Remembering Jadavpur summers.

It is 2.07 am and there is not a wink of sleep in my eyes. Now, I simply cannot waste my time trying to get any. Therefore I decide to pen down some thoughts.
Today, I had a short visit down the memory lane and it was such a joyful peregrination ! It all began with my husband discussing the idea of placing rocking chairs in a balcony. Suddenly I was full of  beans describing a set of easy chairs that my grandfather possessed. They were folding wooden chairs with long handles and modest fabric seats. I was about seven years old then. My maternal  grandfather's home had a fairly big backyard with a disheveled  garden. Although the garden did not seem very impressive, it was a  treasure- trove of flowers and fruits.  Barka, my mother's  uncle took care of it and the plants grew in the same haphazard fashion as his hair and beard!

The backyard lay behind Thami's room. Thami- our great grandmother, lived  a hundred and four years. Her room was flanked by doors and  windows overlooking the garden. The only pieces of furniture in this  room were a bed and a Godrej steel cupboard. Yes, there was an inconspicuous  wooden  wall- cupboard too which stacked Dadu's homeopathic medicines. The main  feature of this room was the idols and paintings of Gods and Goddesses  carefully placed on an intricately carved wooden asana. Beside it was a miniature bed  with a pretty mosquito net for the gods to sleep in. 
Next to this bed was a diminutive wooden cupboard. From here came out  a mélange  of jars and bottles containing sacred waters , sweetmeats,  cloths, incense sticks and other very interesting things.  This room was called the 'Thakur ghor'- the god's room - and God's room it was!  The mornings seemed heavenly here. Thami , in  a crisp, immaculate white sari, sat in front of the deities lost in her prayers, and the  white-gold sunshine streamed through the windows over the asana unto  the whitewashed walls, lighting up  the room. Thami's silky silver  hair sparkled under the sunshine and the white bedspread seemed even  whiter.

 'Didi', my grandmother got up at 4.30 every morning and 

plucked flowers for the prayers.  Kathgolap, bel phul , shiuli, 
aparajita, gaanda, there were so many ! Thami decorated these 
artistically on the asana and lit incense sticks . The fragrance of 
the flowers intermingled with that of the incense sticks disseminated 
through the entire house and it is to this scent,  that I awoke every 
morning!
  Often during the summer holidays Thami's room was our refuge from 
the inexorable heat. I do not know how, but her room was always so 
cool! On summer afternoons, Thami  squatted on the threshold 
overlooking the garden combing her glistening silver hair. In regular 
intervals she inspected the comb with utmost concentration. Alas, her 
scrutiny always ended up in vain. But her ceremonial combing continued 
for over an hour, if not more. I cherished the summer afternoons here. 
This was the time for our customary summer drink ' bael panna' ( made 
from wood apple ). Didi made delectable ' bael panna'! She poured this 
thick , sweet , golden hued drink into tall glasses and dunked a 
couple of ice cubes into each. My duty was to place them on a tray and 
carry it to Thami's room. How delightful it was to sip at the 
ambrosia, sitting on the cool cement floor of the 'thakur ghor'.  Four 
generations together- Thami, Didi, Ma and I sat there chatting and 
laughing!  Sometimes the dainty bael panna was replaced by a rubicund 
watermelon. Blackish green on the outside and deep red and sweet 
inside. Sweet was the company too and sweet were those days!

Another feature of the thakur ghor was the warm welcome. Thami always 
greeted us with a smile accompanied by words of affection and 
adulation. When she was not praying, she was reading detective novels.
 Dadu spent a lot of time in the thakur ghor. He prayed for  four 
hours a day- two hours before lunch and two hours before dinner! He 
sat on a stool engaged in serious conversation with god and often made 
hand gestures during these meetings.

  Coming back to Dadu's easy chairs, they were folded and kept behind 
a door adjacent to the thakur ghor. Often when the afternoon was 
pleasant, Dadu set them up in the garden after lunch. Here, he sat engrossed,
reading corpulent homeopathy books and I sat down beside him playfully 
decorating a cane stool with pink and white flowers. The loud chirping 
of birds, the strong fragrance of ripened mangoes, the frolicking 
florid butterflies, did nothing to disturb us. Only peace prevailed in 
the solitude of the unkempt garden as Dadu and I kept ourselves busy!
  It 's 4.08 am. Time to wind up. Should write more about those 
Kolkata summers some day. Till then... Ciao!

Leaving Chennai

Chennai! The very word evokes a motley of emotions. This city has been my haven for twelve eventful years and the thought of severing ties with her is quite disturbing. Yet, now that my parents have shifted to Bangalore, my sojourns to Chennai will be sporadic.

The first time I stepped on the Chennai Central Station was in 1997. Though it's a platitude, I must say, the fragrance of  filter coffee and jasmine flowers stimulated my olfactory senses to such an extent, that I fell for the city at once!   Mr. Sukumaran , a bulky gentleman with an enormous sideburns moustache greeted us with a wide smile and heavily accented English. Chennai, those days was far less populated. Platforms and roads were clean and dry. However, even in 1997, there were hardly any Ambassadors and Fiats. During those days roads were full of Hyundais, Hondas and Toyotas with a spattering of Mercs . Coming from Calcutta, where Ambassadors ruled the roads, Chennai traffic to me, was suave. 

Leaving cars aside, there were other things which  embedded fond memories in my mind. As inconsequential as they may seem, they are as vivid as the scene from my window right now. The TV displayed more than 20 channels! Well back home, we could only turn onto DD-1. Now, I had my own room and the fragrance of Vim bar in the kitchen balcony made me feel so happy ! The days were hot and the evenings breezy. In fact, the nights were so breezy that the curtains often flew up and got trapped into the whirling ceiling fan above.

I LOVE Chennai! In fact I love Chennai for the same reasons which make some antipathetic towards the city. The hot and sultry climate- I love sunny blue skies and bright golden Sundays! The workaholic people- In fact , it is here that I have learned to be thorough and exhaustive in my work (not that I'm always so, but I know the benefits!). The piquant South Indian cuisine- In no time I became a self appointed brand ambassador of  the Saravana Bhavan!

Pondicherry and Mahabalipuram became our frequent retreats. Like a horse with blinkers, we hardly ventured further than Madurai and Kancheepuram. Wherever we went, I always looked forward to come back home, to Chennai.

Now, Namma Chennai is overcrowded, traffic has gone amuck and the quotidian struggles have escalated. However, certain things never change. The brightly coloured pattu sarees, the mallipu adorned hair, the plethora of  loud Kollywood posters, still enliven the city streets. The Amman temples tucked away at by-lanes still draw a large crowd in the mornings.

Yes, I will miss those Chennai days. I will miss the bright sunshine barging through the  foliage into our balcony, the lissome squirrels gamboling in and out of the kitchen window. I will miss the piping hot Saravana coffee and the melt-in-the- mouth idlis. I will miss my friends and our Coffee Day outings. Not to forget the Tamil songs they wrote down for me in English. So that I would sing to them, and they would roll on the floor laughing at my Tamil accent!

Chennai for me is like Malgudi for R.K. Narayan. I have spent some of my best years here and I will always call it 'My Sunshine City'.

Sawasdee kha!

Our recent trip to Thailand was enriching in many ways. A predominantly Buddhist nation, Thailand is a land of beauty, culture and polite people. What strikes us first about the country is the genuine hospitality extended by the people. As soon as we entered the airplane, the smiling faces of the crew assured us of a great trip ahead. This infectious smile travels through most of  the tourist infested Thailand. 'Sawasdee kha' is how they greet us, with a slight bow , palms folded. This form  of greeting (or wai - as they call it) has become a brand symbol of Thailand. As the prominent columnist Jug Suraiya once rightly pointed out, the Thai affability is a major source of economic development. 'Sawasdee Kha' is Thailand's 'soft power' which has attracted countries far and wide.

Thailand is notorious for all the wrong kinds of activities. However there are a large number of tourists who throng to the vividly green islands and limpid waters  just to soak in the tranquility it offers. The fact is, there are tourists who visit the same place again and again! It is like the screening of a good movie. People like watching it repeatedly till they have memorised all the dialogues.

This was our third visit too. However, our decision to revisit Thailand was not entirely influenced by its ethereal beauty. The warmth exuded by the Thai people make us feel at home.

Koh Samui was the destination this time. It is a one hour flight from Bangkok. As we approached the island, the aerial view reminded me of the James Bond movie 'The Man With The Golden Gun'. Lush green islands rimmed with golden sand bands freckled the deep blue sea. Nearer to the land , tiny coconut trees grew bigger and bigger till we could see clumps of shiny tender coconuts hanging from them. The Koh Samui Airport is a sight seeing spot itself. Toy train like wooden buses transferred us to the airport building, which in fact is more like a villa. Low , sloping wooden roofs and pillars, made from coconut tree trunks make the airport different from all the others I have seen. A tiny stream meanders through the premises and pretty wooden bridges cross over it .Nok, the ever smiling villa manager greeted us with the trademark Sawasdee kha.

For the next three days, we were busy relaxing! Snorkelling, kayaking, floating in the sea with our life jackets on, aroma therapy, we did it all! Fishing is banned now, so we didn't fish. Every night , we floated Kongming lanterns into the sky and made a wish. Gazing at the golden  paper lanterns, softly gliding away towards the infinity was a truly liberating experience.

We are back now, but not empty handed. We have brought a bunch of happy memories to tinker with when feeling low. When I close my eyes , I can see restless, green  fish  lapping around me in the sea, and the salty sea water spraying on my face while speeding through the deep waters. I can see the azure sky above and the endless horizon beckoning me at mid ocean.  The villa garden, dabbled with white Leelawadi flowers and standing there, Nok's daughter  waving us goodbye- with a smile of-course. So much to learn, so much to see, so much to write. May be next time. Till then Sawasdee Kha!