The kind of responsibilities I want

Of protecting the edge of the pencil in that box
Of getting the crayon stains off the white socks.

Of shining the polish of the shoes so bright,
Of running and catching that yellow kite,

Of wearing the fancy dress on my big day,
Of eating all the desserts from the buffet.

Of having that first dialogue in broken english,

Of tugging the rope beyond the finish.

Of playing till dark when the bugs start to bite,

Of running so hard that the stomach becomes tight.

Of playing with toy cars till the tires go screech,

Of colouring the Doll's hair an uncanny peach.

Of buttered paranthas and jalebis so sweet,
Of Nani's cake and dadi's home made treats.

Of learning to write in the cursive font,

Of reciting the hindi poem so daunt.

Of having the longest hair in the class,

Of pillow fights and rolling on the grass.

Of ballet class and swimming sessions,

Of the most colourful bandaid on all the abrasions. 

Of the shoes that light when I walk,

Of secret diaries with the tiny lock.

Of the biggest star on the christmas tree,

Of playing and laughing because I am carefree.

Those are the kind of responsibilities I want.

Those are the kind of things to flaunt. 

Give me my husband...

I have known it for years now.
There was no hiding it from Day 1.
I hoped the obsession would go away with time.
But i hoped in despair.

I've known it all along.
Right from the time we got married in 2007.
It coincided with your 3rd term in the state.
You ruled your state in style and he became a fan.
A super one at that.

What started as mere hero worship turned into a full blown infatuation when you announced you were going to conquer the country.
He finally admitted in in February 2014 confessing ironically on Valentines day that he needed 2 months away from me. Away from family. Away from us ...To be with you. To help you win. To fight for you...
He didn't really leave home physically.
But mentally he was always with you.
He stalked you over the social media.
Preyed on everyone who belittled you.
He took pride in being called a Modified fanatic..

I would wake up at 2 AM to see that lone light in the room.
The light from his phone.
Typing away.
fighting a written duel on forums unknown...with people unnamed ....on causes unexplained..But all for you...
He tweeted like a bird...
He fought social wars with random friends of friends of friends on Facebook if they ever wrote a word against you.

Finally came the day when he woke up before anyone rose.
It was the day you smelled victory.
The malt of the most expensive kind was opened in our household.
The dance of a crazy man was danced.
The song of a hysterical heart was sung.
I hoped this was the end of it.
The love affair was over.
But all in despair.
Little did I know that this was the start of a affair that would take a turn of the most serious kind.

He celebrated your first anniversary with pride.
He shunned everyone who questioned your commitment...for him..and for the others...
On your second anniversary he was seen giving full mouthed lectures to strangers at parties...Without the effect of alcohol..
I'd often see friends' provocation to hear his tales of love.

I tried everything. I even gave up my job and started working with him.
I thought he'd lose himself in the burden of business and I'd win him back.
But you dealt the massive blow.
That was when you gave the bad men across the border a fitting reply.
He woke up to tales of Kargil.
He read post 65 war books.
He watched Pro India movies.
What started as a small affair was now an everlasting love.
Even as he would bathe he would tell me how he wished he hadn't failed in the SSB interviews.
He proclaimed he would've been in the infantry if he had.
All to be ONE with you...

that brings me to the current day.
I am not the one to give up so easily.
But I am willing to do a bargain.
I give you back the son of the land, you give me back the husband, Mr PM!

When the boss at home gets a new boss at work!

Even before I thought what I was going to write in this post, I knew a zillion headlines for it.
This post could've easily read ' When love and hate collide' or 'From the bedroom to the boardroom' or 'From Partners in Crime to Partners at Work', Mad at work and madly in love' etc etc....So you've not even started reading this one but you already know what it is about.

It is eventful that I indeed decided to write this post that's been lingering on my mind for an year today when i have completed one year of working in indiagift.in with Mohit. In fact, to rephrase it, working for him. Or rather under him.... This week I complete an year since we both actively started working in our new company and started pursuing those dreams that we didn't know at that time.

Working together though not new for us, was in a different avatar for the past year. We both worked together in adda52 for more than an year. And I was often asked by my peers about how it felt being together for the most part of the day? At that time, I always thought it was thrilling. Driving together to work. Spending those 30 mins of quality time just talking about random stuff. Sneaking that quick hug in his cabin sometimes. Or blowing a random kiss through the meeting! It was all fun, exciting and new.

With our own company came the challenges of not only managing a household and the kids together but also bearing the burden of the same organisation. During our adda52 days out of our 16 awake hours, my constant crib was the continuous jabber about poker, now we can't even help but discuss the revenue excel or the attendance sheet or the investor dock all the time. It is no longer restricted to the 16 awake hours. Even in my dreams, my boss(at work) is constantly telling me to focus more and be patient.

I remember giving an interview together to some startup magazine and proudly coining the term 'Couplepreneur'. It had a quirky feeling about it then. Now while the couple part stays neglected, the entrepreneur part is surely in full swing.

During the past year, we have seen many ups and downs. Not only have we learnt to understand the other's opinion at work without even actually expressing it but we have also learnt how to bear each other for 24 hours a day. Not only have we learnt how to play good cop, bad cop at work but also switch the bosses role the moment the residence arrives. We have learnt to trust each other's instinct and respect the other's decision. We have grown as a couple, as business partners and as individuals. We have come far across in defeating the common notion that a couple can never work together. While couple goals might have been superseded by business goals, it does give me a kick to know that we have dared to go where not many tread. It's simple to trust your partner with love but difficult to trust them with money. We both have done that fantastically!

Hats off to my business partner for being one in a million and tolerating his wife's physical presence for 24 hours a day.

And hats off to me too, for letting him have his moment of glory and be the day time boss that he deserves to be!

Cheers to happier, successful and sometimes romantic times ahead!

How my 'Udta Punjab' is also 'Komal Punjab'

The movie 'Udta Punjab' has attracted eyeballs both in the theatre as well as outside. While I haven't seen the movie as yet but I have seen the terrible hullaballoo around it. From the Arnab Goswami News Hour debate about the movie leaking online to the heavy police cover outside Ludhiana movie halls to the constant raving of people about the acting of Alia, there has been much said and heard about the movie.

Each time I read a review of Udta Punjab, I also read the word Punjab at least 10 times. Its dark politics, the darker deep rooted societal problems and the darkest and much highlighted(in the movie) drug issue. Whilst I know the movie isn't a head on take on defaming Punjab or the culture of my homeland of 25 years but somewhere each time i read about the movie, it saddened me. What the movie was doing for my beloved land was highlighted a big socio-political issue that needs a resolve but it somewhere also maligns the reputation of Punjab.

When i visited my parents in Ludhiana, during my week long stay, I noticed some small things about the udta punjab that i know. Thus i decided to bring forth the smaller things that my state has which perhaps goes unnoticed mostly. Punjabi, the language most widely spoken in Punjab is often mistaken as a very harsh language. I've seen Punjabi speaking people being shun due to the hoarseness of their speech. But is that really so? Is my udta punjab just such a Rough Punjab?
AU CONTRAIRE!
It is one of the most softy state of the country. I don't say so just for support for Punjab but also for things that I noticed during my trip. Where in the country do you hear a 50 year old Rohit Bal Clad Lady talk to the street urchin asking for alms like this- "Tussi Kam Kar ke Paihe Kyu Nahi kama lende PuttarJI?" Notice the PUTTARJI or dear son for those who cannot decipher the lingo.

Punjab is also one of those states in the world where every shop keeper is addressed as Veere or Brother. From the college girl coyly buying sanitary napkins at the medicine shop saying 'Veerji, ek whisper' to the taxi driver who drove us back to Gurgaon telling the toll tax collector that he doesn't have change with - "Sorry Prawa, aaj change nahi hain. Tussi de do." Punjab is Polite, vinamar, courteous and Salikedar.

The domestic helps in my Ludhiana home continue to call me 'Behenji' for as long as I remember. It doesn't make me any more LS(low society) than I already feel when i visit the now modern city. The local vegetable seller who comes in our lane for decades is not an uncle or bhaiya or simply Choudhary( as is his name I learnt this time). But he is 'Chache' for everyone. He doesn't call his shop on wheels - Chache di hatti or anything but he is addressed as Chache because it is more loving than Uncle.

When the newly married igirls n their Jimmy chop shoes and Gucci Bags bargain for their phulkari, the shop keeper doesn't call them Madam. He says, "Parjayi, tussi bade dina baad aaye ho, chai pi ke gal karde ha." PARJAYI aka Bhabhi.

So humble request to all who're watching 'Udta Punjab' from someone who has seen all her growing years in the state to be non-judgemental about the state and only focus on the issue at hand. For Punjab is not 'UDTA' it is also 'KOMAL' 'Sabhya' and everything that polite and courteous means...