Got the flu. I think they call it Influenza or something equally big and scary for the common cold that my life seems to be peppered with. I can’t remember going through one season to the next without having caught the irritable nose-runs and cough routine. Maybe it is my weak constitution or my seemingly utter disregard for “proper” clothing. Now how does one ascertain that the summers are over today and the winters start from tomorrow??<<<< Hence I need to get into layers and layers of woolens from tomorrow onwards!!!
Anyway what is interesting to note that people around your always have ‘tried and tested sure shot ways’ to combat and destroy the problem. “Take my advice and you will be as good as new tomorrow” said one of my learned friends. I have my own reservations about that particular proverb and its usage.. However, I did make an effort to hear him out.
" The problem is "...he continued like any sensible person to first explore the reason and then provide the remedy, " ....you have switched to bathing in warm water too quickly. The temperature is still between 10-15 degrees, which does not require warm water showers. Anyway what you need to do now is......" I barely heard him out and showing greatest restraint, resisted the urge to punch the living daylights out of him.I wanted to tell him that being forced to use cold water on my ass every morning was bad enough( the geyser does not warm the bidet faucet)
Another highly learned aunt of mine questioned my dietary intake with the view of changed weather, citing that as the real reason. My mother-in-law suggested a spoon ful of Chawanprash as the perfect antidote. My boss suggested that i should come out of my bathroom fully clothed rather than just a towel around my lower torso . He also suggested, knowing my soft corner for potent beverages, that a nice shot of hot brandy would cure me instantly.My colleagues at work (with whom i play Table Tennis everyday), suggested that two hours of rigorous games would sweat out all the germs from my body.
After all this, now i do wear all the woolens i can find, completely changed my shower routine and come out of the shower completely clothed, got a new diet regime going, bought a bottle of chawanprash, even tried a couple of shot of scotch ( didn't have brandy you see!!). In spite of all this i still sleep in the guest room with a couple of packs of paper tissues with a every heavily running nose and coughing away like an old tractor that has outlived its utility.

DAD-TO-BE!!!!

‘there is nothing special about the day,” I thought to myself, as I sat on the plush sofa of the hospital lobby, looking out at the beautifully landscaped lawns. A lone, disinterested gardener was trimming the bright green grass, braving the early morning sun. Yet, I knew, this was the day, the big day! The most special day ever! The day we’ve been waiting for. Nine months of anticipation, a long cherished dream, hopes, joy , pride, all culminating today, or so I hoped, desperately, as I said one silent prayer after another.
My mind was a tumultuous whirlpool of emotions; apprehension, fear, euphoria, ecstasy, all rolled into one. I did not know what to think or how to react. I was nervous, never more so in my life. Nervous.
I sat absolutely still, outwardly calm, the face be-lying the storm that raged within. I looked around, seated next to me was my equally calm looking father-in-law, immersed in a day old newspaper. I knew he was also far from calm. My mom-in-law was comparatively more expressive. Even a casual observer could have easily discerned the ever-so-faint worry lines on her face, the slight twitch of her brows, the darting eyes and biting lips. All tell-tale signs of anxiety.
I could hear my heart pounding in my ribcage, so loud that I looked up at other anonymous faces seated around us. Surely it could be heard. As I looked from one impassive face to other, I wondered if they are all also as calm as they seemed.
I finally shifted my gaze to the shut door. I knew she was inside there somewhere. I could feel exactly what she must be going through. I tried to shut my mind, forcing myself not to think of it, of her. The more I tried, the more I failed. I felt completely helpless. I wished I could be with her. Or at least be somewhere, where she could see me or maybe I could see her. I wanted to hold her hand, reassure her, comfort her, see her through the whole process, take away a little part of what, I knew, she would have to go through. Alone!
Doctors and nurses went in and out of that door. Brisk walk, grim expressions seemed to be everywhere. Hardly any good to my already worried self. Every time the door opened and somebody walked out, my piercing gaze would immediately fix on that face, looking for the smallest smile, a tiny little hint that would assure me that all was well. Any form of reassurance that was what I was seeking so desperately. I knew it won’t be long now. She had been there for almost half an hour already. It could be any minute now. I broke out in cold sweat. I turned around and tried to start a conversation with my father-in-law, who seemed to be a little better off than me. Completely inane talk, absolutely irrelevant and thoroughly dwarfed by the moment.
The sudden ringing of my cell phone broke the deafening silence all around me. I took it out of my pocket, ridden with guilt, for having broken the sanctum of the surrounding. A little irritated at not putting it on silent mode, I picked up the call as I moved away from the waiting area, not even bothering, in haste, to check the number.
“Honey, it a baby boy! A baby boy” she cried right into my ears. For what seemed like an eternity I was frozen, like the proverbial hare caught under the glare of strong headlights. It took a mammoth effort to intake air into my lungs at that point. My vision blurred with overflowing droplets of pure joy! … “I held him, kissed him … they have now taken him to clean him up. I am calling from the anesthetist’s phone, ..i can’t actually believe..”… she continued. I was barely listening anymore. I stood there transfixed, trying to ingest and digest what my ears had heard but my brain refused to react. I didn’t realise the tears that ran down my cheeks, until someone put a hand on my shoulders asking if everything was alright. Of course everything was alright, in fact things couldn’t have been better, I screamed. In that instant I felt a huge surge of energy, exhilaration ecstasy… I was not too sure what. I jumped up into the air, doing what can be best described as a spastic dance, screaming some incoherent gibberish, as I rushed towards my father-in-law and mom-in-law. I hugged them both, while struggling with words to tell them the news.
It was at that moment that the nurse came out with a tiny little bundle of flaying hands and legs, calling out my name loudly. As soon as I identified myself she gave him to me. Gingerly I held him, and as I stared into the most angelic face that I have ever seen, I learnt at that moment the true meaning of a very important word that we all use indiscrimately, but it takes an experience like the one mentioned above to truly understand it. The word of course : DADDY!!