals sorted out, Mannu is not the one to be left far behind. She announced today that she wants to be a house maid. She loves cleaning to no end. As if helping me at home wasn’t enough, she has been offering help at her school and the after-school care centre in sorting, sweeping and other cleaning activities. The staff seem to be gung-ho about how they have never had a child who has been so enthusiastically helpful. As if that was not enough, she also helped clean her friend’s room while at her home recently.

Abbas is out of wits as to where his daughters are heading.

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Mantam recently received their half yearly report from their respective class teacher. Tammu, being the creative one, got this brilliant idea of presenting her teacher with a report in return. She came up with a full page detailed notes of what she felt about the teacher. The second page had pointers with attributes and then two columns with a happy and a sad smiley. She had cleverly marked the positive ones with a check in happy smiley column and the negative ones in sad smiley column. She even folded the report and sealed it in an envelope to handover to her teacher. I missed taking a picture of it. The teacher apparently was amused by the gesture and said “Tamanna you are so funny” after reading it😀

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Before Mantam’s birthday party, one Sunday I made a grocery list and sent it to Abbas as he headed out for the weekend shopping. It was already 11 AM. Abbas told me to start doing rest of my work before he comes back so that I can directly start cooking as soon as he arrives. I said of course I will but for a while I need to surf the internet with Mantam for some ideas on the party invitation cards. So he left and the three of us got engrossed in the invitation hunt. Before we knew it Abbas rang the doorbell.

Mannu (gasps): Mumma, quickly switch off the laptop or else you are gonna land yourself in Beeeeeg trouble.

I just couldn’t stop laughing at her presence of mind and concern for me😀

 

 

Fathers’ Day

Dear Annu,

My timeline is filled with messages dedicated to Fathers today and I feel left out. I want to tell the world too that I have the most amazing dad but I keep it to myself. I don’t want to bring any more shame to you than I already have! Well, I have learnt to count my stars and focus on the positives. Though we haven’t interacted or seen each other for over a decade and not a single day goes by without your thoughts, I don’t want to mourn the lack of your presence in my life. I just wanted to write this post to recount some fond memories of my childhood connected with you Annu🙂

• You would always bring a box of Kaju Katli for me whenever you went out on your short trips.
• You would buy latest Harry Potter books and Sidney Sheldon novels for me when you would return from your Bangalore business trip.
• I still cherish those early mornings when we would read newspaper together and the way you, grandpa and I would divide the newspaper pages between us and kept passing on the page that we finished reading in a circle.
• I remember the time when you loved Madhuri’s colourful costume in the song ‘Ek do teen’ and took me to a tailor to get a similar one made in my size. You sat there for quite a long time to help the tailor understand how exactly you wanted the dress to be.
• You would always buy me yellow coloured clothes as you thought the colour suited me. Every time I wore the dress you bought, you would have a look and say that you would buy another shade of yellow next time. Even now, when I wear yellow I feel so nostalgic and closer to you J
• Solving crosswords was one of our favourite things to do along with grandma
• Whenever Amma made pure veg dinner, we would scorn under our nose yet eat very little and say that we were full. On many days you would finish dinner and go to the shop to finish some pending tasks. On days where we all would have had an uninteresting dinner, we would keep our ears alert on your return to hear the sound of a plastic bag in which you would have got some non-veg takeaway for our second round of dinner to quench our unsatisfied souls. Amma would scoff at how our appetite had magically reappeared late at the night
• If I were to call myself punctual compared to the Indian stereotyped standards, then the credit must go to you. You were an epitome of punctuality! Amma and all of us would hop into the car as soon as you adorned the driver’s seat no matter what state we were in. We learned to get dressed on the go. Amma had even mastered the art of pleating her saree as she walked towards the car

 

I might want to write another post as I recall many fun incidents now. Before I go, all I remember is your dialogue that you would often tell Sindhu and I “I could go any length for my daughters’ happiness. Even if you asked me tigress’ milk, I would get it for you”. Annu, would you please get yourself back to me? That is all I seek, pretty please!

 

 

Twins turn eight

Dear Mantam,

Every year as we approach your birthday, the only thought that crosses my mind first is the speed at which time flies. Eight years ago Baba and I were dying to meet you both. Baba would say ‘Seemu, it’s been a very long wait. Pop them out soon na?’ The day I was to get admitted to the hospital, I was the curious cat who woke up before everyone else (both of you made sure I slept scantily anyway) and packed my bags and waited for others to get ready. I just couldn’t wait any longer to hold you both (well, to be honest I was tired of carrying my humongous bump around too, but that’s not the point :-P) Baba and I had no clue how we were going to manage raising you both, but I think you made the job a lot easier for us. It was as if we had some kind of a magical connection between us that works even today. We often get sympathised by people as to how difficult it would have been in the initial years. Yes it sure was double the effort and time, but you both made our lives much easier as there has never been an instance when both of you cried at the same time. When one of you would be cranky the other went quiet and watched the parents’ anguish with patience and made sure their twin is calm before they took turn to wail😀

In the last one year, many things have changed. Both of you have taken a great penchant to reading books. And it’s like a dream come true to me who always wanted her kids to love books. But there is Baba who never reads and prefers watching movies rather. You get sucked into lazing in front of the Idiot box more often than not. You both are the biggest fans of bollywood and must have seen record number of Hindi movies in the last one year. From Amar Akbar Anthony, Maine Pyaar Kiya, DDLJ, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai to the latest flicks, you simply love them. You displayed your interest in music and we got you enrolled to learn one instrument each. You both are growing in height far too rapidly that Baba and I drop our jaws frequently when the clothes or shoes bought just a couple of months ago don’t fit you anymore. You both have matured so much. The way you both keenly notice the clothes Baba and I wear and compliment or criticize us, the way you both come running to check on us if we let out a small “Ouch”, the way you sometimes give our necks and shoulders a lovely massage with those tiny finger and palms, the way you admonish me when I don’t listen to Baba, the way you take my side if Baba raises his voice, you both have filled our lives with so much love and made every moment of it worth living.

Man,

You are still the go to person when something is missing in the house. You work better than the phone reminder and hence we always feed the tasks or shopping list in your head and we are sure to be nagged till the task is ticked off. You act like an adult 99% of the time and the seldom time that you actually act your age, it gets hard for us to take it. I am the one who gets angry when you act kiddish but thank god for Baba, he promptly brings my wrath down by a quick reality check. You are always aware of what’s going on in the house, even if Baba and I are just having a conversation between us. Many times Tammu feels left out and thinks that we tell everything to you, but in reality you either involve yourself in the conversations or you are just cognizant of things around you. Your presence of mind leaves us awestruck all the time. It’s hard to put in words what I mean by that. Whether it’s holding the door if our hands are full or stacking the heavier items in the shopping back first and then the lighter ones on top, switching on the light as soon as you enter the house and things like these that we never taught you but you just learn by observing adults. I have repeated it a million times already on the blog but you are so similar to me Mannu. There are some traits of me that I would rather get rid of, but when I see you displaying them I feel awful about myself! If you fix your mind on something, you would go to any length to acquire it or get it done. It sure is a positive characteristic but it does become a bane due to situational constraints. But the way our brain is wired makes it hard to accept restrictions and I relate to your stubbornness. My dear, I have tried to change myself to be considerate and flexible in impractical situations and accommodate uncertainties and I hope you do too!

Although you love reading books, colouring, crafts, cleaning and other activities, you are at a stage where given a choice you would rather watch TV or iPad. You know it very well how much I despise this habit of yours. But then I recall my childhood and a phase during which I used to be glued to the telly watching movies and serials back to back. And I did outgrow of the addiction and I keep my fingers crossed that you do too (pretty soon please) You are good at Maths and making steady progress in English ever since you started reading more. You are the best helper anyone could get as you put your heart in everything you do. Be it shopping, cleaning the car, your room, folding the laundry, your skills are unmatched. I am not surprised at all to see you inherit the sarcastic tongue of my paternal family. I chuckle at your sarcasm and clever wit secretly you know?

When we enrolled you to the music classes, Tammu chose Keyboard and you chose drums. We already had a keyboard at home which was unused till then. When Tammu started showing us the lessons she had learnt and we appreciated her, you would feel very low. There was no way you could show us the way you played drums. A couple of times you cried and you demanded us to buy you a drum set (which by the way was the first time when you threw a tantrum to buy something) In spite of the cost, even if we would have bought it, there was no ample space to keep it at our home. Finally I sat you down and talked to you honestly that we could not buy it and that you had to work a way around it somehow. I felt bad to have denied it to you Mann but I think you understood. The following day, you took a couple of empty containers of different sizes and placed them on the table, took a small dustbin and placed it on the floor near the table, took two big pencils and drummed away like a pro kicking the dustbin pedal for good measure. Baba and I couldn’t have been more proud of you😀 Your own made up music was selected in the contest you had recently too.

Tam,

You are still the innocent child of the house. You keep all of us entertained with your comic dialogues and expressions. Your way of speaking in minion language is the funnier than the minions themselves😀 Despite having the humour streak in you, you have an equally dominating emotional side to your persona. The way you are attached to your dolls, the way you still miss Bulu (our car in India), the way you tell me not to feel sad for my parents and that you will go to them once you grow up and bring them to me, we feel so touched Tammu. You have improved your drawing skills immensely in the recent past, you love playing your keyboard, you even give us a nice massage when we need it. You are still the slowest eater ever and I have to keep nagging you to eat your breakfast quickly during the weekday morning rush. The funniest part about it is that you frankly told me “Mumma, when I grow up and have kids, I think that my kids will get late to school because of me”.

Your personality is bundle of contradictions. Although we think that you are very innocent, you mature self gets surfaced only when we are watching a bollywood movie together. I dunno how but you seem to predict everything so accurately.  Your memory fails you all the time except for when we are discussing any movie’s story, scenes, actors or dialogues. The one who sometimes shoves her head into her pants and slides her legs into a Tee but on the contrary remembers every little detail of a movie watched couple of years ago. While you are capable of beating a snail’s pace at eating your food, you polish your plate sparkling clean when Biryani is on the menu. While your attention span is less than that of a goldfish at mostly everything, you are a natural at spelling words. There has been hardly an instance when you have got a word or two wrong in your spelling tests. This year you joined the school Dance group and will be performing at the Dance festival soon.

Tammu, you know the most irritating habit of yours these days? You always say ‘No’ when you are asked to try a new thing. When we pester you to give it a chance, you resist with all your might. I give up but Baba forces you till you reluctantly give in. And soon to everyone’s surprise, you become a convert. Baba tells me that he knows you inside out and that’s the only way to get you habituated to new habits. Baba and you have these silly skirmishes all the time especially coz you are averse to Baba’s kisses. Serves him right, I say, as he too reacts in the same strange way when I smother him with kisses😀 Baba gets green with envy when you cosily snuggle with me and relish my cuddle.

Mantam,

We are in a major phase of life where we are building a home for ourselves. We enjoy sharing our happiness with you and at the same time the financial stress that we face at times. But you girls have been so accommodating as always. You both voluntarily asked us not to have a party this year as we are already spending a lot on the house. We didn’t want to have a big celebration like last year, hence planned a simple gathering with only a few of your close friends. As your current obsession is Bollywood, there was no two thoughts about the theme for the birthday party. Hope you both have a memorable celebration this year too.

Lastly, as I always say, no matter what happens always remember that Mumma and Baba will always be there for you.

Love,

Mumma

 

A decade of being together

Dear Baba,

Can you believe that we just completed 10 years of our relationship as a couple? I have been extremely emotional in the last couple of days. During our long distance courtship when we decided that we would marry each other, we hoped that my parents would come around after a couple of months or may be a year. But we never ever thought in the worst of our nightmares that we would have to continue our hope for their acceptance for this long. I don’t see any light at the end of the tunnel even now, maybe I have given up. But you influence me to keep the hopes alive and tell me that it will happen someday. I trust your words Baba and am looking forward to that someday when we will be accepted by my family.

When I put my math skills to this equation, I come to realize that I have spent one third of my life so far with you. We have been though a roller coaster, haven’t we? Our lives have had the thrilling twists and turns every now and then. If the ride got smooth at any point, we steered the wheel ourselves to take a steep turn to keep ourselves on the edge😀 Life wouldn’t have been one helluva ride for the two of us without each other’s company. And of course that of our two little fairies (who are not too little any more).

If I had to go back in a flashback, we started off with you coming down to Kundapur and taking me along. Although I was in what seemed like a different planet with people speaking alien language and with different food habits and culture, your constant support and companionship made it a smooth transition for me. We lived apart twice during this decade of marriage, first was a short 4 months when I was sent to a different city for training by my employer. Second one was the longer and more painful one (after Mantam were born) that lasted 8 months. We swore to never stay apart after that phase and have been together ever since. We moved cities, switched to different homes and companies after we moved out of Kolkata. Exactly two years ago we moved base to a new country and started life afresh. Had it not been for the camaraderie we share, it would not have been easy to settle down so quickly and easily. We have been strong pillars of support for each other and the one who goes down is always pulled up by the other.

We raised the twins pretty much by ourselves except for the support provided by your parents till they turned two. We have been through the sleepless nights of nursing the babies to seeing them grow into young girls studying in school now. We have shared the household responsibilities and you are now fully trained to do all the domestic chores except for cooking (which I have willingly not shared with you). But I must mention that I totally relish the cup(s) of tea that you make for me. Yes, we do have the skirmishes every now and then with regards to the chores but we have been able to easily brush them off our sleeves and move on. We have been a great team I think!!

You have always been encouraging of my career, hobbies, whims, fancies and personal passions. Sometimes I wonder if you are for real! I can’t tell you how fortunate I consider myself for having you in my life. You not only respect me as an individual but also make sure that your family, friends, relatives and acquaintances gives me the same respect. You have never hesitated to stand up for me amongst your own folks. At the same time, you have never overlooked it when I was wrong. You always manage to make me understand my mistakes in a way that nobody has ever done before.

I keep complaining to you that you don’t express your love me as often as I would like you to. But I do see your love for me clearly in your actions. Be it the peanut brittle that you buy for me from the Indian store although I never wrote it on the list of groceries, be it the way you sacrifice some food items for me saying that you are full, be it the way you always emphasize to Mantam about appreciating the effort I put to bring a meal on the table at the end of a long tiring day or the way you take my opinion in every single decision that you take no matter how trifle it is! I can go on and on. You make me feel so special Baba and I don’t think there is a better expression of love than what you display with your gestures.

Even after a decade, I am still deeply madly in love with you Baba! And my longing for you is only getting better with age😀

M

Here’s to many more decades of togetherness!

 

Yours & solely yours,

Seemu