Since I’ve learnt to cook I think spices are the greatest thing after gravity! No wonder there was such massive spice trade in the middle ages. They’re simply amazing – a handful of those harmless seeds and leaves will turn mixtures of food into culinary wonders! Chitrita Banerjee has written a wonderful essay on panch phoron – the five spice mixture of Bengal in her book The Hour of the Goddess. Panch phoron is really nigella (kalonji/kalo jeerey), cumin (jeera), fenugreek (methi), fennel (saunf/mouri) and mustard (shorshey/rai), dry roasted together.

From My Sketchbook, May 2006

Viv hates taking baths! He’s always trying out some trick or the other – spraying deo all over, wetting his hair, he’s even become tried out hanging his wet towel on the line, hoping that I won’t catch onto the fact that he’s not had his bath today. But I’m too clever!

From my Sketchbook, May 2006

I had such a great group of friends in NID – I’ve really missed that since I started working. People change, times change, we all move on with our lives. I don’t think that I will make such strong and intimate friends again…
This is a poster I painted in my last few days at NID, when I was sharing a flat with Reshmy, Rahul Das, Duh and Parsa. The three main faces are (T-B) Ananya, Reshmy and me. Over Ananya’s shoulder is Duh laughing. Rahul Das looks out from a window over my head and Angela is floating up the stream near the bottom. Thanks, guys for all the great times!

Photo inks, Jan 2002.