Embrace Your Geekness Day

Prompt Six (July 8 - 14)
Chronic Disease Day (7/10)
Embrace Your Geekness Day (7/13)
National Nude Day (7/14)
Don't Step On a Bee Day (7/10)


Petrichor, New Orleans , Kolkata and me :

It’s been some handful of days since I am in Kolkata . Spells of heat , where the mercury was steadily on the rise.
Happily enough for me … I love dry arid even hot days and not particularly a fan of the monsoon . I find the rain drenched days tiresome without any reason to be elated !
Yes, contrary to accepted documented beliefs .. my artistic / poetic side refuses to find much inspiration or poetry in these settings.
They genuinely make me sad , longing for the rains to clear up making way for my Sun.
But what I cannot give up .. is the smell of rain .. rain as it falls on the parched earth .. an earthen smell that rises upwards as it cools the earth and permeates everywhere and my smell buds !
What is the thing about this city ?? Yes I am talking about Kolkata . When you descend to touch down there aren’t as many glittering lights to greet you like the other fancier cities I have been to recently . And , that , my dears can be quite a sad feeling for a moment . But hold your thoughts as you unbuckle your seat belts .. get past immigration to your first night properly in the city .
That feeling of sadness of not seeing glittering plenty lights will wash away as you stop at traffic signals and let the city take you in .
It’s like being in a 3 D installation of sights , shapes , sounds and immersion . You soon feel you are deep in the city .. and if you stay in this city long enough as I have you will feel its heart . The city Kolkata wears its heart on its sleeve like me . You cannot but feel love . Love is free and flowing in this city .. it’s everywhere .. you have to believe in yourself , take that jump and have faith to have that complete immersion .
Trust me ! I am born of this city .. no matter where I travel to , I always come back to touch my heart and its heart . I think I have known this city long years to call it my Heart !
An evening out with my school friends in my city of joy - touching , hugging plenty hearts in the wake .
Never forget the warmth of a hug … it does wonders for the heart , soul , mind and body !


There is a beautiful name to it - it’s called the Petrichor. The smell of first rain on earth !
Couple of days ago I was in New Orleans. And predictably so the weather was hot and muggy … punctuated by spells of thunder and lightning with bursts of rain . As the Mississippi and its muddy waters swelled , flooding its banks and cooling the earth around. That smell that I found there permeating my senses was strangely different .. I found almost an absence of smell. The all too familiar smell that I know when rain hits my land .. here in Kolkata was missing …
I wonder is Petrichor limited to one’s own geography.. a geography one is familiar with .. a geography that ties one almost like an umbilical cord to one’s own . Because , this is my land and always no matter where I go .. in my heart , it will be so …
There is no right or wrong answer to this I know .. perhaps it’s my senses .. maybe I was wearing too much perfume in New Orleans or was too absorbed in taking in the details of a new land that Petrichor failed to work its magic on me .
Whatever it is , I am in Kolkata .. my air conditioning that has been working overtime .. can finally take a bit of rest as the temperature has cooled and I can happily fall asleep in the wee hours of the morning smelling the cool scents of the first rains for me in Kolkata !

New Orleans ! With NOLA is like being in a relationship. And like any relationship there is always …this love and hate equation . Whatever it is there is no going around the fact that this city is like any other .
It’s bold , colorful .. dramatic and ostentatious ( in very many degrees ! ) but the reaction I have with this city is enough to create myriad visuals of pure poetry in my mind .
New Orleans … gets to you .. sooner than you think . Because…the Mississippi doesn’t flood its bank for no reason . The river echoes the full bodied passion not just in the music of blues and jazz but also in the temperature and temperament of its folks . Where else would you find tourists flocking to see the cemeteries with such vigor but in this city !!!

As for me, my base has always been Kolkata and I took a days flight from New Orleans, with a break in Turkey

Umm Khulthum, Nile Cruise and Uber :

I saw this picture of Umm Khulthum from a hanged B/W portrait in our Historia Nile Cruise ship room .. there was something about the way the lady carried herself in the picture speaked about her celebrity status . On googling I found she was the most famous Egyptian singer .. somebody who.. still now in Egypt ,is considered to be a legend . Googled more and on YouTube found her .. I was mesmerized by her voice .. there was something about her voice , irrespective of the language barrier , hauntingly melodious and alive that captivated my senses in every way . This was while passing through Egypt when I found Umm Khulthum.
My Uber driver was Egyptian and guess who he was listening to ! He was as happy to find a person far away from his homeland listening to somebody he considers as a legend .. and in his words the fourth Pyramid of Egypt !
This is life and this is also what I love about life … somehow we are all alike .. besides obvious ethnicity, geographies, our hearts often beat to the music of the same drum !



I love things .. random things off random places .. even things that I have come across in paintings . I was in middle school and art was one the subjects that I was passionately in love with . Though there were art lessons in school and our art teacher being the most timidest of humans decided we were better off learning art on our own . Which looking back … I felt was quite the best thing she could do .. Art classes were fun , as we dabbled in paintings , colors and crafts we talked a whole lot .. movies , places , films , boys and off course rock stars . Our universe was not limited to any confines and it was here I did most of my dreaming ..
But , Art lessons in my house was different .. my art tutor being quite a celebrated artist decidedly knew that I had to know techniques, history of art and the great masters . It was then I had my first encounter with Monet and one of his most celebrated painting -Woman with a Parasol . I simply loved this painting .. the translucent sensuality of Monet’s style even in the thick brush strokes that defined the Impressionist style made quite an impact with me .
My Art master ..to induct me into learning various techniques had me copy that great work . I remember being nervous and edgy but when you are young .. you are most impressionable..nothing matters much !you learn to let go of your inhibitions and limitations and plunge right in .
I finally finished the work and .. though it cannot be anyway near, as it can’t be .. cause there can only be one Claude Monet ! But .. my cousin who had quite an eye for art and art objects purchased the painting! It was the first I would sell of my art work .. though I was happy to give it as a present he insisted on paying for the work . Well what can I say .. even cheaper copies of Monet still sell as well as the original themselves !!!
Yes coming back to Agrigento.. years later I find myself in the Sun soaked land of Sicily among the almond , olive trees and Hellenic ruins .. I found the Sun so hot that a refuge in the nearby tourist shop let me to find the very same object I was looking for since a very long time ago .. a Parasol .. the Parasol in Monet ‘s painting .. the one I had painted years back !
Happy with my purchase and equally happy to be off again in the Sun I charged myself on exploring the beautiful ruins and posing in very many pictures .
The beautiful cascading Marl cliffs of Scala dei Turki made an excellent backdrop for me with my treasured Parasol ! What are we humans … if we cannot hold on to our memories and Parasol !






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