Anu believed she had highly precise instincts and now they were on high alert, warning her that the situation with Sanju was not ordinary. Anu had mind-blowing epiphanies in two situations, one – when she had had a drink, and second – when she lied down in Shavasana in the Yoga class. She felt like a Yogin with great wisdom in both the situations. Recently, after a beer or two, she was struck by the thought of watching movie adaptations of all the books she had read. What a fabulous week that was! The time before that, when she had lied down in Shavasana, it had come to her in a flash where her next long vacation was going to be. The Himalayas! That was another fabulous week when she had put in a thousand-hours watching YouTubers trek the Leh, Ladakh and whatnot. Since she had terrible mountain sickness, watching the videos had taken care of her Himalayan cravings. But today, she was sensing something not so pleasant and there were no YouTube videos to solve her problem.

Anu tried to calm her nerves by taking a deep breath and looking around the room. Supriyaji had the same house as hers but it looked a billion times more beautiful. Maybe, she could do the same. How hard can doing up the interiors be? She must start by buying some brassware. And the colourful cushion covers, and then, of course, that deep rosewood table to host a brass lamp. That would show Sanju how great she was at interior decorating. With that determination, Anu began to feel calmer. Her next YouTube binge was in place.

Anu could hardly focus on the asanas. In her absent-mindedness, she tried the head-stand, toppled, and made three more ahead of her fall like dominoes.

Apologising to the people she had knocked off, Anu tried to relax. Why had she tied herself up in knots? Maybe Sanju was just overworked as he said.

When the class got over, Anu rolled her mat and stepped out. ‘Anu, that is not your mat.’ Yashoda aunty’s words sent a sliver of shame run down Anu’s spine. How crazy that she was about to take home the mat that was not hers!

But Yashoda aunty was the least judgemental person Anu had ever met. ‘Aunty, I have become so absent-minded!’ Anu said, embarrassed.

Yashoda aunty smiled kindly. ‘You are very busy, Anu. That is why small things skip your mind.’

Me? Busy? Is Yashoda aunty joking? Anu looked at Yashoda aunty quizzically.

‘You work, you take care of Vicky, you take care of the household. That is a lot.’

Thus far, nobody had pegged her job or her mothering as stressful. In fact, in Bangalore, if you were not a techie, or at least worked in a Tech company in the HR, PR or some such department, you were as good as jobless.