855 - in which I find out I am a little bit spoilt

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The weather in Pune is supremely beautiful. It's grey, cold, rainy, and the perfect backdrop for tiny yellow flowers that are sprouting up everywhere. The kandeels and Diwali lights are still out and there's a movie-feel to a day when you go about doing something as basic as buying milk.

This morning, I met up with a school friend at Dario's again. We were 'partners' in school, which meant that we shared the same bench and also the same tiffin, I think. Anyway, in school I think she was not deemed to be very bright which of course means that she has gone ahead to make a success of herself in the world. (My school was odd, like that - people who seemed to be going nowhere have had some serious accomplishments.) It's funny - meeting up someone from school. I don't know why there isn't any awkwardness. Why there is an easy flow of conversation. Why there is absolutely no sense of the huge gap in time. Anyway, we chatted over coffee and then promised to catch up again - next time, hopefully, with enough time for a movie.

Now, getting to the part where I got the sneaky feeling that I may be a little spoilt.

One of the ladies who comes to clean is on a longish leave. So, today I had to wash my clothes. I don't have a washing machine so I had to do it by hand. So, I did. Then I had to dry the clothes. Obviously but I don't know why I thought I needed to soften this very harsh experience. To do this, I switched on the fairy lights and sat out amongst the plants and looked at the foggy night sky. Then I wrung out the clothes and dried them. Then, to treat myself, I went to Peter Donuts for a hazelnut cappuccino and a custard cream-filled donut.

There, I flipped through the latest Vogue with Deepika and Barkha Dutt on the cover. It looked interesting. While flipping through it, I came across this bit by Barkha who said that despite whatever she had to go through, she never played the victim card. I think that's a real triumph. To do what you have to without whining 'Oh, I'm a victim...feel sorry for me' nonsense. Good on you, Barkha! I think I will get that issue - you know, as a reward for washing and drying clothes.

Now to wash the vessels, sweep and mop the house.



 

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