Hey You !

When Mita's call came in the morning with "Khobor shunish ni?" My heart sank and I was mentally prepared for the worst! It was a shock indeed to read about a dear colleague taking her own life ! She was smart,attractive, tech savvy and a good human being ....so why this desperate measure? Life had thrown many challenges at her- her restauranter husband left her, daughter had a rare medical problem - but  she faced the numerous challenges on her own - but she was gutsy and we admired the fact that she was so meticulous with her work despite everything! Back at school when we were colleagues she would talk about her life as a rich man's unloved wife and how her world revolved around her daughter- and then the daughter  suddenly developed this medical problem. She left the school for an office job and gradually we lost touch with each other.But today despite everything else I went back time and again to remember her face- what made her take the final painful step on t...

The festive hangover is slowly ebbing with the 240 volt jolt of work force! Though Bhaskar still says that it's just the beginning of masti time ...but post poojo my heart always feels heavy. Spent time with Baba and mammam, both are ageing and slowing down. We missed DJ kaku - the designer dhooti and taking money from him for the paan !Baba participated in the mainak Poojo function this time - he reminisced about how "Mainak" shaped up - how the first poojo happened.It was fun as the dadus refused to let go of the mike. Chibu on his part had the best of times- adda,  girls (hoping that it zeroes to one !), food , new clothes and no natok for a very unethical reason ! He stood by his friend and I argued that it's not right - a losing battle as always ! Bhaskar stayed at home and in many ways he sacrificed the fun for family ! Last evening Trilok was surprised that he played cricket and featured in cricinfo ! He wanted Bhaskar's autogr...

Saw a burst of Kaash among the rubble and concrete construction and suddenly felt a burst of happiness. The sky looked blue with tufts of clouds and the half constructed pandals on the middle of the road , all giving  that happy feeling  next week poojo will begin. When we were young our main anticipation was the new clothes. Every year my grandmother (Didi)would send me a parcel from Benaras, her own creations for me. She would go over the latest designs in "Femina"( the only in- mag those days) and conjure up some wonderful ensembles. I was probably the first few among friends to own a maxi or wear a hep version of the Burmese Lungi :)!I remember how I waited for the parcel and that was the first question I would ask after I got back from school was ," Parcel esheche?" Strangely, most of my earlier poojos were spent in Benaras. Come Poojor chuti and me and my mother would board the AC Deluxe chaircar and take off - Dada  (grandfather ) waited for us at mughal...

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...