Shubho Bijoyar priti o shubhecha....kichu elo melo moner kotha...nostalgia..

সবাইকে জানাই শুভ বিজয়ার প্রীতি ও শুভেচ্ছা .....

What a wonderful experience! Durgapuja in The Netherlands!

We are the proud organizers of Durga Puja in TheNetherlands. I have to admit that starting the pujas last year was no small feat. This is a huge thing to arrange...four days complete with decoration, puja, food and cultural program. And we were SUPER SUCCESSFUL last year..

and AGAIN this year...........

Joy ma!



Arno with Kasor ghonta



1986: Puja vacation for me was the "best" time of the year. The day school vacation started, we were off to Jamshedpur (my parents home town) to spend puja with extended family. Back then we did not have mobile phones to inform about our latitude and longitude throughout our journey. Neither did we have Facebook to update status "leaving for vacation". I remember vividly how my cousins would be waiting for us to reach home.Even after so many years , I can clearly see our auto stop by the gate and they would come running down the stairs. I would get down from the auto only to be engulfed in the loving embrace of my grandmother and my cousins. We would rush to the pandal immediately where the artist would be giving his finishing touches to the Durga idol. I can still hear my grand mother shouting from far, "kichu kheye ja,,etota journey kore eli [please eat something , you must be hungry after such a long journey]".

Small things like hunger, thirst, tiredness did not matter anymore....actually NOTHING mattered!!

The season of unlimited happiness had just begun..............

2011: Yesterday, at our Puja hall, when Arno came to  me to ask for a pack of chips , I gave him five euros and asked him to spend it on "WHATEVER" he wants to buy. It took me back to my childhood days when during the four days of pujas we used to get pocket money from relatives. Small amounts to spend during the day on icecreams, fuchkas, jhal muri, cutlet, chop. moghlai porota.....ooo...it was like treasure...to take it out from the purse, buy something, count the change before carefully putting it back...was pure bliss!

I saw the same happy gleam in Arnos eyes...as he and his friend Piya rushed off to the small  shop in the hall. They came back with a pack of chips, munching away to glory....chatting away about some thing ...as the two of them passed by me, I heard Pia ask," is Durga ma going back to India or she is going to stay in Italy?"

..Kids.... innocence at its best!!

..to be contd....

I am back....

I am back.!!!

I am back from a very long vacation of five weeks in India.
Yes,  Five weeks.

After such a long vacation, one does have issues adapting to things like the crazy alarm clock, the crazier vacuum cleaner , the heavy jackets,  the deadly silence , the early dinners,  the..the..the, isnt it? To summarize,  its difficult settling down.

It is a culture shock!!!

Your eyes tell me that you do not believe me!! Try this...
One very simple example:

Everyday,around 1:30 p.m, I have developed this new habit of having a full fledged warm lunch (special emphasis on Bhapa Ilish, Parsher Jhal, Chingrir Malakari, Kosha Mangsho, Polao..none of which I needed to cook).
This was followed by relaxing on the sofa infront of the TV with the remote in hand, drifting in and out of a "sleep-like" thing, only to be brought back to this world with a cup of steaming Darjeeling tea 3-4 hours later.

The day after I land here, I am back at work...lost in 326 emails.

This is accompanied by lunch comprising of  a cold dead SANDWICH  (emphasis here on one slice of cheese and one slice of meat)...

Forget the remote, the TV, the sleep-like thing and  the Darjeeling tea!!!
Definitely some kind of culture shock, right?

So guys, please bear with me..
I promise I will be back to NORMAL very soon...
I have loads of story with me to tell you...I just need some time to
get over this jet-lag-like thing and fall into my original groove..
Then stories will start flowing........God Promise....Cross my heart!

Cheers!

 

Vacation Vacation.....

The time of the year has come.

First the sun shines more, then the schools close, the boss is in a good mood, the suitcases are taken out from the attic, taxi booked, flight checked,...............

We are ready to fly to India, summer vacation is about to start.

Arno, till last year, was not "super excited" about summer vacation.
I thought its the age (at five, vacations did not make sense because daily routine at school is nothing less than a vacation, THATS WHAT I THOUGHT)
...till he explained why it was so. His exact words were,
"Mama, vacation is not DIFFERENT for me. I have to get up from bed ANYWAY to go to the creche"
Thats true baby, with working parents, what else can be done?
However, this time we decide to go to India for summer vacation. That definitely changed the whole story. We are excited and so is Arno. 

SUPER EXCITED!!

He is really looking forward to the trip.
He packed his own suitcase (which has lights on the wheels, exciting , isnt it?).
If I am not careful, there is a big chance of us being stopped at immigration for all the wrong reasons.
He is packing in EVERYTHING!! [have to admit its real fun seeing him pack , though]

Fulko fulko luchi

"So Arno, what will you do in India?"

" Ami onek onek luchi khabo [ I will eat lots and lots of puris* ]"

" and....?"

"Ami sharadin TV dekhbo  [ I will watch TV the whole day]"

" and....?"

" Ami luchi khete khete TV dekhbo [I will watch TV WHILE eating puris]"

.....so now I know what this excitement is all about........

why not? Its vacation after all........

Dear readers, I hope you can feel MY excitement too , by now.

I will be away for sometime....so my blog goes "to sleep" as well.

But I promise to come back with lots of interesting stories..

Till then.........................

Have a wonderful summer vacation, all of you.

*a type of deep fried indian bread

Tea - her first love.

One spoon of memory, stirred well with two spoons of imagination and three spoons of  nostalgia..........

A cup of tea has always been her weakness.

Anyone can win her heart with a cup.

She loves to take the first few sips quick and hot, then the cup becomes her companion as she takes it along from room to room doing her daily chores. Few more sips. She places it on the corner table and completely forgets about it for a while.After some time she suddenly misses her cup, looks around and her face beams as she locates it. Last few sips. (yeah, cold and tasteless).

She hates to throw away a single drop of that liquid she loves!

This love has its roots in the saying, "Forbidden fruit is sweetest".

Ma did not allow her tea when she was young. Asking for it, crying for it, begging for it--nothing helped.

Ma was very strict about it. "Choto chele meyera cha khaye na (small children do not drink tea)". Full stop.

She did not lose hope. She started planning her mission, carefully looking for the loose ends in the daily home routine. There has to be a gap, somewhere...

She found one.

Ma woke up very early, went to the kitchen, made the tea , left it to brew and went to brush her teeth. She came out, sieved it, served it hot and steaming to Baba. This was really the daily routine. EVERYDAY, the same. "Mission Impossible" started. Careful monitoring of Mas routine, keeping track of the EXACT time that she spent in brushing, planning each single move of her next steps..it was not so easy but it was four whole minutes!

She woke up when Ma's alarm went off but stayed still and pretended to be asleep. As soon as the toilet door closed behind Ma, she jumped from her bed, ran to the kitchen , took a small bowl, poured out some tea, drank it steaming hot (sieving the leaves with her teeth), washed the bowl, placed it back on the utensils rack, ran back to the bed and just pretended to be asleep again. Yes, in four minutes. First few days were tense, will Ma recognize "some" thing funny?[Mothers have some super skills, as we all know ]

Gradually the confidence level went up, time management became almost perfect. She could even manage to stir in some sugar in her tea....

She did this for YEARS.....was never caught!

[Thankfully, My Ma is not a computer person and hence my blog is safe for such confessions]

The other opportunity came later. Actually, it was always there but she never recognized it as an opportunity. Back home , evening guests were quite common. Friends stopped by for a cup of tea , some snacks and some "adda (chatting)" anytime. We did not have agendas or fancy mobiles or microsoft outlooks to make appointments for simple things like a "cup of tea".

When they left, it was a custom to see them out not only till the door but till the gate (most houses had a front garden with a gate). Somehow (thankfully), even at the gate there were still some last minute topics to discuss. There were a few minutes at the gate before the final bye was said.

She grabbed this opportunity. She rushed to the living room, looked at the "almost" empty tea cups left by the guests, poured the tea from each of them into one cup and gulped it down.

I know, you all think "Uggggggghhhhh"...but she is  not ashamed at all....these memories make life worth living......
[this story is a from a  fellow tea lover]

This article is written for this month's edition of  "Of Chalks and Chopsticks" started by Aqua., this time hosted  at "http://www.bongcookbook.com/2011/06/have-ha-tea-weekend.html".

Ambitions..........

Arno wants to be a window cleaner when he grows up.

WHAT? SAY IT AGAIN!!! 

Boy, what a shock! Where did WE, as parents go wrong? How on earth did we not manage to fill his young mind with golden ambitions? Did I not read him the correct bed time stories? Did we not buy him the LEGO where you make a dentists office or a police station? Did I not graduate him from a 100 piece to a 200 piece jigsaw in time?Did I not try to explain the meaning of a volcano "from the Encyclopedia" when the Iceland volcano erupted?

I know, times have changed. I understand the dignity of labour. I appreciate all people who work for a living. I know that no work is big or small. I know, I know, I know.
But still................
Why am I shocked when my 6-yr old says this?

Thankfully, his 10-yr old and 11-yr old cousins (A & C) were also quite shocked with this ambition. They, at this age have graduated into the "want-to-be-scientist" mode.[One of them DID want to sit at the supermarket cash, but thats some years back!!!!]  

Anyway, they generously offered me a deal. Arno was planning to spend some vacation days with them. During that time they promised to do a bit of brainwashing and put several "good" ambitions on his plate.

"A" asked me "which profession do YOU want him to choose?"

After some negotiations we decided on a "race car driver".  

[It needed to be "cool" , you see?]

So Arno goes on vacation to his cousins place. We go to pick him up after a few days. "A" comes to me and whispers, "Mamoli, tumi jeta bolle sheta hoyni kintu ekta bhalo hoyeche (The thing you decided on did not happen but we have landed on good grounds)".

I gather all my curiousity and the question is asked.

"So Arno, what do you want to be when you grow up?"

" I want to work at the Police station"

WOW..I was already feeling proud...father smiled, mother smiled, family peace returned.

I smiled proudly at Arno first and then at A & C, silently thanking them for their "successful" brainwashing.

It may not be as cool as the "race car driver" but it was SO MUCH better than the window cleaner!! 

I should have left it at that.

But you know how mothers are....their is no limit to their expectations and there is no end to their questions.

"So , would you want to be a police inspector or a detective in the police station?"

" Oh, I would clean the windows of the police station."

Tom Tom

Two days back , I was busy in the kitchen when Arno walked in...
Eyes bright , big smile, excited face.
"Mama , I just understood who invented Tom tom!"
Arno is a great Tomtom fan. For him it is like the "in-car entertainment". He cranes his nect from the back seat and tries to follow the tomtom screen throughout any journey. He believes that it is TOMTOM who takes him to places, Mama and Papa have no clue where the destination is (have to admit that at times its true!!). He gets excited when he sees the "knife-fork" restaurant symbols, he gets upset when the "red triangle" traffic jam sign pops up, he intructs his dad to go slow when the "camera" sign blinks and he has his most beautiful smile on when Tomtom proudly announces "You have reached your destination".
However,at times, this "continuous tomtom monitoring " over the shoulder can be quite difficult for the person on the drivers seat!!
Since "Daddys chill " is a myth,  Mama handles such situations. [Because "Mamas are cool" is  a fact!]
anyway...

"So, who invented Tomtom?  "
"Tom and Jerry".           
[Dear reader, you know by now that Tom and Jerry are almost family for us]

"But in that case they would have named it TomJerry, not TomTom, right?"

For a moment I thought, I got the better of him...There was a split second of silence. Eyes narrowed, eyebrows furrowed, smile turned to frown,....and then,

" I dont know Mama, maybe the surname of Tom is TOM"

I LOVE these answers......

Once upon a time...... (2)

Again thanks to Mo, for "preserving" such meaningless banter........
As I read through this, it takes me back to those wonderful hostel days again....
I realize that even though we may not have met for years....I still have the same feeling for all of you..
I know, if we meet...it will be like picking up from EXACTLY where we left...
I thank God for giving me friends like you.....



হে বন্ধু , বিদায় .............


আগে চিনতাম? না ,
চিনেছি অনেক পরে,
চিনেছি এমন ভালোভাবে,
চিনেছি চিরতরে |

DJ নামক হোস্টেল-এ ছিলাম মোরা আটজন,
চরিত্র সব আলাদা, দিছি তার-ই বিবরণ
বেঁটে, মোটা, লম্বা, কালো,
দেখতে শুনতে মন্দ ভালো ,
কারো এলো চুল, চশমা চোখে,
কেউ মাখে রং ঠোঁটে ও নখে
ভাবছ বুঝি বন্ধু কে কার
মেয়ে তো নয় আটটি জোকার !!!!

এক নম্বর রুম ,রান্নার বড়ো ধুম...........

ছোট্ট putku সোমা ,রান্ধে ভালো ডিম,

সারাদিন শুধু শুধু খায় হিমশিম |
ইংরিজি পড়ে সে গট মট কট,
দশটা বাজলেই ঘুমে ছটফট,
নিজেকে ভাবে সে খারাপ বাজে
ভাবে বুঝি লাগে না সে কোনই কাজে |

দামী দামী জামা সব  কেটে ছেঁটে পরে ,

দিন নেই রাত নেই হাপ্পিতেশ করে |

রং ফর্সা ,চশমা চোখে ,
কে ওদিকে যায়,
পেছনে থাকে যদি কুকুরের সারি
পেয়ে যাবে পরিচয় |
এক কাপ চা ,যদি হাতে দাও তার
গোমড়া মুখ তবে পাবে নাকো আর
পড়াশোনায় ভারী ভালো ,
মা বাবার মুখ করবে আলো ,
ভাবছ বুঝি কে এই গুনি -
আমাদের মৌসুমী |

পায়েতে নুপুর বাঁধা,
পিঠে এলো চুল
চোখেতে কাজল লতা
কানে সোনার দুল |
চোখের ওই কাজল জলে বেঁধেছে কেষ্টদাকে,
নয়নের তীর গিয়ে তাই বিঁধেছে
কেষ্টর ই বুকে  |
এ মেয়ের নাচে নেই জুরি
নাম এর কস্তুরি|

স্বর্ণালী গেয়ে ওঠে কত শত গান,
গান এর গলা মিষ্টি ভারী, ভরে ওঠে প্রাণ |
নাকটি বড়ই লম্বা, ঠেকেছে ঠোঁটের কাছে,
সাবধানে তাই কথা বলে, ঠোঁট কামড়ায় পাছে |
আসে পাশে থাকলে ফেলো নিশ্বাস আসতে,
নয়তো হালকা শরীরটি তার চলে যাবে ভাসতে ভাসতে|

টমাটোর মতন গাল দুটি তার,
MAGGI -র মতন কেশ ,
লম্বা চওড়া গোল গাল মেয়ে
দেখতে লাগে বেশ|
বিখ্যাত তার হাসি ,কাঁপে আমাদের কাশী|
আবার যখন তখন বন্যা ধারা
আসে নেমে দু চোখ বেয়ে |
ভালো মানুষির এক অতল খনি,

মনীষা সবার চোখের মণি |

Carl Lewis কোথায় লাগে,
দৌড়ে করবে পার,
আছে প্রবল শক্তি,
সবাই মানে হার |
কথার স্পীডও নয়কো কম ,
ভুলে যায় বুঝি নিতে হয় দম ,
সুন্দরী বিনু  কার্টুন পনা ভালই জানে,
কেউ Sridevi কেউ Jayaprada মানে |

ঘড়ি ধরে চলে সুচরিতা সোম,
রেগে যদি যায় তবে যেন এটম বোম |
দেখতে শুনতে বেশ সবল,
দায়িত্বজ্ঞান ও আছে প্রবল ,
Defence এর hero কে ঘিরে রঙিন স্বপ্ন তার,
এমন discipline সত্তি মেলা ভার |

পাঁচ পাঁচটা ফুট এর ওপর আট আটটা ইঞ্চি ?
এও কি পাওয়া যায়?
আট জোকার -এর লম্বা জোকার নাম দয়িতা রায় |
সময় কাটে হেঁসে হাসিয়ে ,
ছেলে দেখলে যায় পাশ কাটিয়ে
কারণ তারা বড়ই বেঁটে হায় !

ছিলেম বেশ হাসি খুশি
আট জনেতে মিলে...
বিয়েবাড়ির সানাই দেখি বিদায়ের সুর তোলে |
মৌসুমী দিল গ্রীন সিগনাল
বিয়ের গাড়ি ওই ছেড়ে যায়
বিগত দিনের স্টেশনগুলি,
সরে যায় দেখি গুটি গুটি পায় |

এসো মোরা পণ করি ...
আমরা  আটজন সেই আটজনই রব..
সময় এর দাগ পড়তে না পায়................