Thursday, May 05, 2005

Of agrahaarams and my frog prince

What is all the fuss about indigenous Brahmin settlements,namely agrahaaram(s) disappearing ?

After that tiring spate of exams I caught myself enjoying Bhagyaraj's Idhu Namma Aalu,and wondering what kind of man would elicit a promise from his son-in-law forbidding him from "touching" his nubile wife?

I really enjoyed the oft-repeated ellam manidhargalum samam message.It seemed even more prounounced as I realized that my own family(not immediate,but extended) would never understand the importance of..err..."being earnest".

I really wonder how my nosy father's myriad uncles and co will react if I get married out of my caste. I get such cheap thrills out of imagining their vehement faces and their fired up patriarchal egos,their mumblings and mutterings and inability to say anything directly to me or dad.Wow..I am amazed at the number of cold war versus open ridicule scenarios I can conjure up.

Just as I was cherishing this very interesting thought,I started singing some old Hindi numbers and went to do some laundry..And lo,we have a small green fella with a supine look hiding behind the detergent box.Wowie..a frog of my own?
If I kiss him,will he become a raajkumar?But in case he doesn't..won't that be a perfectly good first(yeah that's right..first) kiss gone waste?

So I said what the heck,I might as well sing for him.So I stood there wailing Hai re hai,neend nahi aaye... at the top of my voice(pining for my mard(man)...which is what they say in aamchi Mumbai).Turns out he wasn't a big fan of tha musik.He leapt up as if to say,shut up bitch,and hid behind another box.So,now I was very piqued.Hamne mehfil jamaya aur koi beech mein utthkar jaaye?(Rough translation:How can you leave in the middle of my musical effusions?)So,I got a take-out food box and decided to trap him in that and MAKE him listen to me.

Then,I found myself,dabba in hand,prodding him,gently trying to coax him into jumping into it,only to have him jump at me instead.I leaped up in dismay with a ear-splitting "aiyoooo" and banged against the tap behind me which splurged open instantly wetting my backside and my clean jeans.

Great.No prince,no connoisseur,just a wet bum.This is what happens when exams are over and one has nothing to do.

Anyway,luckily for me,that day ma's pal Guru had come over(eligible ladies:he's looking!) and after hearing my repeated rantings on how even a frog had turned me down,he rolled his eyes,grabbed a broom and a dustpan and shooed the little fella into the box.Finally!

So dripping wet and all,I sang all the way as we took him to the garden and dumped him near the bushes.He looked relieved and took off in the opposite direction.I contemplated following but then,....I could smell palak paneer.

Later on, I decided to call my vehement froggie fella kammnaati.Manorama uses that term in Samsaaram Oru Minsaaram where she wittily says "Come na come,come naati(kammanaati) GOO!"

Sorry da froggie ..for having disturbed your nap.But someday...oru naal..we will meet again.And I will win you over too.With or without a kiss.