Niki woke up around noon and within a few minutes I could hear the two girls yelling at each other. Reluctant to intervene in a fight which was essentially between the two sisters, I just tried following what was going on….

Natasha (yelling): Mom, did you see my gift card that I got day before yesterday?
Sharmila: No.
Natasha (yelling): Niki, do you know where my card is?
Niki: How would I know?
Then Niki starts following Tasha as she searched all over the house.
Niki (patronizingly): This is why you have a wallet.
Tasha (really irritated): I don’t need any sarcasm.
Niki: I am not being sarcastic. I am just gloating that you lost your card.

Maybe it was better that she was sleeping in late 🙂

It’s as if they are still on vacation!!!

Reminds me of a few words of a ghazal sung by the inimitable Bhupinder Singh that had captivated me during my college years. The words are from the poem “Karoge yaad to” written by Bashar Nawaz (don’t hold me to the poet’s name…). I believe this was incorporated in a Hindi movie – but being a guy who has shunned movies most of his life, I have no idea which one it was…

“Gali ke mod pe suna sa koi darwaaza,
Tarasti aankhon se raasta kisi ka dekhegaa
Nigaah dur talak jaakey laut aayegi”

It is one of the most haunting tunes ever. Roughly translated, it means…

“At the turn of the alley, there is this lonely door
It waits with yearning eyes, perhaps for someone to come back
(Right now) Its sights go all the way to the end of the alley and come back (without any success)”

I am going to be doubling up as mom too for a week and a half as Sharmila hikes it up to India for a few days. The girls have absolutely zero confidence in my ability to manage the house when she is gone. Nikita got all the instructions from Sharmila and then for my benefit wrote them up all over the fridge. Not to take any chances, she made is very big font and applied as many colors as she could lay her hands on 🙂

A rare moment of sisterly co-operation…

All these years, Tasha would remember to make or buy a gift for her mom for her birthday. Niki, invariably, would implore her at the last minute to add her name to the gift so it would show that both the sisters gave the gift. Tasha never had any problem with it.

This year, roles were reversed. Niki got a gift and Tasha asked her name to be added. Niki agreed but not without making it amply clear who got the gift… Read the last line… “Piggy Backer”!!!!