a memoir of etchings and wanderings
It just dawned me on a few days ago that this September marked three years of my move from India to Oman. It was a dizzying thought, to picture how the time had flown past. When most people ask me what it is like, here – I usually complain. I find myself harping over the 10 months of summer, the lack of public transportation, the general aura of apathy that … Continue reading “Counting blessings.” →
For someone who has been raised on western classical music, fed Mozart before baby food and seen their father polish the Beethoven bust every Friday morning, it is quite unnatural to have seen their first opera at the age of 26. But the Royal Opera House in Muscat is a fairly new concept, and it wasn’t really opera season when we visited Austria so when I saw that ‘The Marriage … Continue reading “Le nozze di Figaro” →
The weekend before last I was in Dubai and met friend/classmate/bench-partner Yukti after almost a decade. And of course, we talked about school. I don’t remember having spoken about it in forever. There was never an opportunity to. Except when people asked – and the whole cycle of laughing at a school named ‘The Indian School Al Wadi Al Kabir’ began. I don’t blame them 🙂 I consider myself one … Continue reading “I.S.W.K.” →
The sky is a shade of crimson The winds are so strong that people are running for cover The lightning cracking down like a whip And the thunder is growling back in response The calm before the storm has passed The rains are here. The once or twice a year ones. How can I not rejoice? Tried to not waste too much time today attempting to capture the perfect lightning … Continue reading “Cloudburst” →
I’ve been thinking about growing up. It was so much simpler in our time… Small joys and smaller expectations. Pagers and facsimile instead of cell phones and email. Smaller rooms. More affection. Last night I was asked to go to one of those get-togethers that are organised by the cultural enthusiasts here. I’ve successfully avoided them for over a year and a half, but this time I was sent an … Continue reading “Grown Ups” →
The festival of lights is here And there is no better place to be than home This year, the Rangoli is almost perfect The refrigerator is stocked with sweet delights Happy Diwali, everyone! Thank you for the tip, Naween Bhaiya! Ma, attending the finer bits Supervising. The prayer room Just like last year’s one 🙂 Chakrabortys say “Happy Diwali”
Today is about a story from my childhood. Lets begin with saying that being a single child, most of my stories were around me and my parents. Nothing more. Sometimes, less. But what I want to share today is not really a story, has another character – and a setting that very few I know have had the privilege of growing up in. The place I remember living in, from … Continue reading “Day 18# Memories of Old” →
Photograph albums were one of my favourite pastimes growing up, and even though I’ve managed to scan most of the pictures and saved them in my external hard drives, I refer to them from time to time, when I’m in Muscat or Calcutta. It is a very difficult task – to pick a favourite picture of myself. I’ve been lucky to have parents with the love of documentation (Yes, that’s … Continue reading “Day 17# *Click*” →
A usual day in my life is really not much to talk about – just the general work, home routine where one doesn’t even realise how the weeks and then months fly past. So I thought pictures would add a definite zing (as mentioned in the challenge) – but a picture an hour seemed a bit much, so here we go – a condensed version of a day in my … Continue reading “Day 15# Just Another Day.” →
Seventeen years of living in this country and I haven’t experienced weather like this. I guess I am overdoing the droplet pictures and the thunderstorm videos. It is so difficult to resist. Roads are blocked. Wadis are overflowing. There is chaos. All because of a night of constant precipitation. At 6 am today, one could easily have mistaken the view out my window as a hill station. I plugged in … Continue reading “Cascade” →