Ain't No Shakespeare

Dear Meri wali Diwali, Every year since I remember, I have been with you and with my family - sometimes on a road trip, but mostly at my home. And nothing has changed in the routine. 10 days before you come, my mom will start the "Mission Safai" for you. You know it's an yearly ritual - right from cupboards and it's contents, to ceilings and sofas, everything is rigorously cleaned. And one dialogue I have to hear every year - " Atleast now clean up your room." The bathroom becomes a laundry of all the "everyday use" sofa, pillow covers and bedsheets. Bright new covers are seen all around the house - tere aane ki khushi me. 2 days before your arrival, mom will turn the kitchen into a furnace and she will employ me and my father to help her as she takes on the task of preparing the diwali sweets and namkeens. Hot oil, frying sweet coconut 'karanjis', 'shankarpali', 'chakli' and the sweet laddus - it's a feast for yo...

I still remember vividly my first day in Kolkata. I set foot in this city along with a friend 22 months ago with great trepidation. We were greeted with thundering clouds, lashing rains, flooded roads and a lonely hotel. We felt lost, lonely, and extremely low. From then till now many things changed. We found a cozy, accessible flat that we grew to call our ‘Home’; we found a family in our teams at work who never let us feel lost again; we found a family in each other when we ranted about workplace stress at home to each other and compose ourselves for yet another day. 2 girls living in a new city can be scary at first but we grew to enjoy it. Yes, we missed our hometowns, our families, our friends back home – but we learnt to make friends in this city. Our adorable cook who took care of us and made our life so easy, the society which invited us so warmly to different festivals, office colleagues who offered help and support at all times – it was a boon. Time and again I have realiz...