Amra.

Bhalo-basha ki shudhu matro bhalo thakar ashroy?

tahole shunyo shohor amader eto taaney kano?
kanoi ba titir tumi bar bar hariye jao oi nishongotay?
tumi ki shotti titir-tumi ki eibhabe konodino bhalo thakar ashroy khujte cheyechile
tumi to kono dino basha badhar swapno dekhtey na titir....

tumi ke? tumi to titir nou

Dekhtam...dekhtam titir, dekhar ashroy khujtam

tahole tomar amittyo gulo?
segulo ki hariye jache titir?

amittyo gulo ki sobi tahole lokbhulano khela....
amittyo gulo ami noyi?

amittyo gulo ajo ache titir, shudhu ekta bhoy er sathe bhalolaga toiri hoyechey.

It's him.

Well did you jump to a conclusion by reading the title of the post? Aww! off course you can, because this time it's really him. Gosh! you know what he just said, "Koi baat nahin senorita, bade bade deshon mein aisi choti choti baatein hoti rehti hain.. "

For once you guessed it right! It's none other than Shahrukh Khan. I just watched him on amul music ka maha muqqabla (a watch worthy show among the current crop of reality bytes!) and realised how much am I in awe of him. I LOVE him. And since when?? Well! since the time he whispered into my ears, "Come fall in love..". And trust me, I still find his dimples oh! so cute. I love the way he treats people, flirts with ladies 2 times his age, hugs them, greets them.....and when he looks into my eyes and says, "haar kar jeetney waley ko bazigaar kehtey hain.." i go weak on my knees. Many a people think he is the star, he is the superstar....but for a mere fan like me- he is everything a girl wants. the perfect gentleman who chased his dreamgirl. One who had a dream when everyone else laughed at him. and years later when his fairer(:P) colleagues had moved on to greener pastures dumping their wives of several years...SRK's marriage remains rock solid. Sounds quite unbelievable na? considering he has romanced the most gorgeous ladies of Indian cinema on screen. But he is the perfect family man who doesn't think about his demi god image before sharing his "chasing his love" stories on twitter with one and all. Hats off to you SRK! You are one of the most adorable human beings around.

and I must confess one thing today. there was a time I fantasized everyday that you are standing in that same mustard field with your arms wide open and singing "tujhe dekha to yeh jana sanam". Only this time it was not for kajol, but me! I still want to marry you SRK :-) :P. And i will keep that date with you as promised. One day I will go to Maratha Mandir just to watch my all time favourite movie on 70mm.


P.S whoever has taken the pains of going through this crap, hats off to you! You must be another die hard SRK fan like me to bear through this post. Thanks anyways. It was just a random rambling. :-)

How to lose a guy in 10 days- Let's do it the Bong way :P

I was sulking my way to glory when suddenly a friend's chat window popped up. She tried to console me in every possible way. And no! before you jump to the conclusion that it was about some impending break up, you are absolutely wrong :P. I had just returned back from home after my 2 months stay in the city of lights, joy and tinkling laughter. I wanted to run away from this place. But I had no other option. She suggested me to watch some movies. One of them was "How to lose a guy in 10 days". I wasn't particularly keen enough because my random reaction was, "Ok! listen, I have actually done that...I mean I have actually lost a guy in 10 days, so no Hollywoodi bhashanbaazi for me."
But she insisted. And I watched the movie. (needless to say everyone in the hostel had heard about it apart from me!)

And I hated it. I was so bored that I stopped watching it half way. Come on! what's wrong with the hi fundoo brains?? you need passion to lose a guy in 10 days. and real dedication too. ask me! but thanks anyways to the movie because it became an inspiration for me to write about the most revered feat on this planet- "How to lose a guy in 10 days- the Bongo woman way" :P

1. If that guy doesn't know anything about Tagore just burden him with everything tagore- ranging from Robindroshongeet to Gitanjoli to Shantiniketon and Boshontoutshob. In case he is a non bong this works wonders. In case he is the less privileged Bong (they dont want to show their lack of privilege or ogotya in front of the lady he is chasing) do that until he feels nauseated.

2. Ditto for all other poets ranging from Jibanananda to Srijato. DEMAND that he calls you Natorer Bonolota Sen and have to recite poetry in style.

3. Demand that Your man must have the smile of Uttam Kumar or Soumitro and need to have those perfect sexy eyes through which he communicates his unending love for you. And that includes writing poetry for which you are the inspiration.

4. Be that perfect poetry, but if he buys you books/flowers only for gifts throw a big tantrum. Gosh! you so much expected the new Dior watch or the Satya Paul sari.Plain and simple I love you doesn't work. Make it clear that he needs to make it "special" in every other way. and the definition of "Special"- well, make it arbitrary in your own way. Eg.- while having Phuchka near Gangar ghat.

5. Be that perfect Bong woman and swear by your Laal paar goroder sari, but in case he asks you to be dressed in a Sari for a particular occasion, show him your liberated bong woman image and call him a MCP. Well! don't hesitate to wear your lovely tussar sari though :P

6. Hate his mother. Just hate her and drill it into his head that the feeling is mutual.but then again never think twice to go on those shopping trips with her when off course, she is paying the bill.

7. Feed him. Baby feed him. Prod on him. do it the every other way, until and unless he feels fed up! :-O

8. Make every possible effort to turn him in to a hen pecked one. But show on the face of it that you want the perfect combination of salman's body, shahrukh's grace and Amitabh's baritone. By the time, he understands the nuances of the confusion , he will be more than eager to run away. Oh! btw, find time to tell him that he is your Amit Ray. In case he haven't heard about him..CRib, crIB and more CRIB about it. But find time for it ok! I missed this step :-(

9. Ask him about all his embarrassing secrets. But you know you are more than eager to share yours. In case he talks about an old crush, show grace and patience to hide that you are turning green with envy. Expect him to understand that which men by default won't. So be rest assured.

10. Last but not the least- Sing for him. Croon and Voila! he is gone. Well it might just be your rendition of Tagore's "Kotobaro bhebechinu apona bhulia..."

Btw, don't really try all this. 

Phir se aaiyo Badra bidesi......

It smells nice..really nice. In fact I just discovered what a big turn on wet grass can be for me. You know it rained today in the sneaking zone between the morning giving way to another afternoon. It was just like that day. and today, I did not have to care about any worldly exams to give. I ran to the terrace. The rain drenched my toes, welcomed me to thy world. I was reliving the rain. I was reliving you....long after it was all over.

The raindrops glistened. They were in my hand...but before I realised they were gone.

It's a lovely evening here now. I have Ghalib and Gulzaar for company. And also the byanger gyangorgang (the toads croaking) just outside my window. The patch of blue is long gone, only to be cuddled by the dark, ilish smelling night :-).


Here's to the first rain of the season.

"hothat ekta oleek, obastob swopner hatchani jodi tomar kache hothat kore nijey eshey dhora dilo tumi ki korbe?"
"dhyatt, erom abar hoy naki..tahole ar swapno ke swapno boley kano shuni. and am very practical..ami oshob swapno twapno dekhi na bujhley!"

"really..konodin head over heels premey porish ni bolchish tahole?"


Songlaap ta purotayi kalponik. ba hoyto ba nichok pordar aral. tobe shotti jodi seisob roopkothara ekdin lagamchara hoye tomar aancholbondi hotey chay tokhon tumi ki korbe???

Aami ki kortam? Aami hoyto proshno churey ditam tomar dikey..."aar charu?"



Jara eta porchen..tara mathamundu kichu bujhlen nato..amio bujhini. asholey amar matha ba mundu konotayi swasthaney nei.

Kichu na

Mon kharap ar bhalo lagar modhye ki kono ek ojana jogshutro ache? hoyto ba...Aamar moner akash er aynay  ekhon ek raash mon kharap meghla kore ache. kintu sei bhalo.
mon kharap ache boleyi to jantey pari mon ta ekhono benchey ache. Ei gumot kora polythene soundorjyer race er mathey, ekhono ekta sada ghora ache jake dekhey mone hoy ghorshowar ta ke. se ghoratake baazigar er shahrukh er moto kore chutiye niye jabe ki?

baazigar, kottodin hoye gelo na! shudhu oi drishyota gethey ache money. amader chotobela gulo kerom furiye gelo na??? lake avenue building tar samne diye bus ta jawar pothey menoka cinema hall er samne diye ghurto..amra kerom gograshey giltam cinemar poster gulo.....kaho na pyaar hain dekhar jonyo amar sob bondhura pagol! ar aami refugee niye mata mati korlam..go haran harlo refugee popular count ey....kintu tao abhishek bachchan ke kemon dekhtey, prothom promo tay kemon  lagche ta niye sei odomyo koutuhol! sei dingulo shotti ar toiri hoyna......jemon toiri hoyna bari fireyi chottoammar ghorey khawa. bikel holey bulbuli aunty r bari portey jawa.....sekhane aunty r sathe golpo kora....aunty ajo boley ami onar sob tehke priyo chatri chilam....porashunay to faki martam, tobuo aunty r sathe amar somporkota onyo matray chilo. she was a true mentor for me.
ei kothagulor kono mane hoyna. ei kothagulor bodhoy chapar okhoreo prokaash korar noy....tao..emni....kichu mon kharp ke megh er desher rajonkyer thikanay khambodi kore pathiye diley bodhhoy bhalo thaka jaay.....ba sei mon kharap tar theke toiri howa jibher teto swad ta mitey jaay..... sundor bhalo lagar amejn rekhey jaay shudhu.

The community pujo.

I was having a random conversation with my cousin brother on gtalk and it was just the usual types -"how was your day?" "so did you finally get a girlfriend types"- until he told me about the pujo pandal coming up in a certain neighbourhood nestled in one corner of South Calcutta. No the conversation didn't turn into a radical one, but it did overwhelm me with some emotions, predominantly nostalgic. memories, loads of them actually. :-)

Kalyan Sangha- yes, that's what my 'para' (neighbourhood/mohalla) is called. The pujo turns 39/40 this year (need to confirm this from baba). 40 years since the time when it was a peace loving predominantly bengali locality in an up and coming area of the city. 40 years down the lane (truly! only a lane.....it is often called the 'snob' neighbourhood which sleectively chose only 22 houses/many more households since the multistoried invasion, to call itself a close knit communiy) it has metamorphosed in to one of those very cosmopolitan parts of the city, posh and upmarket. Only the peaceloving bit has been taken to the hilt to the point that we often get to talk to our neighbours on Ashtami morning (and the following bhog ceremony) with the very formal- "kemon achho?" needless to say the rest of the connversation most of the time flows in anglicized bengali. (well, atleast we communicate once atleast!)

I have heard numerous stories from pishimoni about the para love affairs or the drama they used to stage every year for bijoya sommiloni. I have never witnessed anything of that sort in my 21 years of existance. There were sporadic Bijoya sommiloni and I particularly remember one where I was made to dance on stage with Miss Jojo singing (*shrink*), but then theye were very very formal occasions. and bout the love affairs, the least said the better. I guess we had moved into a generation of being very conscious bongs.

But then again I love them, my neighbours I mean...I love them being around, or is it just a habit that we have just grown used to.

My father is actively involved with all the para pujo activities (be it in any capacity), so I have seen my drawingroom turn into a virtual control room before pujo, or the editorial office just before the commemorative issue of that year's pujo comes up. yeah! we dont even have a proper club-ghor, lol...we have a registered address though. In fact all the utensils needed for pujo are those which my family use for all other religious purposes. similarly the sondhi pujo lamps are given by another friendly neighbour or the Baikali bhog prepared by an always smiling jethi or the jethu-jethi couple I quite like who supervise the entire pujo. Our para pujo is not a big affair. Contributions, even the amount sounds big, do not add up for the entire expenses. So a favourite family of mine sponsor the Durga idol, a kaku sponsoring the Ashtami bhog or people like my baba and others using their official contacts for advertisements. That helps, since our para is very strategically located and the hoardings can be placed at the right places to grab attention. I guess this is the armth that keeps the pujo going in between the continous rants every year in the pujo meeting that its increasingly becoming an exercise of the elderly, with hardly any participation of the younger generation. and with so many new faces in the para these days, very few actually understand the sentiment. But then again, there are a few amongst them who really want to mingle and interact....new blood or not, Kalyan Sangha stays on.

We had won the competitions for best pujo in the area in our 25th and 26th year of celebrations, but the pomp seems to be waning by the day...what remains though is fond memories and warmth. ah! yes, the warmth..even after talking about lack of communication through most of my post. Why so?? may be because this is the place most of us still call home, yes, the proper home....not the multistoried ones......well the giant has nice old sprawling houses falling prey to it every now and then, but may be because of our relative snob status ( :P), am proud to say that my neighbourhood has preserved many a memory of a by gone era. :-)

Also, for most of us this is the place where we understood what the atmosphere of pujo truly is (pujor hawa). I remember how much i used to bawl ove rthe issue that I have to visit my mamabari to be a part of a pujo where everybody is back home by 9. No, that didnt work out for me. For me my pujo is still being at my para mondop 10'0 clock sharp on nabami night where Baba will do his famous dhunuchi naach. one of my parar dada who stays in hyderabad but makes it a point to return to Calcutta every pujo once told me that it was impossible to think of Kalyan Sangha's pujo without Baba's dhunuchi naach on Nabami :-) That also paves the way for the younger generation to take over with their forms of the traditional dance form and trust me I also witnessed a certain somebody doing what we termed as the "jog dance". Just that the young need to come up and shoulder some responsibilities too. will happen...am an optimist you see.

Also, this is the place where you can expect to catch up with your childhood buddies with whom you rarely get to meet these days. Many like me and Masume, my childhood friend, are away from home (both of us dont get to attend the pujo this year. sigh!). Many have migrated to different parts of the city. But whenever you meet them you feel good and happy. May be its all because of the fake pistol firing competitions that we had or the guys v/s girls big fight (seriously we made a vow not to talk to each others groups after that and it does bring a chuckle to think about it right now) or the fight over the microphone about who will make the next announcement. It has all been a part of our growing up. just like those horrible nicknames (i love them though) by which we know each other.

It was not only us. My mom told me about her meeting with a very pretty aunty who was once our neighbour in the metro. She was still very nostalgic about the neighbourhood she had stayed in for 22 years...and it has been some 8 years since she left it.

May be this is the place I first fell in love. May be I did (completely head over heels type :P)

Kalyan Sangher torof theke agoto dorshonarthider janayi sharodiyar preeti of shubhechaa. :-)

Dino lipir patay patay

Nityo diner rojnamchay, kheror khatar hisheb nikeshey

pratorasher choto choto thokathuki, bhanga-goray

gaa shoye jawa gonjonay, atombhori boardroom er atmoprokashey

sobuj campus theke onek durey bodley jawa hisheb onkey

kaalo horin chokher onupreronay, ordhoshotabdi periye asha chahonir sheetolotay.

alokborsho periye asha poriborton, maniye newa, 'adjustment'

shwet pathorer thalar bodoley thake churi, kanta, fine china

boidhobyo, okaal boidhobyo, klanto dampotyo, ahoto dampotyo, roktakto dampotyo

chokher koney joma howa kajollotar prolep- shob kichur modhye-

grihobodhu theke home manager/ earning spouse/ "DINK" couple er protyabortoney

Ora ajo benchey thake.

Golpokotha ebong myth.

Kokhono majhraatey fire ashey orthoheen songlaap-prolaap-jotil bujruki gulo

kokhono mone hoy golpota na shunleyi hoto

kokhono mone hoy natyokar ta bujhi tumi.....ekta polka shutor taney sobaikey niye khela korcho

kintu ei prolaapgulo ki shudhuyi nijeke bhul bojhabar ekanto artonaad na?

sei chora heemsrot somane boye choleche, ekbaro chokh tuley takaoni amar dikey

chokher kalo r isharay gutiye rekhecho nijeke

golpey shunechi tumi naki khub "bhalo observer"

golpota na shunleyi bhalo hoto.

Delicacies from Purbo Bongo

I have been following quite a few food blogs off late. and am quite amazed at the kind of publicity that bengali cuisine gets on the world wide web with a very decent fan following (and that includes a tam iyer friend of mine who is just ga ga over chingri :P). But I do have an objection about the fact that whatever is being publicised as authentic "Bengali" cuisine (and i agree its one yummy effort) more or less consist of what we bangals (people traditionally from east bengal) prefer to call as ghoti (traditional west bengal) culinary delights. Needless to say am completely ga ga over that bit of aloo-poshto.

But the Bangal maiya (Dhaka-Bikrampur) in me cannot take that lying down. I quite enjoy the fact that we are tagged as the people who have earned it (jeebonsongram as they say). This post of mine is an effort to enlist out a few of my favourite dishes which belong exclusively to the Bangal kitchen. Bangal cooking in general is dominated by its prefernce for everything spicy and hot. I guess that's were we have our outspoken origin and if a fellow rajasthani (mind it! they are known for their preference of the Laal mirch) called me a Teekhi Mirach for my now well known big mouth, I couldn't agree more.

So here I go and I begin with the mouth watering- Shutki Maach. I guess many of the Bangals also cannot fathom this foul smelling fish while its being cooked in the neighbourhood. But once done, you can gorge on to this piece of culinary magic.

One remarkable thing is that while Ilish remains the favourite of Bengalis across the ghoti-bangal divide, the fish traditionally is ours i-e, we bangals. We associate it with our favourite football club and not too long ago when a certain sourav ganguly had not changed the statistics and demography of the Kolkata maidan and the sporting scene in general, east bengal supporters used to celebrate their victory (and that includes the famous 5 goals) by sending properly cooked ilish to the houses of their friends supporting mohunbagan. (its very true! my father has done it often. needless to say it was reciprocated with chingri when mohunbagan won against their traditional rivals). Football, food and matrimony still keeps the old ghoti-bangal rivalry alive. Ask me! am a true blue calcutta girl, but when it comes to food or football, i owe my allegiance to my bangal genes. about the other I have no prefernce, only that I won't prefer eating sugar laden ghoti delicacies day in and day out. I want my share of spice ;-)

But coming back to Ilish, the bhapa variety is well known and quite savoured among my non bengali friends but there is one style of cooking the ilish known only to us. and for those diet conscious people out there who want to have it the low calorie way can definitely try it out. the kalojeerey phoron-kancha lonka recipe which my mom turns into a delicacy that every time i go back home, I want more of it. By now, you must have understood I am a big foodie. In fact, I have lately realised food is the only thing that keeps me going!

Chitol macher muithha is another Bangal favourite, though I must admit ghotis also have taken a fascination for this dish in recent years. and I trust my didun to cook it absolutely amazingly. That's one recipe I want to learn from her, because my mom also can't make it that good.

Lotey mach (Loitya or Lotiya as you prefer to call it) has immense medical value. My father alwys emphasised that its necessary for a healthy eyesight...but I fondly think about the fish because of its Jhuri and chochchori varieties which only we are aware of. I sometime so pity those friends of mine who had only the luck to taste the jhol (the syrupy variety), tyaltyaley at that. Trust a true Bangal like me to suggest that itsno match for the other two varieties and add a bit of Lonka bata (mashed red chillies, if i can put it that way), voila! you are in culinary heaven!

And then coming to the eternal Bangal favourite kochu. yeah! the kochu which ghotis (all of them included, and most of them are not snobs) twitch their nose at. My vegetarian friends often complain that bengali cuisine doesn't offer them the variety to choose from for their platter. I sincerely disagree with them. This year's bong food festival was an eye openeer for some of them. But you can trust Bangals to make a thousand mouth watering vegetarian delicacies out of this lesser vegetable (evidently as ghotis still consider it to be some zombie from outer space-their loss!! missing out on something). From the coconut laden warmth of the kochu bata to the spicy tiltilation of the kohur koura, its heaven on earth...those who have tasted it, knows. and Kochur shaak is yummyy in both its vegetarian (when cooked with coconut and nuts) and non vegetarian (ilish macher matha diye) forms.

And about the Bata(mashed) variety of anything and everything possible on earth, trust Bangals to rustle up a storm. It might be the seemingly innocent cauliflower leave (kopipata), dhoney pata or the potatao peels (aloor khosha).....trust any bangal to turn them into one spicy hot bongshell of a dish! :P

and here i conclude the post, not because i ran out of fuel but because i am sincerely missing home cooked food now(pishimoni's cooking!!!). but dont worry, i might just be back with a part 2 because picture abhi baaki hain mere dost. the world needs to know about the sweets!

p.s. whoever visits the blog, in case you are a bong, ghoti bangal nirbisheshey, atleast leave a comment on this piece, i sincerely want your opinion on this and a ghoti bangaler juddho on my blog won't be a that bad idea after all. :P

Also, if anyone wants to add to the list, you are most welcome to do so.