The magic world of books

Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.  ~Charles W. Eliot

I dont know when and how I had entered the unfathomable world of books and reads but it was quite early days. Those times it was not the so called "books and novels", but light reading of Champak, and comics "Billu", "Chacha Choudhary" and "Pinki"s. Ma wanted me to read the ones which were in Bengali or English but I always preferred the Hindi ones. Our train journeys were always consorted by Nandans and Champaks. 
My first date with English Literature was because of a dear friend who had gifted me a "Hardy Boys" novel. There was no looking back after that. The "Hardy Boys" and the "Nancy Drew" and then Charles Dickens occupied all my free times and with that came the unsatiable craving for more and more books. Those days I often dreamt of owning a library of my own, the library would have a nice cosy floor-sitting area , and would have books on ladder accessible shelfs , shelves which would touch the floor and reach the ceiling , books from all over the world, from encyclopedias to novels to poetry to comics. 
Then came the day of my rendezvous with Bengali Literature. It was just after my 10th board exams and I had no idea of how to spend the 3 months long vacation. Ma gave me the much acclaimed Bibhuti Bhushan Bandopadhyay's Pather Panchali(It was made into a film by the Oscar winning Director Satyajit Ray and was one of the greatest film ever made). After that my love for Bengali Literature too grew in leaps and bounds from Sarat Chandra Chatterji and other yesteryear writers to contemporary writers.Books are the best company I ever had(ofcourse after my parents, husband and good friends). They have made me laugh in bitter times and made me cry in good times. I get so addicted while reading a particular book that I feel like finishing the whole book at one go.
Here are some of my all time favorites, which I have read I dont know how many times:
1. Chander Pahar - the mountain of the moon (Bibhuti Bhushan Bangopadhyay)
2. Parineeta - Sarat Chandra Chatterji.
3. Diary of Anne Frank
4 The hound of the baskervilles - Sherlock Holmes (Arthur Canon Doyle)
5 The whole Harry potter series
6 Kite Runner - Khaled hosseini
7 Great Expectation - Charles Dickens
And many many more to add and add on.
With the latest technology, reading good reads is much easier and with the same "flipping and dog earing of pages" feeling of ebooks, what is only missing is the smell of the books. May be a time would come when the IT revolution would make that too possible(amen).

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Tomato stuffed

I am not in the mood of writing much today.. So here goes just the recipe.
You need:
A few tomatoes, preferably round ones
Boiled Potatoes, grated ginger ,
chopped coriander and chillies,
sweet corn if you like
Scoop out the center pulp. You may use the pulp in any other recipes. Mash the boiled potatoes , add sweet corn, chillies , ginger, coriander, salt and a little chaat masala. You can replace potato with grated paneer. Fill in the tomatoes. Place in an oil smeared microwaveable plate. Season a little with salt and black pepper. You may or may not sprinkle a few drops of oil. Microwave on high for 6 mins. The time may vary based on softness of the tomatoes and pwer of microwave. so keep checking after 2-3 minutes. Enjoy!!

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Spring onion paratha with mint chutney

So the hot summer with long sunny days are around the corner. In Texas summers are every much like the ones we have in North India, except for the fact that they are very dry with very little humidity. Its the time of the year when we like to stay indoors during the day and come out only when the sun has bid a goodbye. We love to devour cool drinks and light lunch and dinners. The mint and coriander chutneys, raw mangoes and lassi make their way to kitchen.
So one fine evening we decided to have a nice light dinner packed with nutrition. We opted  for Spring onion paratha, pudina chutney and sprout bean salad.
For Spring onion paratha: a cup of finely chopped spring onion greens, a little chopped coriander , a little chopped spinach (if you desire), a teaspoon of ajwain , a pinch of salt, very finely chopped green chillies and ginger and wheat flour. With all the ingredients make a dough adding little water in parts. Now make roti balls of the dough. Roll them into rotis on a polythene sheet as the dough is quite sticky. Roast the paratha on a skillet. Drop a few drops of oil in the end to fry the paratha or you may simply add butter over the roasted paratha. Serve hot with Chutney.
For the pudina chutney: a bunch of pudina , a bunch of coriander, 3 -4 green chillies, lemon juice, salt to taste and a pinch of sugar, 2-3 cloves of garlic, a slice of ginger. Grind all these in a mixture. You may replace the lemon juice with tomato. Serve with Paratha... Enjoy the cool refreshing meal.

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At the end of Day. In the land of Dreams ..দিনের শেষে ঘুমের দেশে ..

Sun is breaking across the snow capped Kanchenjunga, throwing its first rays into the sleepy town of Ghum. So aptly named, Ghum(ঘুম "sleep" in Bengali) , this beautiful town of North Bengal is ever so sleepy. Mou had come with Sagar just after their marriage some 30 years back. They were completely enchanted by the beautiful tea gardens, the meandering Teesta, the serenity of the town and the innocence of the people. Sagar and Mou decided to come back and take root in this town in the evenings of their lives.

The evening had indeed come but without Sagar. As Mou sits in the easy chair in her balcony basking in the morning sun, sipping a cup of tea she remembers the bygone days.
Mou had just completed her BA when she got married to Sagar. Although being an arranged marriage , she always felt she had known him since time immorial.  It was his persuasion that she completed post Graduation and then went for a doctoral degree in English Literature. It was not easy with infant Sahil already into this world, but Sagar's immense support and help her conquer the battle. Soon she got a job of a lecturer and with time soon she turned a professor. Meanwhile Sagar climbed the steps of his success.But time could not erase the imprint of Ghoom on their minds and souls. It became a ritual to visit Ghoom whenever they visited Kolkata during vacations. The sleepy beautiful town gave them the much needed respite from their busy schedule. Soon Sagar and Mou decided to make a small house in Ghoom for their yearly refuge. But who would have known that Sagar would be able to enjoy his Dream home only a year. The cruel hands of destiny snatched him from Mou and Sahil. It was devastating for both of them, and for Mou the loss was boundless. But she had to compose herself for her 12 year old son. Fighting against all odds she tried her to give her son all the very bests. Time rolled on but their annual trip to Ghoom did not cease.
And it was during these trips that had brought a whole new meaning to her life. It was a morning like today's , and she was sitting in the balcony sipping tea as now. Sahil then a handsome grownup of 24 had gone for a morning stroll. Sahil was leaving for abroad in a month to study medicine. He never wanted to go, but it was his Ma's suasion that made him agree. Mou sat there wondering how she would live with Sahil gone to such a distant land. And there stood on her gate a young girl in her late teens, with clothes which were complete rags, and with a body shivering like a feather. She came up-to Mou and meekly asked if she could give her a job, any work for that matter. Mou was about to give a blunt NO , when something within stopped her. She looked at the girl intently. Somehow she knew the girl had just survived a cyclone. She asked her to come inside and gave her a cup of tea, and toasts. But the girl wont have it. Instead she cried and cried and cried. Within her sobbing and hiccups, all she could muster was she was sold by her uncle to some aged man for money and she was to be taken to some country for what she did not know(but Mou knew).  That was not the end of her plight. Back at her so called home in a small village a stone's throw from Dhoom, the orphan girl was molested by her uncle. She didn't have nerve to go back. Mou could see the truth and desperation in the girl's eyes. She did not have the heart to turn her away. Mita remained with her. Soon Sahil left for higher studies and Mita became her only companion at home. She would tidy the house, prepare the dinner , decorate flowers in the vase, and then wait for Mou to return from University. She started calling Mou "Mamoni" .Mamoni taught her to read and write. Though from a very poor family the girl had a flair for arts. She would prepare small decorative virtually out of nothing, would arrange the flowers with such beauty that the floral arrangements almost looked professional. Mita often told Mamoni she was very fortunate that Mamoni had given her this sanctuary, but there were many unfortunate girls in her village who were desolate and abandoned. And then Mou decided to take voluntary retirement and permanently move to Dhoom.
At Dhoom, with Mita to assist her she set up an abode for all helpless women and girls; Started off with just two of them , the abode has turned into a small scale industry for handicrafts and other art works. Mita looks after all the production work while Mou looks after all the official and financial stuff.
Meantime Sahil has settled abroad and wants to take Ma with him, but Mou refrains. She knows her true home is here ..in the land of dreams where every body calls her "Mamoni"..loving Ma 

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