Bappa’s Work-from-Home Day
Bappa is a permanent fixture in my life. His presence isn’t confined to a corner or the entrance; he’s woven into every fabric of our home, into every small and big thing that surrounds me. He’s my source of peace in the chaos, my guide when I’m lost. He’s seen it all—my highs, my lows—and through it all, he remains my constant faith.
So, this year, instead of just welcoming Bappa into our home as a guest during Ganesh festival, I thought, why not invite him to swap roles with me for a day? I warned Bappa that this wouldn’t be a typical day of just going to the office and later unwinding with Netflix and chill, but instead, he would be stepping into the whirlwind of my daily life. But with his characteristic enthusiasm, Bappa accepted the challenge.
Here’s what happened when the ultimate Vighnaharta swapped roles with me for a day...
When he showed up at our house in the morning, he was already behind schedule. My kids nearly missed their bus because Bappa had a little hiccup: he got caught up in the gym with his full-body routine and ended up being late for preparing breakfast and packing their lunch boxes.
Realizing it was a work-from-home day, Bappa thought it would be a breeze. He pulled out my laptop and scanned my schedule—three meetings lined up. Dressed in a formal shirt on top and pajamas on the bottom, Bappa was ready to take on the day. With his multiple arms, he sprang into action: one hand sifted through the flood of unread emails, another jotted down notes from the first Zoom call, and a third tried to fix the perpetually poor Wi-Fi connection. While the fourth hand was struggling to free up space in my cloud storage, his fifth hand brewed a much-needed cup of coffee. Exhausted by the multitasking, Bappa began craving a power nap!
After work, just as Bappa was about to settle into the couch for a well-deserved Rom-Com binge, his smartwatch buzzed with an urgent reminder. It was the Hindi class test—my daughter needed serious preparation! Without missing a beat, Bappa sprang into action. He dashed out the door and raced to the basketball court, where he scooped up my daughter and delivered a crash course in ‘shabdarths,’ with all the patience he could muster. On the way back, he also took a detour to check off ‘buy vegetables’ from the to-do list I’d handed him earlier.
Bappa juggled between teaching one daughter her Hindi lessons and crafting Ganpati idols with the other, all while keeping an eye on the rajma that needed a little more cooking. While he was taking my dog for an evening walk, Bappa also attended a call from my mother, who needed help planning her kitty party. As he sat down to dinner—drained and cheerful at the same time—he was eager to know how everyone’s day went. Seeing everyone smile and enjoy the meal he cooked brought him the utmost satisfaction of the day.
‘Just a few more checkboxes left,’ Bappa realized as the day wound down. He swiftly changed my daughters into their pajamas, tucked them in, and began reading a bedtime story about extraordinary women. But before he could flip to the third page, my little daughter’s head was bobbing up and down on his tummy—Bappa had already fallen asleep, snoring softly!
As I arrived the next morning, I found a note beside a coffee mug: ‘Thanks for the adventure. It’s time for me to return to my usual duties. Remember, even in the chaos of life, there’s always time to pause and find peace.'
Until next time—Bappa.
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