My role in life today is to be an
ideal ‘valeti’( the female of valet) to the members of my family in varying
degrees. An inevitable exercise that I religiously and rigorously follow, not
that I am exactly indispensable but for the family but I am inevitable. Forget
the members and their eccentricities, the duties revolving around them makes me
feel celestial, a satellite just revolving with no evolution. I must admit, the
loosening of muscles and the fatigue that comes as bonus after dispensing my
duties are a boon.By the way there is no term as valeti in any dictionary.
Domestic Skulduggery
Drudgery can be boring if you
don’t involve the special skills of SDY- skulduggery.If your culinary skills
have to be appreciated add some cloves of garlic and soup mix with a dash of ‘garam
masala’, sweet cumin seeds and Lo….the
dish will give an exotic taste……..The wah-wah comes slow and steady. Not at
this age one craves for compliments. In that respect I am not a woman, a trait
that is ingrained (means not expecting compliments) so I have evolved to be an
unambitious creature. All the same I love to nurture the ambition in my
students to excel in all activities and make sure the compliments come
regularly and steadily. No I am not a cook as my tutelage does not extend to
the manufacturing of exotic dishes. If culinary art can be compared to a
game of football, my legs (feet) would be ever ready to kick on a regular
basis. Goal or no goal, who cares?
Distractions through TV, Newspaper and Social Media
The
order keeps changing, not that any of these offer intellectual manna. But to be
glued to them is to be sane and can keep you well connected with your inmates
(relatives) that is the motto. Not that I bear any grudge with the inmates. However,
adhering each one can be , God gives that
intrinsic quality to adapt. I do keep remembering one of the famous books of
Chaucer – his Prologue to the Canterbury
Tales. The prologue is an eye-opener and is a must for not only literature
students but all students who fan out into the world as adults. Acquiring the
age of 18 has its own splendour and glamour, so the Prologue, though based in
the 14th century gives a clear insight into human nature. Chaucer
initially does sound chauvinistic but the Inn that accommodates the pilgrims is
a must-read. Many would repel at this suggestion as it is trilingual in script
so a hard nut to crack (English, French and Latin). Obviously the Anglo-Saxon influence
on its waning path stood good for the English language. More details later. I
have no intention to distract.
Home-maker or house-keeper?
The
latter sounds more lucrative. Because one at least gets paid a salary or tips
to be on your feet, day in and day out. Does that mean the former has no likes,
passions or desires of her own? The call towards duty makes one feel so obliged
to the inmates that shirking responsibility is taboo. Why not embark on some
outdoor activities – playing football (?) not with a weak ankle. Jogging at
twilight to display one’s newly stitched salwar-kameez (plural). I feel
twilight invites only vampires. Don’t do it. Vampires do not feast on anaemic
women. Okay, satsang (she ‘sat’ and ‘sang’ with other women). Not a good proposition
to think about Krishna and gossip away to glory. Yoga? Not with a spurt in blood pressure handed over as legacy by
parents. Shopping? Not a very congenial activity because one is always ‘shopped
for’ by parents (no longer alive). Aunts or sisters etc. Quite lucky that way.
Roaming around in lanes and bylanes and malls makes one look like a hungry fox
– drooling, staring with a pasted smile.
What activity do you enjoy?
Reading
select books and not to show off by reading and re-reading some thriller, murder
mystery or romantic novel. Books on psychology, law-related novels (John
Grisham), autobiographies of dead persons are enjoyed. If they are alive then they become biographies. After the person dies, one can curtail or add critical notes
lavishly about the person. Books on science hardly fascinate me except
neurology. Maybe going berserk. Enough, must not praise one’s own tail if it is
placed above your neck. Did not want to hurt Chaucer or youngsters who don’t
enjoy literature but men of letters do have this peculiar knack of reading
minds of individuals as an obsessive hobby.
On a parting note I cannot forget to
mention the recent landslide victory for BJP and Mr Narendra Modi who swept the
nation’s fortunes with a thumping majority at the ballot. High hopes at all ends
to welcome development as if we were stagnant so far. The need for a change
arose from that inner urge of the polity to do away with corruption and if the
BJP cannot weed out corruption gradually I will certainly train my voice to
yell from roof tops about their incompetence. So long, see you when I have more anecdotes or experiences
to narrate. I am on a short holiday from
being a Valeti.
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