What a life!!!

Hi everyone! I am Priyanka. My dad calls me by my pet name "Pinka". I am 10 yrs old. I live in among tea trees in the hills. My dad is manager in a tea garden. It is situated in the hilly region overlooking a river. Our house is situated among the tea plantation. I wake up every morning early and look out of the verandah at the green sea of tea leaves. Not far are the blue mountains dotting the horizon. My dad calls me for the morning milk and biscuits. He soaks the biscuits in milk and puts it in my mouth.I like it that way. He on the other hand takes a steaming cup of cocoa. We then go for a walk. I am a stay-at-home child and my father is my teacher. He does not believe in schools. I do not go to school. I am home-taught. So, I stick with my father whenever I can so that I can gather knowledge. I have immense thirst for knowledge.I am a nature's child. I love to run after butterflies fluttering in the early morning sun.

It's time for breakfast. Doughnuts for me. Not far off is a bakery. Minnie anty runs the bakery. She makes fabulously fluffy cakes and pasties. I press my nose on the glass pane to see rows and rows of goodies, scones, jam tarts, cucumber sandwiches, ham pie. Minnie anty always puts out a plate for me whenever we go there. Dad buys a pound of freshly baked bread and we saunter off.
After breakfast my dad puts on his manager's coat. It is actually a khaki raincoat. Along with he carries an umbrella. He takes me along too. He tells me nature is a great teacher, better than reading books. A light drizzle of rain has started. It rains here very often almost all the time. I do not need a raincoat or umbrella, i told you earlier i am nature's child. My dad also prefers it that way. He allows me to run off occasionally chasing a rabbit into it's burrow.

My dad meets the workers daily. He meets their demands and gives them their daily wages. Some times a labourer's child may be sick, he takes the child to the hospital. I do not like the hospital. I stay back at the tea garden cafeteria. All my weekdays i have my lunch in the cafeteria. It's a hot bowl of chicken and vegetables stew lightly cooked with aromatic spices and a good portion of mashed potatoes with a dullop of butter on top. Post-lunch i may snooze off on the sofa. I am totally at home here. Nobody scolds me, not a word of rebuke. Eventually dad comes back and today's work is done. It's time to go home.

In the living room dad lights up the fireplace. Now is the time to formally study. I bring down all the books and pencils and read and draw and sketch and colour. Sometimes I spill colour on the floor and roll on it too just for fun. Lucy, the maid cleans it all up. She makes me a hot bath and bathes me with soap and scrub. Wrapping a towel on my wet hair i tip toe into the bedroom to surprise dad. The house is so peaceful with smells of dinner cooking on the stove. Its baked beans today in rich tomato sauce to be had with the fresh bread off anty Minnie's bakery. I heard dad speaking on the phone. I strained my ears to catch the conversation. It seems mom is coming back, i strain some more and I think mom is bringing a new brother too. Now, i feel excited... a friend, a brother, for me to play with, a new companion, how lovely will it be?I jump out at my dad and we are so happy.

Today we are going to bring mom back from my granny's home. Dad is driving the car and I am sitting in the front seat. He hums a tune and rolls down the windows. I feel so happy... what else can I do but put my head out of the window and start wagging my tail... woof! woof!

Social life

There were too many memories pinning him down to this place. This small town which he equally hated and loved. All the lanes and by-lanes he knew by heart. Even the street dogs were familiar. That playground where he first played ball. His mother used to sit on the playground bench chatting with other women or sometimes knitting away quietly while he played ball with Chaang.
Chaang was his first friend, not because they were of same age or went to the same school but because they both had flat noses. Whereas other boys had noses of all shapes and sizes, he and Chaang had no nose at all. They were both badly bullied for the flat noses. He sometimes stood on the stool to look at the mirror. His father and mother had good high noses even his newborn baby sister had a cute button nose but why he had a flat nose with only two holes as nostrils he could never understand. Chaang was chinese he knew his mother had once read him about chinese people but he was the only indian who had a chinese nose.
The dog barked, a small white dog was standing nearby watching him. It barked and wagged it's tail everyday. He and the dog were friends too. Everyday while returning from school he found the dog waiting beside the bin where he emptied his half eaten tiffin box. The dog had its feast every day. He watched the dog eat away his bread or cake or biscuits whatever his mother gave for tiffin. He never had any appetite for food,he never ate much but for reasons not known to him his belly was always huge with food. Every day he showed his big belly to his mother just to verify that he had completely eaten his tiffin.
The mango tree grew in height, but he never did. He had planted the sapling with his own hands. Watching it grow in awe he used to stand by its side matching both heights. The sapling grew into a shrub then to a tree but he remained small and stunted. Even Chaang who had no nose like him grew tall but he remained his tiny self.
Leaving aside his mother, the playground, the dog, the mango tree and Chaang, the hospital was his next favourite place, a place which he loved, he regularly visited, his social life centred around the hospital, it's smell, the bed whose head end could be raised or lowered, the other patients all tiny children like him with flat noses and big bellies, there were no bullies here only friendly doctors who examined his nose ear throat chest abdomen meticulously probing and gently stroking. His beloved object was the red coloured bag which hung from his bedside, the precious red fluid dripping slowly into his body. The fluid gave him energy and new vitality to his body and mind. Every visit to the hospital refreshed him like no other. It was the most enjoyable thing he did.He loved no other place more than the thalassemia children ward at the hospital.It was his social life.

These were the memories pinning him down to this place as he watched his coffin being slowly lowered in to the ground. He hated to leave behind his mother, the dog, the mango tree, Chaang.. and his Social life.

The Stone God

Atreyi starts the engine of the car. The car a battered old ambassador was what she was driving now adays. Just 3 days back she had scratched the side view mirror of Atul's brand new baleno with the wall of the garage. Atul was besides himself with fury, lectured her a full half hour on her clumsy driving. Snatching away the keys he had shouted "That old ambassador is suitable for you!"
It was everyday's work. Atreyi drove her twins to school. Atul has just got transferred to this village-town as BDO. The english medium school was a 15km drive along the highway. Atul was keen on bringing the brand new baleno along while Atreyi knew the simple villagers had not seen anything like this before.
Each 10yr old was so different from the other as two sides of the coin, her son occupied the front seat with a command at the dashboard music player belting out his favourite songs one after the other while his sister younger by 8 mins was doing maths occupying the large back seat with all her books and copies strewn.
Leaving them cocooned in their own safe worlds Atreyi looked out of the window outside. Fields of paddy,yellow mustard flowers and green patches of vegetables splashed a riot of colour both sides of the road. The highway itself was free and smooth that early,only the ambassador was giving out loud distress calls now and then, muttering softly she sweared, aghhh... god... when suddenly just beside a big tree her eye catches a glimpse of red. She could just make out a large stone painted deep vermillion, a small stick with a red flag sticking out, a donation box and an offering of flowers and fruits. Some bystanders were accumulated as well. Amazed at the sight, if this is today yesterday the stone was not there.
On the backward journey Atreyi stopped the car and observed the scenario closely. The red stone, the flag, the flowers were decorated to make it look like a shrine, village women were kneeling down offering prayers, men were throwing coins.
Atreyi had never seen such drama which she was witness to for the next few days. The crowd of people was increasing day by day, some cars and autos stopped for passengers to disembark at the shrine. Another day she saw a priest holding puja at the site with pomp and splendour, prasad was distributed to the travellers. Atreyi herself was thoroughly enjoying the real life drama surrounding the "Stone God". She smiled at the thought that someday a temple might be erected there. She looked protectively at her children and couldn't help wondering what world will they step in to when they finally step out of the car. That silly battered ambassador pricked her eyes though. Casting a sly glance at the stone god she wished for her wish to come true.
That evening while she and Atul sat for dinner, the twins in their room, she was toying with her thoughts about the "Stone God" when Atul spoke out "Tomorrow I am taking the ambassador, its a small village beside the highway, i have to inaugurate a temple there, the new car will be unsuitable."

Next morning Atreyi and the gods above (if there is any) chuckled as she sped past the temple of the "Stone God" in the brand new baleno.

a short story

The "other" number.
He pulled one last drag on the cigarette, the final embers burnt brightly before dying out. With one swift flick of the  finger he flung the butt away. The aftertaste was bitter but satisfying. It was difficult getting these damn cigarettes now with the general bandh extending to its 60th day. He could very well remember that day when the morcha supporters bombed the CM. He had huddled the scared ministers into the safe room and then from there to the safety of Bagdogra Airport the next day. He could still recollect their horrified faces. Who would have thought that such an august gathering of all ministers of CM s cabinet would be bombed upon. Now the bandh is one fish bone badly impacted. The hills are dark and soundless. People hungry and unhappy cut off from the rest of the world. He looked pitifully at the snubbed out cigarette. Who knows when the next batch of cigarettes will arrive.
Rubbing his hands to beat out the chill he looked at the lake below. The lake shimmered like liquid silver. Today like every afternoon, at the end of the hard days work, he had jogged up to the monastery. From its terrace the view of the mirrik lake awed him everyday afresh.
He has opted for this outpost, the peaceful serene beauty of this quaint lake town had forever attracted him. His DSP had obliged, everyone was fond of him, he was capable and hardworking and his aryan good looks had created in-roads into the hard hearts of his superiors.
For once he glanced at his watch. It was late evening. By now his 3 yr old son would be back from the park where he goes every day with his grandfather. He visualised his wife preparing dinner in the kitchen and hoped she too would be looking at the clock. Wasting no more time he again jogged uphill leaving the monastery behind he reached the church. The church was quiet and desolate, its gardens full of blooms. He plucked some over-ripe squash fruit hanging from creepers on the wall playfully juggling them he found his favourite bench and sat down. The caretaker knew him from his frequent visits. This sipahi came to this height every day to catch the mobile network. The caretaker carefully slipped away.
He had not been home for 45 days now. He brought out his brand new note 4 and dialled his home number. After 3 attempts it did connect. His 6 yr old daughter was the first to speak today, "Baba...!!!" then his father, "Babu...!!!". His wife spoke less mostly about money and salary and school fees and, "Maach er daam khub bereche..!!!". The family lived 500 kms away from where he was. His wife never liked the mountains, She had arthritis. Five minutes into the phone call and he already needed another cigarette. He searched his pockets in vain but then.... his fingers touched the"other" phone... the "other" phone was small, unorthodox, hidden away safely.... looking up at the new rose moon he dialled the "other" number....

THE   END

bengali poem

টাট্টু মহারাজ

যখন আমি ছোট্ট ছিলাম
                   বয়স সবে পাঁচ
আমার ছিল কাঠের ঘোড়া
                         টাট্টু মহারাজ

রং ছিল তার সবুজ হলুদ
           কান দুটি তার লাল
কালো রঙের ডোরাকাটা
               ছিল পীঠের ছাল

সকাল হতেই টাট্টু চেপে
            দিতুম আমি দৌড়
আকাশ বাতাস মুখে মেখে
          ছাড়াই গলির মোড়

দুধের গেলাস হাতে নিয়ে
            সকাল হতে সাঁঝ
মা ছুটতো পেছন পেছন
         ছেড়ে দিয়ে কাজ

ভাত খাব না চানে যাব না
         চলত আমার বায়না
টাট্টু সাথে খেলব খেলা
         কোনো দেরি যে সয়না

হঠাৎ করে বাদলা দিনে
          মনে পড়ছে আজ
কোথায় আছে কেমন আছে
    আমার টাট্টু মহারাজ

Travelogue

Travelogue the best place to be when travelling i find is the... airport, yes i found that out in our recent trip to rajasthan when we had to change planes with a waiting time of 4/5 hours the moment you enter an airport the world changes, a totally air-conditioned atmosphere, clean air to breathe in, what a relief from air pollution outside clean walls greet you, no paan spits, thank god for that and no urination marks either.. disgusting!! the floors are smooth and even, no ups and downs, even i could do a clean catwalk on my heels👠 this time at delhi airport i experienced another pleasure that of not walking but moving ahead... ya guys a moving metallic roadstrip just like elevators 🛣️ great place to exercise though, miles and miles of space at least metro cities have large airports... in the small airports too you could window shop for ever and burn all those calories, even though the place is large you won't get lost, how much ever you wander you are sure to come back.. thus happened with my son, i could leave him wandering around and did not become tense, he usually always came back to us... becoz there are no exits 😀 comming back to shops.. O M G.. what exuberant shops they have, delhi airport, i saw shops of all foreign brands... i could only gaze and slither away... not having the courage even to ask the price... but i did show an air of dignity, as if i am not interested!!! 😀 the food plaza... awesome... i think i saw the freshest fruits and vegetables there than anywhere, though a tad costly, but you don't get to taste Hagen daz ice-cream everyday, one scoop was 200 bucks and with gst added up to 250... but i will remember the creamy concoction for years to come 😊 the restrooms 🚽 were good, with good staff all the time, not like those at shopping malls nowadays i find the staff decking themselves up on the mirrors, putting on lipstick and invariably 3 out of 4 toilet doors will be closed 😠 drinking water portals are everywhere, along with mobile changing counters... free Wi-Fi too 📲 Airports are a treat for sore eyes like mine, i always get to see sick men... coming at me coughing or vomiting all unclean and messy.. but here even the security constables are so damn handsome, the airport ground staff so well groomed and dressed.. uff... i could forever go on looking at them... 😜 so, all in all i find the airport as the best place to travel to ✈️🛫🛬🛩️🚁