Its wednesday today, 3 more days and I would be on my way HOME !! !!! !!!!!!
Right now,I am experiencing myriad of emotions going through me. No amount of circumstancial hurdles can mess my mood because the excitement of my trip superimposes all. The only things resonating through my grey cells are long hours of uninterrupted sleep,merry making with my parents and spending some quality time with the Love of my life after a hiatus of 75 days.
My plans to make the most of the 15 day trip is very clearly laid out. I have to catch up on all the good movies I have missed out in the past months. Next is to remind my anatomical system that once upon a time Non-veg was a part of my every meal 365 days which is certainly a dream now given the fact I currently stay in an all Veg household. Shopping is not very much a part of my agenda but for a girl it is absolutely OK for it to pop-in the To-do list anytime anyday !! Pandal hopping too features in my list because that is the time when general public display the best of their wadrobe collection and I am no exception to that.After all have spent hours and hours of time and energy in picking up the best for me.
Finally gorging on the best of kolkata snacks like fish fry,mutton roll,chicken cutlet,aloor chop( fried potato with a besan coating),beguni (fried brinjal with a besan coating ) and my favourite mishti doi has to be done within a short time frame of 15days to compensate the 6 months lag !
Its just a matter of 72 hours now to reign as mom and dad's little princess. Every wish of mine is equivalent to a command for them since she too is a "guest" at her own home and they leave no stone unturned to make up for all the long gone months. I wish I had wings,I wouldn't have to wait for my flight to carry me from Mumbai - Kolkata with dreams in my eyes and frenzied joy waiting to explode as i step out of the craft . . . .
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
City of Joy and More Joy to the City.....
Come September and Kolkata brims with the air of festivity !! Its THAT time of the year again when young and old,rich and poor put aside their daily worries and gear up for the biggest and probably the best festival in India - Durga Puja.
Almost a month prior to the puja,we come across bengali TV channels sporting the no.of days left in a countdown format on top corners,shops and malls advertising to the best of their ability to pull in as much customers as possible and the topic of discussion suddenly shifts from politics(the most preferred by bengalis) to who's-doing-what this puja !! One can easily spot a difference in the mood of general public as the puja days begin to approach.
I remember vividly during my young days as a kid I would wait eagerly for this time of the year,coz for me Durga Puja meant new colourful and most importantly 4-5 sets of assorted outfits. The pride of owning them almost doubled because being from a middle class family we were taught to be content with 1 dress and 5 at one go was no less than winning a jackpot ! Being financially independent today,I can buy as per my choice,but I cannot bring back the innocent joy that resided in me when my mom chose what will suit me the most.
Dressed in my best,the next step was pandal hopping with my dad on Ashtami morning(the eighth day of the puja and the most auspicious one) which included covering the best puja-pandals from north-south Kolkata. We did not have a car those days,so the journey was undertaken in local buses which were jam-packed but the joy of wearing a new dress was more powerful than jostling in the crowd . Panting and puffing ,we would reach the pandal and I would invariably nag my dad for the "pink coloured candy floss" which remains my favourite till date . Honestly,today even a Swiss watch cannot bring in the kind of satisfaction that a Rs10 candy floss brought in those days.
Ashtami evenings were spent by arranging joint family dinners comprising of Paratha,Kosha Mangsho (Gravyless Mutton Curry) and Mishti (sweets). The aroma of kosha mangsho still remains etched in my mind and the fun n frolic added to the taste . If this wasn't enough,Nabami(ninth day) lunch was equally grand with mutton being replaced by Lobsters . As nabami passes,we would remind ourselves that this gala time is soon going to end with Maa bidding us adieu the very next day for a wait of another 365 days.
Bijoya Dashami(the tenth day) brings with itself Shidoor Khela(the vermillion game) for the married women and as the sun sets,young seek blessings from the elderly by touching their feet and men greet each other with kola-kuli "a special form of hug" . It is almost customary to carry box of sweets while visiting someone on Bijoya Dashami . A gloomy wave tries to cover us all for the merry days are gone,but the Durga Puja fever for next year starts building up that very minute which takes care of the heavy heart.
The season is on and its just a matter of a few days now for the grandeur to set in the City of Joy ! For me the countdown has begun. . . . . .
Almost a month prior to the puja,we come across bengali TV channels sporting the no.of days left in a countdown format on top corners,shops and malls advertising to the best of their ability to pull in as much customers as possible and the topic of discussion suddenly shifts from politics(the most preferred by bengalis) to who's-doing-what this puja !! One can easily spot a difference in the mood of general public as the puja days begin to approach.
I remember vividly during my young days as a kid I would wait eagerly for this time of the year,coz for me Durga Puja meant new colourful and most importantly 4-5 sets of assorted outfits. The pride of owning them almost doubled because being from a middle class family we were taught to be content with 1 dress and 5 at one go was no less than winning a jackpot ! Being financially independent today,I can buy as per my choice,but I cannot bring back the innocent joy that resided in me when my mom chose what will suit me the most.
Dressed in my best,the next step was pandal hopping with my dad on Ashtami morning(the eighth day of the puja and the most auspicious one) which included covering the best puja-pandals from north-south Kolkata. We did not have a car those days,so the journey was undertaken in local buses which were jam-packed but the joy of wearing a new dress was more powerful than jostling in the crowd . Panting and puffing ,we would reach the pandal and I would invariably nag my dad for the "pink coloured candy floss" which remains my favourite till date . Honestly,today even a Swiss watch cannot bring in the kind of satisfaction that a Rs10 candy floss brought in those days.
Ashtami evenings were spent by arranging joint family dinners comprising of Paratha,Kosha Mangsho (Gravyless Mutton Curry) and Mishti (sweets). The aroma of kosha mangsho still remains etched in my mind and the fun n frolic added to the taste . If this wasn't enough,Nabami(ninth day) lunch was equally grand with mutton being replaced by Lobsters . As nabami passes,we would remind ourselves that this gala time is soon going to end with Maa bidding us adieu the very next day for a wait of another 365 days.
Bijoya Dashami(the tenth day) brings with itself Shidoor Khela(the vermillion game) for the married women and as the sun sets,young seek blessings from the elderly by touching their feet and men greet each other with kola-kuli "a special form of hug" . It is almost customary to carry box of sweets while visiting someone on Bijoya Dashami . A gloomy wave tries to cover us all for the merry days are gone,but the Durga Puja fever for next year starts building up that very minute which takes care of the heavy heart.
The season is on and its just a matter of a few days now for the grandeur to set in the City of Joy ! For me the countdown has begun. . . . . .
Friday, May 15, 2009
The Bitter-Sweet Taste Of Independence
INDEPENDENCE - a word we regularly reckon with but rarely ponder upon. After spending 23 years of my life under extreme cushion of protection by my parents,my initial experience of Independence was somewhat exasperating.
Although I have spent my growing years in Mumbai and consider the city as my 2nd hometown,yet staying alone is a different experience altogether.Even in these times,when the Gen X is desperately in search of opportunities to move out of home,I have been strongly attached to my family and was never way too excited with the idea of living alone.When i came back to Mumbai after a hiatus of about 3 years,not much had changed.The city wore the same hustle and bustle look,as usual crowded local trains,every single person focussed on their individual objective.However,I realised the only thing that changed was precisely my way of life.No longer will I wait to rush back home to be greeted by the warm melting smile of my mother,nor will I have the luxury of spending hours in front of the TV or laptop without bothering about household requirements deftly handled by my parents.It didn't take me long to realise that the cost of independence in today's self-centered environment is quite high and in the process may even compel me to undergo some subtle emotions for which I find no place here.
Relationship with friends assume a new meaning altogether during this so-as-to-say "free life".More than text messages and calls,a coffee at some joint is more looked forward to during the weekends.Room-mates,who were complete strangers at some point in time,have now earned the role of people whose presence indeed makes a difference.They have seen me laugh,cry,upset,angry and probably all other shades of human emotions.I have been lucky enough to come across them,who share the same wavelength as mine.
Financial independence is of utmost importance for women in today's world where relationships have lost their true meaning and marriages going kaput,but not at the cost of losing oneself in the process of owning a hefty bank balance.The toughest challenge I still face is to earn my mark as someone who prefers to stay out-of-the-rat-race and ready to live her life on terms of someone else maybe who understands the myriad facts of life more than she does because people around us cannot seem to accept anybody other than achievers.I wish to remind them at the cost of what are we achieving this glory ???
Mumbai has always been so close to my heart that I could not relate to Kolkata the way I do with the former.It just dawned on me ,city doesn't really matter,what really matters is people,your own people and this little revelation makes me miss my home and hometown like never before !!! Independence took me away from home but gifted me with the ability to explore that part of me which has perpetually stayed dormant.
Although I have spent my growing years in Mumbai and consider the city as my 2nd hometown,yet staying alone is a different experience altogether.Even in these times,when the Gen X is desperately in search of opportunities to move out of home,I have been strongly attached to my family and was never way too excited with the idea of living alone.When i came back to Mumbai after a hiatus of about 3 years,not much had changed.The city wore the same hustle and bustle look,as usual crowded local trains,every single person focussed on their individual objective.However,I realised the only thing that changed was precisely my way of life.No longer will I wait to rush back home to be greeted by the warm melting smile of my mother,nor will I have the luxury of spending hours in front of the TV or laptop without bothering about household requirements deftly handled by my parents.It didn't take me long to realise that the cost of independence in today's self-centered environment is quite high and in the process may even compel me to undergo some subtle emotions for which I find no place here.
Relationship with friends assume a new meaning altogether during this so-as-to-say "free life".More than text messages and calls,a coffee at some joint is more looked forward to during the weekends.Room-mates,who were complete strangers at some point in time,have now earned the role of people whose presence indeed makes a difference.They have seen me laugh,cry,upset,angry and probably all other shades of human emotions.I have been lucky enough to come across them,who share the same wavelength as mine.
Financial independence is of utmost importance for women in today's world where relationships have lost their true meaning and marriages going kaput,but not at the cost of losing oneself in the process of owning a hefty bank balance.The toughest challenge I still face is to earn my mark as someone who prefers to stay out-of-the-rat-race and ready to live her life on terms of someone else maybe who understands the myriad facts of life more than she does because people around us cannot seem to accept anybody other than achievers.I wish to remind them at the cost of what are we achieving this glory ???
Mumbai has always been so close to my heart that I could not relate to Kolkata the way I do with the former.It just dawned on me ,city doesn't really matter,what really matters is people,your own people and this little revelation makes me miss my home and hometown like never before !!! Independence took me away from home but gifted me with the ability to explore that part of me which has perpetually stayed dormant.
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