Age and Friends of All Ages

 I am quite amazed that I have friends of all ages. I am 65 as of now (early 2026).

I am able to connect with toddlers I have met without them throwing a fit, mostly. The slightly older kids I can have some conversation with, if they want to have one- I did with a kid about books, recently. Amazing, ain't it?

Of course, twenty-somethings and thirty somethings are usually my students from a faraway time zone, but to their credit, they do talk to me still- both online and offline. Not sure why, but they do. Of course, I try to engage online through DP awards, commenting on their posts, or forwarding memories from the time when everyone was on Facebook. Now, they are divided between FB, Insta and Linkedin, as I am not on X.

Some share success stories of their lives/careers, some just comment regularly with some witty answers to silly questions I pose, etc. And best of all, some make an effort to meet up with me when I suggest it, on a visit to their city. For example, Pratima Gaikwad and I have met several times in Hyderabad now. And Abha in Mumbai and Delhi. And Sheetal too, in Pune and Mumbai.. Shafique in Indore, and Bangalore. You get the drift.

Will also meet two young people, and their spouses in Bangalore soon. 

And that is what makes life beautiful.. in 2026 too, it should.

Long Winter and Flowers

Did not imagine Kolkata would have such a long winter, but it does. Temperatures at night are down to 12-13 for a month now. Anyway, some outings and innings (used for a look in-house) showed  some good sights, and pleasant temperatures in the daytime helped.

Shakti Samanta

 He was a director whose film launched Rajesh Khanna and Kishore Kumar around 1969. I saw the film and was captivated. By the hero and the music. Every song is a work of genius. 

Then came Amar Prem and Kati Patang, again with Rajesh Khanna and music by RD Burman. The songs were truly Amar- Chingari koi bhadke, Kuchh to log kahenge in Amar Prem, and Pyar deewana hota hai and Ye shaam mastani, (from whose second line this blog got its name).

Before that, Shammi Kapoor starrers An Evening in Paris, and Kashmir ki Kali were also great for their songs and picturisation, as was Howrah Bridge- Mera naam Chin chin choo was my favourite from that film.

What I Ate With Whom

 I distinctly remember Khao Suey with Savitha in Indiranagar.. first time I had it.

Vietnamese food in Indiranagar again, with Shweta Sinha.

Dosa with Shweta Agarwal in C.P.

Chinese with Meghna Sinha at Yuawatcha, BKC.

Chai and something with Nikita Ray, in C.P.

Wine with Padmapriya and Jasmine at their place in Delhi.

Pizza rolls, with Bhuvneet Raheja in The Big Chill at C.P. in Delhi

Kuremal Kulfi with Prachi Jain

Nishka Rathi and Vikram.. biryani. Ashutosh too. In Mumbai.

Veg a la Kiev with Akansh at Olypub, Kolkata

Remember I had a cake with Siri, Tosha and Abha at Grandmama's Cafe in Phoenix Mall, Mumbai, after dinner- it was close to my birthday.

Coffee with Sheetal and hubby Kausshal at a CCD on Marine Drive, near Churchgate. After a pizza at Pizza by The Bay with her!

Suleimani chai with Shatakshi and Varun, at a terrace cafe on M.G. Road Bangalore.

Biryani at Paradise in Bangalore, with Pallavi Bajpai. 

Biryani and Irani chai with Pratima Gaikwad at Nawab's Hyderabad a few times.

Chai with Anushka Mishra at Church Street. After a round of bookstores.

Fish and Chips with Suhasini Barman, my new friend in Kolkata, at Cha Bar, Oxford Bookstore.

Coffee with Ananya Ghosh, another new friend in Kolkata, at CC 2. 

A drink at Lord of the Drinks with Pratishtha Batra, global citizen.

Likewise, with Nidhi Kanungo at Sheraton Indore. 

A drink with Kedar Muley and team at The Irish House in a Thane mall.

Chhota samosa and chai with Jogeswari at the Golftripz office.

Wine with Vrinda Khanna and her Dad, at her place.

Lunch with Rimjhim at her place in Bangalore.

Lunch with Vandana at NMIMS campus. 

Coffee with Archana Singh, friend from childhood, at Bangalore Club. 

Siri Adi and her Dad. Coffee he made at home, at Kharghar.

Bengali meal at Ananya Nandi De's place, NOIDA. With her husband Raka and son Hrishit.

Poonam Bhatia's place in Mumbai, drinks with her husband Ashwani and dinner. Shraddha Nigdikar was also there. 

Drink with Bhagyalakshmi and Venkat at TOIT, Pune recently.

Dinner with Shraddha and her parents in Dadar, her place at the time.

Lunch with Anshita, husband, Gowri and Sreeram, Ishita and Anurag, Aashish and Anusha, Rupam Verma at Orchid, Bangalore. (pic below)

Mexican food at Taco Bell with Jaya Dulani at C.P., Delhi

Essex Farms restaurant, lunch with Sharmistha Singh and Sunil Kataria, near IIT Delhi

Surbhi Mehta Chadha and hubby, Cha Bar in CP.. sandwich and chai.

Pizza with Abha at Nehru Place.

Lunch with Kanika Mhendiratta at India Habitat Centre, our first meeting.

Divya Singh, coffee in her office building, Sikandarpur. Our last meeting. In Vashi earlier, Burger and Pizza.

Kolkata Litfest With Shobhaa De

 And Jerry Pinto also. He was the day's highlight for me. Spoke about Palliative Care, and the book he has written about it. Shobhaa De was also good- candid, at 78 years, and promoting The Sensual Self in all of us.. that's her book, by the way, which I got an autographed copy of!

Manish Gaekwad spoke about his Mom, who was a courtesan- Umrao Jaan type- in Kolkata's Bowbazar. From Pune originally.

Soumitra Chatterjee dominated the session, his daughter was here -on the left.

Audience-- nail-biting stuff?

Hum dono.. Dash and I had gone to this fest.

Park Hotel, book cover awards.. guess the celebs.. one looked like Sri Sri!

Cameras aimed at them, below.

Bachi Karkaria, whose columns in TOI are pun-filled!

Litfest in Kolkata Jan 2026

 Went to Alipore Museum -a former jail- for this festival. Great experience listening to academics from US, authors from France and India, and activists who have also written books. Anita Nair, who was at the Bangalore launch of Hari's (my BIL) book, was also on one panel.

France is not very advanced on the female abuse front, according to a participant who was from rural France- Basque country. Now, the law is catching up and the terminology is changing to suit crimes against women. Violence against women was the subject the panel were discussing.

Another session featured Brinda Karat, and Subhashini Ali, both from the CPIM, but with different stories. Both spoke very passionately, and one surprise was to find out that Capt. Laxmi Sehgal who worked closely with Netaji Bose is Subhashini's mom.

The panel featuring Subhashini Ali..

Anita Nair in a panel-above

Subhashini Ali above, and Brinda Karat.

Gallows humour- last pic.

Jab We Met- Story of a Wedding

 This is about my wedding. I was a Ph.D. student in the U.S., and wanted to marry. So we decided on a visit to Pune, to advertise in a magazine- Rohini. This was dedicated to matrimonials, mostly. And in Marathi. So we wrote out an ad for a potential partner for me and published it in the mag. 

In the meantime, also looked at ads from girls who wanted grooms. One or two were shortlisted with help from my aunt in whose house we were staying. So happened that we visited my wife-to-be and her parents for a cup of tea, after answering an ad. That was in Nagar Road, some distance away. I went for a walk with Anu to the Aga Khan Palace opposite their place. We chatted, and decided on a next 'date' for lunch in the Camp area. And I popped the question, and got a yes. 

We came back, and announced our decision. That led to a frenzy. We got engaged, got married and got her a visa to go back with me! All in a space of two months, maybe a bit more. 

It helped that her Mom was a doctor like mine, and they also got along. We also had a common friend, Abhay Temurnikar, who knew my parents as his parents had worked in the same company in Andhra Pradesh.

All's well that ends well.. or goes on .. this wedding was in 1988. At her place in Pune.