Staying in touch is relative

I am not a person who stays terribly in touch. Between work and moving away and more work of the sort that keeps me occupied in the far reaches of Greater Noida, I am now, for many years used to keeping to myself. Kolkata, as it goes without saying for a Bengali, is full of relatives near and far. Coming here for a conference meant I’d be busy with that and with my friends from work. When my mother called me, I was pleasantly surprised that she didn’t mention even once that I should call so and so or visit such and such. Little did I know that it is precisely when I think that I have finally raised my mother right that she pulls out the trump card on me. Instead of asking me to call folks, she called the folks and had them call me! One uncle and one aunt actually landed up at my talk and actually sat through all of it. It felt like a school function all over again :) I ended up visiting another aunt and a cousin and I will see my sister and nephew today. There might be hope for grouches like me yet!