Ayyo Amma !

Two days ago my body hit the ground with a thud and I am still to recover fully from the impact ! I have been moaning " Ayyo Amma , Ayyo Amma "all the time ! As much indispensable as the household bai is in current times, the price one has to pay ( no, I don't mean the financial aspect !) for retaining the bai literally takes the wind out your sails ! This realization hit me (pun intended ! ) that fateful day when I met with the accident !

My maid (like most other maids ! ) is waiting for a chance to haphazardly finish her work (leaving a corner unswept , or carelessly leaving slippery surfaces without mopping) and run away, when my attention is diverted elsewhere( late morning is peak hour in most houses, when maids are banging away vessels in the name of washing, or some other domestic activity, and a time ,when one can do without answering the phone or mobile or the door bell ! ) . I am no novice in the art of running the house , akhir pachis saal ka tajurba hai ! I also keep my wits about me and once in a while have caught her red handed ( dusty handed , to be more appropriate !) merrily skipping dusty corners ! However such smart moves cannot be applied all the time , so for every red handed catch there is an equal number of miss too and thats what happened that day !

Must have been one of those days when I got out of the wrong side of my bed and one of those lucky days for Kusum bai ! She had just left after finishing her work and the house was quiet and looked sparkling and clean . Soon I was to face the danger that was lurking behind the calm and quiet .Humming to myself I stepped onto the bathroom rug (to close the door from outside ) and the very next moment my hmm (I was so involved in humming kabhi alvida na kahena ) turned to 'Ayyo Amma .... ' as my arms and legs went flying and I landed with a thud on the marble floor with my legs bent and full weight on my elbows ! I was dazed and lay still for some time and realized how close I had come to saying Alvida to life ! - and what a silly way to die , - kicking the bucket (ha ha, that sounds appropriate) by slipping over a pool of water ( under the rug) carelessly left without mopping by my indispensable Kusum bai !

Post- accident , I am still recovering and a bruised and swollen elbow , a limp and an occasional outburst of ' ayyo amma, ayyo amma , ayyo amma , ayyo amma ' as I go about my work bear testimony to near fatal accident , thanks to "Kusum bai " who I have retained, with an austere warning that she'll get the sack if it happens again- after all the show must go on and as mentioned before, the household bai is absolutely indispensable at any cost !

PS - Vowed never to sing Kabhi alvida Na kahena - seems jinxed as far as I am concerned ! Don't want to say alvida to life- not just yet !