Letter to the Unknown Reader Series 1 - From home

 Hello dear Reader,

How have you been the whole of last week? I’m hoping that from the corners of your world, you have been able to taste the different delicacies life had thrown at you. As the saying goes, we become what we consume. Hence we need to have a connoisseur’s eye to only take in what adds to our soul enrichment.

To listen to my heart, I made a short trip to my hometown Kolkata to attend rice ceremony of a very close to heart bundle of joy. And added to the occasion, I managed to throw in 3 days worth of time with my family. At times our treadmill of life makes us forget to pause, to realise that time like sand is slipping through our tightly held fist. At the cost of getting to the next milestone which is still not ours, we forget look around and enjoy what is changing slowly along with us. A father, whose wrinkles have started to show, yet the craving of his heart to be close to his baby girl unchanged and increasing, a mother who has found a friend in her grown up daughter and wants to share all her hobbies with her, a brother who has been a partner-in-crime during the growing up years, is ready to walk by his sister’s side as both grey.  A nephew who was the chubbiest, cutest babe around, growing up into a tall lanky teenager, eager to share his growing up stories with his aunt, a sister in law who is more than a sister, and in- laws who have become home…..all changing slowly as I’m inching closer to my end post.

This trip was for the family and dedicated to the family, to the laughter, to the place I grew up in, to the delicious home cooked food rustled up so that I could re-visit my childhood, to the impromptu sleep on the couch, to the first rains which reminded me of childhood crush and was a reminder to pause and indulge in the ticking minutes that’s leaving my life.

I hope dear readers that you pause and enjoy. Give yourself the time to realise what you’re missing out on; in the rush to chase your next dream. The things that are changing and leaving the world you knew to be yours, the street that no more has the old shop, the tree at the bend of the corner which has vanished. The city you left behind is slowly changing behind your back. Soon when you’ll look back all will only be a memory, at least what you knew to be yours.

Please go and visit your old friends, the uncles and the aunts you rarely give a call, embrace your ageing parents with as much tenderness as you would your growing child. Visit the towns you’ve left behind in your path, the colleagues who had been your comrades, cousins and old flames before all becomes memories….before you become a memory.

Always yours,

Pocket full of life

Letter to the Unknown Reader Series 1 - Letter from Tranquility

 Dear Reader,

How have you been? Have you noticed how a week flies by before you can bat a lid. My weekly blogs seem like whiffs in the wind. They just fly by in jet-set speed scattering memories like fallen leaves across my life.

Last week I had been fortunate enough to fulfil a long time wish of seeing fireflies which throng the villages and  forest areas in Maharashtra just before the monsoon hits the state. The magical photos I had seen in social media enchanted me enough, to indulge in the experience. I had visited this place earlier but not in this particular season, so an off beat email from Native Place got me planning. A rustic, enchanting home-stay, tucked in the side of Pawna lake, offered a glimpse of this wonderful night time magic. In the hope of catching the firefly dance, we set off for an overnight trip accompanied by my bestie and her family along with mine. 

The lake by itself was calmness personified, its gentle ripple would seep into your soul slowly. But the owners warned that it’s very dip and not to venture in for a swim. I always wondered that a lake is like a woman’s heart. From the surface its tranquil beauty will never betray its innermost secrets. The pain, the sacrifice, the love which is held inside, froths out only when it gets touched by the gentle touch of the comforting warmth of another woman. The kindred spirits shine and dance in unison like two fireflies in the dark. And none of those stories are either earth shattering or dramatic. The web of conversation two women cast are everyday stories of morning rush, forgetful husbands, cooking of tiffins, and daily routine. But then a world of women is such where superhero like spate of activities are also made to look mundane, by their kindness, warmth, grit and intelligence. They make mammoth changes in a very orderly, simplistic manner without making too much fuss.

So sitting on the rocks at the side of the lake which was like a mirror reflection of the sky, two women wove stories with words, in warm whispers, sharing notes, laughter and tears. Both being reflections of the tranquility of the lake and the calmness of the evening. They wrapped the turbulence of their lives in most ordinary words just as women do.

So my dear readers, if you are a woman, cheers to your magical prowess of turning every piece of your world into ordinary, calm, life routines. And if you’re not, then look around and observe the magic you live in because of such wonderful women in your lives.

See you next week, till then from the shores of Mumbai hope Cyclone Biporjoy do not cause much biporjoy ( turbulence) in your lives.

Always yours,

Pocket full of life.

Letter to the Unknown Reader Series 1 - Free spirit

Hello Dearest Reader,

Hope the week treated you well. The summer heat didn’t tandoor you the way my tropic is doing to me. At times I wonder if climate change will make it miserable for us bit by bit, just the way we rampaged and played with the patience of nature slowly over centuries of human civilisation. Long story short, summers in India and specially in the bursting-to-the-seams; cities are not the least pleasant. 

In such a weather a group of like minded women decided to unwind on a Friday night in one of the quaintly beautiful Japanese restaurants in Mumbai. Shifuku as the name goes didn’t disappoint us either with their food, music or ambiance. The sushis and the nigiris are to die for and the ever smiling mixologist did churn up some wonderful mocktails, for the non alcoholic me.

Here I was in the august company of women who had walked different stories of their lives with elan, grace and wit. Each out did the other in the way they managed their love, their career, their home, their passion and celebrated their true spirit in the most unique way, only they can do. 

I was curiously touched by the journey of one, who simplified it by saying, “ Left home at 19, had live-in relationship twice and by 28 I knew marriage was not for me”. We rolled with laughter as she wittily mentioned that she’s heading to the capital city to be next-door neighbours to her bestie of 20 years. The best friend is a lesbian and living life Queen size, without being buried under societal, parental and self manufactured expectations. Such wonderful free spirits that roamed the earth makes it worth the while to embrace the stories of such kinds as you interact. I was so taken with the courage, grit and the faith in creating her own destiny, I almost bowed down in reverence. I’m sure the path must not have been easy. And her journey though kaleidoscopic, was lonely at times.

To such wonderful women who owns up to the life they created and flaunts their destiny like a crown, we owe the paths that are created for generations that follows us. Not that one has to replicate the journey, but the courage and the spirit is worth embracing a million times over.

Cheers to such powerhouse women. May you come across such rebel queens in your life. May you be inspired and wish you creation of your own kind of kingdom. See you next week. Till then, enjoy the summers if you’re away from the tropics. And my readers who hug the tropics, let’s pray for the rains to bless our lives.

Always yours,

Pocket full of life

Letter to the Unknown Reader Series 1 - Puppy Love

Dear Reader,

I have been hiding an heart melting secret for a week or so. My family brought home and endearing heart beat and we named him Mithai. This one came into our lives after our first baby left us for rainbow land. As I struggled to make space for this little one in my broken heart, which still had shards of grief from the loss of our last one, this little furry cuddle tiptoed slowly in.

Mithai in Bengali means a sweet which is also synonymous for Bengali deserts. And oh boy, this one absolutely true to his name, is delectable. He has the entire household running behind him, either playing, feeding, toilet training or cuddling. Plethora of activities keep us busy and more often than not we roll with laughter watching Mithai’s antics as he tries to find a foothold in this new world. 

He is like a Royal fool entertaining us always with his adorable face and silly mischievousness. The tiring exhaustion of a work day washes away as we come back home to him. He is our good luck charm who fills our life with a love and joy which is pure in its essence. 

Any of you, if you have a pet of any shape, size and kind will resonate my feelings of unadulterated love for this little furry bundle of joy. These gifts of God don’t grow up and hence they keep a little piece of your child-self alive on you as you struggle with you multiple responsibilities in this adult world.

If you do not have a pet and are not keen on having one, I will recommend you find friends, neighbours or family members who might have a pet. You probably can enjoy them from a safe distance, but I can guarantee that you will enjoy your time with them.

Wishing you unadulterated love of the purest kind. Enjoy your week ahead and hope you can de-stress from the hectic whirlwind of a life.

Always yours,

Pocket full of life