Daughter is back in Calcutta for her college after spending
the last 6 years of school at Boarding in Pune and Bangalore. Major cultural
change for her – from the protected environment of Krishnamurty Foundation
(KFI) Schools to a basic (‘pati’ – as we would say in Bengali) Government College
– though she seems to be having a ball with all her new found independence.
Travelling on packed Metro-trains and auto-rickshaws or ‘bussing’ it across the
city for “outdoors” – are thrills she is just beginning to discover and the
charm hasn’t worn off yet. Then having “lemon tea” in plastic cups (that have
replaced the earthen “bhaars” of our times) and ghugni by the road side are another level of education.
There are different dynamics playing at home between the
mother and daughter – sharply contrasted with my recollections of the
father-son tensions of my late adolescence and early youth. That both are
undergoing hormonal changes of their respective ages don't help
matters surely.
I am going through my umpteenth bout of professional ‘burn-out’
and the idea of retirement teases as seductively as ever. But, a cursory look at
the Bank Statements and Credit Card Bills is enough to shatter any idle reverie
– and one shudders at the thought of the unpaid Home Loan EMI like hearing the
sound of crash on Dalal Street. Getting
out of Calcutta remains my biggest challenge. The city sends me into throes of
despair. All the Prozac in the world can’t cure me of the depression that
Calcutta brings over me.
So, the best I could do for the time being was take another one
of our standard therapeutic break in the Nilgiris, as we have been doing for
years - whenever the blues become unbearable. This was a trip of sinful
laziness – with the spouse’ leg impaired by a medical condition (synovitis) and
my sagging spirits badly needing to be propped up by some real stuff (Beefeater
Gin in the afternoons and Glenlivet in the evenings – to be precise). Had a
lifetime’s quota of fresh cream – with an assortment of pies and pastries – as fitting
finale to loads of red meet (no rubbery chicken or the tasteless scavenger Bassa
for me, please). Coonoor Avocados and Acres Wild Cheeses (from Mansoor Khan’s
farm) were at the healthier end of the
food-chain. To hell with Cholesterol and Diabetes !!
Read this review of ShovonChowdhury’s maiden novel The Competent Authority. Promises to be a good read. Knew Shovon briefly – when he
was in advertising (Bates-Clarion, Delhi). Good to know he has made this
successful transition to writing. Looking forward to the book.
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