I was in the office when I received a phone call. It was from my dad. Dad told me that one of my grandaunts, Shanti Aaji had died that afternoon. She had been over 90 years of age. She had been hospitalized over a month ago. She took her last breath that afternoon. Dad had inform me that he and my mom were going to go to her home for the last rites.
I disconnected the call and sat at my desk just blankly looking at the screen. My friend Kirti saw that I was sitting at the desk without doing anything. She came to my desk and ask me, "what happened buddy?"
Her voice brought me back to the reality. I looked at her and said, "a grandaunt died. It was not something unexpected but I am still shocked with the news".
" Oh! tell me more about it. You will feel better. Just vent it out," Kirti pl…
A couple of months ago I was working with a small business. Here while working I was coordinating with two people. A man and a woman. Anand and Kaya. I had not seen both of them so I did not know what their ages were. There last name was unique and hence I knew they were family members. Yet I did not know what there relationship was.
For the daily operations I would co-ordinate with Kaya. For the query resolution or guidance I would co-ordinate with Anand. Every time I would speak with them I would try to guess what there age could be and what their relationship could be.
First time when I spoke with them I thought that both of them must be in their 30s. This made me think that either they are siblings or they are a married couple. But I was still not sure what relationship they had. Pr…
What is a small, everyday moment with family that…
What is a small, everyday moment with family that makes you feel warm inside?
I remember when I a kid when I used to study in school, in morning my father used to awake me and my brother by singing a beautiful song that was a moment for me , after coming home from school the first thing was calling my mother i remember when she didn't appear just entering in he house, his was also a moment, flighting with brother for equal distribution of noodles, asking my grandfather for just a rupees and buying kiss me toffee , sharing every chaos with mother that happened all day , being happy on power cuts to play hide n seek, chilling in summer vacations all these were the golden moments which now has become a memory after growing up, we become adult, we move away from our people to fullfill our dr…
It was the day when I was going to meet few of my family members for a small celebration at my sister's house. I had to mentally prepared myself for some of the questions that were going to be directly at me. I had left my corporate job and had started freelancing. It was a move that most of my relatives were not aware of. They only knew that I was no longer working with corporate. I had prepared myself mentally that what ever they say I should not lose my temper. I knew that I was going for a celebration and not for a debate. I had decided that if any question bothers me I am going to take a deep breath, count till 10, and then respond. This strategy would ensure that I am calm and composed.
My cousin Suraj had arrived. He was the one about whom I was the most worried about. I knew he w…
I was in school in Grade 7. It was the day before Rakshabandhan. During our craft class the teacher had asked us to prepare a Rakhi. As per our teacher's instructions we were preparing Rakhi. All of us were delighted because of this craft activity for the festival. I was really happy because I would be able to tie the Rakhi that I had prepared myself from the scratch. While preparing the craft all I was thinking about how it would be a special rakhi. I was thinking to myself that it would be priceless because I have made it with my own hands. But my friend Ashwini had different plans.
"What are you going to do tomorrow? Are you going somewhere or you will stay at home?" Ashwini asked me.
I thought it was a casual question. I responded, "we are meeting at my grandmother's home. We do this …
It was the day of Diwali. That time I was working from home. It was an advantage during the festivals that we were able to work at the same time we were able to spend time with family.
My uncle was coming to visit us. I was glad that I would be able to spend some time with him and later could go back to my work. My uncle came home. I got him a glass of cold water. While taking water from me he asked me, "where is your didi? Is she bringing kiddo?"
According to me it was a very casual question. My sister stayed nearby and would always visit with my nephew whenever any relative would come to our place. I replied, "she will come by the time for lunch".
Uncle said, "please call her and tell her to come early. I want to play with kiddo". Uncle loved playing with my nephew and he was really e…
I was 4 years old. We had gone to visit my aunt. While we were at her home, she told us about our distant relative, Kashi. Mu aunt says, "Kashi kaki is unwell. When she fell down 5 years ago, she had been completely bed ridden. A couple of days ago, her daughter, our cousin, Shital came to me. She said that Kashi kaki does not eat much. She does not speak much. Doctors have given up. Shital looked distressed. Kashi kaki probably is counting her last days". My aunt had tears in her eyes. After hearing this my parents decided to visit Kashi kaki.
On our way, we stopped outside an old building, this is where Kashi kaki was staying. The building too looked dull and lackluster as if the building had the same fate as Kashi kaki. We went to the first floor and stood outside the door for it to be…
I was speaking with my friend Renuka (pseudonym) yesterday. We starred off with a casual conversation which later turned serious.
"Do you know your family members well?" Renuka asked me with a solemn tone.
I knew something was wrong but I tried to lighten up the mood, "I guess so. I know my relatives well".
"Not like that. What I want to ask is do you know who is there in your family? Do you personally know each of them?" Renuka's questions were taking a different direction and I was sensing that she has something darker to discuss.
"There have been times I thought I knew my family really well. But you know how our Indian families are, there will always be new surprises," I was still trying to keep it light.
"I wanted to tell you something. Something that I got to know recently and now I …
"Bhaiyya will call you today. He wants to discuss something with you," my dad informed me.
"Why would he do that? What does he want to discuss with me?" I watch straight up annoyed. I hate phone calls. I moreover hate speaking with the relatives putting that they are way superior than everyone. This cousin is one of them.
" He wants to know what you are doing right now. He wants to understand what I made you leave your job. He wants to discuss with you what you have planned ahead," my dad informed me as if this was a routine discussion. By this point I was a boiling with anger.
I did leave my job 6 months ago. I had several reasons to end my corporate career. I had informed my decision to my parents and my sister. They supported my decision. I started working on part time jobs immediate…
