I have a love-hate relationship with this relative. Now that I think of it, it is actually a total hate-hate relationship. He visited me first time when I was 6 months old, not that I remember,  and pulled my cheeks and nose hard enough to turn them into a shade just shying away from deep red.  The photo tucked away neatly in a family album shows a love smothered me in the tight grip of that relative and mom sitting proudly with both of us.  I ask mom what was the need of that photo and she says, “What! I was just registering a milestone.” Really, mom?

Then again when I was around one and half, prancing in my pink princess frocks and muddy hands safely placed in my mouth to taste the earthy wonder, he was given the duty to pick me up and pack me under the sheets. I kicked him a thousand times for interrupting my ‘me’ time (yes, I loved the ‘me’ time even then) with the tasty mud and the toy kitchen in which I was preparing a wonderful meal with all things brown.  Now you know why I hate him so much.

The visits continued and I still dread them as much.

Every time he comes, he embraces me into this tight hug even till today that it chokes me. A big tap on head to make it heavy for days at end, a big squeeze on the nose, yes even now, that he makes it difficult to breathe.  As I am typing this, I am again in the grip of this pesky relative that is making me doing all things unproductive.

Now what is that, you may ask?

Like lying down on the bed with half droopy eyes and tossing away germs with loud sneezes, soiled tissues and creating a permanent dent on my side of the otherwise good looking mattress. I am also doing the most unproductive thing of the century which is gargling where you stand in front of a basin and willingly burn your throat because this time the love of the viral relative decided to create a big disruption in my throat too.  I am smothered with love and I hate it.

Don’t worry husband, I will sanitize the keyboard before you start scampering it. The tea is very nice btw.

So what was I saying? Ah! So as I sip away the ginger tea and wait for the total blackout as you can see my grey cells have also started giving up on me, let me hit the post button and allow you to regale in my misery. And I see many of you doing that already.  Till then, I am singing just one song, “Atithi tum kab jaoge…”

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