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Soliloquy - A tribute to Chandannagar  Painter - Moumita Mukherjee ইচ্ছেরা মাঝে মাঝে দেওয়াল ভাঙে, খোলা আকাশ চেনায়; ইচ্ছেদের কখনো বা খুব কান্না পায় । ইচ্ছেরা কিছুটা হাঁটতে জানে, অনেকটা নদীও চেনে; তবুও  তোমার কাছে যাবে বলে ডানা ঝাপটায় …. ইচ্ছেরা রাত্রি হলে কতো গল্প বলে কবিতা করে; এমনকি আঁকিবুকিও  চেনা রাস্তায় তোমাকেই খোঁজে যদিও ….. ইচ্ছেরা বহু পৃথিবী ঘুরে আসে  যুগ যুগান্ত ধরে; তারপরে তোমারই পাড়ে এক পৃথিবী ভালোবেসে  ইচ্ছেরা মাঝে মাঝে দেওয়াল ভাঙে  খোলা আকাশ চেনায়; ইচ্ছেদের কখনো বা খুব কান্না পায় ।।

  আরো কিছুটা হাঁটলে, আরোও অনেক ছবি তুলে রাখতাম; কত গল্প তো তোমায় বলাই হলো না …. আমি এখনো হাঁটি, ছবিও তুলি; তোমাকে গল্পও বলি । চিঠি লেখা ছেড়েছি তুমি যাবার আগেই  তুলি দিয়ে কিন্তু তোমাকেই লিখি তোমাকেই খুঁজি  আরো কিছুটা হাঁটলেই, তোমাকে ছুঁয়ে তোমারই প্রতিচ্ছবি ; আমার গল্পে তুমিই আমি ।।

  HuloMa ends her day with a old-hindi jingle ( kya aap roz close up karte hain.. ) on how to attract the right girls and walk with confidence if you regularly brush your teeth – to which Hulo responds with “eeing” his teeth (according to HuloMa); while to any honest bystander he is just all the time wiggling and planning for an escape route from the daily ordeal! Surprisingly though even though he wiggles out, he normally does not go far – may be jumps away from the counter-top into the basin, and comfortably snuggles in there smacking away at the tuna flavored toothpaste – Thanks to clever marketing by # Arm&Hammer !   The other day HuloMa decided to visit a friend to play a few rounds of scrabble. Now she is horrible at it; and have been trying to beat me for the last 20 odd years! So, a little practice does never hurt – does it? I wasn’t home, and she didn’t had the heart to leave Hulo alone in the house on a lovely evening --- so there comes out the relatively unused...

  HuloMa starts her day with a long gyaan (lecture) on how to be a well mannered good boy ... to which Hulo responds with wide eyes and some licking and then immediately afterwards resorts to biting and jumping on all the unwanted places....   The other day Hulo was given some broccoli along with his regular dose of meat...Hulo stopped eating... looked up at HuloMa, rolled his eyes, and responded with .. "Is this a joke?”   Today, I forgot to clear his mess from the litter box. Hulo went in, and then came out immediately without doing his business... went straight to HuloMa and complained... “WTF... if dad can’t keep up with my basic rights..why did you adopt me..Don’t dare to lecture me again!”   Obviously...I had to jump in and dig up gold from his litter...what a life! 2021 doesn’t look to be any different from 2020..for now! Stay content with what you have...and learn to agree with disagreements and deal with shit!

  Government does not make the Country The Country makes the Government So my Government….Don’t teach me   So my Government Don’t teach me what to eat For I am the hand who feeds you Don’t teach me my laws For I am the hand that gave you the gavel Don’t teach me what to learn For I am the hand that holds the pen   So my Government Don’t teach me what to think For I am the mind that seeks knowledge Don’t teach me my religion For I am the mind that seeks divinity Don’t teach me what to speak For I am the mind that holds the voice   My country I am the student; I am the farmer I am Hindu, I am Muslim, I am Christian, I am Sikh I am Shaheenbaag, I am Chipko, I am Salt March I am Gujarat, I am Kashmir; I am Kerala, I am Meghalaya I am the labourer who walked from Mumbai to Malgathi I am the worker who saved me from dying near Solapur   So my Country Don’t learn to hate me I am the Country; I am the same Land...

Is the room empty? The sun still kisses the foot of the bed.. The clock still ticks on... The book still lies on the crumpled bed sheet... The pillow still smells his sweat.. Is the room empty?.... I can smell him on the bed... I can touch him through the pages of his books... I can feel him in the warmth on the window ledge... He remains with me...within me... Is the room empty? It's "Still His Room" Painting by  Mumuscape

I can’t breathe ... can you? I see Mohan Lal in George Floyd ... do you? I see Arvina Khatun in Breanna Taylor... do you? I see casteism in racism ... do you? I see “goli maro saalon ko” in “looting.. shooting” I see Kashmir in Minneapolis I am yet to be woke... Lives matter... They matter to me on the road They matter to me on the rail tracks Yet I don’t leave my suburban peace Yet I don’t go back and fight for a cause... I can’t breathe ... can you? Painting by  Mumuscape

তোর পরের চিঠিতে আশা করি লিখবি কোথায় যাচ্ছিস, আর কি করছিস কেমন ছিল নাটকটা, আর নাটক শেষে খুনসুটি; চায়ের পেয়ালায় দারুণ মিষ্টি "টাক্সি...ই", মধ্য রাতের টাক্সি, ছুটিস তুই  নিজের থেকে নিজেকে বাঁচাতে; রেড রোড ধরে ফুল স্পীড  যেখানে রাস্তা গিয়েছে বেঁকে, ঘুরেফিরে ওই ভিক্টোরিয়ার চারপাশে অসহনীয় মিটারটা, তোকে চোখ রাঙায় বুঝি নৈতিকতার উপদেশে?  পেছনে ফেলে আসা ওই সারি সারি গাছ - কিম্ভূত আর ঘন সবুজ দাঁড়িয়ে একাকী; ঘুটঘুটে এক কালো গুহার ফটকে তুই হঠাতই পৌঁছে যাস অন্য এক জায়গায় যেখানে সবকিছুই ভাসে ঢেউয়ের মাথায়, হারিয়ে ফেলিস খেই; বেশিরভাগ কথোপকথনই অর্থহীন টুকিটাকি,  যেন ছেঁড়া পাতায় অবোধ শিশুর অর্ধেক মুছে দেওয়া আঁকিবুকি  আর...