After having found Mitu, Kanta-di and Buro, started the next search – Bablu-da. He was a couple of years elder to us and had two sisters younger to us.

Again, started with the broad indications I had received in the past and after narrowing the area, started the block to block search. I described him to way too many people but nobody seemed to know. Some went out of their ways to help and called a few local people who have been around for some time.

The temperatures had already hit 100 F. Frustration was rising at the same rate. Even the curious street dogs who were following this strange, shaven head, shorts wearing guy from door to door went like “You are on your own now, dude” and sat under a tree with their tongues hanging out.

That is when I decided to give up for now and try again during my next trip. Some more tenacity and resources…. and I will find him one way or the other.

Now, the three hour drive back to dad and mom..

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….