Adda...

When everything else fails there is always books!
People here in Mumbai are so busy with their lives and jobs and money making schemes that they have no time to sit down with you over a cup of tea and indulge in good old 'adda' ( which is the bengali word for light hearted chit chat on all topics under the sun )! Gone are those days in Kolkata when people would just drop in if they were passing by your home and soon there would be a laughter and 'gup shup' over 'cha' and Britannia thin arrowroot biscuits on lazy Sunday mornings. Our place on Lansdowne Road was always full of people.. friends relatives and acquaintances or people who had become ardent fans of Baba after some of his astrological predictions came true ! Here in Mumbai you have to call people weeks in advance if you want them to come over and you have to make polite phone calls if you want to go over for 'adda' sigh! There's big formality about inviting people for dinner and social niceties simply beats me hollow! Only if something can be gained by your association with Mr & Mrs So n So then you 'cultivate' a friendship with them . I have given up trying to keep the adda going with a few of our old friends from Kolkata, for even they seemed to have changed after staying in Mumbai for a couple of years...In frustration I turn to my old faithfuls, my good old books to keep me company for I cannot go down and gossip with the cooperative society ladies or join the local kitties in search of stimulating conversation! I'd rather be transported to the world of Agatha Christie and lose myself in a juicy murder mystery! And with that I'll return to the world of Miss Marple and 4.50 from Paddington : )