Juggler par Excellence
This is the third independent chapter in the Circus Family’s life. You can read the previous two here.
“My boss is coming for lunch tomorrow.” Sindhu told me excitedly as she came home.
“Who, Achary Sir?” I asked. I had been hearing nothing but Achary Sir did this, Achary Sir did that for the last two months, ever since Achary Sir had taken over as General Manager at her office.
Sindhu was like that. Her work excited her still after thirteen years. I liked hearing about the daily happenings in her office and offering unhelpful suggestions.
“You know I am due for a promotion. My record has been good, but Achary Sir’s word would go a long way.”
I agreed to this wisdom. After all, I knew all about how management works.
“Renu and Remya will have to be on their best behaviour. This really means a lot to me.”
I had my doubts about Renu and Remya’s best behaviour. They were sweet kids but a little too exuberant at times. When my colleague had visited, the two house imps along with one visiting imp had managed to turn a simple game of hide and seek into one involving fist fights and arm wrestling. Luckily, Mr. Achary’s family was not in town.
Sunday dawned bright and clear. Sindhu had woken up earlier than usual and was already cutting vegetables when I woke up. I offered my expert services, but was firmly turned down. Somewhat miffed, I proceeded with my usual Sunday routine.
By the time I had returned from the temple, steaming hot idli and sambar was waiting on the table. Aha! Sindhu was killing two birds with one stone or rather, two meals with one dish of sambar!
By mid-morning, all varieties of smells were emanating from the kitchen - coconut milk payasam with Maggi coconut milk powder, aviyal, cabbage thoran, mambazha pulisseri, and most irresistible to me, fried pappadam. Hmm, pappadam was the last step. I followed the smell to the kitchen. Sindhu smiled at me indulgently; as always, she had already kept aside a couple of pappadam for me.
I gave a cursory examination of all the delicacies, nodded my approval and convinced her that the sweetness of the payasam was just perfect. Not that she needed much convincing – my Sindhu was a good cook and she knew it.
Renu and Remya had been despatched to the neighbour’s place. Now they were back, at the kitchen, drawn in by the aroma of payasam. But Sindhu was up to the task. She simply removed the bulk of the payasam to another vessel, gave wooden spoons to both of them and placed the big payasam uruli between them at a corner of the work area. Renu and Remya sat down happily, scrapping at ‘their’ sides of the uruli for the precious adi churandiyathe, the portion of the payasam that had stuck to the bottom and sides of the vessel.
Sindhu reminded them, “Now you know what to do when Achary Sir comes.”
“Yes, Amma, after we say Hello to him, we go up and play. “
“Right, and try not to make too much noise.”
“No fights.” I added with a straight face.
With the payasam scrapings in their mouths, they were willing to agree to anything, and nodded without a second thought.
Soon Achary Sir came. It was all going according to plan, Sindhu’s plan. Soon the three of us were exchanging pleasantries in a tidy living room (the excesses having simply been dumped in the bedroom). The children had gone upstairs like little angels.
Lunch was a grand success, with the payasam being pronounced ‘delicious’. Sindhu was grinning away as if the promotion was already hers.
Achary Sir seemed quite willing to sit and talk. I was also pleased as Achary Sir came across as a fine gentleman. I enjoyed the conversation, peppered with humourous narratives. My siesta could wait, I thought.
Renu and Remya had gone up again after lunch. For about twenty minutes, everything went fine. Then I started to hear giggles. Now our house had grown with the family, with rooms being added periodically, when finance was sound. The most recent addition was a room above the car shed by covering up the balconey. This meant that the drawing room ventilator opened out into the new room. We had temporarily closed it up with a cardboard, meaning to cover it permanently, soon. The soon had never come.
Now the little devils had removed the cardboard and were peeping in to the drawing room. I pretended not to notice.
The giggles soon increased in volume and small hands were thrust in through the ventilator hole.
“Amma, look.” Remya called out.
Sindhu was embarrassed. Here she was singing the praises of her wonderful daughters’ and they were playing the fool.
I was debating whether to go up and give them a talking to, when Sindhu intervened smartly.
“You could play with the Cibaca animals.”
The Cibaca animals were tiny plastic animal figures which you got with every packet of Cibaca toothpaste. Sindhu had hoarded them, one by precious one, in her own childhood. It was her treasure and she let the kids play with them only occasionally, as special treats. Sindhu would herself give it to them, and count them each time before keeping back.
It was a masterstroke! In a flash, the children had collected the box and had run up again. They were back to being little angels.
The day was thus won by Sindhu, the superwoman – Mother and now Senior Manager! Yes, the promotion was soon hers!
Close
I had missed this somehow. But when your comment on my post arrived I went looking whether you had written something new and found this.
Enjoyed reading this post. But even more than this, it made me nostalgic. I have played with these cibaca animals too. But I think they were then Binaca animals and they were all sorts of animals and really cute little things. Where and when did I lose them I do not know. But while they lasted, they were a source of joy.
Avinash
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narensomu They stick to their side of the uruli only in the story
Thanks for coming.
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wiskyd
go on and invite your boss for lunch! it always helps to be friendly with your boss
yes, that was my room..actually, the room came much later, i changed it for the story. Hehe we were a Cibaca family at first, but when we kids started to grow up, we wanted red paste, so we switched to Close Up and later Colgate
Thanks for finding your way here.
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enchanted You missed this because I was a fool and posted this on a Saturday evening, when the attendance in Sulekha is zero
I knew it but once I had finished it, just couldn't wait for Monday
But my faithful visitors have found the way here, sooner or later
Hope your paalpayasam was good! The circus family was complete fiction when I started, but the second one and this one are mostly things that happened at home, of course slightly modified to add flavour
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Usha
Enjoyed every bit of that feast.
Their side of the uruli!
Minor details like this add more spice to the story.
Renu and Remya won the day too-they got their rare Cibaca treat.
Would read the other stories too. Circus family! Nice name for them.
Regards
ns
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I had heard that a way to a man's heart is through the stomach...haha..Now I know it can be used to get promotions too. Maybe time I invited my boss over for lunch. That room over the balcony was your room, right? I remember you saying that. I remember seeing the binaca becomes cibaca ads on DD channels as a kid but we were a colgate family.
Nice read Usha. All the food explanations is making my mouth water.
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Usha,
How did I mis this one?
Nice one...u have given me a craving for payasam now...wish I read this in the morning wud have made it...will do it in the evening mayvbe....paalpayasam :)
I always have this feeling that this series is part of ur family...donno why
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anna hurrah
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Soumya Thank You.. hmm adi churandiyathe is my favourite! since i don't have the patience to 'varatte' the payasam for that much time, the adi churandiyathe is just not the same
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Ranjini sorry for the delayed response
they don't have that now.. they had those when they were binaca, and restarted them for a short while.. hehe, so long as your mouth watered, it is okay! i am sure you will be making all these dishes, though with different names
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