Hey You !

I looked at the picture incredulously. Was it me ? Did I actually look like that ? The mirror said a different story altogether. The picture showed a happier time , smiles without a million crows feet around the eyes, teeth instead of pink baby gums and wispy hair. Ah time....it plays havoc - gives so much and takes away all the bounty! I slowly turned towards the balcony and headed for the chair, now warmed by the fleeting winter sun. Renu brings me my cup of tea and the book marked midway. The skyline looks almost the same except for a few more highrises  raising their heads and blocking the view of the flyover that used to be clearly visible a few years before. I still remembered how I felt when I first moved in almost half a century back - my first view of the city at night from a highrise , with its shimmering lights and traffic trails. In my mind I was in New York, though I hadn't ever been there. Baba had laughed when I exclaimed childishly "This is like New York !!...

He was fascinated with the way she found every nuance of high life amazing and she found him amazing. From the way he walked the crossed legged walk, to the way he smoked and the curious ring on his finger with two letters snaked together. She often asked him what it meant- to which he smiled mysteriously. Life was like an ice-cream flavor - Blind love ! Till she found out the meaning of those two letters in the ring. Till he lost his interest in teaching her about the skills in getting around the rich and famous. Ah...life is not like blind love, and ice creams melt in the mouth or in the heart. And years later one learns the ropes - She is a society damsel and he is all alone. Do they meet ? May be not ....cos real life is far from reel, and protagonists live across they road yet they lose their feel. Love remains blind in the end, cos if you had eyes you would see through the pretend :)

The ashche bochor came and went and the wait begins...The sky really looked blue and the days are a bit better, and nights a bit cooler.  This time I pandal hopped a bit and went to the immersion after years and kept wondering about the cycle of beginnings, ends and beginnings - of joy , grandeur, gaiety and all things good and evil. The wait begins again... In the end all things are vertical, whether gods or the lesser mortals. And I look at people more closely -must be my age and the fact that I am out of the selfie mode.  The airport waiting area was an ideal showcase...There were the ones who are absolutely at ease with PDA ( public display of affection) and there are others who are anxious to find a known face in an unknown city, the old and the infirm and of course the confident one. A mix bag like life, love and all that time throws in... In this season of goodbyes and re-entries let me live in my time in space for a while.... Divine...

The last night of Pitri pokhkho and the beginning of Debi pokhkho....  Watched the sun set over a river and the pyres burning....while my city decks up for the Durga Pooja. Life goes on amid the births and deaths of lives, relationships, status and all that is part of us and ours. Or is anything mine? Strange thoughts to begin the most joyous season of all. And as I prepare to spend those few days at my newly renovated " baaper bari", there's always an emptiness. Why does joy come with that tinge of sorrow always?

House full of dust , sounds of hammer , a strange voice humming and Sunday morning. Not my kind of morning really , as I take a sip of the coffee that came from the electric kettle in the bedroom as the kitchen remains dysfunctional. Doing up an almost 40 years old apartment isn't easy and I woke up with the thought that I should have let it be ....at least I could  come and spend some time in solitude and peace and dig up memories from the the years gone by.... I hear two strange voices from the kitchen and venture out into the swirls of dust. I see a kakima talking to the head mason in the kitchen. "Oh aapni ?" "Ami tomar bari dekhte elam ....bari theek korcho?" What does it look like ? I am playing in the sand pit ? I still keep a straight face and say " Hain..." I am cut short by " Kono khobor achche ? Cheler biye naki ?" What the heck !!!! I keep the straight face with more effort and say " Na na ....or to biyer boyosh hoye...

I had this tin pencil box for a long time that said "Kwality ice cream, a dream with a cream". Kwality was quite in when we were growing up. For me and  Mohua  eating out on our own would be this place, as we never got the permission to venture far. The food, the place , the desserts all were oh so good! Infact, when Chibu was small on one of our walks to see the Phari fountain, he pointed to the place and said "Amaye olome jaigaye khwabe, ma?"Over the years the next-door Gariahat Kwality lost its sheen. Once I had stepped in , found it dark and seedy and stepped out immediately as I did not like the place. I forgot all about it and thought the place had actually closed down. Last afternoon Subarna changed her mind and said she wants to visit Gariahat Kwality. My first reaction was, but no one goes there anymore  ! I stepped in reluctantly hoping she would change her mind and we would go to a more happening place. But she was adamant. So we ended up with a decen...

 In recent times FB has come up with a new challenge that has everyone posting pictures in black and white- The B&W challenge had everyone using some app and changing the DP to that era. Cleaning my parents apartment, is always a voyage on a time machine  for me - Strange how the people are gone and the objects remain- like that arm chair , once my grandmother's  favorite then my father's ! I recently remodeled my grandparents double bed, more out of sentiment than anything else.  And then, this was Victoria Memorial in an original two colored snap. Of course it is now a fad to Prisma or Photoshop or play with an app to bring back the sepia days. Among the many memorabilia , I discovered Dadu's MB certificates - Dadu was sauve, westernized and very social. The story goes that when he went to see my mother for the first time, he wanted fork and spoon saying that at home they used cutlery at the table, and my Didi actually had the table laid out accordingl...