Dedicated
to the working women who are daughters, sisters, wives, mothers, bosses, cooks
and the like. They manage their everything, their family, their world and their
houses. They are an indispensable support predominantly emotionally and
physically in the clan.
There were a lot of guests/ friends
expected in the house party tonight. She decided the menu with him and paid
extra to her maid for helping and reheating the exotic Italian and washing the
utensils. She gave her’s and his clothes for dry cleaning. Cleaned the entire
house, re-arranged articles, put the recent pictures and frames and crystals in
front. Changed the sheets and covers. Cleaned the kitchen, drawing room and the
bar, vacuumed the sofas and wiped the tables. Menu was planned and almost 12
dishes had to be prepared including appetizers and desserts. She got the
groceries and started doing the preparations a day in advance. The previous
night, the house was spic and span. She filled the salt and pepper in the swan
like salt and pepper stands, she put the condiments in tiny bowls. The spoons
were sorted and only the similar ones were taken out, the serving spoons were
arranged at one end with bottle openers and forks. There was ample ice in the
freezer, dessert was all done and festooned in the largest tray, and it looked
so tempting in the freezer.
The
garden and the entrance was neat with the weeds grabbed out. She tipped the
gardener for painting the pots. The wall hangings and paintings were also
cleaned with a cloth. She had her deadlines to meet in the office so she worked
in the night too. Her baby was fed and was quietly sleeping and she went off to
sleep, restless till the last minute and hiding unwanted stuff from the side
tables of the drawing room, she arranged the magazines and newspapers and went
off to sleep.
She
got up early morning, groomed herself, painted her nails and shampooed her
hair. The house was rechecked for any spider webs or dust, everything looked
incredible, the curtains were drawn and the fancy china was on the table. She
now went off to work. It was Friday. She returned hurriedly in the evening and
did the cooking, changed and did the last minute preparations with her maid.
The guests started coming from 7pm onwards. She picked her baby from the crèche
and he went off to sleep after an hour of storytelling and dancing. Her husband
arrived between 7:30 to 8:00 pm and quietly changed and attended the guests.
While
the men were busy refilling their glasses, she was busy taking care of
appetizers and the ladies. We are god gifted when it comes to chinwag or
gossip. Blathering is in our veins, we can empathize, cry, laugh, and become
angry all at the same time with different people of course.
So
here was she, glowing and looking beautiful, wearing her pretty silk saree with
those ethnic earrings and lovely bangles, very tired though, entertaining the
guests, serving and talking about children, experiences, baby fat, feeding,
discipline, how kids behave these days, what do they learn in school, potty
training, teething, how her baby left bottle and graduated to a glass, stupid
parents, good parents, people who aren’t parents, planning a baby, crushes,
mother in laws, men, fashion, exhibitions, no time for shopping, office,
bosses, weather, neighbors, sales, jewelry, recipes, how do they maintain the
spark, menopause, nail polish shades and due manicures, house hold remedies,
books and movies and actors, designers and shops where one can get first
copies, facebook pictures, children , sister in laws, pest control, daily
soaps, hygiene, scented candles, curtains, how to avoid split ends,
complications of the body and relationships, sick parents, ailments, flab,
constipation, foot wear, their last holiday, cravings, maids, exercise, how to
store stuff in the fridge which can last long, importance of drinking water, Mrs.
Oberoi smokes, affairs, olive oil and canola oil, blood pressure and cure,
lipsticks, bed sheets, hand bags, how to store woolens …and much more.
The
men still busy with eating, talking about property, policies, automobiles,
gadgets, taxes, mobiles, cricket, stocks and alcohol.
Dinner
was served at 11pm and all had an enjoyable time chatting and eating. The get
together was a success! The food was fantastic and they all had a delightful
time. They loved the dessert and took another serve till it was polished. It
took another hour till the time they said bye to the time they reached the
gate, they made the programs for a holiday, next vacation plan, men were a
little tipsy, and women had their cocktails and were happy high, the food made
them all sober though. And the “till me meet again” dialogues began at 1:30 am,
someone decided on a place where they will all go for a vacation, they
discussed the dates and discussed those dates when they could all confirm
first, someone made a watsapp group, someone made an ONLY LADIES watsapp group
and some naughty guy made a BOYS ONLY watsapp group, they added the lesser
known on facebook and shared contacts of crèches, masseuses, maids, doctors and
on call beauty parlor ladies, people shared resumes and some even added others
as their emergency contacts, all of this happened between the door and the main
gate, it was 2:00am.
Her
saree was crushed and she couldn’t stand anymore. Between we should do this
more often to nice to meet you to air kisses and hugs and waving good byes, she
wanted all of them to LEAVE. RIGHT NOW. She had office the next day and her
baby had to be fed again and wrapping it all up was in her mind. She wanted to
store the left overs in the refrigerator and wear her most comfortable pajamas,
sit in a corner with a blanket and sleep or read a book or watch her favorite
movie. While there were people still chattering and thanking her for a lovely
time, in her mind, she was already wrapping stuff and cleaning her carpet for
any spilled curries or drinks. She wanted pin drop silence and was yearning for
seclusion. She wanted him in solitude and wanted to cuddle and sleep and not to
be disturbed for hours and days. She wanted to wake up late and wanted to be
served with bed tea. Not that she wasn’t social or disliked the guests, she
wanted to escape from the rush, she couldn’t smile or laugh anymore. She wanted
no one for an instance and needed the silence …she wanted “her” time!
