Family Short Story – She has habit of doing this
Photo credit: Alvimann from morguefile.com
My sister-in-law is visiting us in Bangalore the first time after her marriage. She got married just three months before. She is a lovely person, but has annoying habit of complaining about everything whether it’s her health or her in-law’s. She is also facing same problem which every girl face after marriage like adjustment, work pressure.
“Please prepare litti chokha chatni and fried rice for her and her husband. They will love it “My mother-in-law told me after I came from office at 7:15 pm. Without wasting a single second in taking a rest or having tea, I started preparing dinner.
“Give us the boil Potato and eggplant, we remove it’s skin so that it will help you” MIL said and along with that she started chatting with her daughter.
“My mother-in-law make no sense, she made me prepare dinner after 8 pm and also to wash utensils after that as she doesn’t want to leave dirty utensils in the night. She is not even cleans the kitchen slab. Saying it is part of washing utensils. How does it matter if cleans them in the morning! ”
“You should tell her that you are tired after making food for her guest. Your physique is not that good that you can prepare food just on order. At least she should offer to clean the kitchen. Leave utensils as it is. Nothing is going to harm.”
I smiled inside the kitchen. I remember, after my marriage, once her friends visited our house. They come to meet me. When I came back from office, they had given me warm welcome. I was so delighted by their response. So my MIL asks me to prepare something for them. I went inside kitchen and staring preparing tea and suddenly she commented on me “We never let anyone to go without having food and they also brought so many gifts for you. Prepare shahi paneer, Daal tadka , rice and fulka for them, also prepare halwa because they should know how good you are in cooking”
I got shocked. I already had a tiring day from office and now I have to prepare dinner for eight members. I told her we will call them for dinner on weekend and now I will prepare tea and some snacks. She saw me angrily and said “You are married now. And in my house no daughter-in-law can decline to prepare dinner. I have prepared dinner for 50 people in one go. Didn’t your mother told you about respecting to elder. You are telling as if we are asking you to prepare chatney , papad, one dry mixed veg, salad, buttermilk along with food which you should prepare ideally. But I am not asking for it”
It is not required not to say that I had prepared all asked and “not asked” item. It took me 2.5 hour and by the time I serve dinner, I got remark, you are very slow in work. Don’t leave kitchen and utensils dirty for night. We don’t do leave kitchen dirty at night in our home. Even after doing “required work “ until midnight, I got remark in the morning that you have not washed that utensils properly. There is no shine in your cleaned utensils. Even after five years of marriage and one toddler, I can’t leave utensils dirty at night even if I am tired.
Now I am thinking how people change. It took me till 12 again to complete all my household work. When I am about to retire for day, MIL ask me to speak with nutan(Sister in law). “Bhabhi is not just about making food. You should ask her about married life and give advice about that. You have till now not accepted us as your family. You are here just for your husband. “
I don’t mind to talking to her. In fact I want to but that by that time I was so tired, I just want to sleep but need not to say again,we had chat till 2 am. I already got request to prepare sandwich,Shahi paneer, rajma, chapatti and one sweet fortomm and I have to prepare all this before going to office at 9 am. Nutan offer to make rajma in morning, which I accepted as she doesn’t have any work for next day. But that night, god is also angry with me. There was no electricity whole night. Because of this, my toddler not able to sleep properly. I had patted him whole night or kept in my arms. I hardly slept in night. He was able to sleep properly in morning when electricity came.
So when start with preparing lunch and breakfast at 6 AM I dropped the idea of shahi paneer as it need mixer. I was afraid that sound will wake him up. When I am half done, MIL ask me “why you are not preparing rajma and shahipaneer”
I explained her the reason but she responded snappily “You use mixer and cooker every day, then no one will wake up. How could now it happen today. And why you are asking nutan to prepare rajma. We never even ask our sister-in-law to even pick glass of water.”
“ Ma, I told bhabhi that I will prepare rajma as she is working till so late night. She must be tried. At least this much I can help. “
“You don’t worry. She will manage alone. She has habit of doing this much work”.
Need not say I had prepared rajma along with rice too.
–END–
