sanchaliscribbles

Painting by Jacob Lawrence The Covid 19 situation in India has not only exposed the faulty health system in the country, but also the condition of the labour force. The thousands of workers walking in the scorching heat are all invisible to the government. Not to mention, there are many social media posts, tweets blaming the workers for leaving their work place during lockdown, almost criminalizing them for being poor. It is easy to say these, especially when we have a roof over our head, and food on the table. And those sharing their "migrant stories" with the "metoomigrant" hashtag, mustn't forget to add the word 'privileged'. Or, they could just stop their free flow of ignorance in a time like this.  Remembering a few lines from  Auden’s  Refugee Blues  written in 1939.  Say this city has ten million souls, Some are living in mansions, some are living in holes: Yet there's no place for us, my dear, yet there's no place for us. Once we had ...

People often describe Budapest as “the Paris of the East”, but I beg to differ. It holds a special place in its own right, and needs no comparison. I visited the city in January 2020. My purpose for visiting the Hungarian capital was primarily academic. But when you get to be in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, how can you miss exploring its beauty! I haven’t read much of Hungarian literature, but ever since I read Magda Szabó’s The Door , and Abigail I have wanted to visit the country. Both the books, like any other good book evoke a sense of curiosity to know more about the place and its people. Which is why, upon receiving the invitation from ELTE University, I did not think twice before accepting it. I only had two days in the city, but I’m not complaining. I tried to make the most of it! My train journey to Budapest started from Passau in Germany, with a seven hour wait at Wien Meidling railway station in the middle of the night. All those hours in Vienna, and I was...

Photo from Facebook I take the social media very seriously. For those who post sexist, misogynist, homophobic, transphobic, racist, classist memes, jokes, "opinions" on their walls are only exposing themselves as ignorant air heads. It is "not just Facebook", it is also a reflection of who you are, what you think, and how you perceive the world and its people around you. Sexism and misogyny have found a stable place to function more productively- in memes. Memes or sexist "humour", as many would call it these days. But calling these memes "humour" only goes on to normalize and trivialize it even more. As if there is dearth of it in our lives already! For those who don't understand Bengali- the picture below reads "you worship Maa Kali who is dark, yet you look for fair skinned girls when it is time to marry", to which someone comments "you worship Shiva who is an alcoholic, Krishna who is a Casanova, yet look for a ...

১ ভারত ভাগের পরে ১৯৪৭লের অক্টোবরের আট তারিখ কলকাতা চলে আসি। দাদা প্রয়াত ডাক্তার অশোক চৌধুরী ছেচল্লিশ সালেই কলকাতা সায়েন্স কলেজে এম এস সি ক্লাশে ভর্তি হয় । Great Calcutta Killings -এর  সময় মুসলিম জনগণ অধ্যূষিত অঞ্চলে  নিরাপদেই ক্লাশ করতেন ।   আমি এসে সিটি কলেজ ভর্তি হই । তারপরে ১৯৫০ সালে বাবা, মা ও ছোট দুই ভাই অরূণ ও অজয়কে নিয়ে কলকাতা চলে আসি । স্থানীয় লোকেদের অনুরোধ উপরোধে বাবা আসতে পারেননি । বাবা খুব জনপ্রিয় চিকিৎসক  ছিলেন । ১৯৫২ সালে আমার ঠিক পরের ভাই ঢাকা বোর্ড থেকে ম্যাট্রিকূলেশন পাশ করার পর নিজের  দের বিঘা জমিতে তৈরি বাড়ি ঘর ছেড়ে  কলকাতা চলে আসেন স্থানীয় জনগণের অনুরোধ উপরোধ সত্বেও । ২ কথা ছিল বাবা আমাদের কলকাতায় পৌঁছে দিয়ে বেরা (বাংলাদেশ) ফিরে যাবেন । উল্লাপারা স্টেশন প্রচণ্ড ভীর । কোনরকমে ট্রেনে উঠি । ঈশ্বরদি স্টেশন সেখান থেকে দারজিলিং মেল ধরে আমাদের  শিয়ালদহ যাওয়ার কথা  সেখানে নেমে দেখা গেল মায়ের  সেমিজের  পকেটে রাখা পোস্ট অফিস থেকে তোলা বাবার সারা জীবনের সঞ্চিত টাকা উধাও হয়ে  গেছে! বাবার চোখ দিয়ে  ঝরঝ...