Group Project!!!

Today I'd like to say something before the episode starts.

Ever since I remember, motherhood had been glorified in every single way. 

Don't get me wrong. Being a mother is amazing. 

To be able to carry a life within you and bringing him/her to the world must be one of the biggest gift bestowed on women.

But fatherhood was never given as much importance as motherhood beyond the role of a provider.

Don't believe me? Open all those memes circulating in facebook and other social media on parents and you will see these common themes in every one of them.

Mother - Nurturer, the ultimate symbol of sacrifice, the all encompassing, all-knowing goddess, always there, great cook, takes care of every need of a child, knows what the child wants before they know themselves etc etc.

Father - The provider. PERIOD. 

Father earns money, father saves money to give gifts his children need or want, father is there to provide advice once they are old enough to obey.

That's it.

No wonder so many women equate their self-identity with being able to put themselves in the bottom of the priority list and so many men equate their self-identity with their salary and what they can provide to their family.

But imagine a world where men and women were equally responsible for a child.

Think of a group project you are doing with your friend. If you need to do something else, your friend will carry on. If he/she wants to get something done, you will carry on. Because the ultimate goal is to get a good grade together, not alone.

Now look at children. They are the biggest group project a husband and wife can accomplish. And the ultimate goal is to turn them into productive, law-abiding, honest, respectful individual who will in future contribute to the success and progress of the country they live in.


Then how can that group project become, with one person only supplying the material while the other is doing the entire work using those material? 

It's fine if both the parties divide their tasks to their satisfaction. But if the person supplying the material would also want to contribute to the project and the person always doing the legwork would rather go and choose the materials themselves, then they should be able to decide on their own. 

Now imagine, if someone had told you that you will have to do a particular task in a group project which you don't want to do but you know your partner wants to do, yet you are not given an option to make that decision between two of you, how would that feel like?

Now imagine, that group project is at least 18 years long with 18 hours a day work day, every day with no vacation. How would that feel like? 

Exactly!!!


This particular group project is the parents' project, their present and their collective future is at stake, so it should be their decision.

The societal norms, numerous people who think they know best, and interfering relatives should not dictate the course of their life.

That's all I'd like to say.


Episode: The episode starts with Sonakshi coming to the meeting and she gives her presentation. 

On the other end, Bhaiya is also at work having his meetings and giving his presentation.

At Dixit house, Shubh is crying.

Mami is saying: I don't know why he is crying. 

Ishwari also wonders the same.

Mami says: I think he will stop crying after hearing lullaby from grandmother. Okay, grandmother will sing you lullaby.

Then Mami in horrible tone singe lullaby saying why are you crying? You have no tension but we all are crying.

Mami and Ishwari are fretting. 

They wonder if he needs change of diaper. But the diaper is dry.

They they wonder if he is hungry. 

Ishwari says: Sonakshi fed him before she left and she said that he won't be hungry for a while and by the time he is hungry again, she will be back.

Ishwari concludes then that he must be crying for Sonakshi.

Mami says: What was the need for her to go? This tiny baby only wants love from mother all the time.

Me: Sure. The baby has to be crying for Sonakshi. He might be crying for Dad. But he can't because Daddy must have his career. So he can't miss Daddy.

He might be crying for his brothers and sister. Wait, he can't either. Brother and sister need their education.

So he has to cry for mummy because Mummy must not have any personal needs or goals in life but to be in service of her child.


Ishwari: I told her. But who listens to me? I will call her and ask her to come back.

She calls Sonakshi. But Bhaiya's phone is ringing. 

Me: That's strange. Did he bring Sonakshi's phone?



Bhaiya is busy in presentation so doesn't pick up the phone.

Then he finally hears the ring and he starts to leave.

Vicky asks: Where are you going? If you leave like this, then... Do you think I will be able to handle the presentation?

Bhaiya says: You are my family. If anyone can handle this other than me, it's you. Don't let them go without showing your style to them.

Vicky is happy. He nods confidently.

Bhaiya leaves.

Bhaiya calls Ishwari back. 

Ishwari says: Dev, you? I had called Sonakshi. But may be I dialed you by mistake. Wait. I will hang up and call Sonakshi.

Bhaiya says: No Maa, this was not a mistake. I did this setting in Sonakshi's phone. When she doesn't pick up the call, it gets diverted to me.

Ishwari: Oh...

Bhaiya: Why am I hearing sound of Shubh crying? Is he crying?

Ishwari: Yes, that's why I was calling Sonakshi. Shubh is crying so much. We are not being able to manage him.

Bhaiya: Did you check if he needs a diaper change?

Ishwari: Don't you think we have checked it already? No diaper doesn't need changing. He is crying for Sonakshi.

Bhaiya: Did you check for fever? 

Ishwari: Don't you think that we'd know if he has fever? He is crying because he had never been away from Sonakshi. So he is stressed out. You just bring Sonakshi home.

Bhaiya: Okay, I am doing something.

Ishwari hangs the phone and complains to Mami: I knew that Shubh will get stressed out without Sonakshi. But no one listens to me. Kids need mother. They don't understand naa.

Sonakshi is still giving her presentation.


They finally figure out that the baby is hot. So they remove the blanket. 

Mami says: You called Sonakshi such a long time ago. She should have come home by now.

Just then Bhaiya arrives.

They are surprised to see him.

Bhaiya says: Sonakshi was in a meeting. So I didn't disturb her. I will handle everything.

Ishwari doesn't like that.

He takes Shubh and Shubh stops crying instantly.

Me: Turns out Shubh was missing his dad and not his mom. So? Now what? Should Bhaiya now sit at home and give up his career? This is what people expect the woman, the mother to do in the name of glorified motherhood? 

A child needs a parent when he/she needs a parent. Any parent. Not specific gender parent. 


Mami is happy. She said: Jiji, I could not ever imagine that our Dev will become a lovey dovey father like this. Wow, how he was managing his son. All his good qualities came from you. Vicky had told me that Dev had an important meeting with Indo - Indo - Indonesian people and he left the meeting for Shubh. Sonakshi also should have done the same. But anyways, I just said my feelings. I am loving this side of Dev. 

Ishwari is not happy to see Dev put his child before his career. The exact thing she wants Sonakshi to do.


Me: I have a feeling that this is going to be Ishwari's new issue this season. Her gender biases are quite obvious.


Sonakshi's meeting ends. The Govt. officials are impressed. They say that they will review the proposal and call her back.

They leave.

Sourabh and Sonakshi are happy.

Sourabh says: My gut feelings are saying that this contract is ours. Just think that if we get this contract, our company will be so successful.

Sonakshi calms him down: Just let us hear their decision, then we will party.

Sourabh: Arre, party? We will throw a grand celebration. But now, Rasgullas (Bengali sweet) are must. Don't say no. I will go get it.

Sonakshi agrees. 

Sourabh runs to get them.

Sonakshi laughs.


In the school, Suhaana is having tummy ache.

Golu offers her his lunch, Poha.

Suhaana doesn't want it. 

Golu asks: Why are you pretending to have tummy upset? There are only three periods left and then school is over.

Suhaana says: I am not pretending. I really have tummy ache. 

Golu jokes: You have learned good acting after being with me.

Suhaana gets mad. She says: You are a very bad brother, Golu. I won't let you play with Shubh.

Golu also gets worried: She was just fine just now. How did she get so mad? Girls, I tell you.

Me: That's the consequences of lying. Once you are known as a lier, your truth becomes worthless as lies.


Sonakshi sees all the missed calls. She calls back Ishwari but the call seems to be out of network.

So she calls Bhaiya.

But Bhaiya disconnects the phone.

Sonakshi gets worried: Why did he disconnect the phone? Is everything all right?

Just then she gets a skype/messenger video call.

She picks up the phone and sees Shubh.

Bhaiya says from the background: Hi, Mamma. I didn't do anything. I am a good boy. I know you missed me. But why did you call Papa? I am waiting for you. So come home soon.

Sonakshi says: I was also missing you a lot and your rascal Papa as well. 

Bhaiya peeks in: What is this? Papa is getting miss you with baby?

Sonakshi asks: What are you doing at home?

Bhaiya says: I was missing Shubh so I came home.

Sonakshi: Awww... I am also missing him so much. I am coming home soon.

Bhaiya pouts: I knew it. You were just missing him. You just said my name just like that.

Sonakshi: Arre, how would I have known that my son will be so cute? So baby in, Papa out.

Bhaiya: What do you mean baby in, Papa out? You come home. I will tell you who is in and who is out. 

Sonakshi smiles.

Me: That was hilarious. Even more funny because I remembered a conversation I had with my husband in Scotland of all places.

So we were driving towards Isle of Skye and my husband suddenly says: I read an article.

I was watching the scenery so was a little distracted. So I asked: On what? 

My husband very seriously continues: The article says that when a woman has a baby, she gives more attention to the baby and that will break her marriage.

I felt like laughing: Is that so?

He continues: Yes. Because husband needs attention too. In fact, husband always should have more attention from wife than baby because husband is also giving baby attention and wife is also giving baby attention. But the baby is not giving husband attention. So husband gets less attention if baby gets wife's attention. 

I just couldn't control my laughter anymore. I can't believe my husband turned quantity of my attention in mathematical equation. Yep, I married a rocket scientist. 



Bhaiya asks: Show me your rabbit teeth later. First tell me how was the meeting.

Sonakshi says: It was great. They liked both our presentation and plan. 

Bhaiya: Good. I am proud of you Dr. Bose. Now come home soon. Until then I will spend some alone time with my son.

Sonakshi says: Okay. I will pick up Soha and come home soon. And after that, Mamma in and Papa out.

Bhaiya: You...

Sonakshi laughs and hangs the phone.

Bhaiya says to Shubh: Since Shubh came home, no one bothers about Papa.

Shubh giggles. 

Ishwari sees from the door and leaves.

Me: Yep, I am sniffing her antenna is pinging the wrong frequency.

But this scene was super cute though.


Sonakshi reaches school. But Suhaana wasn't there.

She asks the guard about her daughter. 

The guard says there's no one at school now.

Sonakshi shows Suhaana's picture and asks about her.

The guard says that may be she went home with some other kid.

Sonakshi blasts him. She gets upset: Why are you here? Can't you pay attention? Do you sleep on the job.

She calls Bhaiya worriedly. 

Shubh is sleeping on Bhaiya who is lying on the bed.

Shubh wakes up suddenly.

Bhaiya panics like most new parents panic when the baby wakes up.

He puts Shubh on the bed and he picks a rag.

He cleans his drool: Arre, if Mummy sees you like this, she will scold. What have you done.

He also cleans his vest where Shubh drooled.

Just then Bhaiya gets Sonakshi's call.

He picks up the phone and says: Here Shubh Dixit has put his Papa on duty and Mummy is not here yet.

Sonakshi says: Dev, I didn't call for this. Dev, Soha hasn't come out of the school. I am waiting for her outside.

Bhaiya says: Golu is not there naa? May be Elena or Vicky picks them up.

Sonakshi asks Bhaiya to talk to Vicky and she will call Elena.

They each call them. But the phone is not connecting.

Sonakshi says: I will go and check inside. May be she is there.

In the meanwhile, Vicky is driving Elena and Golu home.

He says: Dev bhai is calling. I will call him back.

He calls Bhaiya. Bhaiya asks if he picked up Golu and Soha.

Vicky says that Golu had to go for his Vaccine so he picked him up before school ended. Soha was still in school then. If there's any problem.

Bhaiya gets worried: Sonakshi went to pick Suhaana up from school. But no one was there.

He picks up Shubh and says: Let's go out. Your Didi is missing.

He comes down with Shubh. 

He sees Ishwari and says: Did Suhaana came home?

Ishwari says no.

He says: Sonakshi went to pick up Suhaana from school. But she is not there.

Ishwari is shocked. She also thinks Vicky might have picked her up.

Bhaiya tells her that Vicky didn't pick her up. He hands over the baby to Ishwari and leaves.

After Bhaiya leaves, Mami says: Jiji, was Sonakshi late to pick up Suhaana? Oh God, what else is left to happen today.


In the school, Bhaiya and Sonakshi are searching the whole school.

But she is nowhere.

Bhaiya says: If she is not in school, not at home... Did you come on time?

Sonakshi says: Yes. But she is no where. Where she can go?

Bhaiya asks her to call Bijoy if Soha run away to his home like before and also to call her friends.

Sonakshi starts calling and Bhaiya goes to ask principal.

The principal has no clue.

At home, Ishwari is worried.

Radha says: I talked to Vicky. He is very worried. He is saying that when he is calling Dev, he is disconnecting the call.

Ishwari starts fretting.

Radha tells her not to worry. 

Ishwari says: How many times I told them that raising kids are not easy. But they don't understand. In one side, they put the kid in a basket, the other hand holding a laptop and they keep on working. Do you manage kids like this? And what's the reason to work? God has given everything to Dev. Why does she need to work? God, please give brain to Sonakshi so that she now thinks about her children.

Radha consoles Ishwari: I think you are absolutely right. I have told Elena the same thing so many times. But when do today's kids listen to us? And these days Delhi is very unsafe. Bad people kidnap rich family's kids.

Ishwari gets even more worried: Don't say like this. I am getting worried.

Radha changes her stance: No, no. Nothing will happen.

Just then Shubh wakes up and Ishwari picks him up to cuddle and console Shubh.


Sonakshi here keeps on calling all Soha's friends. 

The principal tells Bhaiya: Don't worry. Check your home. May be when your wife came here, your daughter left for home.

Bhaiya says: If she was at home, we won't be here. She disappeared from your school. So it's your responsibility.

The principal: Mr. Dixit, all kids are important to us.

Bhaiya: Only Suhaana is the prime concern right now.

The principal: I understand. Let's check the cctv footage to find out where she went and with whom.

They are about to leave when Bhaiya gets a call.

He picks up the phone and it's a doctor from a nursing home. He says that his daughter is in the nursing home.

Me: WHAT? 


Bhaiya: What?


Me: Wohi to main keh rahee hoon... (Exactly)!!! How the heck she reached there?


The doctor asks him to come soon.

Bhaiya runs out and they go to the nursing home.

They ask what happened.

The doctor says: She is fine. There's nothing to worry. I gave her some medicine. She is right now sedated.

Sonakshi asks: Medicine? For what?

The doctor says: She has stomach infection. Please come with me.

Me: Hold on a second. So let me understand this. The doctor sees a little girl in nursing home without any adults. Instead of calling her parents right away, he sedates her with medication without knowing her medical history and THEN calls her parents.

CVs, do you even realise just how many ethical and professional boundary this doctor crossed?


Sonakshi calls Suhaana's name. 

She wakes up and says: I had a tummy ache so I asked her friend to drop her here. Don't worry. I am fine.

The doctor says: Your daughter is very smart. She had a tummy ache so she asked her friend to drop her off here. In fact she asked me to call you.

Me (FACEPALM - ing hard): Seriously? That's the sign of smartness? She didn't approach her teacher who could get a doctor or school nurse AND inform her parents.

Instead, she hopped on to a ride with a friend, reached a nursing home, approached a doctor who has no idea of her medical history, took whatever medicine he gave to the point of being sedated and completely helpless and informed the doctor to remember to inform her parents whom she should have called FIRST.

If that's the sign of smartness, I hope every kid is born dumb.


Suhaana says sorry. They must have been worried.

Sonakshi says: No need to say sorry.

Me: No need to say sorry??? What the eff kind of parenting is that? She should be sorry. If she had called her parents or even had told Vicky and Elena when they went to pick up Golu, they could have taken Suhaana with them because Golu was going to get vaccine anyway which last time I checked, is administered by medical professional.

She could have reached someone with wrong intention and got kidnapped or worse under drug influence. Suhaana might be the biggest idiot, but her parents are responsible for this. 


The doctor says: Suhaana had said that she was having tummy ache since morning. You should not have sent her school in this condition. This infection is from eating habits like outside, unhealthy food. I prescribed some medicines. Please give it to her.

They agree and leave with Suhaana.


They get call from Ishwari. She asks where is she.

Sonakshi says: Suhaana came to a nearby hospital because she had tummy ache.

Ishwari says: She had tummy ache since morning. No one listened to her. 

Sonakshi says: Yes, she was saying it. But I thought both children were making excuses.

Ishwari asks them to come home.

Bhaiya says: What did Mom say?

Sonakshi says: I told her not to worry. We are coming home.

Bhaiya keeps looking at Sonakshi.

Suhaana says: Papa, will you keep staring at Mummy or go home?

Bhaiya says: Yes, let's go. Germs attacked your tummy naa? You will see, your papa will kill all germs.

Suhaana says: If you kill the germs, I won't need to drink the bitter medicine.

Bhaiya says: I won't spare the germs. I will kill all germs.

Sonakshi feels guilty remembering what happened that day with Suhaana's complaints and what Ishwari said.

Me: Universal guilt which society stuffs in a woman's head that if she wants a career, her children will suffer. Funny, a man never worried about that.


Precap: Bhaiya is telling Sonakshi: I know.

Sonakshi: What?

Bhaiya: You are worried about what Maa said.

Sonakshi says: It's not just what Maa said. Today Soha was complaining about tummy ache and we ignored her. How could I be so careless, Dev? Will we be able to become perfect parents?

Bhaiya thinks.

Me: The problem with Sonakshi was always this pursuit of perfection. No one is perfect parents. There's no such thing. The parent who raises a certain kid to be a successful, productive human being might fail another child.

Parenting is not one size fits all. 

Otherwise, every siblings raised by same parents will be identically successful and productive. But that doesn't happen. 

The only thing a parent can wish and hope for that they did their best. That's all. The rest is up to the kids. 

And believe it or not, parents are not God who can't make any mistakes. 



No Rules!!! YAY!!!