I love my saucepan

A few days ago, one morning, Deepa’s next door neighbor, an old lady in her seventies, knocked at her door. She wanted to borrow the large watering can to water her plants. Deepa readily went to fetch that and gave it to her, but was not surprised to see her husband’s reaction to that. He offered his help to the old lady as it would be heavy for her to lift it. Poor aunty was genuinely touched but insisted that she could manage. After she had left, Ravi had argued, “Why did you have to lend her the watering can? You could have made some excuse”. Deepa had known it was coming, so she had replied, “Relax, dear. It is just a watering can”. Ravi had argued further, “What if she does not return it?” Deepa, had looked at the ceiling and had left the room then. But, Ravi had gone on blabbering, “you people do not understand anything what I say. You should take care of your belongings”.

Last weekend, Deepa’s brother, Anup, who stays couple of blocks away, had taken Ravi’s tool box to fix something at his house. Ravi had kept calling her brother almost every hour, asking if he needed any help operating the tool box, and if he was able to finish his fixes. When Anup did not return the tools by Monday evening, Ravi could not take it any longer. He called Anup and told him that his boss had asked Ravi for the tool box as he needed to fix something at his place and Ravi had committed to his boss that he would bring the tool box to office the next day. Anup returned the tool box before Ravi left for office Tuesday morning and it seems, that wicked tool box is lying at Ravi’s desk locker since that day.

Ravi is usually a supportive, cooperative and charitable person who is always eager to help others but it is an irony that when it comes to lending some of the things he owns, he becomes helpless. More apt word would be Paranoid. You can borrow money from him, he is not stingy either, but he will fret over whether you will return his money or not. Last month, Mrs. Sharma, who stays on the top floor had asked if she could borrow our step ladder. It seems she had noticed that lying in our balcony. I must say, she has such hawk like eyes and such a keen observation. To that, Ravi had replied that the ladder has some fault, its hinges were coming out and it has become useless. “SERIOUSLY”, my (owl-like) eyes had wanted to pop out from their eye holes.

Their son Akul’s summer vacation has started and Ravi’s mother has come this time to stay with them for this month. Ravi’s younger sister, Priya and her husband, Akhilesh, are going to visit them this weekend. They stay 3 hours away from their city, so they have planned to come by driving. Ravi has asked their neighbor, Gupta Ji, to lend his parking slot for the weekend as his slot is empty for now. This evening, some visitors have come and they have parked their vehicle in that empty slot. They were Radha aunty’s guests, and Ravi somehow managed to gather the information that the guests would be leaving by 7PM. Ravi was working late today evening, but exactly at 7:05 PM, Deepa’s mobile rang. Ravi asks, “Do you know if Radha aunty’s guests left?”

Deepa: “How would I know that, Ravi?”

Ravi: “Ask Akul to go down and check”.  She says, “Ok”, and keeps down the phone. Ten minutes later, her phone rings again.

Ravi: “What happened?”

Deepa: “No, they have not left.”

Ravi: “WHY?”

Deepa: “Why, means what, Ravi? We cannot go and ask Radha aunty why they have not left yet. When they will leave, they will. Radha aunty told us that her guests are not staying the night. And, Priya will reach past midnight. So, please relax.” Ravi mumbles a disgruntled OK and keeps down the phone. Same moment her six year old comes in running and smiling all ears, tells her that Radha Aunty’s guests have left. Deepa says a silent prayer that her son doesn’t go insane like his father, but nevertheless, calls her husband to inform. Ravi sighs in relief and hearing that she sighs in exasperation.

It was past ten but Ravi had not yet come from office. Akul and her mother in-law have finished their dinner and were getting ready for sleep. She dials his number but he does not pick up the call. She goes to stand in their balcony and starts looking outside. It was a clear sky tonight. Half an hour passes but there was no sign of Ravi. She was about to try his number again when she looked down. She saw a familiar figure walking down the street. She realized it was her husband walking with his laptop bag. What happened to the car? She waits for him to come up. She opens the door when the doorbell rings.

D: “What took you so long today? Where is the car? I saw you walking.”

R: “It was not starting, so had to call up the service guys. They took half an hour to pick it up and then I didn’t get a cab. So, took a bus instead which dropped me till the main road. From there I walked.”

D: “Oh. So, when are they returning the car?”

R: “They are closed tomorrow for Eid and Sunday is anyway a holiday for them. They will check it on Monday and call me by Monday evening to let me know, what needs to be repaired and by when they can return it.”

Ravi was looking damn tired but still Deepa could not control it. She bursts out laughing, “In that case, Priya can park her car in our slot itself.”

Amma Ka Dabba

It was just an idea. She wrote on her Facebook wall one day. If you want fresh home-cooked food, come knock at my door. Dabba Aapka, Khana Mera (My food, your lunch box), at just Rs.1500 per month for lunch and dinner every day. And, next day on wards messages started flooding her inbox. Kaveri aunty started her business.

Before starting the business, she had discussed about her idea with her husband. Vimal uncle had been very supportive. She had been feeling bored of late. She wanted to keep herself busy. And, this idea was a boon in disguise. She did not have to go out anywhere but little did she know that with great power comes great responsibility. Well, it’s a famous quote.

She kept Kamal and Ashok as her helpers. Her regular daily maid Shanti readily agreed for cleaning and washing work. They started with 10 people, all the bachelor guys from their own building. Every morning they would start their work by 5. Around 8, people would start dropping in with their lunch boxes, which Kamal and Ashok would fill in with the cooked food. Shanti bai would come for cleaning after 11. After they finish their lunch, Kaveri aunty will prepare the list of vegetables, groceries, etc. that need to be bought from the nearby mandi. Usually, Kaveri aunty would accompany Kamal and Ashok and some days they would go alone to bring the items and by 5 PM they will start cooking for dinner. Again from 8 PM onwards, people would start dropping in to take away their dinner.

It was however, a roller coaster ride for Kaveri aunty. Kamal and Ashok would turn up late some days or Shanti bai would fall sick someday. Kaveri aunty started using online grocery stores and kept one more maid to help her. Gradually, more and more working couples also started opting for her home cooked food. Business was good, Vimal uncle would help her in maintaining her accounts.

In all these, less salt Vs more salt, more spicy Vs no spice or medium spicy, Toor dal or Masoor dal, Kaveri aunty has become a busy bee. Garima, does not understand, why Amma was so enthused on the idea of feeding people with her food. Her father is also supportive, he just loves to see Amma so engrossed in her business. She feels like a stranger in her own house some days. She looks at the utter chaos and busy people around her that she thinks it was time to take the dog out.

That evening while walking with their dog, Garima is talking to him, “Pixy, Amma has gone mad. Nowadays, she is only cooking, cooking and cooking. Why is Papa, not telling her anything? I wonder if she remembers me. You know, in a few days there will be Rakshabandhan. What will Amma do on the day of Rakhi? (Sighs) Oh yes, she will be cooking”, and her eyes become wet. Pixy looks at her, makes a cooing sound and sits down to look at a faraway place. After some time, both the girl and the dog walks back to their house.

When they enter the house, Amma was scolding Kamal for applying oil on the Parathas instead of ghee. Vimal was sitting on the couch watching TV oblivious of all the drama going around him. Pixy jumps onto the couch and Vimal uncle starts scratching his ears and Pixy just closes his eyes. Garima asks he dad, “Papa, how can you sit so calm in all this? I think Amma has gone mad”. “No, no. She is just doing her job”. “Papa, Rakhi is coming”. Vimal uncle didn’t even take his eyes off TV and asks, “Who is she?” “Papa, I am talking about Rakshabandhan”. Vimal uncle turns to look at his daughter and says, “Ok” and then again turns back to his TV. But this time, Garima can see that her father’s face is grimmer and she know he is not watching the program any more. At that instant she despises herself for reminding him the bitter truth. She touches his face and says, “Papa, I feel like a stranger at my own house nowadays”. “Me too. And, I find it refreshing”.

Amma turned to see who was entering the house when the front door opened. She was relieved that her daughter has returned with the dog. She had noticed her daughter was very gloom of late. She checked the time that it was quarter to eight now. There is still time before people start dropping in.  She can catch her breath for some time. She looked at the father-daughter duo talking in the hall. She hopes that between this hustle and bustle they will heal. Gaurav is gone and he is not coming back. She still misses her son and knows that Vimal and Garima had also not forgotten him.

That dreadful night, they had got a call from Gaurav’s college hostel that he had been taken to hospital. But they could not see him before he was taken in. They were told he had no pulse, he had collapsed in the ambulance on the way to hospital. There were news all around for some days that three students died of food poisoning in that hostel. Cases were filed against college authorities and hostel management. All was forgotten after a few days. She was devastated and had almost died that day. But she still has to stay afloat for her husband and her daughter.