2026 didn’t begin on a good note for me. All I’ve dealt with is sickness and missed opportunities. Three days back, it didn’t look like I could even sit through Saraswati Pujo this year.
But by God’s grace and my husband’s efficient treatment, I could at least be a part of the pujo.
Baba took up the responsibility of planning and executing it. He had his assistant, my son for support. It’s become their annual ritual over the years and it feels surreal to see them work in sync with each other.
May Ma Saraswati bless us all with knowledge and wisdom.
Wishing all my friends, readers and subscribers a very happy and healthy new year. May 2026 be filled with joy, peace, satisfaction, creativity, success, prosperity and love. I hope to write more books and more blog posts this year.
Bidding goodbye to 2025 with gratitude and a sense of fulfillment in my heart. I had an amazing beginning with the launch of my first non-fiction ‘The Sanyasi who became a King’, the book that ended up getting shortlisted for multiple awards. My detective thriller ‘Diary, Deceit and Death’, also nominated for a couple of awards, was loved and rated high by the readers. It was my first time as an author at the Kolkata Book Fair and getting featured on a newspaper article. Book signings at stores and airports, book launches, book readings, and author sessions for both my books made it an eventful year. Meeting my publisher Arup and my literary agent Suhail are moments forever etched in my memory. The mini vacation to Mandarmani and Taki gave us the much needed getaways. The kid made us proud with his academic awards and extracurricular performances. Our annual vacation to Dooars/Chalsa followed by a trip to Kochi was rejuvenating and professionally satisfying. Meeting Kolkata authors and catching up with a few close old friends led to some wonderful moments. I’m blessed to end this year with a trip to the land of Lord Jagannath – Puri, where my whole family could offer prayers and seek blessings of the Almighty.
Looking forward to a productive, satisfying, peaceful, joyful, successful and creative 2026 engulfed by the love of my family and blessings of God.
What happens when a bunch of Kolkata based authors decide to meet at Peter Cat on a Sunday afternoon? Food, fun and adda. That’s what yesterday was about as I met up with some familiar and some new faces over chelo kebabs and cups of coffee.
Food and coffee
A quick trip to Oxford Bookstores to surprise Kolkata Bookworms where they were celebrating their third anniversary followed. This group is close to my heart for the role it played in my journey as an author until now. All my good wishes to this vibrant group of young readers.
Glimpses of Janmastami celebration on 16th Sep at my marital home. The idols are over 200 years old. I feel blessed to be a part of the celebrations with my extended family and also seek Shyam Rai’s blessings.
A tiny dose of happiness when the kid gets felicitated by his school for a national rank of 75 in Spell Bee. Proud of him and his friends who made it to the national list amidst thousands of students across the country.
Proud of his achievement
Also, this one’s special because only the two of us know how much we struggled to ensure he appears for the preliminary level of this competition. 🧿
Celebrating Kabiguru Rabindranath Tagore and Kabi Nazrul Islam’s creations through music, recitation, dance and drama on 18th July 2025.Â
The kid and his friends performed a play called ‘Pete o pithe’ written by Tagore. We were fortunate to witness it live and the laughter in the background proves how much the children enjoyed it.
Special thanks to Ranita ma’am, who spent weeks training the children and his school authorities for giving him the opportunity.
soniasmusings 