A Slice of Life

I scoured the bedroom cabinet to rescue a large cardboard box set aside for this time of the year. As I placed the box on the floor, my cat, Nemo, inquisitively came around to inspect the invaluable contents of the box. She was greeted by intertwined coils of rice lights, unassumingly resting in the box. As the mister took out the bunch and connected them to the nearest electrical port to check which ones worked, the wires sprung to life, twinkling in red, blue, yellow, pink and green. Nemo immediately engaged in an imaginary conversation with the lights warning them to behave, lest they wished to be scratched. But soon enough, as the mister hung them out over the window, Nemo had gotten friendly with them, assured that their territories were established as mutually exclusive. Nemo settled herself near the windowsill, as the strings of light dimmed and shone alternately rendering a sparkling outfit to the grills of our window.       Lights and Diwali are considered syno...

The car stopped outside my Grandmother’s red brick house at the dead end of Ashok Row in Ganguly Bagan, Kolkata. I got off the car and stood there awhile to absorb the view of the house. The mango and the coconut trees in the surrounding garden spilled out of the brick wall demarcating it. The Rongon plant outside the main door stood as usual, spiralling its branches across the grills of the verandah, occasionally bursting out in red and mauve flowers. The house had not changed one bit, I thought. As I opened the blue gate and entered the house, Ma’s wall art of Buddha’s ‘Enlightenment’ greeted me. The walls had been freshly painted a nice tinge of sea-green, leaving out the section of the wall art. The remnants of the old white wall could be seen smiling from the back of the artwork. Beneath the painting was Ma’s signature – “ Rashmi, 1965 ”. But this was not my favourite of Ma’s paintings in the house. I walked ahead and rang the bell.   “Hi Dida!” I scream...

The door was left Half open. I did not know Whether to come in Or to get out;  Something stayed unspoken.  I took a chance And barged in Foolishly so, Only to be broken. Again.  Artwork by: Tanmayee Chakraborty

Heartbreak packed its bags And left; I watched quietly As it walked ahead, a mile.  How would it be, If I set up some lilies, Put up some lights, Took out a book And spent some time With me, for a while? Artwork by: Tanmayee Chakraborty

What was smeared  On my forehead, Stained your hand.  But here I am with Friends, strangers and dreamers Of my country, my homeland. Alone, you stand.  Artwork by: Tanmayee Chakraborty