a memoir of etchings and wanderings
I remember having wanted a gigantic world map from since I was little… Have you heard the Discovery Channel ‘I love the whole world’ jingle? It was playing in my head all the time while we were putting up my new 6 feet tall world map, which was a present to myself from Etsy – all the way from Bulgaria. Now I spent most of the day in my room daydreaming and … Continue reading “‘I love the whole world’” →
For someone who has been raised on western classical music, fed Mozart before baby food and seen their father polish the Beethoven bust every Friday morning, it is quite unnatural to have seen their first opera at the age of 26. But the Royal Opera House in Muscat is a fairly new concept, and it wasn’t really opera season when we visited Austria so when I saw that ‘The Marriage … Continue reading “Le nozze di Figaro” →
The first vivid memory that most of us probably have is time with our parents. And hence, in theme with today’s topic I am also able to write about two wonderful people that I have been blessed to be able to call my mother and father. 1983. Then. 2013. Now. On the 29th of June, 1983 they were married in a quiet ceremony in Calcutta. I have been a part … Continue reading “June 29 | Three Decades” →
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Without doubt, one of the most talented and creative geniuses the world has even seen in the field of western classical music. He wrote his first full scale opera at the age of fourteen and had become a close favourite of the local monarch. His music is of such class that doctors advise pregnant women to listen to Mozart while they’re expecting – research claims that it … Continue reading “Amadeus” →
The benefits of being born in an extremely culturally inclined family are manifold. I’ve been educated in Indian classical vocals since I was six and Baba’s love for western classical has ensured that I know a little about the subject. When other parents would be taking their children to parks and amusement centres, my father was booking tickets for three to listen to the Royal Oman Symphony Orchestra at the … Continue reading “An Evening With The Arts” →
I’m thinking of the snow-capped Austrian Alps. I’m thinking of the Danube. I’m humming songs from the Sound of Music. I’m picturing the baroque years. I can almost hear Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik in the background. I can smell the delicious coffee and sachertortes, coupled with fluent German chatter. I’m slowing down. *** I’m humming Billy Joel; he sings to me… Don’t you know that only fools are satisfied. Dream on … Continue reading “Vienna waits for you.” →
One uptight Bengali joint family. One mad Punjabi house of ‘Pinky Phulka Lao’. One very controversial, yet consensual wedding. Twenty-nine years of wedded bless. She grooves to Daler Mehndi. He worships W.A.Mozart. He does the dishes. She cooks like a wonder. She preserves. He disposes. Both love unconditionally. Through their differences, they have grown stronger. Happy twenty-ninth, Ma-Baba. No child could wish for more. June 29, 1983 | Calcutta June 29, … Continue reading “29 on 29” →
Its good to be at peace. To not to have to think twice before speaking. To hear the chirping of the cuckoo clock which is a year older than I am. To see an actual bath-tub in the bathroom. To experience uninterrupted electricity supply. To have healthy meals on time. To watch football on a flat-screen with Ma and Baba. To know that the sea is just around the corner. … Continue reading “Good To Be” →
I had once heard and I repeat, given the aptness of the situation;Sometimes what one needs to realise is that courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something is more important than fear. The brave may not live forever, but the cautious do not live at all. In times where so much seems to be in doubt, each day becomes more trying than the other, … Continue reading “Stoicism” →
No matter what the world thinks, to me Kolkata will always be one of the most beautiful and soulful places on the planet – maybe this connection has got to do something with being born on the soil. Parents’ annual India trip gave me the opportunity to visit early this year for a family reunion of sorts. # Had the most dramatic airport pick up in my life, yet! # … Continue reading “Kolkataaa – You Sexy” →