1. MUM’S THE WORD, ALWAYS!

Shantanu was sitting at his usual spot, at the head of the table and I was at my usual spot, to his left, at the alcove, near the wall.

He was all worked up, my Shantanu. He wanted to reach the office before his team came in. Soon the monstrous morning traffic would consume every available space on the roads and my Shantanu hated congestions. It gave him headaches, he said.

I wanted to ruffle his hair and say 'life would be ok'. But I decided against it. He was already late for work you see and I didn’t want to add to his stress. I’m very caring that way.

Shantanu folded the newspapers and drummed his fingers impatiently on the table. He was hungry. I knew he would be served those bland oats and some fancy fruits, all in the name of good health whereas Shantanu loved my tangy vegetables and Rotis.

I sighed.

Just then, Noyinka walked in from her morning Yoga classes, bellowed for breakfast to the person battling in the kitchen.

“Bhaiyya has to leave, Jhumki!”. Noyinka then plonked herself next to my Shantanu and chatted away non-stop about the world around, without waiting for him to reply. Poor boy! It has been a Noyinka centric world ever since he married her against my wishes and brought her home.

Oh, I haven’t introduced myself have I? I’m Amma, Shantanu’s mother. Noyinka and I have had a frosty relationship at best. She tried and I tried too. But somehow it didn’t work out. Mostly because I thought she was a scatter-brained gold digger and she thought I was an old cow, past by sell-date, who needed to be put out to pasture asap. After a great many silent battles, as Shantanu fretted and fumed, we decided to ignore each other. Fed up, he chose his work over us. In hindsight, it turned out to be a good decision for him. Kept him sane and safe from Noyinka’s unending monologues.

Anyway, coming back to the present, I watched Shantanu push that bland fare down his throat, kiss his wife on her forehead, and rush out. He didn’t even look at my direction. I sighed again, silently followed him, settled in the passenger seat quickly before the driver revved up the engine. Shantanu hated car-conversations. He checked his mail while the driver cursed, cussed, and honked and I sat quietly watching the usual daily drama. Shantanu got down at his office, told the driver to come back later in the evening after carting Noyinka around for her everyday rendezvous, and walked inside briskly without saying a word or bidding me goodbye.

I exhaled deeply again. Well, I knew it would happen. No surprises there!

I came back all tired and settled near the alcove.

The blessed maid, knowing fully well that Noyinka wouldn’t be back for some time, was sprawled in front of the telly, thoroughly enjoying some regressive Saas-Bahu serials. With nothing much to do, I settled next to her, watching those numbing serials in a loop.

How unrealistic and far removed from real-life these soaps are I tell you, two sane women fighting for control of their humble homes or over a mere man! Just imagine the bunkum they spin on the gullible!

After some time Noyinka called Jhumki on her mobile, with a fresh set of dinner instructions. Cursing, Jhumki got up reluctantly, without even asking me, switched off the Telly, and got down to work.

I decided against letting this small fry Jhumki know how I felt, quietly settled by the alcove, and waited for the evening to fall.

It was almost 9 pm by the time Noyinka and my Shantanu returned. I beamed the moment I saw him. He briefly looked at me, looked away, and asked for dinner. Jhumki brought out some unpalatable fare. Shantanu looked exhausted, he sniffed at the food, barely nibbled at any. Noyinka didn’t seem to sense any of this as she rattled on about the latest scandals to hit her equally vacant and vacuous group.

I sat next to my son, wanting to soothe him. But then, suffering is personal, isn’t it? So, I sat by him without a word.

His dinner done, Shantanu came and stood in front of me. I knew instinctively, he wanted to unload his burdens.

Within seconds, that dimwit Noyinka pounced on him, drawling huskily, “Dahling, didn’t I tell you I have a surprise waiting for you? It’s on our bed!”. She literally dragged him to their room. I wanted to follow them there too but then there are some boundaries to respect, right?

So I settled in at the alcove for the night, giving them space.

In my photo-frame, on the photo-stand, which is gathering dust by the second.