He and I....

We  fight about the menu, we fight about the car
We fight, therefore we are.
He likes order in the garden, I like order in my file
But, together, we've travelled many a mile!
Numbers speak to him, words speak to me
Disparity - is this the key?
He says aqua and I say green
Over colours too we vent spleen,
Our daughter is like him, our son, like me
Together we are one happy family!!

Neighbours all!!

Statutory Warning : This piece is only part truth; mostly fiction. It was inspired by some people who lived next door; but that's it.

Neighbours, they come in different shapes and sizes
Most are nice but there are some surprises;
Like the one who had a temper so foul
I secretly  referred to him as "The Ghoul"
Or the ones who borrowed everything from milk to channa
And then made off with my world space antenna!
One neighbour's kid was a complete vandal
While her husband's behaviour caused many a scandal..
But by far the most interesting were the family of eight
who held their family meetings by the common gate
All private matters were discussed threadbare
We passersby blushed, but did they care?
What about the nice guys, aren't they worth a mention?
Sure, but it's the bad ones who grab all the attention.....

Snapshots of an enchanted childhood

There are a few snapshots in life which remain etched in memory, much like still photos stuck in an album. Here's one of my enduring memories...
Mrs. Rodrigues, my fifth standard class teacher, steamrollering into class in a bright green frock -those were days when we did not use the term "dress"- embellished with equally loud yellow and pink flowers. Throw in matching green watch straps and sandals and you have captured the essence of Mrs. Rodrigues! This dress, apart from giving any self respecting parrot a severe inferiority complex, also jolted us into complete consciousness in about 20 seconds. Not a bad ploy, considering she handled English, history and geography for the class.

Constant cacophony

Our house is small
About five rooms in all,
Room one reverberates to desi pop
Room two resonates with the latest hip hop
From room three emanates cell phone chatter
In room four vessels drop with a loud clatter
"Shhhh" admonishes the cooker from room five
Did I tell you - on noise we thrive!
Our family is small
Four of us in all...
Of course we love peace and quiet
But it's just not part of our regular diet!

Morning madness...

The morning started off with a job to do
Move a cot into Ma's place and move out two.
So I hired two men and a van
And moved on with the rest of my plan.
What's the problem you ask,to whine there's no reason,
Wait a bit, you haven't met problem person!
Ma's out of town and her caretaker is in charge
A spinster at fifty five she's wary of men at large.
All didn't go as planned - the men arrived before I
As I drove in I heard a blood curdling cry!
I bounded up the stairs and saw the men quaking with fear
As another scream erupted from caretaker dear.
I called ahead I said in an irritated tone,
Surely you didn't think I could do this on my own.
But I didn't see you, she countered, only these baddies
After all I am ladies!