Uncategorized – Dabbler's Diary

59 Minutes at Ray House

As I was navigating through yet another of those massive traffic snarl at Ma Flyover caused by reasons unknown, the flyover being dotted with cars, an underlying fear of being late at 1/1 Bishop Lefroy Road kept me nervy. It was then the mobile beeped. The appointment at six in the evening has been rescheduledContinue reading “59 Minutes at Ray House”

Passwords

Dads had GR Vishwanath! Eknath Solkar! A certain Nawab! (Sunny G and Kapil D belonged to us too!) We have a Sachin, a Dada, every mother-in-law’s favourite Rahul Dravid. They had time. We have fancy watches. They wrote letters, walked half a mile to post it. We send mails in a jiffy! They would spendContinue reading “Passwords”

Winter Calling

In a country like ours, or more so for a state like the one we have in West Bengal, the season of winter is certainly a delicacy. We look forward to it with the avidity of a performance appraisal. We remain sceptic, excited, joyous and ready for small experiments in life which we keep deferringContinue reading “Winter Calling”

To Siliguri…..with love!

It’s very early part of the day and with the impending winter, the quaint town of Siliguri is still at snooze mode. However, the otherwise oblivious Netaji Cabin at the Bidhan Market is throbbing with life, with its signature crispy toast smeared with butter and eggs in all its avatars, boiled, omelettes or poached. A very old photographContinue reading “To Siliguri…..with love!”

Poila Baishakh

If one comes to think of it, we do have three years loaded within a year much like the legendary .303 rifle. The difference lies in the fact that while the sturdy rifle could fire only one shot at a time after which the barrel needed to reloaded by pulling the bolt in preparing forContinue reading “Poila Baishakh”

Jab We Met

The Making ‘Oops…..that’s very high for an IPRS (Indian Performing Right Society) license , can’t we do away with it? It is a close event’….we tried to reason out. ‘No Sir…it’s the mandate for any live programme regardless of the nature of the entertainment or the kind of premises at which the performance takes placeContinue reading “Jab We Met”

The Queer World Of Facebook

Remember those lazy looking weekend mornings? Or an idle sunset in the vastness of a highway drive? Or those count down of milestones as we wait impatiently for the destination to arrive? Do you recall gazing at the mountains from your hotel room on a summer holiday? Have you ever been a part of theContinue reading “The Queer World Of Facebook”

Romancing Posto

After being strictly meatatarian during ‘those five days’ of the recently concluded Durga Puja, it sinks in slowly that we need to get back to the same old grind shortly and thus compelled to reboot the food habits or do a complete detoxification of the ‘ever weak’ digestive tracts following the enormous torture we didContinue reading “Romancing Posto”

Those Five Days!

So, friends, what’s the very first thing we do when Ma Durga sails back to her abode? (Yes, I know it’s a cruelly timed question!) But for a Bengali, the answer is a no-brainer. We immediately google the next puja (or pujo) dates. Will it be September-end? Early October? And heaven forbid, if it driftsContinue reading “Those Five Days!”

Remembering Moulick Da

How often does a surname eclipse the name itself? We consider it ‘given’ to address someone as Banerjee Uncle, Chowdhury Da or simply as Niyogi. Their first name gets buried as time ticks away and its left to an Aadhar or a PAN to keep the record, like a numbed custodian of forgone civilization! AllContinue reading “Remembering Moulick Da”