Exit Notes!

Our last few days in Kolkata now seem like a dream: farewell  meals and meetings with friends, a Satsang at home on the last Sunday before we left, (which was so beautiful and so moving that I found it hard to control my tears); a delightful, though all-too-brief visit from our daughter-in-law.......
Gandhi Jayanti was when we packed our personal luggage and isolated it in the corner of one room. The packers invaded our house on the morning of the 3rd , and a whirlwind reigned all over, as they were a large team and we were outnumbered. They were experts at dismantling/packing /wrapping/numbering. By the evening of the 4th October we had some 163 packages ready for despatch. We were still staying in the house as we had the landlord's beds and air conditioner in my parent' room, and decided to use old sheets, cushions and towels that we could give to our maid before we left.
Too sleepy to get up and check, I wondered whether the packers had even opened the cutlery drawer in the glass-fronted sideboard.

While reading a restaurant review in the morning paper, a mention of saffron triggered off a memory of my cutlery drawer, in which I'd kept a beautiful saffron box from Iran. The packers had not opened the drawer, and were most abashed about it, and promised to pack it once the rest of the loading was done.

I was saddened to see that some of the loaders looked far too old for such heavy work,but they were an enthusiastic crew. This old gentleman had a fabulous moustache, and was quite happy to pose for a photograph!

Kolkata has had a heavy, long monsoon this year, and I was worried about the cardboard cartons getting wet in the rain. God was very kind, and the day was mostly bright and sunny. But, after the truck had been loaded, we had the deluge to beat all deluges- I've seen very heavy rain in my seven years in Kolkata, but never anything like this. We had the house cleaned up thoroughly, quite astounded by the amount of trash that emerged from various corners. We said our farewells to Meena, my trusted helper of over seven years, who had even helped me unpack when I moved to Kolkata, and Anil, the boy who kept my bathrooms and fans scrubbed and shining. Then a young man from the SRE's office came to take charge of the house, and that marked the end of a rich and eventful chapter in our lives. Arun drove us through flooded roads to the company guest house, where we bathed and changed, and then went for a lovely, intimate dinner at a cousin's home.

We had decided to settle our Tolly Club dues before we left. I had to capture the SRE's pensive look as he overlooked the green......

We went to meet some old friends who couldn't come and see us because their dog was very ill. (He passed away a couple of days later). Back to the guest house for lunch and a nap.  Some dear friends were coming over for a farewell cup of tea with us. After a pleasant hour or so together we went out to see them off, only to discover that our driver, Arun, had had a dizzy spell in the bathroom and had a big wound at the back of his head. Fortunately, our friends hadn't left, so they took him to the doctor and called his family. (The poor man had to have nine stitches in his scalp). We called for a taxi, and reached the airport well in time. All sentimental thoughts about leaving Kolkata were completely overshadowed by our concern for Arun, who has served us so well for over seven years. Each time he'd drop us at the airport, he would say, "God bless you", in English, so this departure seemed strangely incomplete. (We still don't know why he had the fall. But he's sounding cheerful, and having the sutures removed today).

Our younger son and older daughter were at the airport to receive us.
A new chapter of our lives begins!

Joyful ears!

Today I'm the girl
with flowers in her ears,
stars in her ears
Flowers like stars,
emerald and ruby,
star like flowers,
flower like stars
Happy stars
Farewell flowers
Embedded in silver
navaratna stones
and tiny black roses
Happy floral ears,
happy stellar ears
a tourmaline necklace,
so subtle, so fine...
I couldn't resist it,
it had to be mine,
Gifts from this city,
my love of seven years
I lived a great life here,
rich in much that I love
(I'm nearly in tears).
But no, I'll wear these flowers
with their magical powers
to restrain my fears,
and dam up those tears
with sparkling and happy
stars in my ears,
flowers in my ears,
the chimes of the future
alive in my ears.......

Farewell, Kolkata

After a sudden turn of events and a fairly tumultuous August, the SRE and I have decided to leave Kolkata and relocate to the NCR.
The gods seem to be looking favourably on this move.
We found an apartment that we liked on the very first day, the fourth one that we saw.
It helped that our older daughter had put us in touch with an excellent property dealer, and had already told him of our basic requirements.
It helped that it's just the two of us, who need a place to rent for the next couple of years, while our own apartment is completed.
(When I went through the thirty-five or forty odd apartments I'd seen in Kolkata, finding something that also met my parents' specific needs was very high on my list of priorities).

It is located mid-way between the homes of three of our children, which is wonderful.
I can see us being thoroughly spoiled by them!

Kolkata blessed me with some amazing friends, both old and new. You know who you are..........

Kolkata was from where I travelled extensively (for me), both within the country and abroad.

Kolkata was where my parents spent their final years.....
Both of them died peacefully at home, within three and a half months of each other......
Their room is still known as their room, though many many visitors have stayed there since they left us.
I spend many restful moments in that room, imbued as it is with a peaceful atmosphere, which feels like my father's gentle hand upon my brow..........
My mother would smile and wave from their balcony as I returned from my morning walk.
I try and forget the extremely painful images of the last few months of her life, especially those weeks after her stroke when she was fed through a tube inserted into her nose, unable to speak, her eyes following us,  my sister and I, whenever we left her bedside.......
My father slowly fading away, growing weaker by the day, despite all investigations and treatment, broken -hearted when my mother returned home from hospital, a shadow of the woman she was........
The crematorium at Keoratala, their ashes kept in the nearby gurudwara until it was time to immerse them in
the Hooghly, from which their mortal remains would have long washed out to the sea.......

Much joy, too!
When we moved to Kolkata, our older son moved too,
to Columbia University, New York, for his doctorate.
He's completed it and moved to his new life in a new state, as an assistant professor.
Last summer, he brought his wife to this home of ours for the very first time..........

The younger son, who'd been, of necessity a boarder from an early age,
obtained his law degree from Kolkata!
Though he stayed on campus, home was for weekly visits,
sprawled on the leather couch, often with friends who, as many youngsters have done, enriched our lives......

Both girls came when they could, and we enjoyed so much of my Kolkata together.........
Kewpie's and sarees and of course New Market, footwear and silver jewellery, Thai food at Benjarong,
and lycra blouses from Jhil Mil, requested by so many of their friends.

I know I will miss so much of this city.
So very much...........

I was so happy to be able to attend my natal Satsang here, each Sunday evening, after a break of several years, because of living in far off places. Even if I dozed off, I would be glad that I went!

Movies, concerts, theatre, exhibitions, ceramics, book launches and Lit Fests, the fabulous Akatha Kahaani which I was privileged to host.
Dover Lane- I will miss those wonderful night long performances which both exhausted me and enchanted me!

The trees I had grown to love, near our home, on my morning walk route, and all across this verdant city.
Good old Tolly Club with its sweeping green, and trees, birds and lurking jackals, as well as some fabulous meals. I never swam there as much as I'd hoped to......
The SRE learned to play golf here!

My trusted driver, who has served us so faithfully all these years.
My maid, who has helped me from the very day our luggage was unloaded.
The girl in the courier office who shed tears when I told her of our imminent departure.
The people in my building, and the little boys next door- two small acrobats!
Their mother and I have been planning a coffee date since forever......

The wonderful people who visited us, and all those who came and stayed.....
The huge beds that came with the house, and the nice sideboard and the monster sideboard!
I will miss you all.

It was a great chapter in our lives, closing now, as a new one unfolds.....

May God's blessings be with us, and with all of those we leave behind.......

Alert Security!

When we reached the exit door of the supermarket, as always the security guard examined our bill,
(we had just the one bag of fruit and vegetables) and then, most unusually, asked us to move to the side. Our bill had one unnamed item billed at one rupee. The guard was well aware that there was nothing in the store that was sold for a rupee, so we pulled out all the items and counted them and tallied the number of items on the bill. I had bought a pomelo for thirty rupees, and it had been billed a second time for one rupee. The guard sent one of his minions to the cash counter to get the bill corrected, and he returned shortly with our bill and a one rupee coin. The security guard apologised for delaying us, and seemed most pleasantly surprised when both the SRE and I praised him for his sincerity and his attentiveness towards his work.

I don't know what opportunities he will get in his life, but I do hope he always has the satisfaction of a job well done. 

Six years old today!!!!!!

Of This and That is six years old today!
It's enriched my life tremendously.
I know I often neglect it,
But it's there, waiting for me
The silent recipient of
So many mental conversations
With myself, many of which
Remain only mental!
I hope I write more
In the coming year, dear blog.
I'm glad you are there.
Happy birthday!

August memories

August is drawing to a close,
bearing with it reminders of Augusts past.

This year, it feels like a month of loss,
many times over.........

My mother's birthday, on Independence Day.
She would have been eighty five this year.
I no longer mourn her, or even miss her very often,
But that date belongs to her.......

Lalita- it's been five years since you left us.
You remain unforgettable,
A memory shared by the few of us
Who knew you, even briefly as I did.

Those two young men, mere boys, really,
Who took their own lives last year- they are no more,
Not visible to us in this world, at least,
But their loss remains, constant,
In the hearts of those who loved them.
And yet life moves inexorably on........

The hypocrisy of the lazy morning walkers

We walk early, K and I,
Our alarms going off at five a.m.
And we meet somewhere on our route
And catch up with each other's lives
Trying to manage to walk
five days a week.

But most mornings, we peer through
Bedroom windows, looking at the road
And the sky, hoping for rain
That will let us curl up in bed again,
Without guilt...........

It rarely happens, though,
Apart from days
When the rain is torrential,
Keeping us housebound
not only in the morning, but all day long
Our lanes flooded,
Part time house help
Unable to come,
And suffering the rising water,
The leaking roofs
That damage their goods and chattels
With not a spot to dry them in.
The extremes of nature
Cruel to those whose lives
Are already so.........

We know this,
we count our comforts,
And we continue our walks
And our hopeful, fraudulent,
Guilt inducing
Wish for morning rain.