“You always speak in Hindi, while your husband converses with you in Punjabi.” I looked at my friend in disbelief when she pointed it out . Months into my marriage, I was blissfully unaware of the anomaly that we were conversing in two different languages, speaking with each other in our own comfort language, a lingo that the other person was conversant with. Continue reading “The comfort of one’s own language”
Flirtations with online shopping
I was baffled. Every now and then, the doorbell would ring. There would be a delivery boy at the door, either to deliver something or to pick up a return. From daily-use items to fancy products, perishables like milk and vegetables to durables like upholstery to even odd pieces of furniture, almost everything was being ordered online and delivered at the door step. I couldn’t even buy tomatoes or potatoes without scrutinizing each piece; I wondered how anyone could make big purchases without actually seeing, touching and having the feel of the product. That was the time when online shopping was an alien concept for me, difficult to digest.
Grand privilege of online grand parenting
It is Sunday. The child’s parents are at home. We, the grandparents are sitting listlessly, missing our most gratifying, pleasant, and enjoyable duty, if at all it can be called a duty. Come Monday, we shall be back to our cheerful routine, spending time with our little bundle of joy, our one-year-ten-months old granddaughter, not physically but virtually.
Continue reading “Grand privilege of online grand parenting”
Let’s not press the hate button
Thankfully, this year Nuh Shobha Yatra concluded peacefully amid an internet ban and tight security. Last year, when communal clashes took place during the procession, I was in Gurugram with my son. Tension spread through several districts of South Haryana, including Gurugram, impacting the life of everyone, rich and poor, belonging to all the communities. Living in an upscale gated residential society, we were under no threat, but fear of another kind gripped us. As the tension spread, shops closed down, home delivery was suspended. Educational institutions were shut and most office goers worked from home. The residents stayed within the safe environs of the society, nevertheless there was upheaval in their life as maids and domestic help belonging to both the communities, living in shanties nearby, remained absent.
Near misses at the airport and a life’s lesson
After the security check at the airport, while I was waiting to pick up my handbag and mobile from the tray, my phone kept ringing incessantly. Without even looking at the screen, I knew the caller was none other than my husband.
That was the time when I had started travelling solo by air after the birth of my grandchild. I can’t say I have become a frequent flyer now, but yes, over the past one-and a-half years, I must have made a dozen solo trips between Delhi and Chandigarh. My husband is more relaxed now, but earlier he used to be quite anxious whenever I had to travel singly. He would drop me at the Chandigarh airport and wait till I entered the gate. He would call me at least four times till I finally boarded the aeroplane.
Coming back to my story, I was rushing towards the boarding gate at IGI Airport when my phone rang yet again. As expected my concerned husband was on the line. I rummaged through my hand bag to retrieve my phone. In the hurry and flurry, I didn’t realize something had slipped out until a passerby pointed it out. Guess what! It was my boarding pass.
Thank God, I was saved from harassment and embarrassment. Yet again, I was lucky to have escaped huge botheration when I messed up at the airport at another time. However, this time I was not alone but travelling with my husband. After collecting the check-in baggage from the Carousel, baggage conveyer belt at the Delhi Airport, my hubby was in no mood to immediately rush out of the airport. The Delhi-Chandigarh flight time is barely thirty-five minutes, but it takes more than an hour in maddening traffic to reach the destination from the airport. Thus, as the luck would have it, we decided to have a cup of tea in the baggage reclaim area before leaving.
While we were merrily sipping tea, my husband got a call from an unknown number. Immediately, he got up, checked the suitcase, and started towing it towards the conveyer belt, just opposite the café. Within two minutes he was back after exchanging the baggage with an elderly couple who was waiting for their suitcase. He had to apologize for my stupidity, for I was the one responsible for the faux pas. Too engrossed chatting on my mobile to check the ribbon tied on its handle to mark our baggage, I picked up someone else’s suitcase of the same make, size and colour. Of course, I felt embarrassed, but I shudder to think of the scenario if we had left the airport immediately after collecting the luggage.
Imagine discovering the blunder at the venue before getting ready for the function! It was sheer luck that the old couple was vigilant and we were still around so that the bags could be exchanged without much of a hassle within no time. A crisis averted!
Since I happened to be twice luck, I can merrily end with a cheerful note ‘All is well that ends well’. However, this doesn’t undermine the need to be careful and alert. In Hindi they say ‘Savdhani hati, durghtna ghati’, implying the moment you stop being careful and alert, you are likely to meet with an accident. Becoming wiser after two near misses, I resolved to never let my guard down, especially at an airport.
(Published in Woman’s era July 2024 issue )
