ZZZ… Literally

I love to sleep. Any spare time goes into napping. In fact, my entire family loves to sleep, including my dog Mojo. We are one sleep-loving family, which includes not just the immediate members, but also the extended clan. If there is ever a competition for sleeping for the most number of hours, my family will win it hands down.

Of course, we have some famous sleep-related stories too, which are often re-told at family gatherings. Favourite one being, how my father and uncle missed their train, as they decided to take a nap before catching the evening train. What makes the incident funnier is that at that time we used to live almost 10 minutes walking distance from the railway station! So, my dad and uncle decided that they can time their nap in such a manner that they should be able to walk to the station with enough time to spare. They overslept and by the time they reached the over-bridge, they saw the train leaving the station.

Then we have a cousin of mine who is so famous for sleeping soundly that now his mother has started looking him in the house and carries the key with herself. Once when his parents and sister were out for a dinner invitation, this guy gladly dozed off, and despite repeated buzzing of the doorbell and almost breaking down the door knocking it, he had no clue of the commotion outside. After almost waking the entire building and uncle contemplating calling in the police, somehow he got up and opened the door!

This habit has dangerous consequences too. My dad, a repeat offender, almost lost both his kids. As my mother went to drop me to the bus stop, she asked my dad to look after my brother, a toddler at that time, who was drinking milk. Dad said fine and rolled over to sleep, without closing the main door. After finishing his bottle, my brother opened the door easily, climbed down the stairs and was out on the road to go towards my bus stop. En-route some man asked him where he was going, he said he wanted to go to his sister’s bus stop. He held his hand and was walking towards the main road, when luckily my mother saw him. She had her heart in her mouth and ran towards him. Dad got an earful that day, but it could have been a disaster had my mother not spotted him on time.

In another instance, dad being fast asleep, I decided to give a slip and walked out on the main road. Mom wasn’t at home. I was six-years old. It was the time of Sikh riots in Delhi. We lived near Paharganj area, which had a huge Punjabi population. I walked right at the edge of the main road, and saw the 1984 riots with my own eyes. The entire road was strewn with stones, the rioters were throwing stones and bottles at the police, while the police were trying to control the crowd with their batons. It was a horrific sight. Thankfully, greater sense prevailed me, and I turned back to reach home. Our old landlady was sitting outside the house and she was shocked to see me roaming around like that all alone. Yes, dad again got an earful.

And, no, he hasn’t changed yet. So, we don’t entrust him with any work and especially smaller kids while he is sleeping.

I hope you get a sound sleep too. We all deserve it, post such a grueling month of completing another year of AtoZ challenge. Don’t we?