Wednesday, March 26, 2014

The Best Bargain Of My Life

A blog post consisting of the three words, “coupons, cashback and bargain!”  as a part of the activity by GoPaisa.com in association with BlogAdda.com.

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After passing out from the college, with colors I could hold on to -that were not flying, I landed myself a somewhat respectable job in the IT capital of India, Bangalore.  Soon, got introduced to a pretty damsel from my native state during first year Durga Puja celebration at Bangalore and was “on top of the world” on finding out that this cute-looking techie was also employed in the same company as mine. Courtship started eventually leading to walking down the aisle in next couple of years. It was the cashback phase in full swing between the DINK couple as they call it – double income no kids, where we invested in the relationship, and got surprise benefits from each other or the extended family. Two love birds were cuckooing and living their life when pressure from elderly family members started to mount slowly. Though they got ignored for some more time, it was getting increasingly difficult to discount those advices. Additionally there were ‘those’ discussions in the ladies circle that would ultimately lead to the same topic – our presence or absence did not matter.

We gave in. We had to. We were on the family way. I could see myself changing from a young adult to a man adult – struggling to stay young at heart. Don’t remember the date exactly, but on our 5th or 6th visit, the gynecologist, after her visit to the ultrasound chamber burst out, waving the coupons- the test results, on top of her head and flashing a big ear-kissing smile on her face. The test results were in, confirming the arrival of twins- one of each gender.
“You guys asked for one but got two. Isn’t that great?  Ek ke saath ek free! ”, quipped the doc winking at us.
Wow! Am I elated, ecstatic, taken aback, dumbfounded, at a loss? Once l gained composure, fervently thanked God. I could not have asked for a better bargain.  While there was an ongoing discussion that usually led to confusion, as to whether to plan for one child or two, this event relieved us from any future discussions.

Family life continued as usual through thick and thin. All of us grew older together holding each other’s’ hand.  Fortunately, by the grace of God, I did not have to run around for anything for my children and continued to get coupons and discounts on tuition fees, albeit on my IT certificate. As always we had to put both of them together in every activity, camps or any other similar institution , by design, we used to get some amount of discounts there too. Good for all of us with a pleasant surprise in the store every time. Every time our bank balances tipped a little less, and the children compensated each other. I could rather relate their dispositions to an e-commerce site, one of them perennially on an technological upgrade binge- with the latest electronic gadgets and the other concentrating on getting the best customer service - both of which kept us pleasingly happy.
Unlike other husbands, I did accompany my wife and children on their shopping sprees- controlled in part by the remote in my pocket -the proverbial “purse strings”, except few occasions when indulgences were allowed.

So continues the happy flow of life in our small kingdom complete with my queen, princess and prince. 

For in the words of Voltaire: Each player must accept the cards life deals him or her: but once they are in hand, he or she alone must decide how to play the cards in order to win the game
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This post is a part of the Shop, only to Save More! Activity by GoPaisa.com in association with BlogAdda.com.

2 comments:

  1. The last Voltaire thing you quoted reminded me of something beautiful I read about dogs (I'm a dog lover).
    This state of being-in-the-moment is what’s so compelling about dogs. It’s hard for a human to get to it.. It’s not that a dog accepts the cards it’s been dealt; it’s not aware that there are cards.

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    1. Hi Anupam, Thanks for your read and time on my post. I do agree about this observation about man's trusted friend- dog. Unlike any other animals or human, they do jump at any moment without thinking about it... Appreciate that you visited my posts.

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