Rashmi's Space

It all began when the little one turned five. We owned a home in a wonderful locality town side, from where the little one’s school and the husband’s office were only a few kilometers away. We had been living there since the little one was barely a toddler and it was just the place a young couple like us needed. But being lucky enough to have found a place to live that was within a half hour’s distance to anywhere that mattered was such a huge blessing (especially considering Bangalore traffic) that we did not think that the place was entirely wrong for a child! And so it was, that when the little one turned five and the time came to let him go out to play, we realised it was time to build our nest in a different tree. So the husband and I spent hours scouring the many possibilities, but as is always the case, the wallet wasn’t always happy with the choices the heart made and the heart did the same when the wallet decided to steal the show. So after a lot of (vir...

The alarm rings. I look at the time, snooze for ten minutes and turn on my back to see my little one lying next to me. Okay, so he has wandered in during the night and is now sleeping spread-eagled, occupying most of the bed, having kicked my husband as close to the edge of the bed as one can go without actually falling off. I find myself smiling as I pull the covers on them. My little one has his exam today and unless I get started in the kitchen now, he’s sure to miss his paper. I am trudging to the bathroom, dragging my feet and cursing the early hour, when suddenly it occurs to me that it is not only my little one’s exam today, it is his last exam paper! It is the last day of school! I do a little dancing jig and almost trip on the bathroom mat. And then I rush to the bedroom to wake the guys up, with a spring in my step! Oh yes, it is the last paper today. Yay! Another academic year finished! No more worrying about the school schedule, no more ironing the uniform i...

Sharada was ready. Just before stepping out, she looked at her reflection in the mirror. A lovely lady in her fifties, wearing a gorgeous traditional silk saree stared back at her. She was wearing a glittering bindi and had even tried on the new lipstick her niece had given her for just this occasion. She wore a handful of gold bangles and bracelets, studded with diamonds to match with her necklace and earrings; she also wore toe-rings that peeked out with every step she took – understated toe-rings that spoke nothing of the fact that they were custom made, just for her. Sharada smiled at her reflection, and just before the thoughts caught up with her, decided to move on. Now was not the time to give in to those thoughts.   It was time to go downstairs and join her husband Ram, in welcoming their guests for the evening. Today they were giving a grand reception to her youngest daughter-in-law. Funny how the mind works, she thought. Most people wouldn’t put it this wa...