I thank God and my stars when a Saturday passes peacefully. The days are left long behind when I could look into the oil filled saucer containing a metal image of Shani Devata, held by the person , sitting on the side of a busy road who would expect any passer by to put some coin in the saucer to appease and ingratiate the deity .
This gone by Saturday, my wife after doing her pooja in the forenoon decided to go to Kalibari temple with empty stomach to mark Jetha Shanivar of the current month. She told me to boil rice as and when I felt like having lunch.
Fine and nothing new as I am used to this practice.
Being a retired government employee, sticking to the Sarkari lunch time of 1:30 scrupulously , I boiled the rice , took my bit out of it , put the dal/ sabzi on to the plate as per requirement and literally enjoyed my lunch.
At about 2:30, my better half came back all wet and drenched , the umbrella proving of little help in such a heavy spell of rain. After changing as she went into the kitchen, she saw some portion of the floor wet. Like me , at first she wondered as to from where water had fallen as there was little chance of rain water entering through the ceiling.
Sooner than later Shani started showing its effect, when my wife discovered that it was not water but refined oil that had spilled from the freshly opened pouch, placed on the wide space in front of the window. I being the only poor soul present when this happened, became the target of wife's ire and fury as she had to mop and clean the floor with warm water. Had it occurred to me that it was refined oil and not water, I would have myself mopped and cleaned the floor before her return. But I was destined to bear her tongue lashes silently, thinking at the time only of Socrates, the great Greek philosopher , who was subjected to this wifely torture day in and day out. My silence finally paid off as the storm subsided after some time .
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