Wish Fulfilled

INSPIRED PARTLY FROM MY MOTHER’s LIFE

“Save it, child, make the best use of it!”
“That’s a scratch, stitch it up, it can last,” 

These were some of the many warnings and reminders Anu had to hear throughout her childhood. Their family was a wealthy one, they were 5. Three sisters- the eldest Meera, Lakshmi and Anu, and their father and mother.

“Mum, it’s my 12th birthday. Can I get chocolates to distribute to my friends today?” Anu hopefully asks.

“Oh yes, of course,” her mother grabs a small bag wound together “There ought to be 20 in em’, would suffice right?”

Anu peered inside the bag. 20 chocolates, and not just any. They were 1 Rs. Eclairs, wrapped in their classic purple-gold sheet. At least, she got chocolates, Anu thought.

“We have to save while we can, daughter,” her father pats her back. Anu glanced at the 3 cars at their doorstep- Ford, Safari, BMW.

“Those are useful, those,” her father convinces her as he noticed her glance. “I got them through my saved money. Money doesn’t grow on trees now does it?”

At school, during arts and crafts, while the other students had the latest model paintbrushes and acrylic tubes, Anu had to handle with a plastic toothbrush and homemade pigments- 1 spoon each of the spices at home moxed with water. Turmeric for yellow, red chilli for red, and so on. “Works just as fine as those,” her mother supports her dad. 

Things were worse when puberty hit. Her parents, excusing themselves on the account of tight budget, kept preventing Anu from buying that Whisper sanitary packet from the store. “Old clothes and sarees work just as fine, maybe even better than normal sanitary napkins, dear.” Her mother would console her.

Her passion was in classical dance. The Mudras, the strokes, the poses. But that’s not what the family loved. The family loved classical music and its instruments, something that annoyed Anu.

These were the circumstances Anu’s sisters faced too, but they had never lamented nor hinted their uncomfortability. How, she wondered?

Anu had been schooled in Infinity ABC school, one of the ground-discarded schools she had ever been to. Only thing that shone in her parents eyes was low fees, 

Years passed, Anu had to bear the misogyny of her childhood through College. The parade of 'save it' chants kept echoing in her mind everytime she decided to window-shop at a Louis Vitton store. But the thought of shopping only came across her mind everytime she looked at her bag covered in stitches "Still stores everything, that's its purpose," she consoled herself. 

When she was 22, her family decided to tie the knot with Anish Mirsha, top-notch businessman. She thought she would finally let go of her chains, but the mantra seemed to continue in a different way.

"You really want this bag? I will buy it later for you, we don't need it now, it works just fine, that one," her husband would say. 

When she bore their child in her womb, she felt she wanted the best for her child. The best art supplies, the class of her passion, the best school, everything best. She thought her husband would comply at last. 

"Your school-bag can carry stuff. It works just fine, dear." She told her daughter.