Tulika, Author at Obsessivemom

21/04/201215/04/2017

Of Best Friends and Heartbreak

Hrit cried before he went to sleep today. Not wailed like a baby but cried softly like a grown up. It absolutely broke my heart. His best pal, Y, is moving. Yes, right he’s the one Hrit wanted to marry and live happily ever after with.

When Y’s mum first told me about the move I didn’t worry. He’s just a child, I’d thought, he’ll forget. But now, as the day of departure dawns, I find myself worried sick.

The BFF
Hrit is not a gregarious child. He has always had just one friend. Each time we’ve moved he’s made a single friend and stuck with him. All his emotional ‘eggs’, he keeps in a single basket and I’m beggining to think that’s not such a good thing.

Digital bonding
Hrit and Y spend hours at the comp without a fight.. rare for any two kids and even more rare for two super active kids like these two. “They understand each other,” said Y’s mum laughingly one day. If Y gets upset Hrit runs after him calling him back.

Wired together
“Mama today Y and I said the same thing, together,” gushed Hrit one day. “Funny na?” “I think there’s a wire between us.. him and me,” said Hrit touching his heart. “Wire?” I queried taken aback. “Yes .. the kind that are at the back of the computer,” he clarified. Oh he knew exactly what he was saying. Never had I hear such a filmi line uttered with such innocence and such sincerity.

The FAQs
“Mama may I go to Y’s house/call Y over?” are Hrit’s most frequently asked questions. One day fed up with those two questions I said, “Fine, you go to Hyderabad with Y when he shifts,” and regretted it soon enough when after mulling it over Hrit queried back, “May I? Really?” Of late his question has changed to, “May I stay in Lucknow forever?” At least he has his cousins there. Then today it was back to, “May I go to Hyderabad?”

Each time I’ve tried to prepare Hrit for Y’s departure he has only said, “I know he’s going but when is he coming back?” I’ve chickened out of saying, “Never” sticking with, “after a long long time.”

As I write this, I’m hoping fervently and telling myself for the nth time, “He’s just a child he’ll forget.”

Afterthought: MM (Mushy Mum) says maybe that idea of not letting kids make ‘best friends’ wasn’t so bad after all.

19/04/201215/04/2017

Rain on the mountains

“Spring shows what God can do with a drab and dirty world.”
― Virgil Kraft

Linking this to Thursday Challenge : “SPRING” (Rain, Puddles, Boots, Umbrellas, Sunny Days, Leaves in Trees,…)

18/04/201215/04/2017

Notes from a perplexed mum

How should I teach the kids to ….

… fit in but stand out

… be disciplined but break the rules

… speak their mind but not be rude

… be smart but not be cheeky

… be active but not naughty

… help people in trouble but stay away from trouble

… be generous but watch their interest

… make new friends but not talk to strangers

… grow up fast but retain their innocence

… be independent but never stop needing me

12/04/201215/04/2017

Upside down

Thursday Challenge : SILLY (Smile, Faces, Laughing, Playing, Things,…)

For a different perpective of the world..

11/04/201215/04/2017

A miracle

Quick … what comes to mind when I say autodrivers?
Rude, cheeky, rowdy, dishonest.. right?

— They’re the ones who are almost never available when you most need them
— When you do spot one, he won’t go because you’re not going far enough
— They’ll take the longest route possible while convincing you it is the best one
— They’ll declare their meter dead and charge an exorbitant flat rate
— In fact they’ll never go by the meter unless it is fudged

That’s why I call this a miracle. Read on..

We went shopping – the twins and I. Of course that was miracle no 1. Yes the kids are growing up. What with their busy social lives they just do not have the time to go shopping in the evening with their ma — even if it’s for their own stuff. This time round, however, I squashed all protests and refused to do multiple rounds exchanging their clothes. They agreed grudgingly, specially Hrit who hates any time at all that is spent without his best ever chum, Y.

We shopped for shoes and swimwear in a matter of minutes and headed home. Hrit whined all the way about the ‘wasted’ time while Naisha drowsed off amidst complaints of having missed playtime. And so it was that as we arrived I was at my flustered best squinting at the auto meter, hunting around for change, telling Naisha “yes you may go to the playground” and Hrit “Yes you may call over Y”. In all the craziness the shopping packets lying quietly at the back of the auto were quite forgotten.

As I was unlocking the door to my flat my empty hands reminded me of my blunder. I sprinted to the building gate but the auto was long gone. I wish I had the words to explain my frustration then. It was not so much about the money but the HUGE effort that had gone to waste.

I was coming back deflated, cursing the side effects of old age and there I saw Naisha standing with all the bags. What was this? A miracle? Well yes sort of. Apparently the auto driver discovered the bags, came back and having overheard Naisha saying that she was going to the ground he went there, found her and handed over the bags. How’s that for a surprise!

Thank you dear auto-driver. You didn’t simply return me a few clothes and shoes, by your small act you reaffirmed my faith in humanity, reassured me that goodness and honesty are well and truly surviving. You have inspired me to look for the ‘nice guy’ in everyone around me. And that, my friend, is worth a million bucks of shopping. Wish there were more like you.