Jethu's Visit 2016 Feb-March :: Anecdotes Jethu shared on Saturday Feb 27th

When he was around 4 years of age, he used to stay at 33/2 Beadon Street (Bholanath Dham) with his parents. Mammusona (Jethu's great great grandmother and my great great great grandmother) used to fetch the little Jethu from school. Once they were back home, Mammusona would maker her great great grandson sit in the kitchen while she would peel ripe mangoes and make slices of them. Then she would sprinkle sugar on those slices generously and give them to the child to eat along with a glass of hot thick milk to drink. And, she would ask the child how school had been that day.

Years later, when Jethu had narrated this to some of his Hispanic friends, an elderly lady said that no where in the world will a woman serve a man like this, these days. tongue emoticon. According to Jethu, that was a pathetic thing to say about a 4-year-old getting pampered by his great great grandmother.

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Jethu has written a thorough list of what all he has eaten in Kolkata since Friday night, to the girls and to Dotti - to which Dotti has replied that "you will be waited upon in this way only in India"

FEB 15, 2014 -- post from FB

Well yesterday turned out to be moVie-Day for me.. back to back movies.. Aashiqui2 following the evening Raanjhaana.. and I did love Aashique 2. . I had never seen the previous aashiqui (I ws in class VIII , I hd the cassette.. bought it for Rs 18!.. and had listened to it maybe 1800 times.. but I never knew much abt the movie.. ) .. this one bears the typical Bhatt Banner pathos that lingers, intrigues and stays poignant.. similar kind of subject and storyline like Woh Lamhe, Daddy etc, but of course each film is different.. loved the newcomers, Shraddha is a beautiful actress.. and I dont knw why Aditya's face and expressions do stay in the mind.. beautiful songs, I wondered why only 2 of them hv become so popular! Shreya Ghosal , a melody queen, sings her part of Suna Raha hain na tu so beautifully that the male--voice-sung part seems drab.. good lyrics, Mithoon is someone whose name I find as the lyricist whenever I like lyrics of hindi songs these days.. Aashiqui2 has the same kind of Bhatt magic that makes a movie stay with me ..guess, Mohit Suri has become a pro at that magic now..

On a Valentine's Day .. 2 Years Back.. Baba was there as I watched the movie

"Rest in Peace, Kundan" .. this is what I felt at the end of "Raanjhaana" .. arent his last words exactly what we feel whn we have totally spent ourselves in our passion and enthusiasm of love.. dont we all lose the will to open our eyes or live ever again when we have drained our emotions out and life has made us lose all..

Such spontaneous, unpretentious, unassuming acting by Dhanush.. love his exaggerated comic acting with Swara Bhaskar.. the early Benaras part of the movie reminded me of some other movie which I cant remember.. loved my fav Abhay Deol.. engrossing and fast, I dont remember when i hv last watched such a well-paced Hindi movie .. apart from the Bollywoodic exaggerations, Raanjhaana won my heart.. Sonam Kapoor was so vibrant and dazzling in Benaras with her smile there! she indeed needs to improve her acting as far as serious emotions are concerned.. well-written, well-directed.. songs with soulful lyrics and A R Rahman's music standing out as almost another character in the movie.. Dhanush will keep flashing in my mind.. he is too too too good!

Aaj toh morey geleo kono dukkho nei

Thanks to Sreemoyee Piu Kundu for being kind enough to invite me to the launching of her 3rd baby "You've Got the Wrong Girl".. Thanks to Baba for the name "SheoRa-Gaachher Petni", and thanks to myself for introducing myself to the world with this name grin emoticon

After the beautiful readings by EKavali Khanna and Joy Sengupta got over, and Srijit Mukherji and Sreemoyee Piu Kundu's discussion got over, and after we were treated to two beautiful songs by Paroma Banerjee and Lagnajita Chakraborty, everybody present was ready to mingle. As I stretched my hand to Paroma and said "We talk on Facebook", she was instantly all-smiles and exclaimed. "I know you! Yes, I know you!" I asked, "naam-Ta balo toh?".. and she said mischievously "SeTa ki ekhane bola uchit habe?". I knew instantly that she indeed got who I was tongue emoticon

Well, the next person was Satrajit Sen smile emoticon.. I told him, "We speak on FB.. and err I have a rather strange name".. He asked the name and the moment I uttered the words SheoRa-Gaachher Petni, he smiled broadly and said "Yes. I know you" smile emoticon A similar kind of conversation followed with sweet little Lagnajita, who only yesterday has received some advice from me regarding applying a particular thing on her forehead smile emoticon Everybody seemed to know me by that pet name given by Baba!
It was also nice speaking to dancer Sudarshan Chakravorty, a warm and sweet person!

After having met and spoken to Sreemoyee and her warm, affectionate Mom, I tried to say a little "hello" to my fav film director Srijit Mukherji. He was surrounded by a crowd, as expected, and I felt crestfallen as I had missed the opportunity of speaking to him at the KLM as well. He almost brushed past my shoulder, and yet I could not mane an entry.

But, YAY!! A few minutes later, I again found him at the back of the hall, and mustered all my courage and raised my voice a little to utter his name. ANd he turned towards me smile emoticon .. I blurted out that "I watch almost all your movies and always try to write to you on FB messenger and on the timeline about how I liked it!" He kept saying, "Thank you so much".. then, I said, " I have a rather unfamiliar name on FB.. it is SheoRa-Gaachher Petni!" Srijit Mukherji nodded and gave the biggest and the most spontaneous smile, which again made it clear that the notoriety of my name is widespread smile emoticon

Now coming to Sreemoyee's book launch, I wish all the best to the book! The parts and snippets that were read out were quite fascinating, to say the least.

Our family has had a jinx with Sreemoyee's book launch, not that the poor writer or her books have anything to do with it. It was on the morning of the launch of Sreemoyee's second book "Sita's Curse" that my father had the accident from which he never recovered. That morning, when he was admitted at Ruby General Hospital, he vehemently refused and kept on saying that he had a book launch to attend in the evening. That was a time when I did not know Sreemoyee a bit. Only my father and brother, being the architects of her new home at Jodhpur Park, were known to her. Much later, when Baba was bedridden in his oblivious state, I had connected with Sreemoyee on FB. I had gone upstairs to Baba and said, "It was her first book launch that day, was it not, Baba?". He said, "No. Maybe, the second." - which, I found out later, was correct. Even when only 40% of his brain was working, he did not miss details..

Baba, I went to Sreemoyee's 3rd launch today, and you know what I spoke to Srijit Mukherji!

Aaj toh morey geleo kono dukkho nei grin emoticon

All humble, warm, down-to-earth people they are! Bengal's culture is in good hands..

A Wonderful Evening with Subhajit and Soumi !

It is hard to express yourself in words when you feel love, camaraderie, affection, contentment, friendship, joy packed in one evening.. in a session of around 3 lovable hours

It was a visit from my schoolmate Subhajit Biswas (We sat together in class for quite a few months when we were in Class VII, having studied in the same section in Classes VII, VIII. XI, and XII) and his wife Soumi Sukla who happens to be a very dear and close friend of mine (although we had just met physically once before today), along with their beautiful 4-year old son Samyak Bodhi (whom I saw today for the first time).

What an evening it was!! Remembrances, fun, banter, pulling each other's legs, reminiscing old anecdotes that are endless we being Pointers, stories, experiences, sharing of memories and what not! Subhajit has always been the simple boy next door despite being a Cambridge scholar, someone whom I have always found endearing and adorable! His innocence, candidness, unpretentious attitude, wonderful soul, and unassuming behavior have always made him very dear to friends. And, by God's grace, each of these attributes that I mentioned are also owned by his wife Soumi with whom I had shared my deepest secrets at a time when I had not been able to share things with my friends and family. She is an inspiration having made it to Cambridge from Mankar, Burdwan. The simplicity and humility of this wonderful girl is exemplary. She is so down to earth that she touches your heart straightaway. Having met her only on the night of Santanu Chakraborty's wedding in 2009 December, she was the one who had always taken the initiative to keep in touch with me through emails and social sites. This couple is indeed a match made in heaven, touch wood! heart emoticon

Meeting and spending time with school-friends again reassures me that these are the only people who do not care about your social, marital, financial, or academical status. They love you. Period.

One of the myriad moments of today's affectionate banter: When Subhajit asked Ma why she is not teaching me crochet so that I can help her, Ma said that I am not good with these things. To this, Subhajit said "tui jodi BaRo hotis tahole toke shekhano jeto hoytoh, kintu tui toh BaRoi holina grin emoticon " (Had you grown up, you could have been taught maybe, but you are one who never grew up). I do not remember when was the last time I have laughed so hard and felt so much of affection being poured on me. He made one observation after another, about me, and I kept saying, "Ebar prochonDo maar Khabi".. DO not remember when I have said something like this to someone smile emoticon

Soumi touched our hearts by bringing beautiful flowers for Baba's picture and she gifted me a cute diary for writing poems smile emoticon heart emoticon Love you, girl! You are special!

AN Evening with My First Playmate

The evening began with a perfect orange Sun that looked photoshop-ed. I was on a rickshaw on my way to Dhakuria.. A sudden look at the sky above the Dhakuria Railway Crossing presented me with a surreal view of an orange disk.. For a moment, I thought I was seeing one of those photoshop-ed images on Facebook that we get to see everyday.. Then I realized in a moment that this was for real.. The city sun, perfect, round, clear, orange, mellow, just before bidding adieu..

On reaching Dhakuria, I gave a call to BhuTani-didi Jayeeta Ganguly, (my first-ever playmate) whom I had met in December 2015 after a huge gap of 22 years.. She gave me the most detailed and accurate direction one can give and was waiting in front of her house, waving to attract my attention..

The evening that followed was a wonderful session of ADDA, remembrances, reminiscences, sharing, laughter, smiles, and giggles..Things we remember!! The smell inside Kim Wah, the Chinese gentleman at the reception (BhuTani-di and I, a 5-yr-old and a 4 yr-old maybe, had seen a Chinese person for the first time and were pretty distracted from the food )tongue emoticon), the beautiful terrace adjoining Ganguly-Jethu's Lake Gardens house, Thamma, Baba, uncanny and strange similarities between how BhuTani-di and I have grown up to be similar human beings, our Ranna-BaTi khela, Bhutani-di's warning that Jethima does not like little girls playing Bor-Bou.. What all we remember and shared last evening!

Jethima's company was also a lovely one.. I do not remember ever spending so much time with her, getting to know her and love her..

We do not know when time flew and 5-30 became 8! BhuTani-didi walked all the way with me from Jodhpr pArk to the Dhakuria rickshaw stand.. As I stood at the entrance of Maharaja Tagore Road, the road where we lived and where the earliest memories of us had budded, I told her, "Katodin por tumi ar aami eksaathe Dhakuria-te" ..

We touched hands as the rickshaw started, I feeling immensely thankful for re-connecting with my earliest playmate.. feeling thankful for Suchir Aabhushan as the pretext of the visit was to deliver a pair of earrings that BhuTani-didi had ordered when she had visited the Exhibition..

Bottomline: Adore you, my dear BhuTani-didi