Days in Kolkata

So much to add, yet so lazy to write.. :P

It's almost 6 days in Kol, and I'm yet to meet my classmates. Going on small recap for the last few days.
Day I
Landed at 2:30 in the afternoon, waited for around half an hour so that Pops and Mom would pick me up. Came home, met Kaku(Sultan uncle) and family. Kusum seems to have grown up so much. BTW, she was unable to recognize me, thanks to the "not-so-wonderful" mustache that I had grown over the last 2 weeks. Anyways, had to shave it off because of Mom's wish. Went to Church for the pre-Christmas services. Adding to all this, it was damn cold when I landed. People were saying 24th was the coldest day of the week till now.. :(. So attended a service in Church after, I think, 3 or 4 months. Oh yes, at church, I fell asleep standing twice or thrice. Came back to senses when I was like gonna fall. The "kick", as they said in Inception. Now what could I do, when you get up at 4 in the morning and catch only a few naps in the flight. Came back home and had to sleep early for the next day. ;)
Day II
Mom woke me up at 4 again. But then, when was I gonna straighten up. Got up from bed at 4:30 and then a hurried bath. Freezing temperatures and I get to pour cold water on my face. Anyways, Mom to the rescue. She made some hot water for the bath. Oh yes, I was finally able to breathe out "smoke", like in the old school days. So after the "quick" bath, got dressed and went to church with mom, dad and sis. Ya, even my Bhootni is in town for the Christmas holidays. Attended the service with a few "kicks" in between/ Had to meet up Achan. He's related from my Mom's side, as if there was any dearth of religious officials in the family. Came back home, had breakfast and then straight to bed. Aaah, missing those moments already. When we used to come from Church, have lunch and then straight to bed. Waking up to watch F1 races on the TV. Screech, reality check.. Woke up at around 5pm, almost 8 hours of sleep in the afternoon, no wonder I never knew how 25th passed away so quick. Anyways, Mom was ready with chicken and roti for dinner. Speaking of Christmas dinner, the wine bottle that I bought is still unopened. Hoping to open it before the year end.
Day III
Monday was the day for shopping. Mom was already geared up to finish up all the shopping before hand this time. She made sure that all our shopping lists were ready before we left. Bought slippers for Mom, Dad, Bhootni and me. Also, wallet for Sundar and myself. Another thing in mind was Bhootni's new cell. Her cell was stolen on her birthday. Poor thing, went for writing exam and by the time,she was back, someone had stolen her cell. Got her a new cell, Nokia C2-03, and also one for Pops, Samsung (not sure of the model). That was real unexpected for me, buying Dad a mobile. Anyways, bought all those stuff and came to Khidderpore. Dad had another plan in mind. A family photo for all time sake. So we were off in different directions, me and dad for buying paneer while mom and bhootni went off for buying other stuff. Met up in front of studio, then the photo session. After that, bought a parcel of veg chow for the whole family and then back to home, sweet home.
Day IV
Dad was supposed to get Bhootni's DD on 2nd. Made him go to the bank on Tuesday itself. Was a blessing in disguise, as the bank is supposedly on strike for 2nd Jan. Anyways, made our, Me and Dad, to Dad's office area. The banks are all situated there, wishing that no one from office saw Dad roaming there. Dad's on a 2 month hiatus. He met a small accident at church, burnt a bit of his skin in boiling water just for fun. Anyways, he's got a variable BP now, thanks to that accident. :P A cholestrol check shows his count to be on the higher side. Seems like masti ke din are over for Pops. He's stopped smoking, something good finally. So since he supposed to be at home, recovering, a sighting would be so disasterous. So somehow, we managed to navigate thru those streets and get the things done until we were ready to go home. Met one of the office staff on our way out of the place. :P Now that's too good a luck but then, people understand and so dad's safe for now. Came back home after having some veg chow for lunch. BTW, Dad's not allowed to have oily food and so this is the last time he's gonna have that with me around.
Day V
Mom and Dad came up with the wonderful idea of going to Bandel church. It seems like a routine now, to visit Bandel Church when I'm in town. So another early morning rising, by my standards, at 8. Another round of quick freshening up and then off to station for catching the Bandel local. Thankfully, the train was 10 mins late and so we didn't have to wait much. Reached Bandel, caught an auto to the church and reached in 10 mins. The sight was shocking as the place was overrun with people, far more than I ever expected. Some of them seemed to be out for tour, busy posing and snapping up pictures. Even I was gonna snap up a few pictures, but seeing this, I gave up. Next in line was to buy candles. Mom, Dad and Bhootni went inside the room where candles were being sold while I stood outside. Watched so many people moving in and out that I was starting to wonder if this was the wrong place. Because, the last time I was here, there were roughly 50 people in the whole premises. The atmosphere, back then, was so calm and conducive to praying. All the present hustle bustle left my mood all F&@*@#^ up. I was now going thru the motions with Mom and Dad. Lighted candles. said a silent prayer and moved on to the next place. Felt so "dhongi" type, that I am unable to explain the crawling in my skin. Somehow, I lasted thru the whole exercise without shouting "WTF" out loud. Even had our lunch just ouside the church compound, as in every trip we made for the past 20 years, i think. Came back home and then went to Smitha chechi's house. Her Dad's ex-military, so we buy food stuffs thru him. Landed at their place at 7:30, i think, and had a long chat, or should I say Dad had a long chat. Till mom called on my cell, at around 8:30. On the way back home, picked up 3 packets of veg chow, for mom, bhootni and me. Oh, don't worry, that was just a gap filler. I had a few more chappattis after that for dinner.. :P
Day VI
Woke up late today as there wasn't much planned. However, Mom had to go to church as part of her responsilibities. She is supposed to help with the Church dispensary for today and tomorrow. And then, me and dad went to BSNL office to get the EVDO card. It was quite a hassle, believe me. Spent around 3 hours for a job that would have taken only 1 hour at the most. On top of that, the first card they gave had "FAULTY" written on top of it. Had to show it specifically to get it replaced. WTF. Anyways, got it replaced and came back home. Dad had to go for checkup for his variable BP and so Mom and Dad left for the doctor's place. Meanwhile, after lunch, i went upstairs to relive a few memories. Met a few old friends and came back downstairs. And finally, this entry happened..

This is Jo signing off,
Adios.