Geetika Kutumbale, Class X E
In the summer of 2015, I visited my grandmother’s place in Delhi. It was a week-long visit including a family-get-together hosted by us. Everything was set – the venue, the guest list, the arrangements, the decoration, everything. The occasion was my grandmother’s 60th birthday.
Everyone in the family had been assigned some or the other work. When responsibilities and work were distributed, I had eagerly said, “I will look after the guest accommodation at the hotel.”
This was a real big responsibility that I had invited upon my shoulders. To begin with, I had to allot rooms to everyone, for which I needed the guest list.
Mistake number 1 – I had left it at home in Indore and there was no way we could get it in Delhi. The list had to be made again from scratch.
Just before the event was to begin, I was still running around since (it seemed) everyone had to assign me some or the odd job at the last moment. In my hurry, I almost tripped over the stairs. Thankfully, I didn’t break any bone. But the heel of my sandal did not survive the fall.
That was mistake number 2. I had to do all the work, limping about here and there in front of some 200 guests with a broken heel. With the hustle-bustle and the rush all this had caused in my mind, I spilled a glass of juice on my baby cousin’s clothes.
Mistake number 3 was a big mistake. Having a crying baby at a party is the biggest trouble anyone can get into.
When the party finally got over, we left the venue and were on our way back to grandma’s house. Just as we were about to reach home after a 2 hour car ride through the Delhi traffic, my dad got a phone call from the hotel.
“Sir, I’m afraid you’ve forgotten the cake and the bag of gifts here at the hotel. When would you be able to collect it?”
I can never forget the expression on everyone’s face. It was again my responsibility to ensure that the cake and gifts were loaded onto the car. All I could say was, “We all make mistakes!”
