All pandus were home…a long weekend in hands.. But nobody was in a mood to go out. We six were lazing over Babe’s bed entangled. Sleeping, talking, watching Friends, eating etc are going on turn by turn.
Budhuuuuuuuuuuuuuu………. Suddenly we could feel the vibes of Dadi coming upstairs..
“Stupid girls, once in a blue moon you all will be home. Why don’t you clean your rooms? Look at that basket full of dirty clothes.. If you don’t want, throw them. See what’s this, if you have finished with your hogging, why don’t you throw the wrappers out? What you have done to my home? I have given you so many cupboards, still I can see your clothes scattered around. You made this a cattle farm (else it is a heaven! Bullshit), what the hell it is!. After her higgledy piggeldy talk she asked Pandu “I want “netens” right now. You understand????”
Pandu gave her a blank look. She made an innocent face and looked at me as if she didn’t understand anything (Pig, though she does not speak Malayalam, she can very well understand it). Budhu drew a bow with her eyebrows, that’s usual when she is angry. Disney was sound asleep, didn’t hear anything and wouldn’t hear anything even if you burst a nuclear bomb right under her ears. Babes as usual with no expression was sitting like a Sadhu descended from holy Himalayas. Poor Mullu got scared; she was sitting like a rabbit after a wildfire and said, “C’mon guys, let’s clean the mess up. She is right. It’s all dirty here”. To our surprise Pandu jumped and declared her full support. “Look around, how many clothes are lying here and there. Let’s clean everything” Budhu got a shock of her life “See who’s talking. Half of them are yours only!”
I put the last piece of Lays in my mouth and showed my support “How can I help you guys?” Budhu frowned and screamed at me “First you put that empty Lays packet in the trash which you just threw under the cot”. I tried a weird smile and thought how could she notice that. Babes also got up “I’m ready”. We waited for Budhu’s approval (Only she knows what to keep where and how). Finally, she said “OK” giving a tight spank to Disney
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Mission Cleaning
The pandu battalion started the Mission Cleaning. Dadi castle seemed 1000yrs old with accumulated dust and thick cobwebs. In the drawers we even found profiles and photographs of girls who stayed there long ago. The mission resembled like ‘The Mummy’ movie. We excavated a lot many mummy remains, hieroglyphic manuscripts of CAT, CAD, JAVA, MAT and GRE and much more. I was given the role of Rick O'Connell and supposed to kill termites, cockroaches and even the bigger ruffians like rats (My childhood adventures helped me in this).
In the mayhem I forgot about the devil inside me, my sibling ‘Asthma’. I started developing symptoms in the evening like coughing and sneezing continuously. But did not take it seriously. After the mission we hogged into the hot maggi, dadi made for us as a reward.
That was the first time I got asthama in Pune. My symptoms became severe and started choking me when I was taking bath. I could not remember the medicine’s name I used to take. I went downstairs and drank warm water.
I made my bed and saw my pandu friends sleeping so peacefully after a tiresome day. I also tried to sleep but my asthma darling didn’t have any intention to leave me in peace. I did not want to wake pandus up, as I knew they all were tired. But my whole body got into an epileptic act and I lost my breath completely. I could hear asthma buddy blowing its whistle on my windpipe. My poor lungs were struggling and my eyes popped out with tears.. Ooops my body is getting cold.. oh yeah.. I cannot wait any more.. my capacity to hold breath is over.
“Panduuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu”. I tried but only air came out. Budhu got up, Disney, then Pandu, Mullu even poor Babes ran to me. I could not talk properly.. Our master brain Pandu understood my plight. She woke up dadi and helped me to make a call to family doctor. He gave me so many instructions and suggested to take inhaler if possible. Pandu called up her dad, who is a veteran in asthma. He told me to drink hot milk with turmeric powder in it. Budhu and Disney started massaging my back till I cried of pain; Mullu and Babes went down to boil milk for me. Pandu was not allowing me to move also, as she made to stick up with the instructions given. “Don’t put your neck down, breath from mouth, don’t sit next to her as you wont get Oxygen” She was going on and on. They made me drink half a litre tamarind milk that too hot. After half an hour, I felt better.. I started breathing normally. My chest pain also reduced. (What magic they did I don’t know)
I told them to go and sleep that I felt better. But I remember none of them went to their bed. That whole night they were beside me chatting. It was morning 6 o’clock, all pandus were off to sleep ... Babes came near me without waking up others asked me “are you ok?” I said “yeah” I saw her getting ready for office. She had not slept a bit even in the morning. I looked at others sleeping.. ( I am the luckiest person in the world with so many loving friends.. They are more than friends to me)
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I was upset that day thinking that I got asthma attack again. I called up my doctor. He reminded me of my allergy to dust and smoke. “Usually I have to take one- two shots of inhaler. But this time I did not have to. I asked him the reason. “What makes asthama worse is the panic you develop with the attack. If you are stressed out, you are even more vulnerable” he said. But my pandu friends made the situation easy and I was not stressed out, and yeah without medication my asthama was brought down on knees by pandus, the exceptionally smartooos!
