When Dreams Whither and Die

Life is not what I dreamt it would be:

Knights in armor; oh the chivalry,

Fancy balls, handsome princes, long lovely dresses,

Palaces, fine things, and romantic kisses...

Whatever happened to my dream?

Why does real life make me want to scream?

I can't scream, I must be strong,

Maybe my true strong prince will come along.

Who am I fooling?

All my schooling?

It was all for naught,

If only my sister, with my prince, hadn't fought.

My prince began to loath me,

He couldn't even stand the sight of me,

So I tried my best to win his favor,

In whatever way, whatsoever.

I was selfish,

And as I undid my father, I did relinquish

For a while. Until I realized I did never see the whole game,

I brought shame unto my family's name.

With that shame I still live,

What a heavy burden, which I can not share or give,

My father dead, my mother and brother dead too

Of my other siblings, I have no clue.

They wed me to the imp,

Foiled was the plan to wed me to the cripple prince with a limp,

I was hounded, I was whisked away,

And to the tallest tower to stay.

Whatever happened to my dream?

Why does real life beg me to scream?

I can't scream, I must be strong,

Maybe my true strong prince will come along.

From the tower I came descended,

A whining prince in tow, undefended,

Winter is coming,

And a surprise awaiting.

My new father awaited me,

He said "Guess who your new husband will be?"

I masked my shock and sorrow with joy,

Alas I am still treated as a piece, as a toy.

I was a dreamy young girl once,

I dreamt of gallant princes and Knights,

All to be shattered and prove me a dunce, 

Everything to wither into the winter of night.

I was taught the story that princes and knights were honorable,

I was shocked to learn that this was naught

The queen herself proved to be dishonorable,

This is the new story I have been taught.

I am now a woman grown,

It was not as I thought it would be, and the truth of it makes me groan,

My family gone, and I am helpless with no one to trust,

I am me no longer, but I am another; and men still lust.

Whatever happened to my dream?

Nothing goes my way it seems,

I can't give in, I must be strong,

Maybe my true prince will come along.

Someday...

Till then Winter Is Coming,

For spring I shall wait,

The Summer was strong and shinning, 

The Autumn reality grim and stark with a cold fate.

-Pree for Sansa 9/23/2013

And to the tallest tower to stay

They wed me to the imp

Life is not what I dreamt it would be:

Knights in armor; oh the chivalry,

Fancy balls, handsome princes, long lovely dresses,

Palaces, fine things, and romantic kisses...

Texts From Dad - Game of Thrones in Real Life

Me- Hi
Dad- Where is she? I can't find her
Me- Who?
Dad- Ma
Me- I don't know... where are you? What's going on?
Dad- I found her next to south wall full of snow covered!
Me- What are you talking about?
Me- Game of Thrones?
Dad- Yes. Now we are playing real life GoT.
Me- Where are you and ma playing game of thrones in real life?
Dad- At Wall Mart


Get it "Wall" mart!

They aren't too pleased with season 3... wait till they see the red wedding... :-O

Texts From Dad - Pentathlons

Dad- where r u? What's up? R u coming? What do u say now? Love- Babi
Me- at pentathlon
Dad- What is that- a jungle or a store like pantaloon?
Dad- or like a python or mython like the dam near durgapur?
Me- a competition
Dad- who can compete you in Ummm... Ummmm....

the equestrian event

Indian Tea Houses

Chai or Tea (commonly made with black tea, milk and spices), is a part of Indian culture, Bengali culture rather,  and diet, as much as rice is. Along with chai or chaa as Bengali's call it, we  have to have some snacks- whether it is chaat, singhara (commonly known as samosa), sweets (rasgola), marie biscuits or and biscuits (known as cookies in America). The biscuit might be a british thing, to dunk it in the tea and eat... mmm.

The Italians have their biscottis (delicious) with coffee, the French have their cafe au lait, the people in Westeros (fictional place in A Song of Ice and Fire) have their meads, ales, and Dornish wines...and the Brits and Indians have biscuits. Well maybe the Brits have tea and crumpets (hehehe!). We all have our drink and a side snack to comfort us at the end of the day. I love the tea and biscuits. I love dipping my biscuit in my tea! Personally I do not like it when the biscuit gets so soggy and breaks off and descend to the bottom of the cup, but some people like it. I do however enjoy the soggy biscuit with the subtle flavor of the tea. The chaa can be black, with or without sugar, with or without milk. It's up to you. If you're drinking it black, you can add some lemon... One thing you must have with tea is "Adda" in bengali that means "chat" or "gossip". Just a light, non-serious form of conversation.

In the west we do a type of "adda" over beer, or drinks. However in India or Bengal, chaa serves as the drink of choice for "adda". Its a social bonding experience, usually done at dusk, in the garden, some cozy spot, or the side of the road by the chaa-waalla (tea trader), or the maidan (field for sports). Did we get this culture from the Brits? or is it Bengali?

The point of the matter is, chaa is a ritual in Kolkata. after lunch, in the evenings before breakfast... In a way India has it's own tea-rituals. India has it's own Tea houses, although not as fancy as the Japanese Tea Houses. India's tea houses are rustic, and can be found in the cart on the road-side. It's truly an experience, and if not experienced an entertaining, and awesome sight to see.

India has been getting the reputation more and more of being the worst country or most dangerous country for women, it always has been. Recently more women are speaking up, and more people are standing up for women. So we are hearing more and more of the horrors. It's not recent, however it seems the violence against women is being aggravated further as more people stand up FOR women. There is many an argument against women and not to mention the sexually repressed nature of the culture, and conservative-ness, and what ever else. I recently came across this article on why and how a woman should travel India. Which is so well written. One line in particular struck me "One reason: No country will fascinate and frustrate you more." It's the small things, and not just in India, but every country. So look for the little tea stalls, and enjoy some chaa and biscuit. Forget starbucks, forget chai tea lattes and have the real thing... I sure miss it!

A chaa stand

The neighborhood chaa waala

There also maybe a chaa lady - Pic by Chirasree Charaborty

the chaa tastes best out of little earthen cups!

The Two Towers

Remembering...

As my heart breaks,
I feel the pain of thousands again.
Remembering the fear, the shock, the pain,
The anger, and all the emotion this day takes.

Remembering the lives lost,
The war it cost,
More lives were taken,
The whole world shaken.

Remembering the strenght of the masses,
Even though the two towers lay in ashes,
The city lived, and lives on,
The spirit will shine on forever, on and on.