Cognitive Dissonance

Neerja hooked up her laptop to the large TV and then she drew everyones attention to the screen.

"So this is the large piece of land that Daddy, Mummy, Choppy and Arjun gifted us for our wedding. The time has now come to build our own bungalow here."

There were cheers from the entire group.

"Now this is the plan for this building. We have this garden in the front and a driveway to the right that leads to the garages, there will be space to park three cars and a few two wheelers. At the back of the house we have space for a kitchen garden and for a couple of rooms in case we decide to have live in help."

"Why do you guys need three cars?" Ma, asked.

"Hang on Mama, you are going to love this," she said and then continued. This is our ground floor, this has a living area, a dining area, a kitchen, a laundry room and wash area and three bedrooms, with their attached bathrooms. All three are master bedrooms, and they will be large, and a part of it can be used as a study.

Out here we have a spiral staircase that leads to the first floor, and here we have a small living area and four bedrooms with their attached bathrooms. One part of this living area can also be used as a kitchenette for those staying upstairs."

"Have you guys gone crazy," Mummy asked, "you are a small family, why do you need such a mansion? Do you know how difficult it will be to maintain it?"

Neeraja took deep breath and she looked at me, I smiled at her and winked.

"I think you all need to know this," she continued, "that I do not have a small family but a large one. This mansion is for everyone who is in this room right now. Mama and Papa, Mummy and Daddy, Agni and I get the three bedrooms on the ground floor. Two rooms on the first floor will eventually belong to the children as they grow up. The other two bedrooms are reserved primarily for Choppy and Arjun, Shveta and Arvind, whenever they are here. At other times they can double up as guest rooms should we have friends or other extended members of our family visiting us."

I know, Mama, Papa, Mummy, Daddy will spend a few months in a year with Shveta, Choppy and the grandchildren, but this is going to be your base. Daddy has retired, Papa will too in a couple of years, and you guys are not getting younger. Agni and I want that you spend adequate time with us and the grandchildren and we want this to be the equivalent of the ancestral home of the ages gone by, where all members of the family meet up every summer and then for festivals and festive occasions.

I had no family when Agni came into my life, and I found a family only because of him. I would never have met my two sets of parents, never have got my two beautiful sisters if it were not for him. And having got them, I am not going to let go of them. I need all you guys every moment of my life.

But this is not just about me or about both of us. It is also about the kids. We want them to have, in addition to loving parents and grandparents, loving aunts and uncles. We want them to bond as cousins, to understand what a family actually means. They will grow up, go off to different places to study and work, but they need to have one focal family pivot. I want this home to be that pivot, that lynchpin, that homing beacon that always reminds them what a family means.

Agni and I have put a lot of thought into this and while we don't expect you to give us an answer right away, please give this careful consideration."

Papa took out his phone and typed something, Daddy's phone buzzed. Mummy typed something into hers and Mama's phone buzzed.

I stood up. "Okay, you guys want to discuss this, so Neeraja and I are stepping out for a walk. We will be strolling around the block, call us when you are done."

"What do you think, will they agree?" Neeraja asked as we stepped out of the house.

I held her tightly to me. "I think so, you were very persuasive, and just wonderful, all the equations just fell in place Dr Neeraja."

"Life is not only math Dr Agni, sometimes there are emotions involved."

We walked around the block for around half an hour till Ma called to ask us to come back.

The body language didn't look good when we got back. Everyone had a stiff formal look on their faces, but Choppy was the only one trying hard not to smile, so that gave me some sense of relief. But with Choppy, you can never predict, she can laugh at the most sombre of moments.

Ma started the conversation. "I heard a lot of 'we want this', I want that,' and all that, but no one seems to have looked at what we, the parents want."

Neeraja rushed to Ma and knelt beside her. "Mama, there is nothing that you want that cannot be a part of this plan, just tell us Mama," and her eyes turned moist, the tears ready to fall.

Ma, just hugged her as she addressed the others, "I can't do this, I can't make my child cry," and she looked plaintively at the others.

Group Captain took over. "We have three conditions."

"Yes, Daddy," said Neeraja.

First, this mansion should be named 'Ekta', which means 'unity' as also 'togetherness'. Second, our new grandchild if it is a boy, should be named Preet, and if it is a girl, be called Preethi, both words mean 'love'. Thirdly, it will be Neeraja's responsibility to manage this large household.

"So you guys are in on this?" Neeraja was smiling now.

"Both Madhu and I are early risers, so we take the bedroom with the windows that face east."

"We love to sleep late, so we take the West side bedroom," said Dad.

"Neeraja, I want the walls in my bedroom painted pink," said Choppy.

"I want built in wardrobes on one complete wall," said Shveta as all of them hugged Neeraja.

Later on, as we lay together, I gently stroked Neeraja's tummy as I held her cheek to mine. "This is one hell of a lucky kid we have out here."

Then I kissed her again and again, and then held her to my chest as she soon fell asleep. Then sleep came to me, my eyes too started to droop as I whispered, "I love you Neeraja," over and over again.