Aila!!

As you might know, Kolkata is near the middle of crescent shaped coast line of Orissa, West Bengal, and Bangladesh. And each year, one or two cyclones (or Hurricanes) threaten to come towards Kolkata, and just before it hits the coast near Kolkata, it diverts to either Bangladesh or Orissa. But this time, today, it didn't move like Warne's leg spin, nor like Murali's off spin... instead it came on straight towards coastal West Bengal, just like Kumble's regular. And like his balls, this came fast.

Only this morning, did I see the warning in the newspaper that a cyclone named Aila is coming towards coastal West Bengal. And I could see the drizzle outside. When I left home, it was still drizzling with a mild wind from East to West. By the time I reached office, it was raining heavily with strong and erratic winds, mainly from North to South. It soon turned violent with very strong winds which was lifting Asbestos shades from the roof, and bursting electrical transformers. The trees were swaying like crazy and the visibility was poor too. Even mobile networks started acting funny (fortunately not my provider). Some temporary vending stalls were flying in the skies, and old trees were being uprooted. At around 2 pm, we heard a warning that the "main" storm is going to pass over Kolkata at around 4 pm, and people were asked to stay indoors. So we left office, and headed for our homes.

It took me almost two hours to reach home (normally it takes about 40 mins) because of all the trees that fell on the roads, and traffic diversions. Fortunately the rains had stopped by then (only slight drizzle and moderate winds). Reports now say the the cyclone has weakened and there will not be a bigger storm as predicted earlier. Rains and moderate winds should still be here for the next couple of days. I hope things come back to normalcy soon.

P.S: My phone's display is gone. I don't have any way of calling you since I don't memorize phone numbers, and if you call, I won't know it's you. Please bear with me till this is fixed.

How the dark mood of yesterday changed

The single biggest reason has to be the fact that I called and got the misunderstanding that was hurting me cleared.

Then a few conversations with old friends happened. A few nice chats happened. And my mood was ecstatic.

Although many people I know discuss about getting fitter (and losing tummy) with me, very few actually follow my tips. But finally, my own mother started to follow the modifications I made to my diet, and asked me about a few exercises that she can do. As they say, "Charity and health revolution begins at home".

I received the pictures from Prashant. Did I tell you that I won a photograph in a lucky draw on Prashant's site? This is the picture (from his site) with my idea of the frame:

C'est la vie

Was in a pensive mood today, and thinking about life... in general. Re-realized that the only people capable of emotionally hurting us, are the ones we really care (or cared) about.

The same actions or words by someone else, with whom we are not emotionally attached, would probably not even bother us, even slightly.

Change?

The people of my country has chosen, and they have chosen Congress and it's allies to lead this country for the next five years. However, this time I was not so bothered about national politics so much. For me, the real battle was going on in my state - West Bengal. The battle to rule West Bengal in the state Legislative assembly, the election of which is due in the next two years, is on.

Here the main opposition Trinamool Congress have started playing the games the ruling party - The Left Front has been playing for years. It's not that these games are welcome in a civilised state, but Trinamool are doing a better job of playing those games than others and hence winning. The Left Front lost a significant number of seats in the national elections this time, and Trinamool Congress hugely improved their tally of one seat last time to 19 seats this time.

Of course, there are various theories doing the rounds explaining the reasons for this result. Some are trying to blame it on the Congress wind on a national level, and it seems that Mr. Prakash Karat is being made the scapegoat for this debacle of CPIM, the biggest of the Left Front parties. The decision to quit the UPA over the nuclear deal issue, and the expulsion of Mr. Somnath Chatterjee from the party didn't go down too well with some members of the party itself.

Some of the winners are trying to attribute this unexpected result directly to the "struggle" that Trinamool has done in places like Nandigram and Singur. They feel that the people of West Bengal are fed up with the way the Left Front govt. rules here.

Whatever the reasons, the general feeling seems to be that this is the indication that things are not going to be so easy for the Left front in the next state elections. Like some "intellectuals" here are saying, people need "Change". Honestly, I need change too. I just need to make myself believe that the change is going to be a good change. As of now, I don't know what the Trinamool Congress' policy is going to be if they are elected to rule West Bengal in the next state elections.

Hope we get some clarity on that in the next two years. And also hope that the show of power is restricted to intellectual prowess and not physical might.

Reason for eating Biriyani # 12

Because the weather is nice :)

Just-cast-my-vote post

We, as a nation may not be even close to being well governed, but at least we have elections to be proud of. Just look at our neighboring countries and their history, and you will know what I am talking about.

Hope we get good people from within the system.

From blogging to micro-blogging

Just joined Twitter. Not that I had not heard about it earlier, but then, there are so many "social networking sites" which come up every day, I try to avoid them. But Twitter is creating too much noise (that's a positive noise) these days, so giving it a try.

Follow me @ http://twitter.com/brainbit

Experienced Tweeters (or is it Twitters - see! I have no clue) please pass on those tips.

Quick points

• After a very dry April, May has brought along some rain in Kolkata / West Bengal.
• Kolkata Knight Riders continue to look like actors in cricket gear. Currently they are a class apart with one win in seven, while other teams have managed at least three wins each.
• I am still confused with English grammar. Is "The multiple captains of KKR is Mr. McCullum" correct?
• People here are more interested in regional politics and regional elections than national votes. Perhaps it comes from the experience that power change in Delhi doesn't change anything to their daily lives.
  
• Buchki is doing fine, but her adopter was down with flu for a couple of days, and still have trouble speaking due to a parched throat.
• I think ladies should be banned from distributing free medical advice. I can handle physical discomfort, but the mental torture of listening to "Gargle with warm water", "Have Tulsi with honey", "Have Turmeric and Milk" 100 times a day! It's not funny!