Letters To Koko

 Hi Koko,  There is so much war talk going on that I thought I had to break it up. Forget about you, I am getting anxious. There are WhatsApp articles on how to prepare for an eventuality like a nuclear explosion in your area for crying out loud! So I thought it would be a good idea to look at your new books. We gathered around all your books, reading through to see what we will learn this year. History seems interesting with India's Freedom Movement being in the syllabus. It is important now more than ever to get your facts straight. Maths has some new Geometry concepts that we will enjoy. But it was of course one poem by William Wordsworth that caught my eye. I read it after years and it resonated just as it had the first time, so I thought it would be an interesting social experiment to see how you interpret it, and here is how you explained the poem to me: I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o'er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of gold...

 Hi Koko,  I told you about our second day's experience in the last post . On the third day we were going to the Van Gogh museum , which was honestly the one thing that I was super excited about. You not so much, because - how many museums are we going to see Ma! :(  I mean look at that people pleasing smile of yours - I know it very well, it seems to convey - Ok, I'm here, but I'd much rather be somewhere else. And the museum junkie that I (& your father) am, I wanted to know about everything at the museum so I took up the audio guide. But somehow, within the time that we stepped in and we were at this first painting (The Potato eaters), something happened. Suddenly there was a shift, till now you have seen paintings of kings and queens, in their livery and luxury, and here was someone painting some ordinary people during a very ordinary mealtime. Absolute kudos to the wonderful storytelling and the thrill of finding different paintings on different walls. Suddenly c...

 Hi Koko,  It is no secret that I love Agatha Christie. If someone says they love reading murder mysteries and in the same breath say they do not like Christie, be very suspicious of them. I remember when I was in my graduation days, the prevalent opinion was to look down upon Christie as "not literature". For a while, I swayed and had not read Christie for some time, because I had the morbid need to "fit in" with the elites. But now as I have grown older (and possibly wiser), I have developed the ability to distinguish bullshit from real knowledge and I have little patience for purists who keep harping on what is acceptable as great and trash literature.  Reading is something I enjoy and if it is entertaining, that's good for me.  The year was 2022 and we were visiting Calcutta, and as it happens we raid the old bookshelves to glean something interesting and I picked up a Bangla favorite, while you cheekily picked up an Agatha Christie. I think it was "And...

Hi Koko, Annual exams are coming and I thought it would be a great idea to sit and start revising. As I finally open your books and have a look at the portions I am surprised, nay, shocked. The chapters are getting serious.  I don’t remember learning directive principles in class four. It definitely came later. But here I was making you read about the constitution of India and our rights and duties. Suddenly, you become serious and ask me, ‘so how old do you have to be to be the prime minister?’ I’m baffled, where is this coming from?  ‘Well when I grow up I will go to the top and clean up everything.’ What do you mean, clean up? ‘Well you know here it says everyone should have a decent living conditions. But that’s not happening. Look at that footpath in Agara junction, the one in front of the temple, those balloon sellers live there. There’s no bathroom, or clean water. They don’t have money, it’s so unfair’ So you’ll clean the footpaths? ‘I’ll get hold of all the villas, br...

Hi Koko, I have not been a good documentarian. Every other day something cute or clever just goes by and I don’t end up noting it down and it gets lost. But this one was hilarious and I thought I will just make a note before I forget!  This weekend we went for a play and in typical play watching fashion I thought of wearing a saree. Ok, that’s not true. It’s just exceptionally hot and I wanted to wear something in cotton. That’s airy. And looks good.  So there I was ready before your Baba. I am standing in the foyer trying to close the right footwear. There will be a fair bit of walking so the heels are out of question. I show you a few Pinterest images and ask what do you think of sneakers or boots with this, And part comes the reply: ‘only 19 year old poor grandmas wear that, you’ll not like it on you’ The fashion pundits have declared anything goes, but my pundit knows I cannot be comfortable in something I don’t understand.  Keep dishing stellar advice.  Love, Ma...

 Dear Koko,  In the last chapter I told you about how we arrived at Amsterdam, so now let's focus on what we did there.  There were a number of things-to-do in Amsterdam (sans the hash browns of course), of which the first thing on our list was the Rijk Museum . As with all our bookings, we always do them in advance, preferably through the museum website. This time was no exception and we got the tickets. I was very excited to see The Girl with the Pearl Earring by Vermeer. It was only when we reached the museum that we found out that the painting has been shifted to another museum in Netherlands, but we did not have enough time to put that in our itinerary now. I was a little bummed for sure, but the museum is so beautiful and so many other wonderful things to offer that I soon forgot this slight heartburn.  Located on Museumstraat (as the name suggests, all major museums are on this street), it was an easy bus ride from our hotel. Boy, was it windy and chilly, we w...