This happened almost 25 years ago. We were staying in Konkanbhuvan node of the then New Bombay, a satellite township being established to ease congestion in Bombay city. My friend Sadanandam´s family was our neighbours. Ramani and Raju are Sadanandam´s children. Sivacharan and Jayalakshmi are mine. Raju was just a toddler. Ramani and Sivacharan were about 5 or 6 years and Lakshmi was a year younger. The children were really brats and bundle of energy and the mothers used to have loads of exercise to control them.
Suryanarayana (Surya to us) was another young colleague of mine who married around that time and shifted to our locality. One day we invited the newly married couple for a get together and had a whale of a time. The children and the young bride established an instant rapport and got on very well. Her name was Bala Tripura Sundari. We called her Sundari. Thereafter the new "auntie" and the children used to have lots of fun time together. After sometime it was the turn of the young couple to invite us for an evening dinner at theirs.
Now you see the mothers thought they are `responsible´ mothers who brought up their children intelligently and with lot of commitment. On the day of our visit in the morning, they started `training´ the children about good manners and all the ideal behaviour attributes as to how they should conduct themselves at the new `aunties´ house. "Uncle and auntie should be pleased with your attitude, you see", they went on emphasizing. As a part of that training they also told the kids, "you see after we reach their house, you should say Namaste to uncle and auntie and sit there without becoming naughty. Don’t treat their house as yours and don’t do this and don’t do that. What will auntie think of you if you do this or that" and so on. "Anyway auntie is going to give you lots of goodies and cookies and don’t ever rush to the kitchen and demand. Behave like sweet kids". The children nodded their heads in obedience and mothers heaved a sigh of relief. They thought they had graduated in training the kids very responsibly. We fathers tried to intervene with mild protests but we were made to withdraw hastily with that stern `wifely´ look!
That evening at last we all went to Surya´s house. The couple welcomed us. The children Ramani, Sivacharan and Jayalakshmi were so well behaved, they said Namaste and sat obediently in the hall with arms folded over their chests. It was an unusual sight for all of us and the proud mothers looked at each other and smiled knowingly and cast a condescending glance at us, poor fathers! After the preliminary greetings and chat, Sundari went into the kitchen. The children looked at one another and whispered among themselves. The mothers stared at them and silence descended on them. After a while `auntie´ came from the kitchen with snack plates. She put the plates meant for us on a table, turned and just started extending the plates towards the children.
There was a sudden chorus from the children, "Mememee adugala!, mememee adugala!" ("We never asked, never asked!"). Still with arms folded they looked at their mothers with expectation that they be congratulated for their exemplary behaviour! Sundari was bewildered and confused.
Could you ever visualize different emotional expressions such as acute embarrassment, helplessness and anger being shown simultaneously on one´s face? Well, that was what exactly we could see on our wives´ visages. Imagine the plight of us, the husbands? Surely even our faces could have been a treat to look at!. The flashback of that recent rigorous `training programme´ for our kids in the morning on good manners and the sudden and extempore display of outcome of that training by the `obedient´ children and the mothers´ consternation made us mute spectators with silly smiles on our faces. At last my friend Sadanandam gestured that the children accept the goodies from auntie. There was wild clamor for the snack plates.
Surya and Sundari looked at us with puzzled faces with expectation that we explain the situation. With halting tones Sadanandam and I blurted out the whole sequence of events leading to the current scene and gave an embarrassed laugh. We were also aware of the piercing looks of the wives on our back. The children got up and asked their auntie if they had been good and if so they want more goodies. Sundari took them along with her in the kitchen.
Suryanarayana (Surya to us) was another young colleague of mine who married around that time and shifted to our locality. One day we invited the newly married couple for a get together and had a whale of a time. The children and the young bride established an instant rapport and got on very well. Her name was Bala Tripura Sundari. We called her Sundari. Thereafter the new "auntie" and the children used to have lots of fun time together. After sometime it was the turn of the young couple to invite us for an evening dinner at theirs.
Now you see the mothers thought they are `responsible´ mothers who brought up their children intelligently and with lot of commitment. On the day of our visit in the morning, they started `training´ the children about good manners and all the ideal behaviour attributes as to how they should conduct themselves at the new `aunties´ house. "Uncle and auntie should be pleased with your attitude, you see", they went on emphasizing. As a part of that training they also told the kids, "you see after we reach their house, you should say Namaste to uncle and auntie and sit there without becoming naughty. Don’t treat their house as yours and don’t do this and don’t do that. What will auntie think of you if you do this or that" and so on. "Anyway auntie is going to give you lots of goodies and cookies and don’t ever rush to the kitchen and demand. Behave like sweet kids". The children nodded their heads in obedience and mothers heaved a sigh of relief. They thought they had graduated in training the kids very responsibly. We fathers tried to intervene with mild protests but we were made to withdraw hastily with that stern `wifely´ look!
That evening at last we all went to Surya´s house. The couple welcomed us. The children Ramani, Sivacharan and Jayalakshmi were so well behaved, they said Namaste and sat obediently in the hall with arms folded over their chests. It was an unusual sight for all of us and the proud mothers looked at each other and smiled knowingly and cast a condescending glance at us, poor fathers! After the preliminary greetings and chat, Sundari went into the kitchen. The children looked at one another and whispered among themselves. The mothers stared at them and silence descended on them. After a while `auntie´ came from the kitchen with snack plates. She put the plates meant for us on a table, turned and just started extending the plates towards the children.
There was a sudden chorus from the children, "Mememee adugala!, mememee adugala!" ("We never asked, never asked!"). Still with arms folded they looked at their mothers with expectation that they be congratulated for their exemplary behaviour! Sundari was bewildered and confused.
Could you ever visualize different emotional expressions such as acute embarrassment, helplessness and anger being shown simultaneously on one´s face? Well, that was what exactly we could see on our wives´ visages. Imagine the plight of us, the husbands? Surely even our faces could have been a treat to look at!. The flashback of that recent rigorous `training programme´ for our kids in the morning on good manners and the sudden and extempore display of outcome of that training by the `obedient´ children and the mothers´ consternation made us mute spectators with silly smiles on our faces. At last my friend Sadanandam gestured that the children accept the goodies from auntie. There was wild clamor for the snack plates.
Surya and Sundari looked at us with puzzled faces with expectation that we explain the situation. With halting tones Sadanandam and I blurted out the whole sequence of events leading to the current scene and gave an embarrassed laugh. We were also aware of the piercing looks of the wives on our back. The children got up and asked their auntie if they had been good and if so they want more goodies. Sundari took them along with her in the kitchen.
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