I will miss them...

Sometimes I feel I would have liked to hold on to the past, to those things which I grew up with - especially those that are slipping away steadily. They are like familiar faces, old comforting stuff that make you feel like a child again. There are some things that will go extinct soon...and I will miss them!

Yesterday I signed up to "go paperless" with my bank. They told me from now on I'll have to open emails and not letters. I was relieved to think there'll be less clutter in the house and no fear of "where did I keep that?". Arnab said, "the trees will be happy", but the question is would USPS be happy too? What about those people whose families depend on us not going paperless? Is it more important to save trees than save jobs? I wonder! Post office is one of those things that will be a dodo quite soon and with it will go letters and stamps!

Those who used to collect stamps as kids would remember what an unusual stamp meant. I couldn't wait to dip those in a bowl of water to peel the stamp off and then put the hinge on and stick in my album. I asked so many people if they have stamps, peeled them off from my mom's international letters...what will our next generation do? Would they ever know what a "first day cover" means?

We don't write letters anymore. Why should we write? How long would it take to reach the person? Surely it can't beat the time an email takes to reach! The art of letter writing has vanished long back, so will "love letters" do. Lovers of the future would have 3D graphics on their "love emails" but that would miss the personal touch - the actual physical touch of the person, the scented inks, glitters and rose petals.

Another thing I can see deteriorating day by day is handwriting. We don't write, we type. I know many people who cannot write in cursive. Who knows if I'll be able to continue that for long? People nowadays grab the pen in such a horrid way that it makes me wonder if they ever learned to hold it right! I saw a six year old girl practise handwriting a few days back. "What's the use?" I wondered, "she only needs to learn how to use MS Word!"

Along with these, another long time friend of ours would be gone. That is the newspaper. Google news has already taken up the place of the newsstand in the corner. "Times New Roman" would be just another font in the MS Word dropdown. Sherlock Holmes would never have to differentiate between newspaper prints any more.

How many of you remember the desk phone with that special ring? And Kodak film cameras where we had only 36 shots per film?

The internet revolution, though good, has created strange things out of humans. I email and IM my co-worker who sits almost next to me, instead of walking to her desk and having a face to face chat. Will we forget how to talk even? Who knows if conversation would become a lost art too?

Rabindranath Tagore - the philospher poet

A few days back, I was staying with a Bangladeshi friend of mine. We were listening to Rabindrasangeet (Tagore songs) when she exclaimed. "Our Rabindranath was someone so truly amazing. How could he compose such wonderful songs?" That word "our" struck me. So a girl from a different country also considers Rabindranath to be someone from her culture? In fact, why wouldn't she when the national anthem of her country has been composed by Rabindranath too?

It is really difficult for me to fathom the depth of Tagore's literary works. However, what I understand and like most are his poetry and songs. Rabindranath's literary career spans over several decades and covers novels, short stories, articles, poetry, songs and plays. He wrote "Sahaj paath" (easy lessons) and many poems for children and on the other hand, his writings delve into the deepest philosophical thoughts. Some of his novels and other stories might have become time barred but his poetry and songs have transcended all boundaries of space and time.

Rabindranath was a true "internationalist". He travelled far and wide from the Unites Staes to the Far East and wherever he went, he mesmerized the people. It was not only that learned people like Albert Einstein, W. B. Yeats or Hellen Keller came to meet him, but common men of war torn Europe also came to listen to what he said. His feeling about the human race is expressed in his poem "Africa" where he wrote about the Dark Continent.

To love human race in general, one has to love his fellow countrymen first. Rabindranath was an inspiration to the nationalists during our freedom struggle. His patriotic songs and poetry, like "where the mind is without fear ans the head is held high" ("chitto jetha bhoy shunyo uchcho jetha shir") still insipre us. "Ekla chalo re" (if no one responds to your call then go ahead alone) was Mahatma Gandhi's favorite song. Rabindranath's play, "Tasher desh" (the land of cards) was dedicated to the revolutionary leader Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. In the play, a young prince brings new rules to a kingdom stagnated by blind faith. Tagore was so shocked at the Jalianwallah Bagh massacre that he renounced knighthood and in the poem he wrote at that time "Proshno" (question), he asks God to pardon him because he cannot forgive those people who committed this sin. Rabindranath expressed concern for the poor and downtrodden in his writings. He knew that unless and until the caste ridden society uplifts its last, least and lost ("Sabar niche, sabar pichhe, sab harader majhe") the blessings of God cannot be hoped for.

When Rabindranath was in the autumn of his life, critics commented that he had nothing new to produce. It was at that time when he wrote "Sesher kobita" (the last poem), a story evolving around an unconventional love theme that is so very modern and so magical, that I doubt how many people really understand it.

Rabindranath's songs and poetry have the inner voice of the Upanishads. He faced grave sorrows in his lifetime. Untimely deaths of his wife and almost all his children left him in mourning. After the death of his wife, Mrinalini Devi, he composed a song which says, sorrow, death and bereavement come in our lives but the world goes on in its own pace. Let my mind rest at the foot of the Supreme Being where there is complete peace.

It is human nature to pray to God when we are in distress, but what Rabindranath said is different. He prays to God not to rescue him from trouble but to give him strength so that he is not afraid to face the reality.

He wrote many love songs too, which can also be interpreted as depicting the subtle relationship between God and the devotee.

Rabindranath Tagore was actually a philosopher and we find him relevant till date, because his songs and poetry are there fore every situation of human life. I shall end this article with one of Tagore's lines -

"Get rid of fear, have strength in yourself and win over yourself" ("Mukto koro bhoy,apona majeh shakti dhoro, nijere koro joy").

[Written in July 2008 for a magazine "Yuvak kranti" from Pune, India]

Home decor made (real) simple

From the time I walked into a just-drywalled house I started thinking of how to make that thing our "home". It took a lot of planning, drafting sketches, flipping through home decor magazines and tireless walks along the home section of supermarkets to come up with something according to both of our satisfaction. It doesn't take a lot of money or effort to decorate your house, little ideas can make a big difference!

A warm welcome

The front door, porch or entryway is the first impression of your house. A nice hanging on the front door or a cozy set of furniture on the porch is sure to extend a warm welcome to visitors and residents alike.  I love seasonal decorations (I'll come to those details later) so I always have a seasonal stuff hanging on the front door - a floral wreath in summer, small scarecrows saying good harvest for fall, simple things like that. For entryway, I prefer to have it snug and warm. We have a Tibetan sandalwood candle burning there in the evenings with a statue of Lord Buddha in meditation. The effect is very peaceful and calming when you come home after a long, tiring day.

Be bold

Accent walls in bold colors can not just brighten up a room, it can also break the monotony of similar looking walls. Washington remains cloudy for most of the year, so we chose to paint two of our living room walls in bright red in contrast to the other two light creamish walls. The white wood of the mantle looks very bright in the red background. If you don't want to make one wall stand out like that consider painting two walls with one shade and the other two a little darker or lighter than those. That also looks pretty.

Remember your roots

If you love your family and friends, show that! It is very nice to see family photographs displayed in beautiful frames. Some people prefer to use the wall by the side of the staircase as a gallery. A friend of mine has actually done that and it looks very nice. Two things to make sure though - do not overcrowd and keep in mind the line of sight of an average human! I have used a part of the living room wall for it and that works well for me too.

Light a candle

Candles have a wonderful soothing look. I don't know of anyone who doesn't like candles. Those tiny things can change the entire look of a place. Nowadays with the scented ones it's really difficult not to put one in every room. I generally have candles matching the colors of the rooms. One place where I really, truly love them are as centerpieces. Let me tell a little about centerpieces and seasonal decoration here. A candle smelling of sweet cinnamon pumpkin might not be very appropriate in summer because we normally associate colors and smells with seasons. So, stick to the seasons as much as possible. It will help you relax.

Homemade things

There's nothing more beautiful than handmade items. Frame pictures that you have painted or photographs you took. Keep that throw that you knitted on the couch or the little fleece blanket you made for your cats. Homemade things have an extra warmth to add to your home.
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Personalize

What else can you personalize more other than your own house? My aunt always arranges candles or vases in odd numbers. That's her style. You can also create your own style of folding napkins or arranging accent pillows. Going a little off track can produce very creative results but you have to be very confident about it. If you are not so sure about your creativity, stick to the basics. It's better to be less creative than put up something which looks hillarious. (I have seen stuff like that in some houses!)

Decorating a house is a continuous activity. There's no end to it. Cherish every moment of it and enjoy what you create!

Ilish - the heavenly fish

When Bengalis call it "Hilsa" to sound non-communal, that takes away half its taste. Ilish is the fish to be worshipped and not just eaten! Like salmon, it travels upstream to lay eggs and then eventually die. They come from the Bay of Bengal, get into the innumerous distributaries of the Ganga-Brahmaputra delta, get into India and Bangladesh and finally sacrifice their lives for fish eating Bengalis. When the first one of the season lands up on our plates, either fried or in a savory mustard gravy beside steaming rice, Bengalis get a glimpse of heaven! They wouldn't trade that experience for anything, not even for a one on one interview with God Almighty. I wouldn't for sure!

Why we love Ilish? Well, there's no question of liking or disliking Ilish. Ilish is not a fish like Rui or Salmon that you'd choose to like the taste. Ilish is a philosophy that you can only feel and cherish. Those who are yet to experience this philosophy are to be pitied and those who die without eating a mouthful of Ilish are sure to be born again!

Ilish can be cooked in many ways, from the delicate "Ilish biryani" to the slapdash fried Ilish but they are all awesome and have their individualities. "Shorshe ilish" is a very common and much loved dish where Ilish is cooked in a gravy of mustard seeds. So is "Bhapa Ilish" where the fish pieces are smeared with mustard paste, spicy green chillies and a host of aromatic spices and just plain steamed. My favorite is the simplest "Ilish bhaja". Here, the fish is rubbed with a little salt and turmeric and fried in mustard oil (to use any other oil is to do a sacrilege against Ilish). The great thing about Ilish is that it gives out it's own oil when it's about to be fried. That fish oil (just like salmon's) is revered also. To eat that with steamed rice and bite a piece off a green chilli with each mouthful is a phenomenon that can't be described.

Ilish paturi - wrapped in banana leaves

The only thing that goes against it is the gazillion fine fish bones. Only an expert can pick all those out. Most people actually chew and eat up the tiny bones. My theory of why Ilish has so many bones goes like this: "Ilish without bones would be 'all-perfect'. 'All-perfect' things don't exist in this physical world. That's why Ilish has bones."

There are multitudes of Ilish recipes, some hailing from rural Bengal like Ilish cooked in wrapped banana leaves or gourd leaves while others being concocted at fashionable restaurants in Calcutta but the final verdict is you can't be a true Bengali if you don't hail Ilish as the Heavenly fish!

 To end this article, here's my ode to the ethereal Ilish-

ইলিশ মঙ্গল কাব্য

এ মাছ দেখিবা মাত্র মন চঞ্চল |
কখন পাইব স্বাদ ভেবে কাটে পল ||
এ মাছের রূপ-গুণ জগত ভুলায় |
স্বদে গন্ধে ভরে ওঠে মনুষ্য হৃদয় ||
ভাজা মাছ তেল দিয়ে মাখা হয় ভাত |
দু মিনিট পরে দেখো ফাঁকা হয় পাত ||
সরিষার ঝোল হলে কিবা তার স্বাদ |
পাতুরি দেখিয়া মনে ধরে না আল্হাদ ||
বেগুন আর কালো জিরে দিয়ে হয় ঝোল |
বেশি ঝালে হবে কিবা পেট গন্ডগোল ||
বর্ষার বারিধারে বাঙালির মন |
চায়ে কেবল এ মাছের হরেক ব্যঞ্জন ||
খিচুড়ির সঙ্গেতে ভাজা যদি থাকে |
সোনায় সোহাগা যেন মনে হয় তাকে ||
রুপোলি এ মাছটি যে বাঙালির প্রাণ |
বর্ষায় বাংলায় এই মাছ খান ||
ইলিশ মাছের স্বাদ অমৃত সমান |
যে রাঁধে সে গুণী বটে, খায়ে পুণ্যবান ||