Rest in Peace, Doctor Subrata Maitra!

Rest in Peace, Doctor Subrata Maitra!

You were one of those whom my father trusted completely since his first episode of hospitalization in February 2010 from pneumonia. Once he got cured by you, he developed a habit of trusting you with every kind of problem, be it Chest-related (your area of specialization) or not, over the following years.

I have seen the affection that you have had for our entire family, especially my brother, whom you almost considered your nephew. It had been a pain-stricken journey for you since the tumor and the cancer started growing in the brain around November 2014 or prior to that.

During my father's prolonged hospitalization in last year April, you have visited his room a number of times, leaving the decision-making and treatment plans to your team members, as you stayed away from critical decisions. I remember having risen from my seat in the waiting lounge whenever I have found you coming and you always assuring with the warmest empathy.

You came to see Baba on June 19, 2015, when we had taken him for a checkup at Belle Vue. Later on, you again ran into us when we were taking him for an eye examination. You touched him and made a gesture of a pronaam, saying, "aamar katodin-er chena maanush". Baba passed away the next morning. And you passed away this afternoon, giving in to cancer, that you have been fighting over the last 1.4 years or so. We, gradually, losing a generation of people who were affectionate towards us, who gave us the warmest of hugs on the toughest of days, seeing whom we stood respectfully, people who could be relied upon. Today, I am flooded with a deluge of memories most of which include my father, as you were his most trusted doctor, till the time he knew what to think.

There is a drawer full of small colorful envelopes in my room, envelopes that I am yet to throw out. One of those says, "With Best Wishes - Dr. Subrata Maitra". I remember the moment you gave me that and the token of blessings that was in there.

Rest in Peace, Dr. Maitra! You were family to us, and today I feel the pain of losing a family member. I am glad that my brother could visit you to pay his respect before the last rites. He owed you this. The many scenes of you hugging him affectionately getting replayed in my mind. heart emoticon

I know who would be the Happiest to have you up there!

only the Movie remains the same

A FB post written 2 years back:

Its strange how the walls of the room, the bed and the one with whom you have previously watched a movie change when you re-watch that movie after a couple of years.. everything changes, life changes, the movie remains the same bearing memories of the chitchats that accompanied the previous watch.. Nargis Fakhri's "Welcome to Prague" followed by a "welcome to where?" .. Rockstar...

that evening with SIddharth

Yeah, it indeed was a very special evening.. very memorable.. I remember every bit of it, even today .. do not change yourself, ever, Siddharth Banerjee heart emoticon..

I remember a very worried Baba waiting for me at home.. He started typing a sms to my brother, the moment I reached home heart emoticon My Baba!

two years back: March 9, 2014:

HAPPINESS.. is meeting the simple, down-to-earth, non-judgmental, unassuming

, 

unpretentious Siddharth Banerjee, roaming through New Market, shopping like a breeze,

having phuchka and fruit juice, shopping more, chatting thru' long taxi rides..and almost 

returning to childhood (aptly described by Mona)..well, I guess it was such a fun evening only 

because both of us keep matters simple and hate complications..we dont judge people by 

the 

dresses we wear, way we look, or brands we flaunt.. We dont need to speak much and still 

touch the right chords.. Thanks for the lovely evening, dear Bro.. will always remember this 

one.. i guess the fact that there was no one else to look at and judge me was my biggest 

comfort factor.

Visiting Banlu Pisi.. Creating Memories.. Jethu's 2016 Visit - March 4

Ma insisted that I must inform Banlu-Pisi about Jethu's visit. She said, had Baba been here, he would have taken Jethu to meet Banlu-pisi, without fail. I agreed. Mago, Jethu's mother, and Fu-Thamma, Banlu-pisi's mother were twins. Bani-Rani - they were called. I tried to imagine the kind of genes and stories they shared among themselves, and felt intrigued.

Jethu and I visited Banlu-Pisi's place at Neelachal Abasan, which is just a 10-minute drive away from our place. Banlu-Pisi was right when she said that had Thamma been alive, she would have been a regular visitor to this place, as she used to frequently visit her Tivoli Court and Jodhpur Park houses.

We spent a wonderful time at Banlu-Pisi's, Jethu getting to interact properly with Pisemoshai for the first time ever. So many stories, anecdotes, and pieces of history got mentioned and I found it engrossing. I have always been quite an introvert before Banlu-Pisi, but that day I surprised myself as I asked her questions and chipped in with stories that I knew or remembered.

It was a heartwarming session and it will stay with me. I am thankful that I got to spend this time with all of them, and with Jethu. Banlu-Pisi and Pisemoshai are eager to visit 33/2 Beadon Street, Bholanath Dham, Beadon Street some time soon and I said I would go with them as I feel familiar to the place after having visited it with Jethu and Anjoli in 2014. :)smile emoticon

Once we were back home, Jethu dozed off. I gave him a head massage and felt grateful to life for presenting me with these opportunities. Sometimes giving a massage is as satisfying as receiving one.  heart emoticon

Soon after lunch, it was time for Jethu to leave. Still he made it a point to give me that wonderful shoulder massage which he repeated yesterday as well when he came down for just a few minutes.

He is leaving tomorrow. And I am missing him already. In fact, since yesterday morning, I am fighting my pangs of depression :( frown emoticon

Love you, Jethu! 

Re-living the Excitements of Jethu's First Visit - Shopping with Jethu - Jethu's 2016 Visit, March 2

Jethu was supposed to reach our house around 11 am today and I was getting ready in a hurry. The maid, enjoying her Darjeeling trip, has ensured that my morning disappears in a jiffy, washing clothes and sweeping floors.

When I came downstairs, I found Jethu sitting on Baba's sofa with his legs stretched on to the centre table just like Baba used to sit. Then I looked at his face and saw that he has dozed off. This was exactly the same way Baba used to doze off, sitting at the same place, while he waited for Ma and I to get ready before we went out to some place.

A few seconds later, Jethu opened his eyes and said he liked the way I looked. I asked him, "Do I look like a hippie?" And he said, "No, you look perfectly normal". tongue emoticon .. Before Ma got ready and came downstairs, Jethu had again dozed off a couple of times and I heard Ma guessing from upstairs, "Chhorda ki ghumiye porlo?" See, we are used to the men catching a few winks while we get ready (although I take just 5 minutes after my shower gets over :P)!

When we reached Gariahat Market, our first stop was the Manoranjan Hosiery, my father's favorite hosiery store. He bought all his vests, lungis and undergarments from here and the prices of some of the mercerized cotton lungis and vests (due to their awesome quality and comfort factors) would shock us. Years back, Baba had brought Jethu to this shop where Jethu had begun his ritual of buying stacks of vests and lungis on each of his visits. Today, as Jethu struggled to remember the names of the brands that Baba made Jethu buy, Ma and I supplied the names that had been so familiar to us, courtesy Baba's obsession with buying these. (Even today, there are a few unopened packets in Baba's wardrobe that contains brand new socks and vests.)

Ah! The joy of accompanying Jethu while he shops! There is absolutely no joy in this world that can compete with it! For the next 45 minutes or so, in that hosiery shop, I re-lived my childhood. I was thrown back to 1986 when I had first experienced how Jethu shops and how wonderful it is to be with him! I was soaking in every moment, realizing what Baba used to enjoy and what Thamma used to get annoyed with smile emoticon ! Ma referred to Baba, saying, "He used to by all these brands. He was very particular about the things he wore.". Jethu replied, "HE was the one who had brought me here!". The shop-owner, recognizing Jethu from all his previous visits, kept showing things untiringly while various sizes of various things got chosen.

From Manoranjan to the Steel Utensils shop, to Haldiram food city (where we had an awesome lunch), to New Barnali (our new discovery, courtesy Ma's craft) (where Jethu bought various kinds of beads for the excellent jewelry-maker Joya-didi), to the Batik shop (where various sizes of a large number of Batik Kurtis were bought), to the Palazzo Shop, we had a wonderful time. Worried as Jethu and I were for Ma's health and knees, Ma, touch wood, was in good mood and surprised us. This has always been the magic of Jethu, on Ma, on all of us.

It was a wonderful afternoon, seeing Ma smiling and talking, seeing Jethu in his usual shopaholic self, watching Jethu enjoy the lunch, being with Jethu, re-living the childhood excitements, having the rare feeling of being guarded by two guardians (their eyes always looking for me whenever I was away for a while), feeling happy, satisfied, warm, and content. Jethu said, he does the easiest job, that of paying the money, as we do the difficult job of choosing things. I, on the other hand, pointed out that we get to enjoy all the benefits of retail therapy without having to pay a pennywink emoticon

Jethu has already thanked us (I don't know why??!) twice for today, while he dropped us home and just some time back over the phone. And I take this opportunity to thank HIM for what he has already so rightly described as a truly "spectacular" day.

I was unhappy during Jethu's 2014 trip as I had been unable to accompany him on most of his shopping expeditions. I never knew that I would get compensated with today! smile emoticon Immensely thankful for today, as we always should be.

Jethu you are special, and you must take care of yourself. So, NO Sweets from tonight! Both Joya-didi and I insist!