Kolkata calling

It’s been almost one year and I still feel the happiness when I had visited this city the last time for my training. The land of ‘mishti’ and music brings forth many memories of riding in the metro train, dangling in the over crowded buses, having sweet eating competitions in the local halwaais, drinking my favourite mango shake, found almost everywhere, of hauling taxis and bargaining in the markets.

Now going back to this place, I feel really overjoyed and excited as I plan to visit some of my favourite places there. The Nicco Park tops my list and second comes the very enjoyable Scary House, which is more fun than scary (though last time I screamed my lungs out), the Science City definitely is in my list so is the ever beautiful Victoria Memorial (but this time no taanga!!! And you really don’t want to know why!). My list is endless but unfortunately the time short.

So, as I embark on my journey tonight, I go with the hope of reliving all my fantastic experiences and stumble upon a few more adventures.

The darkness envelopes

I tried to run away from it… tried to hide myself from its clutches… but the darkness found me and as it engulfed me, I lost all traces of happiness. My whole life seems meaningless as the pain rose within my heart and my vision blurred. I was facing a spasm. The physical pain I could stand… it was the countless needles puncturing my existence… my soul that I got scared of.

I clutched harder at the dream world I had created around me, at the fantasy I presumed was my life. My hands slipped and I fell back into the dark void… the freezing cold agony chilling me to the core. Was it fire or was it ice? I couldn’t tell as it made me shudder and scream in pain.

Does everyone feel like this I wondered? Maybe they did… I didn’t know… I just felt myself drowning in pools of depressions, where I saw nothing that could rescue from the fiery depths. Life is hard… but does it have to be impossible? I tried hard to accept all my problems as a part of my reality but I’m done making excuses for all my suffering.

I have no grudges against anyone. I don’t pray for happiness and joy. I have stopped yearning for fulfillment and satisfaction… I just wish I could make the darkness go away.

A boon to me

Well, I am a very big fan of God! Who else can claim to look over everyone, listen to all our prayers, hear us grumble about every small thing and still be there with us all through it all? What a tough job He must be facing when He figures out how to solve our problems and someone else’s too at the same time as every wish is inter-related in some manner or the other.

My faith has been tested a good many times and I must say that I’ve not been patient through it… in fact I’ve been just the opposite… kicking up a fight every time I haven’t had my way. But now I’ve realized that if everyone had their way there would be total chaos and that I can’t keep pleading for only my wishes to be heard.

God gifts us what we want in strange ways. He pretends to be stringent and miserly and never gives us the thing we yearn for the most (trust me, I know!) but then He goes ahead and gives us something more valuable and priceless. Something we could not have imagined else.

I’m writing this for a friend of mine who sometimes grows angry with God and then sulks like a little kid. I want to let that person know that God’s a busy guy and he only has little time to spare. But whenever He does have time, He grants us gifts and boons which make our life a lot more livable.

You should know that since you’re such a boon to me.

The Yellow Fever

Now… before you think of ‘jaundice’… I’d like to clear that it wasn’t the disease that had affected my friend. Yes, she had the yellow fever but it was worst than any medical ailment and I got the full blow of it when I went shopping with her recently.

At first I’d like to give a brief introduction of this friend of mine to the people who are new readers of this blog. Gayatri or Gayo (the nick name she hates but has to answer to, whatsoever) and I go way back from school to college and I must say our friendship has withstood all the tests of time.

Just the previous day I realized something was wrong when she started grumbling about the lack of ‘yellow’ in her life (more so in her wardrobe). Ya folks, she can grumble like a toddler asking for a new toy… just that she doesn’t always get her way!!! She can turn into a complete kid one moment and the very next into an agony aunt giving me advice on my own problems. Well, to cut a long story short, she was in one of her moods where its better to be the fairy Godmother and grant her wishes instead of trying to make her see reason.

‘Yellow’ the voice inside my head said… ‘Why on earth that colour?’ I know it’s bright and cheerful, not to mention one of the basic colours we learn about… but as I’m very partial to black or blue or green or purple…. (Well! u get the idea), I didn’t understand why she was pinning for it.

The next day when we, brave martyrs, set out to brave the throng of puja-shoppers, vehicles and vendors alike, to do our own shopping, I realized with horror the extent of the fixation for the colour ‘yellow’ HAH had (HAH is another name for her… and you don’t wanna know the meaning of that, trust me!). I became colour blinded for a moment as I searched all around for this fantasy colour of hers (it made me realize with sadness at the plight of dogs who could only see the ‘grey’ colour… well, for me it was yellow at that moment).

Soon we spread our contagious disease to the shopkeepers, who looked around to produce their yellow-wares in jiffy. There were some nice pieces of material, which I felt were really worth their price… but hey! I wasn’t the one wanting to buy it… the decision still rested with Gayo, who being so very indecisive (yes, that she is!!!), didn’t like any of them. The poor salesmen were flabbergasted… as they tried to fathom why their goods failed to woe this particular customer. I took her to one of my favourite shops where almost everyone can find something or the other… well, almost everyone. Soon we were devastated… nothing seemed to make an impression on her and I was seeing the sun in my eyes, literally, as it too is yellow. At last we came across a small shop and thankfully it became our last stop as we finally found the perfect dress for her.

Now, after searching every nook and corner of the whole of Fancy bazaar for a specific colour, one can imagine that finally we must have chanced upon the ideal yellow outfit… but wait folks! That wasn’t the case here… the fever subsided just as quickly as it had started and soon we were returning home, dangling a yellow polythene packet (eco-friendly one) and inside it was…

A white dress!

The first step in Hogwarts – by ASP

Now, as everyone knows how beautiful Hogwarts is (those who don’t are the world’s biggest gits!!!), I won’t stall on the introductions. The three things you need to know about it are that:

1. There’s a huge Whomping Willow (restored), which needs to be steered clear of (if you value your life that is…).

2. The Hogwarts grounds lead to a Forbidden Forest (you can go there if you are not Ron Weasley).

3. No one can apparate or disapparate inside Hogwarts grounds (trust me many have tried and lost many parts… and it definitely hurts).

If you know these basic things, you’re all set for a magical ride to the castle famous for bringing up the best of the witches and wizards, not to mention brewing up potions and concocting spells.

Now, my first ride had been on a boat (as all the first years, mind you!!!) and it had me, another timid looking girl and Hagrid (the reason why only the two of us were in it). The grounds looked amazing… bathed in the moonlight (which sort of reminded me of a werewolf I knew… Remus Lupin). There stood the Whomping Willow, in all its majesty, casting weird shadows on the castle floor. We were led to the Great Hall and wow! Dad was right, there’s nothing in the world that can take your breath away as this sight. Rows and rows of tables waited to seat the first years… and with a gulp I realized I was one.

I felt dizzy as I rose up to face the sorting hat. I looked at James, who was gleefully sitting at the Griffindor table… I prayed hard I wasn’t in the Slytherin house, though my father had assured me it wasn’t bad and stuff (like I’m supposed to believe that, going by the looks of Malfoy Jr. and his motley gang of crooks). It took a long time for the hat to decide (it had been patched up by Prof. Flitwick after its disastrous end by the hands of Voldemort… ya, we can take the name now… I still can’t believe how people used to fear him, seeing that I never knew him).

“Griffindor!” exclaimed the hat, before erupting in a coughing fit, while Prof. Flitwick gave it a jerk and laid it down on the table. I felt proud of being in the same house as my father. Yes, Albus Severus Potter had lived up to his father’s name (at least for now).

More to come… stay tuned for life in Hogwarts ASP style!!!

Thank you dear idiot box

What do you get if you put a mother and daughter every single day in front of a TV set? You don’t know? Well, I do… you get loads and loads of great times and that too at the meager cost of an electricity bill.

I had been busy with my studies, passing all the scheduled examinations (hurdles put forth by society to test your ability to mug) preparing myself for the next leap. In the midst of that I had forgotten what it was like to share a light moment, one in which there was no tension at the back of your mind. Facing a similar life was my mom… being a director wasn’t easy, there was oodles of work to be taken care of. The only time my mom and I would meet would be to eat dinner or sometimes on a very rare office holiday.

Now, with a lot of time at our disposal, we both were lost for the first few days. What do we do? ‘Rest’ didn’t seem a good option after a couple of days. We never were ones to sit back and relax and this habit doesn’t enter so late. I tried to do anything I could and soon got bored of it and so did she.

Never once did we realize that something would come to our rescue soon enough. People have a lot of names for it… Television, idiot box and the likes of it… Society tags it as an evil, turning people into couch potatoes. But I would like to ask… what if the potatoes were willing? At least it’s something to do once in a while and trust me its entertaining too. The serials have the basic same story but different actors and settings… and before you think I’ve gone mad I’d like to add the real reason we enjoy these serials. It’s not because of the emotional dramas or the tear-jerking moments… it’s because my mom and I turn the most sensitive scenes (the scenes likely to make the people take out their kerchiefs) into pure comedy. We laugh our hearts out and laughing is the best medicine, right!

When we sit for our evening siesta or our dinner, we enjoy a good chuckle out of the shows which are aired (my job is to survey the channels for the best deal… my job designation: Channel Jockey!!!). These days have been wonderful only because of this invention and this blog has been created solely in mind to give hearty thanks to it for making our days so special.