Amma Calls

Amma has this strange habit of speaking so loud when it is a long distance call, Reena recalled. When she was a kid, she wondered why Amma would repeat, hello hello hello whenever she was talking to their relatives living in America. Amma would often pepper her Hindi with few words of English thrown in here and there. She would say, "aur weather kaisa hey?" "bachho kee education kaisee chal rahi hey?", stressing on 'weather' and 'education' while inquiring about both.

Amma still has this habit, Reena smiled as she heard Amma say Hello Hello Hello, in one breath when she picked up the phone. "Yes Amma", she chimed. And Amma asked her about the weather, and she asked after Yatharth. " He should not go out for that long", she complained to Reena. " It is okay Amma, I don't feel lonely, really." " Sacchi (Honestly) ? But you never would eat your meals alone, without someone by your side.... "I switch the TV on Amma, and it is like a room filled with people" And Amma laughed.

"Aur bolo (tell me what's new)". Reena wondered had Amma already guessed, there was something new after all. New beyond the high rises, beyond the places she had visited, the malls, the currency exchange and how costly even dhaniya patti (corriander) leaves were.

"Amma", we are going to be a family soon. And then she burst into tears. "Reena, beta (child) arrey yeh toh wonderful news hey (this is a wonderful news), she said stressing on wonderful.

Reena laughed, her mom had picked another new word of English. Then Amma was all over giving her advices, telling her that she will come over after a few months. Till then Reena was to eat well. Healthy food. No more pizza, or the baby will stick in your tummy with all that cheese and refuse to buzz when it is time, she jested. And beta, have lots of white food, and you will have a gora gora chora ( fair son). Hmmm, why not gori gori chori (fair daughter??), Reena grumbled.

But Amma was not listening, she was listing out food items Reena should eat " teen baar doodh, skip nahi karna beta" ( milk thrice a day, and don't skip it child), and eat chhena (cottage cheese made out of fresh milk at home by adding lemon juice to hot milk and straining the curdled mass), and lot of yogurt and chitki (coconut). If you have the white part of the coconut, you will have a fair child, that's what they say, Amma sighed. Reena was not very fair, and Amma always blamed herself for not eating white things when she was carrying Reena.

Yes Amma will do, Reena said. And then in a while she hung up. There was a list to make while going for grocery today. She took out her pad from the drawer beneath the telephone table and jotted down..

coconut
milk
yogurt (nature)
milk chococate
...
...