Twin blows!

Although he was ailing, losing my father was a big blow.  Of course with time, we went back into the routine and as the pain of losing him started becoming lesser, our family had to face the second blow within a few months. My brother passed away and it was totally unexpected and came out of the blue. In times of grief, we turn towards the Almighty and ask him several questions. My foremost one was why our family was the chosen one to face such huge deathly blows within a short span of time. Though my mother, who was the most affected in the family, took it in her stride, this nagging question of why us never left me for quite a few years.

Then I slowly realized that we were not the only ones to go through such twin blows. If we look around and observe, there are lot of families who face such twin or even triple blows within a very short period. Its just that we are too immersed in our own sorrows that we don't notice others who endure more. Recently my husband's uncle who was close to the family passed away after suffering from throat cancer. Just when we thought the family had endured the worst and wished that the near ones face better times, comes the news that my aunt, his wife is suffering from breast cancer. Their children, all of them daughters,  are just in their late twenties and early thirties and are involved in setting up their own families and its sad that they have to handle such a crisis immediately after facing their father's agonizing death.  I am sure that "why us" question would be nagging them too.

With all these philosophical thoughts about twin blows and chosen ones theory, I also realize that we never appreciate when we have  success stories or double happy events which happen in quick succession in our family and never question God about why we were the chosen ones to experience such pleasures. There are millions of people in the world who suffer more than we do and just a trip to the local hospital could be a great eye opener as to how blessed we are to  lead the lives we are blessed with. 

A journey to remember

Positive side of being a freelancer and housewife is that I need not commute in peak hour traffic in a congested city like Mumbai . I always thank my stars for being in a stay at home profession every time I travelled in a public transport. Till now, I made sure that I travelled long distances only in mid afternoons when the crowds in buses or trains are manageable. Even travelling by a car can be hassling , especially during peak hours when the traffic jams seem to be endless. My sympathies always lie with women who have to manage all the chores at home and then rush to the offices and  are also harassed in the trains and buses.

But recently, in fact, for the first time in my eight year stay at Mumbai, I travelled by train in peak office hour.It was indeed an interesting experience and I realized women were actually enjoying their journey . The women's compartment in Mumbai local trains is a scene of bustling activity and interesting too to watch how women utilize their journey time. There were women and girls of different age groups involved in various activities. College girls were busy texting their friends and taking out their make-up kit from their bags and busy combing their hair, applying a dab of lipstick or touching up their eyes. Middle aged women were happy catching up with the previous days happenings with their friends while munching and sharing their breakfast. There was a group of old age women who looked like vegetable vendors who sat on the floor of the train in a big circle and were busy sharing business secrets along with their quick bite of vada-pav.
Best thing about the entire compartment was that I didn't see a single unhappy or harassed face despite rushing from home, travelling in a congested train and having a long day to toil. they were actually happy to see the faces of their friends who were sailing in the same life boat and I could realize that this journey time was the best time of their hard days and they all looked forward to it.
By the time my station arrived I even went through a pang of jealousy that I didn't have such a good circle of friends who I could meet every day and share my thoughts and food at the same time.  It was an eye-opening journey for me with regard to the life of women in this city.