My Childhood in Calcutta.

The year was 1997 and it was summertime. My mom was around that time, busy taking care of the family and taking care of us. My dad was busy too, a breadwinner, and he had no time to chat with us. Luckily, we were happy. I spent a lot of time playing with my siblings, watching a lot of TV, worrying about school tests, and playing loads of games.

At midnight, my older brother would sneak out of his room and get into questionable things. My twin sis and I would pretend to be detectives and "investigate" the going around at home. Once on a weekend, the three of us pretended to be "The Three Investigators". It was a novel, we read growing up. Other than the radio, TV, or books, there was not much to do in Calcutta.

We moved around a lot too, seven houses to be exact. I thought it was very exciting to shift houses. I hated school. Every day I would wait for recess which would mean that half the day was over. The moment the school bell rang, it was time to go home. I was one of the weird dorky kids at school. Not the smart kids who aced all exams, not the outcastes who were anti-social, not the rich snobs, and definitely not the rich mean girls. I didn't really fit in. I still don't.

I did get a chance to go to all the social clubs, Dalhousie Institute, Saturday Club, Bengal Club, Tollygunge Club, and the Rangers Club. You see, life outside of school didn't suck that much. When it is just you, your siblings versus the world, life is not that bad.

I also remember 1997 being the year, Mother Teresa and Princess Diana died. I only saw them on TV. My mom met Mother Teresa in real life and even held hands with her. She did not have the heart to go to her funeral in Calcutta. It was too hard to bear. I was too young at the time to understand geopolitics, government relations, or media for that matter. I was more concerned about whether school was closed on that day.

Growing up in Calcutta during the 90s was indeed magical, now that I think about it. I was immersed completely in literature, finding new books and spending countless hours in the library. Of course, I didn't have friends. I did not feel the need to make any. Books were my world. Having mom's delicious home-cooked meals, coming back home after a tiring day at school, and avoiding homework to watch cartoons on TV, life was much simpler back then.