The fragrant cloud

It was a routine Friday morning. Routine for me meant getting up at 4.30 am in the morning, taking bath and changing into washed clothes to offer prayers to all the deities I believed in, preparing morning meal and breakfast for my family, preparing school tiffin for my younger son, ironing the clothes for everyone to be worn that day to school, office, etc, etc..  Suddenly, at 5 am, my elder son who is studying in a different state called up. I was surprised as it was earlier than the time he usually called. He told me he had not slept the night before due to diarrhoea and vomiting with fever. I was alarmed and decided I should visit him immediately.  I woke up my husband and younger son who were still sleeping and apprised them of the situation. My son would go to school as usual and my mother would come over and stay with him the rest of the time. My husband and I would immediately leave for Jaipur.  I called up my office to take leave for about 1 week as I did not kno...

It was on an official trip that we decided to take a short break at a Mandarmani beach. A taxi ride of about 4 hours took us from Kolkata airport to our destination. My husband and I checked in at a resort at the beachfront. It was already sunset by the time we were settled in.  So many families were staying at the resort. It was a lively weekend atmosphere. Kids were playing in the swimming pool with their parents watching from the lawn nearby. Adults were chatting over colourful glasses of drinks and snacks.  We decided to take a stroll along the beach and imbibe the pleasant evening. This was a Saturday evening, we had the Sunday too and on Monday we would be going back. So, it was better not to waste any time.  Mandarmani turned out to be a long stretch of serene and quiet beach... a sort of a virgin land where the din and noise of the city had not yet intruded. The white foam of the gentle waves of Bay of Bengal playfully touched the sands of the shore. The distant c...

  My Thailand Trip. The end of a year and children’s school vacation certainly meant taking a trip and so everyone packed a bag and was ready! We boarded the 0030 hours Air Asia flight from Kolkata Airport and landed at Don Meaung International Airport in Bangkok at 4.30 am. After completing the immigration formalities, we tried a Thai meal for breakfast in the huge food-court on the first floor of the airport. After that, we proceeded to the ground floor and bought a Thai SIM card for a 10 day stay and proceeded outside to explore the country. Using the GRAB app, we booked a taxi for Pattaya. A comfortable SUV came and we headed to Pattaya. The children were tired after the flight and slept soundly in the taxi. We reached Pattaya after about 2-3 hours. It was a wonderful ride with smooth roads, gentle traffic and beautiful views.   We had decided to stay at the Jomtien Beach in the southern part of Pattaya and had already booked a condo in the Atlantis Condo Resorts. ...

Jackie I am not very good with pets. Taking them for vaccination, giving them food regularly…that’s all I can do. But getting any closer than that is beyond me. I get all nervous and scared the moment they start cuddling around your feet or any such thing. A dog is said to be man’s best friend. No other animal is as loyal to him as a dog. My aged parents are alone in our old house. All their children are settled elsewhere with their families. Recently, my father acquired a small puppy as a pet. I am not sure of its breed but it looks so much like a Moscow watch dog. Considering the responsibilities of keeping a pet dog like taking to the vet when ill and for vaccination, keeping them from biting or scratching guests, etc., …all of which is a huge mental block for me, I thought my father was taking up a Himalayan task. So, my father’s decision of keeping a pet dog worried me because at his age, how he was going to manage all these things was unimaginable for me. However, with no chi...

  Resurrection Some incidents in history are simply unbelievable like the coming back from the land of the departed…we reverently call it Resurrection. This is the realm of the superhumanly being and not for ordinary mortals like you and me. But recently, I actually got a jolt witnessing an almost resurrection like phenomenon. The story revolves around a sweet middle-aged man and his devoted wife working in perfect tandem to make ends meet. This sweet middle-aged man brings milk products like paneer, dahi and ghee to our office every week. We fondly call him ‘paneer dada’. The products are so fresh and the quality is awesome and everyone buys from him regularly. The price is also of wholesale rate and we are getting all these items at a very economical rate. Whenever we want these items out of his routine schedule, he is just a phone call away and he would bring our orders promptly. So, everyone was enjoying a very comfortable service regarding one of the coveted delicacies i...

  PIANO SCHOOL A friend in need is a friend indeed. Friendship can take various forms. The budding friendship between toddlers, the committed friendship between adolescents and the relaxed friendship between adults. Whatever the type is, friendship is charming! One such charming friendship comes to my mind today…. My eldest son was in kindergarten. In my enthusiasm to educate my first born, I had put him in school one year before the recommended age.   So, the teachers noticed him and his classmates, though all of them were toddlers, had a protective attitude towards him. He was treated by everyone like the youngest sibling. As the months went by, finally, it was time for the final exams of kindergarten class. Exam had no great significance to these kids. It was just another routine class. The only difference was that they were supposed to write the numbers and the alphabets without looking at the books. On the day of the maths exam, my son came home with a sad fac...