Season’s musings
I am a sheet-kature and for that reason, I don’t like the winter season much.
The monkey cap becomes part and parcel of my life almost throughout this season every year, much like many other sheet-kature Bengalis. Even now, as I write out this response, I am wearing a monkey cap on my head.
But on the other hand, being a foodie, I eagerly wait for this season. Currently, I am eating Joynagorer Moa, Gurer Rosogolla, Gurer Sandesh etc. each and every day.
These tasty sweetmeats are only available in winter and so I shall continue relishing them for my lunch and dinner till they vanish from the neighbourhood sweet shops.
I am also taking interesting photographs of this season as I enjoy clicking pictures. I have already captured some wonderful moments of winter this year and plan to send them to The Telegraph Salt Lake’s Click Your Township column.
I had also been counting the days for two winter festivals close to my heart —— Poush Parbon and International Kolkata Book Fair. But what I am really missing is Bidhannagar Mela (Utsav). I love attending the fair at Central Park but this year too the event is not being held due to the pandemic.
Sourish Misra, 41 years, Sarat Abasan
Frozen canvas
Aarav Agarwal, 11 years, EC Block
Mohua Sen Dasgupta, 54 years, BF Block
Vasundhara Biswas, 9 years, FD Block
Craft corner: Project carpet
A big story is hidden underneath this big carpet. I joined Jalpaiguri Government Girls’ School as a physics teacher in 1981. We, the unmarried teachers, stayed at the school quarters. In 1983, Mitali Kundu joined as a Sanskrit teacher. She would retire as head mistress of Bethune Collegiate School. In the evening, we used to pass time stitching. We decided to stitch something unique. But what could be done? It took long two years to decide. Finally in 1985, we purchased a big piece of jute cloth and selected the design from a craft book.
Accordingly we bought wool yarn of different colours. With great enthusiasm, we started stitching every evening. It was a cross-stitch work. There was a competition about who could stitch more. But within a few days my transfer order came — I was transferred to Ballygunge Government School. Our dream project was sent to the cold storage. When I came to Calcutta, the jute cloth and the balls of wool were packed in a big bag and left in the store room. Soon I got married, was blessed with a daughter and became busy with my family.
In 2001, my father passed away. Later his house was sold and that bag was shifted to my store room. My mother and daughter tried to inspire me to complete the carpet. But they failed. When my daughter grew up, she told me: “You could not complete the stuff before your marriage, at least finish it off before my marriage so that this may be a nice item for my tatwa.” That emotional blackmail also did not work.
At last, coronavirus confined us at home in 2020. I took the bag out and started stitching again. The progress was very slow — it was just a timepass. When my daughter became pregnant, she told me: “Mom, this is your last motivation. You think over it.” Now it worked. I completed the carpet, all the cross-stitch work and all. Then I took three sari falls to make a border on its four sides. By December 2021, everything was completed and I gifted the carpet to my grandson on the occasion of his Naming Ceremony!
Rita Das, 68 years, BE Block