Eternal Radiance

   Dorning a smile with a pair of bifocal glasses  , wearing white along with a silver cascade of hair , you were an angel in my life,THAMMA.

  The ludo board too feels the abscence of the competitive gameplay we had before your siesta. 

  Pujo time is the thing I miss the most. Assisting you as your PA while you carried out your prayers from lighting  the inscence sticks to offering flowers. 

  Giving you eye drops is something which I will never forget "ek phota deebaa" lingers in my ears till date. 

  I can't seem to phathom as to how you could distinguish between a home cooked delicacy and that which was procurred from elsewhere. 

   Thamma you have given me immense love and instilled a shoal of values in me which has made me the girl I'm today .

    4pm ,now and then ,will have a different meaning altogether atleast for me. The way you used to refreshen yourself  flashes like a short documentary in front of my eyes. The whiff of ponds cold cream lingering in the air, as you gently massaged your hands and face giving yourself a radiant glow . Neatly parted hair , tied with black ribbon is not to be missed.  During our game of ludo there were times when I used to defeat you often. It was really difficult for you to accept sportingly. 

    At one point of time you have undergone a series of hardships. Raising a family of eight children single handed is a herculien task but not once did you crib nor did you allow any sorrow to seep into the family. Repeatedly you have forgiven our follies. Thamma, today's battle once again you have fought single handed. This time you emerged victorious and have defeated us all.You are my warrior princess. 

   And now that you have become another star in the constellation which looks upon me , I know ,you will always be by my side, guiding me in every step I take and giving me the much needed moral support and showers of blessings from above. 

   You have occupied a special place in my soul and will never fade away as long as I breathe. 

     May your soul rest in peace and may your enchanting smile light up the soul of the place you are in. 

    ~Your loving Ghoontoo (Xena) 

  

  

 

  

 

  

  

CARTE BLANCHE

 

   With total  lock down  ,  due  to  the  melodramatic  ushering  of  the   trouble  shooting  Corona,  life  has  now  become  a  roller  coaster  ride  . Nobody  was  even  prepared  for  this  eventuality. Mankind is duped.   

   But  I guess this  global  crisis  has  also  given  us  an opportunity  to break  free from  the  humdrum  of  life. It has stirred  and    given  us the  opportunity  of reawakening  and  even  rediscovering  ourselves. It  has  turned  us  into  famished  human  beings  longing  to quench the  thirst  of  our  long  lost  freedom .  Once   again  we  get  the  privilege  of  rediscovering  our  true  self .   Amidst  this  hullabaloo  let’s spare  a  moment  to salute those selfless  front line  warriors  who  have  already  sacrificed  their  freedom  for  the  sake  of  others.

      This  lock down  has  given  me the  perfect  opportunity  to  spend  more  time  with  my  family,   be   at  their  aid however   big  or    small it  may seem and listening  to  stories  of  the  bygone  era is something   that  I  cherish.    This long  unexpected  vacation  enabled  me   to  complete  my  unfinished  piece  of  work, jog  my  brain  down  the  memory  lane of  how  I lived  my  life  in  the  past  years   and  even  how  to create  a  new  demeanor  to  it  too.    It  has  allowed  me  to  connect  with  my  teachers  ,  friends  from  school as  well  as  high  school who either  live  in  town  or  ocean’s apart. Long exciting   conversation  with  them  either  via   zoom  or  be  it   a  simple  phone  call  makes  me  lose  track  of   the  time  spent  talking  about  those  days  full of  joy, laughter  and  mirth.

    This  present  is  not  wrapped  in  a shiny  or  a  fancy  paper  but  the  contents  of  it  have  enabled  me  to  crack  the  mystery  behind “Torith Sengupta’s ”murder and  even to return  back  to  the  grandeur of  Mussoorie’s much  famed  “ Landour Hill’’   and  relive  the  tales  of  a  man  who  recollects  the  time  of  fun and  frolic  he  had  with his  grandfather  and  friends when  he  was  a  young  lad.

     This present  has  allowed  me  to  feast  my eyes     on   the  lush green and  dense  vegetation  overlooking  my  room . I can  once  again  hear  the  psithurism  in  the  air ,  soak  in  petrichor in  a  complete  sense of  bliss  . My ears  can  intercept  the  chirps  of  unseen species  of aves accompanied by the  tap tapping  orchestra  of  the  crickets.

       Even though I’m making  the  most  of  this  joie de  vivre which I have got , I still long  and  wait  in  anticipation  to  apricate and even moon wake once again  after this global pandemic comes to a halt..... 

 

The   Game of  a Crown…

 

 

   Soft ,  spongy , sporting a crown  why have you descended  on our planet is my worry. Have you been created to fulfill a purpose or have  you secretly paved your way out from a research center  to promote the trend of bio terrorism is not my worry.

  I’m pretty sure that all of you are well versed with the pandemic so I shall spare you and not ruin your mood by reiterating the same narrative again.

     This soft spongy crown has totally compelled us to revert back to our ancient customs and traditions. Every young child’s enemy that is the glass of milk infused with turmeric has in today’s day and age become our best friend to boost our immunity. The beneficial ayurvedic mixes which were made by our grandparents have now become the good Samaritans in this hullabaloo. Yoga is now not just a trend    but a daily routine in our lives.

     Work from home has now become the new normal. The broadband providers are touching upon great  feats of profit as this has become a necessity. Immense offers are being curated and launched to attract customers like magnets but in reality how many of them actually provide the  essential service is my concern. Do these providers really do what they preach?  People like us become prey to these providers and end up paying extravagant amounts just for good connectivity  to say connected with family and friends who are miles apart.

   I often think about the mind of the classrooms at this point . Even though they are inanimate and are nothing other than a lump of wood they do feel the emptiness .  At one point of time they were filled with the exuberance of childlike innocence, powerful debates and never ending discussions. But now I ponder upon the fate of this classroom which is devoid of such exuberance and is compelled to be amidst a musty atmosphere . The benches are there but they too will tarnish and age with time .

   We as individuals take multiple oaths and make endless promises. But let’s ponder on as to how many of us actually adhere to the promise once made by us.  All of us are well aware of the trending tagline दो गज की दूरी,  मास्क है जरुरी (A distance of two feet and mask is important). This is for our own safety and protection to keep the tormenting crown at bay .

   But in our society there are a few muggins who think that wearing a mask is not essential and not cool  but to goof around with no face mask is acceptable . In this same community there re a few sensible people who understand the seriousness of this pandemic .  I feel happy when I see people who have up with the idea of designer masks  which are affordable, easy to make and can be a bit pricey sometimes.

     Wearing an enclosed suit can be a style statement or even a tool of mockery for some  but to think of those health workers who are tirelessly for hours enclosed in  these suits just gives me jitters . They apply all the possible methods of treatment to bring some respite to those innocent souls who have fallen as prey to the spongy crown . It our utmost duty to respect these warriors and also ensure that our folly doesn’t become their worry.

    All of us are praying for things to become normal once again  and are anticipating a not so distant miracle to take place . Till then we have to adhere to the guidelines and safety precautions and keep everyone safe  and even help people in need in our own thoughtful way and  ensuring nothing other than positivity flows in our veins.....

 

 

Bittersweet Secrets

  As I perch on the charpoy my eyes quickly fall on the dark grey clouds adorning the sky's blueness. 

      My spirits race with joy and my mind dreams and longs for another cool downpour to dissolve the unbearable heat that prevails. My soul longs  to get a whiff of the fragrant rain drenched soil. My ears  have now wiretapped the acoustic medley of a   few cricket , frogs  and different species of  aves singing in unison, creating an orchestric feel to  the silent unstirred air .

        As I allow my eyes  to cherish the blissful nature, my mind and soul gets crumpled to see the gigantic golden ball of fire reigning supreme in it's place of honour again. The happy clouds have now drifted away . The birds too have suddenly become nonvocal. 

           I can feel my spirit crying inside but I do know that it is still anticipating the  aura of the fresh cool droplets along with their pitter pattering when they descend .

       

Cocktail Hour

 No stir in the air no stir in the  jungle , but  as lush as it should be. 

   The rain last night has cooled down the heated atmosphere a bit, with beautiful spectrums of light dawning the night sky and has even given a fresh hue of green to the dry tanned jungle. 

      It is now noon, people are locked down in their respective homes due to the troubleshooting  microbe Corona.  The phones are buzzing and the broadband  connectivity  is  soaring  to  great feats as people have now resorted to the trend known as work from  home. 

      One might wonder what the younger generation is doing at this hour. Well what else would they be doing other than keeping a couple  of checks, on the number of likes received on  social  media. But among this group there are a few who are glued in finishing a pile of selective books, perhaps learning to cook  some of  mom's or even  dad's signature recipes. Some who are proud owners of musical instruments are even  trying their hand to work up on some fresh tunes or even  find a nearly perfect  melody. 

      With all the quadruped polluting resources nestled in their garages the air is in its purest form. The jungle life is now  bustling with chirping of  unique species of aves ,the usual  cawing of peacocks as the non-tarred road is free from the hassles of  life. Wisps of cotton from the silk cotton tree sail about in the air. 

       The sky is  adorned with a combination of  pure white and  foxy grey clouds. There is immense peace and  if one gazes the sky ,all the sorrows and pains that is clasped in onself is sure  to  float away. 

       The  balmy breeze outside is the "Pied Piper of Hamelin" who has hypnotised all the leaves among the branches to dance to its melody. The fauna  seems to be enjoying  the cool  tranquility. The  cuckoo bird and  the  cricket seem to be elevating the atmosphere  with their  melody.

     Well even  I prefer to  be anonymous, allowing  my eyes to  feast the beauty  of  enthralling  nature. 

 Memories

   The question some people ask is that what do  we exactly mean by memories. Well if anyone asks me  I would just say that for me memories doesn’t mean the lyrics of a catchy song or a mere concept in Psychology. But for me memories are those unforgettable moments which even time or the most powerful force on earth can bring back.

There are particular fragrances or scents which remind us of different  events , settings and even the atmosphere of that particular day. In today’s era of mobile phones and the rising industry of social media, it is very easy to scroll up and down to get the captions and pictures of that day. 

How many of us actually take the time to sit down with a pile of photo albums or even with picture perfect memories scattered all around the floor? How many of us feel joy to look at the old black and white pictures or even the red tarnished sepia photos? I guess none. People think that our mindset is  still at heyday.

Whenever I pass through a place with many small interlinked roads my mind casually transposes to Kolkata and the only scene that flashes before my eyes are people on cycle rickshaws and small tea stalls on either side of the road where the typical Bengali milk tea is prepared and served in small Khudis [small earthen pots] and the sweet smell of shiuli lingering in the atmosphere.   

Whenever I go to St.Inez in Goa and pass by the house where I had spent my fun-filled childhood days I recollect the white apple tree from where I would pluck and eat the juicy white apples. This would be my afternoon ritual and even that I would try to aim on the star fruit tree with the help of stones to savour their sweet taste once ripened. I also recollect me gazing at the nest of the parrots high in the hole of the coconut tree .

Then comes the unforgettable fun of school and high school where we shared the homemade delicacies during recess, run ,play and even fall down and then head towards the first aid centre either to   seek  medication or to get away from a test for which we weren’t prepared for .

Those are MEMORIES for me. When I catch up with friends on social media or even meet them face to face those particular traits and mischievous tales just saunter up .

Now that I’m in Second year of college I recollect each and every bit of all those adventures and would cherish them. It’s time to go for another adventure and make them as memorable as the ones that have gone by.  

DARKNESS

  Darkness darkness everywhere. No light inside and no light outside . The generator of the housing complex I reside in has tripped .

     But amidst this darkness there is beauty. You must be wondering what beauty exists in darkness. Well the faint orange glow of the candle, the light of the fireflies, the dim light of the rechargeable light  and a few strikes of lightning not giving an awe strucking  sight but it is enough to  cheer your spirits from darkness.

  The wind I tell you is a naughty one with its spooky sound. The barking of the dog makes me wonder if Boo Radley  has spooked it by paying it a visit .

    At this juncture the candle has breathed its last and I can see only a faint of torch light emanating from my neighbor's hall.

      Even though the darkness looms on but there still is the DARKNESS

                 THE TORCH

                       AND OF COURSE

                               ME