Posted:
8 years ago
Wheels of Fortune
Bala sighed audibly
"Its never a good time Mama"
Appa nodded and smiled as an after thought
"tannayum ariyama nee ennai Appa sollitte teriyumo?" (u addressed me as Appa) Appa cleared his throat
"U are one" Bala said quietly
"How are Amma Appa? Did u tell them?" Mr Iyer asked
"Hmmm... varutha padraa.. hmmm" (they are sad too) Bala sighed
"I remember when you came to see our Vandita, ur father asked u to seek the blessings of Anna" Appa smiled
Bala nodded
"Subbu did not like Anna... or rather, Subbu's parents" Appa was still stuck on an unpleasant time
"That chapter is closed Mama" Bala reminded him sharply
Appa grunted... a part of him... oh! almost the whole of him still unwilling to accept a Punjabi boy for Ishita
"Ishita seems very happy" Bala reminded nobly
"In the first year what is there to be unhappy say I say? Every body is happy. roaming around, going to hotel... adukulla oru kozhandaya kuduthuttan (he made her pregnant)" Appa squirmed uncomfortably
"He is very good with kids Mama" Bala defended R&B
"We all love kids, who will do all the work? Only her only no?" Appa ranted in broken English
"She will be fine" Bala said somberly
"Hmmm... he is not even here... ur MIL claims the car was sent by him" Appa blurted
"Which car?" Bala asked
"Last night when Janaki dropped her from the hospital, Vandu kept my old car, so Janaki and her returned by auto, their driver was there, with a Mercedes" Appa charged
Bala's expression changed a bit... "Oh! thats very nice" he said, staring at the presswala boy ringing his cycle bell as he weaved through pedestrian traffic down below
"People are important Bala, not things" Appa said firmly
"He lives in Paris" Bala felt the, now familiar, sharp poke of envy.
"yes yes... the world knows that" Appa agreed
"Avalukkellam Mercedes ellam tanni patta paadu Mama" (For them a Merc is like a cycle rickshaw) he said suppressing his sigh
He could empty out all the college savings they had for Shravu, and yet he would be able barely to afford a used Merc...
a used Merc in India was around Rs. 15 lakhs- 2 crores
Shravu's college would have to be put on hold until he saved up all over again for 15 years...
Last time he checked the Aviva Young Scholar balance, it was not even 15 lakhs, he was investing 1 lakh a year in it...
so at 18 Shravu can get atleast Rs.20 lakhs for his education. Vacations, expensive gadgets and fancy furniture was all out of question
Oh heck, he couldnt buy himself a new car or a Toyota Fortuner van for the baby... many at work had suggested, he go for that, it was 6 seater, perfect for going to Ambala Anna's house
He had imagined himself driving that when he saw commercials on Sun TV at night, while having dinner
Many times when he would look at Vandu and say "Nanna irukku di, stylish a... we shud get this di" (I like the van)
Vandu's eyes would glisten with hope
Shravu would literally stop eating... "appa are we getting it.. please pa... we should get a new car... we can go to
Manali in summer" his eyes would shine like a sparkling 5 rupee coin
"Ethana velai?" Amma would ask long after the commercial would be over
"24-27 lakhs ma" Bala would say
"Appa YOu work in a BANK" shravu would shriek naively
Vandu would scold him and ask him to shut up
"Appa oda FD irukku" Amma would say... since Appa was losing hearing like Kamakshi Athai he wouldnt notice
(U can have appa's CD)
"NO NO..." Vandu would be outraged
"Kozhandai kekarane... 2017 la maturity.. sonna Appa... its only Rs 7 lakhs" (the child is so eager)
"He has bus Amma... and we have a car" Vandu would squash her desire, appearing mature
"U are here early... do u have time off?" Appa rudely interrupted his thoughts
"No... no Mama I just took a couple hours off" "I am going back to work" Bala nodded somberly
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Much to Bally's surprise II arrived at work on Tuesday at Noonish ish after Bala left
She decided she would not apply for the job in her own team
She was too upset to sit home and wait for news about Periappa
She decided to show up for work albeit late
Ritu was happy to see her, why not, a vacation cut short by 4 days would make any manager happy
She noticed II's expensive clothes though, from her last trip to Paris
"New?" she asked
"No... it was in the apartment" Ii mumbled
"U must not know how many clothes u have" Ritu chuckled
"I DO actually... every dupatta, every blouse" II smiled calmly
"Thats great... ofcourse u do, u are an Accountant" Ritu said startled
Ii didnt like the sound of that... she smiled hitting the elevator button to go get coffee from the Perk
What Ritu thought of her didnt matter... in the bigger picture of her life today
Her most favorite person was laying unconscious in a hospital
Petty bickering could wait
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Edited by Nisha0604 - 8 years ago