13 Pounds of Love

I have been a skinny person all my life. I do not remember having to bother about calories, or ruthlessly segregate every food item into the Family of a mere Protein-Carbohydrate-Fat-Fibre chart. In fact all my childhood my family tried to feed me as they thought I was underweight, though I never bothered. I had a sweet tooth and ate all I want and never saw an improvement in the weighing scale.

I weighed 43 kgs with a minor variance of a half to one kg from age 12 to 21. Then I moved out of my quaint hometown and shifted to Mumbai to pursue my MBA. There I met a lot of people from all over India, for the first time in my life — I had come out of a very sheltered and protected surrounding. Needless to say, it was very overwhelming in the beginning. Homesickness hit, outside food and new people had to be dealt with. To top all of that there was a hectic orientation period. Also, I was not very well-versed with Hindi. Still I made a handful of friends and ran off to my hometown every chance I got.

For the first time, I began to experience girls speaking about my weight — making comments to my face on how I would be needing padding to accentuate parts of my body in a dress for the Freshers Party, how I was flat — some referring to a skeleton and all petty things. Do I need to say that although it doesn’t matter, the girls saying these things were not Kardashians exactly and looking back now I realise those things came from a deep sense of insecurity. However it hit me hard that time. I tried to eat all fattening food though the scale didn’t budge really.

Time flew and the summer internships began. I was going to be interning with Novartis and for that needed to move to Kolkata for a month. This was a lot of firsts — first solo journey, first time living in a different state, first time being on my own in a far away land, first flight, first time being in a place with a different tongue. I was very excited and a bit nervous. I have grown up reading Amitav Ghosh and Jhumpa Lahiri, I had a longing to experience the place always.

Everyone told me how it was a paradise for Non-vegetarians, but it didn’t bother me as a vegetarian — it was the land of my favourite dessert — Roshogullas. I felt that was all I really needed. So fly I did. Met my Punjabi landlord who sublet a room to me.

This land of architecture and literature enchanted me instantly. I loved the people and got fascinated by the language. I always felt that their language is sweeter than their desserts. Even though you do not understand it, you would want to keep listening to them speak and sing. Its melodious. I travelled a lot through public transport and had great conversations. The short relationships you form with strangers while travelling, hold a special place in your heart always. I think they are one of the most authentic and heartfelt dialogues with no fear of judgement as you know you are never going to meet them again. They are therapeutic in ways we wont ever completely fathom.

Kolkata had temples in every lane, on the corners and in the middle of it. I have never seen so many temples anywhere else yet. Small and large. Such beautiful theatres, art galleries and book shops. A month was too less. Some of my favourite places there have been the Dakshineshwar temple, Kali Ghat, Rabindra Sadan among others.

I travelled across the city and while moving along the streets of Part Street, Salt Lake to Kali Ghat I had to find places which were vegetarian and devoid of the fishy smell. But most of the times, I ate Roshogullas and Mishti Doi for lunches! I loved having puchkas and they were a welcome variation to my beloved ‘Pani Puri’. I gulped down all flavors of Sondes and devoured Malpua and Rajbhog like there was no tomorrow. To add to all of that my landlord made me eat delicious Parathas with generously smeared butter all over. I was in food-heaven.

As the month began to come to an end, home was calling. Somehow all the tops and kurtis started to feel tight and I had to shop for new clother. On checking the weight I had put on 6 glorious kilos under a month. Kolkata did for me what nothing else could!

That city suffused my being (quite literally!) and still resides somewhere in my bloodstream and my soul. I learn and sing Bengali songs till date and bug my friends to translate to understand those better. Once you love a city, it stays with you and accompanies you wherever you go. I want to again visit the city and live that feeling all over again, maybe during the period of Dugga-Puja next time.

Also, I never lost the 13 royal pounds and don’t intend to! Some souvenirs are truly priceless.

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