Where I’ve been all this while

In case you’re wondering who died to make me not blog for 3-4 days, well, it was almost me. Heatstroke coupled with exhaustion and sleep deprivation. 103 degrees fever, cold sweats, barely conscious, talking rubbish to poor Sue and Deej who called to find out if I was alive (some might argue I talk rubbish even while in the pink of health but that is not relevant right now) and the OA on tour.

The friend who I had gone to dinner with caught me collapsing on the stairs as we got home and stayed for 36 hours medicating me, giving me nariyal paani, taking care of my kids and keeping my house running. For that I can never be grateful enough. I have no idea what would have happened if he hadn’t been there because as I often say, my maids are incompetent and only kept on because they love my children.

The OA returned and had no sympathy. He said that people who imagined that the world would cease to revolve if they took a break and slept, deserved to fall ill. Remind me again, why I married that man.. please.

I recovered over the weekend and ended up watching Seabiscuit and Rang De Basanti yet again. I’ve realised I’m a sucker for that formula. The loser, the underdog, the tinpot car, the bunch of ragtags making up a football team – and I will support them and cry copious amounts of tears unashamedly right through. Never mind that its only a movie and you know the lame horse and jockey are bound to win, if the producer ever hopes to recover his money.

And as I lay there all weak and recovering, I fell in love with RDB again. I know we’ve been there, done that and moved on from 1947… but each time I read about it or watch something, tears rush to my eyes, this time worsened by the state I was in. The Jalianwala Bagh scenes made me see red and as you imagine hundreds of helpless and unarmed women, children, men, being fired on by the British soldiers you wonder if there is any justice.

The second thing that struck me was the Ek Onkar song. I am not a practising Christian in terms of going to Church and I don’t feel a draw to anything else. Even Buddhism that seems to show so many others peace and light. But for some reason the Golden Temple draws me. I’ve been meaning to go for a while now but I don’t want to take the kids in summer and somehow winter never worked out. I also realise that with all religious calls, there will come a time and when my time comes I will be called and everything will fall into place and I will go. Until then, I wait.