It has been two weeks since my mom had her cataract surgery done and I cannot thank Sankara Nethralaya at Wellington Square, Kolkata and Dr Sujata Guha more. Ma has been having retinal and cataract problems for a long time now and past checkups with eminent doctors had established that the retina damage in the left eye had gone past recovery and had thick cataract as well; and the right eye was severely affected by hard cataract. Her condition was pathetic ' with both eyes struck by no or poor vision, she was facing hell. I was almost planning to make a trip all the way to Chennai with Ma to have the treatment done but luckily, a kin of mine suggested Sankara Nethralaya (original) right here in Kolkata.

Now, the surgery done, Ma has got her eyesight back…And mind you, she can now do without her 50 year old glasses (of a myopia of 8). All of the credit goes to her doc, Ms Sujata Guha…she almost struck a miracle…Thanks! The other eye cataract surgery is due in the next month…wish her luck and health! It is absolute bliss to see your parent recover health.

Address:

Sankara Nethralaya

No. 10. Raja Suboth Mullick Square (Wellington Square),
Near Hind Cinema,
Kolkata - 700 013.
Ph no: 91-033-22254570, 22254571, 22254572
Fax : 91-033-22255578
Mail ID : snk@snmail.org

For people in need of eye treatment, here is some more good news…Sankara Nethralaya is coming up with its new sprawling premises off EM Bypass at Mukundapur, Kolkata soon.

Traveling down the memory lane is one of my favorite pastimes, dwelt into in far intervals though. Looking back into my childhood (as far as my memory goes) helps me relive some of the most precious moments that I hold close to my heart. I have tried to assimilate some of the striking ones into this blog. Incidentally many of them might coincide with the past experiences of other people my age or round about.

First day In school: This is an experience probably no memory can miss. Getting into the gates of Carmel Convent High School, M.A.M.C, Durgapur, walking past the beautiful rows of eucalyptuses and a huge rotary opposite each other and most shockingly being led into the kindergarten room behind locked doors is still alive in my mind. Amidst a crowd of blue skirt-white shirt-red sweater dressed kids, a bunch of teachers, a huge blackboard and lots of wailing sounds, I too cried to my heart’s content but then managed to make a few friends and was in splits by the end of the day.

Making way through adolescent reads: Having enjoyed my share of reading stuff with fairy tales Cinderellas and Snow Whites, I slipped into the dream world of Noddy and soon after took to the adolescent adventures of Famous Five, Secret Seven and Hardy Boys. Side by side I do not regret having fed with loads of Archie editions and the occasional intrusions by Tinkle, (mostly supplied by my bro). Later on books by Agatha Christie, Maugham, H.G Wells, Dickens, O’Henry took over…the list grew.

‘I’m loving it’ kinds: Some of the tasty tidbits that once invoked my senses, continue to be my favorites. Starting with hojmi guli (a digestive globule), GEMS, Peppermint, Pepsi Cola pipes, it covered the platter of luchi, begun bhaja, fulkopir chorchori, sujir payesh and gota on Saraswati Puja, korai er dal and posto the occasional phuchka sessions, daal kochuri, aamsotto…the list is endless. However, today there can be further additions made, like rolls, bhel puris, momos, etc.

Ramayan and Mahabharat: While in mid school these two epics aired on Doordarshan were a must see for us. Come every Sunday and all and sundry got glued to the television to read our epic sagas on T.V. I still remember people who did not have a T.V set hopped into our place to have a glimpse of the serials. But they couldn’t be missed at any cost.

Other television serials: Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes episodes, Street Hawk, Danger Bay, Jungle Book animated series, Buniyaad, Chunauti, Hum Log, Karamchand, Khandaan, Quiz Time were some of my favorite T.V shows in my teens. A little later Fauji and Circus became the greatest rage of the time. Some of us even had the hero’s name (Lt. Abhimanyu Roy, played by Shahrukh Khan) written on our palms. I still pull my little brother’s leg by teasing him that I am a greater fan of SRK and for a longer span of time much before he got to know of him.

Poster collection: collecting posters of sports stars, singers, filmstars was a craze back then. We even exchanged our valuable possessions of the likes of Viv Richards or Imran Khan post cards with George Michael or Michael Jackson posters.

There are a whole lot of other associations that arouse nostalgia in me. But my blog is already a tad too long and you see what it takes to get into a reverie.

You can chip in with your memory slots here as you wish. You are most welcome!

P.S - This post was inspired by a friend of mine. Thanks!