Kolkata diaries-1: A bagful of friendship, love and books

Kolkata diaries-1

It has been nearly six years, I reflected—yes, almost six years, or maybe even more. The thought crossed my mind as a bus zipped past me. I pulled my feet back and waited for the traffic to clear, hoping for a chance to cross the street.

The mall was on the other side. The cab driver had dropped me off on the opposite side of the road.

'Didi, Google Maps showed me this location only. Bas raasta ta cross korlei apni pouche jaben,' prompt came the reply when I asked the driver to stop by the mall.

After much ado with the driver, I burst into the vibrant atmosphere of the mall. My dearest friend Debolina, however, had yet to make her grand entrance. I lovingly call her "Debo". I was waiting with a beating heart, eagerly scanning the bustling crowd, anticipating that moment when she'd finally arrive and light up the place with her energy!

And there she arrived, draped in a white kurta pajama, carrying a huge bag, tightly secured in her hand. I wondered what was inside. I, somehow, managed to control my shameless curiosity and hugged her(my eyes were still fixated on her bag).

What followed was a heated and animated conversation between us. We were hardly listening, barely pausing to breathe, and talking continuously. There was so much that needed to be said in such a short time, so much to share, and conflicts that had been put on hold for far too long.

But who cared about the people around us? Not us, at least. Our laughter echoed throughout the mall, and we hardly noticed the passersby. I’m sure they thought we were half-wits or completely out of our minds.....

My friend Debo entered a shop filled with bags in every nook and corner. I followed her obediently like a sunflower following the sun. At that moment, I had completely forgotten about the large yellow bag she had brought with her.

"I want a bag with a chain, not one like this," she said to the salesman of the shop.

I approached her and assessed the situation. The shop showcased bags of a foreign brand, none had chains except for a few that she didn't like. She windowshopped a few more and then we left the place.

We were both hungry since it was lunchtime, so we headed to the food zone. While we waited for our food, I decided to check my phone. To my shock, I found five missed calls and ten messages on my Google Drive. As I looked through them, I realized that there were some urgent changes that I needed to make right away. I was speechless. I had taken a holiday from work to spend a few days in Kolkata with my loved ones, and there 'She' was, expecting me to work on the document. I chose to ignore it.

Then, we exchanged gifts we had meticulously chosen for each other and continued with our secretive conversation.

We had our tummy and soul full with delicious lip-smacking food. After a long time, both of us were having an authentic Bengali meal- luchi, mangsho, pulao, cholar dal, and mishti doi. Uff, what a delight it was!

Since 35/36 guns matches in our kundali, our meetings are incomplete without books. So, turning our heads in the same direction, we entered the bookstore. And as is obvious, we got lost in the realm of bookland.

Bookshop

Multiple titles swayed before my eyes...I couldn't choose. My sensory organs refused to function appropriately. And when I turned around to ask my dear Debo, she too was in a different zone altogether. She had already collected eleven Bengali titles to her credit and was on the way to collecting more.

'I don't get Bengali books at my place, how can I let go of this opportunity?' she smirked and then carried on with her work dutifully.

My phone beeped again, and then again.

'Your boss is missing you, you must reply to her,' Debo muttered, giving me a look drier than toast.

Our time was quietly ushering us toward goodbye. We went to the counter to pay our bills.

'Ma'am, do you need a carry bag?' the shopkeeper asked.

'No,' Debo replied

And there she opened her enormous yellow bag-big enough to smuggle a watermelon-and started stuffing her treasures(books) like a kid secretly stuffing pockets with toffees.

"Here arrives my bestie,

dangling a sunflower-hued tote,

there it sways, and here it sways

like a happy child on the go..."

By Nandini Sengupta

@metaphors_of_life