Hey You !

Woke up to the sound of Dhaak and Hookkah Bar ..  For a second in that half wakefullness I thought poojo has arrived !!!! I love this time of the year when the pandals come up and traffic snarls around the markets and malls to cause the most tiresome traffic jams....I crib each day yet  I love the anticipation! Though this bishshokorma was damp squib- no kites in the sky, the day was cloudy and sultry and  I missed the trademark mangsho -bhaat too ! Yet the half built pandals in the middle of the road, and the thronging crowds at Gariahat give that festive air ....the jostling, the stampede and the pickpockets doing rip-roaring business nonetheless ! Every year we have the same uncertainties...will Mainak have it's poojo? Baba keeps complaining about Chibu and his friends not doing anything at all......nothing is done...uff !the young generation...etc etc......... And Chibu master as usual says everything will be done..and things happen only in the last minute...

The sea, the sea: our ally and friend" The seascape drawing us in In triumph, two sweethearts together ".Creating Minstrels in the sand.       Coming back to Kochi again and again..... Bhaskar complained I might as well stay back in Kochi and settle here!  It's kind of my escape from the hustle and the bustle...Though the solo teaching can be a bit tiresome at times , but by now I quite like it! The bouquets and the brickbats- all mine!  Of course I had to complete my pilgrim's progress and visit the sea ! Vypin was serene and there was just me and a couple at a distance enjoying their private time together , and we deliberately did not encroach upon each others space ......Couples always try to find their private space even in a crowd with a hundred prying eyes stripping them into pieces! It  makes me smile to see them enjoying their own world....Were we like that too? It was so long ago ........             ...

Listening to this with the rain pattering outside my window..... Alone again , naturally ! But am liking the solitude as much as I am enjoying the reading . Orhan Pamuk's Museum of Innocence was not really on my reading list ..but it happened ! I still am reeling under the impact of Hungry Tide - the entwined socio -politico fabric underlying the myriad emotions and rich descriptions...I just did not want the book to end ! Sometimes I feel I should have chosen to travel across the globe when young and chosen to be the journalist I always wanted be... But sometimes dreams remain dreams.......... Till then my sweet...:)

Coming  back to my city  has it's own charm ....The traffic welcomes you with a snarl, the endless hoot hoot honk honk reminds you of jungle of another kind! Yet there are evenings when the rain washes away the dirt from the leaves and the light reflects on the wet roads to make it shine and shimmer . Of course the best thing about July was Subarna's visit. Something I have been looking forward to. This time, time just flew by...We just had a few outings , a dinner and a theatre and concert and time's out ! I guess that's what happens when you expect something for very long !The concert by Los Amigos at 40, Ballygunj Place was nice with the group playing the Latino Jazz version of I love Paris and Autumn leaves ! However The Lady Chatterly's Lover Unwind proved to be too much for our sense 'n sensibility......The story line veering towards obscene and insane and we found the serious ,seriously funny :) The F* word was used in a song ( eeks).....and the...

Koyel's visit in many ways brought back the memories of another day...Of the time when Chibu and Koyel were kids. Chibu used to call her Gulli-didi, an almost one month old advantage redeemed ! We used to spend a lot of time together- bookfairs, and movies and outings and invariably there were  fights and spats which were oh -so -serious to them , but oh -so funny to us. Koyel's stay with us during the Kolkata flood in '99 was fun , for many reasons! Chibu was the most imperfect host- clipped her hair and locked her out of the flat, and taught her to ring people's doorbells and run away !                                                               Of course after the floods came the Poojo! And Mainak always gears up in  the last minute  ..Last few years were all the same.."poojo hobe na !ei shesh baar! etoh jhame...

I am finally rid of my out of Africa mode...back to reality and back to catching a glimpse of the sky  in the hues of dusk from the space between two buildings..I am back to my own jungle! This morning we walked into our office to find one of the washrooms shattered to smithereens- it seems a thief broke in and while stealing the taps, broke the ceramics into little bits and pieces!  So much for thieves and destruction... Why do people blame the elephants?

Simba , the king in making ! Kate and Prince William's newborn is giving way to too many reactions- good, bad , ugly! Bhaskar's contention was, another one has come to take away the tax payers share....I remain neutral ,after all,the junta decided to let the throne be, so who are we to complain?  There was a time long, long time back when my world revolved around fairy tales, and I used to be fascinated with the British Royalty. I remember poring over the fat velvet bound books on King George the Vth 's Coronation. Their world of carriages and coaches and castles seemed so fascinating then. Somewhere, of course the tint faded as I majored with Political Science my allegience changed           towards Dilectical Materialism ! Thi s time I missed another royal - the King of Africa ! We saw  lionesses by the dozen almost , but the King remained elusive! We saw this pride feeding on a kill .The mother on guard as the cubs feasted loudly. A cute ...