MY BOY

Is this my blue eyed boy whom I birthed? Today, on the threshold of adolescence, I no longer recognize him nor do I understand his language.

Since we saw this hindi movie, ‘Chillar Party’, he has made it his mission to promote the Mumbaiya tapori language, the street language of Mumbai. As I open the door for him, when he returns from school, he greets me with –“Kya biddu?”?????  As I am giving him a piece of my mind, he interrupts me saying – “Kai ko itna mach mach karleri hai? Chal! Kalti maar.” Arggghhhh! That’s why I cut my hair short; it’s easier to pull it out.

Just when I have given up hope that this boy will ever make a fine young man, he does something really cute and sensitive which is endearing. Everything is not lost, yet. There is still hope.

A few days back, my daughter was very late in coming back home after an inter-school competition. She was coming alone by a rick and it was after 9pm and I was worried, tensed and angry. Angry because she had engaged her mobile in conversation with a friend and was unreachable to us. The man of the house was away on work and this young took over. He said, he will call his sister for me. He extracted a promise from me not to scold her after she is back. He said she had won a prize that day, and I should not dampen her victory. With this he went down to wait for her at the entrance of our building. He was tensed too. From a fighting brother he had transformed himself into a protective brother! He displayed maturity and it was so endearing.

Well, one other thing is he cannot stomach a secret, especially when someone has explicitly told him not to tell anybody. He has to tell it to someone and that someone is me. His secrets are always safe with me. And so he got talking, it was about his friend’s granny who was losing her memory rapidly. I explained to him about the age related memory loss and also about Alzheimer’s disease which seemed to satisfy him. Then he shifted the topic to his granny that is my mom. He said –“Ma, I was too young when ‘ajji’ passed away. I couldn’t comprehend what was going on. I couldn’t say my goodbye to her. I did not grieve or cry for her….I feel so sad. But, I remember all the good times we had together.” I had a lump in my throat. Took a deep breath to clear it and told him-“Sweetheart, as you said, you were quiet young. It is Ok you were not able to say goodbye, but the important thing is you still remember and have such fond memories…..she still lives within you.” He sensed my sadness and said-‘Yeah, common mom, she isn’t anywhere else, she is here with us”….with this he bounded off.

Just when I am feeling blessed, he comes back and asks-“khane pe kya kihlareli hai?” I roll my eyes and smile at the same time…Ah! Motherhood.