28 March 2021

Intersection point when I was least expecting it

“Are you Rajib Roy?”, she asked.
“That is what rumor in the street is”, I said as I looked at the lady standing in front of me trying my best to put a name to the face.

A few minutes prior, my brother and I had settled down in a rather empty bar of the ITC Fortune Pushpanjali hotel in Durgapur. After settling down with two glasses of gin, my brother excused himself to go to the restroom. I was intently watching a spectacular Virat Kohli catch on the TV in the last of the T-20 matches India was playing against England. I had vaguely realized thru the corner of the eye that the lady at the only other occupied table had gotten up and was walking towards me. I assumed she was headed out for some reasons.

What I did not realize is that she had actually recognized me and had gotten up to talk to me.

I am glad she recognized me because I failed to recollect her name.

Realizing that, she helpfully offered “I am Dipita”.

“Lahiri?”, I asked.

“Yes”

Then the old memories came flooding by. It was New Year’s eve. As everybody was out on the streets trying to welcome 2017 in, I was sitting in the restaurant of a hotel – which happened to be a couple of blocks away from where I was where all this was happening – writing down posts from the day in my blogsite.

Suranjan-da had introduced me to Subhra Lahiri who happened to be nearby. That was the first time I met him. Noticing his family standing outside, I had come out and introduced myself to them too. That is how I got to know his wife Dipita and his daughter Ishita. That was the first and last time I had seen them. You might have read about it here.

“I have to admit that I am impressed with your memory. You managed to spot me at the other corner after having met me only once. I could not do that.” I told her.

She did point out that a shaved head and shorts in Durgapur were fairly strong hints!!

By this time, my brother had come back. I told him the whole story and also that Sharmila and Dipita were classmates in middle and high school!

Unfortunately, Shubhra is no more. But Dipita and I had a great time catching up on our lives and especially the progress Ishita is making in her career.

Hopefully, next time we will have more time to chat!



Posted March 28, 2021 by Rajib Roy in category "Intersection Points

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.