Uh oh..! AMMA!

The clear afternoon sky was darkening with grey clouds. This called for a cup of hot tea - not that the scorching sun would frown upon one. But drizzly days and hot tea are a never-ending love affair. Maha's unusually silent house tempted her even more. The aroma of ginger and cinnamon soon filled the house. Cradling the hot tumbler in her palm, she opened her embroidery kit. She traced an elaborate floral pattern on a blouse and carefully threaded the needle.

"Amma!!", called her son. With a sigh, she put down the blouse and went to his room. He sleepily rubbed his eyes as he got down from the bed. "I need to go to the bathroom."

Of course he did. The smell of tea often did that to her children. She never understood it's magic. Once he was relieved, he sat to join her at her work space. "Don't you want to go back to sleep?" 

"Nah. What are you doing?"

"Stitching"

"I smell cardamom."

"Yes. It's in my tea."

"Can I have some Ma?"

"No. Tea is not for children."

They passed a moment in silence. 

"Do you want some milk?", Maha asked. 

"No. I'll go and play with my train."

"Great idea. Have fun."

With a satisfied hum, Maha relished the first sip of her tea. She had barely completed one petal when her other son called out.

"Amma? AMMA? Where are you? Come quickly."

She hastily set her things down and rushed to his room. She stepped around a box of water colours, a small cup of dirty coloured water, and a few scattered sheets with strokes and dabs of orange shapes and purple squiggles (his favourite colours). He was near tears. 

"What happened? Are you hurt?"

"Lizard! Over there Ma." He mumbled pointing to a cupboard. Maha heaved a sigh of relief. 

"It's all right. The lizard went away. And it won't come back."

"Look at this! The lizard caused it. This picture is not good anymore." He burst out, upset. He had attempted to paint a tiger, at least that was what it looked like to her. And now it had a large smudge which, honestly, in no way caused any further detriment to the picture.

Since his masterpiece was ruined, Maha pointed at one of the sheets and raved over the supposed skinny colourful lion that she could make out from his scribbles. His outburst brought his brother into the room. "That's a funny looking dog you've drawn."

"You need to get your eyes tested. It's an amazing lion. Amma said so."

"How on earth is that a lion?"

Maha intervened, "That's enough."

The boys started making faces at each other. At this point there was only one way to salvage her 'quiet' afternoon. 

"How about some Kungfu Panda time?", she suggested. The boys scrambled onto the couch, their squabble immediately forgotten.

Maha's now tepid tea had lost its appeal. With an exasperated sigh, she picked up her embroidery. She completed one flower successfully. As she scrutinised her handiwork, a loud rumbling sound echoed around the house. The boys screamed half excited, half afraid at the boom of thunder. 

"Amma! Look! Rain!"

"Rain, rain come today", the little one sang with gusto. 

Rain started falling down in big droplets. The boys instantly abandoned Po and Master Shifu to rush outside to play in the rain. Maha chased after them hoping to drag them back in. They danced out of her reach and opened their mouths wide, catching a few drops of rain.

"That's enough. Get inside. Now!", ordered Maha. She needn't have bothered as they both shot inside as lightning flashed followed by another clap of thunder. Laughing at their own antics, they ran right into the little table where Maha's pitiable tumbler of half drunk tea stood. 

CRASH!!

The tea tipped over from the tumbler, narrowly missing the blouse. The tumbler spun on the floor dispensing the liquid haphazardly. The blouse didn't escape completely untouched - a few drops of tea embedded themselves in and around the floral design.

"Uh oh!!"."Sorry Amma", cried two little voices. 

Oblivious to all the commotion, entered the father. 

"Isn't it a lovely evening. What amazing weather!"

He continued, soaking in the petrichor, "You know what! This calls for some hot fritters and tea."

He was met with a disbelieving silence. He slowly took in his surroundings and noticed the rolling tumbler and the pool of spilt tea. "Oh so you started without me?"

Maha stared hard at him until he realised that it was clearly the wrong thing to say. 

"Which one of..? Both? Okay I'll go talk to them."

Maha's quiet solitary afternoon plan was officially flung out of the window from the top floor of a skyscraper. She resigned herself to that fact. But she couldn't see why they could not have an enjoyable noisy family evening snack amidst the mild thunderstorm. Mild thunderstorm was a rather apt description of her afternoon. 

"Okay. Time for a new plan!", she muttered to herself. With fresh optimism, she put together a small stack of grilled cheese sandwiches and four mugs of hot chocolate. The four of them sat by the window and played an excruciatingly long game of Ludo squabbling over the rules and roll of the die. 

"Amma! Tonight we will clear the kitchen with Appa's help."

"Yes. You do your stitching for some time Ma."

Maha gratefully acknowledged the offer and reopened her embroidery kit. She drew new designs to mask the tea stains. Maha finished two flowers before she heard an "Uh oh" and another "Ammmaaa!".

"Now what?", she called out. 

She strode into the kitchen to meet three sheepish faces. 

"There might be some ghee in the milk", her husband mumbled.

With a bemused smile, Maha shook her head. It was an unbelievable day. 

With half the ingredients ready, the solution was nearly obvious. It had been a while since they had had a special dessert, especially carrot halwa.

But she had to check if anything else couldn't be done. So, she picked up her phone and dialled, "Hello, Amma?"