Cottony blue kurta with white leggings, short hair with lanky figure. Ananya opened the door with a big smile. Immedietly, I mirrored her expression.
After greeting casually, she led through the door to her living room, painted in light blue walls and bluish-grey couch
The decorative of the house says the house maker was an expert.
I was surprised to see two other feminine head popping out of the couch.
I was not the only one who is lured here.
The heads turned simultaneously, we three absorbed each others facial feature until they sprang from the couch squealing, I was pulled in a group hug as, I , after so long seeing my best buddies from school.
Anajali, one with short brown hair, and Nisha wavy dark hair tied in a pony-tail. They looked so different than last time I saw them yet felt so same like last time we seperated. I was caught up in my drama and they were in their lives.
I was surprised, in a good way.
Hugging them back, We started complaining like how we forgot and how good it is we met finally.
Anjali was the same vibrant and bubby in my terms 80%feminine and 20% masculine while Nisha was quiet and reserved 60%feminine and 40%masculine. I could be wrong but that's how it feels.
"Ek baar bhi call nahi karti ladki!"Anjali complained "message ka reply tak nahi deti"
"Dete to hai" I replied innocently "but that is not enough for you, you want More..." I said the last word suggestively before smiling coyly.
Her smile dropped. She frowned "what is that suppose to mean?"
"It means friends zone is red zone for you" I said firmly "And you want mo-"
She stared at me, realisation sink in her.
"Yeees..." I nodded with wide smile "u got it my sweet sweet flower"
"oh my god!"
"exactly"
"Peter!?"
"yes baby?" I smiled resting my chin on my palm
"Peter is you?"
I nodded
"hey bhagwan!" she slapped her forehead, turning red as tomato
"utha lo ise" I completed for her.
"Tum bahut gandi hai! Bhak!" She snapped
"My sweet flower don't be mad at my impotence" i said dramatically "I just cannot"
She stuck out her tongue childishly.
I gave her a flying kiss.
Nisha and I burst into laughter after I explained how she started following my fake id, kept messaging me.
"ekdam nahi badli" Nisha told me smiling
"Tumlog bhi kahan badli ho? Ye to gadhi ki gadhi hi reh gayi!" I said " Mera picha hi nahi chodti, Insta pe. Chain se memes v nahi padhne deti!"
"Thats terrible, terrible!" She said " Ese kyu ki?"
"I warned you Angie-Angie-IT'S HARD FOR ME TO LOVE YOU" I mothed what I sent her, gaining a high-five from Nisha "She doesn't listen" I told Nisha with a helpless shrug.
She stomped her feet "Can't believe" crossing her arms "I fell in love with an Imposter.
"It's not love, u liked "Peter" because of his good looks"
"and also he wrote good!" she added offended
"u didnt even knew him" i said "beside, now you know there is no him"
She stuck her tongue at me, then asked "humko kahin se pata chala hai tumhara breakup ho gaya hai Avinav se!"
I flinched slightly.
*The Vodelmort of my life*
"Kya hua tha?" Now Nisha leaned curiously.
"He dumped me" I said casually
"Kyu?" Angie-Angie.
"Kyuki-" i drawled lazily, looking for something, anything.
"jaldi bolo na!!" Angie urged
"Kyuki Long distance relationships are hard to manage" I lied with a shrug.
"Oh!" Nisha said "sach me yar"
"humko to laga tha tumko ladki sab me intrest hone laga hai" Said Angie.
"esa achcha kismat nahi hai tumhara bahan!" I retorted back
Once Anjali was finished sticking her tongue at me, we started our real conversation.
By that I mean, studies, work, boys, boyfriends and breakup.
So, Anajali broke up with Rohit, and Nisha is with Aman. I am a loner and Ananya has a secret boyfriend.
Ananya stepped in with snacks and food, followed by another heavy steps. We didn't notice her gone.
Draped in heavy blue saree and noisey jwellery, not to mention the layer of makeup cracking on the corner of her eyes. With the facial expression of Padmavatt and face like "Kokila-ben"
Not our tiny rat like Ananya, we forgot she was even there, all we can see a giant figure that seems to be jumped out of Indian Saas-bahu show.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I present you...
Sokila-Ben..
My aunty gave her that name after meeting her for the first time in their mutual friend's wedding reception, her actual name is Bhrigeshwari Devi.
Our eyes flied at Ananya who just gave a shrug like deal-with-it. Now, I curse the moment I agreed to come here.
First☝ I was lied about being the only one invited and now here I am face to face with the girl that keeps texting me on Insta every freaking day trying to romanticize with my virtual identity. (no complains though)
I wont lie, I was going along but I assure you, here I am the innocent one.
Second✌, I can't eat peacefully infront of her.
She has a habit to criticize EVERYTHING other girls do. Who am I kidding? I knew she would be present during our small get-togather. She has to, she likes to feel younger than her actual age by accompaning her daughter's aquistance and making them feel like rotten tomatoes.
I whistled out a sigh, in my head.
"Arre Titu bhi Ayyi hai" She noticed me first as she took a seat across me.
I stretched my lips and call it a smile.
*galti ho gayi, maaf kar do*
We were all interrogated with what we were doing in our lives. Anajali-MBA, Nisha-Fashion designing, Me-Nothing.
So, I was the odd one out of these ambitious girl and I didn't see a problem till...
"To tumhari Aunty sahi keh rahi thi? Shadi karni hai?" She said with a facial expression of what I call is sour-faced-pig "wese sahi bhi hai tumhare liye"
"Kyu aunty?" I leaned forward frowning.
"Aaj kal kaun dusre ki beti ko jyada din poshta hai"
*poshta hai.....*
I blinked.
Poshta like a parrot.
Titu the tota.
I burst into laughter gaining a curious look from all. I shook my head "sorry, hum aur Sugga"
They all were confused.
"mere imagination me"
Still no change.
I caughed awkwardly.
"Aunty bol rahi thi poshta hai-tote ke jesa!"
Anjali and Nisha smiled, while Sokila looked very unimpressed.
I cleared my throat "To Ananya tum batao, kaisa chal raha sab?"
That seems to grab the attention of the lady, thankfully.
While she worked her mouth on praising her daughter's achievement, we worked our mouth on Samosa, cold-drink and pasta, I will stop to give a nod on whatever she said every now and then.
I wasn't really, I was uncomfortable. And I wanted to divert my attention to something better, and comforting, food.
Because if I didn't, I will go back with the sack of self-doubt.
You see I welcome food in my stomach to feel welcomed, because people fail to do that when I go there, all they talk how pitiful my life is.
I agree to disagree, I am perfectly fine, I have cash, food, clothes and a roof. I can roam anywhere, I can raise my voice when I want to. Yes I lost some precsious things to me but that should never be a subject to pity my life. Death is better than pitiful life.
"Tumhari Uncle Anty log kitne achche hai, warna dusre ke bachche ko koi dekhna tak nahi chahta hai"She said
"Anty sab ke ghar ki kahani ek jesi to nahi hoti" I said "Suna hai Dipti Aunty ki beti ne chota sa institute khol liya hai"
Dipti, her sister-in-law.
Her face dropped "Padhane aayega tab to padha bhi payegi"
"Jaruri nahi ki wo hi padhaye, Wo teacher bhi hire kar sakti hai" I said
She made a face. *jalkukri kahin ki*
"uska choro apna batao, ab to chulha-chauka ki taiyyari kar rahi hogi?" She asked scornfully..
Ananya snorted out a laugh.
I shrugged " Isme galat kya hai?"
"Aaj kal self dependent hona chahiye" gyan dete hue Sokilaben " warna gaay ke jese kahin pe bhi bandha jayegi"
"Ooh" I said "Aap bhi kaam karti hai kya?"
"nahi" She said uncertainly,
"Tab to welcome to the cow-club aunty!"
Anjali choked on her food, Nisha burst into laughter.
"Tumhe kya housewife banna hai?" Ananya asked irritated
"Kya pata" I shrugged " Humko to isme kuchh kharab nahi lagta"
She gave a disgusted look " Nokrani ban jayegi ghar ki, mummey log ko dekhti hai din bhar khat-pit karte rehti hai, saaf safai, jhadu pochha, khana banana"
"Koi kaam nahi, koi izzat nahi" said Anjali
"Bas pati ke aage pichhe" added Nisha.
I looked at very distant Sokila, as if going through her wasted years of life.
"I-I don't understand this" I said confused "Gyan pelu?"I asked
"Pelo"
"You are literally deacribe a person that rubbed their dream, body and soul to look after you. So you can be someone that they can't, you become their dream" I said "And the don't deserve to be resoected because you think how small their work is, they don't get paid, they cannot run a buisness"
"They simply didn't had the knowledge and opportunity like you but they are working for you" I said " I might or might not be a housewife, doesn't matter but I won't like people I worked for don't bother to see me as respected as themselves. I will be like- i have worked my ass-off for them to work on themselve, I will kick them out of my house to eat on street and teach them a lesson"
"I will be working on each person of the house so they function correctly and togather, raising good human beings, having conquering personalities" I said firmly "I shall be treated nothing less than a the Queen"
I looked over the woman, that sat with a glint of new found something good " Just like your mother" I added.
She looked surprised, in a goodway.
That "something good" was nothing but self respect.
I heard a click.
"bullshit!" Ananya snapped "You are just trying to glorify boring housework" Ananya said "Housewives don't have purposes, it's stupid"
*kuchh logo ki buddhi hi moti hoti hai*
"I will tell you a story-'
"Ab aur gyan nahi chahiye maate-" She was slapped on her arm by her mother.
"Chup raho na sunne do!" Sokila slapped her arms "haan bolo beta"
Yes I can motivate a nun into a stripper.*joking, I have never tried to do that*
I sipped glass of sprite, to loosen up my story-teller avatar.
"Allow me to tell you a story" I requested, Anjali and Nisha both leaned forward curiously, Ananya took a seat on a chair nearby.
Like old times, when I used to tell stories and they all circled around under shade of banyan tree to hear it. When we didn't knew internet existed.
"I heard this story on internet, was one fine story about a regular woman from Japan" I started " A woman was on her death-bed, In Coma"
I looked around to eirely silent audions " She dreamt that she had died and went to heaven"
"there she heard the voices, voices of her ancestors. They asked "who are you?"
She replied "I am Mayor's wife"
"we didn't asked whose wife you are." They said "Who are you?" was asked again
"I am mother of 4 children"
They said "we didn't asked that" They questioned again "Who are you"
"I am a school teacher"
The answer was again dismissed. Same queation was asked again and again. She kept going on with she is this and that.
Finally she replied "She is the one who wakes early everyday take care of her children, educate them to become a better person"
The answer was accepted, after few days, she got out of coma. That incident made her realise the purpose of her life. Her Ikigai something.
"She was a school teacher" Pointed out Ananya.
"And a housewife. It's not about what job is giving you money, It's all about what makes you wake everyday and live. Your mother don't need to earn, she can very much hire someone to look after the house yet she likes to do it herself even when she cannot walk with the load of jwelleries. She does it" I said "maybe she can explore furthur to find different purposes"
Sokila's eyes gleamed with different emotions,
"Baba Titu Narayan Das?" Ananya asked satirely "Why don't you share your purpose, what is your dream?"
I blinked " My dream" I touched my heart and stood up. I was full and ready to leave with the bubbling discomforting questions screaming in my head.
I cleared my throat "My dream is a wondrous dream" I started to sing in my hideous voice "It's the answer too....wanting only" I pointed at Anajali "👉You! But no promises☝" gaining laughs from everyone "its a true delight, escape at night- aage I forgot the line"
Even though, I turned the "housewife" thing into my favour, I was empty about it.