Pyar ke Side Effects

It may be the hot and steamy weather, or it could be the sabbatical from work, but whatever it is, mom silently counts her blessings at dad’s sudden surge of affection for her.

It’s not unusual for passers-by to find this couple - well past the newly married stage - holding hands and walking along busy Chennai intersections, dodging traffic and skipping over dog poo.

Mom was so surprised the first time dad held her arm and helped her across the street that she left her mouth open and swallowed a fly flitting across from the garbage dump nearby. She allowed her hand to linger in dad’s well after crossing, and even managed to lace her fingers through his before a rude motorcyclist behind pried them apart.

Chennai traffic seems to have accomplished in minutes what years of living in a progressive country didn’t. Dad shied away from unnecessary physical contact in the West, leaving a desolate mom to hold her children’s hands in public instead.

Couples tickling each other’s tonsils at malls and senior citizens holding hands and sharing ice cream seemed to have no effect on the man who often walked with his hands in his pockets and preferred to finger his car keys instead.

At home, mom often found that she had the entire family room to herself. Gently lowering her derriere next to dad's on the couch seemed to activate a hidden spring mechanism that immediately ejected him off the couch and landed him on the farthest side of the house.

Space constraints in their current surroundings force dad to share a love seat with mom in front of family and friends. Despite the muggy weather, he doesn’t bristle as though a bee stung him when mom occasionally brushes past him in narrow walkways.

On the streets, he protectively reaches for her hand as they wait for a break in traffic to run to the other side of the road. Dad instinctively pulls mom closer to him when cycles and auto rickshaws approach on the wrong side of the road and honk as though it’s the pedestrian’s fault.

For her part, mom is happy to play the role of a damsel in distress as she stands on street corners and allows dad to guide her through traffic.

The only time she displays her bravado is when a bunch of street dogs appear out of nowhere on a dark Chennai night and bark at intruders in their midst.

At such times, mom confidently reaches for a nervous dad and urges him to walk ahead without making eye contact with the canines. “Just ignore them,” she squeezes his hand reassuringly. “Remember, they’re more afraid of you than you are of them.”

Perhaps mom should repeat the same mantra the next time she spots a lizard a mile away and hastily cowers behind dad's back, shaking like a leaf.

On second thoughts, if it works to her advantage, why should she?