The Head Of Household - Slice Of Life Stories 🎧
SliceOfLifeStories
[{'start': '0.800', 'end': '16.720', 'text': 'THE HEAD OF THE HOUSEHOLD'}, {'start': '16.720', 'end': '18.320', 'text': 'Hi Vikram'}, {'start': '18.320', 'end': '24.160', 'text': 'I know I’m a voice from the past, but\xa0\nthis is a desperate plea for help. I'}, {'start': '24.160', 'end': '29.440', 'text': 'can think of no one else who could even\xa0\nremotely qualify. And you have, not one,'}, {'start': '29.440', 'end': '36.320', 'text': 'but three special qualifications. You already know\xa0\nmy parents from your visits in our college days,'}, {'start': '36.320', 'end': '42.640', 'text': 'decades ago, it’s true, and my mother will surely\xa0\nremember you too, which is a bonus. You speak'}, {'start': '42.640', 'end': '48.240', 'text': 'our dying language, and fluently, I might add,\xa0\nwhich will make communication with Ma easier.'}, {'start': '48.240', 'end': '57.520', 'text': 'And you are the most hardcore skeptic I‘ve ever\xa0\nknown, which is exactly what I need right now.'}, {'start': '58.880', 'end': '64.160', 'text': 'And above and beyond all\xa0\nthese, I trust you, old friend.'}, {'start': '64.160', 'end': '67.920', 'text': 'It’s been long, and I had to\xa0\nlocate you through social media,'}, {'start': '67.920', 'end': '76.720', 'text': 'but I hope you will respond favorably to me, for\xa0\nold time’s sake. I’m in an impossible situation.'}, {'start': '76.720', 'end': '80.560', 'text': 'You may not remember, but there was\xa0\na large age gap between my parents,'}, {'start': '80.560', 'end': '88.080', 'text': 'almost 15 years. My mother is now 73, but\xa0\nhealthier than most, and I would have said,'}, {'start': '88.080', 'end': '94.000', 'text': 'in full control of her faculties. She’s\xa0\na regular walker and yoga practitioner,'}, {'start': '94.000', 'end': '101.200', 'text': 'and has a wide circle of friends, so, as I\xa0\nsaid, general good health, mental and physical.'}, {'start': '101.200', 'end': '107.120', 'text': 'My father passed away a month ago. He was ailing,\xa0\nand it was a blessed release for him, but,'}, {'start': '107.120', 'end': '112.720', 'text': 'of course, it was still terrible for us. He was\xa0\nthe classic authority figure, you will remember,'}, {'start': '112.720', 'end': '118.640', 'text': 'the old style Head-of-the-Household, and\xa0\nthough he’d been sick, he had the household'}, {'start': '118.640', 'end': '129.360', 'text': 'firmly in his grip. We felt that emptiness\xa0\nmost particularly. Ma especially, I know.'}, {'start': '129.360', 'end': '134.880', 'text': 'I live close to my parents and have\xa0\nalways dropped in on them almost everyday,'}, {'start': '134.880', 'end': '138.400', 'text': 'more so after Pa took seriously ill.\xa0\nMy wife also, and the kids go over'}, {'start': '138.400', 'end': '140.320', 'text': 'on Sundays. In addition, we call and chat\xa0\nregularly, so you can see we are closely'}, {'start': '140.320', 'end': '147.680', 'text': 'connected. They wanted to live on their own,\xa0\nand now Ma insists on continuing to do so.'}, {'start': '147.680', 'end': '153.520', 'text': 'On the 14th day after my father passed, I\xa0\ndropped in as usual after work, but stopped'}, {'start': '153.520', 'end': '159.760', 'text': 'dumbstruck as I entered the living room. There\xa0\nwas someone in my father’s favourite chair,'}, {'start': '159.760', 'end': '165.040', 'text': 'which has lain unoccupied now for\xa0\nmany years. The person was small,'}, {'start': '165.040', 'end': '169.200', 'text': 'his bare feet stuck out horizontally\xa0\nfrom the seat, unable even to reach'}, {'start': '169.200', 'end': '177.040', 'text': 'the ground. A child. He was holding a newspaper\xa0\nin front of his face, exactly as Papa used to,'}, {'start': '177.040', 'end': '186.080', 'text': 'and without twitching it to look at me, he\xa0\nannounced, “Janaki, your son has arrived.”'}, {'start': '186.080', 'end': '194.160', 'text': 'These were the words my father used to greet me\xa0\nwith every evening when he was in better health.'}, {'start': '194.960', 'end': '203.040', 'text': 'I really don’t know what I felt at that moment,\xa0\nbut I can tell you what I saw. A young boy,'}, {'start': '203.040', 'end': '210.240', 'text': 'in Pa’s chair, in the exact posture he always sat\xa0\nin, holding and shaking out the newspaper in the'}, {'start': '210.240', 'end': '222.880', 'text': 'same way, and uttering his identical words. To say\xa0\nI was gobsmacked is to understate it by a mile.'}, {'start': '222.880', 'end': '228.800', 'text': 'Ma came in carrying a tray of tea. She was\xa0\nsmiling cheerfully. No trace of the stress'}, {'start': '228.800', 'end': '234.880', 'text': 'or anguish that had cut deep lines in her\xa0\nface these last few years. “Raj, you don’t'}, {'start': '234.880', 'end': '242.080', 'text': 'need to worry about me being alone anymore. Your\xa0\nfather has returned to look after me, so I’ll be'}, {'start': '242.080', 'end': '250.080', 'text': 'fine. I‘ve made some tea. - Will you have a cup,\xa0\nji,” turning to the youngster. I collapsed into'}, {'start': '250.080', 'end': '258.160', 'text': 'a chair in complete shock, as the young rascal\xa0\ngrunted at her, in a most familiar fashion. She'}, {'start': '258.160', 'end': '266.080', 'text': 'busied herself serving him his tea, as I tried\xa0\nto figure what the bloody heck was going on.'}, {'start': '266.880', 'end': '275.600', 'text': 'It seems, the doorbell had rung in Pa’s trademark\xa0\ntriple ring at around noon that day, and Ma had'}, {'start': '275.600', 'end': '282.320', 'text': 'opened the door to discover this young lad. He\xa0\nhad walked in with total confidence and authority,'}, {'start': '282.320', 'end': '288.240', 'text': 'asking her in Pa’s exact words, “what\xa0\nhave you prepared for my lunch today?”'}, {'start': '288.240', 'end': '294.320', 'text': 'And here’s the punch, Vikram, he spoke in\xa0\nour native language. Perfect intonation,'}, {'start': '294.320', 'end': '299.200', 'text': 'accent and grammar, according to Ma,\xa0\nand from what I’ve heard subsequently,'}, {'start': '299.200', 'end': '306.240', 'text': 'I’d have to corroborate that. There are only a\xa0\nfew people who speak this obscure language anyway,'}, {'start': '306.240', 'end': '313.440', 'text': 'and surely not many young boys. So how\xa0\nhas this scamster acquired this fluency?'}, {'start': '314.480', 'end': '326.080', 'text': 'Ma, who had initially let him in under shock, is\xa0\nnow unshakably convinced that he is Pa. I have'}, {'start': '326.080', 'end': '333.920', 'text': 'pointed out that this is a 10-year old boy, not an\xa0\n88-year old man. She informed me, condescendingly,'}, {'start': '333.920', 'end': '340.480', 'text': 'that he had to appropriate whatever body was\xa0\navailable, but most certainly this was her'}, {'start': '340.480', 'end': '348.320', 'text': 'husband, and who should know better than she.\xa0\nThe kid treats me as his son, in fact exactly'}, {'start': '348.320', 'end': '355.120', 'text': 'as Pa did, I cringe to admit, and expects to be\xa0\ncalled Papa, and Ma is hugely upset that I have'}, {'start': '355.120', 'end': '361.200', 'text': 'categorically refused to do so. Overruling\xa0\nmy mother’s protests, I have moved into my'}, {'start': '361.200', 'end': '368.480', 'text': 'parents’ home these last few weeks. I cannot leave\xa0\nher alone with him, however safe she may feel.'}, {'start': '368.480', 'end': '374.000', 'text': 'I’ve checked hospitals, police stations,\xa0\nMissing Persons lists, Vikram, to see if'}, {'start': '374.000', 'end': '379.200', 'text': 'I can get a handle on who this kid is, and\xa0\nwhat he’s trying to achieve here. Though,'}, {'start': '379.200', 'end': '386.000', 'text': 'actually, the second part is obvious. He’s on\xa0\na free ride. Physical and financial comfort,'}, {'start': '386.000', 'end': '394.699', 'text': 'with Ma tending to him hand and foot, delighted\xa0\nthat now he will be with her in her old age.'}, {'start': '394.699', 'end': '400.480', 'text': 'Vikram, you remember my Ma. She’s no pushover.\xa0\nShe’s never given a jot of credence to any of'}, {'start': '400.480', 'end': '405.760', 'text': 'the charlatans that abound nowadays.\xa0\nShe’s always been eminently practical,'}, {'start': '405.760', 'end': '413.440', 'text': 'with her feet steady on the ground. But\xa0\nthis young chappie has completely bamboozled'}, {'start': '413.440', 'end': '420.000', 'text': 'her. She will brook no word against\xa0\nhim. I’m at a loss for explanations,'}, {'start': '420.000', 'end': '425.120', 'text': 'or even understanding. I can’t even\xa0\nthrow him out - he’s just a child.'}, {'start': '425.120', 'end': '432.160', 'text': 'And the uproar from Ma were I to do something\xa0\nlike that - that’s a whole different story!'}, {'start': '432.160', 'end': '438.800', 'text': 'Evidence. I need evidence. Nothing\xa0\nless than that will suffice.'}, {'start': '438.800', 'end': '445.120', 'text': 'And I simply don’t know how to get it.\xa0\nBut you were a bloodhound on these fakers'}, {'start': '445.120', 'end': '451.200', 'text': 'in our college days, and I pray you\xa0\nhaven’t lost your love of the chase.'}, {'start': '451.200', 'end': '460.320', 'text': 'Disbelieving as I am, I tell you truly, Vikram,\xa0\nit’s a fantastic act. He never slips. He walks,'}, {'start': '460.320', 'end': '466.720', 'text': 'talks and behaves exactly like my dad.\xa0\nHe’s the undisputed Head of the Household.'}, {'start': '466.720', 'end': '472.960', 'text': 'He has all Pa’s mannerisms down pat, all\xa0\nhis little idiosyncrasies. I’ve set him'}, {'start': '472.960', 'end': '477.680', 'text': 'many small tests, he sails through\xa0\nthem without a hint of anxiety,'}, {'start': '477.680', 'end': '484.000', 'text': 'without even seeming to know they are a test.\xa0\nI dragged my slippers on the ground yesterday,'}, {'start': '484.000', 'end': '490.480', 'text': 'and it exasperated him instantly, drawing from\xa0\nhim exactly the same old response - “can’t you'}, {'start': '490.480', 'end': '498.480', 'text': 'lift those feet? Bah! Wasted your years\xa0\nin the NCC!” He assumes obedience and my'}, {'start': '498.480', 'end': '506.800', 'text': 'non-compliance baffles and angers him.\xa0\nHis every gesture is reminiscent of Pa,'}, {'start': '506.800', 'end': '512.000', 'text': 'but he couldn’t even have been born when Pa was\xa0\nin good health and able-bodied. So how on earth'}, {'start': '512.000', 'end': '524.320', 'text': 'is he….? And of course, the question I cannot\xa0\nmake myself face is, what if it’s not an act.'}, {'start': '524.320', 'end': '531.680', 'text': 'I need you, buddy. I’m too embroiled in\xa0\nthis absurd situation myself. My eyes are'}, {'start': '531.680', 'end': '539.040', 'text': 'bearing a witness that my mind cannot accept. My\xa0\nmother is deeply invested in this fraudster now,'}, {'start': '539.040', 'end': '545.280', 'text': 'and convincing her otherwise will be traumatic\xa0\n- like losing Pa twice. But surely, that’s no'}, {'start': '545.280', 'end': '552.400', 'text': 'reason to accept it. This devil has to be exposed,\xa0\nand I don’t have the wit or the gumption to do it.'}, {'start': '553.120', 'end': '558.800', 'text': 'I implore your help, Vikram. I don’t know\xa0\nwhom else to ask. I know it’s an absolutely'}, {'start': '558.800', 'end': '564.880', 'text': 'ridiculous proposition, but what can I\xa0\nsay - I’m out of my depth. Please come,'}, {'start': '564.880', 'end': '569.920', 'text': 'and as soon as possible. I can\xa0\ntrust no one else in this madness.'}, {'start': '569.920', 'end': '578.320', 'text': 'In desperate hope, and prayer,\nYour old schoolmate, Raj'}]