Rashmi's Space

Every house has a routine. Every family has a routine. The husband does a few things, the wife does a few; and the daily grind goes on, like clockwork. So long as everyone sticks to their jobs, and does them perfectly, things go right. Kids reach school on time, adults get to work on time, and all is right with the world. Of course, as simple as it sounds, it also sometimes gets monotonous with everyone just doing ‘the same old.’ And every once in a while, the thought does occur – what if, say, one day the husband did the cooking and the wife drove the kids to school? Wouldn’t it be great to just drive, with songs on, drop the kids, and on the way back, listen to one’s favourite songs? Ah, what a blissful hour that would be! What’s more, there would be hot breakfast ready, thanks to the husband who would have been busy in the kitchen while the wife was out driving and listening to songs – I mean, dropping the kids to school… And then, some days, the smooth clockwork ...

The wind blows my hair in my eyes as I struggle to put the washing out to dry. The weather has been treacherous lately. Sudden rains and thunderstorms, followed by hours of calm, strong sunshine; only to be caught unawares by strong winds that howl in the narrow passages and tear at the hoardings on the highways. Oh, I almost forgot! Hello! Myself Mrs. Bhagirathi. The kids in my building call me Mrs. B. I am a housewife. Homemaker, they call me these days. Not that it makes any difference to what I do. But it is a better title it seems. Anyway, as I was saying, it is important to get all the washing done as early as possible, before the weather turns. And also because, once all the household chores are done, I can sit and concentrate on something that I actually enjoy doing! Like read, for example. Or maybe even get some creative work done. Some gardening. There are always bills to pay, of course. And when everything else fails to hold one’s interest, well, there is alwa...

Lila was seething with anger when she put down the call. He is mine, dammit!  she thought. And even as she did, she knew getting angry won't get her anywhere. Nothing would change. It was just one more week, one more cancelled visit. And he would not even mind it. Plus, hadn’t she suffered through many of these already? And hadn’t she decided to come to terms with all this and get on with life? But she knew why she couldn’t move on. Life without him meant nothing to her.  Although, everyone in her life told her, this obsession of hers was unhealthy. she needed to move on. But she still held on tight; didn't know for how long. She didn’t even remember when she had stopped counting the years. He didn’t seem to mind the distance anyway. He didn’t feel the need to call her every day; although, she still remembered the time he was dependent on her. Oh, those were the days! But all that had changed. His attention had wandered and then Maya had come in his life! Even today...