So I survived the Scorpion’s sting and have lived to tell the tale. The scorpion was a bit subdued with problems of her own. It only goes to show that no man is above the woe’s of life and we all have to face our own demons one by one.

I also found out another universal truth that the daughter-in-law will always remain a daughter-in-law and that her husband’s sister will always have her way. I also found that no matter what, the in-laws NEVER take the side of the daughter-in-law and she will forever remain an outsider, from the outside looking in. This is as much a fact of life as the sun rising from the East.

So with Indian families as they are, no matter how sophisticated or educated, it is the mother-in-law who calls the shots and the daughter-in-law will forever be the puppet on a string.

p.s. Picture taken off the net.

Last night I spent in my mother’s home. As I write today I am still at my mother’s home. This is not the house I grew up in. I actually never grew up in a single house – moving at least 23 times before I got married. But every house was my home because my mother was in it. My father’s job took him away from us but I don’t remember a single day my mother was away. Then when I was 21, she had an accident that left her hospitalised for 3 months but that was the only time she was away .

After I got married my parents decided to live abroad and sold each and every item that I remembered from my childhood. Even though they have returned home for the past 25 years, I still find it strange that I can’t see the pots I remember from my childhood. My mother too has stopped working and no more does she wear her starched cotton sarees that I could wipe my hands on.

But I still love to visit as often as I could to spend those few hours/days in her company. I have to shout to make myself heard, sometimes we don’t agree but I am happy to be home and have her next to me.