I was building iceman with bipasha in the swiss
alps, scuba-diving with Katrina in the pristine waters of bali, gyrating my
hips with Priyanka in front of the sphinx and crooning some melodies around the
conifers in Canada with Asin when the loud chatter interspersed with the
demonic laugh woke me up from my dreams.
From her voice, I sensed my aunt had arrived and I
knew I won’t be able to resist her for long. I tried ignoring and dwelling in
my dreams but futile. She to say the least was a pest, always trying to pin you
down and leave to chance to strike back. And worse still, if you were got even
with her, she would blew tantrums and leaving my mom with a herculean task of
pacifying her.
Even the last time I was down I had a brush-off
with her and had experienced it firsthand. My mom had strictly reprimanded me
for that behaviour and had warned me to behave. I tried to avoid her by
prolonging my siesta but she too seemed all determined to confront me. With her
showing to signs of leaving, I had to beat a hasty retreat from my plans and I
got up from my bed.
The clock just struck 11 times then. Had it been a
couple of years in the past my father
would have kicked on my butt to wake me up had I dozed any longer than 8’o
clock, but since I was back at home for vacationing, I knew I received a
special consideration from my mom who much have prevented my pop from flexing
his legs.
So lazingly I strolled out of my room.
As I emerged into the leaving room where they were
sitting, my aunt rushed to give-up a hug, and a tight one at it.
“Good Morning Beta!” She greeted
I always hated her squeeze when we were young and
now that I have added more years to me I hated it even more. Seeing her huge
frame ala yokuzhuna, charging at me I almost trembled in my pyjamas wondering
how could I possibly defy her. And almost instantaneously I let out a big yawn
from my yet unbrushed mouth, and that worked wonders. It was a touch and go
affair for her as she retraced her path by to the couch, thus me getting off we
just a pat on the shoulder.
My mom
wasn’t very pleased with my jesture, but I could see her too finding it tough
to conceal her smile.
“Good
Morning Mausi, How’s you?” I responded, still rubbing my eyes and resting my
bump in the couch.
“Very
fine Beta” she responded.
“But you
have pulled down a lot. Missing mom’s homemade food there?” she rhetorically
asked not excepting any response.
I sensed
that and smiled back.
“How’s Bunty
and Babli, Mausi?” I queried.
Bunty and
Babli were my cousins. Bunty was pursuing his Engineering studies at some
private institute in Karnataka, while Babli had dropped out of her graduation
studies.
“They are
doing good” she replied. “Know what? Bunty came first in his class in his third
year and has also got placement in Infosys”. She added with pride.
Bunty
wasn’t an exceptional student right from school, but his mom always made him
look that. Even after passing out from his higher secondary school examination,
he could not make it to any of the colleges in the state and thus had to opt
for a lesser known institute. I had heard that his father had to shell out
quite some moolah to get him inducted. She might be able to fool the most of
our clan, but me myself having interacted with him and known his academic
prowess had managed to skip being spellbound by her stories. Though each time I
didn’t point it out to her, and so too this time.
“Wow!
That’s great” I said. “And what about Babli?”
“Yes, he
got the best salary among all and also they have being him option of choosing
wherever he wants to join” she conveniently choose to skip the later half of my
question.
I had a
fair idea about how the freshers recruitment drive happen in the colleges.
Students in their 6th or 7th semester where picked up in lots and were offered
an standard starting package. All one needs to have is a minimal level of
aptitude, even with absolute zero exposure to anything remotely IT. My cousin
himself being an automobile engineer making the cut was evident for the fact.
“Hmm. I
see. So did you find a match for Babli?” I pondered again.
“Milind,
got freshen up” my mom intertwined sensing my aunt may be uncomfortable
answering that.
Babli has
been her Achilles heal for she had been finding it tough to get her married
off. Babli though good looking had been a arrogant girl. Her tantrums were
known to most in the family and so in the colony. Besides her education, or
lack of it, her too choosy nature had turned away many grooms back.
“Yes
Beta, Go brush your teeth and have breakfast” aunty added to it.
I sensed
the opportunity and excused myself off from their company and moved to the bath
to freshen up. I could hear their chatter from behind the wall. My aunty has grazed
onto the topic of my wedding somehow. Within no time she had even suggested a
couple of girl as bride for me, one of whom I knew and utterly disliked.
I hated
my aunt anyways, but she just slipped down even more on that scale for me. With
this thought put in my mom’s mind I knew there is going to be a serious
argument at home one of the following days when I am stay put. For now just to
deter my mom from dwelling more in the business of matrimony I shouted to call
her to fetch me breakfast.
She
promptly rushed to the kitchen to serve me the Aloo-paratha that she had made
for me.
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