Stories

When I was applying to colleges, I asked him to write me a letter of recommendation — not as my grandfather, but as the Consul General of...

Every evening, his juice would arrive like clockwork. And like clockwork, he’d send it back. “Not sweet enough,” he’d say, handing it...

When Ma fell seriously ill, we rushed her to the hospital. It was a full-blown emergency — scary, stressful, the works. He was worried...

We all can never forget Ajay Mama ji for his love and the advice, whenever we needed from him. We remain ever indebted to him. 🙏🙏 -...

Today is a great day for all of us. On 27th of May 1939 at Chaibasa , Respected Ma and Babuji got married and beloved Bhaiya was born. ...

I always loved that Dadu coined a private acronym for each grandchild. Because I was his “favourite"-child’s child, mine felt...

Of all the many fond memories I have with Dadu - my favourite is probably when I started talking to him every day in the morning. Our...

I was twenty-one, making my fortnightly trip to see Dadu. Halfway through our usual chat he pointed to the teak cupboard in the corner. ...

Dadu in Chaibasa I was in Dadu’s room in Calcutta, maybe sixteen, when I handed him a letter I’d laid out on the computer — full...

By the time I was old enough to remember, Nanaji had mostly stopped travelling abroad. But once — I think in 2000 or 2001 — he had a work...

Nanaji and I always argued about eating "non-veg." I must’ve been around 7–10 years old and fully convinced that chicken and eggs made...

I would often go to Ek No. for lunch after school, and Nanaji would be in Ma’s room at exactly the time I walked in. One day I asked him,...

I was in class 8 and desperate for a second ear piercing. Mom refused — despite hours of pleading. Eventually we made a bet: if I could...

Till Ma was around, she was such a larger-than-life force in our family that a lot of attention and energy naturally went to her. But...

Zurich, late-1960s. A smart boutique—glass gleaming, silence thick. Dadu walked in, dark-skinned and impeccably dressed, drawn to a...

This happened around 1999. I was in Calcutta during Diwali and had gotten into origami—specifically, making paper airplanes. I’d figured...

Dadu was, let’s just say, emotionally reserved. Expressing affection didn’t come easily to him—it wasn’t how he was raised, and it wasn’t...

Dadu was my get-out-of-jail-free card. I could get anything I wanted from him, and I knew it. But one time, when he was visiting Baroda...

Dadu had a penchant for British candies. They came in circular tins, maybe copper or bronze, filled with hard, bitter, citrusy candies –...

Baroda, 1997. I’m eight, maybe nine, and the only room with an open TV is Dadu’s. He comes home from work around four, when the sun turns...