A suitably (heavy) book

Standout event of 1993 was possibly Vikram Seth's A Suitable Boy! I was still a student and my pockets weren't that deep. All the world was a buzz with the book, the advance, the number of pages, the story. And then, it arrived in our building, bought by a young couple! Hurrah. And one fine sunday (I think), their baby sitter arrived at our apartment, their baby cradled in the crook of one arm and the other holding on to the tome of 1349 pages + hard cover! OMG. That moment was greater than the actual reading of the book (which was also terrific). 

It has taken me 29 years to do something similar! This morning, I sent Robert Galbraith's The Ink Black Heart (Cormoran Strike book #6) over to them. All 1462 pages of it! Yes, yes different genres and not really comparable, but this was something eagerly awaited by both families. 

2 cakes, 1 Birthday and 1 New Year

R baked my favorite apple cinnamon upside-down cake on my birthday eve. Pater, Mater and perhaps sis were expecting I’d cut my cake soon. I desisted. Birthday cake must always be cut on one’s birthday. And at a decent hour. Not at midnight for the middle of the night social media pix / fix! Which anyhow, rest of the world would see the next day.

Next morning, or on my birthday, I cut the cake after our (R’s, ma’s, and mine) morning cup(s) of tea. Conversation flowed like it does every morning, about this and that and menu for the day. Suddenly ma sang out “Happy birthday to you” and just as sudden went back to conversing with R.

A couple of hours later, ma asked me to get some dhania pata from the fridge. I told her that it was already in the kitchen. She then asked me to get something else out, which too was already in the kitchen. She seemed to think of something else and then laughed. Open the fridge. Your cake. What cake? Its already on the table. While I was in my room doing yoga, a white forest cake was delivered, which R had to receive and then hide it in the fridge. Now I had 2 cakes. Felt for R. All her plans to surprise me, bheste gelo!

In the middle of it all, Baba came out of his room, saw me and said “Happy new year”. Bojho! Seeing the look on my face, he said, “New year, for you". 

 

A 100 years from today

The problem was further compounded by the fact that the killer disease, influenza, had broken out in the ashram… He (Rabindranath) had heard about cases in Kolkata, ....Now he was horrified to hear that four students had been affected and the contagion was spreading fast. Circa 1919-20 

[Daughters of Jorasanko, Aruna Charkavarti]

Imagine the coincidence of reading these lines in the lockdown due to the COVID19 Pandemic 100 years later! Aaji hote Soto Borsho pore!

The morning crossword

The morning crossword.

Lil sis gets through it first. Then I fill in the blanks. And between the two of us, we solve the crossword each morning. Or we used to.

For as long as I can remember, she always had the first go. Even on those rare days she would not, I'd feel guilty filling in a totally blank one. First rights after all. 

 

How strange it is to find a blank crossword.I find myself starting each morning. 

 

Then I remember, there is only me now. Lil sis has flown the coop. 

 

Seemingly small and insignificant rituals become so enormously important. 

Missing you in so many ways!

Calcutta Cutlet Experience

On my way home from weaver's centre walked passed baked and fried. Like I have before. Only this time, I stopped and ordered 4 chicken cutlets. Ah what an experience. That little shop in a garage, that bhishon bangali owner and staff, the regular clientele, that auto ride home with the cutlets warm in their box, against my legs, ah the aroma as I sat sandwiched between two commuters - fellow savorers I imagine. And then home and ma's carefully concealed delight and baba's extremely mild curiousity (!!), Ah the cutlets, those slim sticks of cucumber, carrot and onions and pungent Kasundi. Tea. Life if good.

Tsundoku

Tsundoku - Japanese for accumulating piles of unread books. That is me. Thing is I can't help buying books and then also get tons from the public library which get reading preference on account of "due by date". And my own accumulate, unread. From years back. Too precious for me to discard. Too busy to read them.

Got it from here!

The Perfect Lunch

Perfect weather, beautiful place, striking people and then just the lunch waiting for us in quiet Rupkona village. The menu - rice, dal, sag, kundru's sabzi, tomato relish. Perfect.

 Luunch at Rupkona village, Rayagada district, Odisha

Janakpur Jaoge?

At last we arrive at Janakpur, Koria District, Chhatisgarh. Even the smallish Ambikarpur, from where we had begun four hours earlier, is gigantic in comparison.

A quick tea later, we hit the dirt road to the Villages for my official field visit. Like everywhere where else in Chhatisgarh, the wide open expanses are a constant source of surprise. The car stops on a sleepy little dirt track, we get off and walk  across fields and up to two mud huts in the middle of nowhere. As we near the huts, we are greeted by a pint sized thin as a reed totally naked boy who goes straight upto Fr. Xaxa and lisps in Sadri 'where did the car come from? I want to go to Jankpur'. Fr. Xaxa points at me and says"madam has come in it".

Half an hour later, when we are returning after our survey of the field and meeting with a few farmers, there is little Kisan ... dressed in his best shirt and shorts with both eyes shining in anticipation of Madam taking him in the car to far away Janakpur.


































Surprising that a tiny town like this even exists today in the jostling India of more than a billion. But apparently a comatose town to one can be a  fabled Shangrila to others.

Alas, with a heavy heart, Madam has to leave.Without him. But Kisan is going to go far, far beyond Janakpur. One day.

Krishna Janmashtami

Our apartment was redolent with the aroma of the frying 'taler - bora' or tal (palm sap) pakora, this rain soaked afternoon.

Afterall it is Krishna Janmashtami!

As much as both the rains and taler bora are traditional Janmashatmi events, so is distributing boxes of the afore mentioned tal er bora to friends and family! Thankgod. It is quite difficult to stop eating them ...

Gone for a six

I boarded the near empty bus from the Ruby Hospital stop.

This was my first time to Hi-Land Park Multiplex by bus. Apart from being like 100 times cheaper than my usual cab, the ride itself was very pleasant. It was only 11 am on this rainy Sunday. The bus fairly zipped through the empty roads!

I asked the conductor what the fare was.

"Over boundary", was his response.

What? I stared at him blankly.

But only for a few seconds .... before I got it.

6 rupees. And just in time too. Before his amusing poser would be lost on a stupid passenger!

Only in Kolkata, this!

PS - The movie was good too!

The Eagle has landed

Not the noisy crows. Nor the shrill mynah. She is back. Solitary. Regal. Many a nights she spent on the branches just outside my window, waking me up with a single cry early in the morning. Then she'd spread her wings and take off as another day began. Just as suddenly, she disappeared. But now, she is back.

Clouded Humour!

Cirrus, cumulus and now humourous!

Clouds were in a funny mood that evening. Spread thickly all over (atleast my part of) Kolkata, they looked exactly like thick polluting smoke of a thousand chimneys. More than 50 shades of Grey (haha).

Roof with a view: Kolkata, 6:00 pm ish, 9th July 2013

Mid March Morning in Kolkata

This is what I woke up to this mid-march morning .... Skies that particularly familiar early morning smoggy shade of blue, mynah bird bobbing,  palm nodding in the gentle breeze .... the hustle and bustle of Kolkata yet to begin ...

Sigh!

The shedding storm

Jadavpur, 2:30 pm Sunday.A sudden dust storm swooped down from nowhere and stripped the trees bare of yellow old leaves so that the new and the green can emerge!

Kolkata skyline

There is a curious sense of 'waiting' in the air. Waiting for the tremendous heat of summer, waiting for the Kalbaishakhis.

Redolent spring time!

The day was filled with the heady scent of a bowl full of gandharaj [cape jamine] and bel phool!

Memories of March?!

The impossible happiness of a sublime and mild spring in Kolkata ... which even as I write will soon give way to the dreaded heat of the endless summer ...

Spring comes marching in ...

... with a view that fills my heart with delight! The leaves on the mango tree can scant be see so full of manjari  it is!

A little bit of grey sky

It rained late last night and perhaps early this morning as well. Made everything damp,  muddy and slippery. But  the cracked, ugly parking at the rear of our building looked beautiful.

Colours of Delhi

Near India Gate