One more frustrating search ends with a happy ending. Kanta-di and her brother Buro had eluded me for a long time. Not any more. Got couple of clues from my last trip to India. One challenge – the clues were too broad.

Went searching the area this morning with little success. Then my brother hit upon a novel idea – we started asking all the shops nearby. One of the shopkeepers gave us the exact address!!!

I don’t think Kanta-di or Buro could have successfully recognized her if their life depended on it!!! But it was awesome fun once we told them who we were!!

Unfortunately, found out that my search took a little too long to see uncle and aunt (their parents) one last time…

One more set of friends that I last saw in 1979 has been traced. Now I have their phone numbers too… Makes keeping up so much simpler….

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….

Had a great lucky break within a couple of hours of landing in Kolkata. Recently, had traced down a long lost friend of mine from elementary days – Sibapriya Dasgupta – in Midnapore(150 km from Kolkata). After landing at my brother’s place, I called him up to enquire after his parents (I was aware his parents were also ailing like my dad).

To my great surprise, found out that he was in Kolkata today for another few hours and that too not very far from where I was. Decided to have a quick drink (although he is a teetotaler) together. And sure enough, soon, I was able to see him for an hour or so!

Last time I saw Sibapriya was Mar 1983!!! Over 31 years back! He has still remained the nice, even keeled, very well balanced person. I was amazed by some of the details of myself that he could pull from three decades ago!!

We talked about our parents, our teachers, friends from school and families. One interesting topic of discussion – and he is a doctor – was the possibility that medical science is dealing with our parents in a wrong way. Instead of focusing on extending their lives when they are clearly not enjoying life, should our medical sciences factor in the inevitability of death and focus on making the rest of the years very enjoyable, painless and peaceful?

Great stimulating discussion. Hope I do not have to wait for another 31 years before I get to see good old Sibapriya again!!!

I was just wrapping up my call with Sharmila before jumping onto the flight to New York when I saw good old Shahid and his family walking past me. You may remember him from an old post and picture of the two of us sharing shayars and ghazals in a bar somewhere in Bombay after customer meetings.

In any case, I finished out with Sharmila immediately and yelled out for Shahid. He saw me, brought his family to introduce to me and guess what his first words were? “Another Intersection Point”, he said!!!!

I am like. “Yess!! I am going to start a cult”. 🙂

Anyways, it was great to meet Shahid, Munira and the kids!!!