"...Kitni stories likhta hai. Kaam kab karta hai...?"

 "...Kitni stories likhta hai. Kaam kab karta hai...?"

...asked a friend recently when we met. [You write a lot of stories, when do you work?]

In response to that, my first reaction was a blank stare. Then it hit me that he was actually genuinely curious and I thought it would be worth a discussion. The rest of the talk was in Hindi (and it was fun to converse in Hindi, but I'll translate it to English for the readers' benefit).

"We'll come to that in a bit. First tell me, I heard you watch Anupama?" I asked. Its a daily show my wife tells me many people in the country watch - I have nothing against it though. "Yea, actually my mom and wife used to watch it. Eventually, I started watching it along with them. Just a habit now" he replied. "..and you go to the gym daily?" I continued. "Yes, I try to go atleast on weekdays. But this one is a good habit, right?" he asked, matter-of-factly. "Of course. And how many cigarettes do you smoke in a day? I am sure you end up taking smoke breaks at work due to it?" I tightened the screws now. "Abey woh sun legi! Tu marwaega! ["She will hear you! You will have me killed!"], he protested, while putting a finger on his lips to tell me to not talk any more about it. The Mrs. was just a few feet away from where we were and, clearly, she wasn't thrilled about his smoking habit.

"So, you waste time watching Anupama, you waste your time at the gym daily, you even waste your time in the office taking smoke breaks and I am sure you waste many hours doing things other than work. When do you work?" I asked, grinning now. The point had probably hit home as he started laughing, but I still felt the need to ensure it, so I added - "It takes me just a few mins to write about something and most of the time I write when I am on my evening walk. Otherwise too, if gymming works for your physical fitness, writing aids my mental wellbeing. If smoking breaks help rejuvenate your mind, writing breaks do the same for mine. I don't need to stop or impede my work to write!" I signed off, as the wives walked over and the conversation ended.