July 8, 2021: Summer nights are magical

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July 8, 2021: Summer nights are magical. The rains have let up a bit. The cats seem to like the chairs in the verandah, and they settle down in a way that only cats can. A sense of complete relaxation. I feel bad bothering them, but I got to sit down too. The black cat is fearless. Looks at me and seems to tell me that I am interloper. This property belongs to the cat. We talk. In the frenetic World we have been placed in, the black cat simultaneously offers a point of peaceful reference and a cause of annoyance. The cats are everywhere. Today at Mahavir Vikas, I was airing out the house after it being locked in for more than a month. Was munching on dalmut (a Bengali delicacy that is crunchy, spicy and you can never stop) and a kitten appeared from nowhere in the drawing room. I think the kitten was as shocked as I was. Cats are a part of life at AC 140 – there are nearly a dozen – I do not know how they are related to the black cat, but they are very comfortable at AC. But a kitten inside the house at Mahavir Vikas is unthinkable. We observed each other for about 2 seconds and with great alacrity we both jumped and the kitten exited through the kitchen door which I had left ajar to allow for some cross ventilation to get rid of the rancid odor that the combination of non-circulating air and the heat and humidity of the monsoons creates. In this heat and humidity we have the next food distribution in Gobindapur on Monday. I did not have the good fortune to be there in the earlier distributions, this time I will be there. There are ongoing challenges with COVID-19. There are things that are not always reported, but we learn about this as we are on the ground as one of my colleagues said, “get down and dirty.” I am getting push back on the vaccination camps I am trying to get going. The recent fraudulent vaccination camp in Calcutta has made people wary. Some people doing bad things can hurt us all. Many hoops to jump through, but I will do it. One answer to the virus is vaccination, and much could be done with that. Devdas and I chatted today. He has done an excellent work. There are good people amongst us. He made independent intelligent decisions; you do not need formal education to be a person who can think on their feet, make the right decisions, resolve community conflict, and hold a hard line when needed. Good people. People who care, people who know what is needed at that moment. I have been fortunate to be surrounded by such people. Bondhu who knows exactly how I am feeling and what I need. These are the bondhus you want and need. There are some that are particularly special, with them you want to say what Simon and Garfunkel did, “Old friends, memory brushes the same years.” Old friends – bondhus you cherish.


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