4G Enabled! - Part -I

Shruti stepped into her husband’s house for the first time. The scene that welcomed her would have put off any normal girl.

Her husband’s grandfather, a ninety year old crippled man was bundled in a corner, smiling at her with a single tooth that refused to fall off the old man’s jaw. His grandmother was a lively lady, about seventy years of age and less than five feet in height.

Even at that age her eyes sparkled with joy when she saw Shruti. Shruti found the affection in that look infectious and smiled back at her with an equal warmth and affection.

She looked at her father-in-law who laughed more than smiled in joy. She smiled at him and with a lot of difficulty he uttered the words, “Welcome home,” to a huge uproar from the rest of the family. Shruti looked at her husband, her face changing into one big question mark.

“He never speaks. This is his quota of speech for the week!” said her husband, already reading his wife’s mind correctly.

Having lost his mother at the age of two and then his wife when he was fifty, Shruti’s father-in-law had withdrawn into his shell completely. His father remarried and his step-mother was an angel.

Shruti scanned the small room and her eyes rested on her husband’s brother and sister-in-law. They were in a state of bliss as they felt that they had succeeded in carrying out their responsibility, in the absence of the mother.

On one end of the sofa, their daughter was quite curious to know more about me. She was eagerly waiting for the elders to complete their scrutiny of me, so that she could take over.

Having spent couple of years in a hostel, Shruti herself was relieved to have a family and people around. Though the house was very tiny, she somehow felt that the people around would make up for it.

Since she had to join office the ensuing week, the honeymoon preparations and other social commitments had to be completed in a hurry.

The days that followed went by in a rush.

Shruti had her fill of attention from all the household members and she heard and spoke a lot!

When she joined office the following Monday, her colleagues wanted to know how she fared.

“It is just 4 days and I am not sure what is in store. But I feel 4G enabled! The household has members from across 4 generations. It is sure to offer loads of entertainment,” she said with a chuckle!

Author's note:

I am adding this note after a hint from one of the readers. Thanks Boris Pat.

In India, the bride leaves her father's place after her wedding. She lives at her husband's place and accepts her new home as hers from the word go. Contrary to popular beliefs not every house hold has fights between the bride and her mother-in-law. Most of the households function normally with just a few occasional misunderstandings.

Many households still follow the joint-family tradition and operate as patriarchal units. Though patriarchy can be misunderstood by some men as being male dominant, it was only for administrative ease that the system came into existence. The jobs outside of the house were performed by the male members, while the tasks within the house were taken care of by the women. 

In most of the households the finances are controlled by the women while the men are the primary bread-winners!

Who bullied whom?

Ajay and Raju were close friends, or so they thought! Raju had walked up to Ajay on the first day of school and asked Ajay to help him with some bullies who were beating him up. Their friendship began its journey as they began their academic year.

Ajay was good at everything that he did, while Raju excelled in studies. Though Ajay admired Raju’s academic prowess, he was busy learning new things and trying his hands at various skills that were on offer.

Raju, on the other hand, was always jealous of Ajay, though he did not show it out. Occasionally he would take a poke at Ajay, especially when an experiment of his misfired!

Ajay chose to ignore the taunts. One day, as Raju and Ajay were walking back home, Ajay fell into the river and started screaming for help.

Some of the passers-by rushed to the spot. Raju told them that Ajay was his friend and he was in the habit of acting and lying.

“He will be alright and requires no sympathy or help from any of you,” he said.

Only nature has the power to give relentlessly, as humans, we have to engage in a give-take relationship...

Some of them walked away while the others extended a helping hand. Meanwhile, a stunned Ajay started fighting with the water. He took the help that some of the passers-by offered him and pulled himself out of the water.

As Ajay walked past Raju, he asked him why he had done that to him. Raju turned around searching the place for help. Gautam, their senior was walking past and Raju rushed up to Gautam, asking him to help him as Ajay was bullying him!

CASH - Career Advancement through Self Help

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The left over is never right!

Be it feelings or food, the left over is never right!

We struggle to forget happenings and endlessly fight,

Over what was over in time gone and long past.

Move on and go ahead for the world is wide and vast!

A bit of sourness in the food is enough to spoil it,

And the same sourness however small, causes a dent,

In relationships cherished and savoured over years,

Carry on, losing not the valuable lessons learnt, sans fears!

A bitter taste your tongue feels each time you eat,

A food that is spoilt much the same way you feel the heat,

Each time you try to set right a sour relationship,

As love of the heart is weaker than the word on the lip!

Leftover food tastes as bitter as the left over feelings,

It is wiser not to look back and brood over past dealings!

Live life afresh as every new day is better than the old,

As it comes with promise which is worth its weight in gold!

Each day arrives with a new promise...

The 'Ironman'

In India, we can hire the services of the ‘isthri’wala or the ‘Iron’ man. His job is to roll press or steam iron the clothes that we give them. Some of the apartments have a complete laundry shop running at the basement.

When I was still at school, the apartment systems were not so popular and I grew up in an independent house. Back then my father had built a garage while constructing the house. But unfortunately (or fortunately, I am unable to assess), he could never own a car. Undeterred by his economic constraints, he gave the space to the ‘Iron’ man of our street.

Initially I found this a hindrance as my play area was occupied by him most of the time. I would, ignoring his presence, lift my head high in the air as I walked past him. I thought that he would understand my protest and as though by magic, vanish from the spot!

That never happened. After a few years, my father sold the house to a flat promoter, to sponsor our higher education. He booked a flat for us and we relocated for a year till the flat was ready.

We moved back into our flat and as per my father’s instructions, the garage, this time was covered and made into a study room.

The ‘Iron’ man settled himself outside the gate.

When I walked past him, I no longer lifted my head as I had grown a little older and probably a little wiser too! If he did not have the garage for his shop, neither did I have the place to play. In fact, I felt sorry for him!

One day I returned from a match, absolutely tired and drained. I was bruised badly on my knee and had lost in the last round of the match. The journey back from the venue was not comfortable either. As I opened the gate to step inside, the ‘Iron’ man called me to tell that my parents had gone out and would only be back in the evening. He handed over the key to my house.

I could not take that as I wanted to share my physical and emotional hurt with my mother. Before I knew what I was doing, I burst into tears.

The ‘Iron’ man, withdrew the key almost instantly. He sat me down and asked me what had happened. I took control of myself. Wiping my eyes, I told him that I was hungry and I will be alright. He walked up to his small mobile cart and took out his lunch box (Those were days when fast food and pizza joints were non-existent).

He gave it to me and asked me to eat. I looked at him in utter disbelief.

He asked me to take half of the food in the lid of the box and leave the other half for him. As I started eating the food, he told me something that changed the way I viewed life.

“Food meant for one person can be shared between two or three people, but the food meant to be consumed by two or three people can never be consumed by one person!”

Life has a strange way of teaching lessons. I have not forgotten to pass on this lesson to my children and always encourage them to share their food and their knowledge with people around.

I realised that knowledge is incomplete when not put to practical use. The great poet Thiruvalluvar, in his book Thirukkural has written thus:

“Paguthundu Pal Uir Oombudal, nooloar

Thoguthavatrul ellam thalai.”

When translated this means that sharing what you have with all life forms around you is the best virtue one can possess!

An uneducated ‘Isthri’wala, taught me how to practice what is considered as the best virtue by the one of the most learned man to have lived on earth!

A person from humble roots can be a storehouse of great wisdom!