Only her clothes do.Her fixed smile and exaggerated accent give me a headache."Grow up Susheel,my profession needs me to be so."she says, before rushing off to the gym ,to maintain her hour glass figure.
Do all mothers try to look sixteen? or is something wrong with mine?My father is a navy man.However he spends more time on music.He belongs to a band that calls itself THE PHONIES.[What a name].They play on invitation ,at parties and small gatherings.
The band wears the most outlandish clothes and prances around ,guitars and drums in tow.I hate to see grown up men act like Micheal Jackson's siblings."Papa your music sounds good even without that ponytail and that sequined shirt." "My tail rocks man.watch us practice,appreciate your papa boy."with that he went back to his drumming.
as if these two jokers were not enough,I have another problem.I suffer from a condition of the mouth called PYORRHEA.My mouth has such a bad odour,that it is very difficult to talk to people.Bacteria grows on tiny food particles stuck between my teeth or on my gums,much faster than in most others.This causes the foul smell.Papa tells people "Hi, I have produced a SKUNK."
Mama has a litany of repeats."brush your teeth often.use a mouth wash.chew on a mouth fresheners.eat your guavas.chew on your spinach."nothing helps.At school I am an average also ran,yet my friends and teachers are nice to me.
They wait for me to wear my mask,before talking to me .But I feel miserable at home as well as in school.
All this changed the moment I saw the new boy.Let me just call him Q.He walked into class with a huge hump on his back.
Q had a congenital deformity of the spine that doctors call KYPHOSIS.Every step that Q took was painful and laborious.My heart went out to his horribly disfigured creature that nature had produced.He told me that ,he had never played games as he tired easily.
Back home the two jokers decided to have dinner with me."Papa,we have a hunchback in class.
He belongs to a religious sect that does not permit him to visit a doctor.cruel isn't it?""All religion is man made,so we'll find a way out, to straighten his back "said Papa."bring him home ,on the pretext of showing your aquarium.
We will arrange for a visit to the doctor."said mama.I was starting to like my parents! Q was convinced into seeing doctors.surgery was the only option. Q was asked to eat nutritious food,increase his weight,improve his blood count and report for his operation.In the meanwhile money had to be arranged for the surgery.
Mum and her team decided to do a charity show for Q.She even found sponsors and T.V channels to project her group as angels of hope!Papa's band decided to donate all their music cheques to Q.My parents roped in all NRI friends and relatives to contribute to Q's surgery.
The D day came and went without any adverse turn of events.Q was put into body braces and given physiotherapy.He kept telling anybody and everybody,"I have no pain, I can walk comfortably."
This gave me hope that soon doctors would find a solution for my problem too. I no longer wanted to change my parents.They had hearts of gold and they loved me very much.
