The Grass is Greener On The Other Side!!

On a fine spring morning, while I was executing the ungrateful task of mowing down my front lawn, I happened to steal a glance on Mishra Ji’ s lawn. The bright green hue of the finely mowed grass blades were glistening under the morning sun, casting a royal look upon the beholders. I started pondering as to why his lawn seemed greener and lush than my own. Surely I was giving a most fatherly treatment to my lawn, watering and trimming at regular intervals and spending liberally on those seemingly extravagant treatments that the TV advertisements continuously bleated for days on an end. I was at my wit’s end to crack the mystery of the ‘greener’ lawn of Mishra Ji when the missus trudged out reluctantly out of the house with a grudging cup of her ‘extra weak’ tea. I posed the question of Mishra Ji’s greener lawn to thy missus while sipping the ‘unsippable’ mixture that she called her special ‘chai’. She laughed a wicked laughter and sat down to tutor me on the ‘Grass is Greener’ concept. “Do you like your TV or my brother’s LCD?” I said of course her brother’s LCD was any day the better of the two. “Do you like Shane Warne or Venkatpathy Raju?”. I said what nonsense, Shane Warne is the king. “Do you love your Maruti 800 or your junior’s XUV 500?” I lost my mind at this rhetorical and foolish question which seemed to me quite below the belt “Of course the XUV is any day the better car”. She flashed a triumphant smile and pronounced, “You see, you always picked the other’s person / objects as being better than your own. That is the concept of ‘The grass is Greener on the other side’. Understood Mr Idiot?” I had to give a sheepish nod and a thought instantly dawned on me that Mrs Gupta was far more beautiful, elegant and regal than the woman standing beside me! Surely the ‘grass’ concept must apply to wives also? And the lion inside me roared his approval of my opinion. Thus basking in this new found knowledge, I proceeded to finish my cuppa. Suddenly I was struck with a brain wave. I said to the missus, “Let’s go over to Mishra Ji and test this “grass concept”. Without waiting for her consent, I dragged the indignant missus across the street to intrude upon the calm of Mishra Ji’s drawing Room.

“Hello Mishra Ji. Enjoying a lazy Sunday morning?” I tried to make light talk to prepare the scene to pop up the greener lawn concept. “Mishra Ji, your lawn is decked up like a queen these days. What exactly are you doing to maintain it in such lush and royal state? I fired the first salvo with a lop sided grin. He said “oh, the usual you know, timely mowing, watering and daily care. Nothing out of the ordinary”. “But do you think my lawn is not as ‘greener’ as yours?” I said. I fired the next one, knowing fully well that to him, my lawn will surely look greener than his. That is the essence of the concept, isn’t it? “Yes, your lawn does seem paler, I guess you need to bend your back a bit more to bring it up to scratch. Ha Ha. Or you could always come over and look at the way my lawn is done”. His response knocked the smugness out of me. “Err, yes. We will surely take a leaf out of your book of maintenance”. I managed a weak and insignificant response. I proceeded to drag my missus out of the lawn and across the street. Once back safely in my own compound, I glowered down on her, “The grass after all, doesn’t exactly seem greener to Mishra Ji. Does it?” I am happy to say that 24 hours have elapsed since and I am a content and enlightened man now. My ‘grass’ has been completely ripped apart. So I need not bother anymore about the ‘greener’ lawns. I love my wife more than ever now. And did I mention that I absolutely relish her cooking? I do. Three missed meals, a fierce argument and a vale of tears were all that were required for me to gain this new found happiness and satisfaction. I am sure the grass is greener on your side now!