All things given below is not fictional. It is real and happened and happens daily somewhere to someone...
5.00am: The most dreaded sound of all – the relentless pounding of the alarm clock wakes her up. Her eyes remained shut tight and refused to open. Her whole body, screaming, to lie down a bit more. But she cant heed the request and hear the scream as a busy day ahead. Eyes half opened she just looked at the room. Her husband slept deeply, with a light snore with her kids lied down helter-skelter and await their turn to be woken up. Got up she had a look at herself in the dressing table mirror. True she had put on weight, her age started showing below her sleepy eyes and a double chin announced her lack of sleep and the full size mirror reflected her conveyed one startling fact she needs proper exercise, proper diet and proper health.
One day I will be back to my old normal she announced herself – one day When?
5.15 to 6.00 am. After her morning chores, she entered kitchen and opened the refrigerator where the vegetables cut the previous night and packed in bags were ready for todays cooking. She took the bag and spread the vegetables in kitchen table, went out to fetch the milk sachet which invariably leaks on alternate days. Cursed the milkman she ran into kitchen and put the milk in the milk cooker and boiled it for the morning coffee. The regular hullabaloo for breakfast, lunch, took almost an hour when her mobile rings loudly. “oh no…not again” she very well knew who the caller at so earthly hours. Yes, her house maid is absent and will not be there for the next two days. The mammoth task of washing dishes blooming slow largely in her mind and she shuddered that thought as she has to concentrate on the next in the agenda.
6:00 am to 7.30 am. Set breakfast on table. Got the next to worst job, of getting the kids ready for school. Kids are always kids. They do, all ruckus before they got into the school bus and we started feeling and look eagerly for the arrival of school bus. But when the school bus arrives and the kids were dispatched we feel the vacuum..
7:30 to 8.30. Emerge from shower to find her husband still immersed in the newspaper as though he is answerable for all the happenings around the globe with the coffee placed in the tray got cold. She kept her cool and tried not to freak out. When she informed about the cold coffee he blankly requested for another hot cup. She felt like slapping him but she is typical Indian woman cant slap her husband. ( but it is altogether a different matter some women do live and their husbands just shivered at the sight of their wives )
After the customary bath, which will not last more than, 5-7 minutes, as every minute after 7.30 considered golden and sacred. Almost dressed she came out to hear her neatly shaved husband shout for the towel from the bathroom. Is he doing this willfully or he is an habitual absent minded till date she don’t know after all they have been married for 8 years now.
A five minute spend at the pooja room reciting slokas just came to her mind at that point of time, lighting dheeps and dhoops she came back to where she belong from the morning -the kitchen. As she has to take care of her health and maintain her beauty she eat very less in the morning moreover a heavy breakfast prevents her from walking or running fast to catch the train or bus.
Fully dressed her husband came out to dining table with the paper in one hand and briefcase in another. First thing he asked after sat in the table was his tie. No he is not going to eat it but forgot to wear and it was strewn somewhere in the bedroom. Finished breakfast together, the house was locked both his pulsar and her scooty were taken out of the garage when she noticed she had a flat tyre in the back wheel.
She pleaded her husband to drop her at the nearby bus stop or railway station as it was getting late. The most sincere husband suddenly remembered of a meeting with his boss by 9 refused her request and asked her to take an auto and fled the scene before she had a time to react.
9.00 to 9.30 – when she got down from the bus she lost count on number of time she had been nudged and squeezed in the crowd in the overloaded bus. The carefully done make up was almost gone, the fresh dress wore in the morning became crumpled and creased.
9.30 to 12.30. She delivered the mandatory smile to the manager who guards the gate at the time of entry with attendance in the verge of closing time and settled down just to pick up the phone which started ringing precisely. Sighing she clears her tone and attend the first of the complaint that morning which are innumerable and grows minute by minute. That’s the fate of the marketing department, as they do such a thankless job of working hard, toiling hard, rewarded normally to get scolded hard.
12:30 to 1.15. The welcome respite, for the grueling afternoon ahead, the lunch break. Tiffin boxes are out, dishes shared liberally, office gossips spreads adequately, superiors actions were discussed comically, she really adores the lunch break where she can unwind all her inhibitions, rewind all her positive energies and really felt energized.
1.15 to 2.30. An ever urgent boss called her for a detail forced her to pre-close her lunch and rush towards the boss’s cabin who was in a meeting with other marketing colleagues. As she hustle breathlessly into the meeting and sat uncomfortably taking the minutes of the meeting since the report has to be mailed within half an hour after the meeting and the manager is having a very good habit of asking tomorrows report yesterday.
2:45 – 4.30. Reports are given. Calls, calls, calls and more calls made, attended. More complaints heard. More discussions, conversations, talks made her parched and she literally started craving to move out of the chair for a minute.
4.30 – 5.00. Time for internet. Personal mails, chats, official mails to be sent, official mails received and forwarded to the concerned and one last look of the agenda for the next day and what’s in store for her tomorrow. The head start spins as tomorrow is yet another big day of course every day for that matter.
5:20 About to leave office there was a call from either HO or the boss as they have to send an urgent communication which cant wait till tomorrow morning and she was given the most envious task of doing a job which can either be entrusted to his immediate superior or a person who was inexplicably absent that particular day. She had no other go but to finish the job and started worrying about catching the next available train or bus equally loaded like that one she came that morning.
6.30 – 7.30. Reached home, where husband and children have already arrived. Is the homework done? Okay, let the kids go play. Let me take a break for 15 minutes atleast, as the legs bend in front with total exhaustion. She sat on the sofa cross legged there was a voice of her husband for the evening hot tea. Any alternate left out for her? Absolutely no…no…
7.30to 8.30. Dinner prepared separately for kids, husband and for herself as all of them wont have the liking for a single dish which make her life hell and breaks her head every day on the dishes to be prepared.
8.30 to10.00 pm. Asked her husband to take care of the kids sleep while she put the clothes in the washing machine, and cut the vegetables for the next day morning break fast while the machine is in operation. 15 minutes into the chore her husbands shout shot at her ear as the kids started their commotion before bed. He is more concerned about dhoni winning the god forsaken 20-20 match than make their kids sleep in time to get up in time next morning.
10.30 to11.30 pm. After all the sundry works for next morning is over she suddenly remember the data's to be submitted for analysis first thing in the morning, rushed to the laptop and started filling up the bits and pieces to be delivered for next days work. Half an hour gone and she sat before the tv to watch her favourite music channel to listen to the soothing melodies for 5 to 10 minutes…whoof… the power went off. Strangely she felt she was the only woman in the whole world cursed to the nail from the head and slowly a realization dawned on her this must be the situation for all the working women whether working with her or elsewhere.
11.30 – Her whole body trembling with anticipation of a good sleep for the allotted 5 and half hours and stretched herself in the comfort of the bed with a pillow placed on her side to rest her tired legs. Sleep just come to people who worked that much hard as the eye lashes pasted together she heard a faint sound as if come from the bottom of a well. After some time her trained aural nerves know what was that sound and she realized the “hissing” sound come from her husband. She sighed deeply, and got ready for the one last ritual to be performed…
5.00 am: The most dreaded sound of all – the relentless pounding of the alarm clock wakes up her. Her eyes remained closed tight and refused to open. Her whole body, screaming, to lie down a bit more…………………………………
The night comes to an end….The day dawns….the story and suffering continues….
With warm salutations to all working women, wishing and praying for them for a healthy life ahead....
N. Mathusuthanan.
5 comments:
Mathu
You have become very narrative. Thanks to the lucid style it makes an interesting reading. My suggestion is to concentrate on berevity of course, without losing the grip or subject matter. Hope you try in the next.
Madhu,
Just walked down the memory lane to find your working woman very similar to my mother with some changes, like my father helping her in later stages after i was born when we went to live in a separate house(not because my mom and pop were affluent enough to buy a house but in a joint family there was always question of space to a new entrant.
A small disagreement all husbands are not alike, my wife is also working let me borrow your first line, the alarm sound wakes me up first. i will make coffee then will wake her up. Drop her to the bus or raliway station and pick her up come what may.
So there are also husbands who are also tensed about their better halfs health and wealth. Very good narration. Just trying to visualise how i will feel i was a working woman. Sometimes pleasant on the other hand bitterness & monotony and excessive dependencemight have made me a nervous wreck.
Hari
Hari
adhu,
Just walked down the memory lane to find your working woman very similar to my mother with some changes, like my father helping her in later stages after i was born when we went to live in a separate house(not because my mom and pop were affluent enough to buy a house but in a joint family there was always question of space to a new entrant.
A small disagreement all husbands are not alike, my wife is also working let me borrow your first line, the alarm sound wakes me up first. i will make coffee then will wake her up. Drop her to the bus or raliway station and pick her up come what may.
So there are also husbands who are also tensed about their better halfs health and wealth. Very good narration. Just trying to visualise how i will feel i was a working woman. Sometimes pleasant on the other hand bitterness & monotony and excessive dependencemight have made me a nervous wreck.
Hari
Hari
Very nice imagination and narration but rarely true! Have a nice day!!
I am little bit confused .
You have just taken one aspect of life in a woman and tried to elaborate this instead of looking at the totality of the issue
Even though the dramatization is excellent , I believe that it is only part of a larger issue .
I just tried to look at it in a different way
Who forced the women folk into this vicious cycle of life .
In those days , If women were made to sit indoors it certainly did carry some meaning even though the reasons projected were not correct.
The fact remains that it is only possible to run a smooth family only if one of them takes care of the household while the other goes out for earning.
And because that the Men were physically stronger it was but natural that they went out for earning while the women remained indoors
Men would rather not concentrate on day to day running of the household and would rather think of the long term issue such as future of the children, their marriage and making the future secure for the family on a long term basis, while the women would be concentrating on the day to day issues .
The mistake may have been in NOT allowing the women to go to school
(this is where the real issue is while the women remaining indoor may have been correct , and not allowing them to get educated is wrong )
But the women was always available there for the children , molding their character , always having a eye on them , taking care of their education and running the show from behind.
But as days passed by , as the social structure changed , we (Men) “conveniently” forgot the real reasons behind this. The women were suppressed and subjected to cruelty.
Male Chauvinism emerged. The weaker sex always got exploited .
And slowly things started opening up for the weaker section, they slowly started gaining ground and now they are able to overthrow Men in all departments.
Also the circumstances forced them to work . It was only out of necessity and they did not accept this willingly . This was forced upon them .
In fact they took up the challenge Head-On and have handled reasonably well .
Real Salutations to them .
May be we (Men ) would have failed miserably if we were forced to be THE WOMEN
in your story.
BUT AT WHAT COST ?.
What all have we lost in this change. ?? Have we thought about it. ?
How many of them are able to balance between the two ( career and family ) and still run a successful married life.
How many of them are willing to give up career for the family (they may be forced to do that is a different issue ) .
Sometimes the ego level reach extreme proportions that it virtually leaves the house in shatters (Bossism attitude prevails)
Who is there for our CHILDREN to take care of them .
How many of the tiny tots are left tottering in the Creche and with the baby sitters.
Most of the younger generation have almost forgotton the concept of “Grand-Pa's and Grand-Ma's “ because of the selfish attitudes of such parents .
Even though they claim to be Educated , working class they are unable to guide their children in studies or clarify their doubts . The Children are forced to depend on tuitions (exept for signing the report card) .
The Parents are so preoccupied with their own issues that they dont find time to attend to the problems of their children or simply refuse to accept that problems do exist with their children. How many of the parents are in constant touch with the teachers of their kids.
The children have to depend on their friends to discuss their problems .
It all depends on the friends whom they get .
If they are good , our children are good .
If they are bad , then our children are also bad
Has your Education changed you in anyway ?. It has merely made you money spinning machines
Ultimately the family structure only gets destroyed and the sufferer's are the Children .
LIFE IS A LARGER CYCLE......... THINK GLOBAL !!!!!!
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