The Family

THE FAMILY!

Rohan came to Aruna auntie’s house for his mid-term break. By the time he reached home with ammamma and amma it was 7:00 pm. Ammamma, Amma and Rohan headed straight to the kitchen to see if dinner was ready. But Aruna auntie was not in the kitchen. She was found talking on the mobile phone in her bed room. Ammamma asked her if dinner was ready. After all she had given instructions on the phone about dinner- the menu and the recipe for each item on the menu. Aruna auntie was surprised “I thought the menu was for dinner(?)”. She was reminded that it was already an hour passed Rohan’s dinner time at school and he was ‘starving’. Aruna auntie says “Oh! OK” and starts preparing the dinner with amma and ammamma’s help.

 As soon as the dinner is ready Rohan piles up 6-7 chapattis (or was it 9-10) on his plate and sits down at the table to eat. Toward the end of the meal Rohan is seen squirming and making faces.

Amma: Rohan, do you want to use the loo? (that is the term used by the family for the wash room)

Rohan: Um… Yep!

He gets up and heads towards the loo. But returns to the kitchen within seconds.

Amma: What?

Rohan: There is no toilet paper in the loo.

Ammamma: Wash with water!

Aruna: Oh! I can give you kitchen towel or paper serviette.

Rohan is a bit dazed with the attention he has created. In the middle of this Suresh Uncle walks into the room to get a snack from the fridge and says “You have really shot up since I saw you last, Rohan”.

Rohan: Um…. Yes! I’ll use the kitchen towels

He grabs what Aruna auntie is holding out and disappears for a while. He reappears in the kitchen looking happier. Ammamma, Amma and Aruna auntie are still eating their dinner at the table.

Ammamma: Did you wash?

Aruna: Did you wash?

Rohan: No, I used the kitchen towel

Aruna: Did you wash?

Rohan: No, I used the kitchen towel.

Amma: Aruna auntie means your hands, Rohan.

Rohan holds up his hands which are obviously wet.

Ammamma: With soap?

Rohan: Yes

Aruna auntie: Which soap? Did you find the hand soap?

Rohan: Yes, the push-push one. (Accompanied with hand motion to imply he used the hand wash soap from the dispenser)

Ammamma: Do you want to finish up the dinner?

Rohan: Can I not? I am kind of full.

You would think kids in the family will get a complex the amount of talk which goes on about what happens in the loo. But the adventures (or misadventures) in the loo is discussed very openly in the family. It all can be traced to GG who when she was alive could be heard confiding to her son “my bowels have not moved today”.

This was followed by Suna auntie who would shout out “I want to use the loo first” as the car entered the garage after the family outing to the church, dinner out or just about any outing.

Announcements like ‘I want to do the big job’ or ‘I want to download’ or just plain ‘I want to shit’ is heard commonly in the middle of family games like Pictionary/dumb charades.

Even post adventure comments like ‘it looked like a flower/train’ (from children) to ‘I had to use soap’ is heard.

But with Rohan don’t forget to ask ‘have you flushed?’ Cos after all the questioning about his use of the loo Amma went to use the loo and found he had not flushed!!