Church Bells and Darjeeling Tea

A very happy and pleasant book, if you are looking for one.

I picked up this book from a stall in the Bangladesh hall in Kolkata Book fair 2023. It was strange to have picked up an English book from the Bangladesh arena as per some of my friends. But the one random page that I opened of the book, its illustrations, its cover all just seemed so charming. They echoed and promised the same Ruskin Bond-ish charm but from Darjeeling and from a female point of view that belong to both India and Bangladesh. And I am so so glad that I picked this book up. It is just so charming. ❤

Not that anyone cares (:P) but I would share one experience of mine with this book. I was sitting in a  beautiful cafe the day before yesterday at the heart of south Kolkata surrounded by warm lights, my Ma's favorite black and white marble flooring, white-colored and heavy old iron chairs and slightly cool unexpected Kolkata summer evening. Reading this book with a flat white and a brownie made that evening just perfect. The perfect happy book at the perfect happy place. It was a very good evening. ❤

(Sorry for repeating) This is such a charming and happy book that I am glad I picked it up. True to what it promised at the first glance in the book fair, the flavor for Darjeeling presented here is partially, not entirely, similar to what Rusty's is for Dehradun and his school days, for all Ruskin Bond fans out there. It talks about the history of Darjeeling, of Loreto convent interspersed with  the history of pre- and post-independent India, how the culture of the British Raj was entwined in the Indian culture, Zeena's nanna, her family, histories of many other famous family's whom you will recognize if you are a Bengali. It is a walk down the memory lane, the nostalgia of a romantic age that is now lost to time. The illustrations add to the charm.

On its cons, sometimes the historical descriptions are rather dry. I did not mind it as in general I am interested in the history of the hill station but it might be a turn-off factor for many readers. There is no particular order or structure apart from Zeena Choudhury's school timeline, and that choice justifies the organization for me as well.

Overall it made me smile almost continuously and cry once or twice. The book is a happy autobiography of the writer's childhood spent at the Loreto convent. A very happy and light reading for one of the stressful work nights.

Happy reading! :)

Do you need a watchman?

I will confess I am one of those people who bought 'to kill a mockingbird', read a few chapters but never finished it. My justification? When I tried, I was perhaps too young and didn't like the pace. I started 'go set a watchman' a few days back. The pace was slow at first, and I again doubted if I will be able to continue added to the guilt of not having finished its predecessor, the book of the century even by some people. But I was IN almost as soon as these doubts of mine began to surface.


In spite of all the negative reviews on that book, I really liked it. Might be more so because I haven't read the 'original'. So me not finding the original masterpiece enticing enough in my 'youth' wasn't a bad thing after all! Ah, life! ;)

When I as reading and starting to enjoy 'go set a watchman' I thought it would be interesting to play the reverse game. My friend ho has read both and like the second but adored the first says that if I like this book, I would absolutely adore that first one. He is quite a reliable person, so I trust him. I will still keep a gap of a few months or a year between the two, so maybe at the end of 2023 I will finish the year with a mockingbird. Soooooo excited! 🤩 Can't wait to gain that view and perspective.

Some, not all and not-exhaustive or a complete set of, bits that stood out-
some fun excerpts, some emotions, -

“ ...
The question, gentlemen—is one of liquor;
You ask for guidance—this is my reply:
He says, when tipsy, he would thrash and kick her,
Let’s make him tipsy, gentlemen, and try!
”
😳

“…
(Would You Speak to Jesus If You Met Him on the Street?
…”
😂

“…
Jem reversed his field and tackled heaven: heaven was full of bananas (Dill’s love) and scalloped potatoes (her favorite), and when they died they would go there and eat good things until Judgement Day, but on Judgement Day, God, having written down everything they did in a book from the day they were born, would cast them into hell.
...”
How sweet! 😂❤️

“…
I don’t know if I can tell you, honey. When you live in New York, you often have the feeling that New York’s not the world. I mean this: every time I come home, I feel like I’m coming back to the world, and when I leave Maycomb it’s like leaving the world. It’s silly. I can’t explain it, and what makes it sillier is that I’d go stark raving living in Maycomb.
...”
Ah!❣️

"...
Something that looked like a giant black bee whooshed by them and careened around the curve ahead. She sat up, startled. “What was that?”
“Carload of Negroes.”
My first book of this kind, of this aspect of history. I can’t express what I feel. Strange! But definitely not surprising.

I absolutely loved and connected a lot to Jean Louise’s discovery of Atticus and Hank in the court. The after effect on her seems a bit over-dramatic but still quite beautifully written. My takeaway was that I must, must, absolutely must read the “original”. If this controversial and slightly hated one is so good, how great the original must be!

“…
and was thumbing through it again when he said: “Scout, if there’s ever anything that happens to you or something—you know—something you might not want to tell Atticus about-
Huh?
You know, if you get in trouble at school or anything—you just let me know. I’ll take care of you.
Jem sauntered from the livingroom, leaving Jean Louise wide-eyed and wondering if she were fully awake.
... ”
💔❤️

“...
Blind, that’s what I am. I never opened my eyes. I never thought to look into people’s hearts, I looked only in their faces. Stone blind … Mr. Stone. Mr. Stone set a watchman in church yesterday. He should have provided me with one. I need a watchman to lead me around and declare what he seeth every hour on the hour. I need a watchman to tell me this is what a man says but this is what he means, to draw a line down the middle and say here is this justice and there is that justice and make me understand the difference. I need a watchman to go forth and proclaim to them all that twenty-six years is too long to play a joke on anybody, no matter how funny it is. ”
Chapter 13, unlike its previous two chapters started off rather slow, but then as the conversation between Hester and Jean Louis’ started with the latter's own monologue as well, it was ❤️.

Following parts were great too but I didn't make any updates or notes.

Recommended. Even more so if you haven't read the preceding masterpiece.

Happy reading! :)