Interference

See Secular Song 460

My mother called when I was seriously reading my book—which is such an important part of my everyday life.  So stopping reading and murmuring within me I went.  She called only to cut a small piece of cloth which could wait for another 30 minutes. If it was any emergency I would have accepted it.  But such secondary work can wait till I am free.  I don’t like to disturb others when I read books.  But I cannot argue with my mother considering her age.  Apart from this she is my mother and more than that a woman!  (Women have every right to demand and men ought to oblige is another principle.  Of course my brother blames me that by obliging too much I have spoiled our mother.  But he does not understand one thing. While a wife has only a veto power, a mother has both veto power and a victim card to play. Of course a husband too has a victim card but it is subject to the veto power of his wife.).@ But the same mother won’t call me when I do my cross stitch work while watching T.V. news as it will disturb my concentration (in doing count cross stitch).  Because she too is doing cross stitch work. So she knows about it.

So after finishing my reading, when I was reflecting on it, I first said, ‘each one should follow the rules and regulations for a smooth life’.  But after that I said to ‘but everyday life is not like a game where one can follow rules and regulations of a game’.  In any formal gathering like an office meeting, board meeting or any other gatherings, we should follow minimum rules and regulations so that it can go smoothly.  But when we rub shoulders with people in our home, we cannot live like conducting a business meeting.  Here each other will cross the track and we all need to adjust with such distractions (I won’t call it disturbance).  This is the way our elders lived their life and handed the batter on our hand.  So we too need to run the race like them.  Instead of implementing the modern principle of ‘giving my space’ and ‘having private space’ in personal life not to be disturbed by others, we should allow others to demand their legitimate right over us in everyday life in a home.  As I was reflecting about it I wrote this song. 

@ When I write this as a joke, the feminist again will say that this kind of cracking jokes against women is male chauvinism.  When I recently forwarded one such joke my niece commented back that it was definitely written by a man. In response I said ‘what else they can do, poor men, only he can express their plight like this.  The best part of that Hindi joke is this: women are like bendi (ladies finger) which won’t adjust with any other vegetable to cook, whereas men are like tomatoes which will easily mingle with every vegetable.