Registered with the Registrar of Newspapers for India under R.N.I 53640/91

Vol. XXXI No. 4, June 1-16, 2021

Short ‘N’ Snappy

– (Wo)MMM

Lockdown days

Lately, The Woman from Madras Musings has been thinking a lot about The Little Prince, a story by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Perhaps you have read it, too. It is about a little prince who lives on a planet not much larger than a house. As (Wo)MMM recalls – it has been a while since she read the book – he ends up fighting with a rose and leaves his planet hoping to find, well, greener pastures. (Wo)MMM has always wondered how the little prince lived happily in such a small place. She’s beginning to feel like she has an idea, now that we’re all under intermittent lockdowns that oblige us to make our lives within our homes.

The first thing that (Wo)MMM has noticed after much observation is that living in confinement leads to developing a habitual routine. You may think you’re the master of your fate but chances are that you’re unwittingly following a certain routine each day. It’s quite advantageous when you decide to do things that are good for you, such as eating a healthy diet, exercising or learning new skills. And so, some have surfaced from previous lockdowns as better persons, like muscled, toned butterflies emerging from their cocoons. For those of us who are perhaps less dynamic and more like, say, potatoes, it has disastrous effects. Before you know it, you’ve gone through all the tea at home and are gently rolling down from the sofa like a frothy ocean wave instead of getting up like a normal person. At home, the mater now grows positively ill at the very thought of tea; her benevolent indulgence has given way to stern rationing.

Which brings us nicely to the second thing that (Wo)MMM has noticed. The burden of housework naturally multiplies in a lockdown, but few chip in to offer support. There is likely one hapless soul in every home who is saddled with most of the work. Somehow, all those sudden cravings for more ginger tea and vazhakka bajjis seldom inspire people to learn to make it for themselves. If you’re one such person, (Wo)MMM highly recommends making an effort in that direction. There are only two possible outcomes, after all. Either you will discover you’re decent at making a new dish, which can be a pleasant surprise, or – if you’re like (Wo)MMM – you will learn to switch to drinking more water and eating apples and guavas, which are healthier for you anyway. It also helps to get used to doing small chores like washing the dishes or making the bed. It’s actually quite nice to do housework along with the rest of the family, you know. You will likely find that it makes you happy and, more importantly, easier to live with.

Which brings (Wo)MMM to her third observation – familiarity certainly breeds vexation, if not contempt. Tempers are shorter within four walls and we’re more easily annoyed. The truth is that each one of us is blessed with the ability to irritate our loved ones effortlessly. For example, you may think that the pater is interested in your commentary on the movie he’s watching. Or that the mater enjoys hearing you play the flute. You would be wrong. It helps to have a keen sensitivity during these moments. If the pater pauses the film to glare at you, or if the mater leaves the room when she sees you approaching flute in hand, you must catch those subtle hints to correct the error of your ways. Failing that, (Wo)MMM finds that frank talk helps. Don’t hesitate, for instance, to tell your daughter that her habit of leaving jars loosely closed is infuriating. She may crack an ill-judged pun about not having ‘mooda nambikkai’ but the disclosure will solve the problem in the long run.

In The Little Prince, the planet that the prince lives on is so small, he says, that all he has to do is take a couple of steps to see the sunset. Actually, if the horizon were that close, he would probably have to jog at a consistent pace to enjoy the sunset for a few minutes. It is here, (Wo)MMM feels, that we can learn from the little prince. He goes in search of his beautiful sunset and is willing to put in the effort to enjoy it. These lockdowns are testing times but surely, each of our homes also has secrets and joys waiting to be discovered. Perhaps we’ll stumble upon lovely sunsets, too. (Wo)MMM hopes you find yours.

Essential differential

Not sure about you, but The Woman from Madras Musings has been left a bit puzzled by the latest set of covid-driven restrictions in the city. Fresh vegetables, fruits and provisions have become harder to access while restaurant meals are more easily available through delivery apps. E-commerce orders continue to be fulfilled, even if a bit delayed, while home deliveries from local kirana shops are curtailed. Then there was that Sunday before the lockdown extension when the city’s shopping hub was inexplicably allowed to open its textile and jewellery stores for the day – photos later emerged of said shops being thronged by a sea of people standing shoulder to shoulder as they made purchases. You would think that commodities like junk food, gold jewellery or silk dresses wouldn’t be a priority in these times, no? And yet, here we are.

Maybe, the word ‘essential’ means different things to different people. Take the wedding party that reportedly chartered a private plane to conduct a grand wedding in the sky, free of the covid regulations governing us mortals on the ground – the whole thing looked rather risky to (Wo)MMM, but the family clearly didn’t think twice of it. They must have thought it essential. Then there’s the well-meaning politician who reportedly donated a truckload of chips towards covid relief. That gentleman evidently thinks that chips are essential.

Perhaps it’s best to just focus on the good news – cases are going down and will likely continue to do so with the lockdown extension. It may be fun to pick apart contrarian public behaviour after all this has passed though. (Wo)MMM is sure that someone, somewhere is working on such a book – there’s a whole new volume of Freakonomics just waiting to be written.

Marketing misses

The Woman from Madras Musings was enjoying a bowl of watermelons when she heard her phone ring. It was an unknown number and though (Wo)MMM usually ignors such calls, she decided to pick it up anyway.

“Hello,” said a happy voice at the other end, which continued to speak without pausing to take a breath. “I am calling from so-and-so company and we would like to offer you a free foreign vacation if you purchase our product.”
(Wo)MMM swallowed the whole watermelon she had just forked into her mouth. A couple of minutes went by while the caller waited patiently for (Wo)MMM to stop choking. On regaining her voice, (Wo)MMM informed the caller that her city was under lockdown due to the pandemic. “Oh,” said the caller and promptly cut the line.

(Wo)MMM can’t help wondering who the caller was and which company she works for. Can there be anyone left on earth who is unaware of the covid pandemic? People never fail to surprise.

Please follow and like us:
Pin Share

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Stay Updated