Blue Boat Home

  Paan splattered year-end The celebratory clamour of our neighbours died down as the clock ticked to one at night. The guard of our building patrolled our premises, each stomp of his stick asking us in Wee Willie Winkie style, “Are you all in bed?”   Mashi while going out to bring groceries noticed that betel leaves had been chewed and spat on the walls by the revellers. Every year Mashi thinks that the January page of the old calendar should be facing us once the new year rings in. I have a hard time explaining to her that we need the latest calendar. Gone are the days of glossy calendars, now a plain and simple calendar swings on our wall, eroding the old painted wall. I woke up after sunrise today. Consequently, I missed seeing the waning silver moon smiling onto this blue boat home. Maybe I’ll see it rise on the hillock on my birthday on 8 February 2022. Happy New Year! #saynotopaan, #saynototobaccco, #weewilliewonka, #nurseryrhymes, #nightguard, #missedsunrise, #befores

Almost Infamous I’m facing the shadowban on Instagram, methinks. That’s why I’m growing younger as time plummets forward. I will have to revert to sharing new memories about my 32nd, 31st, 30th etc years as I continue to lose than gain more followers. Maybe this happened because I used similar hashtags. It’s novel to grow younger as you advance in physical age though. Last night I was watching Satyajit Ray’s Shakha Proshakha when supper arrived for us. It was delicious piping hot chicken biriyani, fish fry and egg shop from a Bengali catering service. My paternal grandfather who was an astrologer had once said that I’d marry a man who was a caterer who cooked fish fry and finger chips. Then while scrolling social media, I came across something which disturbed me enough to turn my plans to wake up early to watch the new year’s sunrise awry. Then my accomplice @indian.devil.angel [Instagram] suggested that I shouldn’t sleep but chat with friends as I was upset. I was listening to various

  The clock ticks. Eyelids blink. The tap drips. Do they all take a second? Before the new and newer normals set in, I’d go to the seaside with Mashi on 31 December to watch the sunset. I’d be mocked, “The sun sets every day. People who observe New Year are foolish folks. I’m above all such nonsense. Any day can be a new year.” I know that the sun sinks daily but even if it’s a cliché it was a symbolic moment for me to bid goodbye to the current year. I can still see and hear the waves lashing on the shore in my mind’s eye. Every year brings us new memories. We meet new people. Then the waves roll back as there are departures as well. The sand which was being washed in and out reminded me of sand clocks. The rolling waves resonated a water clock to me. The shadow cast by the sun seemed to draw a parallel with a sundial. Who are the people I’ll meet in 2022? What kind of experiences will come by me? My blog will tell you. #newernormals, #afewhoursto2022, #byebye2021, #newyears

  Live and let live Please avoid large gatherings, playing loud music and bursting crackers at year-end. However, please stop judging and shaming people for the following reasons: 1.                  Not observing this New Year. 2.                 Celebrating at year-end. 3.                Making resolutions. 4.                Not making resolutions. 5.                Avoiding their family members as they are toxic. 6.                Meditating at year-end. 7.                Not meditating on 31 December. 8.                Praying when the New Year rolls in. 9.                Not praying. 10.           Feasting on New Year’s Eve. 11.             Eating healthy. 12.            Spending New Year’s Eve alone. I plan to make my debut on Wattpad in 2022. The first story I’ll post there will be co-authored by me and Mashi. I’ll chronicle the tiger tales from the Sunderban that she narrates to me. Had she completed school, she’d be a great writer. #wattpad, #wher

  Aspirations for 2022 Once upon a time, not too long ago, I’d write copious pages of New Year Resolutions, most of them clichéd like losing weight. I would hardly be able to keep any of them. I’d forget what most of them were by the time the year started to march forward on 1 March. I respect people who believe in making New Year Resolutions, whether or not they can keep them. Instead of resolutions, I have certain aspirations and on 31 December 2022, most probably I’ll tell you that they didn’t fructify as both are challenging ones. Life may bring forth pleasant surprises though in the year to come. With Covid numbers showing a mercurial rise, I don’t know when the film industry where I work will be revived. I dreamed of returning to my office and meeting my colleagues early next year, but…. My aspirations for 2022: 1.     Setting up a system where I can make passive [100% legal] income by selling my educational worksheets and lesson plans. 2.    Getting an Indo-Hollywood

2021 blessings 1.           The project our office worked on was well received. 2.         I got a bonus of two months’ salary from my office. 3.        My blog is afloat and doing fine. 4.         My health improved. 5.         I started my teaching blog. 6.         I watched films and series on Netlix, Amazon Prime, HoiChoi TV and YouTube. 7.         I took two doses of Covishield. 8.         I’ve started morning walks again. 9.         My cats are cute. 10.      Mashi is a good companion. 11.        Eliminated toxic people and religious zealots from my life. 12.      I’m following coaches who’ve brought a positive change in my life. One of them is @theeleganceadvisor. 13.     I turned agnostic and feel peace after that. 14.      I’ve calmed down from what I used to be. #countyourblessings, #netflix, #amazonprime, #hoichoitv, #youtube, #covishield, #peaceofmind, #gratitudejournalling, #covishield, #blessings, #2021reflections, #2021rewind, #2021, #bonus,