A Sick Day....

It was a sick day for us Mishra Family. Since morning we were all sneezing, coughing, sniffing, blowing, and gurgling  together. And ofcourse have had a handkerchief pressed to our noses. Recently, I remember I had been bragging a lot about not been caught with a cold for over two years. And now, I am down with a cold and an irritable red nose.

In the morning, my father made us all herbal tea (with ginger, cloves, sunthi, tulsi leaves, honey, lemon- and he added milk too- so, its milky herbal tea) for our sore throats and persistent cold. Ah! It was nice. Hot drink is such a welcome and comforting thing when you are sneezing perpetually.

Then began the planning, for the day- i.e what to have for lunch and dinner, and my mother was not in a mood and health to prepare anything. We agreed on ‘Chicken Biryani’ from the road side kiosk nearby for lunch, (yummmm!!!)and I suggestedto make soup in the evening. That would be my job as I like chopping and can manage simple cooking.

Cherry (my sis) went to school, she had an exam to take, and father went to the office. So, it was only mother and me at home. We had nothing to do, just wanted to stay in bed. TV was giving us a headache. So, I found an old CD from my shelf- Lata Mangeshkar’s songs- and played it in my laptop (for two hours). Mama likes old songs, and for me too, such a change, once in a while is welcome. So we just listened to the melodious tunes lying there on the bed. And mama reminisced her childhood days- the ‘radio days’ as she prefers to call it. She talked about how Sunday mornings were the most awaited as their favorite songs would be aired in the channel; how she loved the radio, it being their only entertainment ; how she never had a single boring day while we can’t live a single day without TV, laptop and cell phone; how TV came to the household when she was in college (+2); and how though she was fascinated at first, she soon missed the radio.

Mama and I don’t talk too much, this was one of those occassional days when we talk talk and talk. And it was the time I found myself really relaxing, letting time pass by, as otherwise I’m always doing something- reading a novel, watching a sitcom( especially korean), surfing the net, talking over the phone, writing or typing or blah blah blah… Ah! May be this is the first sick day for which I’m really thankful.