Not Bengali enough

Her dad was a Bengali but her mom hailed from Hyderabad. Theirs was a love marriage and she grew up seeing true love for her mom in her dad's eyes and true contempt for her in her grandmother's eyes. For some reason, her grandmother never found anything right in her mom. She could never cook the machher jhol properly, no matter how much she tried and how long she had been cooking. Her lal paad which she so loved would never look "properly draped" on her mom in her grandmother's opinion, no matter that she draped it on every auspicious occasion. In short, her mom could never become a proper Bengali in her grandmother's eyes, no matter how much she tried. But, it didn't matter because it never bothered her dad and he always found her perfect.

He also found their daughter perfect - a perfect amalgamation of two cultures. "Udi baba!" like her dad and "Nakko miyan" from her mom had both found their way in her tongue. She had the most gorgeous almond shaped eyes, so typical of Bengali women. They went perfectly with the dense curls in her hair, just like her mom's. But again, the offspring was also not Bengali enough for her grandmother and she worked day and night to make her one. Rabindra Sangeet was introduced at the age of 3, and she grew up on a daily dose of Bengali literature taught to her by umpteen tutors. Mishti Doi and puchkas was staple diet for her.

She grew up happy and then one day was ready to fly off to far away lands for higher studies. The stuff was being packed and a recipe book was added for her to use while cooking her favourite Bengali recipes. A box of her Bengali books was readied, for where would she get those in foreign lands. Her grandmother instructed her mom to get a "lal paar" from the market for her for the Durgashtami when she would be missing home. She jumped at the thought and went to the market with her mother.

What she came back with made her grandmother cringe and father laugh - She had bought a white and red classic pochampally, a perfect amalgamation of the two cultures, just like her.

Comments

Rakhi Gift!

Kolkata calling! That was 7 years ago when he had just passed college. He had landed a job there. He only came home twice every year after that – Holi and Diwali! Last year he skipped Diwali and spent a good 4 weeks in December and January. After all it was his only sister’s wedding. The Holi then was bland so he skipped Holi too this year. But that day his sister had called and asked him if he could come on Rakhi this time. He liked the idea and did the needful… Applied for leave, worked extra hours to complete assignments and was almost done when he remembered, “Rakhi ka gift? Gift toh liya hi nahin!” So, he left office early the next day and wandered around in Gariahat Market. He had no idea what he could buy for her, especially now that she was a new bride. He walked aimlessly looking at all the wares when he almost passed a shop window. He stepped back to have a better look and saw this beautiful Khadi Cotton saree with Kites woven on it. He smiled! Immediately...

Romance in the saree

She had grown up in an era when Yash Chopra movies had defined what romance looked like... Lush green valleys, snow-capped mountains in the background and a sheer saree clad beauty singing soulful melodies with the love of her life. Ever since her teenage she had dreamed of the same. When she did reach the time and she was about to marry the love of her life, the desire in her heart to run around in lush green valley grew stronger. Together they booked a honeymoon to Switzerland. She went around shopping for her trousseau sarees with her mom and aunts. While the ladies looked out for heavy silks, the banarasis and the ikats, her own eyes searched for a plain sheer chiffon or georgette saree in white. In the busy market in Chandni Chowk one day, her eyes spotted what her heart was looking for. Plain white sheer chiffon with a designer border, it was the closest to what she was looking for. She quietly asked the salesman to take it out for her and slipped it in the lot kept aside fo...

The Perfect Outfit

Her 4-year old loved imagining stories. His favourites included the ones in the jungle – with tigers and deer and parrots and peacocks. So, when it came to celebrating his birthday, she went looking for the perfect outfit. She looked on all online shops and couldn’t find anything that felt just right. The best she could manage was a leopard print dress. That wouldn’t do. So, she went hopping all the malls and markets, scanning all the shops. There was barely any improvement in the search as the only other option she came across was a zebra print shirt. More searches here and there, and she moved over to bird prints or butterflies. The dresses and shirts, they all looked alike. What to do? The birthday celebration was just round the corner; and her extensive search yielded no result. Even the husband was fed-up of her obsession to get just the perfect outfit. “Just go for the leopard print – it’s in these days, I hear,” he said as he shook her head. She continued languishing i...

Just a saree story

Search This Blog