Share The Load

Nobody could have predicted 2020 as the year it has been. If at all any person says,
“I have been through this before” he would be lying for sure. Covid-19,
pandemic, lockdown, stay at home have been the most trending words occupying
our brains for most of the time. With so much negativity all around, will
someone believe me if I say few “GOOD” things about this period?

When our honorable prime minister declared nationwide lockdown, it was like a question
paper out of the syllabus for me, my dad and my brother. We all were used to
going to our offices daily in the morning and get back in the evening. We
didn’t know what we were supposed to do locked up in our homes, But one person
for whom this wasn’t anything new was my ‘mother’. For her the routine wasn’t
going to change. On the contrary, she was the only one who was going to be
working twice more with all the men of home staying in home for the whole day.
Though my father has worked really hard in his younger days to uplift the
family’s financial condition, he has never been of any significant help to mom
in the household chores. It won’t be wrong to call it an inherited patriarchy.
Not that my mom had ever complained about it. It was only after I had got a job
that mom agreed to the luxury of a maid for household chores like cleaning,
laundry. But with lockdown she was again on her own.

Initial 3-4 days of the lockdown were fun. All family together, no office tension, rerun of
childhood tv shows and home-made snacks every now and then. Then the boredom engulfed
us. Then we were able to see what we couldn’t till then. Mom used to wake up at
5 am, get ready and clean up the house. Dad would be awake by that time and she
would prepare the tea and breakfast for him. Then she would go for washing the
clothes(no washing machine). When me and my brother would wake up, she would
switch to prepare breakfast for us and then again go back to washing clothes.
After finishing the laundry she would start prep up for the lunch. After lunch
is eaten by all of us (mom would be the last to eat as usual) she would get on
to washing utensils. Then if she is lucky, a half hour rest and get on to
prepare evening snacks (we don’t prefer packed snacks. Only freshly home-made).
Then the dinner preparation and washing utensils again and the day would end.
Imagine someone doing this daily for 30 years. I can’t. 

One day when she woke up, she was surprised to see dad cleaning the house. She said he need
not do it but he insisted. He prepared breakfast for her. Me and my brother
were also the part of surprise. We prepared our breakfast on our own. My dad
took the laundry department while brother was the chef for the day and I
handled the cleaning up of utensils. 

My mom was in tears. She had been the real
queen of the home for all the years but it was the first time we had made her
feel like that. We took the oath that household chores were no more just her
responsibility and that the division of labor would continue even after the
lockdown ends and “GO Corona” happens for real.

With modernization, the women have become equal contributors to the money pool of the family but
the men are yet to become equal contributors when it comes to household chores.
Time to see this change.

  

#ShareTheLoad #ShareTheLaundry  #ShareChoresMultiplyLove

I will #ShareTheLoad and help in household chores in association with Ariel India and BlogAdda

#Half Girlfriend

Hi friends, I am sharing a Half relationship story at BlogAdda in association with #HalfGirlfriend.

The story began when I was in the second year of my medical college. It was a lecture in the auditorium. I could get a clear view of her from the place I was seated.

Whenever she rotated her head by 45degree around the axis of her spine, I got the view of her half of the face which included one eye, half nose, half upper and lower lips and one cheek and one ear. Almost three times I got the view of her half of the face. Her top had different colorful flowers designed on them. But all of them looked fake in presence of her face. Her face had the freshness of rose and the brightness of a sunflower.

In one hour of lecture, I noticed following things.

--Three times she adjusted both sides of hair at a time.

--Four times she adjusted her hair on right side, two times on left side.

--Four times she smiled.

--Half the time she sat keeping the chin on palm with fingers resting over cheek while the other half resting the whole cheek over dorsum of flexed fingers.

Everytime she turned her face a bit on the right, the sun shined brightly. Every time she smiled , the dark room got lightened up. This was the first time I was getting such vibes from a girl.

I desperately wanted to introduce myself to her, be friends with her and spend time with her but didn’t know how. Though she was in the same batch, I had never spoken to her.

As they say “God always listens”, in the next medicine lecture this happened:

Just two minutes after the professor entered into class, he said, “Anjali and Raaj.”

Anjali stood up at her place and I stood up at mine.

“Good that you both are present. You have got to do some work. You both together have to prepare the design pattern of our “Medicine Voyage” magazine by the next saturday—is that Ok?”

“Yes.” We both said.

The professor said, “You work together after the college hours. Concentrate on this work for the next one week.”

After this, I started getting sarcastic comments from my friends such as,

---Chance pe Dance..for one week..

---Enjoy the time, boy, enjoy..

---Don’t miss this chance..

So that’s how we met in person for the first time and by the end of the week we became good friends.

We kept meeting each other regularly in the college campus; be it in the canteen, the badminton court or the library. We both were very much comfortable in each other’s company. We used to study together for exams in library. She helped me in completing my journals while I used to share my notes with her. Many a times I used to explain her some things over the phone during late hours of night; so late that the conversations ended in the morning. We used to go together for lunch and even dinner quite frequently. She would share her every joy and sorrow with me. Whenever she got upset over any matter, be it her family quarrels or fight with room-mates she would call me to get consoled and I would rush to her with her favourite ice-cream ever ready to make her smile. We were fond of each other.

On her birthday, when I gave her bucket full of her favourite chocolates she was so happy and uttered a statement which seemed like elixir entering into my ears, “Love you so much Raaj. Thank you for this.” I kept on repeating those words in my mind again and again and told myself that she for sure has similar feelings as I have for her.

Two years had passed and it was the final year. My friends were constantly pushing me to go for the proposal as it was the last session. One such day I decided to tell her my each and every feeling for her. 

When I went to her, she said, “As soon as this finishes, I am gonna start preparing for USA entrance exams. I want to pursue specialization in USA."

I was freezed and didn’t know what to say. I thought as if the last two years meant nothing to her and she had no attachment with me.

She said, “Why don’t you too join me in the preparation? Then we shall  study together in USA also?”

I felt a sign of relief on hearing that. I held back my proposal and said, “Of course, why not?”
I thought , “May be it is understood that she wants to be with me.” For me she had become my Girl-Friend. As they say in hindi movies, “Its not always necessary to express love in words. Sometimes it is to be understood with silence.” My friends kept scolding me for not making things clear and that someone else may be there in her life. I was so close to her that had there been some other guy she would have definitely told me. I was confident that Anjali was also in love with me.

We both happily prepared for the exams and then waited for the results. The results brought mixed feelings. She got selected but I got rejected. This meant that she got the approval to go to US but I had to wait for one more year to give a second try. This was when I decided to get some clarity.

I went and said, “Anjali, You go to USA. We shall be in touch and then next year I shall work harder to catch you there. I love you very much and will do whatever it takes to be with you.”

She, with expressions of surprise and shock, “Wait a minute. I thought we were good friends. Where did this ‘love’ angle came from?”

I asked, “Do you mean you love someone else?”

She, “Why do I have to be in love with someone to prove that I am not in love with you?”

I was taken aback at this and didn’t know what to speak further.

Her final words were, “Good bye Raaj, I was always your friend. Dont know at what moment you took me as your Girl-Friend.”

She went USA and I was left with my broken heart in India. I had the misconception of she being my girl-friend but in reality, she was just my "HALF-GIRLFRIEND".

I am writing a letter to life for the #DearZindagi activity at BlogAdda.

I am writing a letter to life for the #DearZindagi activity at BlogAdda.

Dear Zindagi,

You have been there with me since my origin in my mother’s womb, i.e. 27 years and 9 months to be precise. From then till now, you have given me so much to thank about that if I start writing I may not be able to complete it any day. I have thanked you at the times when something big and huge has happened to me. But have missed out on thanking you for the small things and moments which you have given me to cherish forever. Let me take this opportunity to thank you for each and every thing.

The first feeling of happiness which I remember is of the love you showered on me in the form of my parents. My mom dipping the Parle-G biscuits in water and feeding me. Mummy used to soak the bread in sugared milk and feed me after squeezing it. She used to mix rice and curd and then create balls of rice which I used to gulp like a panda. That taste is still fresh on my tongue and just the memory of it brings a wide smile on my face.

You gave me the lovely experiences of thrill, impatience, surprises when I used to wait every evening for my dad’s arrival from office keeping my eyes constantly focused over his hands expecting some new sweet or toy for me. Waiting for the first date of every month just because of the tradition of purchasing gulab jamuns on the day of salary gave me goosebumps. The first bajaj scooter bought by dad; and me standing on the front space between the handle and the seat while my dad drove—O God, that feeling was equivalent to travelling in some spaceship. I can’t thank you enough for the SUNDAYSSS, the day which I awaited since the Monday of every week. Watching the morning Rangoli programme followed by Shree Krishna and simultaneously relishing the warm Pav-Bhaji served by mom. And then Shaktimaan during the afternoon lunch was an icing on the cake.

How can I not thank you for the primary school? Travelling in the school bus while playing games with friends. Cricket, football and antakshari were life. Wining in the game of marbles was like earning property for the family. Learning to drive a cycle was no less exciting than driving a Formula one race car. There were moments when I was annoyed with you like when I used to fall while playing and get abrasions all over my body. But then you used to convince me by getting my mom apply Dettol antiseptic over my wounds with all love and care making me ready to play all again. Celebrating Holi, Diwali with the society friends was a different high.

The best thing you could do was to make me the youngest in the family. You, in form of elder brother gave me the joy of a permanent playmate. Having a TV video-game gave the feeling of luxury. Especially, the "Contra" game felt like men on mission to save the world. While my elder brother used to get all the scolding from parents, I used to be the apple of their eye. You gave me the early lessons on savings by the trick of storing coins in the gullak.

Giving me the virtue of intelligence and intuition was another blessing by you which helped me keep myself academically strong throughout my studies, something which kept my parents always happy. Awarding me the ‘Best Student Of the Year Award’ and bringing the tears of joy in eyes of my parents established the fact that you not only kept me happy but everyone related to me also happy.  And then you bestowed me the biggest gift of my whole existence. Getting into MBBS in a reputed college. The dream of my dad which he had been nurturing since my birth. I can’t thank you enough Zindagi for this.

The college phase brought a whole lot of new experiences and surprises. I can never get over the birthday celebrations, the parties,the movie outings, the late night drives. In form of friends you gave me a whole new family. The spontaneous laughter during the lectures and staring at girls in the college canteen was so lively. And then you surprised me with the most beautiful feeling in the world. Yes, the first signal of entry into the adolescent phase. The beauty of infatuation and breathtaking feel of LOVE. Suddenly the world seemed so much beautiful as if the very existence of you was love. That’s when I reinforced my liking for the Bollywood movies and especially SRK. I could relate myself to SRK of all romantic movies such as DDLJ,Dil To Pagal Hai etc. Thank you life for giving me the realization that life is all about love. Though the first love didn’t achieve the happy ending, it gave me all the feelings one could experience. That is when I developed a passion, a craze, an obsession for SRK. And meeting him became a priority in my life without which I would remain incomplete. Passing out MBBS gave me the license to be the servant cum savior of people. You gave me a noble opportunity to work for the fulfillment of God’s purpose. The level of spirituality attached with this feeling of being one with God is damn too high. Thank you life for choosing me. Thank you for keeping me healthy and capable enough to keep others healthy. 

With parents’ pride rising one level higher, I could dream of becoming a specialized surgeon. And you responded straight away. You got me placement for post-graduation in Mumbai in branch of Orthopaedics. You surely knew that Orthopaedics at any other place than Mumbai would not have given me a chance to meet SRK. Just when I thought that the unrequited first love would haunt me forever, you sent a beautiful fairy to my workplace. The feeling is as fresh and as liberating as the first time. Hopefully I shall be able to receive the same feelings from her. And now here comes your other blessing in form of Blogadda activity. I finally got the opportunity to meet the biggest star of the universe. Thank you very much life. All these moments are priceless. As SRK says, “Gratitude should be the attitude”; I shall always express gratitude to you no matter what my circumstances. Because I know that even the worst circumstances will help me in the betterment of my character and personality.

Yours truly,

Prashant.