Circa 1985 daughter to Mom while watching her getting dressed for a wedding after making a full three course meal for family of 6 – Why aren’t you combing your hair properly? Mom: I am late, no time” Another squeak ” That blouse doesn’t match” !!! Mom at the door ” Adi podi” roughly translated – shut up and go eat!!! Mom’s time to get dressed for wedding four and half minutes!!
Fast forward Circa 2015. Daughter frantically scouring streets of Navi Mumbai for eco friendly Ganesha with husband muttering about everything being left till the last minute while the daughter whined endlessly about knowing exactly where to score them in Bengaluru, triumphantly returns home two hours later with an overpriced 3 inch clay Ganesha!! It’s Aarti time in the building, the daughter grabs a soft BROWN cotton saree bought from Chitra kala parishad, a beautiful BLUE kalamkari blouse from Angana , snatches bindi from the mirror, ignores the hair brush completely ? all the while spouting instructions for lunch to the help in her bad hindi ? – time to get dressed 3 and half minutes – beat mom’s record by a full minute!
Life has come full circle – harried, multi tasking women, mismatched sarees, uncombed hair with one glaring difference the daughter has to admit – No delicious three course meal for the 21st century family who refused to come for the Ganpati lunch in the building!!!