This is more like a personal diary for me than fiction. You'll see as time goes by...

So, how have you all been? Some of you might still be in school, some in college, the rest employed or waiting to be employed, like me. It's been a while since we realised how far we've come. Most of you in your early or mid-20s. All those weird cultural shocks; technical advancements- telephones to cellphones, Nokia to iPhones, CRT to LCD to LED; and so on. Come to think of it, we have gone through a lot. Being pressured by the older and younger generations alike, we often get stuck with various problems and issues like mental health, lifestyles, keeping up with trends, technology, and... relationships- with the people around us. Let's not pull this further, I'll give you an intro right now. (For a second I was about to write "rn" for "right now". Oh, silly me!)

So, I was pushed out of my mother's womb by a normal delivery at midnight on the 5th of a cold December in the year 1994, which is also referred to as my birthdate. I grew up in one prominent colony in Kolkata, where most were Hindu immigrants from Bangladesh. And By grew up, I mean for a year. We kept shifting around for a while 'til we settled here. But we'll come to that later.

Both my parents have well-extended family all over Kolkata, which, like most of you, feels suffocating and relieving at the same time. My mother belonged to a well-respected family from Bangladesh, who had a lot of property and could have been millionaires if not for the partition. My father wasn't that well-off but they were (and still are) pretty middle class if you may ask. I was born the year they got married. I guess they were in a hurry, maybe.

Anyway. So, Let's make all the characters clear right here so that you don't confuse them.

My maternal Grandfather (I call him Dadu) had six brothers and two sisters. Any uncle I refer to, other than the ones mentioned here, are my mother's cousins. My Mother (Ma) is the eldest, followed by her brother Gaurab, sister Rita and youngest Sarat.

My paternal Grandfather had siblings but it's not worth mentioning them, because I never got to know them. My Father (Baba) is second, his elder sister Beena, younger sister Bula, followed by Tridib, and youngest Churni.

Let's dive into the story now...