Things desi parents said and my reaction to them!

I have always laughed out really loud in my head, when I hear myself say the same things to my son that my Mom would say to me. It is like karma or maybe like the Justin Timberlake song, “what goes around comes around”.

I sometimes wonder if we could write a book on what parents say to their kids but would it be a best seller, well may be it will be. What if I had to write a book about what brown parents said to their kids and it included replies that brown kids always wanted to give their kids but were never really able to? Well that would be a best seller for sure!! I can already see brown kids screaming in unison and giving me a hi-five for penning down their thoughts.

So, I actually gather courage and pen down the most popular dialogues used in the history and present of parenting!!

Maine tumhare liye itna kuch kiya hain – Yes, I will forever be in debt for everything my parents did for me but wait why do we use it as a tool to emotionally blackmail our children. Well as a parent, I can say it works its magic but as a child, it’s so not cool to use it all the time.

Main tumhari naukrani hu kya – No mamma no, you aren’t and I hope no one ever treats their parent that way.This is something we always hear parents say, well mommies and daddies, make your children do the work that is age appropriate for them and that way, we won’t have to do all their work.

Roz Roz Bahar Khana Kyu Khana hain, ghar pe aake khao chup chap – Well only if home cooked meals tasted as delicious as the restaurant meals, and then by all means we would eat at home every day. The dilemma of what to cook and what has been cooked will always surround us, I guess.

Meri kabhi mat suno – Ok, so if we listened to you in the first go how would we err and if we didn’t err who would we come back to for solutions. So it’s like a interconnected chain of events which we kids are not willing to break.

Do jhaapad padenge toh sab samajh mein aa jayega – Well, this one is hilarious because that number two is used as an adjective against slaps, kicks, punches, food, time etcetera. The numeric don’t move beyond two and the statement is used as a cure against amnesia, lack of hunger and denial.

Yeh size do aur saal chalega – Dear mummiji and papaji, I do not want to use the same fashion and pattern for two years. The designs will change in another six months and with Amazon and flipkart going on sale atleast thrice a year, probably everyone will be wearing it. So for once, can we buy my actual size and you can cut costs some other day.

Aag laga de uss phone ko – I do understand the frustration when I see these 20 year olds constantly investing their time and energy into that small gadget they have in their hand but dear parents, if your non financially stable children set their phones on fire, then only you would have to bear the expense of another phone.

Paise ped pe thodi ugte hain – This is so commonly spoken about that if I spoke anymore it would take away the essence of something I dream off every day. I only wish every day that money grew on trees and how!

Humara zamana Vs your zamana – Time and tide wait for none, said someone, someday. So your zamana is gone and it is our zamana and their zamana will go too and become someone else’s zamana.It is a vicious circle you see.

I now end it with my favorite quote that I strongly believe in, “jab tumhare bache honge, tab tum samjhoge”. Well yes, you will only understand it,if you experience it. Only a parent will understand under parent’s trauma and only a child will understand another child’s saga. I have been a child and I am a parent now. Whose side am I on.. well only time will say.