Look up

While toying with the idea of relocating to the U.S for a job, Anirudh was not only worried, but reluctant too. His new employer had hired him at higher salary and promised better perks, but the job required him to move out of Kolkata. Leaving his home town, parents, friends and his lifetime’s memories for a new place, made him jittery. To search for a new house or to stay in guest house, to cook on his own or hire a cook, to stay alone or with room partners, to adapt to a new lifestyle, totally different culture, to manage  everything alone; these thoughts bothered him as he spent sleepless nights before accepting the new job offer.

Yes he had reasons to worry but his career was also at stake. As his elder sister I could gauge how his mind wavered between his job and family. To leave ailing parents behind for a new job was indeed difficult. I was married and had relocated to Delhi. I visited Kolkata for few days and I could sense the uneasiness on Anirudh’s face, no matter he tried to conceal this thoughts with his cheerful smile. I counselled him to accept the job opportunity. He was reluctant and did not seem convinced. Two days later, he came to me with an envelope in his hand. He seemed to be relaxed. “Ki holo?” (What happened), I asked him.

“I rejected the job offer” he said with a smile.

“Why? This was a great chance you always dreamt of! Are you crazy?” I exclaimed.

“I won’t leave my parents for a job. It’s just a job. I told that to my employer and they agreed. I can stay here in Kolkata and work for as on off-site employee. See, I rejected them, but they accommodated my needs. Didi, I knew my priorities and I was positive that my employer would agree to my terms and conditions. Why should I leave my home. I get my energy and happiness when I see my parents.”

I was stunned by his reply. What great optimism was my brother full of! I felt proud of him.

Years later, I was back to Kolkata in city hospital to attend to my father after he met with a stroke. I sobbed as Ani hugged me in the hospital during dad’s heart surgery. The doctors had reported 70% arteries blockage. In the critical situation when Mom and I were a nervous wreck, we could regain our strength and hopes with Ani standing by our side, silent but steady.

Our cousins were there in the hospital to support us. To cheer up everybody, Ani cracked jokes.

“How could you be not serious in this difficult time?” one of our elder cousins snapped at him. He was our uncle’s eldest son who was very close to our dad.

“Crying or worrying will not cure him anyway dada” Ani said calmly keeping his hand on his shoulder, transferring all his positive energy into the grim environment.

“Dad will be fine. Don’t worry. He will be healthy and hearty. Heart surgeries look complicated but trust me they are very common for doctors. Have a cup of tea”, and he extended his arm with cup of tea to calm us. The surgery was successful and dad recovered gradually. I am often amazed by the optimism that he carries and never feels low. What motivates him, even he does not know. All I know is that he is different and a very positive person who lights up everybody’s life with this cheerfulness and people look upto him for his optimism.

This post is part of  https://housing.com/lookup in association with indiblogger

The serious most condition

It was way back in 2004 when I was pursuing bachelor degree and was very new in the capital city of Delhi. Life in a metro for a new comer is always difficult. However, thanks to my two other roommates Divya and Swati, from my hometown Dehradun, who cushioned my life with their warmth through my thick n thins. Not that I liked warm weather, but life was easy with them amid all struggle & problems. And the biggest problem in our life was our landlady.

A middle aged lady with 2 kids and husband working in a different city, had rented the house’s 1st floor to three of us. However, little did we know that she had decided to screw our peace of mind. Since all three of us (Divya, Swati and I) worked in night shifts, we routinely returned home in the wee hours of the morning. The house had a common entrance which became a big setback for us. Initially the house owner agreed to the terms and conditions of our working hours. She happily unbolted the gate for us initially, within the first few days of moving in.

Gradually she grew irritated of our odd routine that spoiled her sleep. Possibly she realized that renting the floor to three girls working in BPO was the biggest mistake of her life. The happy welcome and "koi baat nahi beta" soon turned into frowns. Days turned into weeks and for reasons unexplained she transformed to a circus ring master sans a whip.

I failed to understand how were we three responsible if water supply was stopped by the municipality or if there was power cut for whole day? She kept a close watch on the consumption of water by three of us! Holy cow! Who does that!!! And if the tank ran empty some day she would plug out the motor or conveniently say it is out of order. I started to hate her and staying in the house located in East Delhi.

She often came to us and complained of noises that caused her disturbance. Where did she hear noises from? In our absence at night was there some ghost dancing on the floor? While we slept during the day, we never heard noises. We wondered if she was mentally sick or she hated our presence. God knows! I only know one thing, that her condition was serious. Her tantrums were disturbing and we moved into a new house post few months of stay there. She was Case#1 a serious case of mental disorder without any reason. I assume she had tenantomaniasm (Don’t laugh. I coined the term for those who hate their tenants)

We relocated to a new house in South Delhi. Congested and crowded, South Delhi did not appeal to me. I wondered why it was the most posh area of Delhi. Houses were like pigeonhole, lanes as narrow as rat maze, and markets that encroached roads. The landlord of our pigeonhole was a soft spoken gentleman who was never concerned about our office hours or nature of work. Who on Earth knew that it was his wife who would give us all the trouble? On Sundays Divya noticed the landlady cleaning the house early morning. Smita noticed her sweeping the floor two hours later. I saw her mopping the floor somewhere in the afternoon. All three of us noticed her repeating the activity in the evening. That was our first weekend in the new house. She politely remarked, “Beta ghar saaf kar lia karo” (Please clean the house at times)

Our tight schedules of night shifts and sleep during the day left us with no time for ourselves, let alone cleaning the house. She would often sneak into our room and scold us for the messy room or the cobwebs near ceiling.

She dusted, swept and mopped the floor atleast 6 times a day! The maid whom she had hired was instructed to clean the terrace and staircase only. Rest was the landlady’s kingdom which she looked after day night! I wouldn’t be surprised to see her cleaning the house at night as well. She needed treatment for her serious condition of OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder)

So much was her obsession with cleanliness that she did not allow her husband to enter the house when she mopped the floor. Her house was undoubtedly clean, but she skipped her social gatherings, events or parties just because she was busy cleaning the house! Would you laugh if I’d say she sat crossed legs on the floor to have lunch with newspaper spread in front of her, instead of using the huge dining table of her house?

Swati pulled her leg one day asking her to sell the dining table to us. Obviously, the woman grew furious.

Her obsession for tidiness grew with leaps and bounds and that became apparent when she instructed us to hire a maid for cleaning our room. That was not mentioned in our contract! Yet we reluctantly hired a maid to clean the tiny rooms.

In a month’s time, the maid quit the job. Why? Because the landlady was after her life to clean the ceiling everyday and mop the floor twice! God! I knew that #conditionserioushai!

We were suffocated and moved to a new house, this time with no landlord/lady staying in the same house.

Their condition was seriously serious! God bless them with something like Cadbury Five Star. I would have given the dose to them myself, but alas I don’t want to relive the horror by meeting them again. I am happy without any landlady around!

This is an entry for Indiblogger Cadbury Five star #conditionserioshai contest. Don't be so serious and click on https://www.facebook.com/cadbury5star