Can Love Be Judged?

2

I was brushing my teeth when I heard my mom calling out my name, “Aarav, the breakfast is ready, come and have it before it goes stale”.

“Coming” I shouted back. I took a quick bath and changed into a maroon shirt and brown pants. Cleaning my spectacles with a handkerchief I entered the dining room and slid in one of the chairs. Dad was reading his newspaper having already finished his breakfast just like he always did. The table was loaded with food. There were bread and butter in one plate; another had fried potato and cheese. A third plate was loaded with fruit salad and orange and pomegranate juices besides in paper canisters to drink it all down with. It had been 15 years and nothing had changed. Mom was still as efficient as I had ever seen anyone with breakfast. She entered the room gracefully with a steaming hot plate of poha and placed it right in front of me and what she said next was another of our morning ritual we went through with most days.

“Why haven’t you combed your hair yet?”

I never combed my hair, never really cared about it. If mom would pester I would run my hands through them once or twice and that would be it.

“Because I like them as they are”, I said “And moreover it’s a waste of time, trying to set them in the right place by staring into the mirror, craning your neck in an uncomfortable position when one can easily do without all that nuisance”

Mom tilted her head and leaned on the chair in front of her.

“Don’t they keep a check on your uniform and hair at the college?”

“It’s a college mom”, I said eating a spoonful of poha and following it by some orange juice. It was delicious. “I’m not in school anymore, they don’t have a uniform and they know better than to be spending crucial time checking hairstyles and uniforms of students”

“Huh sweetie, I have no idea how low the standards of education nowadays have deteriorated”, mom said disapprovingly “but when we used to study there was not one excuse which was spared. If a student wasn’t properly dressed he or she had to suffer throughout the whole session. They were made to run around in the grounds of our college while we all studied and when the professor was done teaching only then were they permitted in.”

“Well mom in our college they have annual sports day so we don’t need to accommodate sports in every day punishments”, I said teasingly.

“Of course son, your athletic body is the sole result of your annual sports days, isn’t it?” mom teased me back.

I do have a belly, not a very huge one but significant enough for my college friends to mock me all the time.

“I’m afraid not mommy, it is the result of my genes and I’m proud to say I got them from you” I said grinning.

She rolled her eyes and laughed. I finished my breakfast and got up, picked up my shoes and sat on the sofa while dad told me some of the news headlines I wore my socks followed by the shoes. I got up just as dad finished. Picked up my bag and called out to mom, told her I was leaving. She came out from the kitchen and kissed me on the cheeks and hugged me. I checked everything once and then said bye to dad as I hustled towards the door. I opened it and walked out, closed it behind me and looked around for granny and found her in her usual armchair sitting in the garden. I went straight to her and touched her feet.

“Good morning granny” I said.

“May you live long son” she said with a smile keeping a hand on my back.

“Heading to college?” she asked

“Yes I’ve got my English debate in a week and I have to practice for it. I’m hoping to win.”

“You will son, there are very few out there with a witty head and well-spoken manner as yours” she grinned teasingly

I was confused for a moment, then I looked towards the house and realised the window to the dining room was open; granny must have heard the conversation between mom and me.

“Got to agree with that” I said smiling back.

She laughed and then hugged me. I kissed her on the cheeks and picked my bag up again.

“Any advice granddad would have for me?” I asked grinning.

She stopped smiling and looked at me with very serious eyes. Her whole demeanour underwent a sudden change. She said gravely “Never take life for granted, Aarav. It’s a river which can quench your thirst in a moment but the very next moment can drown you into an abyss so deep that you’ll no longer be able to distinguish pain from life and life from pain.”

The sudden weight in her voice caught me off guard. The words were profound yet made no sense to me. I looked at her and found conviction in her eyes. I knew that granddad was no more but I didn’t remember what had happened to him, some illness probably, I was very young when he passed away but granny clearly still hadn’t overcome the shock his death had given her. I touched her feet once more and walked towards the gate, committing each and every word she had said to memory. At the gate I turned and looked back just for a second and I thought I spotted her sliding a handkerchief back into her jacket pocket.