Category Archives: Life’s Like That

Today I woke up to a compelling query on Instagram: ‘Are you connected to 202?, Is your name Moa, is your brother’s name Ghonto?…’ and then it unfolded into a beautiful childhood memory. The address of the house I grew up in was actually used for two houses within the same premises, one in theContinue reading “Vintage stories”

From the shelter of my mind through the window of my eyes… (Originally written in 1998, one year after Kaku passed away from lung cancer.) স্থান: ২০২ কাল: ১৯৯৪ এর আগে কাকু (কুশ): কিরে একা একা হাসছিস কেন ?আমি: না, একটা মজার কথা মনে পড়ে গেল….কাকু: তাই বলে একা একা হাসবি?আমি: ওই মানে যাক্‌গে !কাকু:Continue reading ““স্মৃতি সততই সুখের””

Of the many broken remnants and legacies of North Calcutta (about which I know very little), I had the privilege of visiting the old family house of the Ghoses at 46 Pathuriaghata Street recently, with a friend who is a daughter of this family.

The first few days of living with my arranged husband, in his lake facing half-bedroom apartment in Seattle, was spent getting over jet lag, getting used to the cold and wet city, figuring out how to get in and out of the apartment building, learning to cross roads and board buses, figuring out supermarkets, andContinue reading “Then and Now”

I am not a full Bengali by lineage. My mother, who was born and brought up in Kolkata, studied in a Bengali medium school and Presidency college, and became a professor in a renowned college in North Kolkata, was the daughter of a Parekh family hailing from Bikaner. Her pedigree is that of a MarwariContinue reading “My Marwari lineage!”

Lord Jagannath has always awed me, not as a God but as a brilliant work of art! I have often thought about the creator of the idols of Jagannath, Subhadra, and Balaram. I have saluted the genius mind which has brought alive this avatar of Narayan – the lines, the face, the figure, and theContinue reading “The Magic of Jagannath!”

A colleague recently asked me, somewhat hesitantly, “Ma’m are you a cat person?” As I stared at her, she jumped to clarify, “I saw that your Gmail profile picture is a cat, that’s why I’m asking.” This time, I gave her an enthusiastic confirmation, before turning back to my work. Because regardless of rank orContinue reading “Majantali – Our Cat”

The elements that make one’s life wondrous are mostly installed in one’s childhood. All through my childhood I learned the subtle flavour of living from my father. He was an excellent storyteller. I hated fish and rice, the staple diet of a Bengali house, and every night the painful moments of gulping the rui machherContinue reading “The Making of Me!”

First time she saw me she looked at me with a critical eye, measured me and directed me to sit beside her. I was dressed in a saree and was conscious of delivering my best performance of a cultured educated mind. She was the one who had advised Deepayan to ask me at our firstContinue reading “She”

The last time I visited Kashmir, it was for work. The month was November and it was cold with night temperatures dropping below zero degrees. We realized that without a heater it was impossible to sleep in this freezing cold and hence decided to book a costlier hotel with adequate heating facilities. The rooms wereContinue reading “Warming Up a Cold Christmas”