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  April 2022 Good ·        I accompanied Mashi on an outing after two years. ·        Mashi received her third dose of the Covid vaccine. ·        I get good support from @chriswaskomedium and @theeleganceadvisor on Instagram. ·        My friend gifted me a gift coupon which I redeemed and bought the various things that you see in this slide. Bad ·        The heatwave in Vasai is unrelenting, it makes me fall sick. ·        Covid numbers are rising again. ·        Various commitments prevent me from investing quality time to my blog. #april2022review, #heatwave, #heatwaveinindia, #summerinindia2022, #yearningformonsoon    

  Chicken and bun! Earlier this month, when the number of Covid positive cases was reducing, Mashi and I went to check out a new mall in our adjoining town. My interest was that it has clothes stores that sell the type of outfits that I’d love to wear during important formal and informal meets. The fabric of these clothes is also breathable and the prints are aesthetic. I wear very simple clothes at home and when I go out in my town. However, I’d love to own some artistic garments as well. Previously, we had to go to the city to buy these but we can drop in at a nearer store now. I like to try them on before buying them to ensure a proper fit, so avoid sourcing these online. I did window shopping only as after two years of financial crunch because of the pandemic, I still don’t have the money. The stores were getting few footfalls. Mashi had been wanting for months to taste what she describes as ‘chicken and bun’ which is a burger with fries. I bought that for her and ate the s

  Mashi: 3 rd dose Yesterday [on 26 April 2022] Mashi took the third dose of the Covid vaccine. She was initially apprehensive as her best friend had wrongly informed her that anybody who takes it immediately dies. I found that the nearest centre to administer this dose to her was two towns away. Mashi panicked to begin with as she hasn’t boarded the train for two years since the pandemic started. Once on the train, she was happy to ride it after months. She reached the hospital on time and humoured the nurses there. Mashi asked, “Which document do you want to see? I have my Aadhar Card, Pan Card, Voter ID and Modiji’s picture [referring to the certificate ascertaining that she has received two shots].” The healthcare professionals then questioned, “Where do you live?” “Why? Vasai East.” The nurses bid her farewell after her shot saying, “Mashi, bye, you are very sweet.” Her friend who had warned her against the vaccine then called her to the bazaar and they excitedly ta

  Menstruation is just a process, not empowering I have always looked younger than my age as I’m short. The bullies of my class always taunted me that I wouldn’t start menstruating even at 16 as they claimed to have the medical expertise to diagnose that my body was defective as far as womanhood was concerned. The truth was I started bleeding at 12 and the mean girls in the class called me a liar. Some would even lift my dress to check if I had stains or was wearing a menstrual pad. “You aren’t woman enough,” many said in a chorus, “don’t you know that having your period makes girls and women strong and unites us?” Many girls undergoing puberty long to have their first period as they are made to feel that they are inferior or not grown up for not having experienced it. The girl who has her period first is declared the winner and the one who has it last or doesn’t bleed is the class clown. This should never be a competition but pseudo-feminists are making it into one. I’m 45 now,

  Subho Noboborsho Happy Bengali New Year Bengali New Year would coincide or occur right before our annual exam in school started. At that time, I’d be edgy in hardly a mood to celebrate. I had to reproduce crammed matter which I had learnt year-long by revising them from old tattered books that I wanted to part with. That’s why I didn’t get to learn much about the festival then. The month of Boishak also coincided with kal boishakis or north-westerly storms. These tempests gave us a much-needed respite from the sweltering heat but created great destruction, especially for the poor living in villages. After our exams were over, I plunged into the swimming pool to relax after having had a gruelling time. I’d go to the lake and swim its depths, something which isn’t safe for me to do anymore at 45 with my ailments. When a storm would approach, suddenly the sky would get cloudy though the water would still be warm and comforting. My swimming teachers would call me, “Come out of

Bengali New Year Bengal’s New Year is knocking on the door. I’m cash strapped once again, I don’t know if I’ll be able to order a delicious dish from the Bengali caterers of my neighbourhood. They make the most amazingly yummy food. I fondly recall my grandmother lovingly going to Gariahat Bazar near our house amidst the sweltering summer heat to buy an outfit for each of her five grandchildren. That’s the custom of Bengali families during New Year. She bought such comfortable cotton shirts for us,  perfect wear for summer. My grandfather [her husband] sneeringly criticized her poor fashion sense. My aunt defended grandmother saying that they weren’t as bad as we thought them to be when all echoed grandpa and heaped insults on grandmother. She needed to be thanked and validated for spending hours under the scorching summer sun, searching shops till she found outfits for us saved from the little savings she had. She could have spent that money to buy saris for herself but didn’t.

  Autumnal Easter Easter is commonly known as a spring festival as its origin is in the Northern Hemisphere coinciding with spring, the season of rejuvenation of nature after the winter’s snow melts. Also, Jesus rising from his tomb is likened to a soft yellow chick breaking from its hard shell into a brand new world. Many countries in the southern hemisphere celebrate Easter during autumn. It coincides with the bountiful harvest reaped which will be stored in the granaries and cellars and feasted on during the snowy winter by the fireside in warm indoor homes. While colourful leaves, flowers, fruits and buds will adorn the northern hemisphere; in the southern hemisphere, old leaves of vibrant hues of yellow, orange, brown, grey and black will cling onto the trees before bidding adieu to the branches that’ll embrace the snow. Fruits and vegetables of bright colours will be harvested. People living in the southern hemisphere paint and hunt Easter eggs. The Easter bunny delivers a

  BFF banter I’ve heard a similar conversation. Sweety and Baby are waiting for Dolly to join them for lunch at a high-end restaurant. They describe themselves as BFFs or ‘best friends forever’. Dolly arrives 15 minutes late. Till she arrives, they are having this conversation. Sweety: What kind of bra straps Dolly’s sister-in-law wears, too straight and tight! Baby: Dolly never shows her bra strap unless it’s accidental. In which age does she think she lives? Sweety: Dolly never arrives on time. Do you know I saw her at the vegetable bazaar that day? She was wearing a cotton salwar suit that ordinary housewives wear. And what kind of a bag she was carrying! Can you imagine it? Baby: [Giggles] Maybe she has gone to buy potatoes and radish again. Dolly arrives. Dolly: Sorry, it was break time at school of my daughter’s final exam. I had texted you, she is unwell, so got late. Sweety: I raise my kids to be independent. I don’t even know what homework they get. Baby: Still my so

New mattress This mattress has been recommended by my physiotherapist and doctor so that I do not get more muscle injuries in my arms. I can no longer type as fast as I used to because of chronic joint pain in both my arms. They must be mobile to be able to type but were getting as stiff as rocks. I could not afford an orthopaedic mattress as it is too expensive. This one nevertheless costs Rs 3000. The mattresses at hotels are much softer. This is hard to begin with but has a uniform surface and is broad. So my elbow and shoulder joints will not be in unhealthy positions while sleeping. #mattress, #bedding, #chronicpain, #jointpain, #homerenovation