5 Sibling banter.

" Ayesha!" Zeeshaan called.

Ayesha didn't even spare him a glance. "No."

"Ayesha!" Said he again.

"No!" Ayesha replied in an even firmer tone. Zeeshaan had been trying to 'maska-marofy' her all morning.(1)

Usually Ayesha didn't deny someone so much. But Zeeshaan was getting her to do too much work. She didn't even have time for her own work. It was his fault for agreeing to take up so many projects. He was too easily taken by the flow. Ayesha didn't really intend to leave him to despair about the amount of work left. She was simply trying to make him understand that he should learn to say no. In other words, teach him a tiny lesson.

Zeeshaan knew this too. Ayesha was too kind. She would accept anyway. That's why he was trying to coax her first into accepting. He felt bad and sorry about it too. But he didn't have any other choice. He put on his most 'Heroic' expression. "I promise, Ayesha, this is the last one! Pleaseeeee! For your darling Bhai-jaan? I'll get'chyu anythin'! " (2) He turned to a timid puppy begging for food.

Ayesha gave in. "What do I get?"

It was time for negotiations.

"That peach scented face-wash you like, a small kajal (3) and an eight-inch sweet corn chicken pizza."

"I already have kajal

and I don't use it much. And I bought new face-wash yesterday."

"An eleven-inch pizza and Balli malai and jalebi"(4)(5)

"Deal."

The deal was set. She loved sweets. Plus she was already giving him a very big discount. Not to mention all the free work she did. She needed payment for her donkey work.

The next evening, Ayesha was stuffed. She ate too many sweets and wanted to use the washroom. " Bhai! Get out! I really need to empty my intestines out!! Hurry up!!" She yelled as she banged on the toilet door.

Zeeshaan, who was bathing mindlessly was startled and dropped the soap. It bounced and slid until it reached the edge of the squat style commode. It tethered for a bit and plopped inside the hole. He grimaced.

Zeeshaan couldn't admonish his sister for startling him in the bath. He hadn't even finished scrubbing the few areas a man usually scrubbed. That didn't bother him so much. He used shampoo instead. He'll just have softer body hair. He hurriedly finished off bathing and wiped himself with a towel before tying it around his waist. As he got out , he shot his little sister a tiny glare.

Ayesha was in too much of a hurry to notice. She said the Duaa for entering the toilet and rushed in.

"Aaaah! I feel so much lighter.", said Ayesha. "Bhai, shall we go to Loharchaal(7)? Are you free? Ummi wanted to go too."

"Yeah. Get ready then. You have half an hour."

"What? No, Bhai! That's too little time!"

" Half an hour is more than enough. All you need to do is wear a Burqah over what you are wearing anyways. You speak as if you never went out with a Burqah over your pyjamas."

"But, Bhai! We need to wash our faces and put cooling powder(8) so we don't sweat so much and we need to decide which Burqah to wear and Ummi takes too long to tie her scarf and-" "Forty five minutes."

"Ok!"

Zeeshaan knew it wouldn't be only forty five minutes. He decided to play games on his phone.

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Glossary:-

(1)Maska-marofy:- Modern slang meaning to butter someone up. Maska is the Hindi word for butter.

(2) Bhai-jaan- Bhai--> Brother.

jaan- A suffix or an individual word used to show closeness between siblings or lovers or something which is very dear. It literally means 'life'. Can be used in the same context as 'my love'. For e.g. "Meri jaan! Mera kaleja ka tukda hai meri beti."

Lit: "My life (love)! My daughter is a piece of my liver.!"

As funny as it sounds, it's a way of showing how close or dear something is to someone. " Meri Dil ka tukda" means ' a piece of my heart'.

(3) Kajal:- Also widely known as Kohl.

Kajal is made from soot of plants or camphor. It is pasty. Is used to darken and line the eye contours.

It makes a girl instantly look prettier by a few grades. That's how it is in India anyways.

There is something similar called 'Surma', a black powder, which is used by both girls and boys. Applying Surma was also a Sunnah.

(4) Balli malai- A sweet that is made from the first milk a cow gives when she starts lactating. It looks like tofu(?) or a white coloured jelly. This is Author-me's favourite sweet dish. I have fallen sick eating too much of it.

(5) Jalebi- An orange or brownish sweet snack that look like swirly loops. They are deep fried and taste really good. It is one of the must-haves for tourists visiting India.

(6) Duaa- A prayer made to ask Allah for certain things. There are many duaas. Duaas can also be made in one's own language. Basically, you just ask Allah for granting you your wishes. The duaa referred here is the duaa said before entering the toilet to protect one from Jinns. Jinns are also known as Genies or Djinns. The favourite place for an evil Jinn to live is in a toilet or dirty places. Jinns are beings created from fire. Humans are made from mud and Angels are made from light.

(7) Loharchaal- One of the markets (bazaars) in Mumbai where you get many cheap things. One of the attractions for tourists. There are many market gatherings. One other famous one is Bhindi Bazaar.

(8) Cooling powder:- A kind of prickly heat talcum powder that gives a cooling sensation when applied.