1

March 2010, Solitaire, Hiranandani Gardens, Mumbai 6 am A robotic digital sound pierced the stillness of the morning. Siya pushed the covers aside, reaching out to stop the alarm and slowly sat up. Turning around to check if Samar was still sleeping, she switched off the AC. He was curled up without a quilt. He liked the bedroom to be cold while she preferred it to be comfortably cool. Leaning over, she covered him up and made her way first to the children’s bathroom to switch on their geyser so they could have plenty of hot water to bathe without fighting over who had consumed how much! Siya’s day had begun.

For the next ten minutes, she was in auto-pilot mode— kettle on for hot water to make her tea, coffee machine on for decoction (Samar preferred to drink coffee) and milk in the boiler; grating ginger to add to her tea, opening the fridge to take out eggs, bread, and Nutella. After the ginger had boiled furiously for a few minutes in the pan, she added the tea granules and let it boil again. A minute later, after a ladle full of milk had been added and the flavours mingled well, she strained the tea into two cups. Her full-time help, Vaishali, walked into the kitchen with a smile on her face. Handing over the second cup, she informed her what to make for the kids’ breakfast and tiffin and also what to prep for Samar’s breakfast and lunch. Then, Siya took her cup of tea, two Marie biscuits and headed out to her balcony to enjoy the sounds of silence.

Half an hour later, it was time to wake the kids up. Aryan was eight and always late, and Arjun, still a baby at four. Siya started by drawing the curtains aside and called out to them gently, one by one. They stirred in their beds and rolled over. Opening their cupboards, she pulled out their uniforms and hung them on the door. She called out to them again before heading to the bathroom to fill a bucket with hot water. When she came out, they were still lying with their eyes shut.

Siya was beginning to feel the known stirrings of irritation. “Aryan, wake up now. It’s seven already, I’ve been trying to wake you for the last ten minutes. You have to bathe in time so Arjun can also finish his bath. Hurry.” “Wake him up first then, na. Let me sleep some more,” he replied, keeping his eyes shut tight. Muttering under her breath, she pulled aside his quilt with a whoosh and whacked him softly on his thigh. “Owww, why are you hitting me?” he cried out.

“I’m not hitting, just trying to wake you up” she retorted. Hearing the commotion, Arjun opened his eyes and started crying. “What are you crying for?” Siya asked in exasperation. “You’re hitting bhaiya,” he declared between sobs.

“I’m not hitting him. I’m just trying to wake him so both of you can be ready on time,” she yelled.

Samar walked in just then, rubbing his eyes. “What are you all doing? Arjun, stop crying. Aryan, wake up now. Siya, calm down. This is becoming a circus every morning,” thundered Samar, before leaving the room. Reluctantly, Aryan got out of bed and walked zombie like into the bathroom. Siya picked up Arjun and carried him to the bathroom counter. As Aryan got into the shower cubicle for a bath, Siya started brushing Arjun’s teeth. All the time, shouting instructions to both the boys.

Half an hour later, they were ready and seated at the table for breakfast. As Aryan tucked into his eggs quietly, Arjun looked sullen. “What happened? Why are you not eating, Arjun?” Siya asked.

“The smell is making me puky,” he said, in a small voice.

Siya rolled her eyes. “Why? It’s made the same way you like it!”

“It’s smelly,” he repeated.

“No, it’s not. Look, Aryan is eating the same thing. Now, please don’t fuss and waste time.”

“Siya, don’t force him. What do you want to eat, Arjun?” Samar asked as he turned the pages of the newspaper he was reading.

“Porridge!” Arjun answered with glee.

“Vaishali, make some porridge for Arjun,” Samar instructed.

Siya turned to look at him, her eyes flashing with anger. If I’d done this, he would have said you are pandering to them and letting them dictate to you. When I was small, I ate whatever my mom put in front of me, even if I didn’t like it. I was never even asked what I like. You give them too many options! Siya sat quietly, not saying a thing, because she didn’t want to fight.

Ten minutes later, Vaishali brought Arjun’s porridge to him in a bowl. “Why does he get what he wants while I have to eat egg every day?” Aryan demanded.

Siya looked at Samar. “It’s okay, beta. He’s not liking the smell today. He will also have an egg tomorrow. Right, Arjun?” Arjun shook his head to indicate a no.

“Not fair,” Aryan quipped, pushing away his half-eaten breakfast. Just then, Arjun spooned the porridge into his mouth and yelled in pain. “What happened?” Siya rushed up to him with concern. His face turned red as he started crying. Siya looked under the table—did Aryan kick him by any chance? You never know with these boys, she fumed. “Tell me, what happened?” she finally yelled when he wouldn’t stop crying.

“It’s so hot!” he answered when he finally found hisvoice.

“Of course, it’s hot. Didi just made it,” she yelled, losing her patience.

“How would he know, Siya? He’s a child. Vaishali should have cooled it before bringing it,” Samar admonished her. Grabbing the bowl from the table, Siya took it to the kitchen and added some cold milk. Stirring it constantly, she sat next to Arjun feeding him a spoonful, taking care to blow on it. A glance at Aryan’s face told Siya that he was now unhappy. The clock on the wall chimed just then. Gosh. It was 8 am. They should be leaving the house now. Aryan got up to fetch his school bag from his room. “Didi, have you seen my pencil box?” he yelled, as he rummaged through his bag. Vaishali, who was around to help out, went into his room to look.

As they frantically looked for the pencil case, Siya began to fret. “This is precisely why I tell you to ready your school bags at night. You are going to be so late for school.” “I’m going to be late because of Arjun and his porridge,” Aryan snapped back. Before she realised what she was doing, she whacked him hard on his bum.