Life like that V – Living in Gurgaon

Since the day I came to Gurgaon my sister who stays in Rohini in Delhi has maintained a ritual. She would call me every Friday morning asking me whether I would come to visit her. On many weekends I would be travelling for official work and some weekends I would just not want to meet any body. Those weekends would be spent by me just lazing around, catching a movie at the nearest multiplex in mornings after a heavy breakfast and following the movie would be a elongated siesta . So every Friday morning I would wait for a call from my sister and inevitably she would call me at around 12:00 PM. I would then disconnect her phone and call back to her since my company pays for my phone bills. This is how one of the conversation would go along as I would refuse to come to her place.

'Bubai'

'Haan
bolo'

'Aaschis' ( Are you coming today in a guilty tone – probably feeling guilty at calling her manager brother at office hours and interfering with his work oblivious to the fact that her brother is actually not so busy )

' Naa didi kaaj aache ' ( Clearly lying )

' Hmm … kajer jone -kothai jaachis ? ) ( You are going someplace for official work )

'Na didi bike thik korabar aache' ( My voice at this time would start trembling afraid that my lie would be caught and she would understand that her little brother is feigning work – I have to get my bike repaired )

' Aacha – aasthis to bhalo hoto – Bhabchilam mutton banatam – toke khub pochondo na ' – ( ok in a disappointed tone – if you would have come it would have been better , was thinking of preparing mutton , you are so fond of it )

' Na didi arr kono baar - aacha chol aami rakchi kichu kaaj aache toke pore call korchi ( no did I have some work – ok chalo I will drop now have some work - I would say that even though I would have no work actually lined up for me )

'acha acha she would speak in a hurried tone sounding even more remorseful that she had spent so much time of her brother.

After those calls I would often feel guilty and would detest myself.

My sis had been married at the age of 23 and she has been struggling between housework and office. And, after my nephew was born her workload had just doubled. She would wake up at 6:00 in the morning and would sleep at 11:30 at night all throughout battling with a busy schedule, Weekends was her only time where she took some rest before my nephew arrived in this world, and now her weekends are fully involved in taking care of the my nephew – shopping for his clothes, his visits to the doctor , his vaccinations. Often her in laws would also come from Calcutta .Yet she did not mind increasing her work load by having me at her place. Even knowing all this her idiot brother would feign excuses for he has been living alone for some many years that family setting makes him feel bored.

Someone cares for you so much and yet you are never able to value that care . Confounds me , Why is life like that !