Home : jamshedpur,golgappa and haaph pant

home is where i took my first step ,home is where life is spread around bistupur and sakchi,home is where i can see buses written with "bure nazzar waale tera moh kala" home is where i learnt about the word steel,home is where i learnt to ride my bicycle. a place which always remains warm even if the temperature outside dips to 6.home is where ma keeps my room warm by keeping the heater on so i dont sneeze when i step out of the bed.home is where baba and i could fight over movies and cricket matches,home is where i can wear my most shabby pyjamas and complimented by ma :) home is where all clothes are laundry done without my looking at them even once.home is where i know when is my next door neighburs anniversary.home is where Das aunty downstairs knows i like jackfruti and gives me one "katori" when she cooks it.home is where the street lights are an indicator for me to return home after 6.home is where the TV is switched on in every household aftr 2PM to watch the serials,home is where aunties still wear"maxis" and uncles wear "haph pant"home is where people still wear "maankeytupi"

home is where electrical appliances are brought on "dhaanterash" home is when ma shouts and screams if i eat 2 rotis*only* home is where baba will put my cell on charge while i sleep till 10 in the morning,home is where ma preserves the empty bottles of the numerous perfume vials i had gifted her,home is where i go dining to all the relatives and friends house every night,invited of course.home is where someone hands me a glass of water and"snacks" when i return in the evening,home is where friends would come and honk from their cars,without worrying about society chairman, home is where the roads bring back memory,home is where my first crush was ,even though i was 7,home is where "paan dukaan" was where we went o drink Pepsi,home is where the the golgappawala recognizes me after so many years, home is where i Franks is the best chinese resturaunt,home is where the Anand Dosa is more than just a dosa ,home is where i ate the best "kala churan" outside school,home is where i could ride my bike without a helmet,home is where people still visit each other on weekdays,home is where my best friend still promises to make my day,home is where my heart is...Jamshedpur

missing the wild side

i hate alarms..be it in life ,in the lift or early morning cell phones..i absolutely hate the sound of it going off at 7 to announce"hey there one more day at the F**** office for you" but when i turn around to wake up G,its all worth it. Seeing the man sleep so peacefully is probably the best way to begin my days..needless to say what follows is asking the maid to use less oil,water the plants,even though G is scandalised seeing me water plants in the balcony wearing a green towel,i continue running around the house packing lunchboxes, closing windows,kissing goodbyes and then some time for myself..a 5 minute bath and 10 minutes of lone quality "dressing table" time...that's where i noticed the change.

Dressing up for me meant silver sequined mini skirts with a purple top and silver peep toes...but now it all vanished..i sit here blogging about the old"me" wearing a grey suit with black pumps,the pointed and shiny one, a black top and my hair done up high with pins in a clean chignon..

i guess i complete the look of the well dressed "ex.com prof" but i miss my sequined skirts and purple blotch tops.i miss not combing my hair and walking off to college, i miss wearing shorts and moving around in chappals (slippers)with yellow and blue nail paints, i miss eating muffins with coffee(i am trying to avoid carbs and coffee) i miss being able to ask money from dad to buy tickets,i miss all that and so uch more..my bunch of friends for night-outs and my old chindi pyjamas...

p.s: chocolate muffins and coffee goes great !!! especially if you have them in purple cups and plates...trust me ,thats my secret to"feel good"

Dhaak,aaroti, luchee aar cholar daal!!!

its just the 6th of september but i have a mixed feeling going on..i a happy the pujo is around the corner but i am sad too..i have this very comforting habit of saying"uummm what was i doing last year or month or week this time this day" and thats why i am sad..i was super excited for the pujo..my first pujo last year was also my first with vermillion on my forehead,some red and white shakha pola(traditional bengali bangles made of red and white coral to denote the marital status of a woman)i was very busy packing mine and G's bags deciding what would be worn on which day and during the morning or evening,picking up tiny gifts for the kids and family,remembering to pack the photo albums,the t-shirt for baba and the shiny sequined clutch for ma.

Ever since the time i remember we have been going to our ancestral Pujo badi in Dhanbad,where every one of us,gathers from all across the country and beyond, bonded by the divine strength of Durga. this is one time in the year that all the members of my paternal family get together to live 5 days of celebration ,food,conversations,paan(beetle leaf) and Pushpanjoli(offering prayers to the Godess) in our old baadi..though we visit it just once a year i always refer to this house as badi(home) since thats how it has been over the last several years of the celebration.

the sound of the dhaak and conch shells open your eyes as you welcome the Goddess to stay amid us for the next 5 days..tradition has it that offering the early morning prayers empty stomach always fulfills them but the smell of the luchi and cholar daal,seved by the cook who has been a part of this legacy for the last 29 years, and some extra serving of bundiya.the day continues as there is a lot of catching up to do it with the cousin from Yale, the newly wedded bowdi, the niece living in Karolbagh , the jethu from New Jersey and the star attraction of this year, my new bowdi,born a chinese,raised in US married to a Bengali. what follows this is another gourmet meal which can never be dished up by the swankiest places. A leaf plate made of the local tendu tree,has some dazzling white steamed rice, crispy aaloo bhaja and daal.As the conversations continue across tables, none of us being too keen on table manners here, we continue having Ilish maach and some sinful mishti doi..

Evening are times for dressing up, where usually one girl gets her hair pleated while she is applying eye line for another.The elderly women get dressed and seated in the same old blue and silver pondall we have in our house with the men folk discussing politics and cricket...with a bengali around you will never run short of that!!! while the younger generation continues with their "wassup" and the aaroti naach i always amaze myself how among all the "wassups" and " dudes" amid the e-mails and orkut, amid the mid-life crisis and long-term investment plans, between the low-cost airfares and the everyday life,my family still has this legacy going..a story that runs in my mind everytime i hear the wordu, the legacy that has made me what i am today prod of ,my roots, the Goddess that gets 150 members of the same family under one roof, the sound of the mantra that makes me join my hands and bow,the beauty of how so many people have been coming together for 160 years, the joy of spending nights talking with everyone,the smell of the evening chaa and shinghara,the cants of "Aasche bochor abar hobe",the immersion of the Goddess thanking her for this year and asking her blessings for the one to come.

This is for all my cousins babun jeet titli deep shona ma and the whole gang..i am going to miss you guys so much this year !!

This is the actual durga bhashan video of last years,flicked it from my sisters orkut account ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOGj83zohik&eurl=http://www.orkut.co.in/FavoriteVideoView%3Fuid%3D8766540665496793085%26ad%3D1232371098&feature=player_embedded#t=16