Indian Ameri

Stretching discomfortingly for some leg space, I somehow managed to find my cell through the crevices of my couch cushions and speed dialed Home (India). As soon as mom's modernized south Indian accent-tinged "Yaellloooooo", resonated the nearby humid air, a gush of "There's still time for Mothers day" ad popped into my thoughts. (For those traditional 'everyday is mothers day' guys, it's just general knowledge to know at least the date - May 11th - or am I wrong as usual??? scratch, scratch. Lemme check google now. Hold on..... Oh Yeah! am right for the first time)

It's been a routine for me to usually upset my mom pretty bad for nearly a week and then surprise her on mothers day (and as usual dad frets - How come u forget fathers day every year?). So this year, I've somehow got busy with work and got clumsy with the usual routine. As, this reminder of a perennial practice popped up, I immediately wanted to get on the groove of upsetting mom and so told her, "Mom. Give the phone to dad. Need to talk with him"

Lucky for me, dad was at home waiting for the Mega Serial to end (so that mom can serve his lunch. Or was he waiting for mom to actually prepare lunch??? Hmmmm... Need to ask him next time). Spoke with him on some mano-o-mano talk and on the background, I can hear mom as usual giving him answers to my questions (Lady, how can you hear the questions, if your husband can't hear it on the phone??? Arrghhhh... I never understood that part. Either dad's turning deaf or mom's showing skills of espionage eavesdropping).

As the discussion went by, I overheard her rant of "Enough father son chitchat. Now give me the phone. Let me also talk with him" (Childishly arrogant at times... How better can the timing be?, Now to really boil her off...) "Dad, don't give her the phone. Tell her that am not interested in talking with her. She is boring" the next few minutes really made my day at least end with a happy note.
As soon as he heard my response, he went sheepish... He was like 'He.. he he... he hehe.... heeeeee...." He was really feeling being noosed down his throat - one end pulled by me and the other by his wife.
I: Dad, I am serious. Tell mom what I just told you
D: He... heeeee..... Noooo.... He.... heeee.......
I: Don't be afraid. Now, please tell her what I said
D: He No..... heeeee no..... hehehehehehehehe naahhhhhhhhh.......
I: Come on..... I never knew that you were afraid of mom......
D: Let it be that way.... Heeeee... heeee... (Still sheepishly) heeee (mom on the background: what are you giggling about now?)
I: (recovering from shock of what he just blurted), Whaaaa???? At least tell her something about me not interested in talking with her.....
D: Heee.. hee.. Oh Hee Kayyy heee hehehehe......
I: (Seesh! What happened to dad all of a sudden? What's mom doing to him now a days?) Yup...
D 2 Mom: He says,,,,,, your voice is like a lullaby to him and so he sleeps immediately, whereas I speak to him in a harsh style and so he is comfortable with it. He's got some work tonight in the lab and so doesn't want to sleep.
I: (Daiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii........................ Dad just made up a perfect Lie................. )
(Before I can talk....)
Mom in the background: Oh.. OK.. Ask him not to stay awake all night. Ask him to call me even if he gets 2 hours of gap for sleep. I'll wake him up for sure... How can he sleep without my lullaby voice..... (and I can feel her smile happily about it)
I: (Whaaaa??????????? Mommmm.......... Nooooooo..... Now I need to call her everyday before I go to bed.... Am dead.......) MOMMMMMMMM...... That's a brutal lie ...... Dad's Lying... I am already trying to sleep. Am not in the lab... HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO........
D: (His sheepish smile turns to a serious voice) Daiii... Stop screaming. She's gone into the kitchen (there was this added sense in his voice, which seemed like 'Finally, now I get food'). Don't make her mad this year too. Now go and sleep tight....
I: (Mad this year too..... Oh Kay.... He is serious abt my yearly routine.... Time to change the topic)... OK! One more thing..... Saw your grandsons new photo today in an album
D: (Immediate excitement in his voice) blah blah blah.......
I: (Yup... Nephew to the rescue......) blah blah blah.....
At the end of the conversation: Zzzzzzzz............. Huh.... Where am I??? When did I sleep????


Rite now: It's 1 am rite now and I've got to be in the lab till 11 30 pm tonite (That's nearly a day) to take out samples every 3 hrs. That means no contact with the lullaby lady and am in no mood to read papers or watch a movie in the lab... Guess I'll just drive around the city for a while...
Other than that: Been listening to 'Ten Seconds Before Sunrise' as I walk in the pouring rain (face looking up into the sky counting the rain drops) every now and then.... Now and Then can be considered synonymous to forever.....
(That's my nephew in my close friends shoulder :D )
And here's something you can look at before mothers day - Lifehack.org