One of my favourite adage goes thus :
As a rule, man is a fool
When it is hot, he wants it cool
When it is cool, he wants it hot
Always wanting what is not!
And like a true woman approaching her fifties (omg, how the hell did I get there so soon!) I am ready to share this with all other humans at the slightest moment of opportune which comes ever so soon because we are always wanting what is not.
And so I had shared it too, a couple of times with Daadu.
Daadu was visiting us for a few weeks.
His mornings would start with a simple request for a cup of tea.
And the day would start with one of the toughest jobs, for the maker of his tea (be it his wife of 47 years or his son’s wife of 22 years – that’s me) no one could ever guess what kind of chai would be right for him.
It was best to make his chai as per his specific instructions which depended on
1. the time of day
and
2. the tide within his body.
His instruction varied from...
Half cup / full cup / 3/4th cup or 1/4th cup of tea
With... half teaspoon sugar / 1 big sweetex ki goli / ek chotti sweetex ki goli or no chini (sugar) at all
Along with ...1 teaspoon milk / 1 tablespoon milk or a dollop of fresh cream
And some Biscuits with tea....sweet / salty or a mix of both (depending on the surmise of his blood sugar level at that time of the day)
And mind it : if you ever prepared his tea in advance ...his need for the moment would always be the opposite of what was prepared.
The recipe instructions would vary as per the time of day but the ‘Requirement of the Opposite of what was Prepared’, remained constant.
If tea was prepared with ½ teaspoon sugar, then, it was his time for tea with sweetex.
If tea was prepared with “vaddi (big) sweetex ki goli” (sugar free sweetner), then, it was time for tea with “chotti sweetex ki goli”.
If tea was prepared with chotti sweetex ki goli, then..... (you guessed right) his body needed a
completely 'sugar-free' tea.
This routine started with morning tea and extended to everything through the day and lasted till the lights were turned off at night.
Daadu fitted the adage perfectly “always wanting what is not’’.
20 Oct 2010
Since morning, Daadu had been keeping every one fit (wife, me, grand kids) with the regular summons of his daily needs. He repeatedly asked his grandson to check outside the main door for the newspaper. His grandson decided to disappear from the scene.
After ordering 5 checks in 15 minutes, the newspaper finally graced the door step.
I took it straight to Daadu.
“Read out my son’s horoscope as I don't have my spectecales” , he said.
I read it aloud.
Daadu was a regular reader of the daily horoscopes predicted in the newspapers.
He would read about each family member and then forewarn his sons via phone.... if their horoscopes warned of prudence at work or refrain at home.
Undeterred by busy tone or busy network, he'd call several times through the day to relay their horoscope.
Probably his way of keeping in touch with his busy sons.
“Read yours” he said.
“No point in reading mine Daadu, it always states the opposite ”, I replied.
“I don’t understand how one prediction can hold good for millions of people with the same zodiac sign, different people of different ages, in different countries leading different lives”, I said.
“Ok then read mine” he said.
I searched for his sun sign and read aloud....
Daily Horoscope for AQUARIUS by Dr. Prem Kumar Sharma
"Your habit of ordering around without undertaking anything your self may be resented.
So curb this tendency......"
My eyes popped out.
I re read it aloud in disbelief.
I laughed.
It seemed so highly customised!
Suddenly his wife and grandkids joined in and there was a lot of laughter and cheer for the day’s horoscope. No horoscope had ever matched as truly as Daadu’s.
Daadu was cornered.
But he too joined in the cheer through his protest.
For the first time in my life I read a horoscope so true!
As per him, for the first time in his life....his horoscope was so “Untrue”!
As a rule, man is a fool
When it is hot, he wants it cool
When it is cool, he wants it hot
Always wanting what is not!
And like a true woman approaching her fifties (omg, how the hell did I get there so soon!) I am ready to share this with all other humans at the slightest moment of opportune which comes ever so soon because we are always wanting what is not.
And so I had shared it too, a couple of times with Daadu.
Daadu was visiting us for a few weeks.
His mornings would start with a simple request for a cup of tea.
And the day would start with one of the toughest jobs, for the maker of his tea (be it his wife of 47 years or his son’s wife of 22 years – that’s me) no one could ever guess what kind of chai would be right for him.
It was best to make his chai as per his specific instructions which depended on
1. the time of day
and
2. the tide within his body.
His instruction varied from...
Half cup / full cup / 3/4th cup or 1/4th cup of tea
With... half teaspoon sugar / 1 big sweetex ki goli / ek chotti sweetex ki goli or no chini (sugar) at all
Along with ...1 teaspoon milk / 1 tablespoon milk or a dollop of fresh cream
And some Biscuits with tea....sweet / salty or a mix of both (depending on the surmise of his blood sugar level at that time of the day)
And mind it : if you ever prepared his tea in advance ...his need for the moment would always be the opposite of what was prepared.
The recipe instructions would vary as per the time of day but the ‘Requirement of the Opposite of what was Prepared’, remained constant.
If tea was prepared with ½ teaspoon sugar, then, it was his time for tea with sweetex.
If tea was prepared with “vaddi (big) sweetex ki goli” (sugar free sweetner), then, it was time for tea with “chotti sweetex ki goli”.
If tea was prepared with chotti sweetex ki goli, then..... (you guessed right) his body needed a
completely 'sugar-free' tea.
This routine started with morning tea and extended to everything through the day and lasted till the lights were turned off at night.
Daadu fitted the adage perfectly “always wanting what is not’’.
20 Oct 2010
Since morning, Daadu had been keeping every one fit (wife, me, grand kids) with the regular summons of his daily needs. He repeatedly asked his grandson to check outside the main door for the newspaper. His grandson decided to disappear from the scene.
After ordering 5 checks in 15 minutes, the newspaper finally graced the door step.
I took it straight to Daadu.
“Read out my son’s horoscope as I don't have my spectecales” , he said.
I read it aloud.
Daadu was a regular reader of the daily horoscopes predicted in the newspapers.
He would read about each family member and then forewarn his sons via phone.... if their horoscopes warned of prudence at work or refrain at home.
Undeterred by busy tone or busy network, he'd call several times through the day to relay their horoscope.
Probably his way of keeping in touch with his busy sons.
“Read yours” he said.
“No point in reading mine Daadu, it always states the opposite ”, I replied.
“I don’t understand how one prediction can hold good for millions of people with the same zodiac sign, different people of different ages, in different countries leading different lives”, I said.
“Ok then read mine” he said.
I searched for his sun sign and read aloud....
Daily Horoscope for AQUARIUS by Dr. Prem Kumar Sharma
"Your habit of ordering around without undertaking anything your self may be resented.
So curb this tendency......"
My eyes popped out.
I re read it aloud in disbelief.
I laughed.
It seemed so highly customised!
Suddenly his wife and grandkids joined in and there was a lot of laughter and cheer for the day’s horoscope. No horoscope had ever matched as truly as Daadu’s.
Daadu was cornered.
But he too joined in the cheer through his protest.
For the first time in my life I read a horoscope so true!
As per him, for the first time in his life....his horoscope was so “Untrue”!
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