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Today, I woke up to a depressingly gray sky and an even more depressing hunk of a machine that's supposed to carry water. People call it a water tanker, but the truck standing outside my house mocked that name. In the 10 minutes it stood there,
Today, I woke up to a depressingly gray sky and an even more depressing hunk of a machine that's supposed to carry water. People call it a water tanker, but the truck standing outside my house mocked that name. In the 10 minutes it stood there,
honking before it woke me up, it had already lost half the water it was supposed to be carrying.
The house was in chaos. Mom was screaming at someone on the phone (I suspect, my dad), my sister was screaming at her to tone it down (my teacher will hear you, she said)
The house was in chaos. Mom was screaming at someone on the phone (I suspect, my dad), my sister was screaming at her to tone it down (my teacher will hear you, she said)
I could put together bits and pieces from what my mom was yelling.
Apparently, 30 minutes after dad left for work, all taps in the house had stopped working. Mom accused him of "flooding his bathroom to bathe in it", he accused her leaving the taps open last night.
Apparently, 30 minutes after dad left for work, all taps in the house had stopped working. Mom accused him of "flooding his bathroom to bathe in it", he accused her leaving the taps open last night.
Being the (un)wise, nocturnal creature, I dispelled the latter accusation. No drip-drops had happened at night. Mom's accusation was dispelled by the fact that the bathroom showed mo signs of being "flooded"
After going and forth, yelling at the laptop, at the phone and then each other, we concluded that it's a case of airlock in the pipes. So, all the taps were turned on and sure enough, they started sputtering out water, slowly.
Coming back to the tanker, it was the result of the first volley of accusations. A case of miscommunication. The maintenance department had been told that the taps were water-less, and suspecting an empty water tank, they sent a water tanker.
This had happened before The Awakening (mine- physically, and everyone else's- intellectually)
Now that we knew what had actually happened, the tanker was of no use (it never was of any use. It would've lost all the water anyway)
I felt bad for that poor machine.
Now that we knew what had actually happened, the tanker was of no use (it never was of any use. It would've lost all the water anyway)
I felt bad for that poor machine.
Mom rushed out, with dad on her phone, determined to send the tanker back.
We were expecting the driver to moan and lament the waste of his precious time, but he just shrugged and drove away when told that his services weren't required. I'm still in awe of that man.
We were expecting the driver to moan and lament the waste of his precious time, but he just shrugged and drove away when told that his services weren't required. I'm still in awe of that man.
After the water-tanker-dripper had left, the Maintenance Department was called and explained what had actually happened. They assured that they'd be sending in the proper people to fix it. Calm replaced the chaos and jokes about the Tanker were shared at breakfast
Soon, the plumbers arrived and fixed the pipes. All was well. More jokes were shared about the Tanker. I had a nagging feeling that something was about to go wrong; jokes about sorry machines seldom went well in our household.
I was right
I was right
Mom found a leaking pipe in the bathroom and tried to fix it by herself and ended up making it worse (if there ever was a doubt that she's my mother, it was dispelled now).
The small stream of water turned into a gushing torrent, spraying water on all the walls and, her .
The small stream of water turned into a gushing torrent, spraying water on all the walls and, her .
The bathroom door was locked, as if to trap a rogue water monster inside. I tip-toed around the house as mom yelled at the Maintenance Department who promised to send the plumbers back.
The regret about sending the tanker back and making jokes at its expense hung in the air.
The regret about sending the tanker back and making jokes at its expense hung in the air.
We're waiting for the plumbers to come back, and hoping that we don't run out of water before that.
A collective vow has been taken and we won't be making fun of machines, any time soon
A collective vow has been taken and we won't be making fun of machines, any time soon
The plumbers have arrived. I can hear the Avengers theme song playing in the background.
15 minutes later, the water is still gushing and the plumbers just said a soft "theek nahi ho raha hai ye" when mom asked if all was going well.
Her eyes are bulging and she's pacing the hall, like a predator closing in for a kill.
I have a feeling the prey is me.
Her eyes are bulging and she's pacing the hall, like a predator closing in for a kill.
I have a feeling the prey is me.
@navikakumar pls don't show these tweets to my mom
I have come out of hiding to tell The Void that the pipes have been fixed.
But we've run out of water. Baby wipes, here I come.
But we've run out of water. Baby wipes, here I come.
