THE DIARY OF A HOUSEWIFE

A wedding I just attended in the family was more like a project a CEO of a company has just announced. A wedding is a project with every team and members of those teams deeply invested in the project - in this case the future of two people who are entering a new contract with everything on the line. Attending a wedding in normal times is hectic & stressful as it is; doing so in a pandemic is stuff horror movies are based on. But gladly it wasn't. Last week when I attended my nephew's wedding I was excited & nervous at the same time. Excited to visit my husband's family & participate in the wedding festivities & anxious about doing so when the virus was going to accompany us. Meeting family, eating all the goodies, dressing up, chatting, partying - I enjoyed every minute of it, glad to push the virus out of my mind for a few blessed days. I came back home enriched & empowered. I was amazed by all that our traditional customs & culture had to offer in ...

Do you know the corona virus can't make us sick anymore let alone kill us? Well, I wasn't. The country has opened up almost completely and if the traffic on the roads and the people in restaurants and public places are anything to go by it seems like everything is back to normal. With the lockdowns gone, so is the virus, the masks and the social distancing norms. And while I agree panicking about is also not good, dismissing it after months of freaking about it is something I don't quite get. The virus came calling on our family's door just 2 weeks ago taking away with it a special soul, leaving behind it, a trail of grief, misery and regret. Maybe that's why I don't comprehend what is happening around me. It has taken me weeks to post my thoughts about what happened. I resisted doing it, something in me holding me back. But I also know how important it is for the world to take the pandemic seriously and now that most of us for some reason or the other have stop...

Intolerance   took a new meaning for me yesterday. One tiny mistake while driving back my mother who had paid a short visit to our home wanting to meet her grandchildren after a long time, taught me a lesson I will never forget. It will keep me awake at nights for that's how I am made. I realised a long time ago that my manufacturer had sent me out in this world with a number of defects. My loved ones and I of course have been bearing the brunt of my many faceted flaws. The roads in our area are not too busy what with most people choosing wisely to stay at home. But then there are some who do venture out due to various reasons. So well here I was enjoying the feel of the steering wheel in my hands, gabbing away with my mom, loving being on the road after so many weeks when I saw three cars bearing down on me from the opposite direction. With no traffic signals in our locality, I misjudged and instead of coming to a stop, made my turn sooner than I should have blocking the road of o...

I couldn't sleep. Tossing and turning in the bed I mulled over why the thoughts wouldn't stop yapping at me letting me finally shut my eyes and get some much needed sleep. There was a knot in my stomach which I couldn't unknot as I tried my best to unravel the threads I had tied around myself which as always were threatening to drown me in misery.                                In some ways I am used to being like this. Almost a daily occurrence for a person who is highly sensitive. And if you are one of those unfortunate people who like me have been cursed with too much sensitivity—No not in your teeth, though that is unfortunate enough. I am talking about sensitivity in every grey cell of your brain and every bone of your body. And if that sensitivity has permeated every part of your inner self, gnawing away at your peace of mind, each time taking a big bite of it leaving you wounded and scarred you may ne...

Are you one of those employees or even employers who find it difficult to say no even when you know for sure that going ahead with the proposal, project or new hire may harm you and your organisation. A few weeks ago, a persistent to-be client pummeled me with queries about the publishing process, the writing and editing process, charges and everything else related to the publishing of his book.  Under tremendous pressure to be get more work, be nice, efficient, and relatable I answered all his questions, going the extra mile. A few weeks of back and forth later, after hours of time invested, the said person decided he would be able to publish his book on his own without spending a rupee on it.  I have seen this happen many times. Most often than not clients will take advantage of you when you’re too nice – suppliers who can’t deliver on time, colleagues who don’t do their work, customers who demand more and more, learn everything from you and walk out – you’re actually lettin...

With  a bottle of disinfectant in my  shaking hands, my mind whirring with the consequences of touching the handle of the freezer of a popular and always crowded supermarket, I let out a tremulous sigh. What option did I have? The frozen foods my children are so fond of were calling out to me, beseeching me to pluck them out of that enormous freezer and take them home.                                   I braced myself, sucked in a deep breath and opened the door. And as the chilly air hit my face I felt no—saw an arm reach out from behind me, reach over my shoulder and grasp two of the packets of the frozen food items, pulling them out. I froze. What just happened? What happened to maintaining social distancing, leave alone the fact that this person, had compromised and invaded my personal space and dehumanized me as if I was the freezer in front of us. It would have been bad if this had happe...

A big fan of one of our greatest ever film stars, Dev Anand, I have indulged myself by binge watching all his movies during the lockdown. So much so that the monotony of housework never got to me because I had him by my side. I would prop up my phone on the counter next to the kitchen sink while washing the utensils and cooking and enjoy his movies. His films had it all - fun, wit, humour, pain - the classic everlasting songs - the beautiful heroines, graceful and elegant - the subtle love story with delicate emotions - a far cry from what we get to see nowadays. I love the charisma the man possessed, his style which never loses it's charm at least for me. As I gushed about him and the old classic movies to my family I was able to sweep them up into that world albeit for a few moments. At first my boys (17 & 10) laughed at the black and white movies their eyes couldn't adjust to, the simple ways of the past, the simple clothes and the simple emotions but soon enough they se...

                      One day – not too long ago, I was at home in my balcony, with my mother and brother. The reason we stood there was because there was a cyclone warning. You’d think that was a -100 IQ idea. It was not a smart idea, yes. If there was an unlucky thing that would’ve happened that minute, it happened almost instantly. Some rain travelled towards us. We reacted in a fraction of a second and ran – and believe me – ran so fast as if there was a hungry cheetah on the loose. But then 20 seconds after I came, there was a shower of water that fell from the clouds towards the ground. I closed the sliding door that separated the balcony from the rest of the house. In no less than  10 seconds, the entire balcony was flooded. There was no way to be sure about that, as I was rushing to close all the windows. If you are thinking that this is not rain, it is rain. Cyclones are basically extreme rain with really...

                        With shaking hands, quivering lips and eyes gleaming with unshed tears I picked up the broom one last time. It was 8th of June. The date the whole of India had been awaiting with bated breath. I was excited but a bag of nerves at the same time. Prime Minister Modi has been unlocking the country, slowly, in phases. I can now call my househelp/cook/nanny of 20 years back to work if I find it prudent. I think of what a tumultuous 3 and a half months it has been. To be truthful and more so to myself I have both hated it and enjoyed it. For the first time in my life, I was looking after the home, the cleaning, the cooking, the washing, without any outside help - a full-time houseworker that's how I want to see it. And it has been satisfying for most parts of it. The broom in my hands gathers along dust as I sweep, lost to the outside  world. With the dust that collects, hundreds of th...

“And from the midst of cheerless gloom I passed to bright unclouded day.” ―  Emily Bronte As the winds pick up speed crashing against the windows of our apartment I find myself keeping my head down and my ears shut to the ghoulish sounds that surround me. The cyclone has arrived and darkness engulfs us.  A good time to browse through Facebook and keep in touch with your "friends " as any, I say to myself. The darkness melts away and my mood lightens as my finger scrolls through the pictures, the daily updates, the opinions, the quotes. I make it a point to like them as I go along reading, appreciating, admiring and enjoying them. Some make me glad, some make me sad, some make me scoff, and I admit some make me envious too. Many inspire and motivate me and many I see as wake up calls to do better and as the rain falls heavily on the isolated roads of a country under lockdown I feel blessed that I am safe inside my world, yet so well connected to the outs...

                                    With the Pandemic blowing us completely out of our safe and secure space on earth (at least as we saw it) like a tsunami that doesn't bow down and collapse on itself everyone and I mean everyone is finding novel ways to remain relevant. Being relevant today is as important as it is difficult. But social media and technology has made it easier for us to remain relevant in the eyes of our friends and family and others. On the flip side it has also made it tougher for many who are already struggling with the issue of relevance. The struggle for relevance keeps us on our toes and inspires and motivates us to do more. We reinvent ourselves, educate ourselves, stay updated with trends, adapt and persevere. The fear of becoming dispensable and unwanted pushes our boundaries and makes us reach for the stars. Good then you might say. It's all good....

The Misfortune Cookie I looked at my brand new, neat, digital clock. It said the time was 8PM. Which means I had to eat dinner. I went to the kitchen. No food was prepared. I couldn’t just make food magically appear, could I? But I had a plan, like I always do. No way I was going to stay alive without any food even for one night! I saw my old-fashioned smartphone lying on the dining table. I realized that that night, I wasn’t going to be needing my dining table. I picked up my phone and searched “restaurants near me” I found a Chinese restaurant nowhere but one kilometre away from me. I left my apartment and took the lift downstairs. I am not really in the mood for a walk. Hitchhiking will be a terrible idea. I don’t have my own car. What should I do? I thought. I had no bright ideas. I had to walk one kilometre. It was a major inconvenience. You may not think so, but I do. I eventually reached the Chinese restaurant. It was looking good from the outside. A sign ...