The Potion
When we were little, my brother and I dreaded falling ill. Not because of the fever that gave us chills or the cough that made our ribs hurt or a million visits to the bathroom that left us dehydrated. … Read the rest
Fight, My Beloved Country
Call it a woman’s intuition, but for a week I had been fearful that something was about to happen. I spoke about my apprehensions to Alex, my husband, even suggesting that we should prepare to leave. He dismissed my fears … Read the rest
My life with Baba
I have always been proud to be my Baba’s daughter. I do not have his outstanding intellect or his ability to burn the midnight oil, but I did inherit his love for learning.
Baba, Debabrata Mallick, came from an indigent … Read the rest
The Tragedy of the Roy Choudhurys
In 1946, a year before the Partition and Independence of India, I was a young seven year old girl living in Calcutta with my family. My father, a historian, Dr. Makhan Lal Roy Choudhury, had recently returned from a lecture … Read the rest
Crossing the World’s Most Dramatic Border
It’s the world’s most dramatic border. A nation cruelly divided as the British quit the subcontinent in 1947.
Portraits of the founding fathers of the two nations, India and Pakistan, Mahatma Gandhi and Muhammad Ali Jinnah witness the crossover … Read the rest
Of festive feastings, not fastings
My earliest memory of Dashami (the last day of the Durga Puja festivities) is sitting on the terrace under the bright sun, with an umbrella propped up over our heads, Didi (older sister) and I reading books. Correction: we … Read the rest
Bijoya: Sadness and Longing
“I will return here once more, by the bank of Dhansiri, to this Bengal” Jibananda Das
Political spaces may be partitioned, but human emotions, joy, sadness, hope and aspirations, the nostalgic mind, love – can these be split asunder?… Read the rest
Haunting Memories
When I joined Bird & Co. in 1960, there were 8 jute mills under its control. One of the mills, called Lawrence Jute Mill, stood on the banks of river Hooghly near Chengail in the district of Howrah. It had … Read the rest
A Sweet Little Dolly
She was born in Calcutta Medical College on November 15 1933, past midnight, the sixth child of Hemlata Basu. Her birth went through an unusual turn of events though things fell into place at the end.
The story of … Read the rest