i woke up with nithyasree screaming on the radio-yeah ,mom knows that surely wakes me up . that or worse, aatthify her steaming morning kaapi next to a sound asleep me! she was listening to the maid's lengthy petition for an evening off. like every other maid, she has an alcoholic husband. she wanted to go to this self declared god-man at the temple who promised to cure the problem for a few hundred rupees( be assured these notes are also going to find their way to the bottle). and mom, was fighting a losing battle, asking her not to waste her hard earned money on such stupid endeavors- "naa sollraennu thappa nenaikkadha, indha madhri kuri sollradhu, parihaaram pannradhhu idhellaam poi, pitthalattam. summa josiyamnu kaasa kariyaakkadha".

it's not uncommon a scene, considering that the alcoholic hasn't changed a bit in the last ten years. and our maid missed no god man all these years! i went to the kitchen and switched off the radio, knowing that mom's not going to realize it at all... the maid left in a few minutes and mom was yet to realize the absence of the blare.

i was having breakfast when mom came out of the bedroom, all dressed and said she was taking my horoscope to the astrologer to ask him if it was advisable for me to take up the G.R.E!! i gave her a look that said it all... and sang "naal en seiyum, vinaidhaan en seiyyum, naadi vandha kol en seiyyum, kodum koottren seiyum..." on top of my voice, behind the morning paper. another failed effort... even the alcoholic had greater chances of quitting but try talking to mom about forgetting josiyam n jadakam- you'll then know the meaning of the word impossible!

i locked the doors after mom left, came back to the table and was thinking of these hopeless people! cha, nenju porukkudhillaiyae indha nilai ketta manidharai kandu... was the next song in line! sigh, forget it, i told myself and came back to the newspaper to finish reading my star forecast for the day!