No trip to Durgapur is complete without visiting Baisakhi, Sagar or their car crazy son!!!

In my previous post, I talked about Mitu, my long lost friend of nearly four decades. What I did not tell you is what happened right before I met her.

My brother and I were searching for her house, with some help from Google maps and a lot of help from asking people at the street corners. At some point, I was convinced we were at the right house. I asked my brother to stop.

It was already dark. To be very sure, I decided to ask the couple of ladies walking under the streetlight.

Now, what I should have asked is “Achha, Eta ki Mitu-r baari”? (Is this Mitu’s house?). Instead, what I said after rolling the window is “Achha, Eta ki….. ARRREY Khukudi naaki”? (Is this…. WAITAMINUTE … Is it Khukudi”? )

That is when I realized that many times I create intersection points. Sometimes others create them for me. And sometimes they are too serendipitous for me to explain!

Went to meet a neighborhood friend from the 70s. Landed up asking directions from another neighborhood friend from the late 80s!!! Khukudi was a few years senior to me and lived a few houses apart.

She insisted on taking me and my brother to her house and introduce me to her husband Ranajit-da!

I last met her when she got married to Ranajit-da in 1984!!

Is this crazy or what? 🙂

After three failed attempts in as many years, finally managed to find this very old friend of Khokon and mine. Last time I saw her was Dec 1979 – so that is about 35 years back.

Although it was for a very short time, it was totally worth remembering some of the details of our early childhood. She reminded me if some of the childhood memories that I had almost forgotten!!!

Sheikh Moniruddin alias Khokon! There was nearly a gap of 13,500 days before I met him in Dec. Today’s was after 135 days!!!

Meaning “mom, I am going over to Khokon’s place to play”. For years, early in my childhood, that used to be a sentence I would say at least once a day. I am sure you remember my 37 year search for that first friend of my life – Khokon – which ultimately ended when I met him 3 months back.

Today, I visited him and his mom again. His mom and I chatted for almost an hour today – a perfect throwback to those days forty years back when she would be cooking in her kitchen and I would gather around her and chat endlessly….

Here you can see her mom engrossed in our chat….