A friend has come down from Delhi to spend the Puja vacation at home and we decided to meet today on Ekadoshi, after the din and bustle of four days settled down, that is.

We spent the morning browsing books at Elgin Road Crossword. My friend got a good many books including one by Hose Saragamo, the Portuguese novelist. I spotted Jhumpa Lahiri’s new book The Lowland. I had seen a patient reading this book few weeks ago.

We had a continental lunch at Mangio, a fine restaurant by Kookie Jar in New Alipore – with not so alert waiters, who were probably still dazed having just survived the Pujo rush.

The high point of our day was at Mrs. Magpie. My Delhi-ite friend was completely mesmerized by the sheer beauty of the place and its assortment of cupcakes. She called it a land from the fairy tale. We had Darjeeling tea, served in a beautiful glass tea pot.