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Ghostly Tales for Diwali and Halloween.

Since I love ghostly tales, why not dive headfirst into writing about them in my blog? The timing is perfect. Today is Diwali in India, and last night, the night before Diwali, was Bhoot Chaturdashi — when supernatural stories take centre stage. The “ghost Wi-Fi” gets a serious signal boost, and our ancestors can drop by for a visit. People light 14 earthen lamps, basically ghost GPS, to guide…

I had hoped Cyclone Dana would turn out to be like the Y2K crisis — a lot of noise, but no real impact. More on those Y2K days later. Dana made landfall between Bhitarkanika National Park and Dhamra Port in Odisha last Thursday. Aside from torrential rain in Kolkata and other parts of the state and some uprooted trees and lampposts, the real damage has been to crops. The heavy rain and strong…

SCHOOLBOY SCHEMERS “Childhood Days” is Satyajit Ray’s autobiographical story Jakhon Chhoto Chhilam written in Bengali. It offers a VIP backstage pass to Ray’s school years. It spotlights the eccentric cast and quirky locales that moulded his early life. Ray honed his smarts at Ballygunge Government High School, the Hogwarts of Kolkata (then Calcutta). This prestigious boys-only academy produced…

CHRONICLES OF A ‘GOOD’ BOY’ In the past, our schooling concluded at class 11, unlike the current system where students study until class 12 before pursuing a bachelor’s degree. Additionally, an engineering degree course lasted five years, compared to the four-year duration today. In the naughty chronicles of my senior school days, between classes nine and eleven, there are more stories to…