A couple of years back, I was in this same resort and while resting by the pool one afternoon, I thought I recognized somebody. Turned out that I was right. It was a school friend that I had not seen for thirty years…

Today, I was again with the family and by the pool when, guess who I ran into? Paramita Ghosh – who turns out to be the better half of a classmate of mine from high school (eleventh and twelfth grades). I have not seen him since 1985. But Paramita and I agreed that we will try to fix that problem in a few days when I am in Kolkata for a few hours.

We also met her daughter Amrita who became an instant hit with my family with her shy, quiet ways and absolute candor in accepting that she is not the biggest fan of studying!! Looks like Amrita, Paramita and Natasha share a common love in writing!! Long after she was gone, my mom kept talking about her.

My sister concluded in a typical Bengali way – “Ekkabarey doll-putul”.
[Ekkabarey means “totally” and “Putul” means “doll” and do not ask me why we repeat ourselves when we say “doll-putul” !!