Katie’s Mystery

She was welcomed home with a cry of joy! The round little eyes seem to have sparkled when the entire family greeted her as soon as she stepped in. She was truly delighted and was literally flying high!

Katie, that’s what the family decided to name her. Dad, mom and the two little ones in the family were all excited to welcome the third child into the family! She was a born charmer and carried herself with an air of power that held her together. Katie was such an active creature that she was seen all around the house. One moment she’ll be seen hiding behind the curtains in the hall; a few moments later she’ll be hanging besides the kitchen door. She loved to float around and enjoyed the attention everyone bestowed on her.

She was the precious jewel of the family who had this uncanny ability to make everyone filled with happiness! All went well till one day when the little boy of the family noticed something strange about Katie’s legs. They seemed to be losing its strength. The girl appeared to be losing weight from one of her legs! They tried every possible cure that can be given in the world to her. But soon, things went from bad to worse. Katie’s second leg also started appearing malnourished.

None of the medicines seem to have an effect on the little girl. Sadly enough in another few days the mysterious illness got into her arms as well, first affecting her left hand and later the right. They all prayed for a miracle which is all what was left to do for them.

Katie survived for a few more days. With each passing day her body became weaker and weaker. On that fateful day as everyone in the family gathered for an evening prayer, they could see Katie with droopy eyes and a very fragile body looking at the picture of God as if she was receiving her last rites. Soon she slowly descended and let herself lie near the prayer mat.

The little ones in the family tried to lift her up and place her on their lap. All what they heard was a gasp. It was the last bit of air that was left in the helium balloon in the shape of a girl. Ten days back dad was holding the thread while bringing her home from the carnival ground.

RIP Katie.

A dad’s dilemma!

It was bedtime again the other day. Our son had slept off already and our four year old girl was on the bed, but as usual resisting sleep big time with her condition yet to be met that Amma (mom) needs to cuddle and be with her till she sleeps!

Here is exactly how the conversation went between mom (M) and daughter (D):

M: Why don’t you sleep dear? Amma needs to finish something.

D: No! I need you here next to me.

M: Wait, let me ask Appa (Dad) to come and join you.

D: No, I want you.

M: Oh, so you don’t want to cuddle Appa and sleep?

D: No, I want to sleep only with you.

M: Shall we then send Appa away?

D: What?! Send Appa away? No!

M: Why not?

D: Of course not! Because he is our Appa!

My heart was filled with all the love this sweet little world could offer! But soon came the remaining part of her statement.

D: Who will then drive us around?

Dedicated to all the loving dads around the world!

The Second Chance

‘Ayyappanum Koshiyum’ is a recent Malayalam movie that got released starring Prithviraj Sukumaran and Biju Menon. Soon after the movie got released, a controversy started doing rounds about one of the scenes in the movie. This is the scene where Koshi, the character played by Prithviraj slaps his wife.

Later when a journalist questioned Prithvi on him going back on an earlier promise he made, of never acting in scenes that are outrageous to a woman, he made a very interesting remark. He mentioned that this was the only way to factually represent a problem that exists in our society today even when the parties involved are highly educated. What was even more fascinating was the statement that followed. He said ‘Kannamma’ the character who is the wife of ‘Ayyappan’ hailing from a lesser educated background would’ve walked out of the marriage if it ever happened to her.

You might have guessed where I’m heading to, with this narration. If the guess is that I’ll be touching upon the importance of giving due respect to the women, then guess again! It isn’t that the topic is less important. On the contrary it is one of the most critical topics to be discussed in any forum that talks about relationships. But enough and more has been said about it. Hence I want to focus on the possibility of a second chance each one is capable of giving the other in a relationship.

How often have you ended up in a situation where you misbehaved with your partner to an extent that you made him or her feel that it is not worth living with you anymore? The affected party in such situations have two options ahead. The easier option will be to decide that your partner is not worth to share your life with even for another day. Quite a few take this decision and find the ‘easy way out’ of the relationship. But I really want to talk about the others who take up the more challenging option and lead themselves as well as their partner to a more meaningful life in future.

Option two is where you give a second chance to the one who inflicted pain in you. Definitions can be very relative when it comes to severity of mistakes committed to you by your partner. A slap on a face could be an unpardonable offence for someone whereas for others it is pardonable once if they see hope at the end of the tunnel.

Most of the couples in their early years of relationship are truly in a state of ignorance about each other. You will really know someone only when you start sharing the same roof. This state of ignorance, especially during the initial days, leads to behaviours that may easily be misunderstood as non-compatibility by both parties. This is where a second chance stands crucial. It is absolutely essential to realize that these initial misunderstandings, if amicably resolved on time, will lead to something very beautiful.

Still doubtful? Ask this question to any of your loved ones who had been married for a few years. During the initial years of marriage were there incidents that made them believe that they had to call it quits? Ask them if they could even imagine taking the first option and if so what would’ve happened? I am pretty sure the answer will be all the beautiful moments they experienced together as a couple till date happened only because either of them gave a second chance to the other.

Giving a second chance to your partner isn’t a bad thing but it is equally important that the recipient learns to respect this decision. It requires mutual effort to ensure that the second chance is utilized in its right spirit and more importantly understand that there isn’t a third chance!

May you have the grace to provide a second chance to a loved one, if required and the ability to accept the fact that you are now given an opportunity to make things better!