So, what is the first thing that you say when you hear that two girls live alone in a flat in Mumbai, the city that never sleeps?
Few of the common things I’ve heard are,
“Wow! Your so lucky, no parental supervision.”
“No deadlines at home!! “
“No mom breathing down your neck.”
“So cool! You can eat whatever you want.”
“If I was you id order out every day!! “
“The number of sleepovers you can have!!! Too cool! “
Well, in the beginning, I won’t deny that my roomie, Pragya, and I had a few similar thoughts. In fact, the first two months were a whirlwind of eating out and going for movies. Till we realised that we had burned major holes in our pockets. At that time, although I was earning, it was barely enough to meet rent, and Pragya could definitely not ask her parents for more money considering they had just sent her some a few days ago!!!
Slowly, the excitement faded. Reality bit!
We desperately needed a servant to do the basic cleaning. And there ensued the servant hunt. Today, we have the same bai working for us, who does a shoddy job, but we’re merely grateful that she does it at all.
Now, no matter how much you eat out, one day you are going to wake up and say, “I want home food”!! Thankfully, I love cooking and Pragya also learnt the basics. But what to cook? Every day was a feat. That was when we realised what we would put our mothers thru when we would say “phir se wahi khana?? (the same food, yet again??).”
Sure, we had a zillion friends coming over and as they came and went it was fun. But then, after a point you need your space, no??
Two years of college (plus working for me) passed, and today we both handle full time jobs. Where is the time to watch a movie, when we barely see each other in the week? Eating out has become more of a necessity than a novelty. The bai comes in the morning, still does her shoddy work and leaves. The gas is almost over, and I ran around to get the work done coz they (if you please!) blocked our account since we hadn’t ordered for a new cylinder since 8 months!! Now, is that our fault if the same cylinder is still working, though we are in constant fear that it will give out in between our dal making?? (P.S. still no new gas)
When we come home, most of us are used to being served a warm meal, our clothes are washed and folded, the dishes are done, the beds are made. But coming home from work is another ordeal.
So thankfully, we divide the work between us. If I wash the dishes, she does the clothes; if I make the sabzi, she does the chapatti. But, it doesn’t end here!! We have to fill the water filter, sell the news paper raddi, buy the groceries, veggies; the list can go on and on.
My point here is that, cherish the parental supervision while you have it, cherish the small odd chores you’re made to do in the day. Because when you gotta do it urself, then living alone doesn’t seem so much fun any more.
(P.S. Do watch out for my next post on the advantages of staying alone :D)
3 comments:
Reading your post, it just occurred to me why it's generally easier for those of us from the West to live on our own: many of us don't have maids and parents who clean the house, cook all of our meals and wash, iron, and fold our clothes. We have to share all these responsibilities wherever we live, so it's not such a huge undertaking to move out.
@Dream Chaser, that is so true...as Indians, we live in a protective environment and are still taken care of even after we become "independent." But, i guess it has its pros and cons.
There no place like home!
Living alone seems more joyous then sorrowful to me coz i always got people sincere enough that they managed to do all the work themselves!
But it teaches us a lot.
Post a Comment