My mother's hostel mates at the Post-Graduate Hostel on Harrison Road, Kolkata:
What a heroine she must have been. So smart! Just to come like that from the hills at start studying in Kolkata. Kolkata in the 50's was fashionable and elegant.
Ma's hostel mates included Karuna Bhattacharya who later became Pro Vicechancellor, Finance. Ma could have risen equally high. She was First Class IInd in Philosophy in 1955, from C.U. But she had no faith in herself. She gave herself over entirely to be constructed and overdetermined by others. Why? I too have the same qualities. So dependent on the world's opinion, love, acceptance. One has to look within, one has to look within for self'-validation. 'Bhromor jetha hoi bibagi nibhrita neel padma laagi ( you are there where the bee goes in a mad quest for the blue lotus)--that is the soul, the Holy Grail that Parsifal went in search of.
Studied this when I was a T.A. for Professor Wilhelm's Arthurian Romance course. He once behaved so badly. I guess racism is true.
The minute I talk about dark things my soul starts drooping and is pulled down by a negative force.
She used to lie awake at night, listening to the pavement dwellers talk of their day's activities. The tram would grind out its wheels till 12.30 at night.
Another hostel mate was Santwana Mukherjee (nee??) who later taught Political Science at Jogomaya Devi College, was married to Mr Mukherjee of Golpark who did all their announcements and had this amazing voice. Santwana Mashi also wrote the first book on Nivedita in India. That had been her PhD thesis.
Ma used to love Santwana Mashi, wildly. Once, in order to make someting up (some misunderstanding ortheother ) she went and met Santwana Mashi at Kanpur (where the latter was from)
But once they had a misunderstanding over something. Santwana Mashi was of a slightly suspicious nature. I don't quite know what it was over. But once it broke, Ma never tried to patch it up with her. She once told me, 'if a relationship breaks for me, it breaks irrevocably'.
What a heroine she must have been. So smart! Just to come like that from the hills at start studying in Kolkata. Kolkata in the 50's was fashionable and elegant.
Ma's hostel mates included Karuna Bhattacharya who later became Pro Vicechancellor, Finance. Ma could have risen equally high. She was First Class IInd in Philosophy in 1955, from C.U. But she had no faith in herself. She gave herself over entirely to be constructed and overdetermined by others. Why? I too have the same qualities. So dependent on the world's opinion, love, acceptance. One has to look within, one has to look within for self'-validation. 'Bhromor jetha hoi bibagi nibhrita neel padma laagi ( you are there where the bee goes in a mad quest for the blue lotus)--that is the soul, the Holy Grail that Parsifal went in search of.
Studied this when I was a T.A. for Professor Wilhelm's Arthurian Romance course. He once behaved so badly. I guess racism is true.
The minute I talk about dark things my soul starts drooping and is pulled down by a negative force.
She used to lie awake at night, listening to the pavement dwellers talk of their day's activities. The tram would grind out its wheels till 12.30 at night.
Another hostel mate was Santwana Mukherjee (nee??) who later taught Political Science at Jogomaya Devi College, was married to Mr Mukherjee of Golpark who did all their announcements and had this amazing voice. Santwana Mashi also wrote the first book on Nivedita in India. That had been her PhD thesis.
Ma used to love Santwana Mashi, wildly. Once, in order to make someting up (some misunderstanding ortheother ) she went and met Santwana Mashi at Kanpur (where the latter was from)
But once they had a misunderstanding over something. Santwana Mashi was of a slightly suspicious nature. I don't quite know what it was over. But once it broke, Ma never tried to patch it up with her. She once told me, 'if a relationship breaks for me, it breaks irrevocably'.
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