From Tragedy Queen to Comedy Queen

An unexpected break on Saturday...I needed it badly...Needed the rest. Friday was an eventful day........I went from (nearly)tragedy queen to comedy queen! Well, an exaggeration really but stretching it makes it funny and also brings home the possibilities of reality!


To start at the beginning, here I was intent on making my lunch before I left for work....Rajma, chawal, aaloo-mattar sabzi (red kidney beans curry, rice and potato-green peas vegetable). The maid tells me "Aunty peeche hato," (she's mopping the kitchen floor) I step back with alacrity, to get done with the interruption fast, and I tumble over the bucket she has conveniently placed right behind me!! I lost balance and as I toppled backwards I grabbed frantically for something to break the fall. My mind totally taking in the seriousness of my backbone getting injured with a fall on my back...not to mention knees and wrists.... Thank God for the two sturdy wooden stands I've got against the wall. If it weren't for these I'd be on my back on the floor. Being solid and heavy they held my weight, broke my fall by giving me something to hold on to. And it was fortunate the girl was there, to hold me and get me back on my feet. I couldn't regain balance in the position I was, bent backwards grasping onto the stands with my arms outspread and behind, and my feet in an awkward position. But all's well that ends well. No damage done but it aggravated the already irking discs. It was a very tiring day at work and I did play around with the idea of taking an off the next day. Thankfully it became an official off for me.


All this drama delayed me and I was in a hurry to get into a cab that had come for me. I got in and only then noticed that the car and the driver were unknown and unfamiliar.I have been using the same taxi service for some years now and know most of their cabbies. Without thinking I asked the driver if he had come for flat number 101. He gave me an affirmative. I wasn't convinced and blundered on by asking him if Satish had sent him, another affirmative. By then my hand was on the door and I discovered that it wouldn't open even though it hadn't been locked. I brought it to his notice and he nonchalantly assured me that the door could only be opened from outside and he would open it for me when we reached our destination. Not a very happy situation. It had all the masala of a daily third-rate soap. I asked him to get out and check my door. He did and then conveyed to me that he didn't know about the fault earlier and he'd get it repaired later in the day. That's when he sensed what my issue was and reminded me that he was the new driver who had accompanied the known one a couple of days back, to learn the routes. Well that diffused the tension and I became a comedy queen! There's never a dull moment, is there! Just when you think life's too mundane it startles you with absolutely thankful and hilarious times.

I will have to explain briefly about my concern about the unfamiliar cab and driver. The city where I live has been recording many incidents of rape and murder committed by unscrupulous cabbies. As such women living alone as well as senior citizens alone or as a couple become soft targets. One needs to exercise caution. An earlier incident at the New delhi Railway Station has put me on my guard, but that's another story. Having said all this I must add it isn't as scary as it might sound but these incidents are no longer rare, so it's better to be safe than sorry...cautious but not paranoid!


Glossary

Aunty peeche hato......Aunty step back..(Depending on one's age the maids here address one as Aunty, Didi (sister))

Masala.....spice

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