Monkey Matters
He unclipped Ved from his high chair and held him close, Vedant lay on his shoulder tired and sad
"Nobody will come to our house if they show such behavior" II hissed as she rinsed dishes
"Enough with the hyperbole II" he said unhappily
"Its the truth" II shouted
Mavvy was used to by now, it had been 15 years. He had seen many wars
"Dono ekdam chup" Ranjan shouted
R&B slid the backyard door open
"How come no one cleaned this mess?" he asked II
Fine hair strewn right under the patio swing
II didnt respond, just wiped down the counter
Nivi came down in lounge pants with lettering along the leg and a cami
"Nivi... where is ur hoodie?" II warned
Nivi looked embarrassed
"Go wear one, zip it up then u can come down" II ordered
She was old fashioned she wanted her daughter not to surrender to fashion too much
He set Vedu down and cleaned the mess
Ranjan was feeding Sahana vada that II had made for evening snack
"Saara din khaati rehti hai Dad" II complained
"Na gudiya" he scolded
"Amma I mant to go out. I read the all the book" Sid claimed
"I can tell da... from how your English is so much better" II quipped sarcastically
Ranjan chuckled "Dadu saath Prithiviraj Rd chalega?" he asked Sid
"Nobody is going anywhere with you Dad" II said
The dogs scampered in from outside, they were still puppies, barely a month old in the house they were still trying to figure out who should receive their sucking up
They often got mixed up and handed it out to everyone
James licked Ranjan's feet
He threw him half a vada
Sahana watched that and fed her piece to Chuck
The dogs came to II next...
II just ignored them and put snack containers back in the shelf
"Stop it" she warned as Chuck sniffed Ranjan's feet fondly
Ranjan fed him another scrap
"Bhabhiji, Nivi to khayegi nahi bhindi, unke liye kophte bana lein kya?" Mavvy enquired
"Mujhe sona hai, subah se lagi hoon main, aap kuch bhi start kar lo" she said and yawned
"OUTT... OUT..." she shouted at the dogs as they pried a piece of vada from Sahana's fat hands
R&B returned with Vedu
"Dad, inka ko backyard mein shed tha woh kab banega? Atleast for an hour I want the house to be quiet" she begged
"Ur husband belongs there remember?" Chuck yelped
"HIM and you two" II spoke to him
"Him?" Ranjan asked
"Never mind" II mumbled
"Amma can I have cheese?" Nivi asked
Sahana went beserk upon seeing her
She wanted to be held
She slid off Ranjan's lap and crawled to her
"U have sticky juice all over you" Nivi said primly
"Mimika Mavvy Uncle AIR KATH" Sid explained
Nivi looked at Mavvy in shock
"Cheese edukku dee? Why cant u have vadai?" (why cheese?) II forced her daughter to conform to Iyer ways
"Amma its 4 in the afternoon, who eats vadai at 4?" Nivi rolled her eyes
"I wud finish my KV homework and drool waiting at the kitchen" II said proudly
"Its so greasy Amma" Nivi mumbled sitting down reluctantly as Mavvy brought a plate with two giant golden crisp on the outside fluffly on the inside with hole in the center delicacy
"Nariyal chutney deein aapko?" Mavvy asked
"Amma NOT TWOOO" Nivi wailed
Sahana stood at her feet patting Nivi's sweatpants
the dogs circled Nivi's feet now, sniffing... wagging their fat tails
R&B stretched out on the dining table chair, his legs a mile long, leaning on the wall.
Texting and listening to the drama in the kitchen
He rarely spoke, his life had transformed, the quiet house where the help huddled and chatted but Ranjan and him passed each other in the hallway
and spoke only when needed
Sam would bring a young Nandan some evening and play the TV, cook, Tan would argue with her about some South Delhi gossip
When they left the house would be shrouded in mystery and silence
None of that the last 15 years
Blood curdling screams, punching throwing stuff at each other, running, howling, gurgling laughter, begging, screaming to get into the car when Ranjan or II or R&B turned key in the ignition
Dogs yelping, singing offkey in chorus, gibberish...
The house craved for silence but it didnt get any anymore
Sam avoided coming over, and if she did she avoided staying long
The kids begged her to take them with her
Sometimes the dogs begged too
R&B had given Ved a popsiscle from the frig when II was in the store room
He dripped all over sucking on it
"Ma ko thodi se araam karan de beta, chal" Ranjan begged Sid
"Bigg bye bye, MALL bye bye?" (small) Sid bargained
"Tuannu Dadu big bye bye le chalanga" Ranjan sighed
"Aadoo mee meee?" Ved begged
II returned from the store room to find the culprit sucking on a juicy mango popsicle
"Yaar da kudutha?" (who gave u?)
Vedi pointed to R&B
He didnt even look at her
"Is this reward for cutting the poor man's hair?" II shouted
"Betaaa" Ranjan was frustrated
"Nahi Dad ek second" II shushed him
"Amma second vadai vendaam" Nivi whispered
The dogs understood great Tamil, they stretched and did acrobatics at Nivi's feet for her second vada
"I am going to take him for his hair cut" he told his wife coldly
"He refused your offer" II spat smugly
"Does this look like a decline to you?" he showed her his phone.
he had bullied Mavvy into agreeing over text
"Bhayya aap mat jao, aapko aise dekhega to isko samajh aayega ki kitna galat kiya isne" Ii said primly
"Seriously II? Hes not even FOUR" R&B argued
"Amma cam I have a pos- pickle?" Sid asked politely "I weeded the book" (ermm... read the book)
"Ask Daddy... hes the boss. Edo pannu dee nee" (do what u want) II said sternly to a constipated Nivi
Nivi was delighted she tore up the vada and fed the dogs
Sid grabbed Ved's popsicle since he didnt have the virtue called patience
Pandemonium broke loose as II made her way up through the grand staircase, securing the gate tight behind her at every floor so none of the lil monsters or the dogs cud even think of coming up
She heard Sahana's scream, Ranjan's cooing, the boys punching each other
"thats MYYY PHONE" Nivi shrieking angrily
"vanarangal (monkeys)" II muttered hitting the bed face down
The unrest would spread to the front yard soon... but II wud be oblivious as her body floated to a dreamy state
