Thoughts

It was raining real hard outside; the husband was just sitting there doing nothing (as always) and I thought to myself, “Damn, there’d be too much traffic tomorrow morning. I should leave earlier to office than usual. Maybe I should make Aalu bajji or something. Vengaaya bajji would be awesome too. Or use both aalu and onion and make bonda. Yum! Thinking about which, a cup of hot chocolate or coffee would be a perfect match.”

The thought about hot chocolate led to the memories of weekend afternoons when my husband and I would walk over to the nearest Café Coffee Day and spend our time talking away about technology or business ventures that never took off.

The thought about weekend afternoons led to memories of umpteen bike rides to the airport just to have a cup of coffee from Maiyas and enjoy the view. Those were the times when Sidhu was not there and we could just decide and head out in a matter of minutes without having to worry about carrying diapers and bottles and rubber sheets and what not.

The thought about Sidhu reminded me to check on him – had he woken up? Perhaps he had crawled over to the edge of the bed? Damn, the bed is too high. I should probably order a play pen or a wooden crib for him right away. Thinking of wooden furniture, I should ask Sabal to take the car and drive us to Channapatna and get for Sidhu a walker.

Thinking about Channapatna, I should also buy some wooden toys for Navaratri next year. Even though it is a whole year away, I don’t know if I would be able to go all the way to Channapatna before that.

Thinking about Navaratri, how nice it would be if Sidhu were a girl baby! I would have dressed her up in pattu pavada chattai and decorated her hair with flowers and took her to see Golu to all my relatives’ and neighbours’ houses and after a few years, maybe teach her to sing songs and all.

Sigh… I looked at my husband. I asked him what he was thinking. He said, “Nothing.” NOTHING? How can anyone not think of anything? Somebody answer me before my next train of thoughts begin. 

God's Gift...

This time around I have a very sensitive issue. A friend of mine has a notion that women are inferior to men and should always listen to men and that he can never accept that women are equal to men. Well, that was a bold statement to make in front of me on any day – and he specially chose Women’s day for that. Needless to say, I and another female friend of mine gave him back nicely. He was left battered and bruised. No, we did not get violent; we believe in Gandhiji’s words – we explained that is NOT how it is with the maximum amount of patience we could muster. But he went on with his bullshit about how women should do all the household work and husbands should be their Gods. WTF!!!

Now I agree that women can’t do everything that men can. But what my dear friend had to understand was that similarly, there are (more) things that women do that men can never do. He also went on to say, “Girls who work in the IT industry are always looked down upon by the society. The society respects only those that are teachers or doctors or IAS officers.” Really, that was more than necessary to get on my nerves. No amount of saying or arguing was going to instill any sense into his non-existent brain. The reasons he gave for his filthy mind-set were:

1. I cannot accept that women are equal to men. They can never be equal to us men. (Oh yes, that is a very valid reason).
2. Most IT girls have bad character. They don’t deserve/get any respect from the society. (I understand it is because we are educated and independent and are able to support ourselves and our families).
3. Women should stay at home and do all the household work and men should go out and earn for the family – that is how God intended it. (Oh really? God told you what He intended? When did that happen?)
4. Men do hard work. Women are inefficient. (Oh yes, you do hard work? Like plough your land? Lay a road? Dig a mine? What?)
5. I cannot accept that women are equal to men. They can never be equal to us men. (Was it the first point all over again? Yes, that’s what he said – again)

When would men like these understand that women are individuals and they need their space and freedom where they could do whatever they want? Finally he said, “I would keep the girl I marry very very happy.” I just burst out in laughter and said, “The only way you can ever keep a woman happy is by staying away from her.” That was true in his case.

But for all the men out there who want to keep their mothers/sisters/friends/girlfriends/wives/daughters happy, this is how you do it. THE ONLY WAY TO MAKE A WOMAN HAPPY IS BY LETTING HER DO WHAT SHE WANTS TO DO. That is simple, right? The next time your girlfriend asks you, “When can we meet?” try telling her, “We can meet whenever you want to” and live up to your words. The next time your mom asks you, “What do you want for breakfast?” try telling her, “Whatever you want to cook” and then see how truly happy and touched she will be.

Understand that women are delicate and fragile and yet stronger and more courageous than men. Women are precious and without them, life will not be worth living. She can make your life heaven and hell – it depends upon how you choose to behave with them. She is truly God’s gift to the world.

Praise her, celebrate her presence!

Pondering Pointlessly

An idle mind is the devil’s workshop. We all have heard that a million times, especially from our parents, more especially if you were as lazy as yours truly. Like how the “best bad massage award” would be called ‘The Monica” (you don’t watch F.R.I.E.N.D.S? You should!), the “laziest person award” would be (and should be) called “The Sandhya”. I can visualize my mom nodding her head twice faster at this. That is me. The best thing to do, for me, is just sit and laze around and stare at the ceiling. Or may be read a book or watch a movie – but those things are to be done only when I am really really bored of well… staring at the ceiling.

And when I don’t have any book to read or movie to watch, and am still bored after my tiring stint at staring at the ceiling, like anyone else, I think. No, don’t laugh. I do have the necessary apparatus up inside my head and believe it or not, it is in perfectly good, working condition. And if you had read about my Analytical Mind, you would know how it works. I mean, how good it works.

A gazillion thoughts within seconds all inter-connected (or so I think) in some peculiar way which is totally back-traceable. No? Lost me somewhere in the middle. It happens. It happens to me, for crying out loud. There is so much I think about – should I have a cup of coffee now or half an hour later? Gosh, the weather is so good; I should ask paati to make bajji or bonda. This Paulo Coelho book is so boring; I have to finish this one soon and start “Atlas Shrugged”. I should never have left Chennai; I feel so cold and lost here. Wow Chennai, what a city! Those were the best days of my life – beach, Blur, Inox, Wipro, bajji at the beach… Hmmm, bajji… “Paati, sooda bajji pottu thaayen.”

You get the drift. From a casual coffee thought to bored to remorse to memories to well, coffee (and bajji) again – all within seconds of each other. These thoughts make me. And now I am sure you don’t find me lazy given the amount of thinking (?!) I do. Tell my mom so!!! Meanwhile, I am going to think about New Year and how ridiculous these ‘New Year Resolutions’ are. HAPPY NEW YEAR, folks!!! :)