12 March 2022

That is an interesting contraption

I was impressed with hotels like ITC Pushpanjali in Durgapur that they had provided sturdy toothpicks to press teh elevator buttons with. To avoid direct contact due to Covid reasons.

I thought this hotel – this is the really impressive ITC Royal Bengal in Kolkata – has gone a step ahead. You have food pedestals to press the up or down button for the elevator. The irony is, once you are inside, you still have to use your finger to press the floor button!

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11 March 2022

Have you ever seen anything like this?

This in Newtown, Kolkata. I was surprised that they had this public display. First, I have no idea if the public is aware of what those metrics mean. I, for one, had no idea what is PM10 and PM2.5 till I Googled them. Second, I have no idea whaat would anybody make of these metrics unless they sa what is good (or acceptable).

Full points for bringing awareness though. After all, I had to learn what is PM10 and PM2.5

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11 March 2022

Learning something new this time!

You probably remember Tathagata from my last trip to India when he taught me about the blue gin turning into pink. I had to meet him and pick up something new. I asked him to make an Old Fashioned for me.

Whaat I found out is that he makes his own bitters. It is a fairly interesting process he follows. I also learnt from him a lot more about Angostura bitters. I did not know that it is manufactured in Trinidad and Tobago. (Later found out that it actually originated from Venezuela). I also found out from Wikipedia that there is only one person who knows the whole recipe of Angostura bitters (passed down from family member to family member)!

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11 March 2022

The bed where he breathed his last

There are so many memories… This is where I slept every three months when I came to visit him. This is where he was shifted every time he got very sick. This is where he was surrounded by all his grandkids who came to see him after his stroke in 2017. Lonely (mom passed away a few weeks), completely out of any zest for life and beaten down by too many physical ailments, he was finally granted his wish to transition. It was sometime in the dark of the night that he quietly breathed his last on this day last year.

I still miss him a lot!

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11 March 2022

The final sunset

This is perhaps the last time I observed the sunset from the balcony of my dad’s house. This is what we used to sit down and watch together over innumerable cups of tea. Rarely speaking a word. By the time I make it to Kalyani again, my sister will have moved to her new house and this will not be our place any more either!

The final sunset indeed!!

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11 March 2022

That is one driven lady!

I had checked into the Westin in Kolkata where I was helped by Nisha – the Front Office Manager. As is my wont, I started talking about how she landed in this job and all that. I was fascinated by her life history. Particularly striking was the number of places she has worked in all over India – often taking risks uncommon for a lady of her age.

“Were you always driven like this?”
“Yes, sir!”
“Who was the biggest influence in your life for you to be like this?”
“My dad. He has always supported me in my decisions.”
“If I met him today and asked him to describe you in three words, what words would he use?”

After thinking for a few minutes, she said…
“Stubborn… empathetic and… free bird”

“How did you become a Front Office Manager?”
“That is what I studied for.”
“You always wanted to be a Front Office Manager?”
“Yes, sir!”
“Why?”
“I love interacting with people. Like you do. And that is the biggest part in the hospitality industry. Especially for Front Office Managers”.
“Got it. So, what do you want to be when you grow up?”
“I want to keep growing in my job, get promoted and experience more locations”

“Awesome! Maybe I will see you later in life in some other city or country!!”

By that time I needed to head out to Kalyani. While the occasion was a little sombre – anniversary of my dad’s demise, I could not help reflect on how driven and industrious the younger generations have become. And that is in fitness of things. “Old order changeth yielding place to new”. The New – as I am experiencing it – gives us confidence that the world is always being passed on to better and abler hands…

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11 March 2022

Exactly a year back…

… on this day, the sun rose in the east in its fullest glory like you see it today.

Only that my dad did not rise.

He passed away in his sleep after going thru a lot of suffering for about five years and then having been dealt the biggest emotional hit – losing my mom a few weeks before. I was not there with him that day (was not vaccinated yet). A year later, I will be there at the spot where he passed away (although the exact time of his departure is not known).

There are too many memories that floods my mind. For whatever reason, the one that I remember most is the last video call I had with him when he asked the same question he had been asking me over and over again … “When are you going to come?”

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9 March 2022

Another mixed feelings long haul trip

One more of the quick trips to India. Last one was to celebrate mom’s one year death anniversary. This one is for dad’s. The excitement to make these trips is completely gone. These trips were all about expectations of some funny comments from dad, a trip with the siblings and their families, all of us sitting down on the floor as a big family to have dinner and all that. But with their departure and passage of time, the adhesive force of pulling everybody together is missing.

The kids have grown up. Niece is in college in Bangalore. Nephews are focused on their all important Board exams. The timing is not perfect either for my sister – who is preoccupied with setting up their new house or for my brother – who is out of town for work.

One silver lining is that my brother in law is going to be in Durgapur when I go to visit my mother in law. Looking forward to it… he is a very funny guy.

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