Dida's almirah, probably over a century old The house by the lake in Agartala is my home. It had a Bakul tree by the gate once, tall betel nut trees grew by the boundary wall, and there were so many mango trees, jackfruit trees and … Continue reading A new corner in my old home
Striving for poise
‘Poise’, the word enamoured me once. A person described as ‘poised’ was greatly admired by me. ‘She carried herself with poise and elegance,’ or ‘She was incredibly poised for a girl her age,’ and I would immediately admire and envy that imagined person. For, poise … Continue reading Striving for poise
Windfall, magic, miracles…
In Agartala, when I was a little girl, there was a famous, ‘Saath lakhi bari’ or ‘the house of seven lakh.’ No, it was not the house that was worth seven lakh, the owner of that house, an old gentleman then, had once won a … Continue reading Windfall, magic, miracles…
And finally, it rained
Rains! Finally!! Summer seemed unending this year. Set in early by the end of March, stealing the pleasant spring days. We are used to hot summers in North India, but this season she has been relentless, unbearable, scorching us with all her energy. She has … Continue reading And finally, it rained
A rustic dream
Sometimes while you are walking along you encounter beautiful memories of your childhood. I remembered being a little girl driving down the country roads with my parents during my visit to Beholi, a village in Panipat. It was a work trip. I had anticipated a … Continue reading A rustic dream
My heart craves lazy summer breaks
Those long summer school breaks growing up. Every year we would head to my maternal grandparents’ place in Lucknow. Mom would pack our clothes in a huge leather suitcase, my younger sisters and mine. Dad would usually join us later. Fly from Agartala to Kolkata. … Continue reading My heart craves lazy summer breaks
The Bong Egg Affair
The deep and intense love affair between Bengalis and fish is well-known. We are often called mecho Bangali, meaning fish-loving Bongs. In a ‘true’ Bengali household macher jhol or fish curry is part of every meal. On certain days, for some unforeseen reason when fish … Continue reading The Bong Egg Affair
Hitting the Pause
At times, life hits a pause button. The frame is frozen, an uneasy freeze that takes a while to thaw. Yet, it is eventually unfrozen or we unfreeze the frame for life can't stay frozen for too long. We have to move on. These are … Continue reading Hitting the Pause
And we dream on…
The merging worlds: the sky, the earth and the water I dream every night, some I remember, most I don’t. Dreams, according to Freud, are reflections of our ‘unconscious’, but I find most of my dreams that I can recollect once I am awake, quite … Continue reading And we dream on…
The early morning thunderstorm by Titas Mazumdar
Delhi/NCR's extreme heat wave for past few weeks all of a sudden was washed off and moistened by heavy thunderstorm and beautiful morning rain...we woke around 5ish hearing the wind roaring in rage and the trees dancing fanatically as if they were all intoxicated by … Continue reading The early morning thunderstorm by Titas Mazumdar