Rush Hour

Was this a panic attack? 

She googled for symptoms. 

Sweaty forehead: check

Choking: check

Feeling unreal or detached from surroundings: check

Hyperventilaton: check

Nausea: Not yet, but almost there

The traffic wasn't helping her. She checked Google Maps which flashed 35 mins to reach home. 

Licking her lips, she tried to distract herself. She opened her Instagram account and then appeared the Niagara Falls. Everything around her reminded her of the painful moment she was going through. She closed her eyes, and shifted in her seat. 

Her mom offered her a water bottle. NO, a voice in her head screamed. 

"You okay?" her mom asked. "You haven't said a word since we met"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just not used to this"

"Oh, yes the weather is a little humid, but you'll get used to it. So, tell me, how is your job going? Have you got a promotion yet?" her mom asked

"More importantly, what did you eat at the airport?"her dad chipped in.

"Please leave me alone. I'm in a spot of bother now" she mumbled.

Her mom turned around concerned. Her daughter lay sprawled in the backseat in a pained expression. 

It was a familiar sight for her. This happened each time, she and her husband arrived at the airport to pick up their daughter. Her daughter was always paranoid about losing her luggage at the airport so she never let it out of her sight until she was home. 

"Should we stop for coconut water?" her dad asked. It was a family tradition that that they stopped following ever since their daughter moved out of the city. 

"Please don't stop, let's get her home''' muttered her mom.

Finally, they reached home. 

It felt like a vacation of a lifetime. Dropping her backpack to the floor, she rushed to her room like a mad woman. She couldn't stop grinning.

There. She finally liked the picture of Niagara Falls on her Instagram feed, sitting on the toilet seat. 

Gone.

It's ironical that my last post was titled 'Wake up Mads' where I cribbed about needing a Wake up call to get on with my life, and something did happened to wake me up. My grandfather passed away on 23rd August. Yes, he was 86 years young, but still he didn't really have any health problems; it was unexpected. He behaved like a teenager, his latest crush being Deepika Padukone (Why? Why? What did I do to that female in my last birth that she is being all mean to me this time around? First she steals my Dhoni, then my Ranbir, then my grandpa too!!! :O)

My grandpa got up at 5 in the morning to see whether Obama became the President of USA or not. He felt sorry for each and every beggar on the street and gave them money. He fed cows in the mornings on the way for his morning walks. He ate, drank, slept sports. Something which he forced into me, and I am forever indebted to him for that. He taught me and my sis to play badminton. He spoilt me like crazy since I'm the youngest grandkid. He used to predict the results of cricket matches, politics etc. (He predicted on the day of the finals that India would win by 5 runs :O) He felt sorry for each and every poor man. I mean he was real. No fakeness. So benevolent in such times where everyone is cruel in some way or the other.
He used to watch AXN and switch channels when we kids entered the room. Me and my sis used to call my grandparents up every Sunday and my grandpa used to ask us general knowledge questions and ask stupid jokes like: Q. How will you stir tea, with your right hand or left hand? A. With a spoon :P



Astonished me by using the word sexy once :O He used to comb my hair when I was small and my grandmom used to tie it with a rubber band; only to discover that both the ponies were lopsided :P
I went to their apartments in Chennai (my grandmom's health is not okay and she can't live alone in their place now so she lives with my aunt) for the last time before it was cleared out, right after the funeral. I found out all the questions he had written down neatly and carefully for us along with some jokes (one was about a bald man and in brackets, he had written 'takla'...Lol :D) He had preserved all the pics of us grandkids so carefully.

This post is never going to end. My grandmom and he taught us grandkids (my cousins, my sis and me) so much that whatever 4 of us are today, it's only because of them. We were/are closer to them than our how close we are to our own parents.

Losing someone who brought me and my cousins up is not at all easy. Life's changed after that dreadful Ganesh Chaturthi (at least my grandpa went away on a festival which belonged to his favourite God :D) For obvious reasons, I have not been able to read your blogs. Will get back whenever I can.

The Iyer Circus :D

My family has people from IIM-A,IITs, BITS, and a recent someone studying in University of Buffalo. Not to forget people representing Bombay Gymkhana in football, basketball, what not balls :P .....And yours truly in a National Law University (blushes)

The point being,there are intellects in my family, who might seem like those freaky Nobel Prize winners who are brainy and those typically smart South 'Indiany' (If I run out of careers, I'm writing my own dictionary...Which I shall call 'Mads Dick' :P :D)

But such people are actually one among the common folk.



1) Me (cribbing and wailing)- Dad, please find me a good lawyer, I need to fix my summer internship.
Dad- (removing his headphones and still screaming so that his wife can hear his joke and get thrilled. Oh man, these married couples I tell you!!)- Are lawyers good? :O :D

2)Mom recounting an incident that happened at her bank.
Customer (in a typical gujju wailing voice. No offence meant to any gujjus reading this, but you'll understand the best what I mean by that voice :P)--What's written here???

There was a signboard saying "LOCKERS AVAILABLE"
My mom, full of attitude, ignored her (my mom, but obviously didn't hear the Sanskrit saying of 'Customer is God')

Customer (struggling to read English)- It's written...Jokers available...There are jokers available here??? (puzzled face)

Mom- (LOLing and ROFLing all over the bank)
Customer (when the divine light finally fell on her)- Oh oh..Lockers available (in a small voice)....

3) My sister (The Buffalo...studying in University of Buffalo, re :P) went for ice skating, and I was telling my grandpa about it over the phone. My grandpa said that even he wanted to learn ice skating. But there was no ice in Bombay.
Just as I was struggling to laugh at that, my dad said, "Arre. He has ice...That too, two eyes" And grinned.

This was the ultimate inspiration for me to start writing a will.

4)I was telling my dad that SRK reads the newspaper in the bathroom and how yuck it is.
Dad- No wonder, the newspaper is full of shit.

5) I was going out with my dad. Dad was ready and I was multi tasking and getting ready (combing my hair with one hand and wearing earrings with the other and shouting for my mom to find my cell phone) Dad was impatient so he yelled, "I'll go and reverse the car." Pause. "I'm down"
Dad goes out, just to return back in a Tata nano second with a quip.
"I'm down, but I'm not out!!!!!!!"

6) My grandpa- I love that movie Sholay. You know, I...saw that guy...Gabbar...Amjad Khan, I mean.
Me (frantic, since I wanted to boast to my friends that my grandpa and Amjad Khan used to be susu buddies or they went to school together, anything. I'm the exaggeration queen)- When? Where? How? When did you see Amjad Khan?
My grandpa (in a cool and smug voice)- Oh. On TV.

7) Whenever our computer crashes(yes yes it happens only in the Iyer family), we call a guy to repair it. And that nice gentleman always ends up deleting our valuable stuff i.e. songs,pics etc.

So, during the most recent crash- The first time for my laptop, mind well, that guy was summoned again.

Me to Mom (in my most ferocious tone-growl)- Wonder what he will delete this time....
Mom (cheerfully)- Our bank balance :D


I am definitely writing my will now.