Letters

It is funny how sometimes I hit the wall. I hit another wall after those first 51 pages. I feel like my writing sense has gone numb or am I waiting to get some feedback from the editors. So far haven’t heard anything from anybody about my writings. Anyways, I will see to it later. This week I am into a frenzy of making miniature face sketches on post-its at my desk. You can imagine how small they are. Well most of them are facing straight across, other somehow tilted. They are actually those many people that I see on train pretty much everyday. Too bad that I took notice of just young faces and there are barely any travelers of other age group. I am planning to put them all together on a big sheet overlapping each other, symbolizing how people from different place and stages of life come together to catch a train every morning. It will be fun. I made some 6 faces and they are not those pretty young women but there is a young boy, some men and old women as well. After making those realized not everyone one train has hair and I made a bald guy. Though I always like to sketch the pretty faces I made people with big nose or no hair or whatever I thought the people in train looked like. They will all come together once I think I have enough for one collage or I hit that wall.

I spoke to papa yesterday, He was so happy and delighted after getting my package a printout of my blogs so far. I wanted him to get a glimpse of my life here and I guess I did well. Though he could have read them online I know he is my dada and he will like it so much better to hold it and read it over and over while doing other various daily activities. They will return to Calcutta from Delhi next week as Bhaiya is going to get transferred to Patna by the end of the month. Good That I visited Taj Mahal on my last trip to India.
May be this time when I am there I will go sight seeing at Nalanda. This weekend I am planning to just sit back and relax. We might go picking and take Pratyush some fun place he wishes to. Now that fall has fell upon NJ as well it might be a good idea to do some yard cleaning and pumpkin carving. I am so much looking forward to sleeping an extra hour on Saturday and Sunday. Those have become such luxury now.
I also have to finish paintinga wall in basement with orange added with golden glitters. I plan to place a mirror with blue glass mosaic right in the middle of the wall showcased by 2 candle holders. It will be some sight. While the other two walls those are painted green will hold some pictures and frames.
Last week Pratyush did paint some newspaper with stamps I made out of potatoes. He decorated them with glitters and we wrapped one of my framed paintings as our first present in those gift wrappers he made. It was experimental and it was for Dolly didi. We also made some ghosts out of white plastic bags. Pratyush hung them on trees by himself and worried for 2 days they are going to fall off any moment and now he is glad that they didn’t. They are ghosts after all; he figured that we call them Bhoot in Hindi and took pleasure in calling it so.
About my book review part, I just finished reading the book “Never enough” by Joe McGinniss, which is based on a true story of a homicide. A high profile American banker is killed by his wife in Hong Kong. It was brutal and gruesome story. Initially I was getting bored and later as it started opening the story and the perspective it kind of flowed but not really was something of my taste. Well Now I am finished with it I need to find some inspiring book to get over the after taste. I have some really good one on hold at the library and I can not wait to get my hands on them.
Yesterday I spoke with Ruby Didi as well who was in Dhanbad during Durga Puja and I couldn’t talk to her for quite some time. She mentioned about the collage I made for her when she was pregnant with Ankoo and also the various hand made cards with dried flower and other things she keeps in her closet at Dhanbad. Well I can not recall a thing about how they looked or what all I wrote on those. I couldn’t recall a thing and she realized that. Well I told her it is because you have seen them often after I gave those to you while I never saw them once I gave it to you, which is over 10 years now. She agreed and I was glad that I created some unforgettable memories with her and also left the traces behind. I dint say it to her but I wished she could have done the same, may be a letter in all these years that I could have looked back at. I find it so funny when Rakhi arrives in mail wrapped in a blank paper, why can not they write down 2 lines to read when they send the envelopes across the globe. Well not every body can do that. I always know that she is there if I need it. Now that papa is gone all that I really cherish is his hand written letters to Praveen while he was in Hyderabad. When people write with ink on paper there is more than words that is said and conveyed and it lasts forever. A well written letter or any letter is a piece of art and I wish my loved ones understood that. I have received some of them in past and they make some of the most precious memories.
I have written so many of them and so many times, I bet they are part of the memoirs of some of my loved once far away. Recently I have stopped writing letter completely and I do not like it. I felt so good writing that letter to Papa. I will not make any promise to myself but I will see what I can do about it. I like it when Pratyush makes cards for his teachers and friends whenever there is a birthday. That is lovely. He promised to bring me flowers when I am in hospital delivering his sibling. I am sure he will remember, my son after all.
Oh that reminds me the season of roses in Calcutta and the smell of Rajnigandha at Sealdah station. That smell lingers my memory but no matter how much I have tried I have not seen Rajni Gandha in this country yet. Those really red roses used to be sold across the station for dimes and I used to get them home almost every day. Ma liked them too. Flowers are more expensive here and now I do not really like to buy them for myself so often, except for my birthday and Valentines Day. That’s when I do buy flowers or a flowering plant for myself. It was on my birthday in 2003 that Renu and Amita surprised me with a bouquet of roses and I can not express how much I liked it and will remember it on every birthday.