DP Daily Prompt: The satisfaction of a list Posted by Ranu

My favourite list is shopping in different cities of the world: My  first stop is Montreal,I went shopping for coats,the store is: Manteau Manteau.It was the fall season and I needed a coat for myself.The sales woman was a very nice lady,she knew at once I was a buyer not a window shopper.She showed me a variety of coats. I settled for a black one,the colour and the style and of course the price was tempting.I bought it, then I looked for a cap and scarf.I bought them too.I made a big mistake,both the scarf and cap are woollen. They are itchy. I wear them to be warm but they are not comfortable.

My second stop was Macy’s in Chicago. I looked for pants and tops,they had some beautiful ones. I bought a half a dozen of each.

In Toronto I bought some warm parkas for me and my kids.

Another place I love shopping is London,England.I bought a bag from a reputable store,I’ve just forgotten the name.I bought it on a Friday,the next day the zipper broke.My brother lives in London,I was visiting him.I took the bag to a store near his house to get the zipper fixed. The sales girl told me to take it back to the store,I bought the bag a day ago. I wasn’t too confident, in my home town they simply refuse to take it back even if I bought it an hour ago. I was ready to hear no Ma’am I can’t take it back.I went inside and stood quietly in the corner waiting for a salesman to appear. Within minutes one appeared,I told him about the bag,he took it and came back and apologized ,he didn’t have a replacement.He showed me one that was slightly larger.I was so impressed by him I bought the larger one.

My next favourite place to shop is Boston,they have large stores,one can buy anything, they have a variety of clothes.The best time to visit these places is Spring a lot of winter clothes go on sale.

I love shopping in Dhaka.There are so many different varieties of Sarees,I feel like buying them all. But I have to check my temptation. I do get some. I love shopping whenever I visit a new city, I make sure to buy something even if it is just a souvenir!

Ack deen Raatey Aami shopno dekhinu,One night I had A Dream by Tagore translation by Ranu

One night I had a dream

‘Look’  ‘look’ Binu was saying.

I look out and what do I see a mutual beating of the batten and the beams,

Kolikata is shaking and moving about.

The huge brick houses are moving straight,

the doors and windows are noisy and looking great.

The road is slithering like a huge serpent,

on its back the tram and the vehicles are advancing boom boom.

The shops and the bazaar go up and down,

The roofs are knocking each other dead.

Howrah bridge the massive scorpion is moving with its might,

Harrison road is going close  behind it.

The monument looks like a crazy elephant’s trunk

English: A female African Bush Elephant raises her trunk as a warning sign in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

waving its snout in the empty sky.

Our school is speeding in a hurry,

the math book runs so does grammar.

The maps on the walls are getting restless and fidgety,

Birds seem to flap their wings with authority.

The bell keeps swinging,ding dong ding dong___

thousands of people say wait,wait,wait,

where will we go from where,this is truly crazy!

Kolikata is not listening it’s in a frenzy,

her intoxication of dancing is visible on pillars and walls.

I think ,there is nothing to worry,

let Kolikata go straight to Mumbai.

Dilli can go to Lahore, and Agra too__

I will wear a Pugree on my head and Nagra on my feet.

But if it goes off today to London instead

the Brits will be visible in boots,jackets and hats.

When I woke up suddenly by some noise,

I see Kolikata hasn’t gone anywhere  boys.

Malta ( another one from memory lane) Posted by Ranu

Mediterranean Sea, on the coast of Malta (Sliema) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Arrivals lounge for the Malta International Airport. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Flag of Malta (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Valletta – Malta (Photo credit: Ploync)

Mediterranean Sea (Photo credit: AudreyH)

Coat of arms of Malta. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Malta is a group of islands in the Mediterranean sea.The terrain is low and rocky with coastal cliffs.

Malta ,in the heart of the Mediterranean is a melting pot of civilisations with a history stretching

back thousands of years. The country has been inhabited since around 5200 B.C.a significant prehistoric

civilisation existed on the islands prior to the arrival of the Phoenicians, who named the main island Malat,

meaning ‘Safe Haven.’ Later the islands were for centuries the seat of the ,’Knights of the Hospital of St. John’

and then part of the British Empire.Malta became independent in 1964.

The national language is Maltese,which is part of the Semitic language family that includes Arabic.English is also

recognised  as an official language, and many Maltese speak Italian. The capital of Malta is Valetta. At the crossroads

of the Mediterranean, half-way between Europe and North Africa lies the Maltese archipelago, consisting of three main

islands, Malta(the largest) Gozo and Comino. Gozo the second largest is more rural,characterized by fishing ,tourism

and agriculture,Comino is largely uninhabited.

We arrived in Malta from Heathrow,London.We represented twenty-three different countries. We were received by Maltese officials. Later we were taken to apartments rented for us by our university.I shared the apartment with two students,one was from Malaysia and the other was from Japan,Zakiah Ibrahim,Yukiko Adachi and Chaman. We went to three different schools for our teaching practice.

I loved the children I taught. We stayed in school for the whole day.We came back late afternoon. Zakiah took over as the boss.Our duties were divided by her. I was in charge of breakfast,we had lunch in our respective schools,Zakiah was in charge of supper. Yuki did not have to cook. she was given the duty of washing the dishes after supper.

She was a lovely person,when it came to doing the dishes,she left it for later. In the morning I would wake up and find the dishes in the sink.I had no choice but to wash them.Yuki would in a drowsy tone apologize and say:’ Chaman just wash enough for breakfast.’I washed them all and this is the way it went. Zakiah reminded Yuki of her duty,it didn’t matter,she in her sweet Japanese accent would apologize and promise to take care of her duty.Nothing changed,she continued to be in her land of dreams, while Zakiah and I took care of the rest.We spent a month teaching and sight-seeing whenever possible.The weather in the month of June was fabulous,it was a treat for us.Let me tell you London wasn’t great as far as the weather goes.

Courthouse, Valletta, Malta (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Lower Barracca Gardens, Valletta, Malta (Photo credit: Wikipedia)