Waiting for you to be back in action:Offices, Malls, Mithai shops

It’s almost two months and as you reach close to the winning line the target shifts ahead. It’s like a sales target in the corporate world which always acts as a mirage. The moment you reach close to it, the management changes it. The poor sales guys keep running for the revised  target hoping that one day they will achieve it. But then it’s difficult to catch a mirage. While you are waiting desperately to breathe freedom, the offices and the shopping complexes, the mithai shops and the bars are waiting for you to be back.

It’s not only the four walls of the bedroom but also your spouse who had enough of you. At home your spouse is breathing down your neck while your neck is waiting for your boss’s breath. The office chair, the conference room, the cafeteria are all waiting for you. On the other hand, the utensils in the kitchen, the shelves in the bedroom, the mop standing in the corner of the rear backyard are all waiting for the maid to come back.

So, let’s see who all are waiting for you in days of lockdown.

The office is desperately waiting for you

It’s the office that is on top of the list when it comes to who all are waiting for you. Your office for the first time is feeling threatened by Zoom. It has heard about a new “Souten” or a “Keep” in life called WFH (Work from home). There is already a grapevine that people will hardly visit the office once normalcy returns and a new renaissance of “Work from home” culture will start.

The office keeps wondering why the chairs are lying vacant on the floors. Why the video conferencing in the conference room has not been switched on for 2 months? The aroma of tea and coffee dispensed from the cafe coffee day machines is missing in the corridors. On the other hand, the punch machine at the office entrance has not X-rayed any finger since the lockdown started.

The tea stalls are empty

The tea stalls outside the office compound also known as “de-stress joints” or “bitching joints” wear a deserted look. The flame of the gas stove has died down and the burners are getting rusted. The inverted glasses on the wooden rack are missing the warmth of your hand and waiting for you. The cigarette pack has not lost a single family member and is waiting for adoption.

Boss wants to see you in office

The Boss sitting at home has waited long enough to lay his bare hands on you. He had enough of these virtual meetings and wants a real one with you “face to face”. The reasons given by you and your team on Zoom meetings sound very hollow. He has a strong feeling that the targets for 12 months starting this fiscal can easily be met in 9 months provided his team gets more serious.

He has got a new idea! If he can discover an RNA virus similar to the coronavirus, he can easily meet the organisation objectives. The only difference that this RNA stands for “Rigorous aNd Aggressive”. Even if a single member of his team gets infected, it will spread like fire amongst the rest and the results will be spectacular.

Ma’am is waiting for the maids

The meshed threads of the mop are waiting to get free from the interlocks. The broom has not lost a single wooden straw bristle. They keep standing in one corner of the house waiting for their real owner to come home. The lady of the house has often used them in the lockdown period but doesn’t know how to exploit their real talent.

The doorbell which also works as an alarm in the morning has not rung for 2 months and keeps quiet. Though it may sound alarming to some, the doorbell has played a silent role in the functioning of the house. It’s the one who wakes the entire house and puts them into action for the rest of the day. It forewarns them about any arriving guest. However this time it failed to forewarn them about the entry of a virus which silently disrupted everybody’s life.  She fears that soon she may become numb and lose her sweet voice. She has just one message for the maid and the guests: I am waiting for you.

The Kitchen is working in silent mode

The kitchen walls have not heard the daily non-stop instructions being passed on from ma’am to the maid. The walls fear that either they have become deaf or been stonewalled by ma’am. The last noise of banging of utensils which the walls heard was on 22^nd March. After that, the noise from the banging of utensils the maid used to create every morning has completely died down.

The shelves of the showcase in living and dining rooms, the tabletops, the study table in the bedroom have got a layer of dust. Ma’am is surprised at the entry of foreign particles in the form of dust every day. She has tried her best to keep the family stay safe from foreign particles. She now realises the importance of the maid in maintaining hygiene at home. So, dear maids please come back as soon as possible. We are waiting for you.

Bikanerwala, Haldirams, Gopala, Agarwal Sweet corner are desperate to see you

The Gulab Jamun, Rasgulla, Rasmalai, Kalakand, and many more are all waiting for you. It’s ages since you tasted that juicy Rasgulla and the dark browned skinned Gulab Jamun. Spouses of diabetic husbands are happy! After all, what they couldn’t achieve in ages, the virus has done it for them in two months. But husbands will not take it anymore.

The Liquor shops have opened and people have seen the results. The government is having second thoughts on whether to open the sweet shops as they expect double the crowd. How can you keep people away from sweets? The spongy Rasgulla, the sugar syrup dipped Gulab Jamun, the mouth-melting Kalakand, and the Rasmalai swimming in a pool of Rabri (condensed milk) just want to conquer your taste buds.

Waiting for you behind the locked cabin

Before the lockdown the sweets used to present their glamorous best from the window glass of the refrigerated coolers. The Rasgulla was always full of himself and never believed in presenting his best side. He thought that the plumper he looks the more people will like him. People also enjoyed squeezing a plumpish rasgulla. The Gulab Jamun has survived racial discrimination against blacks. In an era when people have rejected fairness creams, he is loved for his dark complexion.

The danedaar Kalakand has a complex personality. She comes from a family of barfi that has a smooth texture and melts in mouth. On the other hand, Kalakand’s life is not smooth. She has an uneven surface and a not-so-smooth texture. To overcome the complex, Kalakand dresses up with green textured pistachio. And still, people love her. The Rasmalai has a fair complexion but was always conscious of her round personality. People used to comment on her figure and to avoid it she used to hide behind a thick layer of rabri.

For the first time, all these sweet personalities are feeling lost in the wilderness, locked down in a glass enclosure. They are waiting for you so that you can come and stalk them and finally settle with any one of them. They will happily marry you with a promise to bring all the sweetness back in your life.

You can read more such stories on my blog. Click on the link below:

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