The fragrant cloud

  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...

  Hail Nature! No one can assuage the tantrums of Nature. Recently, a hailstorm wreaked havoc in a small valley surrounded by a multitude of hill ranges. That valley happens to be my home town too. The day started as a bright Sunday in the middle of summer. I had gone to attend a function with the AC full on in my car. Within half an hour of returning home in the afternoon, the day suddenly changed its mood. I thanked God that I was already home.   Wind howled from all sides. The pine trees in our compound swayed wildly in the force of the wind and dashed against the windows of our house. Thunderclaps and lightning streaks in the sky completed the horrifying picture. I usually love the rain and commune with it but this time it invoked fear and respect. Amidst the howling winds and the torrential downpour, suddenly the clouds seemed to be pelting a million stones on earth. The sky must have opened its doors and poured down all its anger on us. When I got a chance to pee...

MOONLIGHT DANCE In Manipur on the last day of ‘Holi’ festival, there is a big dance event called ‘Thabal Chongba’ at night. The literal meaning is ‘moonlight dance’. It is organised in every locality. Though the name is moonlight dance, there is an open ground well lit with artificial lights and there, young men and women in their early twenties or late teens will make a big circle by holding hands and dance together to the beating drums and clarinets following the traditional steps. The women are required to wear decent traditional attire. On one such occasion, a group of women stood out from the rest of the womenfolk participating in the dance. The reason was their very fashionable attire. Though all of them were in traditional dresses, the way they wore them was so different from the indistinct others. For some, the blouses had deep necklines; the traditional sarong was worn well below the navel, etc., etc. Their hairstyles were out of this world and the general stature was well abo...