Sepia Mutiny links to this blog, BridalBeer, allegedly written by a 26-year-old girl from Calcutta who’s about to be trapped in an arranged marriage, and is looking back with great wit and fondness upon her days as young woman in love in free, liberal, urban, sophisticated New York, so unlike conservative, intrusive, backward, etc India. Good premise for selling desi writing to Bheshtern paablishers, Id say. I am from Cal, though, and while I realize situations like this are entirely possible, the blog looks like fiction to me. Her world is simply not one I am familiar with. Interesting fiction, though.
Which makes me wonder – Cal? 26 or thereabouts? Friend of Sagniks? writing? back from the US? is this someone I know?
Samit Basu
Novelist, film director, screenwriter, columnist
Wedding belle
Samit Basu 
I know, I thought exactly the same bloody thing. Its even worse now; a Bong face cant walk (or, all right, be carried) down the street here without me squinting horribly trying to work out where I know them from. Grad school mixer? ex-girlfriend of that chap from St. Paul’s? Delhi academic’s kid? Former spotty-faced girl who nearly drowned in the Tolly swimming pool in 1994?
The tragedy is that I am right 90% of the time.
Posted by Argileto | January 21, 2005, 2:37 pmThanks for the mention. My school memories probably have many overlaps with yours, such as those St. James’ plays(Pied Piper for one), the rigged fests, Krishnendu Banik’s quizzes, the book fair.
Posted by BridalBeer | January 21, 2005, 2:50 pmYes, yes – lots of speculations 🙂 I for one am a lover of conspiracy theories. lots of assumptions – (a) it is a girl (b) it is an honest girl (c) it is just one person writing 🙂 suddenly knowing who this “person” is makes me feel kicked
Posted by Sagnik Nandy | January 21, 2005, 3:28 pmYes – for some reason I feel I should know everybody of that age group from Calcutta. So I am asking the same question – do I know this person?
Posted by Gamesmaster G9 | January 21, 2005, 5:02 pmGood Lord. I was IN Piper. Had to wear whiskers in Act I and a sack in Act II. (The sacrifices one makes for Art…)
Also at book fairs, quizzes (some by Banik), and very definitely rigged fests. Or fest, really; in comparison to KY all the others were models of fairness.
Just goes to show. Calcutta: Town of Ten Million, But only About Two Hundred That You Keep On Meeting Bloody Everywhere, Really.
Posted by Argileto | January 21, 2005, 8:36 pmin keeping with the theme of the last comment…is this Mihir-who-I-met-at-Rukminee’s? In that case, hello, and we should meet up.
Bridalbeer! Reveal the dark secret of your identity(ies?) to me, and I will help with whatever agenda you have:)
Posted by samit | January 22, 2005, 5:23 am