Bliss...

Kolkata might not be the Kolkata of our childhood, you might not be wearing anymore the kind of sweater I remember you in (red, full sleeves, with a spiral pattern), but the Kolkata winter is still magical and I am sure you still get very boggled down when you catch cold (and blow your nose in a tiny white checkered handkerchief). I am sure I won't find these things charming had it been anyone else. But I love everything that I remember about you. Can't tell you how lucky and fulfilled I feel. Happy birthday countdown begins for the self obsessed me, who, in her small life, has finally cared for someone else. The sapling didn't die because we didn't care for it at the same time. It has become a full fledged tree. You know what? The damn thing has become an overwhelming rain forest :)

There were some wilted flowers from the bouquet I had got for mom. I cut them off and rearranged the flowers that are still fresh. Is that called ikebana or simply being in love...when you simply must create beautiful things, in dreams and in reality...

P.S. - "There's something different about your looks", he said one day.
"What is it? ", I asked.
"Chin line, you've got a distinct chin line"...
"What does that imply?", I asked, all naive and curious and excited. He always had that effect on me.
"Means you've become more determined"...
I remember the exact spot on the road where I stood with him, waiting for the bus, when he told me this. Everything about that road has changed since then. I still visit that road once in a rare while. The bridge which was still getting built...is old now. I do understand the theory of relativity in a twisted way. Also why time is the 4th dimension...why Rose said to Jack in a broken, choking voice, "come back"...and I daydream...in this strange city called Kolkata, amid layers of surreal wintry mist...