Ms U

The other day i was browsing at a local mall for some dresses for my college going ,brand conscious and figure and fashion conscious daughter of mine when there was this 28 something young lady standing before me .Slim ,fair with a pleasing face and smile, dressed casually in jeans and a top.
"Hi "said she
"Hi "said me (aside...who the hell is she ?an old student,student's mother?)My mind did a quick flash back and came out blank .i smiled back being a good social being that i was and said ...'yes ....???"
"You know i was just admiring your salwar .Its such a nice colour and the material ...really, good for summer and it suits you so well "
I pinched myself (mentally of course ) in all my 20 years in this city this was a first time for me .I simpered ,i blushed and stammered "..oh ..this old thing i've had it for years...."but thanks any way "(a lesson for my daughter ..express appreciation where its due )Then we launched ourselves ..we flew from ..the best dress shops in town ,the best fabric,cut and colour ,we moaned the lack of good tailors ,the highly priced dupattas (499Rs for a cotton one !!!) to how, when ,why and whats of the fickle world of fashion.
All the time my mind was on an overdrive searching for the catch .There had to be one .....but no everything was above board....there was a hint of one when she bracketed herself in the group of late 40s....nothing of concern ....maybe it was to make me feel comfortable .I forgave her for the slip.Thus we continued lamenting on our lack of choices when we(we?) were young, be it fashion ,career or boy friends till my daughter ,the exhausted browser joined me .
Then came the praises on my looks ..".Ooh you have a grown up daughter ...blah ..blah (oh yeah ..have heard it before)ooh ..your skin its so good" (hmm have heard that one too !thanks to the besan and turmeric treatment ..reminded myself to have a go at it again )
Well all that's good had to end sometimes ...i could have stood there all day long listening to her but modesty did not allow me to . so it was goodbye .The politely correct me asked about her .She was doctor by profession (hoped she was a gynae )She was an Ayurved who specialised in skincare .Masked my surprise with a smile ,exchanged phone numbers ,promised to call each other and we parted .
At about 8 pm when i was just stalking the villain with the heroine of my daily hindi soap the phone rang ...leaving my heroine to do the stalking all by herself i picked up the call
It was Ms U ....all friendly chatter .My mind half on the my heroine i matched her word for word .Then came the catch .She gushed "how would you like a package on skin treatment ...blah ..blah "The listener in me listened patiently till she exhausted herself ..Ok there it was .I replied ..sweetie this skin of mine is inherited stuff from my mother and cannot be modified only cleaned and so thank you very much ."
So much for marketing ....it takes all types to run this world .Goodbye Ms U ..don't think i'll ever miss you .

Mister C

MrC was at it again .This time it was our new neighbour .C stopped him and threatened him with all sort of things The soothing words of my neighbour had no effect on his anger.Hearing the commotion I ran out and tried to difuse the situation ..by the time my neighbour was babbling about reaching the nearest hospital .Mr C was in no mood to give up He tracked my neighbour step for step .The blows were about to fall when suddenly my neighbour put his hands up in surrender This or my cajoling worked and C decided that enough was done for the day and turned away .
The way to the mans's heart is through his stomach .I had had his food ready and he walked towards it .With a few more doggy growls he began gobbling up his dinner .Alls well that ends well .
I wonder who left the gate open !!!!!

Tit for tat

Hi
A good part of my mornings are spent gazing at the growing Gullivers around my house .Workers like the tiny lilliputians can be seen scrambling up and down or swinging from ropes .They do make me feel small and insignificant .Gulliver was a traveller in a story ,but these are concrete gullivers and are here to stay .Interestingly a group of monkeys have now taken up one of these high rises for themselves .They have shifted bag and baggage to one unoccupied block now they enjoy separate bedrooms for all ,baths with tub and running water,modular kitchen with a view etc etc .Its just Tit for tat .We have cut down their homes and its only natural that they take ours They come out for pinics with their families to the neighbouring lay outs .Thats how i got acquainted with them .The monkey is said tobe our ancestor ...with such close association, I will not be surprised if they turn into human beings before my eyes .

the smile

Hi
Life always interested me .The patterns it formed was fascinating and continues to fascinate .The ever changing equations of human relationships seems to me like crossword puzzles for which i keep searching for clues to unlock them .
Just the other day ......
Our eyes met across piles of vegetables.Something passed between us .She turned away and i did too .i fiddled with the apples while i saw her with the green leaves ,picking and dropping the bunches one by one .i wandered across to" jams and sauces "Even without turning my head i knew that she was beside me .There was a pregnant silence ...i hummed under my breath while we picked up the bottles and checked the prices.I chose mine ,she chose hers and we turned away from each other.I pushed the trolley to the Gift section.Spying some cushion covers i wandered to the shelf...picked them up one by one ran my fingers over the soft fabric and kept them back and then there she was doing the same .I dropped a cover i was holding ,both ofus bent down at the same time .We straightened and smiled at each other.It was a smile of loneliness that we shared.