Magic Moments

1. Wild Wild Country 2. Midsommar / Wicker Man - Read more here 3. The Family Upstairs - Read Book Review here 4. Offering to the storms ( Baztan Trilogy) - Read more here 5. House of Secrets : The Burari Deaths 6. The Jonestown Massacre - Jim Jones who led a mass suicide of 900+ people. 7. Under the banner of heaven This post is a part of  Blogchatter Half Marathon 2023 .  

I first heard of this novel in a BooksOnToast show on their YouTube channel. And I'm so glad I did.  Spanning four generations of Tagore (Thakur) family in Bengal, from 1823 to 1902, this book is a very unique experience. It is especially the life stories of the daughters-in-law and the daughters of the Tagore family - their world and their perspectives.  There's the din and bustle of a joint family household, where the everyday chores are an elaborate affair, and I could relate to it all. A palatial mansion which was home to the little child brides from their pre teen years till their death. They almost lived their entire lives here. Difficult to imagine. Aruna Chakravarti brings alive the era, the inception of the Brahmos, the new religion, the changing laws of the land, and the various members of the Tagore family who influenced the Bengali culture and tradition a great deal with their written word. Satyendranath who wrote plays to be enacted for the public, Swarnakumari wh...

  I have long been fascinated with Shillong. Rather Meghalaya as a whole. Introduced to it through Janice Pariat’s books – ‘Nine Chambered Heart’ , ‘Boats on Land’ , and ‘Everything the Light Touches’ . In her stories it seems a far-off land, deep in culture, myths and folklores, where people speak such a different tongue. The oral tradition of storytelling there has long enchanted me, of how mountains came to be, those fireside narrations and gatherings in winter nights. I long to visit the rolling hills, the forests, the sacred groves, the clean waters of Dawki river, the idyllic villages, and the numerous roadside waterfalls in the state. Through ‘Name Place Animal Thing’ I was introduced to how the childhood and the school life of a teenage girl looks like in Shillong. The author, Daribha Lyndem, has put the tale so simplistically, like a collection of memories from days past. And recently through numerous blogs by Cheryl Rhyn, I was again fascinated by so many local tales...

  Firstly, I cannot help but be jealous of these kids who get to live such a happening and adventurous childhood. I love the pre-internet era. All romanticism got lost once internet came into picture. But yes I mean they did perfect with the setting, the fashion of that time, those trending hairdos, and it is such fun to frolic around with your buddies. Going to the shopping mall was such an occasion, such fun. Eating ice-creams scoop after scoop, playing games, just goofing around in your bicycle in forested suburbs, such privilege. Not a lackluster everyday affair that it has become now.   Like we millennials had Harry Potter while growing up, GenZ has Stranger Things, is what I feel. Thanks to newsletters from Resh, I have come to appreciate the middle-grade books, as well as movies. When we had things to wonder about, and seek wonderment. I miss that phase of life. Reality and adulthood aren’t half as interesting as what these kids do in these 4 seasons. Friendships, sec...

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  The ruins of the Vijayanagara kingdom capital are just magnificent in their architecture, the tales they depict, and the culture and era they represent. Hampi had been forever in our wishlist, the archeological ruins raise so much curiosity and intrigue to know history. They make history tangible, not just some chapter in a textbook anymore. We had a guide who explained us the engravings in the stone structures of The Vitthala Temple and Virupaksha Temple- tales of foreign trade, luxury, prosperity, spice markets, the river Tungabhadra, Ramayana, and wars. There are some 200+ monuments in and around Hampi. Visiting all would have been almost impossible in the span of two days that we had planned our stay. But we did visit the major ones. The Royal Enclosure with only remaining foundations of the main palace, the floors of the King's durbar hall, a temple floor with a secret chamber underground, the step well with stone pipes bringing water from the River Tungabhadra; Zenana with ...

Parks of Bangalore "Bangalore is so full of trees,  and is rightly called The Garden City. You have greenery everywhere - accessible parks - Cubon Park, Lal Bagh, and even the widest roads have continuous canopy of trees. Can you find that anywhere in Mumbai. Even parks there is all about open gyms, walks and kids play - all except trees. Trees are just so rare there. It's all concrete. " - I say. "Mumbai has the sea. A big plus. Where would you find such a vast water body in Bangalore? There's not even a river nearby. Shivasamudram and some other falls are far away. Mumbai has the beach, the Marine Drive, the Gateway of India, the ports, the ships - no sight can compare that." - He defends. The Mumbai Skyline "Of course. But we would stay in Navi Mumbai, right? The sea is as far from there, as Shivasamudram is from here. So what's the difference! You just cannot make time to visit the sea everyday. Only in the weekends you can. Plus, homes there do...

  We had kulhad chai in Kolkata, Baba and me. Sanu Mamu  does not drink chai. Well I think he's not human. He doesn't drink anything- coffee, soft drinks, cola , sprite, maaza, hard drinks. Of course he is not  human. We all had dosa, and misti doi. I wanted to visit the south side of the city to the chinese colony to eat authentic Chinese momo and chinese dishes like noodles, fish cakes etc. But we didn't have time, and Baba was reluctant. So I didn't urge.  You know last since 2016 I had been booking tickets for Kolkata and cancelling. Twice. Once Arpita, Ipsa, Joyeeta and I had planned- but we cancelled due to a marriage ceremony we had in family. Next in 2017 we had booked- Saswati, me and Arpita- to go the next week of returning from Visakhapatnam, but canceled since Saswati had no holidays. And I was wondering ever since whether I was jinxed for Kolkata or vise versa. And now I get to go there, not to roam around, but with family. When returning I was feeling t...

UPES Dehradun Hi, Back from Kolkata now. Reached Bhubaneswar 6 am in the morning. Then went to Khalikot to attend a thread ceremony. Now finally home. Writing just so things. About last three days. On Tuesday we went to Kolkata - Baba, me and Sanu Mamu- in the morning chair car. This was my first time traveling in a chair car, and I quite liked the sliding doors, the seats, the table-like structures in front of us where our food was served. Much like in flights. The six and half hour journey had three times eating (all veg)- breakfast (bread, butter, jam, frooti, cutlet with fried peas and potatoes) , soup(with bread sticks and pepper powder and butter) and lunch(rice, rumali roti, dal, aloo kofta curry, curd, pickle, and Amul Icecream). I really enjoyed this first time experience. I love eating in journeys. And Sanu Mamu and I chatted throughout the trip. Baba slept halfway. Then we read newspapers that were provided- The Telegraph and The Bussiness Standards. Sanu Mamu talked about h...