Wednesday, January 09, 2008

A score to settle

When you have two sisters living in opposite ends of the world, and the parents live somewhere in between, there is always a tug of war as far as parental visits are concerned. Someone really knew what he was talking about when he wrote the "Tumhaare paas kya hai? Mere paas maa hai" dialogue.

This actually holds true for Dad too, but since he works, for now my sis and are fighting over Mom till Dad retires and no longer has the "I can't get long leave to visit you" excuse.

When my mom cut short her visit to Singapore for my master's graduation to go to my sister's place, I sulked for days. I sulked over the phone, I sulked over email, I sulked until what I was sulking for happened. Dad said, "How about Mom stays with you for two whole weeks on her way back to India, instead of just transiting?"

That was the ultimate sacrifice from my Dad. For a guy who has never even boiled an egg, Mom's absence is tough. My heart melted at his offer.

So I said. "Okay. Thank you!" :P

So Mom's here with me after a few months in the US, while Dad's discovering the cook (*cough cough*) in himself.

"So Dad's retiring next year... both of you will come stay with us for a few months every year?" I asked Mom as she unpacked her stuff.

"Few months?? Hmmm... we'll see..."

"What we'll see? You want to go back to the US, is it? You have become an Amreekan?" I scowled.

"US? Haha! No way!"

"Oh... You didn't like the US?"

"No, I liked it, it's quite nice. But it's too far away."

“I agree! You can come here in 4 hours straight. You need like 20 hours to get to the US. Plus jet lag… uff!” I played narad muni.

“Yeah, exactly.” She said.

I took out my hypothetical notepad (yes, I have a hypothetical newspaper, notepad, and what not.) and did what a mature 27-year-old does. Scribbled the score.

Sash - 1
Sis - 0

As Mom unpacked, I saw some dried flowers and maple leaves in a ziploc bag.

"What's this??" I asked.

"Oh, I collected this when we went to see fall in the US. Ohhh... fall is soooo beautiful! You must see it for yourself one day."

Hmmph.

Sash - 1
Sis - 1

"Achha? What else did you see?" I asked.

"Oh I saw snowfall too! It is AMAZING! I even made a snowman!" She said delightedly.

Sash - 1
Sis - 2

FALL and snowFALL and what not. Hmmph! Singapore has FALL too. That too all year round! It's called rainFALL! :/

"So did you roam around a lot on your own in the US?" I asked.

"On my own? No way! It's very hard to get around on your own if you don't drive."

“You didn’t walk around on your own?”

“No no… can’t do all that there.”

"You know Mom, you can walk to the beach here? It's like a 15-minute WALK." I said.

Sash - 2
Sis – 2

“Achha, we’ll go watch Taare Zameen Par in the weekend, okay? It’s supposed to be a really good movie.” I said.

“Oh, I’ve seen it already!”

“WHAT?”

I couldn’t believe my ears. I’d held off watching it just so I could watch it when Mom comes here. I even called up the theatre to ask them how long the movie will run so we don't miss it. I’d thought she’d be so deprived of hindi movies.

“It’s a very good movie. You should watch it.” Mom said.

“Yeah yeah… I will… but tell me first, when did you watch it? How?? You went to a hindi movie theatre there?”

“Naah, your jeeju got the movie, we watched it at home.”

Okay, fine.

Sash – 2
Sis – 3

Realising that I was fighting a losing battle, I decided it was time to use the brahmastra. I made her sit on the massage chair (I’d ensured it was delivered before Mom got here), put on her favourite music (the chair has a system whereby the massage can be synced with the music you play) and said, "So do you like the chair?"

"I love it! What a brilliant invention!"

Muahahaha!

Sash - 3
Sis – 3

And so went on the score. It had reached the point that I was trying to score on every little thing Mom mentioned about her US trip. It was a very close game, you see, and I had to win. I had to make her pick me over my sis. I had to increase my reasons and reduce hers. Naturally I was nervous and touchy.

Yesterday, we were randomly chatting, and Mom said, "So the other day baby Aish..."

"OKAY FINE I GET IT! I GET IT! SIS WINS! OKAY?"

Mom - "Huh? What did I say?"

Me – “Baby Aish! That's what you said."

Sash - 3
Sis - 3 gazillion bazillion trazillion...

HMMPH! :/

.



29 comments:

mythalez said...

tch tch ...
well perhaps after a few years .. u can give a real fight :P

ps- a tradition goes .. gold?

shub said...

:D

rt said...

wonderful!!!

starbreez said...

Of course, there's one way for you to even the score ... like mythalez says. :p

Iday said...

The best way for you to even the score is to come to US and stay with mom, sis and baby Aish!!! Apart from quality family time, you will also get to experience the 3 gazillion bazillion trazillion things your mom enjoyed during her trip to the US; things you apparently dont find in Singapore ;)

Iday said...

BTW - mythalez and starbreez are spot on. ONly wondering why it would take "a few years"!!! :O

BP said...

Heheh, cute post :)

satish said...

seriously bhai!

Nidhi said...

Cool post...and amazing coincidence...just 5 mins back I literally fought wid my Mom on phone coz she refused to come and stay with me in B'lore for a few days :)
(She's in Calcutta and my Papa's culinary skills exactly matches ur dad's...so she doesnt wanna leave him and come here!)

Tejal said...

heheheh *wicked grin*

Shanks_P said...

:) Sisters always gives a tough fight ......

Rose said...

I know the feeling!!! I have a sis with 2 of the world's cutest babies!! Luckily she's in the US with me. So not much competition :)

The only way u can beat your sis now, is if you have kids of your own!! :D FACT: The younger the kids, the more gazillions of points you get!!

ferret said...

LOL at the ideas above. Now you had to hear this from the bewdas in addition to the mother-in-law :D

Stone said...

:-)

I like the label -- 'Tiny Tapori'

Neihal said...

hahahahha

you should have known this all along dear. :D

Bivas said...

Lol...
Me thinks u shud get the Tiny Tapori to Sgp for a vacation of her own...
Baby Khush with Masi...mom bhi khush with Baby n u score all the bazillion gazillion points u want :D
wotsay :-)

Anusha said...

Heh! I clicked on the comments tab thinking I'll write, "There is a way for you to even the score, you know!" (GMTA, Starbreez!) and then I realize 3-4 people have already had the same thought :P :D

chanakya said...

there are more than one way of evening the score u know :D

aequo animo said...

Lol :)
May be twins will get you back into the game :D

Zahid said...

You must have said 4 simple words

What about Baby sayesha? (And wait for her expression !!! )

P.S : Dont forget to put the correct expression on the face while you say that otherwise the whole game will go bad !!!

Angelsera said...

I duno which I found funnier..the post or the above comments!!

Gosh you know I had this really funny picture in my head of Viv, you and a baby with a pen in one hand and a cricket bat in the other..and a t-shirt bearing "my parents are crazy..I am here to look after them"

JD said...

I am totally floored by your posts...A friend of mine passed me the link to your posts and I've been hooked ever since :)

You have a wonderful sense of humour and an irreverent writing style, which is entertaining and an ideal picker-upper on Mondays! :D

I read your post about compliments from total strangers, so I know I can be gushy without being judged :)

Keep up the good work

P.S. have added your blog to my list.

Ab said...

wer's my comment? or did i not submit it?

Amey said...

Well, it's easy to "balance" the scores, isn't it? :D

I mean, in any Bollywood movie, you just have to sing a song and viola, you got yourself a baby ;)

Deeps said...

ROFL :)))), good one!

Deeps said...

You can also get a score of "3 gazillion bazillion trazillion" soon you know ;-).

Adorable Pancreas said...

You could try lisping 'hai na bolo bolo' for your mom. You were her baby once. Works with my mom. ;)

Sayesha said...

#Mythalez,
I knew someone or the other would say that, but the very first comment? Sheesh! :P

#Shub,
:D

#rt,
Thanks! :)

#Starbreez,
Et tu??? :O

#Iday,
I wish I had enough leavr (and money!) for that! :)

#BP,
Thanks! :)

#Satish,
:D

#Nidhi,
Hehehe... they're all the same man! :P

#Tejal,
Pata tha tu yehi karegi! :/

#Shanks_P,
I know man... that too elder sis has an edge already! :)

#Rose,
Haha! Sure sure! :)

#Ferret,
Haha! Fortunately, no pressure yet from parents or in-laws! :)

#Stone,
:D

#Neihal,
Tu mat bol re! Tere din bhi aayenge! :D

#Bivas,
Of all the options, I like yours the BEST! So the gold for this post actually goes to you! :D

#Clueless,
Sheesh! Not you too! But then you have a vested interest here! :P

#Chanakya,
Ek aur aa gaya! *rolls eyes* :P

#Aequo animo,
OMG! Noooooooooooo! :O :O :O

#Zahid,
Oh man I don't think I can pull that off! :P

#Angelsera,
Oh my! Hahahahahahaha! Now I have that image in my head! Hahahahaha! :D

#Jane Doe,
Welcome and thanks! :))

#Ab,
You did... but it is not there anymore. :) Starting a sentence with "no offence" doesn't undo the damage methinks. :)

#Amey,
Sheesh! If that were true, considering that I'm singing 24-7, I'd beat Laloo Prasad's family in no time! :D

#Deeps,
Thanks! :P

#Adorable Pancreas,
Hehe... nope, can't pull that off! :P

Bivas said...

hehehe...Danke!
That's what I call stealing the gold from right under the nose ;-)