Graduated to being a Mom

It has been long when I wrote my first and till now the last blog. And I have reasons for that. When I wrote 'A good bargain'  that was the time I conceived for the first time. Rather when I visited Surajkund Mela I was pregnant, though I was unaware about it.

I got so busy in my pregnancy and raising my baby that I didn't get anytime to come back to this page, though I tried several times. Unlike many girls, I enjoyed the 10 months or as docs say 40 weeks of my pregnancy thoroughly. Thanks to my loving and caring husband , my colleagues at my work-place (an English news channel) and my family.

I went to work through out the 10 months until my mother warned me 11 days before my due date (17th Nov 2008) that I might deliver in office only.

And finally I went on my official maternity leave. But staying at home and waiting for my bundle of joy was getting on my nerves. But we had no choice. Every morning we use to wake up thinking, " ki shayad aaj pain start ho jaye" (imagine a pain which we wanted to kick off). But every day passed in hope and anxiety. And finally on my due date I visited my doc and asked her to induce pains and get the baby delivered. The attempt failed and after injecting some gel she asked us to wait for another 24 hrs. And yes how can I forget that, a day before this the would-be dad went on to buy new clothes for himself as he wanted to welcome the baby adorning new outfits. Just imagine, I would be in some hospital gown with stains when I would first hold my child and he in brand new outfits...wow!! ( I found it cute, though).

That night was never ending and sleepless. Still nothing happened. In the morning we got up and as my doc has asked us to do, I got admitted in a fancy hospital ,Spring Meadows, East of Kailash. (maternity expenses covered under corporate health-policy ;) )

I put on that red and white gown and he was, of course wearing his new bright red coloured swet-shirt. In between,  the pain was induced , my baby was so happy inside, not willing to come out and see us.
The pain kept on growing, every three second there was a new wave of excruciating pain. I was labouring like hell...my gosh! But no regrets I myself opted for it as I wanted to feel the pain that my mom and millions of mothers have felt in the past and would be going through in future. I didn't want to miss that experience of a lifetime and also I din't know whether I would go for a second one or not.

 It was six in the evening and I heard the doctor say , 'it' has not dilated much and will take time. In between my howling I heard her telling the hospital staff to prepare a room for her as this baby is not coming anytime before the mid-night. I yelled and asked her to go for a c-section but she refused for my good. All this while he was always there by my side looking more worried and confused.

After all the negotiations it was decided to go for an epidural /painless delivery, yes by now I had experienced the pain of birth-giving . And finally at 6: 27pm on 18th November, my darling little princess weighing 2.8 pounds came to this world. The child specialist there showed her face to me and said its a baby girl. And the moment I saw her all my miseries vanished. I just wanted the doc to hurry up with her procedures so that I can go out and touch her, cuddle her, feel her.

In next 20 minutes I was out of the OT and I saw a big smile on his face. He enquired if I was ok. I asked him , are you happy and he smiled back. My mom and all my in-laws were present there.As soon as I reached my bed I inquired about her, " kahan hai woh use lekar aao na mere paas".  He rushed to the nursery and brought her to me. Meanwhile, I was told when she came out of the OT and was handed over to her father her eyes were wide open and she was looking at a bulb hanging over.

The moment I held her, touched her I was overwhelmed with joy and tears start rolling out of my eyes. I was a mother now. And the first biggest lesson of my life which she taught me was the worth of my parents. My love and respect for them increased manifolds.

And now I understood the meaning of that one sentence my mother has told me many a times. " jab tu maa banegi tujhe tab samajh aayega". And she was very right in saying so!

With this began the journey of my motherhood. Today my Divi is three and a half and like every mother my life revolves around her. Loads of love and blessings.

A Good Bargain!!!

Bargaining--- some enjoy it, many find it demeaning. But for me, bargaining is fun—if I can manage a deal on big brand it makes my day. And no shopping spree is worth its moolah without an argument with the shopkeeper. Be it looking for fake brands in the bylanes of Janpath or my recent conquest at the Surajkund Mela, I just can't help myself. I have to get every penny's worth.

The moment I reached the Surajkund Mela, I knew I had already swiped my ATM card.

But what was more exciting was that it was a virgin territory for me. I had been to the place once. In those days, it was merely a monument with a water body that solely depended on rain to get into action.


But now life has changed. There is the mela, and a famous one at that! This means long queues, tickets and of course people – loads of them.


Now being a journalist, how can I buy an entry ticket? Isn't my card – and that too nothing less than my "TV PRESS" card -- enough to get me in anywhere and everywhere? I had decided that tickets are not for me. They are for the 'masses'.
So, while I stuck in my shoes defying rules, my friends Archana and gang suffered the long queue and the ticket ritual.


At the entry, I flaunted my card to the security guard in the typical 'I am a TV journalist style.' Thanks to that 'style', he barely comprehended what the card was all about. Another guard, who seemed to be his 'senior', shouted, "Echcuse (excuse) me, Madam, zara card dikhaiye (please show me the card ).I was offended. How dare he stop a TV journalist? No, am not the one to give up. I yelled back, "Why should I show it to you again, isn't once enough? What do you think I have come here to show you my card a hundred times?" After vomiting out my journalistic ego, I showed him the card again and walked in – fine if he wants to see it again, be my guest.


My friends did not approve of this at all. Archana accused the entire species of journalists of being rude, egoistic, self obsessed, looking down upon "commoners" (I liked this one, which means we are 'special').She even went to the extent of saying "It really requires courage to go out with people like you and only such people can opt for this career." This was difficult to take. But you see I forgive friends.


Finally, we were in. There was yellow, red, orange, blue…. The place was beautiful enough to let me forget the ticket and the guard – even Archana's rude remarks! Our initial strategy was simple: .Ask the price, look at each other and say "expensive "and switch to the next stall. After doing this for a while, we made a joint statement that everything was just too expensive.


To be honest, it is difficult to resist a place like this. So we gave in eventually and plunged into our main agenda… shopppping. Our first bargain was a mat woven with colourful threads.


While Archana bought it for floor.The journalist in me decided to be 'creative' and use it on the wall. You see, we are different, after all. Even as we were busy shopping, a thought was running through my mind, "How do I prove to Archana that it is this very attitude that keeps us journalists going."


I got my chance at designer Jagpreet Chawla's stall who deals in pottery and glass murals. I asked him, " Kya yahan par photo keench le, bhaisahab?"(Shall I click some photos here) and in an arrogant tone he let me. After clicking a few shots, Mr. Chawla was annoyed. He said, "Madam bahut photu- shotu kheench liya, ab chaliye yahan se, bahut ho gaya"(madam no more photography please make a move).


This is exactly what I was yearning for. I took a quick glance and without wasting a single moment I told her this is what happens if journalists start seeking permissions. We will never get a story or the information that these prim-and –propah varieties love to watch and read. I had made my point.


Not a bad bargain, I thought, while hanging up my new wall carpet.

(Thanks NH)