Togetherness means Family

Family is one of the best gifts of God, a completely dependable bunch of faces in this big bad world. I have grown up listening to stories of how my father grew up in a joint family, how all his brothers, sisters and cousins slept side by side, how they quarrelled and how they loved. As a child I dreamt of a house full of siblings and cousins to play with. But I never got the opportunity to have that privilege. My father worked in Steel Authority of India and we lived in a township, while most of our extended family was settled in Kolkata. So I grew up with parents and two elder sisters by my side.

Today all my sisters are married and settled with kids in Kolkata. I stay with my husband in Mumbai while my mother stays alone in our flat in Kolkata. Life has come a long way, I have lost my father. But I believe he walks with me. My dream of staying with many people did not come true; instead we all stay discretely for a living.

Life in Mumbai is hectic, weekend parties and getaways do breathe life into our mechanical living. But that cannot substitute nearness to family. Sometimes when job pressure and commitments compels us to reduce our visits to homeland, we really feel homesick. After a long day, when the muscles give away, a mommy special steaming cup of coffee is needed, or a gentle running of fingers through hair or just a loving word. But these are luxuries. We can pay a bomb and take a sauna spa, but that can never suffice to the loving embrace of a mother.

Lost in my own world, may be dreaming to be with Ma.

 So our visits to Kolkata are our lifelines. While Avishek (my husband) prefers to chill with friends and roam about in the streets of his favourite city, I prefer sheer leisure. I sleep a lot, and eat whatever Ma cooks for me. I read and go through some of my favourite stuff at home. I relive earlier days and breathe in whatever freshness my lungs can preserve to last till my next visit.

This time when we went home, my in laws had arranged to celebrate our belated anniversary in The Park Hotel. With did nothing for the arrangements, from inviting guests to deciding venue and menu, all was done by them. I thought it was awesome. Generally our visits are not too long, for us to allow visiting all our relatives. So getting them accumulated under the same roof was the best gift they could give us. It was one of the best evenings spent in recent past. All faces lighted up to see each other and genuine affection flowed past. The food spread was awesome to say the least, starting from mocktails (virgin mojito), coffee, chaat to mouth smacking Bengali delicacies and later famous Bengali sweets. And the flow of events was exactly the way it is expected to happen in any Bengali family, all those who know to sing started humming our all time favourite Tagore songs and the eventually the number increased. Everyone was evidently happy, I was happy to see how talented my nieces are, they sang, they danced and made the evening even more colourful. This program lasted for a few hours, but the impact I still bear with me. Family makes us complete, a feeling that we lived again that evening. That was high point of our January visit.

Avishek, Mamoni (mother in law) and I 

Me with my sisters

With relatives

A candid moment

They blessed us

Family frame

With our talented gen next

A moment with Rabindra sangeet

Time leaped and we returned back to work life, though I adore my nest of love but sometimes the absence of near and dear ones around affect. When job stress takes over, we long motherly touch. On such situations the memory of that evening of reunion helps us survive the rough tides of melancholy and fills us with optimism. Optimism of meeting everyone again, assurance that we are not alone, gratification of having a loving family somewhere waiting for us to return!

I thank housing.com, for letting me share this experience and relive those moments. Readers you can go through housing.com's website using the following link:HOUSING.COM

Aritra Chakrabarty Sengupta

Foodie Affair-Singapore Food

When I think of food, the first that come to my mind are the yummy delicacies my mother cooks.  And broadly being a Bengali, I am in absolute love with Bengali cuisines. I think everyone knows a Bengali’s passionate love for fish. However as I grew older and stepped out of my state, I was overwhelmed to discover that my country offers a real wide range of delicacies to cater to the tastes of everyone. While a Gujrati or Rajsthani Thali (meaning spread), is apt for indulgence for vegetarians and non vegetarians alike. A Bengali fish spread will allure the non vegetarian crowd. But that’s not it, I believe food is mirror to a place’s culture, and the habits of food come from origin of the place. While an inhabitant of Maharashtra will prefer sea fish for nearness to the Arabian Sea, a Bengali will love fresh water fishes more due to river Ganges flowing past Bengal. Food habits evolve through centuries, but they are bound to start with availability.

Bengali Fish Kalia

 But for a food lover like me, knowing the different foods of India is just not enough. I love to know what people around the globe enjoy. And as I pointed out before, it’s a sneak peek to the wonderful and colourful life and living of the people. I have always loved Chinese and continental food, out of the international range. But I did not know what I was missing out.

My first taste of Singapore food was, when I went to the awesome tourist destination Singapore. As much as Sentosa, Singapore Zoo and Universal studios are tourist attractions, you can also expect a foodie indulgence to ecstasy through Singapore delicacies. Frankly before witnessing and experiencing the food extravaganza that Singapore has to offer, I did not know of it. It offers you from erotic to smooth tasting spread that although melts in your mouth but leaves an impression in your heart. Unimaginable variety of food and what taste! They say that “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach”, I slightly want to change it like “the way to human’s heart is through his/her stomach”. And that’s what happened with us.

Food haven-Singapore

When we reached Singapore we wanted to explore every place, but as time passed our priorities changed, we actually wanted to explore all possible cuisines. Of the many awesome tasting ones that I tasted the following are my favourite:

1. Dumpling Noodles:  Being an absolute noodle lover (and hence my love for Chinese food), this one very easily topped my radar. With dumplings of prawn or pork along with assorted vegetables, this dish is either served with soup or dry. Needless to say I loved both.

Dumpling Noodle

b. Hainanese chicken Rice: A delicately designed chicken dish often referred to as Singapore’s National dish. Served with chicken broth and rice. This one is on the spicier side, and hence my favourite.

Hainanese Chicken Rice

c.Fried Carrot cake: A misleading name for sure, but treats taste buds well. A very common dish made of rice flour and white radish. Unique in its awesomeness to say the least.

Fried Carrot cake

 The list is long and I loved much more than I wrote. Infact after coming back to India I did visit a restaurant named Singapore, but the taste did not match even near. I hope to discover an awesome Singapore food serving restaurant in my city of lights soon.

Today, the world has come together. Each of us has the privilege of witnessing each other’s culture, tasting each other’s food. And this is a window of opportunity for food lovers like me, to experience the never ending colours of life and beautiful living through food. Singapore is awesome for its culture and natural beauty and these entirely blend to form dough for a mouth smacking recipe. For more details please click on the following link and enjoy: discover.stayfareast.com

Aritra Chakrabarty Sengupta

I choose to start with Moto E

As a kid, I lived in a beautiful fairy tale township away from city life. As I grew up, Television and internet exposed me to a greater world and that attracted. I loved the simple yet stylish living of our SAIL Township, but somewhere deep within wanted to witness more. I had never travelled by aeroplane then, and would excitedly run to catch a glimpse of it. “When will the day come, when a board one” I thought. Obviously my first flight is a special moment. Infact every first is special, first love, first child, first salary and first smart phone. The excitement that a first fetches, a second or a third cannot. So it’s important to have a glorious first, a first to be proud of and a first to be cherished forever.

Most people around me are tech savvy, my friends, my husband and my cousins everyone and they call me technologically challenged. True is it! But yet an exaggeration of my state! I am not too much into gadgets but that does not necessarily mean some of them don’t attract my fancies. For example, smart phone. I really want to have one, and a great one, yet not an expensive one! Is it too much to ask for? I thought so, but only before I knew of Moto E. You don’t believe me right, alright click on the link below and check their website to find out for yourself the reality:-

 www.startwithmotoe.com

Modern technology is fast paced just like our lives. Everyday remarkable advancements are bringing the entire world at our finger tips. Today we can acquire as much knowledge as we want, communicate with even our long lost contacts and explore the world of surprises around us with a click. However how to use science is a personal choice. It is created to benefit but the contrary is not too uncommon. Smart phone, I would say is a smart addition to technological elevation. It’s a world of difference. It actually is!

When I sit and think, when mobile was first inverted it was a luxury affordable to the opulent. Slowly with further evolution of science it reached everyone and even a daily wage earner can remain connected to his family now. Well! That is true for every gadget that first hits the market. And the challenge to different companies is who makes it affordable to masses and how fast. Similarly smart phone which marks remarkable technology growth was initially a complete luxury item. Though most of my acquaintances overcame the dilemma of digging a hole in their pockets and bought them. I thought I already had a mobile and could use the money to buy something that interests me more. But I firmly believe technology grows on you, when each one around me flaunted a smart phone, including my husband, my thought process started to turn.

However I was in search of a phone, which is smart enough to give me the operational and utility excellence and won’t cost me a bomb. I had no hopes, but recently my search landed me on Moto E, and when I went through their site I was ecstatic to find, it was custom made for customers like me.  It is studded with all modern features like all day battery, latest android, modern processor, stylish look and also front & rear camera, and as I am a selfie freak, the later attracted me a lot. All this time I hovered over my hubby’s phone, for clicks.  With my decision of owning one, I felt liberated (wink). As I learned more of smart phones, I knew more strongly that I wanted to buy one Moto E. Easy internet access, allow you to be in contact with your friends and the world alike. There are features for safety and navigation and a lot more. I understood that as one starts using one, life smoothens. And the good news was Moto E came at a very affordable price starting from around 6000-7000 INR. A revolution which opens a world of possibilities to everyone, making a smart phone experience affordable to all, that’s MOTO E. My decision is taken; I want to plunge into the technical revolution of smart phones with Moto E, because it’s worth it.

New Moto E

 Besides I strongly feel, any step taken for the cause of reaching out to the common should be supported. Being a part of a developing country like India, where economic disparity is evident, a product which brings down luxury to the doors of the mediocre is to be applauded. Even if I can afford an expensive one, I will buy MOTO E, because it will give me the same facility at a lower price. And only for the sake of status I won’t buy another product. I firmly believe a smart phone brings with it a knowledge store house and if it can reach all, besides increasing connectivity it can even spread education and awareness. Easy internet is a great tool to the country's youth if used judiciously. Lastly I will thank Motorola for bringing out a product just apt for me. Moto E here I come to experience your extravaganza, as I #Choosetostart with new Moto E.

Aritra Chakrabarty Sengupta

Let me decide my surname

I had just completed my graduation in Chemistry Honors when I lost my father. My mother says that I am a shadow of him, especially in nature. His habit of speaking the truth and being himself is in every bit of me. I don’t know if my readers believe it, but if I am compelled to speak even a meagre lie to save a situation, I feel like a criminal. No I am no great saint, I am just me, and this is the way I am. I believe that men and women get married to have a partner of happiness and grief throughout life. They eventually besides being a couple, become friends, confidant and much more. The institution of marriage, I believe is not to declare that we women are now transferred from the hands of our fathers and brothers to our husbands. And if it means so, I defy it. So what’s the justification of a girl changing her surname after marriage? At least it should be left to the woman, to choose to do it or not. Those who are willing they should and those who are not should be left to themselves.

Today’s modern women is self-reliant, she takes care of herself and her family’s monetary needs. But that does not make her less compassionate towards her family. Inside all women love to play the custodian of their household. Hence you will find little girls playing with dolls and houses, but little boys prefer cars. That’s a basic difference between a guy’s and girl’s thought process. And again its fine, everyone is free to behave their way. So today’s woman makes a tough choice to balance her household and profession. Here I must mention, that a compassionate male partner can always make the situation easier, and today’s men mostly do their bit to comfort the ladies in their lives. So eventually we fall back to where we started from.  A married life is a compassionate partnership between the opposite sexes, where one completes the other. And a man is custodian to the lady as much as the lady is custodian to the man. So again the same question, why can’t both the partners be allowed to keep their origin’s intact through their individual maiden surnames?

After marriage I did not change my surname and kept my maiden surname “Chakrabarty” in all my documents. I feel it’s a bit of my Baba with me, it’s dear to me. My husband and in-laws are extremely open minded to understand the emotions attached. In fact my husband loved my decision. I feel fortunate to have him in my life. And my keeping my maiden surname does not make him less important to me, in fact he is the reason for me to smile and he means the world to me. But I use both the surnames in my blogging “Aritra Chakrabarty Sengupta” and the reason is again the same, Chakrabarty is a bit of Baba and Sengupta for the man who told me you write well enough to bring your narratives to the world. My pillar of being. At last I want to conclude changing of surname after marriage should be left to woman to decide, it should never be enforced. And her decision should be respected.

Aritra Chakrabarty Sengupta

(Avishek thanks for being with my decision)

Malala- A story of courage

I AM MALALA- A tale of courage

I just completed my latest read, “I am Malala”. A gift we all girls received on International Woman’s Day from our employer. A very good choice I would say, apt for the occasion. It is not that I did not know of Malala and her life before reading this one, but the detailing of information is note and praise worthy. It is strange, that I knew so little of my neighboring country Pakistan, and the dreadful situation the peaceful civilians face there. I really felt blessed to be a part of India, where we women can expect to have a life. And have the freedom to breathe, to read and to have a career.

Malala Yousafzai

 The Tale of Malala Yousafzai and her fight for education keep you hooked to the book from head to tail.  A major part of the book, focuses on the political history of Pakistan. Which is interesting to know. It also shows how Islam is interpreted differently by different followers of the same.  While people like Malala and her father have a more liberal outlook, but a huge proportion of the followers take it in a very different way. While the Yousafzai family and many other such families believes that their religion preaches peace, equality of sexes, knowledge to all there is a different side to it too. The extremists like Taliban, believe women should not go out and study, they should always be behind veils. They are even against male teachers teaching female students, if at all they get a chance to educate themselves. Now the question is, if women do not get education how are they going to teach? I have not read Quran, but I firmly believe that all religious books preach nothing but goodness and humanity. And if we believe in God, then we must believe that he has created both man and woman, and so he must have dreamt of equality for both.

Malala with her family for a felicitation

The book starts with Malala and her family in Birmingham, but goes back to their past in the scenic valley of Swat in Pakistan smoothly. The book narrates the childhood of her father Ziauddin Yousafzai, and his quest to get education to all. His fight with poverty, family issues and even hunger to establish a school in Mingora, a small city in Swat. It’s remarkable to see this man’s open mindedness and modern thinking, in- spite of the orthodox society he belongs to. Infact his relationship with his wife, Tor Pekai is also beautifully described. They had a household, where sons and daughters had equal opportunity and love. And I think, this thinking and bringing up, made the Malala of today.

Malala with her father

I generally used to associate Talibanism with Afghanistan, but this book told me how bad it had hit Pakistan’s life.  Enforcement of laws, which the Taliban’s thought was correct, through the most gruesome ways, left the peace loving civilians in a state of despair. Flogging, be-heading, moral policing and pushing women behind the curtains of ignorance became a part of their living. The slow intruding of the Taliban into Swat, is given in details.

Taliban in Swat valley

However Ziauddin was not scared to raise voice, and he took his daughter along. Gradually his influence in local politics and beyond increased and he became a known face. Malala was spotted in almost every frame with her father campaigning. They featured in documentaries and Malala also started her blog on the life of a school girl under the Taliban rule in the disguise of Gul Makai. In no time, they became known faces and her diary attracted lot of world attraction. However her fame brought her to be noticed by the deadly Taliban, who said she preached Western culture. And what follows next is history, she was shot at point blank range by a Taliban youth in her school bus. However she survived miraculously.

The book is a must read, however I personally think it should have given a little more insight on the work she did and does today. Whatever it is I salute the kid, for raising voice in a society where gunned and masked Taliban could kill any damn one. Where the fear of a dreadful death looms heavy. And off course I feel whatever Malala is, it is for her will and her ever supporting and open minded family, who deserve same applause as she does. Finally I end with the saying

“The highest education is that

Which does not merely give us information,

But makes our life in harmony with all existence.”

Rabindranath Tagore

 So let the light of education light each every corner of this beautiful world. Whatever religious belief we have does not matter, God is always great and want his children to be happy.

Aritra Chakrabarty Sengupta

 

 

Aquamagica- A sunday well spent

I have never been to the US, but have heard that five days of the week they work very hard and in the weekend they freaking enjoy. I really love this way of living, because it’s very important to shed off the stress and start afresh on Monday. And this is only possible if we have mental and physical rejuvenation during weekend. But here in India, we often misconstrue rejuvenation to sleep. Although ideally they are not same. True a late rise and slight lazed out atmosphere is soothing. However if the ambience of slothfulness carries on too long, instead of revivification we get fatigued.

On our way to Aquamagica

Last weekend, it was Holi, the festival of colors. But in addition to that we had planned an outing on Sunday to a water park. Adlab’s Imagica is now a well-known amusement park in and around Mumbai. Situated on the way from Mumbai to Lonavala, on the Mumbai Pune expressway, this theme park is really amusing with nerve wrecking rides. But we that is me, my husband (Avishek) and our friends Nilesh and Shalaka chose the water park counter part of Imagica, called Aquamagica. Not all of us are good in enjoying the adrenaline rush of rides, so Water Park seemed to be a more suitable option.

We reached there early morning, the entrance is same as that of Imagica but tickets are different. At 10 am the doors open letting the huge enthusiastic crowd in. There was a queue for the ones going to Aquamagica, for shuttle bus service. And it is worth mentioning, that there is strict dress code which included nylon or polyester tight fit cloth, no metal and also decent enough to be worn in public.

We all boarded the shuttle and reached the water park in just 5 minutes of ride. It is a huge park and very well maintained. We took lockers for our belongings, changed and went ahead to have an exhausting yet super fun day. To start with the initial rides were easy and fun, just sliding or rolling to water through enclosed or open tubes. There is a huge swimming pool and also a rain dance area with sprinklers. However the next set of rides were not as easy as the first few. The length and stiffness increased with each and the thrill too. One of them was like, you have to jump in, glide through a long enclosed tube and as soon as you come to the open there a steep fall which almost scares you of flying.

There was also a free fall ride, which was extremely scary to say the least. But we enjoyed like kids. Another ride takes four people through a scary glide and eventually to a cone and slowly stop like a pendulum.

It was thrilling and we did it twice. There is a Mc Donald’s and few other eateries inside the park and by afternoon the DJ starts playing music. The environment becomes awesome, music, artificial smoke, bubbles and water all around. They also start the artificial waves by later afternoon, and that feels almost like bathing in the sea.

One thing I really loved, and that was the security and hospitality of the staff, they clapped as someone successfully completed a scary ride to encourage. The maintenance of the pool and the ladies room is great. Overall the Sunday was very hectic and left us aching arms and legs. But believe me, we relived childhood and was completely rejuvenated to face the stress of Monday blues. Rejuvenation is much beyond physical relaxation, it is more mental. A distressed mind, is the healthiest of all. So enjoy each day of your life, like it was the last day. Undertake adventures but never ignore signals of unsafe conditions ahead. Have a wonderful and colorful life.

Aritra Chakrabarty Sengupta

My life restarted

Housing.com's lovely video

Life is not always a bed of roses that we all know. But going through the bed of thorns is not always easy. But my life was going fine. I had love in my life and many job options after I completed my chemical engineering. Though none of the jobs were in or around Kolkata, but that was alright. May be we were prepared for it. The least prepared of the people around me was my mom. But eventually she too was fine, thinking about my career. But problem surfaced after I got married. My husband Avishek was in Haldia Petrochemicals, in West Bengal and me in Reliance Industries Limited, Gujarat. Before marriage chat or phone calls sufficed somehow, but not after tying the knot. When ever I would see married couples around me, a sense of depression got hold. Our struggling life was not too short. Both of us agreed that we would not sacrifice careers, as that mattered a lot. Our parents have some dreams for us afterall. But holding on, was getting bitter and bitter day by day. Distance brings loads of misunderstandings and unwanted suspicions. We would fight and then mend, sometimes I did not mend completely and bruises remained. I don’t fear to admit, that I am the weaker of the two of us. I easily get frustrated, depressed or zoned out. Avishek has a much stronger will power than me. But my crankiness increased every day, and I even fell ill at times. My emotional dependence on him was and is extremely heavy. But distance made him suffocate under my seemingly unjustified demands. That was the time, I learnt the importance of the magic of touch, when words get harsher and harsher, and they are like daggers. At that time a loving hold of hands can work wonders. But we had the distance monster between us.Work was fine; I had a good profile and great reputation. I had no easy reason to think of a job switch. In the mean time Avishek got an opportunity in Essar Oil Jamnagar, but still as I was in Surat, the distance between us was ten hours. Life was just not willing to change. Neither Avishek got any good opportunity in Surat, nor did I get transfer to Jamnagar.

And that was the time, when I decided to change priorities. I decided to even leave if necessary my employment. Or otherwise, even if I was well settled I would change my job. I really understood, that family life and mental peace was of far more importance than any hi fi career opportunity. Believe you me; it was a turning point of self assessment. The careerist me, who was at driver seat of my life willingly, took the back. Leaving a well settled job is never easy, but I did so. Although the reality is, even today I don’t have similar kind of satisfaction and company at office, as I had then. But I have no regrets.

In 2012 November, both of us left two biggest Indian companies and joined two, which people hardly, knew. We came to the city of lights, Mumbai and build our nest of love. Today I don’t know if I am as satisfied professionally. Actually it doesn’t matter, I am earning well and I have him with me to share all my happiness and sorrows. While taking the decision I was not too sure, but now I am. And the good news is, we both are gradually falling back to track professionally as well. Recently I have rejoined Reliance in its Mumbai corporate park and Avishek is getting better opportunities. Now when I sit back and think, I feel great. Because I firmly believe God had taken a test to check the purity of our love. Now every day is a valentine’s day.

 When I came across this topic (#StartANewLife) in Indivine, I wanted to share my story. You can check HOUSING’s website using the following link: housing.com

Besides the video of housing.com (included in the beginning of the narrative) brought wonderful memories of our getting settled in this city and later buying our own house amidst lot of monetary adversities. That was another big turning point. But now I know, own house is a paradise of peace. And Settlement is the necessity of life, afterall we are not vagabonds.

Aritra Chakrabarty Sengupta

Coz we are born to be awesome- ON INTERNATIONAL WOMANS DAY

Woman’s day is coming, on this Friday a lovely gesture by a very senior personnel in office reminded. Huge work load bugged the entire week. Anyways, he had put a book, a rose and a personal message for every female employee, in Reliance Technology Group on Friday morning. And you can very well guess the number isn't too small. I thought it’s awesome. Besides I particularly liked his choice of book “I am Malala”. Currently my leave is well invested, in going through Malala’s journey, and what a journey! I get goose bumps many times, reading her life.

Suddenly yesterday night, just out of curiosity I had googled the meaning of woman. Out of the many meanings that appeared in front of me, one phrase attracted me, it said “member of the fair/gentle sex.” It disturbed me, because I thought what the phrase said, is also what is felt about woman by the major portion of the society. It is not long back that I and some of my female friends were discussing about distinction in office on the basis of skin colour, looks, sex appeal etc. I cannot and should not generalise, but it’s not very uncommon, to observe a male superior’s extra care towards a pretty female subordinate. In cases the subordinate dislikes the attention but the reverse is also true at times. And that is what that pains me; the urge to win a favour only the grounds of sexuality is detested. Because we woman, who give birth to a child going through the agonizing labour pain, have the ability to build a career and position in society on the basis of our qualities. Anyways the society will always have different people with different thoughts.

What I disdain is commoditisation of womanhood and I have always written about it loud and clear. Our society celebrates woman’s day, but do we keep a tract of the ever increasing toll of crime against women. May be, as we the privileged ones celebrate the awesomeness of womanhood, a woman will be raped, a woman will be sold, a woman will be killed in her mother’s womb. Then what is the celebration about? I know crimes have always been in the society, and should not stop us from being what we are. But still is it acceptable to witness, a raging mob on one side protesting for justice to the deceased Nirbhaya and another rape in some other part of the country. I mean so much lack of humanity? Are we humans or animals? I don’t know.

Anyways, it’s very painful. Just recently I watched the banned documentary “India’s daughter”. It’s strange and unnerving to know, the culprits lack of an iota of remorse. Why the hell, should they get a platform to voice their blather? And more shocking are the remarks the lawyers made. The so called educated stratum of our society, have such gutterish mentality. Women are food to dogs, diamonds to be robbed and we don’t have a place in the Indian society. The way the things are getting worse, it seems a law should be made to punish people for such derogatory statements in public.  Then again what is derogatory is subjective and the law will most definitely be misused. In a country where such elements form a part of not only the illiterate society but also the educated, what’s the meaning of celebrating woman’s day, if respect for women is non existent?

But still I am for celebrating women’s day. Because what a mentally sick lawyer has to think of women, does not reduce our awesomeness. We are not food to anyone. But we can be bread earners. We are not diamonds to be robbed, but we are precious for sure. And most certainly we have place in the society, because we make the society, we are mothers. We love compliments, we love to dress up but we are not accessories. So stop commoditisation of womanhood.  This woman’s day let us raise a toast to the awesomeness of womanhood “COZ WE ARE BORN TO BE AWESOME”.

Aritra Chakrabarty Sengupta

MY MOTHERLY TALE

I am not a mother yet, but should that stop me from writing this blogpost? I guess not. Because maternal instincts are inherent to all females and obviously they tend to show, in many occasions. I have two elder sisters, infact quite older to me. I was always a kid pampered by not only my parents but sisters too. When my eldest sister, who was in the US then, declared of her pregnancy, a fang of jealousy had struck me! Being closest to her, I feared that a person closer to her than me was in the making, in her own womb. I was disturbed, but I never showed. After months when she was suppose to visit India with my little niece, I was scared of my emotions showing.

But as they say, man proposes and God disposes. My fears never came to be true. On the first sight of my niece, my hardness melted like ice. I immediately loved her. Care and maternal love took over me. Infant in the months that followed, my niece got closest to me, in comparison to all other family members. So this is me doing mother to my one year old niece, “Bristi” meaning rain in Bengali.

I was myself a kid then, going to school. But all of a sudden the entry of a person younger to me matured me. Her smile was like sunshine to us. A very happy kid and spread happiness around. It was the first time I knew, what it was doing mother! I also knew innocence therapy, as I call it. Like when a kid smiles innocently at you or giggles on his/her own, all melancholy sheds in seconds. A kid of her age at that time understands nothing of the world. She only knew when she was hungry, sleepy or may be ill at times. For all other times she would remain hale and hearty. As adults the main challenge is to know what they want, as words don’t come as aid to breach the communication barrier.

Bristi was a beautiful kid, though now she is quite a lovely teenager, but I love to remember her that way. I recollect, she would be very happy to see certain specific cartoons on the television, we had no idea whether she understood but enjoyed for sure. She would be annoyed to have the same food repeatedly, so my mother had to experiment within the boundaries of no spice, less oil etc. She loved kids; I and my father would take her out in a perambulator every evening to see the kids play. She looked visibly happy. And above all she needed a rejuvenating sleep each night, disturbed ones left her cranky. So my sister always ensured a good quality diaper to keep her dry all night. And see a happy baby each morning, smiling with life and innocence.

We had many moments together which I cherish, the time we played play dough, the time I hugged her tight and she giggled and the time they left for the US again. She cried, I don’t know if she knew about parting but she cried. We all cried. Now my sister stays in India, we meet and discuss those times. Times of how a teenager turned mother over night and her bonding with her beloved niece. So when I came across this topic posted on Indivine by pampers, I wanted to share my first taste of motherhood. I  loved the pampers video, shared in the beginning of this narrative. You can check their website using the following link:www.rewardme.in/tag/Pampers

Aritra Chakrabarty Sengupta

My look up story

To me the world seemed to be a paradise. I never knew any unpleasant happening could dawn on me. I was optimistic and full of life. But when the realistic world struck me, I knew unforeseen dangers could touch and devastate. I lost my father. My father whose I am a shadow of! He was suffering from damaged kidney and was on haemodialysis for quite sometime. But believe you me; I never thought that he will succumb to his illness. I never quite believed that negativity could ever surface in my life. That morning, he was feeling weak but as usual I thought all will be well. But it did not turn out the way I thought. He left and for good. And I was left wondering, if what just happened was true. But it was true, to the core! My optimism left me, I felt insecure and unsure of the future. Whenever my mother went ill, I got scared. After marriage each time, my husband hit the crowded Mumbai roads with his mean machine, I felt tensed. I felt the pain of loosing one near and dear one, so to my heart that the fear of loosing more reigned supreme within me.

This lack of confidence took a toll on my health and even my career. Panic attacks became a part of me. And it is at that time when my husband came to my rescue. Infact I can easily name him my crisis angel. He showed that how blessed I am. He vowed to bring in front of me the underprivileged reality of our society and make me understand where I stand. Such that I know to value, whatever the creator has given and even taken away. And stop thinking of what is in store, instead live and enjoy what I have.

He was hugely involved in student politics, during his university times which is also the time we met. And during his course he had collected stories. Stories which impacted him and later helped me come out of the shelf I enclosed myself in. Stories that threw pessimism out of me and replaced it with optimism! Stories I believe!

The first story was of a girl, who later topped the West Bengal Board class X examination. She was poor and knew what hunger was. Her father was a farmer and they lived in a mud hut in a village near Kolkata. Proper food and amenities were daring dreams to them. Avishek my husband had seen her study. On the mud floor of their hut, with mosquitoes around, in humid hot summers with an oil lamp! But she excelled and touched the sky. The adversities instead of scaring gave her encouragement.

The second story is a conversation my husband had with his professor. Due to his over indulgence into politics, a time had come when his studies suffered. But otherwise he is very sharp. One fine evening, when he was deeply engrossed in some conversation over a smoke, his professor called. He said, “Look at that poor rickshaw puller smoking, do you know the price he pays for his smoke has tax added? And that tax is used for students like you, to study in government colleges with negligible fees…… so remember all you people are studying from the contribution of the poorest of the society, so never become a national waste. Studies come first for a student.” This changed him, and today he is a successful chemical engineering professional.

This changed me too, I knew the losses cannot be replenished but life is worth a living anyways. That sadness should only make us stronger. I also understood my responsibility as a Indian national. I knew I could not afford to disgrace my father, my education and the society by becoming a national waste.

When I came across this topic in indivine as LOOK UP STORIES, I was instantly determined to share. Please see the following link of New Housing, bringing optimism: housing.com/lookup, it surely does bring optimism.

Aritra Chakrabarty Sengupta