Nothing quite like having your boss point out in the middle of a big meeting that you have got grey hair!
The fact that said boss was concerned that I was getting grey hair because he was working me too hard is inconsequential. My standard reply blaming the MOTH as the underlying cause for the grey hair went flying out of the window as I was too busy deciding whether to be enraged by the remark, or touched by the underlying concern!
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Date: Sometime around 1999.
Setting: Four women somewhere in India. Call them A, B, C and D. They are all aged in their late teens at this time.
A came from a middle-class family. Her parents were very strict. She wasnt allowed to have male friends. She wasnt allowed to be friends with girls who had male friends. She wasnt allowed pocket money. Her mother controlled every aspect of her life. She did well in her studies. Her family constantly pushed her to do better in her studies, for she needed to become a doctor. She, however, didnt seem to mind her family’s controlling nature. She thought thats how it was in all families
B came from a family where both parents worked full-time. She was a real tom-boy. Short hair. Jeans and shirts were all you would ever find her wearing. Care-free and happy go lucky. Her parents supported her in everything she did. She had no obvious ambitions about what she wanted to do. She took things as they came.
C came from a moderate family. Loving mother. Strict(ish) father. She came from a family where girls were expected to be home-makers, married by the time they hit 20. She was a very outgoing person. Outspoken. Called a spade a spade.
D came from a similiar family too. Her nickname was “tubelight” because it took her forever to get a joke. She was a bit ditsy, but in a very likeable way. She never rocked the boat, she always went with the flow.
Fast forward 10 years….
Date: 2010
Setting: A, B, C and D are sitting in a bar, somewhere in Australia, cocktails in hand, talking about their lives. Very sex-and-the-city….
A has very little to do with her family now. She is a doctor. She met and married a boy from a different caste, one that the family didnt approve of. She moved to a different country. She now enjoys life for what it is meant to be, rather than living life the way someone else wanted her to live it. She has experimented, and not regretted any of those experiments.
B qualified as an automobile engineer. She quickly found a job as a lecturer in a very prestigious engineering college, and soon her lectures became very popular. She was offered a very lucrative deal to write a text-book. Refused that. Met a lovely guy, and 6 months later, they were married. No longer the tomboy, she is now a house-wife, and loves to cook.
C’s family were actively looking for suitable boys for her, when she met a guy in college. He made her see the stars during the day, and she quickly became infatuated with him, and he with her. 5 years ago, they got married. They have a 7 month old daughter. She has no say in any decisions, because “he knows best”. In her own words, she is “tired” and has “given up”.
D met a guy during one navratri festival. They soon started talking, and talking turned into dating. Four years later, she told her family. Her father was not happy about this, but they ended up getting married with the family’s consent in the end. They have a 1 year old daughter. She is still a tubelight, and still as ditsy as ever. Until C started talking about her problems, and then D offered advice. Mature advice that blew everybody away. No one expected these words of wisdom to come out of D, of all people.
At the end of the very long night, as each of these 4 women slipped into the bed, there was just one thought going through everyone’s mind. How did we ever get here? For some, it was a thought accompanied by a sense of loss, for others, it was a thought accompanied by a silent prayer of thanks to their guardian angel. But one thing was for sure. Back in 1999, nobody would have imagined this would be the way these cookies would crumble.
…….vacuuming!
Tomorrow, the property manager comes by to inspect the property. I have a grudge to bear with whoever came up with the concept of regular property inspections!
However, in preparation for the inspection tomorrow, today has been dedicated to sprucing up the place. Now, those of you who know me well know that I am not the most meticulate person. Consequently, “sprucing up” is actually more like a Herculean effort. Everything else, I can cope with, however, the vacuuming is absolutely horrendous, and back-breaking. Hate it!
Cant wait to get my own place. It will have hardwood floors, I have decided. No need for a bloody vacuum at all. And no bloody property managers coming by to inspect!!