Bhaiyya talks…
It’s embarrassing, Neighbour Auntie is nice and all but it’s weird to be sleeping in her house, on her sofa. She’s got two small children, they want to play but I don’t want to. And when she asks what’s wrong, what’s your father doing…
See, whatever happens in the house, we should not tell outsiders. So both of us are like, we don’t know anything.
Didi and I missed school yesterday. She was sooo worried.
New worry. What reason do I give for being absent?
So I told her, just say the truth
Didi scowled: What truth?
My dad’s wacko. He forgot to stop shouting. His speech balloon became so big he fell under its weight so I had to miss school
Didi laughed
So did I
But I’ll tell you, I’m sick of everything. I’m sick of this family, this house, everyone. I can’t wait to turn 18. Then I’m out. I asked Didi
Didi: I’m sick of it too, I’ll just get married and go
When Daddy is angry, he frowns, makes all kinds of jerky movements as though he wants to hit me… usually he doesn’t hit Didi
But that night he did and badly, so for me
It’s all equal equal
Pari would like that
Pari, idiot girl, all because of her we’re in this huge mess. And Amma. It’s all her fault. I missed my evening cricket time also. I kept feeling that Daddy would see me and start screaming and all my friends would laugh and never want to play with me ever again.
What a curse, this family!
…
It’s evening time. Didi is reading.
The setting sun flings pink and purple colours on the clouds that float gently, as though, they’re waiting for their chance at a fashion show. I’m watching all this from the neighbour’s sofa in the neighbour’s front room because as you know our house is now a movie theater for war films.
This house has a nice view. The setting sun, a busy jogging park with lots of plants. Some distance ahead, a railway station. It’d be worth sketching, if one had a sketch book at hand. My book is at the warfront.
The doorbell rings, it’s got to be Daddy. The thought scares me.
Auntie appeared from her bedroom and ran to open the door, Didi and I went behind her. Daddy was at the door in a blue t-shirt and black pants.
Daddy: My BP has spiked and I’m being urgently admitted to hospital. Come home. My friend is on his way to take me there. I will be kept under 24 hour observation.
Hospital? Do people go to hospital for shouting? Daddy’s dressed as though he’s going out for one of his beer parties. When Amma went to hospital, she had a white cloth on her forehead because she was burning up. She looked so sick, I was scared.
Daddy looks fine. Just normal, angry face.
The yellow light is on in the front room. I looked ahead, out of the room, out of the verandah where the sky is a shade of deep purple. No sunset from our house but we get a grandstand view of the changing sky. We never see it. Everyone’s shouting in this house, it drives us blind.
Daddy’s sitting at the table he’s looking at Didi and me
Frowning, angry smoke is spilling out of his head and shoved the speech balloon out of the cartoon
Daddy has morphed into an active, angry, mobile volcano
Daddy spoke very calmly: I’ve told your mother to come home. She has a duty towards her family.
Huh, he didn’t shout! Like two duds, Didi and I nodded.
Daddy: Listen, I am the man of the house. It is your duty to obey, respect and take care of me. I will become normal only when my family behaves normal.
Family has to behave normal?
Didi tried to say: We also just want to be normal only…
Daddy: Shhh! Understand your duty towards your parents first!
I just shrugged, like you know, yea, I guess so, whatever, duty… I don’t want to say anything. It’s Didi’s problem. She has to tell.
See, he slapped Didi’s face so badly, he screamed so madly… he’s not apologised. You know how big he is on getting apologies? Isn’t it his duty to say sorry for how he acted?
Huh?
Dangerous word, duty
What do we get for doing our duty?
Curses, maybe?
Do we deserve compensation for doing our duty?
Or is duty just a reminder that the duty bound are lesser, more easily expendable?
My book of short stories, The Violent Potter, is available on Amazon. The book is intended for an audience of parents, teachers and grandparents of young children
Link: http://tinyurl.com/466tvf5f
Each story highlights the gap between adult expectations and child perspective. The book is in two parts, Part 1 sees the impact of the gap while Part 2 sees what happens when someone fills the gap with loving perspective.
And… I vlog too, here:
https://www.youtube.com/@violentpotter/playlists