A Writing Quill

Parmanand, a plumber by profession, visits every house especially to those where the retired people resides and whose son or daughter are busy in either fulfilling their ambitions or in earning their means of sustenance. He would be the support for them in everything these old couples would search in their children. "Why do you worry kaka? I am there for you. All your problems will be taken care of." Parmanand's habitual parlance. And these would comfort the  old generation. Mr. Parmanand never turns away from his promises or duties. He would arrive instantly over a phone call. Beside being a plumber, he would also take charge of several other issues like buying medicines, groceries, visiting to doctor's chamber with the aged junta. Once when he visited a doctor with the septuagenarian lady, Sunita, whose husband had died few years back and her only daughter was married long back, he was the one who had paid the doctor's fee online. The lady blessed him and very p...

Little did I know, as a child, the sweet and white pudding would be one of my favourite dessert as a grown up. I always preferred the semi thick consistency of it and would throw tantrums if it did not match my expectations.  The 'payasam' or 'kheer' is one of the most common dessert prepared in every household of India. And we siblings always had fetish about it. We would wait for the special occasions when this cuisine was made sometimes to satiate the Gods or sometimes to sate the paunch of the potbellied guests.  It would take almost an hour to prepare it at the low flame when all its ingredients are being poured one after the other surely maintaining some interval. Ma would boil the milk in a huge tumbler shaped utensil made of brass. This utensil was specifically intended for the purpose of 'kheer' making only. She would keep it isolated along with a spatula made of the same metal, so that nobody uses this combo for cooking the non-vegetarian food.  I had ...

While my mom detested her mother-in-law, who insisted on putting the ' kaala teeka ' on the forehead of all her grandchildren, she would blabber hundreds of reasons of putting it on the forehead every day, the moment her grand children were bathed and cleaned. The routine that was followed religiously emphasised on putting the kaala teeka or the black spot on the middle of the forehead between the eyebrows and another one on the rear side of the forehead, 'temple' area with kohl . The only prominent explanation put forwarded by her was the strategy to ward off the evil, the ' buri nazar '. It was an unseen belief and may be we were protected from the evil eyes; well unknown to anyone. Our eyes were not even spared in the pretext of converting them to the beautiful ones just by applying the kajal on them. Though, much later when we scutinised our childhood pictures, all of us felt ourselves as fair kids overly decorated with powder and kajal. She would prepare ...

Its clement and subtle. Too sweet and charming. Unlike the scorching days of June or July when the sun is unmerciful on the people.  Holding a cup of coffee on my right hand, while sitting at the balcony, I was watching the morning sun through the thin, stranded leaves of the coconut tree. It was trying hard to come out vividly obstacled by the weatherly inhibitions. The fog had suffused the entire environ making it even difficult to see through clearly at this hour of the morning.  I expected to sit in the unroofed end of my balcony where the sun would fall directly on my face. I had been deprived of these wonderful winter sunrays since so many days as being busy earning my sustenance. Days have been so busy that there is always little time to even cherish the smallest of the luxuries provided by the nature. Today, I was praying hard to get atleast the scantiest of the compassion of the Sun God but to my disappointment, I was made clear by the nature to not to hope any  ...

The 'chader ghor'. A non-Bengali daughter but being a Bengali daughter-in-law, I always wondered about the small room in the corner, near the steps of the terrace. Out of curiosity, I asked my mother-in-law,'whats so special about this small room like structure ?' Is it a store room? But its arranged so systematically that it actually doesn't look like a store room.' While I continued throwing my inquisitiveness into her, I noticed she was smiling at its mention.  She answered, 'its the chader ghor. So many memories are attached to it. U must have seen a huge radio over there. It was my grandfather's. This was the only means of information in those pre-independence days. It doesn't work but still its a rememberance of my family. If you open the huge iron trunk kept near window, you will find so many old photographs, cameras, albums, music instruments; all belonging to my ancestors.' I engrossed myself into her world of reminiscence. She had excit...

'We are getting married soon. Why don't you rent a house? How can we stay there in such a small house? You have got three unmarried sisters, one small college going brother, mother-father, your two elder brothers with their wives and two children to each couple. Where are we supposed to live? ' Sumona asked worriedly. She continued, 'no need to worry. I will stay with them the entire day and cook there too. Only we will sleep at the rented house and our household things will be in the rented house.' Girdhar was silent.  He had got  Goverment job two years back in 1982. Next year in February, 1985, they would get married. She had completed her graduation and had been admitted in the post-graduation course in Calcutta University. Although she is going to get married soon, she intends to pursue her education and get a degree even after marriage.  Next day when they met, he said, 'Sumona, listen, I am going to construct a small house adjacent to our present house, w...

The morning sun rays when fall on the flowing water, shone brightly reflecting it back, thus, mesmerizing the eyes. I preferred to sit on its bank to capture this panorama. It was so beautiful, never I saw anything as such, before.  It had the calmness that I looked for everywhere. Not just human, even the few birds stood near me, unmoved and I assumed it too was spellbound by the majestic aura of this mighty Ganga.  An old man would come and took bath as well as filled his small three pots with Ganga water to be taken for worshipping the Gods in the nearby small temple. Few young people came to fill  many big plastic bottles, those of some branded soft drinks, with Ganga water; assumed by myself, to be sold to those to whom Ganga was unavailable all the time. An old couple, about 70, unable to walk much confidently, sauntered down the steps holding each other's hand and the other hand of the wife carried an earthenware of medium size,  filled with three number of fr...

The moment he came, usually on sundays, the children below 10 would run inside the cornermost spot of their house. He, with the box colored black, would stride to each and every house aiming to grab atleast a child or a man to earn the daily livelihood.  This box had numerous small to medium sized bottles filled with oil, various kinds of scissors meant for cutting hair as well as mustaches and beard, razors and unbranded shaving cream. He would shout with his heavy voice at the peak, 'o dada , interested in haircut?'  He was a huge figure, complexioned dark and a belly protruding out. The reason why most of the children were scared of him was his mustache. It exented from above the upper lips up to the ears on both sides of his cheeks. Dark black and thick hairy tash curled at the both ends. It shone under the sun as was religiously shampooed and oiled every day. The person spoke, 'oh! Balwant, lets do this next sunday'. The boy peeping from behind the curtain sighed a...

  A new year... a new resolution!!!! How far are you successful in making a resolution? And even if you happen to make one, how far are you able to keep up with it?  We frame one resolution in our mind when we want to achieve something in our lives which presently is lost and thus making a resolution would create the opportunity to strive for that something which is missing. One can always push one's boundaries to any extent to achieve their aspirations in their lives. Does that require an undertaking? Setting a new intention necessitates one to conquer new challenges, embrace the constant changes and thus eventually evolve from those changes.  Is setting of a goal is directly proportional to the time factor? If one intends to consummate something specific, then the dependency of its beginning on a certain time span is irrelevant. The longingness for a new year to even commence it, weighs down its prominence.  Life's importance lies on the fact of making new decision...