Our Kolkata Visit

Last Sunday, we came back to Bangalore after spending one week in Kolkata. This visit to Kolkata was important for two reasons; first for Baba's first bereavement anniversary (17th June 2007) and secondly we shall me meeting Soumi after long.

One year has passed since Baba has passed away, leaving only his memories behind. Meeting Soumi was another thing we had in our mind. Even before leaving, I used to tease Ritu several times that I have made an appointment with Soumi beforehand, so I shall be the first one to see her .

Once we reached home at 9am on 16th June , we were met by Ma, Rangapisi, Chotokaku, Sakakima, Preeti and all the others. Puchki was so shy in meeting us, that he was hiding in some corner of the room. By the way, Preeti who always received a scolding from everyone for studying , has come out with flying colours ( 83% ) in her Madhyamik examination. After meeting with everyone, we had our breakfast , had our usual "Round Table conference" and then left for Barrackpore at 11am.

When we reached Barrackpore one hour later, we saw that Ma and Soumi was waiting for us at the gate. Soumi looked so sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeet ..... that words cant describe it. She was now seven months old and looked at us with her beautiful yet curious eyes. But this was short lived ; soon she started crying on seeing us.

Two Generations

Soumi and Baba's birthday are seperated by 4days.... 1st December and 5th December respectively. Baba, who was one of my great inspiration deserves special mention ; not to forget Ma, who loves me very much inspite of showing tantrums with me. I also love her, but I still quarell with her too..... which I should not do.

Baba is no more with us, ....... but his memories are still afresh in my mind. The loving call of "Baba" wont ever be heard again .. Neither shall I get the familiar scolding I used to get because of my carelessness.

Ma is very strong, and at times very adamant. But her caring attitude can be felt every way. Every time she calls me up , one of the reasons is just to enquire whether I had my food .... she is very loving.

Timmi left us when I had just joined my first job. She was a great sister and a great friend. I still remember the times we used to crack jokes while studying and soon as either Baba or Ma arrived we seemed to be engrossed in studying. There were so many incidents in our life which we both used to share together, .... but these are only remembrance I can have .

But Timmi is still among us ... maybe in the form of Soumi or is it Baba back again among us , or maybe Pisimoni, or Dida, or Kakumoni .....

Ritu is not just my wife, she is my friend, someone I can discuss my problems with .... and always ready to extend her support. She is a person who really understands and tries to help me out .

In my next post I shall something about Rangapisi , Pisiomoni, Chotokaku and all our family members .

Soumi's Snapshots when she was 13 days old

During my visit to Calcutta I had taken many snaps of Soumi, along with my various family members. I am an amateur photographer and it was focus and click. As my camera had autofocus it helped me a lot ; other wise I would have ended taking blurred images ... which would have totally spoilt the show.

A couple of weeks back I brought the developed photographs from the store...... well Soumi stole the show in all of them .... After a tiring day's work , seeing Soumi's photos seemed me to give me the extra energy ...... each photo made me remind of my days in Calcutta and the time I spent there.

I have posted one photo of Soumi ... isnt she a cutiepie. I wanted to post more, but the upload tool is not working.

I have heard that she has become playful, and smiles a lot .....Cant wait to see her myself .

Watch this space for more on Soumi .

Back to Mumbai with Soumi's Remembrances

I am back to Mumbai after my stay at Calcutta for 2 weeks. Going to Calcutta had always been fun , and it was far enjoyable this time as the thought of seeing my daughter came across my mind. But here I am just going to narrate how did I spend my time with Soumi when I was in Calcutta.

Back to Calcutta , I interacted with all of my family members - which I always do , mostly with my very special Rangapisi ; It was nice to met Ritu again, in fact we had hardly spent three months after our marriage, Ma looked very happy compared to the Ma I had seen when Baba passed away ; in fact every one was very much excited about SOUMI ....... .... she continued to take all the focus, every minute.

I had always liked children , like Puchki (Rick ) but ones own child holds a very important place in ones heart, and that was very evident when I used to play with Soumi ... Oh by the way, after thinking a lot I came across a name ... Suchismita ... I needed a name as a birth certificate was necessary and I would be coming back to Mumbai after two weeks.....But I did not know the meaning.... and still I am finding it.

I shall later write how did I spend time with Soumi in Calcutta.

Soumi has arrived

1st December 2006, around 9:40 hrs IST , a call came from Calcutta , saying that Ritu has given birth to our daughter at 9:37 IST ..... I had become a father .

It was of immense joy for all of us , as her arrival was an excellent news after Baba's expiry. I was also overjoyed as I would be able to see her after a couple of days .... as I would be travelling to Calcutta next day.

The evening I reached Calcutta, I went to see Soumi, the name had not been decided yet , so I used to call her Puchki ..In the nursing home I found a cute cuddly figure wrapped in flannel, sleeping in the baby cot - she was 3 days old.

I shall be soon posting some pics of her .... stay tuned .