When Everyone Roasts

 

My wife and I go for long walks through a silent and serene park to talk and unwind from the day that has been. We have promised not to take our phones on these walks as she especially treasures the peace and calm of the surroundings. Overall it is therapeutic and helps us cope with the times.

That day the walk started a bit hurriedly, perhaps a desperate attempt by me to escape one of those bad days at work. In my hurry, I forgot to leave my phone behind so the promise shifted to not using it.  As we strolled through the calming silence of the park, I complained about life and people. My dear wife, who loves me to bits and wouldn't let any emotional harm ever come to me, ran her hand gently through my hair and said, "You know they are wrong". Felt better.

Just then I got a group video call from my parents and sister. Now we are a regular Bengali family whose cacophony would overpower the calm of the surroundings that we were in. I wanted to generally complain about the day to them as well and have them tell me how I was right. My wife read my expression and asked, "Why don't you pick up?". I knew that tone, the one that means the exact opposite of what she says. She wanted to savor the peace of her walk but I picked up the call anyways. It wasn't smart of me, more so because she knew that I knew what she really meant.

Damage already being done, I went ahead talking about the bad day to my family. I think my dad had just read a sanskrit shlok (read saying) that he wanted to use on someone and he excitedly recited:
Kaak cheshta, Bako Dhyanam, Shwan Nindra Tathaiwa Cha
Alpahari, Brahmachaari, Vidyarthi Panch lakshnam

In short it means, to be a good student of the game I need to have the perseverance of a crow; concentration of a crane (the bird); be a light sleeper like a dog; have light meals; and give up worldly life. While I was struggling to figure the relevance of this, my mom chipped in that I did look like a mix of a crow and crane and my sister swore that she saw more of a dog which made the saying apt for me. I was being roasted without consent! Infuriated, I decided to cut my losses and the call, and went back to complaining to my dear wife.

Hoping that the lost tranquility owing to the call hadn't pissed her off, I thought to deftly side step the tension of the broken "no-phones" promise and the peace disturbed. Very quickly, I released a barrage of complaints about my family, as to how they roasted me and made me feel like a fool. My dear wife, who loves me to bits and wouldn't let any emotional harm ever come to me, ran her hand gently through my hair and curtly replied, "You know they are right". Felt roasted.