Kolkata Diaries

24 Mar 2019 - So what I was in hospital? I was made to play holi, too! The photo you see was taken on the 21st. I was very unwell throughout January this year and [...]

8 Mar 2019 - They are a perfect pair. They complement each other and are a study in contrast: she flaunts her white hair, he dyes it black; she means business at all hours, he [...]

3 Mar 2019 - This photograph, taken in October 2003, is one of my most precious possessions. On the right is Dida - feisty, resilient, impish; on the left, Ma - selfless, honest, hopelessly romantic. [...]

24 Nov 2018 - For 9 years, we lived in a huge apartment in Amsterdam - 5 of them with Srishti. It was on the 7th floor of a tall residential building in the district [...]

17 Nov 2018 - My widowed father's new household is filled with abandoned women (incidentally, all from Bangladesh and all residing in Dattapukur). They numbered three at one point. Now there are two. One cooks, [...]

10 Nov 2018 - What jewellery did you buy this Pujo/ Dhanteras/ Diwali? None? Not even with all the discounts? - "25% off on making charge", "50% off..." on something else. Too bad! Has no [...]

4 Nov 2018 - He still comes twice a month - ektara in hand, dishevelled hair tied back in a jumbled knot, beard flowing down to his chest, clad in a 'gerua' punjabi and dhoti, [...]

28 Oct 2018 - It'd exactly 15 months that I've relocated back to Kolkata after a decade in the Netherlands. "Tho' much is taken, much abides." I realize that these Tennysonian lines are true for [...]

12 Feb 2018 - "Srishti Sandilya is our new V.I.P of the week. She was born in Netherlands and moved to India just last year. She is a gentle and soft spoken child. Srishti shared [...]

18 March 2018 - Today, after 5 weeks, Sunday was a day of rest. Since 10th Feb, we have been through a nightmare with my father's health. We initially admitted him into a nursing home, [...]