Day 23. Nowadays I just have to utter the S word, and everyone around has one to offer. My Ma wanted me to wear a beautiful peach cotton (which I promise is coming soon) and a lovely Dhonekhali with which h unfortunately I don’t seem to have a blouse. My mother-in-law brought out a Bhagalpuri tussar which she even suggested I take for good. But I already had my sari planned. This is a precious one because it comes from my darling little sister. Every time she is in town, she gifts me something… saris, earrings…. The first gift she gave me soon after she started working was a green polysilk from Nalli in Hyderabad. The one I am wearing today… an orange and yellow batik… came with her when she was visiting her parents last July. I love the colour and the diagonal motif (terchhi kaaj, we call it in Bengali) and I love my little sister. I remember seeing her the first time with her curly mop of her, crawling around the room, with her “haatiya”. She had an odd fascination for elephants. She was like a cute little doll, even now she is for me. And when we teased her calling her ” bichhiri (ugly)” or tell her that she had a “bori naak (blunt nose” and “botam chokh (button eyes)”, her lips would pout and her eyes well up. In reality, she is the prettiest, the cutest…the most ” bootiful”. Oh and how can I forget that dimple and that smile? As a child though, she was quite the terror … putting seeds into her nose, hitting a buffalo with a racket…the stories are endless. Miss you Minanini…..big big hug and loads of love