Dusty Old Albums

Summer is the season for sipping lemonades, making pickles, sun-dried pappads, and munching raw mangoes with chilli powder & salt. The kids only cared about the vacations & nothing else in the season. The luxury of sleeping late into the morning, no stress of morning rush, assignments or endless tests was all that mattered to them. However, for the woman of the house, it was the season for deep cleaning. Unfortunately, one summer, the woman of the house chose to go the extra mile & get the whole house repainted.

The elder daughter questioned, "Why? Why during summer?" The mother sipped some cool lemonade & replied, "The paint dries faster in summer & you are at home to help move, clean up & re-arrange the house." The younger daughter argued, "That's child labour!" The mother responded, "Oh really? The same doesn't apply when you want to go out for movies or outings?" The mother continued, "Your voter identity card authorises you to vote for the leaders of our country. Now, you can't take up the responsibility of moving some objects at home? No more arguments! Both of you are staying home, helping until the whole painting & cleaning comes to an end. After that, you may go to meet your friends." The siblings' dejected faces had no impact whatsoever on the determined mother.

The discussion of choosing colours was as good as a war room. After some deliberation, the daughters got to pick the colour for their rooms. The mother smartly strategised & used a voting system to finalise the colour for the living area & other rooms. The kitchen was the mother's territory & no one dared to say a word about its colours, repairs or make-over. Once the colours were finalised & bought, the house was under attack at several fronts. The helpers & painters moved the large furniture to the car porch. The daughter grew tired of moving utensils from the kitchen. The kitchen utensils were scattered all over the place & the girls collapsed on the cool granite floor to rest.

The younger daughter expressed, "I did not even know that there were so many vessels in the attic. I don't know why she hoards so many!" The elder one looked at different sized seven pressure cookers, ten kadais (woks), four tavas (fry pans) & hundred other items. The elder one voiced, "From the looks of it, at least five families can set up the kitchen with these vessels." While the sisters nodded in agreement, the mother overheard them. The mother justified, "The vessels are for different reasons & occasions. Also, we need separate for vegetarian & non-vegetarian cooking." The justification ran for a full 10mins & the tired girls learnt the lesson of not speaking a word about their mother's kitchen treasures.

A few days later, the space-clearing expedition extended to the bedroom lofts. As the helpers lowered large boxes, the mother could not recollect what the boxes held. The sisters looked at each other's faces & a synchronised mind voice conveyed, 'God bless our souls.' As per the mother's direction, the girls opened each box to find a bunch of antique pieces of technology & knick-knacks. They found a Sony walkman that looked the size of a transistor, old movie video tapes & CRT monitor. The girls looked at the mother with the expression, 'What are we doing with all this?' The mother scratched her head & declared, "Move all these articles to the car porch. Let's sort out what we can give away & put them in a pile."

The girls followed the instructions carefully & did everything to avoid a lecture. The girls came across a box filled with old photo albums. The girls were mesmerised by old pictures that captured their childhood in Kodak films & hard copy photos. At the bottom of the box, they found a dusty old album of black & white pictures. The girls were unable to recognise the couple in the album. The girls took it up to the mother & enquired. The mother stated, "Oh, that's my wedding album." The girls exclaimed, "What? We couldn't even recognise you both." The mother laughed at her naive children & stated, "Put that box away for now. We can look through it later on."

A few more days went into additional space clearing, cleaning, painting & arranging things back in their places. The painting adventure was nearing its end. One evening, the girls sat on the living room floor, with the television running in the background on low volume & spread the albums on the floor. The parents had captured every little milestone beautifully in the pictures & their excitement was through the roof. The mother joined her daughters with a tray filled with hot bhajis & cups of hot masala chai. The mother narrated the stories behind each picture & the conversation was enjoyable.

Eventually, they reached their parent's wedding album. The mother showed them each picture & called out the people's names. The daughters could not believe the kids in the album were their aunts in short skirts & uncles in shorts. The elder daughter observed, "You look so pretty!" The younger one sounded, "Pretty but malnourished. That's what you tell us!" The mother giggled, "I was your age when I was married, So it's the same genes." The younger daughter questioned, "Why is Appa's collar so wide & weird?" The mother pushed her specs up her nose & looked at the album. The mother replied, "Oh, that! In those days, the thespian movie hero wore larger collars & bell bottom pants. Your father was an ardent fan & he copied the same style." The daughters giggled, "It looks so funny." The mother agreed, "Now it looks funny, but it was a rage then." The living room was lively with chatter.

The elder daughter pointed, "In the early years, you look so pretty, but in later years, Appa looks better." While flipping channels on the television, the mother articulated, "Women look good at young age & men at an older age." The girls munched on the last pieces of bhajis & mulled over the mother's observation. As the elder daughter flipped channels, she paused at an interview with George Clooney. At that moment, the sisters looked at each other & comprehended what the mother meant.

Take Away:

• Beware of commenting on a woman's territory (kitchen) & her prized possessions (kitchenware).

• Men are like whiskey & wine; they get better with age (look-wise only).