Fan-ta-size
Since ACs and I don't get along, Mom wanted a
portable fan -- the standard
oscillating pedestal kind with circular blades
enclosed behind a steel grill. I can't bear the
thought of that "homely" fan sitting in my
living room. I can deal with a small, quiet,
aesthetically pleasing tower fan maybe. -- like
this one or this one. But, the monstrous,
space-hogging ugliness she wants I just can't
do!
To my utter delight, the tower fans have better reviews than the standard pedestal fans. They come with multiple speed settings, a remote control, dust/pollen filter, and an automatic shut-off feature. More than anything, they are lightweight, and less prominent!
Of course, I show this work of art to mom for approval and she views it with apprehension. What she wants is a fan that will blow air like a wind tunnel. She is used to having the ceiling fan on full blast even in winter, and is addicted to that breezy feeling with the air circulating all the time. For that purpose, the pedestal fan is a tested and proven contraption that has serviced mankind for generations! I call it the "thatha fan" (not that my granddad ever used it! It also occurs to me that our house never had one in all the years that I have lived there... but thatha fan it is)
Anyway, the phone conversation with mom was getting frustrating. For one thing, I wanted her to see beyond my predilection for aesthetic over comfort. I wanted her to acknowledge that the tower fan was more practical and sensible from every point of view. Just take the fact that we will use it for 10 days in a year when mom is here and won't know where to store it after she leaves. No matter what I said, and how I said it, she insisted that all I care about is the aesthetic! I lamented that reasoning with her was no different from reasoning with a blind man about color or a deaf man about sound! "I don't care about color or sound, give me breeze", she said!
Then, I wanted her to see that bigger is not always better and "small and sleek" does not mean "less powerful". I went on an analogy rampage: Gramophone vs. ipod, Air Cooler vs. Air Conditioner, Tube TV vs. Flatscreen, Grandfather clock vs. small digital clock... Much to my annoyance, my analogies had the opposite effect on her. Mom went off on a nostalgic excursion. I don't blame her. I could see myself buying into her nostalgia and craving the Gramophone, the Air Cooler, the Tube TV, and the Grandfather clock as well. :) But Screw nostalgia. I was not going to give in so easily!
Much to my disadvantage (and hers, I insist), Mom is stuck in her old world of tubelights and tape recorders and continues to adamantly disregard the awesomeness that is the 21st century... :)
So I finally screamed:
"Mom. Tower fan is all you are getting, period. It comes with three settings... Setting 1: Balmy October Night in Hyderabad; Setting 2: Blustery Evening in Besant Nagar Beach; Setting 3: Netherlands Wind Turbine. Setting 1: Underwear; Setting 2: Shorts; Setting 3. Sweatpants!"
"Fine. Wind Turbine Explosion in Sweatpants sounds good", she said.
Why do I feel like she won?
In the mean time, Tapi had a fun time representing our argument in paint!
To my utter delight, the tower fans have better reviews than the standard pedestal fans. They come with multiple speed settings, a remote control, dust/pollen filter, and an automatic shut-off feature. More than anything, they are lightweight, and less prominent!
Of course, I show this work of art to mom for approval and she views it with apprehension. What she wants is a fan that will blow air like a wind tunnel. She is used to having the ceiling fan on full blast even in winter, and is addicted to that breezy feeling with the air circulating all the time. For that purpose, the pedestal fan is a tested and proven contraption that has serviced mankind for generations! I call it the "thatha fan" (not that my granddad ever used it! It also occurs to me that our house never had one in all the years that I have lived there... but thatha fan it is)
Anyway, the phone conversation with mom was getting frustrating. For one thing, I wanted her to see beyond my predilection for aesthetic over comfort. I wanted her to acknowledge that the tower fan was more practical and sensible from every point of view. Just take the fact that we will use it for 10 days in a year when mom is here and won't know where to store it after she leaves. No matter what I said, and how I said it, she insisted that all I care about is the aesthetic! I lamented that reasoning with her was no different from reasoning with a blind man about color or a deaf man about sound! "I don't care about color or sound, give me breeze", she said!
Then, I wanted her to see that bigger is not always better and "small and sleek" does not mean "less powerful". I went on an analogy rampage: Gramophone vs. ipod, Air Cooler vs. Air Conditioner, Tube TV vs. Flatscreen, Grandfather clock vs. small digital clock... Much to my annoyance, my analogies had the opposite effect on her. Mom went off on a nostalgic excursion. I don't blame her. I could see myself buying into her nostalgia and craving the Gramophone, the Air Cooler, the Tube TV, and the Grandfather clock as well. :) But Screw nostalgia. I was not going to give in so easily!
Much to my disadvantage (and hers, I insist), Mom is stuck in her old world of tubelights and tape recorders and continues to adamantly disregard the awesomeness that is the 21st century... :)
So I finally screamed:
"Mom. Tower fan is all you are getting, period. It comes with three settings... Setting 1: Balmy October Night in Hyderabad; Setting 2: Blustery Evening in Besant Nagar Beach; Setting 3: Netherlands Wind Turbine. Setting 1: Underwear; Setting 2: Shorts; Setting 3. Sweatpants!"
"Fine. Wind Turbine Explosion in Sweatpants sounds good", she said.
Why do I feel like she won?
In the mean time, Tapi had a fun time representing our argument in paint!
