This is my youngest aunt. She turned 82 recently. She celebrated it with her grandson, Soutrik and his beautiful wife Upamita bringing a cake and having her to cut it, which gave her immense joy, particularly being quite alone, due to the pandemic and lockdown.
She is married to a North Calcutta 'bonadi' family having their own business. She stays in Shyambazar in a joint family, now divided. The house is near the five points crossing and as a joke, the direction was always indicated by the pointer of Subhas Chandra Bose's statue : The way the horse's tail end points. It is very near to our original ancestor's house at Mohan Began Row.
She has studied in Baptist Mission and soon thereafter,my to-be Pishi Mosai, seeing her at one of our common relatives house was smitten by her beauty and wanted to marry her. My father agreed to the marriage and it was a grand affair. With Ustad Bismillah Khan playing the Shehnai live and a guest list of Who's Who of Calcutta, the merriment continued for several days.
One thing she has inherited from my father is her trait of philanthropy, often questioned as an act of vanity by her own relatives.
I remember her traveling with a huge retinue when on vacation to an extent of being extravagant. She would invite many of our relatives to accompany her, all expenses paid.
She traveled first class with a servant or two traveling lower class coming over at every stoppage to check if they could be of any service. Among them was Joseph, a Christian Dalit from Chakradharpur, who was her favourite, and my aunt looked after his family including the education of all his children, the family swearing by the Vatican Pope, not believing in family-planning.
At her prime she wore a sari only once and was always decked with jewellery. I have personally seen her drawing down the car window glass at crossing and emptying her 'botua' (large Indian purse) to both hands of a poor. And at one time, not having any money, opening one of her many rings from her finger and dropping it to the outstretched hand of a widow standing silently with one outstretched hand at the kerb.
She has become much controlled of late after the death of her husband, due to age and the chagrin of her only son.
God bless her .