Publisher's Synopsis
My name is Mekhala, although most know me as Jhula, because it was and easier name to pronounce in the USA.
I grew up in a small town about seventy miles east of Calcutta, a well-known name in British India. We lived in the "The Mansion," exactly the way it was described. I grew up in a completely different world; India is my mother land. We lived in a big house with lots of people.My childhood was full of fun sprinkled with restrictions and many rules. We are five siblings who grew up with three cousins, divided into three groups by age. We had a huge courtyard, gardens, and a big rooftop, so we didn't need to go out. We were purposefully sheltered but happy. Our Jethamosai (Dad's older brother), who acted as our strict guardian, was happy to keep the children inside the house. Mastermosai (tutor) was busy with all of us for a couple of hours; other than that, it was a slumber party during the whole two months of summer and one month of Puja (religious festival) After my marriage at the age of twenty-five, my husband and I moved to the USA with a baby on my lap. It was the first time I left my hometown. Lonely, I found consolation in writing. After 55 years of writing in my mother tongue, I am finally had the courage to share some of them in English. These are my stories. Each and every story in this book is nonfiction, although some of are recollected from generation to generation so may have been occasionally reimagined. I hope you enjoy.
