My neighbour Raj had vanished for six months and reappeared the other day. “All my children in America are asking me to come and stay with them. But visitors are allowed to stay for six months only. So I had to come back to an empty nest here,” he said. “Hope you had a jolly good time in the US,” I said.
“Yes, I had a jolly good time with my grandchildren. The moment I landed here, I felt the difference between a developed country and a struggling nation. The toilets in the airport were stinking. I had four suitcases and two cabin bags. The cab aggregator could not provide me a big vehicle. Instead two small cars were made available. I refused to send my wife and two suitcases alone in a cab. I had to wait for an eternity to get hold of an SUV that could accommodate four large suitcases and two passengers,” grumbled Raj. I wondered aloud as to which airline allowed so much baggage. He said that a Middle East international carrier gave him more luggage allowance than others. “You see, I had to carry a good amount of rasam, sambar powders for my daughters and also plenty of sweets and savouries for my grandchildren,” he said.
A week later, when I bumped into Raj, he was still morose. “How are you?” I enquired. “I went for a medical check-up. My Hba1c score was 7.3. My doctor put me on diabetes medication. Last 10 years, I managed without medication. The America trip caused the spike in blood sugar,” said Raj grumpily. “What has America got to do with your blood sugar?” I replied.
“My grandchildren loved to eat dry fruits like figs, dates, apricots, X. Every time they had some, I also got to eat some fruits with them. I think the sweet fruits have caused this problem,” said Raj. Some of us are prone to blame others for our misfortunes. The other day, a cousin came to my house to invite me for his daughter’s wedding. He had a protruding potbelly. When I asked him for the reason, he said, “Ever since I was transferred to Delhi, I am living alone and cooking my food. Most days, I end up consuming the excess food, unwilling to throw it in the dustbin. Excess milk or curd also goes into my
tummy.” Some of us bump our heads against door frames carelessly and then blame the door frames for the lumps on our craniums.
P Subramanian
Email: mailpsubramanian@gmail.com