She braced herself and asked
‘What kind of a husband do you dream of?’
Irritated by the blank look she received,
She continued, ‘List the qualities you desire.’
Thousands of points rolling in her head
Caused a turmoil that the blank look masked
The daughter, took her time to answer
The most important question of her life.
‘Let him be educated, not just literate
Have a sense of humour
Sense of responsibility
Manners that would put the British to shame.’
Ignoring her mother’s raised eyebrow
And the multiple rolling of her eyes
The daughter went on to list
What she wanted in her perfect man
‘Ensure that reading books tops his list
Travelling comes a close second
Family and friends fight for his attention
And his undivided focus would be only for me.’
The mother tried to get in a word
But the daughter with a simple show of hand
Resisted all efforts and continued
Giving a look which said, ‘You asked.’
‘Absence of some qualities I might ignore
To live with some flaws I will learn
But one thing I will not tolerate
Mom, please a nose digger, I don’t want!’