Random Raaga

This draft was written in the first week of Nov, I’m publishing it now. More updates to follow soon.

Life’s at its craziest best. We have all been down with cold and cough one after the other in vicious circles. Weekends are passing at lightning’s speed with us mostly out hunting for schools. With very less time spent at home, the usual chores are conveniently getting procrastinated. Our home looks like Sealdah Railway Station and staying in the clutter is suffocating me. But my health is not permitting me to muster the strength to go about cleaning the mess we are living in. How I wish I had Mrs. Weasley’s wand to chamkaofy my home without moving my bulk!

Couple of weeks back Abbas spent some hours in our balcony garden to tend to the plants with fertilizer, changing the soil etc. A few plants which were on the verge of dying have regained life, seeing new leaves and buds on them are brightening our mundane days. Yesterday morning saw me jump like a kid when I saw a lone green chilly in the pot where we had sown chilly seeds almost a quarter ago and had given up hopes.

Update on the birds is that Potli laid 4 eggs again rather reluctantly. Poor girl, Potla is always hovering around her showering bouts of love whenever she is out of the pot. Two of the eggs haven’t hatched. Among the two young ones that were born, one expired within a couple of days, lots of tears were shed yet again. Abbas says that frequent laying of eggs results in unhealthy babies. The only surviving chick is growing at a firm pace. I’m having my fingers crossed and praying for it to be the Black Bird that we lost. Abbas is gonna remove the breeding pot as soon as the chick grows up to give Potli a break!

Have been reading a lot although at a snail’s pace. Completed The Twentieth Wife, The Feast of Roses and The Shadow Princess – the Moghul trilogy by Indu Sundaresan. Was completely transported to a dream world all through the course of these books. Liked the first two better than the last, I grew to be an ardent admirer of Mehrunissa. However cunning, power hungry or sly she was, she sure was a woman of substance.

A post after a long gap will certainly be incomplete without updates on Mantam. So here goes:

In a departmental store:

Tammu picks up Garnier Men’s Face Wash and insists on buying it for Abbas.

Tammu: Baba ke liye ye le lo na Mamma? (Buy it for Baba na?)

Me 🙄 : But Baba doesn’t use face wash!

Tammu: Lene se hi to use karenge na? (He’ll use only if you buy na?)

Me: Okay, you ask Baba tonight if he’ll use it. If he says yes we’ll buy it tomorrow. (Expecting her to forget it)

She promptly asks Abbas if he would use face wash. (And here I was betting on her infamous forgetfulness which I now doubt if she has been uncannily faking it)

Abbas: No, but I never use such things.

Tammu: Baba, then you please use na? (She pulled up such a puppy face that any person with a rock solid heart would instantly melt down)

Abbas: Errr, alright! But then will you wash my face with it?

Tammu: Yes ofcourse…

And then, next day she promptly remembers to pick it up from the shop, the biggest one at that. I almost fainted looking at the MRP. I looked for a smaller pack and convinced her to exchange.

That night she refused to sleep and waited till Abbas reached home. As soon as he entered, she hid the pack behind her and said to Abbas, “Baba, close your eyes, I have a surprise for you” The doting dad immediately obeyed. Then she slowly brings the pack forward and asks him to open his eyes. He lets out a shreik of surprise. The look on Tammu’s face was priceless.

She had Abbas wash his face with it and told me – “Dekha Mamma? How beautiful Baba is looking now? See I told you so”