Happy Women's Day - An Ode to my Aunts

I was blessed with a happy childhood and lovely summer holidays. When I was a kid, I visited my nanihaal and dadihaal for a month each. I thought my summers were fun because of the many cousins I had. I spent two wonderful months with them each year. We played the whole day and announced ourselves noisily at mealtimes, full with youthful appetite. At nights, we prepared for sleeping under the stars. We cooled the terrace with a sprinkling of water, rolled out mattresses and covered them with sheets. Then we either played some more or entertained each other with stories. Yeah, the holidays were definitely fun because of my cousins, but in hindsight, the fun could fructify because of my various Aunts. They were the bulwarks on whose shoulders the households ran. Taking care of 20-25 people day in and day out was not a mean task but they did it with a smile on their faces. 

When celebrating Women's Day, we praise working women, who have redefined economic progress, who walk shoulder to shoulder with men. I would like to take this moment to pay my respect to all those 'stay-at-home' women, who have been pillars of efficiently running households. From taking care of senior citizens to the newborns, they have been everything rolled into one. From being magicians in the kitchen to being amazing hosts, from relationship managers to keepers of traditions, from craftswomen to artists - they have worked tirelessly to keep the household and more importantly, relationships running. They prepared the ground where a million sweet memories bloomed. They nurtured me with their time and energy without which, the canvas of my summer holidays would not have been colorful. 

So here's a heartfelt thanks to you all - Mamijis and Masijis, Chachiji, Taiji and Buajis. Thank you for making my childhood so beautiful! You all rock and I have nothing but the deepest respect for you. 

Lockdown Thoughts & Memes

The Old Order Falleth.....

I find myself making more and more condolence calls these days. What's gone wrong, I wonder. Then, I realize and though it's as clear as daylight, it hits hard. 

I now lie in the demography where parents are getting old. The waves of time are crashing at the shores of life and chipping away at its fragile walls. A friend's Mom passed away due to cancer. Another friend's Dad submitted to heart attack. An aunt was taken away on account of an illness. 

Well, illnesses are just an excuse. The real killer is time. Those sentinels of my childhood, who once looked sturdy and invincible, aren't able to contain the vagaries of time. 

These seniors have all touched my life at some point or the other. A friend's Mom was an integral part of school lunch hour with the delicious pickles she packed. Another friend's Mom welcomed us with mouth- watering goodies whenever we visited them. An Uncle dabbled in homeopathy and dispensed neat little packets of pills for our common complaints. Another maintained a lovely garden and would share fruits of his labor with us. Someone sang very well and played dholak at every gathering. Another neighborhood Auntie had us in splits with her dance moves. A friend's father was strict and told us off if we were too loud and in turn made us burst into suppressed giggles.

They all are wafts and weaves that make the rich tapestry of childhood memories. From seeing them regularly during childhood, to meeting them when they visit their married kids during adulthood, their presence is always reassuring and full of warmth. They bring back a whiff of old days. They give a feeling of wellness and completeness. As if 'All is Well' with the world.

Now, whenever I get news of anybody's parent passing away, I realize with great sadness, that time is indeed fleeting and life is just a bubble which can burst anytime. It gives a new perspective on time. So whenever I meet a senior citizen, be it a relative or friends' parents, I like to chat with them and hear their stories. Like it or not, our days with our seniors are limited and we should make the most of them.

Make memories, get kids to spend as much time with them as possible, take a ton of pictures, learn life's lessons, hear their stories from days of yore, sit with them, talk to them, make them laugh, share our favorite memories of them, pamper them. 

Because soon, the wheels of time will turn again, and this time, they might not be around to share our victories and joys or soothe us with their words of wisdom, nor to bless us with all their heart or to complain with all their might. They will not grace our lives anymore. And that will be a deep, deep loss. 

Wait Till You've Been Auntied!

There's always a first for everything. Some firsts are good, others not so much. In this particular instance, it's absolute fun when it happens to others, but when you're the victim, God be merciful!

The first time you get addressed as an 'Auntie' or 'Uncle', you just go berserk or "off your lemon", as Bertram Wooster would have put it. "What  do they think, those youngsters, so full of themselves? Do they feel, I'm past my prime while they're still wet behind their ears, those young rascals?", you silently fume. 

As there's no handbook to address people who aren't related to you, the monikers of 'Auntie' and 'Uncle' jump right in to fill in the gap. It's a very Indian urge to show respect towards people who are older than you and do so with a personal touch. So, while addressing elders by name is considered outrightly disrespectful, addressing them as Mr. or Mrs. XYZ wouldn't be as personal. 'Auntie' and 'Uncle' contain just the right amount of respect with that dash of closeness. 

Time was when, for womenfolk, marriage held the key to those dreaded but assured gates to Auntiedom. As soon as one got married, draped a saree and put on sindoor, it guaranteed one's graduation from Didi to Auntie. 

With changing times, sartorial preferences changed dramatically. Saree gave way to salwar kurta and western outfits. One couldn't determine the marital status of a lady by her outfit or accessories anymore. This added confusion to the already simmering brew of uncertainty. 

Well, this trauma can befall anyone after a certain age. Your neighborhood kid, in all her innocence, perceives a big enough age gap and decides to bestow you with a polite 'Auntie' or 'Uncle', when you've only started college. "What!! I'm not even married!", you say. But is that or should that be a criteria? What if you don't get married at all? Will it save you from being Auntied?

It hurts the first time when you hear tiny tots referring to you as Auntie. Then with years, the blow softens. After you have kids, you wear the nomenclature almost like your second skin. When you have accepted this reality, comes the second deadlier blow. Suddenly, out of the blue, 20 somethings start calling you Auntie! 

When I started getting Auntied by 20 somethings, I realized how Westerners would have felt when their jobs were Bangalored. Totally incredulous. Could this really be happening? Realization of a bitter truth followed by a determination to play the game harder (and strive to look, dress and talk younger in this case). Then finally, a resignation to fate and a grudging acceptance of the inevitable!

So what should the criteria be, I wonder. Age? Looks? Marital status? After giving a lot of thought to the subject, I've devised my own thumb rule. If a person looks my parents' age, I use Auntie or Uncle. Otherwise, I stick to Didi/Bhaiyya or go by their preference. 

Youngsters, be kind when addressing people just a few years older than you. When in doubt, use Didi/Bhaiyya or even a name, maybe with a ji, if you can't resist the urge to be respectful. Trust me, you will get the most grateful looks and will be blessed enough to achieve your next big start-up or foreign vacation dream.

For all those who have Auntied me irresponsibly over  the years, have either forgotten the laws of karma or the power of lists. But karma does work (and so do lists, if you do them right). In addition, what goes around, comes around. Now that I have a sweet little weapon to unleash, I have decided to go a-visiting everyone from that list. 

I'll be there to record your memorable moment when my seven-year old innocently asks 'Auntie, can I please have a cookie?" Your look will change from utter confusion to pure disgust to mortal horror, faster than a chameleon changes color. You'll whimper, "What! Me...an Auntie!!!?? You can have all the cookies in the world but only if you don’t call me Auntie!" At that point, you might catch me smiling a smug smile, like the cat who has just licked the creamiest of milk.Yeah, the revenge sounds utterly satisfying. 

Now, did you just hear a knock at your door?

An abridged version of this piece was published in Deccan Herald on 24th March, 2018.  http://www.deccanherald.com/content/666180/wait-till-youve-been-auntied.html

Wait till you've been Auntied

There's always a first for everything. Some firsts are good, others not so much. In this particular instance, it's absolute fun when it happens to others, but when you're the victim, it's a different ballgame altogether! The first time you get addressed as an 'Auntie' or 'Uncle', you just go berserk or "off your lemon", as Bertram Wooster would have put it. "What  do they think, those youngsters, so full of themselves? Do they feel, I'm past my prime while they're still wet behind their ears, those young rascals?", you silently fume. 

As there's no handbook to address people who aren't related to you, the monikers of 'Auntie' and 'Uncle' jump right in to fill in the gap. It's a very Indian urge to show respect to people older to you and do it with a personal touch. So while addressing elders by name is considered outrightly disrespectful, addressing them as Mr. or Mrs. XYZ isn't as personal. 'Auntie' and 'Uncle' add just the right amount of respect with that dash of apnapan. 

Time was when marriage held the key to those dreaded, but assured gates to Auntiedom for womenfolk. As soon as one got married, draped a saree and put on sindoor, it guaranteed one's graduation from a Didi to an Auntie. 

With changing times, sartorial preferences changed dramatically. Saree gave way to salwar kurta and western outfits. One couldn't determine the marital status of a lady by her outfit anymore. This led to confusion to the already simmering brew of uncertainty. 

Well, this trauma can befall anyone after a certain age.Your neighborhood kid, in all his/ her innocence, perceives a big enough age gap and decides to bestow you with a polite 'Auntie' or 'Uncle', when you've only started college. "What!! I'm not even married!", you say. But is that or should that be a criteria? What if you don't get married at all? Will it save you from being Auntied?

It hurts the first time you hear tiny tots referring to you as Auntie. Then with years, the blow softens. After you have kids, you wear the nomenclature almost like your second skin. When you have succumbed to this reality, comes the second deadly blow. Suddenly, out of the blue, 20 somethings start calling you Auntie! 

When I started getting Auntied by 20 somethings, I realized how the Westerners would have felt when their jobs were Bangalored. Totally incredulous. Could this really be happening? Realization of a bitter truth followed by a determination to play the game harder (and strive to look, dress and talk younger in this case). Then finally, a resignation to fate and a grudging acceptance of the inevitable!

So what should the criteria be, I wonder. Age? Looks? Marital status?After giving much thought to the subject, I've come to my own thumb rule. If a person looks my parents' age, I address her/him as Auntie or Uncle. Otherwise, I stick to Didi/Bhaiyya or go by their preference. 

Youngsters, be kind when addressing people just a few years older to you. When in doubt, use Didi/Bhaiyya or even a name, maybe with a ji, if you can't resist the urge to be respectful. Trust me, you will get the most grateful looks and will be blessed enough to achieve your next big start-up or foreign vacation dream.

For all those who have Auntied me irresponsibly over the years, have either forgotten the laws of karma or the power of lists. But karma does work (and so do lists, if you do them right). In addition, what goes around, comes around. Now that I have a sweet little weapon of my own to unleash, I have decided to go a-visiting everyone from that list. 

I'll be there to record your memorable moment when my seven-year old innocently asks 'Auntie, can I please have a biscuit?" Your look will change from utter confusion to pure disgust to mortal horror, faster than a chameleon changes its color. You'll whimper, "What! Me...an Auntie!!!?? You can have all the biscuits in the world but only if you call me Didi!" At that point, you might catch me smiling a smug smile, like the cat who has just licked the creamiest of milk. 

Yeah, the revenge sounds utterly satisfying. Now, did you just hear a knock at your door?

India Shining?

India Shining - proclaims a poster from a wall of a government office. "From all the spit that has glazed our beloved motherland?" I wonder. We consider it our birthright to spit as and where we please. 

All public places, especially walls and staircase landings, are a testimony to this obsession. This national habit makes me recoil in horror. There is hardly anything one can do, other than scurry away as fast as possible, in those precious two seconds, when the spitter is gathering supplies from the depths of his soul and is ready to slaver the world in all its slimy ugliness.

As I step out of my house, I keep my fingers crossed lest I encounter this spitting specimen. But it's as wishful a thinking, as my hope to travel to outer space or win a billion dollars in lottery one day. The more wary I get, the more spitters I witness. It seems that they do it on purpose. They seek me out and spit just when I cross them. I look away from one, only to witness someone else indulging in the act. No escape! "Keep calm! Glue your eyes to the ground." I say to myself. It's no better this way as I try to navigate through a veritable spit mine. The road is peppered with blobs of same stuff in various colors, shapes and vintages. Ugh! 

God forbid if you are a pedestrian or riding a two-wheeler and you happen to be in the trajectory of a bus passenger's liquid missile. As with hierarchies in general, it's better to be high in the hierarchy of vehicles, to avoid being a victim.

How do people generate such copious amounts of spit? The answer lies in incessant chewing of paan, gutkha and supari. This chewing gets addictive as most gutkhas or suparis are laced with tobacco. A househeld help told me the reason she got into the habit. She had to get up early in mornings to reach work. With no time to have her own breakfast, she used to suppress hunger by chewing supari. In no time, she got addicted.

We are mistaken if we think that only the economically poor strata of society is afflicted with this habit. The sight of car passengers rolling down their windows to get rid of their possessions isn't uncommon.

While taking morning walks in my apartment complex, I used to meet a well-to-do senior citizen on a regular basis. One fine day when I turned a corner, I spotted him getting rid of his spittle. He was least apologetic about it. "And there goes away my magical morning!" I mourned. I definitely couldn't preach him but gave him the most dignified disgusting look and hoped he got the message. The next day at my walk, I expected him to have learnt his lesson. Sadly, he remained as merry a spitter as ever.

If a Rupee were fined for every time a person spit in public places, it would  fill the coffers of our government. Or if spitting was an Olympic sport, we would sweep the dais, winning all medals in all possible categories. But alas, spitting doesn't do any such wonders for us, other than spreading unhygienic conditions and making us look like an uncouth country. If we don't ditch the habit, we will probably soon earn a slogan of "India Spitting"!

PS: This piece was published in Open-Ed section of The Hindu on 27th August, 2017.
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/open-page/spitters-galore-without-a-care/article19565992.ece

What I learnt from a burglary at my place

You read about it all the time. You know it can happen, but when it actually happens to you, you can't help feeling shocked and cheated. So one fine afternoon, when we discovered that our house was broken in and all our electronics were gone, we were overwhelmed. Right from dialing 911, to finding out what to do after a burglary, it was a learning experience. So I did what I do best (or so I think); compile a list of dos and dont's:

Things to do before a burglary.......that means right now!

1. If you've got gold or silver, get a locker. 

2. Have a home owners or renters insurance. Choose a plan that is suitable for your valuables. Look at the premium and deductibles. A combined plan for your home and car is better than separate insurances.

3. Note the serial number of all your devices. Enable the location finder in your devices.

4. Take pictures of all your valuables (including jewelry, expensive watches, sunglasses, handbags, shoes etc.) and store on cloud and mail a copy to your mail accounts and also to a trusted source. Same goes for receipts. This will help in insurance claims.

5. Consider putting up an alarm or buying a safe.

6. Do not decorate your house from outside in a way that makes you stand out. For e.g. No bandanwaars or rangolis outside the front yard. 

7. Be extra careful during vacation and Diwali time. Definitely put your stuff in locker soon after use.

8. If you want to deck up in gold jewelry for a party, consider carrying it in a purse and wearing once near the venue. Walking out of the house all decked up might make you stand out.

9. Post a 'beware of dog' or a security agency sticker on your front door to deter potential burglars.

10. Don't leave your valuables visible from windows.

11. Don't keep all documentation at one place. For E.g. keep your ssn at a different place than the passport. 

12. Set up a verbal password for your id. At DMV, you can set up a question which pops up every time you are asked to show your id. It has to be answered verbally.

13. Set up passwords for all your devices.

14. If you go on a vacation, ask your friends to check on your house frequently.

After the burglary...hope you don't have to...:

1.If in trouble, call 911 immediately. Accept help from friends and be grateful for their presence and concern. 

2. In case your credit cards are missing, cancel them. Get in touch with your bank and let them know of the loss.

3. If your devices are stolen, change passwords for all possible sites. Also, track your devices for any clues. Report them to the police.

4. Make a list of all valuable things that are missing. Get it into the police report.

5. Check your locks and keys including car keys. If any are missing, get the locks changed.

6. Get in touch with insurance, armed with your police report and list of missing things.

7. If it can happen to someone else, it can happen to you.Everything in the world is transient. Remember? "Jo aaj tumhara hai, kal kisi aur ka hoga.... " Be happy for the good times that you had together with your stuff.

8. Don't buy more than you need. Enjoy the stuff that you have.

9. Move on. Life is made of experiences, both good and bad. Take it in your stride. One day, you'll be telling tales about it!