The Diary of an extraordinary Gentleman

‘Balai Niwas’, the house that is popular with all the centers that provide cooks and house-helps. Since my childhood years, all I have seen is maids and cooks changing regularly. Their stories are mostly intriguing. These househelps have had such terrific encounters that a journal dedicated to them can be easily maintained. The range of incidents that have taken place in our household varies on a scale from humorous till weird. Some of the humorous incidents are: One of our cooks would often cook pakoras, pack them in newspapers and throw these parcels to their boy-friends in the compound opposite our house. Another maid would frequently ask my mother for her permission to go out and eat ‘phuchkas’ (pani-puri), but was unfortunately caught walking hand-in-hand with her lover in the park next door by the famous detective- ‘young sourav’. Apparently, the ‘aaya’ who took care of me when I was an infant, was once caught sitting on the lap of our chauffeur while she ‘French-kissed him’....

  My uncle- Dr. M.K. Hazra- is a one-of-a-kind character, peculiar in every single sense.  My earliest memory of him was that I was horrified by his appearance. I would be so scared that I would often cover my eyes or hide behind my aaya’s dupatta. All of us who have had the privilege of knowing him would agree to have always seen him color coordinated. He mostly wore a white shirt along with a pair of white trousers and wore a full-rim black eyewear. He would often be spotted peeping out of the window of his infamous nursing home.  About two decades ago, this nursing home (that was named after his mother ``Mandakini)’ was popular for illegal abortions. It was the safe haven for all those burqa clad women who got pregnant with their lovers only to realize that they committed the original sin. With nowhere left to go, uncle was their God-sent messenger, who could undo most of their mistakes. If all the stories I heard while growing up were true, uncle seemed to be very pop...