Back In Kolkata

We have not been back to Kolkata for more than two years. Not since before COVID. I was worried that the place would feel strange or distant, or that I would struggle in an attempt to recreate a feeling that I had in the past.

But it is not that way. Of course, this part of the world moves at a different tempo than where I am from. Its rhythms, sounds, food, smells and words are different. Even the light is different. But it is comfortable and friendly, and the people are generous once you get past the big-city anonymity and prickle.

​Above all, it has been profound to reconnect with friends whom I have not seen in years, separated by thousands of miles and closed borders. And new friends whom I am meeting face-to-face for the first time after countless hours staring at their likeness on a computer screen. 

Our Bengali is passable. It has been exciting, exhausting and humbling to stumble through interactions with the vocabulary and grammar of a child. I am in awe of all these people who function in three different languages everyday. The city is layered with proclamations in Bengali, Hindi and English. 

Finally, to paraphrase what I would say in Bengali: In leaving, sadness comes.