Dear Jerry

Dear Jerry,

Hope you are doing well! You thank me for being in touch with you - but true to say, I thank you more.

I am really sorry that I took so long to tell you about myself. We met in the Swampfest. That was Fall and this is the end of Spring. I really wonder how time flies. You know what, it has been a year and a half now since I have seen my parents, have touched my mom, giggled with my friends out there, pampered my 2 year old nephew - since I have been home!

My aspirations to study higher, study better brought me to the United States of America. I traveled for nearly a day to arrive at this part of the world, away from the still "developing" sphere of the earth. I belong to a middle class Indian family, from a part of the country known to be the Cultural Capital - Kolkata. Having grown up in a very crowded city, buzzying with traffic, roaring horns, vehicle exhausts stinging one's eyes and ever noisy streets, Columbus was like all deserted to me. There is more to this missing list of mine. I miss the hot sweltering summers, the sweet winter mornings, the soothing breeze of spring and songs of the Cuckoo. We have a monsoon, too. Heavy torrential rains from the tropical clouds are like music to the ears as the dark clouds turn a day into night. Indian classical music has a raga devoted to the roar of the monsoon clouds known as raga Malhaar. I miss my early morning sunrays, I miss my fullmoon on my moonlight flooded terrace, I miss the verandah where I have spent hours together singing, watching and listening to the streets and just wondering. I miss my home.

Had it not been for my Masters dissertation in Soil Microbiology, I would never have aspired to work with Prof. Richard Dick and not have applied to The Ohio State University. And here I am now, a PhD student in the School of Environmental and Natural Resources. I spin my time studying, working in the lab and teaching now. I love my students - I often try and find in them the time of life when I was of their age. I really envy their sense of independence, their confidence and their ability to express their opinion - I admire their self-reliance and only wish if the children of my country were as equally heard as they are. Life at OSU has been a mix of feelings for me - I have received more than I have given to it. Not only the respect of being a graduate student, the faith that the people around hold in me is as rewarding as it is humbling. I should be honest and must say, I now love the freedom and amiablity here. I love the Winter snow and the frosty flowers on the frozen ground, I love the red-orange-golden leaves of Fall, I love the smell of Spring and revel in the heat of the Summer. I love the serenity and the wild of the Wetlands - I love the red maple and the honey suckle as much as I love the golden rod and the cattails. I am fortunate to be in this free world. I love the crazy Buckeye fans, the uncanny styles of the students, the smell of Adriatico pizza and fresh Panini bread; I love Caesar salad and hot-fudge brownies. I am surprised to find a "made in India" shirt at JCPenny and cannot resist but have it - at times I feel, I can still touch my Motherland, can still smell its soil, air, grasses and sunshine from this faraway New World.

I still have a long way to go and fall in love with the rest of the US and overwhelm my love affairs with the Smoky Mountains and the New York City. I still have to find myself among the most revered Soil Scientists and still to dream higher.

I do not know if I have said enough for you to know me; this has been like moving forth and back in memories, distance and time. I am really glad to have a friend like you who wants to know about me. Thank you Jerry.

I was shocked to know about the passing away of your daughter - she IS so beautiful and vibrant. I am more of a blue placid lake whose bottom can be easily seen. I cannot say if you can find her in me - but surely, I promise to be your friend.

Stay in touch and take care.

Best Wishes,
Taniya