BICKERING
-
Sagar
Mal Gupta (India)
At exactly
4:30 am, he gets up sometimes willingly; sometimes unwillingly. Willingly when
he had had a sound sleep; unwillingly when he couldn’t sleep or slept
interruptedly. After washing his hands, he would perform Kapal bhati, Bhramri,
Narishodhan, Anulom-vilom and Onkar pranayama. After cleaning his teeth, he
would collect water from the water tap. Water supply starts at 5:00 am in the
city. He boils about 4 liter water to make it drinkable. In the meantime, other
family members, his wife Sulochana and our guest grandson Manmohan also get up.
At 6:30 am, they all sit together; have tea; Sulochana with Britania crackers
and water-soaked cashew nuts; Sriraman takes tea brew mixed with honey and
lemon- juice and water-soaked raisins and almonds. Then starts the mopping of
the outside enclosure and the compound outside the wall. He waters all the
plants and flower-beds that decorate the front of the house on the one hand and
provide life giving oxygen on the other. At 8 ‘o’ clock, he would sit in the
chair, spread his legs on the centre table and read The Dainik Bhaskar, a Hindi
newspaper. He has stopped subscribing to ‘The Times of India’ because he found that
the news is stale in the Jaipur edition and the only readable stuff was the
editorial page but lately because of his failing health, he could not read the
full English paper. While reading the paper, he goes on sharing the important
news loudly with Sulochana and his guest grand –son so that they don’t ask him
to let them read the paper. During his reading, there starts bickering between
Sulochana and Shivraman.
“Why do you
waste your time here reading the paper? Why don’t you go to the City Park where
a number of senior citizens gather and consume a plethora of oxygen and share
their ideas and thoughts on different topics assailing the country and our
everyday life,.” said Sulochana.
“I don’t want
to go and waste my time there. You know, I used to go there in the past. These
people only talk of politics. One party enthusiasts are at logger heads with
the other party buffs. There is a hot exchange of words except that they don’t
come to blows.” said Shivraman.
The outbreak
of Covid was really the cause of my not going to the senior citizen’s meet. We
all were advised to keep social distancing though in spite of all these
precautions, we were attacked by Covid. The bickering was not confined, only to
the senior citizens meet. The next day, it started on the disordered room.
“What are your
books, magazines and papers doing spread over the whole central table and on
the chairs? Why can’t you order your books and help me keep the room neat and
tidy?,” said Sulochana to Shivraman.
“I know the
room is untidy. But please leave me alone. Don’t you know I am writing a poem,
my magnum opus. This would make me more famous. The disordered room is a minor
matter. What difference does it make whether the room is ordered or disordered?
You won’t understand there is order in disorder and there is disorder in
order”, retorted Shivraman.
Sulochana used
to go to buy vegetables and fruits from the local market held on every Tuesday
and Friday. But lately because of her knee pain and heavy traffic, she has
stopped going.
“You have
retired and do not have much to do, why don’t you go and buy vegetables.
Remember the hints, I gave you while buying the veg” said Sulochana.
Shivraman
reluctantly went to the nearby periodic market. He bought potatoes, tomatoes,
guava, bananas and orange, his bags were full to the brim. He could hardly walk
and with great difficulty he limped back to the house and complained of the
pain in the shoulder caused by the heavy bags. Sulochana held the bags and
thanked him. Shivraman felt elated for the first time. When she sorted
the
vegetables, she regretted giving me thanks.
“What have you
brought, Shiva? These tomatoes are flabby and soggy. The lemons are no better.
They are flaccid. I advised you to bring solid lemons and tomatoes. The guava is
too hard. I instructed you to examine the outer skin before you buy it. Buy it
only when it has scabrous skin and has red spots. But my advice falls flat on
you. Be careful to buy vegetable and fruit next time, advised Sulochana
tauntingly.
After bringing
vegetables and fruits, Shivraman got busy in washing them. After the attack of
Covid, it became necessary to wash vegetables and fruits first in saltish water
and then in fresh water. He started first washing the grapes in saltish water,
some of them separated themselves from the bunch washing them in this state was
very troublesome. When the washed vegetables and fruits were put in the plastic
baskets, some water leaked from the pores. When I stepped on the floor, the
floor was covered with dust stuck on the soles of the slippers. The whole
drawing room looked extremely dirty. When Sulochana saw this, she burst out,
“You have dirtied the whole room. Your washing the vegetables and fruits is
admirable but you should have done this task more carefully”.
Shivraman was
speechless. In the hearts of his heart, he knew that he really did his task
awkwardly. He assured her that he wouldn’t do it again. One day Sulochana was
in a good mood. She started telling about her teen age life to our daughter,
Alpana. Their village had only a primary school. When she passed her 5th class,
her studies came to a halt. Her grandfather used to take her to the farmers’
field who were their clients. They used to buy oil, jaggery, sugar, tea, and
other eatables from their shop on loan. They usually went to the house of the
farmers first in the morning to collect the arrears of the loan. The farmers
were very good hosts. They offered them milk to drink, and then they took them
to their fields from where they gave them vegetables and during season
sugarcane juice to drink. After a year, the school was upgraded, Sulochana
wanted to study but her mother put a brake on her studies by saying that her
younger brother was only one year old. She couldn’t look after the child and
the domestic work together. Her services were required to take care of the
younger brother.
Hearing this,
Shivraman said, “Your mother was no good. She always created obstacles in your
career.”
This remark of
mine infuriated Sulochana and functioned like a spoonful of butter in the fire.
She burst out, “Your mother was worse than my mother. She made me starve and
even provided no water to drink. She gave me no stool to sit even after my
first delivery. She tortured me by getting a lot of work done.”
Shivraman kept
quiet; because if he had spoken a word, that would have led to the outbreak of
the war of Mahabharat.
One night when
Shivraman returned after buying three bags full of vegetables and fruits, he
complained of a severe pain in the right shoulder. He lay down in bed and ate
no supper. In the morning he also had a fever and headache. The doctor was
called who gave him medicine for five days and advised complete rest. The
disease diagnosed was extreme fatigue.
During these
five days Sulochana’s daily work increased. She had to collect water from the
tap early in the morning and sweep the floor of five rooms apart from her
kitchen work. After three days, she had to go to the weekly bazaar to buy
vegetables and fruits. While returning, she was almost run over by a car. She
was so scared that she vowed not to go to the weekly bazaar ever to buy
vegetables and fruits. She then realized how useful Shivraman’s work was!
She sat near
the ailing Shivaraman and waving her hair, she said,” Please forgive me for quarreling
with you and finding faults with your daily chores. During these five days, I
have realized that your work is excellent.
In future, I will never quarrel with you. I promise’, saying this, her
eyes glistened with tears and she felt choked to speak further.
Next morning,
Shivraman felt all right and resumed his daily assigned work. When he was
collecting water from the faucet, Sulochana came and said angrily, “Have you
washed the buckets before collecting water or not?”
Hearing this
both of them burst out in a loud laugh.