Monday, October 1, 2012

(G)host of problems


Flexibility is a word disappearing from my dictionary.  I find it difficult to adjust to new circumstances.
Even when I reached parents’ home, I found it difficult. My dad was old and his only entertainment was TV. The sad part was he was fond of Tamil serials. When we talk of Tamil serials, the common dialogues you hear for years are, “I will take revenge, you rascal,” “I will see to it that you beg on the roads,” “I will make sure that you never hear the sounds of laughter at your home ever again.”
A friend invited me to stay at his house in Mumbai. At night, he shut all the windows and doors and I found it claustrophobic.  
When I stayed at a relative’s small apartment, the family woke up at 4.30am and put on loud spiritual music. After years of night duty, that early morning time for me was one of blissful sleep and romantic dreams.
There’s nothing to beat one host who was known to be stingy. He used a dim light at home to save electricity even during late evening hours.  When I was almost asleep around midnight, he quietly walked across. I closed my face with a blanket thinking it was a ghost. He silently switched off the fan and disappeared. I had to sweat it out until his wife sneaked in, switched it on and disappeared as quietly as he did. After all, she had adjusted with the “kanjus” (stingy guy) for years. 

20 comments:

  1. yup, with age it is difficult to adjust to new surroundings. More so, with kanjoos people.

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  2. you are getting old yourself Ramesh and so are finding it tough to adjust anywhere apart from where you live. This happens to me all the time. After every holiday i feel a sense of relief coming back to the known comforts of my own space. just the age thing :)

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    1. sujataji.am unable to reach yr blog despite repeated attmpts..hope theres a way out..

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  3. I guess it is so with everyone these days..Home is our comfort zone.

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  4. i can't believe someone really did that (switch off your fan)...heights!

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  5. As much as we love our homes it will be want of comforts for our guests... I have never been comfortable anywhere other than our home, Mom's home and my Grandma's home. I guess that's the way with life.

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  6. hehe I always look forward to getting back home.

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  7. lol...
    so funny,, the kanjus guy ..
    I bet I wud be pulling my hair with a host like that..
    nice :: write up

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  8. I hope flexibility is missing from ur dictionary only, not from your character..

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  9. Don't we all love our own space.But I know someone who I think would be a perfect host:)

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  10. It seems Madrasis are a special breed but this holds ngood even with Marathis.

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  11. would be very uneasy to stay in such house.. NO doubt you had difficulty adjusting..

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  12. LOl.. Its always athithi devo bhava here :P

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  13. I think the older we become the less flexible we become in mind as well as body.

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  14. What you say is true.less flexibity and one more intolerance...

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  15. Patience is the word that comes to mind when dealing with such people:)

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  16. On the good side, atleast, the wife switched the fan on! :)

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