The confounded

In some homes, if something doesn’t work or goes wrong, it is immediately attended to. People who live in such homes lead peaceful, stress-free lives. Then, there are homes where people let things slide until there is total chaos. This is Gometi’s house.

Take, for example, bulbs. Suppose one of the bulbs is fused, no one will bother to change it. The husband and wife will make a half-hearted attempt but never get down to it. “There are three other bulbs in the room. Nothing to get into a flap about,” they would say. So the family manages with three functional lights which are on most of the time, giving the impression that it is Diwali. Then the second, third and fourth bulbs fuse and the room is plunged into darkness.

Husband, wife and daughter rush around frantically looking for new bulbs. “I bought a whole box the other day. Where are they?”, the husband asks. “I have no idea. You are the one that put them in a handy place where it would be easy to find them”, countered the wife. “Trash can?” suggested the daughter helpfully. She received a quelling look.

The next morning, the daughter had to be dropped at school. She discovered a box of bulbs – among other things – in the back seat of the car in pristine condition.

The father buys ballpoint pens by the score. Yet, when one is needed, not one can be found. Again, everybody begins rummaging through the house – from kennel to the kitchen – but the pens prove elusive. “Perhaps the dogs chewed them up”, ventured the daughter, which wasn’t received too well. “They did chew up my homework”, the daughter said defensively. “I will buy another score and put it on my desk and nobody will touch it”, said the father severely. Then, while looking for a nail cutter, the wife discovered the pens, ensconced at the back of a drawer.

Take a thing like Maggi noodles. Not even in their wildest dreams would anyone expect it to go missing. But the unexpected always happens in that house. Because of the lockdown, the family stocked up on groceries. They bought a lot of ready-to-eat foods, among them a mega packet of Maggi noodles. “I will make it for you in a jiffy”, mother said airily. “I can make it myself, provided I can find it”, replied the daughter. A thorough search yielded no results. Father accused the mother of being disorganised whereupon mother told him to take over the running of the house. In the meantime, the daughter made herself a cheese sandwich. The next afternoon, while making lunch, the mother located the noodles. The packet was nestling against the rice bin!