LIFE AS IT IS

O ne of the greatest pleasures of life is to wake up to sounds of birds. The dawn chorus of wrens, robins, goldfinches, sparrows, and blackbirds usher in the Queen of the seasons. Sunny days, gentle breeze, and azure skies break free from the cocoon of winter to paint the world in all kinds of colours conceivable! The arrival of Spring is first felt in the songs of birds. They are the first thing that tells you that short days and long-cold nights are quickly coming to an end. You can tell from the hummingbirds that start visiting your backyard and the wookpeckers that tap-tap-tap on the branches of beeches and red maples that Earth is about to unlock its treasure chest. From the treasure chest will escape warm weather, soft breeze, yellow daffodils and purple crocuses, richly coloured florets of cherry blossoms, green grasses, and golden bumblebees. At the same time, Mother Nature is all set to don her best garb of green and when she does, it is a sight to behold and remember! The oak...

I t was the summer of 2013, I was strolling along Jamaica's Hillside Avenue and turning my neck every time I was hearing someone utter something in Bangla. It was my first time in Jamaica, a neighbourhood in New York city's borough of Queens, which boasts a large population of Bangladeshi Americans and is considered one of the most ethnically diverse places on the planet.  Jamaica is a slice of Bangladesh away from it. With 'deshi' men and women speaking Bangla on the streets in traditional garbs like panjabi, pyjama and shalwar kameez, streets lined with Bangladeshi-owned restaurants and grocery stores selling your favourite 'deshi' vegetables, halal meats, and foods ranging from shingara-samosa, chotpoti-fuchka, naan-kabab, doi-mishti, and halua-paratha to kachchi biriyani, tehari, Haji-r biriyani and bhat-mach-bhorta, Jamaica is an instant reminder of the country you have left behind.   For a second, you might even forget that this place is very much a part o...

T his fall, schools around the US are welcoming children for face-to-face instruction despite a new COVID-19 surge. My daughter was six months into her first grade when a state of emergency was declared and our schools were closed down. From her bedroom, my daughter completed her first grade, began her second grade, and finished that, too. Now after one-and-a-half years at home, she has gone back to school to start her third grade. She could not contain her excitement when I gave her the news of school reopening in person! If you are a parent, you know how much you and your child are waiting for schools to reopen, because being away from school and their friends has been tough on our children — the pandemic has left their little world in a disarray. Many children, who have started school in this pandemic, do not even know what a school really is. "I can’t wait for the COVID-19 to go away! My son, who is in playgroup, attends his school online. He does not even know what an actual ...

If you are like me, someone who jumps at the idea of exploring a new place, but have not travelled in the last one year, you will understand my plight. On some days, I so want to catch a flight and visit another state or country, inhale the air of a new place, and try a new cuisine. A year without a \"vacay\" has not been easy, but when endless hardship and suffering stemming from a pandemic continue to affect so many millions every day, planning a holiday is not a priority. However, on lazy afternoons, I daydream about happy times of the future when we can travel far and wide, when I will not have to wear a mask or remind myself to practice social distancing in public places. I have not been on an airplane in more than a year. While flying was something I never eagerly looked forward to, in these days, I wish to catch a plane and swoosh to a holiday destination. I have kind of forgotten what it is like to go through security checkpoints, answer an immigration police officer’...

The Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has been serving gastronomes for 127 years. The historic market has survived the Great Depression and two World Wars! On a September Saturday, we decided to explore this public market, which attracts more than 100,000 people every week during 'normal' times. The Daily Star link The moment you step through its doors, the clatter, the bright ceiling lights and most importantly, the aroma in the air will make you hungry. Although you would want to buy or taste a little something from every stall, that is quite impossible, because there are more than 80 merchants busy at work in this indoor marketplace. The vendors at Reading Terminal Market sell a wide array of items, chiefly food; from fresh produce, seafood, meats and poultry, dairy and cheese, baked goods, ice cream, chocolate, spices and condiments, beverages, and ready-to-eat foods, which you could enjoy in its food courts before the pandemic hit us all. Its Center Cou...

Reading Terminal Market. First opened its doors in 1893, this is one of America’s largest and oldest public markets. More than 80 vendors and an immensely wide selection of foods, drinks & confectionaries - a gastronomer’s heaven. Location: Philadelphia, PA.  Note: The corned beef and pastrami Kosher sandwiches are from Hershel’s East Side Deli.   

City Hall, Philadelphia, PA. The tallest building in the world from 1894 to 1908. Photographs were taken on a Saturday trip to Philly in September, 2020. 

ঢেঁড়স ফুল। What would that be in English? Okra blossom/ flower? I love okras or lady’s fingers, so does my family! But did I know what their flowers looked like? Nay, I did not, until now, because now I have okra plants in my backyard! I am loving my first-time journey into vegetable gardening. I am learning brand new things daily. In the past, I only enjoyed my fruits and veggies, but I knew very little about the long journey they made from seeds to mature fruits. Vegetable gardening has taught me to appreciate the food I eat more than ever!   

This COVID-19 lockdown has seen so many firsts. It has seen the birth of many gardeners, chefs, bakers, painters, singers, dancers, comedians, and even, hairdressers. The COVID-19 lockdown has also seen me evolve  - - from a gardener, who only grew flowers, to a first-time vegetable grower. I do not know if we would have ventured into vegetable gardening had the coronavirus not shut the doors of the Indian grocery stores here where I live. With the COVID-19 spread across the world and supply chain disrupted, the Indian grocery stores from where we used to get our “deshi” vegetables had to close down their stores. This meant no okra, bitter, bottle and snake gourds, green chillies, red and Malabar spinach, flat beans, etc. for us anymore. Cauliflower, cabbage, eggplant, and spinach were still available at American grocery stores, although not all the time, like the pre-pandemic days.  A month into the lockdown, this “deshi” soul began to crave a little variet...

Location: Public park in Delaware Hubby, daughter and I have been at home since March 15, 2020. We left home on a few occasions, but those were to buy food and refill our water gallons. Oh, hubby also went out to get a new kitchen faucet, because it suddenly started leaking water. The timing could not be worse!   I went out for a walk with my daughter last week. We really needed some fresh air. There were other people at the park, too. Everyone needed some fresh air, I guess. People practiced social distancing, so did I.  Health experts say that it is good for your mental and physical health to go out for a stroll during this time of social distancing. One must avoid crowded places, of course. But this is definitely not the time to drive to Washington, DC to enjoy cherry blossoms, which some people are doing.  I don't know what these 'nature lovers' are thinking. These folks are not only risking their own lives, but the lives of others. The cherry blossom...

Summer crawls into autumn, a slow but poised walk into a natural world different not solely in terms of weather. Mother Nature lays out the differences the season brings about in the colours of the sky, leaves, flowers, and even in the coats of wild birds and animals. Summer evenings change to autumnal nights. The sun sets early, so you can no longer take a walk in the park at 7 o'clock in the evening. In autumn, by that hour of the day, the western sky begins to clothe in indigo. A curtain begins to draw on the world. The outside temperatures also start to dip rather quickly. And the bedroom windows, which you kept open on warm July evenings, need to be shut tight. You wish you could squeeze more hours into the day, but because that cannot be done, you try to spend evenings at home, reading or listening to music over a cup of steaming caffeinated drink. On a cosy autumn evening, you tell yourself that life is not too bad, even though days would soon be all gusty and slushy...

I never went fishing in my life, not until May 2011. But for people who reside in the U.S. state of Minnesota, fishing is a favourite recreation. In a state where more than 10,000 lakes and the mighty Mississippi flow, it is only natural that people buy hooks and baits and drive to a lake or river to fish. We have been living in Minnesota for nearly three years now, so my husband and I thought it was perhaps time we too tried our luck in fishing. Our acquaintances also fuelled our interest by saying that few things are as delicious as pan-fried freshly caught fish. The first thing we needed was a fishing license, so we got one from the local Walmart store for $18. It is illegal to fish without a license! We purchased only one license, because I was not sure how much I would really enjoy fishing. I thought that I should perhaps begin with helping my husband as he angled. On one sunny afternoon of summer we went to the Mississippi River with our brand new fishing rod, white...