"What shall I prepare for the lunch Satish?"
"Your wish"
"Today you are working from home. So I thought, why not have a lunch together?"
"No Sudha. I will be on a conference call from 1 pm till 3 pm. Please don't wait for me"
"Oh okay"
Sudha left for the kitchen with no mood to cook. After a few minutes, sensing the earthy smell of the soil, she rushed to the terrace. It's her favorite aroma. She pulled out the clothes from the rope. They were not yet dry. The intensity of the rain increased, and she stood below the extended eaves. It reminded her of the days when she and Satish would sit in the same place in the evenings during the monsoon, watch the rain, enjoying their coffee and fritters.
"Sudha, burning smell in the kitchen! Where are you?", Satish screamed.
----------------------------------------------
In the evening, Ananya came home, drenched in the rain.
"Oh! Such an unexpected showers today, it's not even a rainy season", the visibly irritated Ananya said.
"Global warming dear! Carry an umbrella daily", Aditya giggled.
"Yes it's because of people like you who use their cell phones 24×7", she angrily replied taking out her shoes.
"No, its because of people like you who use their computer all the time", he mocked.
"Stop it both of you. Ananya, let me get a towel and dry your hairs first", said the worried Sudha.
"It's OK mom, I will use hair dryer", she left for her room staring at him.
When she didn't turn up for coffee, Sudha went to her room with a cup of hot coffee and biscuits.
"What are you doing? I thought you would come for a coffee", Sudha got surprised seeing her using the computer.
"Mom, science quiz finals in 3 days! Those grade 8 students did very well in the semi finals. We being grade 9, should beat them in the finals. We will win no mom?", she asked.
"Definitely dear", Sudha planted a kiss on her forehead and left the room.
Even Satish preferred having coffee a little later as he had lunch very late in the noon. Sudha sat in the balcony with her cup of coffee and a book. As usual some kids were playing on the road. She loves watching them. She wondered, how time flies! A few years ago, even her children were playing on the same road. Now both are in their teens!
----–-----------–--------------------------
"Come for dinner Aditya, Ananya, Satish", Sudha called them for the third time.
"Mom, I will have it later. I'm on cal", shouted Aditya from his room.
"What about you Ananya?", she asked restlessly.
"Mom I'm downloading some quiz materials. I will have it in the room, but later", Ananya replied.
"So I am the only jobless at home?", She murmured.
"Why are you getting irritated? Let them have it later. I will join you now", Satish patted her back.
His words couldn't convince her. It was the scenario everyday. Children were becoming busy day by day, getting engaged in their own world. "May be after some years, they don't need parents!" She thought.
-------–-----------------------------------
It was 12.45 am, there was a spark in the plug socket in Aditya's room and he screamed, out of panic. Sudha and Satish got up. It was pitch dark everywhere in the house and even outside. They immediately rushed to his room, switching on the phone torch. There was a fume in the socket and Aditya's phone charger had got burnt. Luckily, he didn't get harmed. He was in a shock, and Sudha consoled him. Satish turned off the switch. There was a power cut. Surpringly, UPS was also not on. Satish checked UPS in the torch light, it was switched off. Sudha suggested he should check in the morning. Ananya was in deep sleep but got up as she realized the fan was off. By the time she came out, they were going to sleep. Clueless, she looked at them. Sudha told her about the incident and assured, everything was fine. Ananya asked Sudha to sleep in her room as her bed light was off and she didn't want to sleep alone in the dark.
--------------------------------------------
"Dad, quiz finals in 2 days. Hope UPS gets fixed. Otherwise, I can't prepare in this power cut problem", said Ananya before going to the school.
"Its due to high voltage I guess. Either the motherboard or the entire circuit is crashed inside UPS. Call the service center and get it fixed Sudha. Ananya's bed light is also gone. Luckily refrigerator has a voltage stabilizer. Aditya's charger also got burnt due to the voltage fluctuations, he had slept without tuning off the switch, his phone also could have gone if it was connected and worse could have happened if he was using it at that moment", Satish said staring at Aditya.
"I'm sorry dad. I will be more careful. Already I'm feeling guilty", he confessed.
Once Satish left for office, he continued, "Mom, please get it fixed today itself. Daily there is a load shedding for atleast 2 hours. It's horrible!", he seemed too much worried.
Once he left for the college, Sudha sat on the sofa, closed her eyes for a few seconds and took a deep breath. She was disturbed by the incident which happened on the previous night. Suddenly, she remembered something and opened her eyes, quickly went to check the calendar for confirmation. She smiled and prayed the god.
–------------------------------------------
"UPS is not yet fixed. The repair technician is coming tomorrow", Sudha announced.
"What? How to sleep if the power goes in the night mom? This is ridiculous, couldn't he come today?", Aditya frowned.
Ananya kept her mouth wide open in shock. She cursed the repair person. Though Satish didn't say anything, he was visibly upset. He decided to charge his laptop so that the load shedding doesn't hinder his work. He tried charging the emergency light as well, but it was not working, it was not used for a long time. Sudha was not surprised with the reactions.
In the night, there was a power cut around 8 pm as usual. Everyone was prepared for it as there was no choice. After a very long time, candles came out of the store room. While children were in their rooms, Satish was busy with his laptop. But he noticed, Sudha carried something in a big cloth bag, took a torch, went upstairs and opened the terrace door. When she didn't come back after a while, Satish being curious, went to check. After sometime, Ananya and Aditya heard a ripple of laughter. It was from the terrace. With no clue, they together went to the terrace and got surprised. There was a carpet on which their parents were sitting, there was food, cutleries and not to forget, the moon light! It was a full moon day, and Sudha had arranged for a moonlight dinner!
"Wow! Moonlight dinner? I love it mom. Thank you so much", Ananya hugged Sudha.
"Really it's been a very long time mom. I don't even remember when we had it the last time", the excited Aditya said.
"Yes, that's why your mom planned it. She didn't even tell me. She had made all the arrangements herself. A pleasant surprise for us. Thank you again Sudha", Satish smiled.
"And did you all notice? The moon light looks brighter as there is no street light", Sudha asked. Everyone agreed with her. Due to the previous day's rain the weather was cool as well. The ambience brightened up everyone's mood. Sudha continued, "You can also notice, not every house in the street has an UPS. Everyone is dealing with the problem of power cuts. In fact, in our country, many villages still don't have a power supply. Even we got an UPS only 3 years back when Aditya was in grade 10. Does anyone remember what we were doing earlier during the power cuts?"
Satish laughed, "we happily managed with candles".
"Mom, bhaiyya and I would feel happy that we got break from our studies. I remember all of us sitting around the candle and talking, you telling us stories, playing antakshari and many more memories", recalled Ananya.
"We did homeworks also in the candle light", added Aditya. Suddenly, Ananya remembered the most beautiful thing they did during the power cuts. "The candlelight dinners mom!", She widened her eyes with excitement.
"Yes, I'm glad you still remember that! But now we all are used to the luxury of the uninterrupted power supply. That's why everyone panicked imagining spending a few hours without the power and also the thought of not being able to use the cellphones and computers if power goes off for a longtime. I agree, UPS has become the basic need nowadays, nothing wrong in using it. But we can survive without that. Earlier we used to talk for hours sitting in the candlelight, had dinners, managed to do all the work without any fuss. But now you have become slaves of your gadgets. Ananya's school has a good library with latest collection of books which she can make use of in her free time for quiz preparations. Even at home, there are a lot of science books. You can access the computer and Internet only when you need more information. Aditya spends whole day with friends in the college. But still, he can even skip the dinner to speak to the same friends after coming home. Its not just about 1 or 2 days, it's happening almost everyday. Don't you think, having at least one meal per day with your family is important? And let me be specific, without carrying a phone or a laptop to the dinner table. " she paused, "And I deliberately told the repair person to come tomorrow, he was ready to come today", Sudha was talking as calmly as possible.
She continued, "I don't want to hurt anyone. But I felt it's important to talk about this"
"No mom, you are right. We are sorry", said Aditya. "Sorry mom, we will remember your words", Ananya said. Both of them hugged her. Even though Sudha didn't directly take Satish's name in front of the kids, he announced, he will not touch the laptop after coming home unless it's really needed.
"When is the next full moon? We shall invite Shaila masi's family and Suresh chachu's family as well for the moonlight dinner like earlier we used to", asked Aditya.
"And let's have a candlelight dinner tomorrow", said Ananya in excitement.
"But UPS will be fixed tomorrow", reminded Satish.
"It's OK dad. We will switch off UPS and if there is no power cut, we will take out the main fuse", Aditya winked.
Everyone burst into laughter. Children insisted Sudha to feed them. As she looked up, she felt the moon was smiling at her.
---------------------------------------
"Your wish"
"Today you are working from home. So I thought, why not have a lunch together?"
"No Sudha. I will be on a conference call from 1 pm till 3 pm. Please don't wait for me"
"Oh okay"
Sudha left for the kitchen with no mood to cook. After a few minutes, sensing the earthy smell of the soil, she rushed to the terrace. It's her favorite aroma. She pulled out the clothes from the rope. They were not yet dry. The intensity of the rain increased, and she stood below the extended eaves. It reminded her of the days when she and Satish would sit in the same place in the evenings during the monsoon, watch the rain, enjoying their coffee and fritters.
"Sudha, burning smell in the kitchen! Where are you?", Satish screamed.
----------------------------------------------
In the evening, Ananya came home, drenched in the rain.
"Oh! Such an unexpected showers today, it's not even a rainy season", the visibly irritated Ananya said.
"Global warming dear! Carry an umbrella daily", Aditya giggled.
"Yes it's because of people like you who use their cell phones 24×7", she angrily replied taking out her shoes.
"No, its because of people like you who use their computer all the time", he mocked.
"It's OK mom, I will use hair dryer", she left for her room staring at him.
When she didn't turn up for coffee, Sudha went to her room with a cup of hot coffee and biscuits.
"What are you doing? I thought you would come for a coffee", Sudha got surprised seeing her using the computer.
"Mom, science quiz finals in 3 days! Those grade 8 students did very well in the semi finals. We being grade 9, should beat them in the finals. We will win no mom?", she asked.
"Definitely dear", Sudha planted a kiss on her forehead and left the room.
Even Satish preferred having coffee a little later as he had lunch very late in the noon. Sudha sat in the balcony with her cup of coffee and a book. As usual some kids were playing on the road. She loves watching them. She wondered, how time flies! A few years ago, even her children were playing on the same road. Now both are in their teens!
----–-----------–--------------------------
"Come for dinner Aditya, Ananya, Satish", Sudha called them for the third time.
"Mom, I will have it later. I'm on cal", shouted Aditya from his room.
"What about you Ananya?", she asked restlessly.
"Mom I'm downloading some quiz materials. I will have it in the room, but later", Ananya replied.
"So I am the only jobless at home?", She murmured.
"Why are you getting irritated? Let them have it later. I will join you now", Satish patted her back.
-------–-----------------------------------
It was 12.45 am, there was a spark in the plug socket in Aditya's room and he screamed, out of panic. Sudha and Satish got up. It was pitch dark everywhere in the house and even outside. They immediately rushed to his room, switching on the phone torch. There was a fume in the socket and Aditya's phone charger had got burnt. Luckily, he didn't get harmed. He was in a shock, and Sudha consoled him. Satish turned off the switch. There was a power cut. Surpringly, UPS was also not on. Satish checked UPS in the torch light, it was switched off. Sudha suggested he should check in the morning. Ananya was in deep sleep but got up as she realized the fan was off. By the time she came out, they were going to sleep. Clueless, she looked at them. Sudha told her about the incident and assured, everything was fine. Ananya asked Sudha to sleep in her room as her bed light was off and she didn't want to sleep alone in the dark.
--------------------------------------------
"Dad, quiz finals in 2 days. Hope UPS gets fixed. Otherwise, I can't prepare in this power cut problem", said Ananya before going to the school.
"Its due to high voltage I guess. Either the motherboard or the entire circuit is crashed inside UPS. Call the service center and get it fixed Sudha. Ananya's bed light is also gone. Luckily refrigerator has a voltage stabilizer. Aditya's charger also got burnt due to the voltage fluctuations, he had slept without tuning off the switch, his phone also could have gone if it was connected and worse could have happened if he was using it at that moment", Satish said staring at Aditya.
Once Satish left for office, he continued, "Mom, please get it fixed today itself. Daily there is a load shedding for atleast 2 hours. It's horrible!", he seemed too much worried.
Once he left for the college, Sudha sat on the sofa, closed her eyes for a few seconds and took a deep breath. She was disturbed by the incident which happened on the previous night. Suddenly, she remembered something and opened her eyes, quickly went to check the calendar for confirmation. She smiled and prayed the god.
–------------------------------------------
"UPS is not yet fixed. The repair technician is coming tomorrow", Sudha announced.
"What? How to sleep if the power goes in the night mom? This is ridiculous, couldn't he come today?", Aditya frowned.
Ananya kept her mouth wide open in shock. She cursed the repair person. Though Satish didn't say anything, he was visibly upset. He decided to charge his laptop so that the load shedding doesn't hinder his work. He tried charging the emergency light as well, but it was not working, it was not used for a long time. Sudha was not surprised with the reactions.
In the night, there was a power cut around 8 pm as usual. Everyone was prepared for it as there was no choice. After a very long time, candles came out of the store room. While children were in their rooms, Satish was busy with his laptop. But he noticed, Sudha carried something in a big cloth bag, took a torch, went upstairs and opened the terrace door. When she didn't come back after a while, Satish being curious, went to check. After sometime, Ananya and Aditya heard a ripple of laughter. It was from the terrace. With no clue, they together went to the terrace and got surprised. There was a carpet on which their parents were sitting, there was food, cutleries and not to forget, the moon light! It was a full moon day, and Sudha had arranged for a moonlight dinner!
"Really it's been a very long time mom. I don't even remember when we had it the last time", the excited Aditya said.
"Yes, that's why your mom planned it. She didn't even tell me. She had made all the arrangements herself. A pleasant surprise for us. Thank you again Sudha", Satish smiled.
"And did you all notice? The moon light looks brighter as there is no street light", Sudha asked. Everyone agreed with her. Due to the previous day's rain the weather was cool as well. The ambience brightened up everyone's mood. Sudha continued, "You can also notice, not every house in the street has an UPS. Everyone is dealing with the problem of power cuts. In fact, in our country, many villages still don't have a power supply. Even we got an UPS only 3 years back when Aditya was in grade 10. Does anyone remember what we were doing earlier during the power cuts?"
Satish laughed, "we happily managed with candles".
"Mom, bhaiyya and I would feel happy that we got break from our studies. I remember all of us sitting around the candle and talking, you telling us stories, playing antakshari and many more memories", recalled Ananya.
"We did homeworks also in the candle light", added Aditya. Suddenly, Ananya remembered the most beautiful thing they did during the power cuts. "The candlelight dinners mom!", She widened her eyes with excitement.
"Yes, I'm glad you still remember that! But now we all are used to the luxury of the uninterrupted power supply. That's why everyone panicked imagining spending a few hours without the power and also the thought of not being able to use the cellphones and computers if power goes off for a longtime. I agree, UPS has become the basic need nowadays, nothing wrong in using it. But we can survive without that. Earlier we used to talk for hours sitting in the candlelight, had dinners, managed to do all the work without any fuss. But now you have become slaves of your gadgets. Ananya's school has a good library with latest collection of books which she can make use of in her free time for quiz preparations. Even at home, there are a lot of science books. You can access the computer and Internet only when you need more information. Aditya spends whole day with friends in the college. But still, he can even skip the dinner to speak to the same friends after coming home. Its not just about 1 or 2 days, it's happening almost everyday. Don't you think, having at least one meal per day with your family is important? And let me be specific, without carrying a phone or a laptop to the dinner table. " she paused, "And I deliberately told the repair person to come tomorrow, he was ready to come today", Sudha was talking as calmly as possible.
"No mom, you are right. We are sorry", said Aditya. "Sorry mom, we will remember your words", Ananya said. Both of them hugged her. Even though Sudha didn't directly take Satish's name in front of the kids, he announced, he will not touch the laptop after coming home unless it's really needed.
"When is the next full moon? We shall invite Shaila masi's family and Suresh chachu's family as well for the moonlight dinner like earlier we used to", asked Aditya.
"And let's have a candlelight dinner tomorrow", said Ananya in excitement.
"But UPS will be fixed tomorrow", reminded Satish.
"It's OK dad. We will switch off UPS and if there is no power cut, we will take out the main fuse", Aditya winked.
Everyone burst into laughter. Children insisted Sudha to feed them. As she looked up, she felt the moon was smiling at her.
---------------------------------------
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