Of Husbands and Housewives
My husband ran the Mumbai Marathon last Sunday. Ya, the same one with John Abraham, Akshay Kumar, Tina Ambani and the likes. Actually, he ran the half marathon. That's a distance of 21km instead of the regular 42. He did it in a cool two hours and thirty minutes. Boy, was I tired!!
No, I didn't run with him. I didn't even go to cheer him. I didn't go for the Dream Run either. I kept on sleeping that morning. Then, why was I tired? Preparing for it, you see.
Like all good Indian wives, I aid and abet all the activities of the Lord and Master of the House and try and make his life uncomplicated. This generally translates into regular stuff like buying his shoes, get his suits tailored without him having to give measurements, imploring Vodafone to activate his international roaming since he's in Singapore etc etc...normal stuff that I can accomplish with some strain to my vocal chords and numerous rounds in the car.
This marathon however, tested me to my mettle and left me exhausted. It deprived me of my sleep!! My PP(Pati Parmeshwar, who else?) took to waking up at 5:30 every morning and then dragging me occasionally for a walk. Okay, I know I need to exercise and that shed that excess flab but 6 am....please! On another occasion, I drove him to Jogger's Park and acted as his water girl; matlab giving him water to drink as he ran for nearly two hours. I know I could have utilised that time and taken endless rounds of Jogger's Park myself, but my unflinching dedication to my PP and love for my phone kept me glued to the same spot for those many hours. Exhausting, you'll have to agree!
So, when my dear PP suffered from cramps that Sunday morning due to the lack of water on the Bandra-Worli Sea Link, I almost called up the organisers of the Marathon offering my services as a water girl for the 2011 edition. Then, I saw my dark circles and immediately went back to sleep....
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Classes, Chaos and Chauffeurs
Classes, Chaos and Chauffeurs
It's been a year in the city and I've been itching to say to my brats," Go downstairs and play. Ride your bike, play hide and seek, do anything but don't come up for the next two hours. Understood? " Oh, how I've been longing to say those words!!
What's so difficult, you might ask? "What's the big deal anyway?", enquired my husband. Lord, help these ignorant masses for they know not the world of After School Classes. For the uninitiated, these classes are the ones the child does after school hours. If you're really lucky, your child could do these classes at school and then even be dropped back home. Wow! That's what I call luxury!
For the rest of us, most often these classes are all over town and require a drop off and a pick up. If you feel," What's the need to enroll the kids for these classes?", then I'm sorry to say you are clearly old fashioned. And you don't know Mumbai and its Moms!
It's an unwritten requirement of the times we live in that kids should be good at everything. While excelling at studies, they should also learn how to play team games like football/cricket. They should definitely know how to hit a proper backhand and play at least one musical instrument. Oh, did I forget dance? All kids should overcome their shyness and learn to shake a leg in public.
Why Mumbai? Because, given the paucity of parks and open spaces in the city, you are forced to take the help of these classes to keep the kids busy in a non TV/Computer/PSP/Mobile environment. In most other cities, you could still have an option.
So, I decide to put my 10 year old for football on Mondays and Wednesdays. He will also do Marathi on Tuesdays and dance on Mondays and Fridays. My daughter will do the same dance class as him on Mondays and Fridays and also vocal music on Thursdays. Where does that leave me? In a traffic jam at Mahim trying to explain to an irate husband why he can't utilise the services of his chauffeur. Yet again!
Maybe I should hand back the TV remote to the kids after all!
It's been a year in the city and I've been itching to say to my brats," Go downstairs and play. Ride your bike, play hide and seek, do anything but don't come up for the next two hours. Understood? " Oh, how I've been longing to say those words!!
What's so difficult, you might ask? "What's the big deal anyway?", enquired my husband. Lord, help these ignorant masses for they know not the world of After School Classes. For the uninitiated, these classes are the ones the child does after school hours. If you're really lucky, your child could do these classes at school and then even be dropped back home. Wow! That's what I call luxury!
For the rest of us, most often these classes are all over town and require a drop off and a pick up. If you feel," What's the need to enroll the kids for these classes?", then I'm sorry to say you are clearly old fashioned. And you don't know Mumbai and its Moms!
It's an unwritten requirement of the times we live in that kids should be good at everything. While excelling at studies, they should also learn how to play team games like football/cricket. They should definitely know how to hit a proper backhand and play at least one musical instrument. Oh, did I forget dance? All kids should overcome their shyness and learn to shake a leg in public.
Why Mumbai? Because, given the paucity of parks and open spaces in the city, you are forced to take the help of these classes to keep the kids busy in a non TV/Computer/PSP/Mobile environment. In most other cities, you could still have an option.
So, I decide to put my 10 year old for football on Mondays and Wednesdays. He will also do Marathi on Tuesdays and dance on Mondays and Fridays. My daughter will do the same dance class as him on Mondays and Fridays and also vocal music on Thursdays. Where does that leave me? In a traffic jam at Mahim trying to explain to an irate husband why he can't utilise the services of his chauffeur. Yet again!
Maybe I should hand back the TV remote to the kids after all!
Sunday, January 10, 2010
SIMPLE PLEASURES OF LIFE!
Ah, the simple pleasures of life! Of packing the kids off to school, sending harrassed husband to work, telling the cook what concoction to conjure, and then enjoying a 9 am snooze zzzz... Ah, the simple pleasures of life!
In a way I'm glad that the holiday season is over. At least I have some "idiot" time to myself. To chat with my sisters on extremely important matters like weight loss/gain , call up old friends and discuss idiosyncracies of household help, take note of in-laws, listen to mama's advice, dad's bulletins, sister-in-law's health etc etc... I'm sure you get the general drift.
This is not to imply that these things don't happen when the kids are at home. Of course, they do! You can't live for too long without discussing the latest Bollywood flick and Sushmita Sen's botox. These are earth shattering matters and the presence of company at home does not deter conversations about the same. It's just that these pleasures are best enjoyed without someone yelling, "Mama potty!" , "Mama the Wii batteries are totally discharged. What do I do now?" and without being told " You sisters talk so much about weight. How about actually doing something about it for a change?". Spoilsport!
The only problem with the simple pleasures of life is that they are fairly irregular and short lived. No, I'm not philosophising- that's for pseudo intellectuals. I'm just indicating that my free time is over and I need to rush to the supermarket to buy mozarella cheese for the pasta tonight. Good Bye!!
Ah, the simple pleasures of life! Of packing the kids off to school, sending harrassed husband to work, telling the cook what concoction to conjure, and then enjoying a 9 am snooze zzzz... Ah, the simple pleasures of life!
In a way I'm glad that the holiday season is over. At least I have some "idiot" time to myself. To chat with my sisters on extremely important matters like weight loss/gain , call up old friends and discuss idiosyncracies of household help, take note of in-laws, listen to mama's advice, dad's bulletins, sister-in-law's health etc etc... I'm sure you get the general drift.
This is not to imply that these things don't happen when the kids are at home. Of course, they do! You can't live for too long without discussing the latest Bollywood flick and Sushmita Sen's botox. These are earth shattering matters and the presence of company at home does not deter conversations about the same. It's just that these pleasures are best enjoyed without someone yelling, "Mama potty!" , "Mama the Wii batteries are totally discharged. What do I do now?" and without being told " You sisters talk so much about weight. How about actually doing something about it for a change?". Spoilsport!
The only problem with the simple pleasures of life is that they are fairly irregular and short lived. No, I'm not philosophising- that's for pseudo intellectuals. I'm just indicating that my free time is over and I need to rush to the supermarket to buy mozarella cheese for the pasta tonight. Good Bye!!
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Happy New Year Mothers!
Another new year; another weekend of celebrations; of endless eating,excessive drinking, of being an idiot... and then back to reality with a BANG!
" Mama, my school is opening tomorrow. I still have to write the tables of 2-12 three more times," moans my petite 7 year old. Not to be outdone, my gaming buff 10 year butts in, " Hey Mama, you know na that my exams are starting on Friday? Can you arrange for the Marathi tutor to come in twice this week? Also, can we please go to Landmark.I know it's 45 minutes away. Aditya says they have the new Pendragon". As I said, back to reality with a BANG!
It's tough being a mother these days. It's tougher being a mother in Mumbai and if you're a mother of two tweens who've relocated to Mumbai from Delhi(like me) then god bless your soul. Even as you're trying to manage tempers and time-tables of forlorn , perpetually hungry kids, every Mumbaikar worth his/her salt will try and convince you how superior the city is to the national capital. Within a few days i realise that the irritation level of the children is directly proportinate to this Mumbai hardsell!
More on that later, but now it's time to get out of the holiday stupor and get onto the energetic, enterprising Mama mould.Oh, and I must share my new year resolution with you- of cribbing less and writing more. Or rather, of putting all the cribs into text... HAPPY NEW YEAR!
" Mama, my school is opening tomorrow. I still have to write the tables of 2-12 three more times," moans my petite 7 year old. Not to be outdone, my gaming buff 10 year butts in, " Hey Mama, you know na that my exams are starting on Friday? Can you arrange for the Marathi tutor to come in twice this week? Also, can we please go to Landmark.I know it's 45 minutes away. Aditya says they have the new Pendragon". As I said, back to reality with a BANG!
It's tough being a mother these days. It's tougher being a mother in Mumbai and if you're a mother of two tweens who've relocated to Mumbai from Delhi(like me) then god bless your soul. Even as you're trying to manage tempers and time-tables of forlorn , perpetually hungry kids, every Mumbaikar worth his/her salt will try and convince you how superior the city is to the national capital. Within a few days i realise that the irritation level of the children is directly proportinate to this Mumbai hardsell!
More on that later, but now it's time to get out of the holiday stupor and get onto the energetic, enterprising Mama mould.Oh, and I must share my new year resolution with you- of cribbing less and writing more. Or rather, of putting all the cribs into text... HAPPY NEW YEAR!
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