Life's Like That

I My mother in law was a local politician and had  contacts with the rich and influential people of our city.  She had an air of authority and control about her and one would have to think twice before speaking to her. While at home, when she was not shouting at a servant or arguing with my father in law, she could be found standing in the kitchen with one hand on her waist and the other holding a coffee mug and instructing the cook in a harsh tone. I had seen the strained look on the cook’s face when she was around. The events of that fateful day had been forever etched in my memory. Me and my husband had visited the family doctor that day and without my knowledge or consent the gender of my baby was tested. I was unaware of it until I reached home. On reaching back home, mamma had categorically told me to abort the baby. My mouth went dry and in that state of shock all I could say was, ‘I am feeling dizzy. I need to take rest.’ I went upstairs to my room. Food and ...

A relative’s family came to wish us Diwali last night. They were three of them- father, mother and their eight year old boy. The lady and her husband greeted us and we greeted them back. However, the boy was quiet. He was trying to hide behind her mother all the time. She said to him, ‘Aarav say Namaste to everyone.’ To this he looked at us shyly and went closer to his mother, who by the time had started feeling embarrassed. I went to the boy and took his hand in my hands and sai d, ‘hello.’ He said hello in a very low voice. His mother looked surly and scolded him, ‘beta aunty ko hello karo, kya ladkiyo ki tarah sharma rahe ho?’ (say hello to aunty, don't be shy like a girl). It is very normal for kids to be shy. Nonetheless, it was her comment that had taken me aback. Here was a well educated working woman who was putting this nonsense in her child’s mind that it is okay to behave this way if you are a girl, but not if you are a boy. Every now and then we hear such discrimi...

Me and my two year old went for an evening walk today. We live in the city outskirts and the houses are sparse here. The road is mostly empty with occasional scooters or cars passing by. It was quarter past five, and we were leisurely walking- watching birds, clouds, eucalyptus and guava trees drenched in the last rays of the evening sun. Weather was pleasant and the occasional chirping of birds made the silence even more beautiful. Suddenly, as if out of nowhere a big dog came howling towards us, he had a loose chain tied on his neck and had shining brown hair. He was by all means a well fed and giant dog. I panicked and took my baby in my arms and stood still there on the road. There was not a single soul to be seen nearby who could have come for our rescue. The dog came near me and started to smell my toes, and then started moving around me. He was wagging his tail. Though I knew these were friendly gestures, I was too scared to move. I was thinking about what to do when I...

If you are going to visit a new place, this post is for you: We recently went to Egypt and everything including the hotels and the tour guide was pre-booked. On day one the guide took us to the pyramids and bought us our tickets. We took them and went inside the pyramids. When we came outside the guide was waiting for us and asked if we wanted a horse cart ride. We agreed to it and the horse cart took us around the pyramids. It was a 20 minute ride and when we reached back a man was waiting for us with a broad smile on his face. He was the owner of that horse cart and demanded a huge sum of money from us. We did not know that there was a separate charge for this ride. We thought this must be included in the tour plan we had opted for. Nonetheless, we had to pay the money. The guide feigned ignorance when later we told him about this. Later that day this guide took us to a very expensive perfume shop. He told us that it was the best perfume shop in Cairo (the capital of Egypt)...

As I sat in my office going through the obituaries in today’s newspaper I heard a soft knock on my door. I looked at my watch, surprised as to who it might be on a Sunday morning. However, before I could respond, a dishevelled man with uncombed hair and dim uncomprehending eyes peeped at me from the door. ‘May I come in sir?’ he asked politely. Though I did not want to be disturbed but taking pity on him I decided to call him in. He looked as if he had not slept for weeks and is in some serious trouble. ‘Please come in. Is everything okay?’ as he sat on the chair as I asked with genuine concern. ‘Thank you for letting me in. I’m alright.’ He shook his head with irritation and said, ‘travelling in Delhi is a cumbersome task. It dazzles me. Last night I had a narrow escape right in front of your office when a bus had almost flashed its headlights in my eyes. Even my goggles couldn’t have saved me.’ He raised his eyebrows at the insensitivity of the people. ‘You should have been m...