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Kashi 3.0

Memory is unpredictable . One never really knows what we will remember and what we will forget. Which is why nostalgia arrives in unpredictable waves, highlighting something and skimming over others. Recently, I have found myself thinking of how memory works, as I was assailed by nostalgia over a trip to Varanasi, a city I prefer to think of, as Kashi. The nostalgia hit right as we landed at Varanasi airport. The last time I was here, it was 1988, I was 13 years old, the airport was brand new… regular flights hadn’t started yet (I think) … flights landed about once a week, and for the rest of the time, everything was open to those of us who lived in the airport quarters nearby. There were fields everywhere, vast expanses of green… I have vague memories of corn and sugarcane… and being overwhelmed by the vastness of the fields (this was the first time I was in such close proximity to them), and the warm hospitality of complete strangers who lived and worked amidst these fields. I h...
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Faces in the Crowd - Budding Cricketer

Cricket is probably the most-played game in India, and the game which brings out all the emotions in us! Even as I write this, there is a match in progress on the ground outside our house, and the screams and shouts gives me a running commentary even though the regular commentator doesn't seem to have arrived. The sounds tempt the hubby who hurries to the window to see who it is who has hit a six... in a short while, I know that he will give in  and go join the crowd, and if possible, a bunch of friends will get together and start a game of their own. Which is why, this is today's pic for Faces in the Crowd....





This was a small kid we saw somewhere in Kashmir, at one of the shops which lined the road, selling cricket bats. He was the son of the owner, and was learning how to hold the bat.... Need I mention how excited Samhith was? He wanted to buy a cricket bat too, never mind that we already had two at home! It was a pity that we had to pry him away from the shop, though the kid would surely have loved a companion to play cricket with! 

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