November 10, 2015.

Happy Deepavali, Aji wished Ajoba oil massaging arthritic legs of Aji. Aji today is not into idli, sambhar, Mysore pak...in pain...nothing enthused her when her mobile acted: Happy Deepavali, cheeped Shreya; humlog aarahe hain (we are coming); Happy Deepavali chirped Chiyu; Aji, sambhar aur vada, haan. Bye. Aji danced her arthritic legs to Ajoba beats on a wooden table. Aji and Ajoba were tanked up, satisfied cars out of a petrol pump; Dakhi mobiled again demanding an avial to go with onion sambhar. Shreya, Chiyu and Dakhi in new clothes and home made farals; for Aji and Ajoba, a crowd most welcome. Ajoba took down purchase orders for vegetables, pappadams and coconuts from Raju, three packets of Peppy, sweet buns....funds deficit will not matter.... udhar... Aji, bathed and dressed, left for Vajeera Ganesh temple, being Tuesday and Deepawali...pleading the best for Shreya and Chiyu. Ajoba made home presentable with Madhavi going to her village...charged Aji's mobile for clicks.....Shreya and Chiyu have a routine...playing Concentration, at the swings in the housing society, youtube Salman Khan dances for Chiyu, making up stories for Shreya and long chats ...Shreya delights ...of her school, teachers, friends....Orhan Pamuk in Other Colours, Essays and a Story, has a two page essay To Be Happy. Orhan Pamuk pieces with daughter Ruya are Amul icecreams, never stopping with one stick or one lick or one read. For Ajoba, Shreya and Chiyu become Ruya; he is no Pamuk. Doing something again and again, Shreya and Chiyu at home, ..yes, when they become women, Ajoba may not be ...but today's moment  ..for Ajoba...Desires in Buddhist freeze/in no breeze/Life today in an/ Shreya, Chiyu unfreeze. Pamuk writes: ' When I go to the seaside with my four-year-old daughter, Ruya, I become the happiest man in the world. What does the happiest man in the world want most? He wants, of course, to carry on being the happiest man in the world. This is why he knows how important it is to do the same things every time .....On the way back, while I'm pulling Ruya's wagon, we're both tired and happy. We're thinking about life, and about the sea behind us, and we don't say a word.' Door bell Deepavali crackles; in pop Shreya and Chiyu into Aji hugs...