When you get a taste of your own medicine
Let me confess two things at the outset. One, I have a loving and doting husband. Two, I love something more than my husband and that is my kitchen. I rule my kingdom of spices like the Queen of Sheba. Well, until one ill-fated day during the lockdown.
My husband often complains about my unnatural affair with my domain. He goes to the extent of saying that I have an obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) about the kitchen. I tend to disagree with the hypothesis though I agree that I hardly allow anyone inside my territory, let alone work in it. The other day, my daughter forwarded a meme that said, “My mother does not let me work in the kitchen.” This was followed by two options: a) She loves me very much; and b) She loves her kitchen more than me. No prizes for guessing which one bore the tick mark!
With the lockdown herding us all inside our homes and with no domestic help available, my husband readily accepted to share the burden of household chores. I tried my level best to keep him out of the kitchen by assigning him other errands such as making the beds and dusting the house. Everything was hunky-dory until that doomed day. I was doing the dishes at the sink when he stepped in and tried to help. I declined his offer and politely told him to do something else. His persistence made me insecure. It seemed as if an unnatural heir to the throne was trying to usurp my kingdom! I told him to leave the kitchen at once.
By afternoon, I had forgotten about the incident and after completing the work; I looked forward to the afternoon cuppa that he prepares for both of us (this is one privilege I bestow upon him). He was sitting in a corner and there was no sign of tea. I went up to him and asked if we were not having the afternoon cup. It is said that revenge is a dish best served cold. It was his sweet moment of retribution. He replied, “Oh! I thought it was your kitchen and I’m not supposed to work in there.”
I cajoled him and sought forgiveness for my rude behaviour earlier in the day. He gave in after much persuasion and sweet talk but not without making some proclamations. He took a Bhishm pratigya (an eternal vow) not to assist me in any household work until I ask him to and that too politely. Well, that was easy and I agreed. What took my breath away was the other announcement. I was asked to write a statement of surrender and that too, 10 times! He asked me to write the following statement in Hindi, “Ye kitchen meri akeli ki nahi hai. Ye hum dono ki hai (This kitchen does not belong to me alone. It belongs to both of us)”.
As a teacher, I must have often handed out such punishment to my students but didn’t realise the impact it had till that day when I got a taste of my own medicine. To be honest, it wasn’t the punishment that bothered me but the thought of sharing the kitchen which still haunts me!
IT IS SAID THAT REVENGE IS A DISH BEST SERVED COLD. IT WAS HIS SWEET MOMENT OF RETRIBUTION