Brainbit: In other words "Piece of my mind"

Since gaining those inches...

2010-11-21T11:26:00.002+05:30

Worked really crazy at work.
Met old friends - and enjoyed their company immensely.
Went to new places to eat and enjoyed most of them.
Saw wonderful movies - "Julie and Julia" and Harry Potter 7.1 being amongst them.

Oh yes, forgot to mention - though not in record breaking time, but still reduced those inches!

Reduce 2 inches in 4 days!

2010-10-18T13:55:00.002+05:30

Having you ever seen advertisement from gyms / slimming centers like that? Well, having gained at least 2 inches in the last 4 days, I need their contact details!

Over the last few days, we were celebrating Durga Puja here. And each of those days, I gorged on food in a manner that would suggest Winter is coming and I need to go on hybernation soon! One night, after unsuccessfully visiting several restaurants willing to waive off the usual waiting period of over one hour, we even ate our dinner at 2 a.m. Breakfasts were the only healthy meal of those days.

I hereby swear, that I would eat healthy food, and nothing but healthy food, for the next few days.

Quizzing, revisited

2010-10-09T11:13:00.001+05:30

These days, my mom and I enjoy a fun Bangla Quiz show hosted by Saurav Ganguly called "Dadagiri". I had been an avid quizzer in my school and college, even winning a few local quizes. I would also watch Quiz shows like "Bournevita Quiz Contest" regularly. But slowly, over a period of time, my quizzing reflexes have gone down. I realized this a few years ago, when I represented my office in a quiz, and most of the questions were buzzerred (and answered) by other teams before I could remember / work out the answer. It was a horrible feeling!

Thanks to this relatively easy quiz hosted by a very smart Saurav Ganguly, I can sit back and answer quiz questions again. Between my mom and me, we are able to answer most of the questions. She sometimes amazes me by her knowledge about things that I would not expect her to know - like the other day, from a visual clue, she correctly identified a dance form as "B-boying", where I could only guess it was "Hip-hop". She said, "There are benefits of watching dance reality shows, after all". That's the beauty of Quizzing - you never know where you get the knowledge from.

Commonwealth Opening Ceremony

2010-10-06T10:23:00.003+05:30

Contradicting my negative comments about organising of the Commonwealth Games in my last post, the opening ceremony was indeed a nice, professional show. I was watching it live at an eatery, and everyone there felt proud that such a beautiful show has been put up by India for the world to see. Hope the events are as professionally managed as well.

India is the third most powerful country in the world

2010-09-21T21:01:00.002+05:30

Yet, on one hand we are dealing with Kashmir and making a mess of it, hardly dealing with the Maoists and getting in to a bloody mess. Millions in our country are still below poverty line. Corruption is rampant. We can't even organise a Commonwealth games properly, although the expenditures would suggest this is the best games ever! I could go on and on, but what's the point - we all know what the issues are, don't we?

In three days from now, the entire country would be in total chaos once again, because some politicians felt, and still feel, that fighting over a small piece of land and structure is much more important than all the other issues that we have in our country today.

Incredible India, indeed!

India is the third most powerful country in the world: As per "Global Governance 2025" jointly issued by the National Intelligence Council (NIC) of the US and the European Union's Institute for Security Studies (EUISS)

Need a reason to join a gym?

2010-09-04T10:13:00.003+05:30

Aro: I need to go back and join a gym.
Me: You? Gym!?!
Aro: Yeahhh... I need to...
Me: Why???
Aro: I have to buy new trousers otherwise. The neighborhood gym is offering two months package at Rs. 500/- If I buy trousers, they will cost me more... so that's why I am joining a gym!
Me: Makes sense.

Part of the conversation between Aro and me, when he was in town recently. One evening full of non-sense conversations like the one above makes me believe my last post.

P.S: If I know Aro, he has either not joined the Gym or has already quit. Make hay, trouser makers!

The pursuit to break the shackles of busyness

2010-08-25T11:21:00.002+05:30

There are many friends, who I would like to keep in touch, and I believe, they want to keep in touch too. However, inspite of all the social networking sites and cell phones, we fail to do so. This Saturday, I left a status message saying I am connecting with friends and asked my friends to leave me messages. I received several replies, including some from friends with whom I was connecting after several years. The same afternoon, I was accompanying a friend to a bank, and while stepping out of the car, a voice called my school nickname from across the road. It was a friend from school, and we met after a couple of years. Makes me believe that if your intentions are right, life throws pleasant surprises at you.

My sister, and I have been working in the same part of the city for over a year now. Her office building is a mere 400 odd metres away from my office building. In fact, my office has a branch at her office building too. In this one year plus, I have met her a couple of times while passing by. Strange, but true, that we have never had lunch (or even coffee) together. Sad, but that's how busy we are! We only meet at home when she visits us (since her marriage). However, yesterday, on the occassion of Rakhi, we decided to meet up and have lunch together. She tied the Rakhi and we ate heartily, despite both of us being on a diet.

As part of the re-connecting phase, I am hoping there would be some old fellow bloggers who would leave a comment, or send me an email after reading this post.

Loan for Finance Minister

2010-08-09T15:53:00.002+05:30

Last week, India's Finance Minister was in the Parliament attending a meeting with leader's of our country, when his cell phone rang. He took the call, and supposedly said, "No, no, not now, I am in a meeting". It was a telemarketing call, offering Mr. Mukherjee a loan. Since then, people are having a good laugh about it. But, it has also made the Telecom Ministry to sit up and take steps to stop unsolicited telemarketing calls. Now, that's the good thing about top ministers facing the common man's problem. They face one problem, and the concerned ministry takes steps. Maybe it's time to revoke some of the priviledges they receive - like the police clearing the road for their motorcade to pass. Let them face traffic congestion for a few days, maybe they would think of something that would benefit the common man.

Coming back to the telemarketing calls, there is a easy way to reduce those calls. There is a National Do Not Call (NDNC) registry where you can register. To register to the National Do Not Call Registry, please dial 1909, or SMS "START DND" to 1909.More details are here: http://ndncregistry.gov.in/

Of Chinese Monkeys and Russian Witches

2010-08-02T18:34:00.003+05:30

I was born and brought up in a state run by a left front government. One of the few advantages of that was that in the days of the cold war, a lot of Indi-Chini and Indo-Soviet cultural activities used to happen here. I used to read Chinese and Russian fairy tales (translated in Bangla / English), and watch Chinese movies. One of the movies that I immensely enjoyed was "Bubbling Spring". I still have comic books about a Chinese Monkey King, Sun Wukong and his compatriots' adventorous journey to India. Russian fairy tales of Bogatyrs (Knights), and Baba Yaga (a witch) were regular holiday staple. There was also this series on a young boy named Anatoly (I may be wrong about the name).

These stories not only fueled my fantasies, they also gave me great insight about the countries where they were set. I think it's a very good idea for children to be exposed to multiple cultures at a young age.

I wonder if these books (or similar) books are available for children these days. I also wonder if other children of my generation from other parts of the country read the books / saw similar movies that I mentioned here.

The Real "Gyan"

2010-07-05T22:16:00.006+05:30

Real reason for Asamoah Gyan's penalty miss against Uruguay in the last minute of extra time:

You see an Indian tricolor just behind the Uruguay goal! Asamoah Gyan must have been confused (or inspired) by that!

This photo is a screenshot taken from a Fifa.com video (1min 52 sec in the video).

Two things that FIFA should immediately do

2010-06-28T18:23:00.000+05:30

1. Make sure the match balls to be used at the World Cup are the same as that used in the previous year's Confederations Cup and all international tournaments in between. The outer print / design can be different, but why should a completely new ball manufactured with new material / technology be used for the first time in a World Cup?

2. Introduce video referal system. When we have someone watching the match on high definition television with super slow-mo reviews from different angles, and we have the referee / assistant referees on the field, running and judging with thousands of vuvuzelas buzzing around them, you know who will get the decisions right!
2a. In all cases where the players are sure the referee has got a decision wrong, they should get a chance to challenge that. It is there in Tennis, Cricket, etc and there is no reason why it can't be there in Football. There is no reason for a player wrongly given a red card to sit out one / two matches, just because the referee got the decision wrong. In a tournament like World Cup, that incidence can be a differentiator.

Value of life

2010-06-20T11:04:00.005+05:30

There is a huge uproar going on in Kolkata over the suicide of a 13 year old school boy. The suicide happened after the boy was caned by his teachers at school. Everyone is after the school administration for practicing corporal punishments.

Call me insensitive, but, I would like to look at this incidence from a different angle. It is not corporal punishment which bothers me. Don't get me wrong, I am not a fan of this practice as I don't think it creates a positive learning environment. All I am saying is that it is not a deal big enough to die for.

I know it is a punishment that has been practiced for decades. The first paragraph of "Swami and Friends" by R. K. Narayan mentions the headmaster with his cane! When we were in school only few years ago, we have been caned at school. I know a friend who took transfer of school because of caning. But never would anyone of us think about taking our own lives for things like these!

What has changed that had not changed from R. K. Narayan's time through our time in school that has suddenly changed for the kids today? Are the kids these days too soft? Kids commit suicide because they flunked their exams. As a nation, are we raising our kids too pampered? Have we stopped teaching our kids to appreciate the value of their lives? If people can attempt suicide because of such trivial issues, then I am sorry to say, they probably deserve to die. And as a nation we would continue to be physical and mental weaklings.

Brazil... la la la, la la, la la la....

2010-06-09T20:49:00.005+05:30

I started writing the last post thinking I would write about Football World Cup and my support for the Brazilian team. Instead, I started thinking about my father and wrote what I wrote. So, here's another football themed post...

I am a Brazil fan because my father was! He was a big fan of Garrincha and wore the number 9 shirt after Garrincha. Of course, Pele is one player who everyone knows, but my father always maintained that Pele was Pele because he had players like Didi, Vava, Garrincha, etc around him. When I started watching football, the Brazil hero was Socrates and Zico. I can never forget the 1986 World Cup quarter final between Brazil and France, where another hero of mine, Michel Platini was playing. Over the years, during every World Cup, Brazil has produced more than one hero, be it Romario, Bebeto, Ronaldo, Dunga, Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, or Roberto Carlos. This year, I am hoping that Kaka would play to dazzle the world!

This year's team seems to be defensively the best in a long long time. Their goal-keeper Caeser is considered the best in the world today. They had not conceded an international goal since last October till yesterday (when they conceded a goal against Tanzania). The midfield is both creative as well as physically very strong. The weakest link of the team seems to be the lack of a prolofic striker like Ronaldo or Romario. However, they do have the talented Fabiano and Robinho in their squad. Another trivia will illustrate why the Brazil team is so feared. In their squad of 23, barring the three goal-keepers, there is only one player who has not scored in an international match. That means 19 players in the squad with experience of scoring in international matches. Rivals, stay scared!

Is it just Football?

2010-06-06T08:49:00.006+05:30

It's that time again. Time when a bunch of blokes would form a team, and run a green ground trying to get one single ball to a specific area of the other side of the ground. And the whole world will go crazy about it! That is the magic of Football World Cup. My father, who was a football player himself, introduced me to this magic, and Football and World Cups were a big part of my growing up!

My first memories of watching international football on television is the Mexico World Cup in 1986, when we first got television at home. My father would explain the finer aspects of the game to me - what off-the-ball-movement was, how the goal scorer got in to a position to score, how a defender anticipates the trajectory of the ball. After a couple of World Cups, I was in a position to discuss those aspects, and would sometimes suggest him the matches to watch (he would only watch one match each night). Every four years, those 30 days would be a time of special bonding between us - it was our time, at times when we would collectively get scolded for watching too much football by my mother, times when we would set our alarm clocks so that we could get up at 3 a.m. and watch a match! Even at times, when I was not in Kolkata during the World Cups, I would call my father up and discuss teams, and get his opinion on players.

This year, I will watch the matches, but for the first time, I would not have anyone to discuss the matches with. I am not sure I will enjoy this World Cup as much as before!

Mad May

2010-05-26T22:00:00.005+05:30

Been too busy to write anything lately. First, there was this Table Tennis tournament I was organising at work. I also played in the tournament and lost in the Singles Quarter Finals. Also lost the Doubles Final match. People say it was the "Knight Rider" jersey we were wearing for the finals that did us in!

Got an award from our client for an initiative of creating an application. That made it two trophies in two days. Incidentally the application I built for a specific activity, became defunct that very day I got the award, since the activity itself was stopped that day!

I also took to a stricter diet last week. I was all health food and good habits for two days, when suddenly the food gods started showering parties and lunch offers. Since then, I have been on a diet of junk food, fried finger food, Biryani and soft drinks. I am extremely un-proud of my bloated self. I promise to refrain from overeating till weekend strikes.

Everything has two sides

2010-05-18T15:06:00.001+05:30

There's always a bright side

My house in Kolkata is sandwiched between two other buildings with only the regulated minimum distance maintained. This means my apartment gets only a glimpse of sunlight any given day. But that also means that the apartment remains cool even in the harshest summer day.

And there's always a dark side

My mother-in-law resides in a house which doesn't have a building for at least 40 ft on either side. This means the house gets a lot of sunlight. It also means the house becomes a furnace during the peak summer (which is now).

Slice of Sikkim

2010-05-04T22:10:00.010+05:30

Last year when I went to Sikkim, I had a funny mis-adventure where I took a very long detour to reach an easy destination. This time, I was back in Sikkim, and as luck would have it, I was in a slightly serious misadventure. Before you start worrying about it, I assure you that it all went well in the end.

This time the plan was to reach Yuksom in West Sikkim, stay there for a couple of days, and then trek up to Dzongri, part of the famous Goechala trek. Trekkers normally do this trek in four days, however, since my wife Smita and my friend Soma were doing a trek for the first time, we planned to do this in five days. The porter was contacted and provisions picked the previous night. Our rucksacks were to be carried by Ponies, instead of the more popular Yaks. We started at 8:30 in the morning (quite late for a trek), and soon left the village and were ambling up and down the trail. The trail itself was well marked, however, it was quite steep at times and had alternating ascending and descending stretches. It took us about four and half hours to reach our stopover for the day. All of us were tired by the time we reached the Trekker's hut, and the simple lunch prepared by the group of guides and porters was quickly devoured. It soon started to rain, and we were confined to the hut. The evening was spent in playing cards. By the time dinner was served, Smita complained of a shooting pain in her left knee. It got worse with time, and she was unable to walk properly. We gave her medicine, applied ointment, and bandaged her knee, and decided to wait till the next morning for further course of action.

The next morning, Smita was better, but still not fully fit. We decided to leave the group and go back to Yuksom. We left early since we were not sure how much time it would take for us to return. To increase our problem, I had to carry my own heavy sack. Further, we were on our own - without a guide. For the first one and half hour, we did not meet a single person. However, our pace was not bad, and Smita seemed to be doing well. We were also encouraged by sightings of two breeds of mountain goats, giant squirrels, and many birds which we had never seen before. We also found an injured Yak right in the middle of the trail. We took several breaks to adjust the bandage, my bag, or generally enjoy the view. Unfortunately, the camera battery was drained and we could not take too many photographs. We finally reached Yuksom at one p.m.

We were just glad that we could reach Yuksom safely. After the long trek back, we didn't mind the hot water bath, hot lunch and other "luxuries" at all. We soon started planning things we could do in the extra days that we had with us. We finally went and stayed at Ravangla (South Sikkim) and Gangtok (East Sikkim) for a couple of days each.

Frontpage news

2010-04-20T21:30:00.003+05:30

Maoist incident at Dantewada happened on 6th April 2010. Sania Mirza & Shoaib Malik drama was going on at around that time, and was given full national importance even after their marriage on 12th April 2010. In the mean time, Lalit Modi / Sashi Tharoor / Sunanda Pushkar / IPL took centrestage.

Is that how it's going to be? It will take only a few days to remove an incident like Dantewada from public eyes by replacing them with gossips and money laundering + glamor + power abuse news? Wonder if 84 people were killed (that's the last count of Dantewada that I got) by foreign terrorists, what the reaction of the media (and public) would have been!

Times when I wanted to blog in the last few months

2010-04-15T10:16:00.004+05:30

I wanted to write every time I have traveled - been to Andhra Pradesh in December; then went to Sunderbans (again, but this time purely for leisure) during Holi. Next week, we are off to a trek in Sikkim - hope to write a report as soon as we are back.

Wanted to vent out, whenever I have felt that India is too large and diverse a country to be managed as a unit. With all it's history of never being managed by a single ruler / dynasty for a long time, and the recent affairs of home grown insurgencies, I seriously feel India as a country is probably not feasible in the long run. More of it when I have the time.

Every time I felt low at work. That's not too many times, considering I only feel low at work when someone tries to back stab me, and when people are ungrateful. Like recently, when a person I personally groomed for a future position for over a month got the promotion, and then left the organization within four months - such a bad investment. Anyway, I also wanted to write when things were good - when each person I groom gets the promotion, when ideas we act on gets implemented and appreciated, when my team does something that gets the recognition - you know, the intangible rewards of doing things well.

More later... let me enjoy a rare off at home - today is the Bengali New Year and I wish everyone Subho Nabo Borsho!

Never say never

2010-04-11T13:08:00.002+05:30

First things first... Happy Diwali, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Chinese New Year, Happy Valentine's day, Happy Fool's day, and happy everything that I missed to wish all of you. Any more yapping about happy, and I would be called "Happy Singh"!

Second things second... I missed writing this blog immensely. Although a new work place (where internet is restricted, and work pressure restricts the time) and a newly married life (with everyone I know or should know invites me to eat with them) is not conducive to maintaining a blog, I realised that I can still write a few things every week / month.

Another important reason why I thought I can't stop writing here is because it gave me immense pleasure and pride to help people affected by Aila last May through this blog. I thought it would be criminal to quit the blog within a few months of such a wonderful contribution by this blog.

So, bottom line, I am writing again. Watch out for more Bohemian Rhapsody. Happy Poila Boisakh / Bengali New Year.

36 - Tag time again

2009-10-11T11:34:00.003+05:30

1. What is your current obsession?
I can't reveal her name in public :P

2. What are you wearing today?
Right now, shorts and t-shirt. Plan to wear kurta-pajama in the evening.

3. What's for dinner?
Dinner at friend's place.

4. What was the last thing you bought?
A haircut!

5. What are you listening to right now?
I am humming random songs to myself.

6. What do you think about the person who tagged you?
I picked it up from two of my friends' blog.

7. If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would you like it to be?
It will be somewhere in the hills, by a lakeside, with a fireplace, and good stock of books and drinks.

8. What are your must-have pieces for summer?
Cotton, and more cotton.

9. If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?
Mt. Everest!

10. Which language do you want to learn?
Sign language.

11. What’s your favourite quote?
"The grass is always greener on the other side of the river" - I actually use this a lot.

12. Who do you want to meet right now?
All my friends.

13. What is your favorite colour?
Blue. Depends really.

14. What is your favorite piece of clothing in your own closet?
A pair of jeans.

15. What is your dream job?
Dreaming

16. What’s your favourite magazine?
I don't have a fav magazine - I read them all randomly.

17. If you had $100 now, what would you spend it on?
Chandni bar... here I come...

18. What do you consider a fashion faux pas?
Black belt, brown shoes.

19. Who according to you is the most over-rated style icon?
Fardeen Khan

20. What kind of haircut do you prefer?
On me, crew cut. On ladies, the kind they show on shampoo ads.

21. What are you going to do after this?
Go to Chandni bar with the $100 I got from question#17.

22. What are your favourite movies?
Too many.. but Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Satyajit Ray movies are right there at the top.

23. What are three cosmetic/makeup/perfume products that you can't live without?
Deo, After shave, and moisturizer.

24. What inspires you?
The satisfaction of doing something well inspires me.

25. Give us three styling tips that always work for you
Get yourself a healthier body, wear comfortable clothes, and feel confident.

26. What do you do when you “have nothing to wear” (even though your closet’s packed)?
Jeans and T-shirt :)

27. Coffee or tea?
My day starts with tea. Thereafter, coffee please.

28. What do you do when you are feeling low or terribly depressed?
I sing to myself, and philosophize.

29. What is the meaning of your name?
Auspicious lamp.

30. Which other blogs do you love visiting?
They are all listed on the right panel of this blog.

31. Favorite Dessert/Sweet?
The one that is available - I am sweet crazy; it's better if I don't have a choice.

32. Favorite Season?
Winter.

33. If I come to your house now, what would u cook for me?
Maggi

34. What is the right way to avoid people who purposefully hurt you?
I need to learn to do this.

35. What are you afraid of the most?
Death

36.Is it possible to be in love with two persons simultaneously?
No for me, if I got the context right.

I tag - everyone reading this. Enjoy.

Brand-Aid

2009-10-08T21:45:00.003+05:30

It's plain funny how some brands catch the imagination of the "public" in India. Generic products will be called by a brand name; and people insist that it is the right name. For example, when I asked someone at work to get a "photocopy", he tried to correct me by saying, "You mean Xerox?". It's not his fault, I guess. Every street corner in Kolkata you will find a sign boasting "Xerox by Canon" or plain "Xerox", although if you look inside the shop, the machine could be Canon, HP, IBM, etc.

Then, of course, all kind of instant noodle is Maggi. Chocolates, used to be, and sometimes even now, is Cadbury! Luxury buses, even if they are made by Ashok Leyland, Tata, or some other company, boasts of "Volvo" service! My mom says, when she was a kid, detergent powder was referred to as "Surf"! Even now, people buy "Band Aid" instead of "adhesive dressings". I am sure there are so many other examples that I can't recall now!

Excuses

2009-10-03T21:12:00.002+05:30

BSNL broadband at home was not working. Follow up to fix it didn't happen during the Pujas.
Office policy (and work pressure) doesn't allow browsing.

So, let bygones be bygones. The good thing is I am back, isn't it?

A bachelor and a gentleman

2009-09-03T21:45:00.002+05:30

If it happened just once, I would have ignored it. But, twice in a week is too much of a coincidence to ignore!

If I may say so myself, people generally consider me as a gentleman. But twice this week, this has been misunderstood. Twice during the course of discussion about "roving eyes" of other men, I had to face embarrassing questions about my sexuality and usual "Dostana" jokes! Why is it that people have to criticize the behavior of others as lewd, obscene or crass, yet cannot accept someone who is not behaving like that as a straight single gentleman?

All in a (Sun)day's work

2009-08-30T22:35:00.001+05:30

Several cups of tea.
A short haircut.
A long-due tiring workout.
Moving stuff at home, that was long due too.
Clothes shopping with my brother-in-law.
Going to a movie with friends. Visit a friend, who couldn't join us for the movie, for post movie tea.
Taking a long walk by the lake.
Planning for next Sunday!

Ten days, nine nights

2009-08-23T08:51:00.003+05:30

This is one of those posts, where I come back to my blog and see that the last post was written quite a few days ago, and see that I had so much to write but still didn't write, and didn't realise it was that long since I last wrote anything. If that confused you, never mind, I am not known for my lyrical prose anyway! Let me just go on...

Almost exactly two years after I took a break from the corporate world, I joined a company this week. Although I was enjoying work with my friends over the last couple of years, at some point in time, I guess this was bound to happen. As you can imagine, the first few days in this new place were really crazy (a positive crazy, like busy-crazy). Wish me luck people for this new journey.

Leaving you with an image from Chandipur, a place in Orissa which I visited just before joining. As all tours with childhood friends and like-minded friends go, this one was a blast. Even the post trip party last night was a total blast. Some people realized how drunk they were after the videos were shown! Some realized how liberal they become with their singing when they think no ones listening. Those who didn't make it to this trip realized how much fun they missed out on.

हिंदी पुस्तक के खोज में

2009-08-12T16:38:00.002+05:30

I can read Hindi - slowly, write Hindi - with very bad spelling and handwriting, and speak Hindi - with mistakes, especially gender related and pronunciations. But I am not ashamed of those. After all, it is only the third language I know. To improve my hindi, I try to speak as often as I can. It is my effort to read Hindi, that I am not particularly happy about. I have tried to ask a few friends who are native speakers of the language, and I still don't have a list of writers who represent modern Hindi literature.

I am also worried, because none of my friends are reading Hindi, when I know some of them do read a lot. Forget about reading, they are not even aware about the Hindi literary scene from what I understand. I don't remember a recent Hindi movie which is based on original literary work. I don't remember anyone talking about a Hindi books, whereas a lot of noise is heard about works in English. Does that mean that there is a lack of interest in Hindi literature among people today? That would be sad, since I firmly believe a language evolves and enriches through written work.

BTW, I am currently reading two Bangla books, both fiction, but fact based. And even if I am not a big fan of modern Bangla fiction, I can tell you the names of at least five contemporary authors. I might also be able to suggest you books in Bangla based on your interest / genre. I know people discuss literature here. Why is it not the same with my Hindi speaking friends?

Please prove that my feeling is wrong. Tell me Hindi lit scene is thriving. Help me find some good Hindi literature.

Bagful of tag

2009-08-10T16:49:00.004+05:30

Tagged by Swati. BTW, I already have another tag pending from Aseem, which I shall do shortly too. So, anyway, here are the rules for this one:

Use the first letter of your name to answer each of the following questions. They have to be real- nothing made up! If the person before you had the same first initial, you must use different answers. You cannot use any word twice and you can't use your name for the boy/girl name question.

And now the Q&A:

1. What is your name: Subhadip
2. A four Letter Word: Sure!
3. A boy's Name: Subhash (means one who speaks well. Example: Subhash Ch. Bose)
4. A girl's Name: Saina (Nehwal... go Saina)
5. An occupation: Storm chasing
6. A colour: Silver
7. Something you wear: Shirt (that was easy :P)
8. A food: Seekh Kabab
9. Something found in the bathroom: Shaving kit
10. A place: Sikkim
11. A reason for being late: Slow traffic :P
12. Something you shout: Shut up!
13. A movie title: Sholay (now can I change the previous answer to "Suaar ke bachchoo"?)
14. Something you drink: Shake
15. A musical group: Scorpions
16. An animal: Sperm Whale
17. A street name: Southern Avenue (the greenest street in Kolkata)
18. A type of car: Sportscar
19. Something scary: Seppuku (Japanese suicide ritual)
20. Ice cream flavour: Strawberry

I tag
Aseem: Since he is new to this blog & tag business. And I do intend to do the existing tag on your blog.
Kanu: Because she doesn't write frequently at all and I miss her sarcasm.
Adisha: Same reason as above minus the sarcasm.
Rohit: Since his reaction is bound to be "What the F%$&... this is so old stuff man... do I have to do it?"
Richa: Because she is most likely to do it.
Butterfly: Because her frequency of posting has drastically reduced, and her answers are likely to be the most innocent.

Others please feel free to get yourself tagged.

Kachukhali revisited

2009-08-09T10:35:00.008+05:30

This time it was to accompany a team, who went there to see how the rebuilding process is going on. They were gracious enough to ask me to join them, so that I could see for myself how the money my friends contributed (responding to this post) is being utilised.
Overall, the situation is still very grim, but the people there are not down in spirits like the last time I thought they were. This time, I saw them joke about the situation frequently, even when the topic is as grim as imminent food crisis, or cattle death. Some people are still living in make shift shacks like the one in this picture, built on the road, right next to the embankment.

We even got someone to go on a "mission", to collect all the duck eggs that she could get in the neighborhood and sell them to one of us, and she collected 39 eggs! While we were returning, we were informed she just missed two more eggs, which were delivered by the ducks after she had collected the eggs. BTW, shrimps are one of the few things surviving well in the salty waters, and ducks are doing well there, because they are getting a lot of shrimps to eat on.

One of the first steps of the rebuilding process is to clear out the ponds of salty water, and let the monsoon rain fill the ponds with sweet water. This ensures water for everyday use and also the survival of small fish, which are a main food source here.
The farms are still filled with salty water though. Trust me, the stagnant water on these fields do not smell good. I wonder if there can be farming on those fields for months to come.
Inspiration of the day came from this man. He was planting a few saplings, apparently conditioned for salt water. In the background you can see the saplings that he planted last time, now dead. On asked if these will survive in the salty water, he said, "I am not sure, but let me try. What options do I have? I am a farmer, this is what I am supposed to do".

My friends, those who contributed towards this, I assure you, your money was well spent. The love that I received from the people of Kachukhali, it was meant for sharing with you. The food that they stuffed me with, was certainly meant for all of us, and not just one person! I wish I could take you with me to get to know this place.

Apart from all the serious stuff, this time, I learnt a few other things as well. I learnt about bee farming. I also learnt how simple traps (for fish and shrimps) work. Then, I also got an intensive and practical course on how to walk on slippery grounds!

You can see more pictures here

Why I couldn't write a post last night

2009-08-03T22:08:00.004+05:30

For various reasons mostly good, I was thinking about my friends for the last three days. Since yesterday was "Friendship day", I even started writing about it when I came back home at about 8:30 pm. I wanted to write about how wonderful my friends are ... that they think of me once in a while ... they call me / meet me... they have supported me during my dark hours... they cheer me up when I feel low... etc, etc.

But just when I started writing that, my friends called me and asked me to get out of my house, as they were coming to "abduct" me for tea. This was at about 9:30 in the night, just about my dinner time, and we went for tea a few kms away from our place, then a long walk in search of paan, and ended up having kulfi, with loads of laughter and a few pranks.

Happy Friendship Day :)

I want to break free

2009-07-23T18:04:00.004+05:30

It was one of those lazy afternoons, when a discussion about free software started. We got discussing whether it is feasible and sustainable to use only free software, but we couldn't quite come to any conclusions. A few days later, I got my new netbook, and decided to try and prove that it is possible to rely totally on free software. Hence this experiment. I will use only free software for the next one year on my netbook for my personal use.

My netbook came pre-loaded with Microsoft Windows XP, Microsoft Office (free trial version), McAfee Anti-Virus (free trial version), Microsoft Works (bundled).

For now, I am keeping the Windows XP (since it's bundled with the laptop). Right now, I am in no mood to switch to Linux. I will keep my serious eye open for Chrome OS.
I decided not to buy the licenses for MS Office (I hate the 2007 version anyway) once their trial period expires. Instead will keep Microsoft Works for office productivity suite (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, etc) as it is bundled - the other option was to go for OpenOffice (which I have used earlier).

In addition, I installed the following software, all of them free, for my everyday use:

Firefox - My browser of choice. With those killer add-ons (like DownloadHelper for YouTube videos), I don't think I am going to use IE anytime soon.
VLC player - to play all kind of video files including the YouTube ones.
DivX - to play those HD videos.
Picasa - for organising photographs and minor edit jobs. Easiest way to upload to picasaweb.
GIMP - for major edit work on photographs. In fact, my friend who uses Photoshop professionally now wants to try GIMP as it is doing certain jobs much faster, and better than Photoshop. Example - the current "Bohemian Rhapsody" title pic was created in a couple of minutes using GIMP.
Google Sketchup - this one is for 3D modeling. I use it primarily to design my home furniture.

Wish list:

AVG - Anti-virus program once my McAfee license expires. Any other free anti-virus programs I should consider?
Jing - Video capture software instead of Camtasia Studio. I have the installer, just don't need it yet.
Apache + MySQL + PHP - If I decide to develop any web application project at home. I will also need a PHP editor software for that. Preferably one with HTML editing capability.

Help me with this experiment: Please let me know if you use any free software which really helps you. And wish me luck.

Sportstar

2009-07-17T10:34:00.004+05:30

Yesterday, I was enjoying my unexpected off day at work, and as I normally do, I took a long walk through the streets of Kolkata. Near the popular market area of Gariahat, I saw something, which made me stop - a Sportstar magazine. Well, not exactly a magazine, since it is now printed in a tabloid format, but the logo is unmistakable. After all it is embedded in my childhood! I immediately bought it, a pure nostalgimpulsive (watch out for new entries to the Oxford dictionary next year) buy.

Anyway, back at home, late at night, I put aside the books I was reading, and opened the Sportstar. I read the articles enthusiastically, watched all the pictures, and then realized why it is not the phenomenon that it once used to be. I already knew everything (almost) that was written there, thanks to my daily dose of Sportscenter / Sportszone on TV. The high resolution images look glossier on the web pages. The newspapers are covering sports over three pages. The sports channels almost never fails to show a live event. There was nothing in Sportstar for which I should have to wait till the weekend. Very very different from the days when it used to be a novelty, something to look forward to.

You have to be one of those kids born in the 70s, growing up in the 80s to probably understand the sentiment here. You see, when I was a kid, we didn't have TV at home. Even when we did eventually get a TV, there were two precious channels (a third if you added a booster to the antenna). So sports news was a capsule of a few minutes within 15 minutes of news, which ended before it started. Live action meant cricket matches when they happened, football world cups every four years, and Wimbledon every year.

Even the newspapers were thinner, and sports was a one / one and half page affair in it. For sports crazy kids like us, Sportstar magazine and its likes were a life saver. We would wait for it to hit the stands and gobble up all the news from around the world. The special attraction was the centre four-fold poster. In those internet deprived days, you can only imagine what a high resolution Steffi Graf (or Boris Becker if you like) poster meant to us. In fact before Archies Gallery made it big, those posters with visible fold lines, were the only standard decoration items for our rooms / cupboards. Heck, I even had those old editions clubbed together every year in a thick bind for posterity. I guess every thing has their own time to live, to prosper, and then give way to newer things.

Cross the bridge ...

2009-07-07T12:44:00.003+05:30

.. when it is built, and irrespective of what it is called - that is what I say.

For a few days now, the media has been harping about the new bridge connecting Bandra and Worli over sea. It has been hailed as an modern engineering marvel, and much is being written about naming it as "Rajiv Gandhi Setu". I am happy that it is finally complete, and I am convinced that it is an engineering marvel, and is going to help the people in Mumbai, despite the sceptics.

But while reporting this feat, I think the media failed to mention / undermined that the 5.6 km bridge took over 10 years to build for various reasons, raising the cost considerably. I can't help but compare similar infrastructure projects in our neighboring country - China. Hangzhou Bay Bridge connecting Shanghai and Ningbo over sea is 35.6 km long (the longest of it's kind) and was completed in a little over four years. Donghai bridge, which is another bridge over sea and is 32.5 km long, was developed in less than three years. Similarly, while we struggle to complete the railline from Jammu to Srinagar, China already has a train service from Beijing to Lhasa, Tibet, and a motorable road all the way to Everest Base Camp. I know there is no direct competition here, but my point is if they can do it, we must try to learn from them and do it on time too. In case we don't want to admit that others can manage projects better, what about looking at how the Delhi Metro project was done?

About naming the bridge: Nothing against Mr. Rajiv Gandhi, or Mr. Bal Thackeray, or Shivaji, or really, whoever they want to name it after. But why are we so insistent on naming any project after a person? Even when a bridge is named after legends, people usually call them by a convenient name. Case in point: Howrah bridge connecting Howrah to Kolkata is almost never referred to as Rabindra Setu, it's official name. Same goes for Vidyasagar Setu, again connecting Howrah and Kolkata, which is referred to locally as the "2nd Hooghly Bridge". It's not that people don't respect Rabindranath or Vidyasagar; it's quite the opposite - but I think people don't care to call a bridge after people who had nothing to do with the bridge!

Internationally, the few examples of landmark bridges that comes to mind are also named after the location or nearby landmarks. Golden Gate Bridge goes over the "Golden Gate" of San Fransisco. Millau Viaduct is near the town of Millau in France. Brooklyn Bridge connects Manhattan to ... you guessed it... Brooklyn. Tower Bridge in London is near the Tower of London. Sydney Harbor Bridge is obviously.... the list goes on and on. Why can't we just leave "Bandra-Worli Sea Link" to be simply "Bandra-Worli Sea Link"?

Quick Updates

2009-06-28T08:57:00.002+05:30

The aid / relief collection for Sunderban (post Aila) is going well. Most of the clothes and other items collected in Kolkata were sent to Kachukhali this week. Next week, before relief goes, I plan to consolidate all the money that I have received, and buy essential items, so that I can take them with me. I must say I have received help from the most unexpected quarters - I can't thank all of you enough. More than anything, it reinforces my belief - there's still a little bit of goodness left in some of us.

Now some more news:

Saddened by MJ's death. After all, his was the first english cassette I bought with my own pocket money savings.

And a couple of personal observations:

Wearing a red t-shirt to a store where all the employees wear red t-shirts is a bad idea.

Terminator Salvation is a super bad idea - I could direct a movie better. No, seriously.

Oh, and finally got my phone display fixed. But not before my friends took unfair advantage of the situation (of no caller ID display) and did a prank on me :( - but that's another story.

Disaster

2009-06-14T10:26:00.009+05:30

When two Bengalis known to each other meet, they typically ask "Ki khobor?" (literally "What news?") or "Kemon acho?" ("How are you?"). Typically the answer is "Ei cholche" ("Going on"), or "Bhalo" ("Good"). We can be in a lot of difficulties, but it is almost always the same answers. I didn't think much about these standard formalities till yesterday. Yesterday made me realize that asking simple questions can be difficult too. Especially if the answer is "I don't have anything left".
I visited a relief camp organised post cyclone Aila, in an area called Kachukhali in the Sunderbans. The one and half hour boat ride to the area was through the beautiful Bidyadhari river, whose banks were laced with lush green local trees. The only trace of disaster at first glance are the places where we could see the bank repair work was going on. We could also see a few dead animals floating on the river. People would hear the motor of the boat and come out to the banks, expecting some aid.

But it is not possible to gauge the damage that the cyclone and the flood thereafter can cause by sitting in a boat and looking at the broken river banks. Once we reached Kachukhali we saw what devastation a cyclone can cause. Devastation is when your mud house is not there anymore, your livestock are dead, the crop fields are filled with saline water making it unusable for at least the next three years, and the fish ponds full of dead fish who died in contact with saline water. They don't practically have anything left!

Among this destruction, local NGOs, government through Panchayets, and other organisations continuously try to provide relief material. During the day, I met and saw few young people work in the relief camp - Shyamali, Sushama and Kalyan among others. Sushama's house has turned into a pile of mud. During the day, she works tirelessly helping others get relief material, all with a smile and dry sense of humor. In the night she now sleeps in a neighbor's courtyard braving the menace of mosquito. Shyamali whose story is similar to Sushama, was also with a smile all day, but for one moment, when we saw tears in her eyes while telling the clothes she was wearing are the only clothes she now has. Kalyan still has his house in place, but he hardly has the time to go there. While we were coming back after visiting an adjoining area, he was informed that his mother fell somewhere and has a gash in her head. We had to literally force him to go and look after his mother, and not worry about us reaching Gatkhali.
The irony in the lives of these relief workers is that they themselves cannot take any relief material, even if they need them, for fear of people accusing them of misusing their power. Yet, amidst this, these workers are more worried that in the immediate future, diarrhea and malaria are going to strike, and how to deal with that. Their boss, Kamalesh mama, worries about the immediate need of mosquito nets, tarpaulin sheets (to serve as damp proof beds) and hurricane lamps (crude lamp which runs on kerosene). He also has to see how to get medicine, specially for malaria and diarrhea. He patiently answers all grievances of people gathered near his house about relief material and it's distribution. Then he looks at the pond outside his house, and predicts philosophically, "Next year, this time, no relief will come, and we will all die of hunger". But he doesn't let this hopelessness linger, after all he leads a team bringing hope to people. When it was time for us to leave, he looked at me and said, "This is your first time here, and you have come at such a time, we couldn't even cook some fish for you".

Perhaps the only thing left in these people is this spirit. This old lady was fishing in a paddy field, still filled with saline water from the flood. She told us how she lost all her goats and hen, and only six of her ducks remain alive. She also told us how her second son and grandson were almost swept away about 200 meters to the river by the flood, but was saved when they grabbed a tree, and came back "home" after the water receded a bit. A home where almost nothing usable is left. The fish she was catching was small salt water fish and shrimp, since all the sweet water fish have died in the flood. Her stock of rice and lentils (dal) were washed away in the flood. She got a sack of rice and some dal through Panchayet, and that is what her family is surviving on. Despite that, during our conversation, she asked us thrice to have lunch at her house. She said "Let me go home and put rice in a pot, and cook these", pointing towards the fresh catch of shrimp. We declined and went our way. In the evening, we met the lady again. This time she was coming back from the river bank, where a relief boat just distributed small packets of rice and potato. She was carrying a packet of rice, and a packet of potato, each about 500 gms, but didn't forget to ask us if we have had lunch. Sometimes, it is difficult to answer these simple questions.

Nostalgia

2009-06-12T10:24:00.004+05:30

"Silence doesn't mean I have nothing to say. It might mean I have too much to say" - B. O' Hemian, circa 2009.

The last two weeks just flew by, and took me back in time to several degrees:

25 years ago
First, my friend Aniruddha a.k.a Shantu got married. Now, he is my, what some people call, Chuddy buddy. Just that we have been friends even before that. We grew up together in the same neighborhood part of a gang of four, played together, fought each other and more importantly together against others over trivial matters. On his wedding day, some of us started discussing the weird and comical things that he has done in his life, and we just couldn't stop laughing. Seriously, we could write a book on that. Good times!

10 years ago
Next, my friend from Bangladesh, Zaved bhai and bhabi came over for a medical checkup. This was the first time I met him in 8 years. The three days that they stayed with us were spent talking about the time when I was in Bangladesh almost a decade ago. As usual, three days seemed to be too less for all the talking we had to do, and all the food that I had to introduce them to. Hopefully he will come back soon, and we will talk about the good times again.

5 years ago
Then Shaji a.k.a Motey came to Kolkata on office business for a day, and we met up for a late night winding down session. We met after exactly a year, and as expected we started talking about our life in Delhi and what our friends Ganja, Ghansu, Sudzi, Sallu and others are doing. The couple of hours that we could manage to chat was enough to take me back to Delhi, 5-6 years ago, and the good times there.

Aila!!

2009-05-25T21:05:00.002+05:30

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

2009-05-22T14:37:00.003+05:30

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

2009-05-21T16:37:00.001+05:30

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?

2009-05-17T20:09:00.003+05:30

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

2009-05-14T14:35:00.000+05:30

Because the weather is nice :)

Just-cast-my-vote post

2009-05-13T10:36:00.003+05:30

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

2009-05-08T13:44:00.003+05:30

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

2009-05-05T18:18:00.002+05:30

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!

Net and Netbook

2009-04-26T14:22:00.002+05:30

It's been pretty satisfying this weekend. First I adopted "Buchhki": an Acer Netbook. It's so small that all the other members in my family doubted if it can do what my old laptop did. I had to really assure them that this one does everything plus some. It even has a webcam! Of course it doesn't have a DVD player / writer; but then, can't have everything together!

Then I finally got the BSNL broadband too! Of course the line was installed a couple of weeks ago, the broadband modem given a week ago, and the password sent yesterday. True to BSNL style, I was left to figure out what to do with those, so I called the helpline. The phone helpline gave me a ticket number, and I was to wait for them to contact me to fix the problem. But in the meanwhile, I tinkered with the settings, tried a few things, and lo - it's up and running. In fact I am using the netbook to type these very words, and using the secured wireless connection that I configured to post this.

It's getting hot in here...

2009-04-21T16:44:00.001+05:30

Remember I wrote about Kalbaisakhi? I don't know if I jinxed it or not, but since then, Kolkata has not seen any rain, making this the hottest April in years. This weekend the temperature went over 40 in Celsius, and it was extremely dry for this part of the country.

Add to that a major power outage in the city on Sunday, when even services like Metro (underground rail), hospitals, and airport were hit. Even the traffic signals were out for some time! Power supply was restored to normalcy only by late night.

Since yesterday, the humidity has also increased, making it all the more unbearable. I went to the market this morning, and one of the vegetable vendor collapsed from heat stroke right in front of me. I am trying my best to beat the heat with cap / sunscreen / sunglasses, and plenty of fluids. If I survive, will see you here. Else, charge global warming for murder.

Public Holiday

2009-04-15T16:33:00.002+05:30

My Ma went to the bank yesterday, and found it closed. The security guard there knew it was a holiday, but didn't know why. Anyway, Ma came back and asked me why the bank was closed and I told her - it was Dr. B. R. Ambedkar's birthday.

This raised a question in my mind... what is the significance of celebrating holidays on birthdays of famous personalities? How many of us know who Dr. Ambedkar was beyond the title of "Father of Constitution" or the fact that he was from a low caste who defied all odds to achieve great academic success? Why Dr. Ambedkar alone? We celebrate so many birthdays of famous citizens of India by making it a holiday - M. K. Gandhi, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, Dr. Radhakrishnan, Subhash Chandra Bose, Rabindranath Tagore - some of them on a regional basis, but I really think we miss the point of celebrating the birthdays. We take it as another holiday for us to enjoy. Tell me honestly, what works for you better? A school giving holiday on Dr. Ambedkar's birthday, or a school having normal classes with the assembly time (or any other period) used for letting everyone know of his philosophies and vision? I don't remember gaining any additional knowledge about Mr. Gandhi from watching "Gandhi" year after year on DD during the time I was in school!

But no one protests in India because we don't believe in our right to work, it is rather the other way round - we just need an excuse to not-work! If we collectively believed in our right to work, we would not have bandhs and hartals as late as 2009! I am sure we can find better ways of doing things!

I like days like these

2009-04-08T19:44:00.002+05:30

When two ex-colleagues (friends really - somehow, ex-colleagues and friends do not score same on excitement level) call me after a long time.

Aro called to say that just the day before, he locked himself out of his 8th floor flat. So he had to find a ladder to place somewhere on the 7th floor in order to climb to the window of his flat; and after climbing up, he realized it was the wrong window!

James, my partner in crime for several years in many things, including training, travels, and overeating, called and we exchanged updates mostly about our common friends.

And then two school friends also call me the same day. Samrat is in town and we plan to meet this weekend; and then Nilu got my number from Samrat, and we spoke after at least 15 years. Now that we are in touch again, thanks largely to Orkut, she is one of the oldest friend I have, having studied together from Nursery to Class Five!

The icing on the cake would have been my favorite football teams winning important matches. Unfortunately, ManU managed just a draw against Porto, and Mohun Bagan lost to Kuwait SC. Can't have everything in one day, I guess!

A picture is worth a thousand words

2009-04-02T18:38:00.003+05:30

My friend, Prashant, is celebrating his 30th birthday this month, in a unique style. He is selling his photographs to raise money for child education and rights. All the money raised would go to Sankalp, a project of ASK.

One of the photographs on sale.

I was proud to be associated with a similar project he took up in 2008. I personally visited the ASK office in Gurgaon last year, and know a few very talented friends who have been associated with ASK / Sankalp, directly or indirectly. I can vouch for the hard and focused work that these guys put towards various causes.

Another photograph on sale.

So, my friends, I would request you to go through the 30on30 site, where the photographs are being sold. Please read more about the project, and go through the photographs. If you like any of them, buy it. If you don't like any photograph (which basically means you have no taste :P), but still like the idea, help us spread the word. Maybe you can just put the badge (displayed below) on your site for a few days, maybe you can tell your friends, or join the Facebook event - any effort, big or small, is much appreciated.

Help us spread the word.

Add this badge to your blog

Each picture on the site is worth a thousand rupees. But, as they say in the Mastercard ads, the value of child education those thousand rupees will provide, is priceless!

Kalbaisakhi

2009-03-31T15:12:00.000+05:30

First there's the Stifling heat. Then comes the breeze, and the clouds rumble, sending sparks of lightning, followed by a short but blinding dust storm. Then it rains. The rain washes away everything, it cools everything down.

That's Kalbaisakhi (roughly pre-summer storm / rain) - common in these parts of the country this time of the year. But for me, it also symbolises a situation when we have to confront someone or discuss something really important.

We think about the discussion, play the conversations several times in our mind, apprehend the reactions, and think of the consequences. It almost makes us crazy - to the point that we can't take it anymore. Then we talk. And the reactions are surprisingly cool, all the apprehensions are gone, things are clear, and the world is such a better place to be in.

Both happened here last evening.

Marching past March and Silence explained

2009-03-23T16:47:00.003+05:30

First the silence explained: It's not that I don't have anything to write; I have too much to write! Mostly good stuff, some sad stuff, and some really good things that has happened to me. So, I couldn't decide what to write, and honestly, didn't get much time to think about the blog.

Now the Marching past March part:

This morning, as I was walking past a school near my house, the beats of a marching band reached my ears. Even without realizing, I started walking to the beats: left... left... left, right, left! As I soon realized it, it brought a smile to my face, and instantly took me back to my school days. When in class 9, I auditioned for the March Past team, which was a seriously prestigious team in our school, and got selected because of my height (they needed everyone with the same height). Then came the grueling practice schedule, with an Army Jawan coming to train us each day for about a month. We were training to participate in the 26th January Republic day parade, held each year at Red Road in Kolkata. The winning teams, one boy's team and one girl's team, gets to participate in the next year's Republic day parade in Delhi! I would never forget walking with a rod across the back held under the arms to get a straight torso. Or, the practice to raise the feet and arms exactly as high as others in the line are raising. Even the turning of head to the right and salute were practiced for hours. On 23rd January, we participated in a smaller competition just to get our groove going. Then, on the D-day, we marched past the Governor of West Bengal, heads held high, torso straight, legs rising in unison, uniform smartly pressed - a proud bunch. We didn't win the competition, I think National High School stole it from us by putting steel plates under their soles to get a smart clicking sound; but it didn't matter at the end of the day. We did our best.

So, there you go... a post! See you soon!

Ghatsila - Holi khela

2009-03-13T16:52:00.006+05:30

The day I returned to Kolkata from Sikkim, I got a call in the evening from a school friend to meet up. I passed, since I was too tired that day. But others from the group, which now includes their spouses as well, met and called me to "inform" that I was going with them to Ghatsila during the Holi holidays. Not request, not ask, but inform! Being the only bachelor in the group has it's own "dis"-advantages :(

So anyway, we took an early morning train to Ghatsila, Jharkhand. It had rained there the night before making the weather very pleasant. We didn't waste much time and a quick lunch later went out to explore the area. First up was Burudih lake, a result of the creation of Burudih dam, a few kilometers away from the town. The "jungle" route was scenic, but not for those with a bad back. We did some paddle boating in the beautiful lake, and moved on to Phuldugri hills. Supposedly quite a number of movies have been shot there, but we couldn't really see why! We did some still photo shooting of our own there and came back to the town. We spoke to a lot of people, and almost all of them warned us not to venture out on Holi day. Apparently, it gets "nasty"! We were a little disappointed at this, since we wanted to see a few more places the next day. But once back to our hotel, we managed to drown our disappointment over a few drinks, and enjoyed ourselves with a lot of singing, eating and talking.

Burudih lake

The next morning, two of us went out to figure out the scene. We were quite surprised to see that at 07:30 in the morning, a shoe shop and a clothes shop was open - that too on Holi! We didn't find a single person with colors smeared on them! So we came back to our hotel, and discussed the possibility of venturing out. But instead of getting ready, we started playing Holi amongst ourselves in the hotel, and made quite a mess of ourselves and the common room. Meanwhile the streets were also full of people in colorful colors. We were pleasantly surprised to see that people weren't going bizzare with strangers on the road. The revelers would ask for permission and then smear gulaal (aabir) or water colors. When I went out to buy some more colors, two of them politely said "Happy Holi", and only put colors on my arm. We didn't see a single water baloon being thrown. The funny thing was, the drunk ones seemed to be more keen on throwing their own shirts up in the air and catching them than throwing colors!

It's ok if you don't recognize me

Post lunch we could have gone out, but since one of us was not feeling too well, we stayed back and rested. In the evening, we played a lot of dumb charade, and really got involved. As you can imagine, there were a lot of dumb-ness in dumb charade, and quite a few laughter champion moments. It went on till late in the night, but still, some of us got so involved, that they actually woke up in the middle of the night to jot down a few difficult movie names for the next day's play!

The hands that played Holi

The next morning, we went to visit the Subarnarekha river. It was more like a stream, and my guess is, it has a lot to do with the Burudih dam holding the water. We lingered there for a while, strolled for a while, had our breakfast, and came back to our hotel for some more dumb charade! Post lunch, we took the train back to Kolkata. Even there, we "adjusted" with others so that we could be in the same seat-cubicle, and played yet more dumb charade!

Subarnarekha river

Believe it or not, this was my first trip with school friends, and it doesn't get much better than this. I am already looking forward to more trips with them. The post trip party is next weekend, where we are sure to discuss a longer trip :)

Walking for Dummies - A case study

2009-03-06T10:29:00.009+05:30

Case: How to reach Jureli Dara Watch Tower from Anden Forest Rest House

1. Come out of the Rest House and take the road towards Hilley (opposite direction to Sombarey) - the milestone right in front of the Rest House should help you with the direction.

2. Walk the gently up-sloping, winding road past this very unlikely Mandir (see left), approximately 800 meters from the starting point.

3. Continue with your walk for about a kilometer. At this point, you will reach a sharp curve.

At this point, my friends, I give you two options.

Option 1: The Stairs

a) Look towards your left after the curve, you will see an enticing staircase. Climb it.

b) Once at the top of the staircase, you turn right and get to see another equally steep, and long staircase. Take some deep long breaths and let your heartbeat step down a little, and then climb the second set of stairs.

c) At the top of the staircase, you will find a courtyard. If you are lucky like me, you will see three generations of a family working / playing together there.

d) On asking about the watch tower, they will show you a narrow trail, and warn you that the road is bad. Disregard the warning, and take the narrow trail through fairly dense vegetation. After all, you have the boots that takes you anywhere!

e) After about 200 meters, stop! Look ahead at the small rivulet, and wonder where the trail is. Look back, and wonder where you came from!

f) Curse yourself for not listening to the family back there. Suddenly become a believer and pray, and take a step forward in the direction of what you think is the trail.

g) After about another 100 meters, suddenly see two telecommunications towers. Now feel relieved since one can see these towers from miles away, and hence, in theory you should be able to see clearly from here too. But no, you can't see the watch tower from here. And to make things trickier, the trail tri-furcates from here!

h) Wait... the watchman (of one of the towers) is here. Ask him about the watch-tower. He shows you the mobile tower! Try to explain this is not what you are looking for; you are looking for a tower from where you can watch birds; mimic a bird's flight; it will not work. Ask him instead where the road is. This time he confidently shows you the trail to follow.

i) Take about 50 steps and you see the watch tower right in front of you.

Option 2: The other option

Oh, yes! The second option... well, follow the same road that you have been walking (don't take the stairs), and after about 200 meters you reach the watch tower. It's right there by the road!

This picture is taken from the Watch tower.
Here you can see the two options I have presented.
You can see the last part of Option 1 towards the right
(coming from towards the telecom towers).
The main road, of course, is Option 2.

Sikkim Revisited

2009-03-02T14:24:00.010+05:30

The last time I went to Sikkim, in 2007, I fell in love with the place. I fell in love with Gangtok, the Tsomgo (Changu) lake, Nathula pass; places in North Sikkim - Lachen, Lachung, Gurudongmar lake, Yumthung; Pelling in West Sikkim; the people, the food, everything. This time, I revisited the capital of Sikkim - Gangtok, and then visited a totally obscure, non-touristy place near Sombarey in West Sikkim. I went with my Mama, who had some work there, and for me it was a both a complete leisure trip, plus, an eye opener on the practical problems that people staying there face.

For the first two days, we were in Gangtok. To be honest, the last time I went there, I didn't explore the city fully. This time, I went to the "tourist spots" alone and on foot - I think that's the best way to explore a small city like Gangtok. The most noticable change that I saw in Gangtok in the last two years is the beautification process. M. G. Marg - the mall / shopping area has been given a complete make-over with cars banned, flower beds and fountains installed, and plenty of new shops / eating joints. I was told that this beautification is being implemented in all towns of Sikkim (I did see some of it in Jorethang). Plus, there is no plastic packets anywhere in the town, and the footpaths are well marked and with barricades - so that people don't walk ON the streets.
For the next few days, I was in a place called Anden Forest Rest House, near a town (village really) called Sombarey in West Sikkim (alt - around 5000 ft). I was really surprised by the Rest House, as it is nothing like a "Forest Rest House". It is more like a luxury hotel! And neither is it in a forest, although the region around it has a lot of thick vegetation. The place is well known for birds, but I must admit, I could hear a lot of bird chirps, but couldn't see them much. Around two kilometers away was a watch tower, which I visited one morning. How I made that seemingly easy walk difficult for myself is another story :)
Anyway, I did meet a lot of bright young people from the nearby villages who came to attend a workshop, and as I said earlier, it was an eye opener for me talking to them about the practical problems they face. To begin with, two of them walked about 20 kms from Ribdi to attend the program just because the lone bus service was canceled that day. Things that we take for granted in our big cities, like high speed internet, photocopy or a photo print, are unavailable / prohibitively expensive! Even things like stationery are not readily available. On the other hand, some progress has been made there too - mobile network is everywhere, satellite TV is there even in the "forest" rest house, the roads are much better than what they used to be (despite the landslide hazards), and people have work thanks to the rural employment scheme.
I really enjoyed the cold weather there, and the soft sunshine. And yes, the flowers - I knew I was forgetting something! How can I not mention the flowers. Everywhere you go, you see flowers - known, unknown, bright, pale - the entire state seems to be in bloom!
In conclusion, I confirm: I AM in love with Sikkim.

Vacation responder

2009-02-21T20:23:00.002+05:30

Taking the rest of February off. Going to Sikkim.

See you in March.

Life is not all that bad....

2009-02-17T11:52:00.001+05:30

Last evening, my friend, Milan and I got caught up with some work which detained us a few hours beyond our normal office hours. meanwhile the other office in the building also shut down for the day. Not going in to the details of who / why / how, the security person locked the main gates and the outer gate and left.

Imagine the two of us, eager to go home, happy that the testing went well, glad that the internet connection didn't betray us like it was doing for the last few days, and suddenly we find ourselves locked in.

We called our colleagues, got the office man-for-all-jobs promise to come ASAP with the keys, and started thinking about our situation. The worst case was if no one came! But then we had biscuits, jams, pickles, sauce, and Hajmola to eat; we have good music to listen to; few movie DVDs to watch; internet to chat / browse; roof to ourselves (to stargaze); and phone to talk to our near and dear ones. We even started singing. Well, I sang "Masakali" in rap beats... and Milan sang a self written devotional song, which roughly translates to "Either you (Goddess Kali) come, or keys come". Life is not all that bad, if you know how to look at it.

Well, after a few minutes, our man came with the main gate keys, but without the outer gate keys. But, then, we were only too glad to climb the five ft. wall and the gate over to freedom.

Affair: Book fair

2009-02-09T16:39:00.000+05:30

The last time I went to the Kolkata book fair was 10 years ago. Since then, I have stayed outside Kolkata, and each year I would come to Kolkata in December, and find it impossible to manage leaves in late January / early February (when Book fair is held each year). Last year, I was here in the city, but circumstances were gloomy this time last year. So, this year, I had to go. After all it's a Kolkatan tradition!

Now, if you don't know already, Kolkata book fair used to be held in the central open area of Kolkata, known as Maidan. But due to environmental reasons, it has been shifted to a new location, which most of us consider as outskirts and 'odd'. But once inside, I don't think the spirit is any different from what it used to be.

It's still full of passionate people moving from one kiosk to another stall, with loads of pamphlets in hand. Still, bunch of college kids hang out together there, tired from all the walking, looking for a place to sit and a sip of water. The 'intellectual' Bong (in Bengali, we call them 'Antel') searching for one particular book in every stall. The small publishers employing someone outside their stall to get people to visit their stall. The odd romeo, with no inclination towards books, but just happy to see all the pretty ladies. The odd announcement for 'little Ruma' who got lost in the fair, and whose parents are waiting outside the official kiosk. The rare foreigner, trying to soak in all the chaos and frenzy. The grumpy parent scolding the disgruntled kid to stop asking for more books. The sketch artist, oblivious to surrounding onlookers, replicating a face on paper. The young jobless lamenting the lack of money to buy all the books he wanted. It's still the same old Kolkata book fair.

It is ironic that the same old Maidan ground was used for a political rally on the last day of book fair; and cooking, eating, littering and all associated acts were performed liberally there. One bus even got smoldered by a gas cylinder burst. Why was the Book fair shifted, again?

Anyway, I bought a few books, and can't wait to read them. Thank heavens, there's such a wonderful tradition here.

Who wants to be a reporter?

2009-02-05T17:16:00.003+05:30

On 4th February, 2009, Kounteya Sinha in Times of India reported this: 'Indian cooking oils unfit'. Gyst of the story: A study by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) found all cooking oil brands in India to contain unhealthy trans fat, many times above the recommended level. Interestingly, the study found Amul butter to be the least harmful of the lot. As a result, choosing a lesser evil, the popular sun flower oil that we have been using was thrown down the drain and all cooking at my home was done with butter that day (naah, just kidding).

On 5th February, 2009, the same Kounteya Sinha in Times of India reports this: 'Indian refined oils safe for cooking'. Gyst of the story: A study by CSE has found refined Vegetable oils in India have negligible trans fat hence are safe.

For a pack of Amul butter, here is your question: Which report is correct?

a) Report saying all oils are bad
b) Report saying all oils are safe
c) Both the reports
d) None of the reports

The only reason I am writing it here is because a few months ago there was this article in TOI (Kolkata) about a a few bikers reaching Everest base camp in Khardungla!!! I wrote a scathing comment to the editor (online), but it was not published. I wrote a comment on this article too, but I don't know if this is going to be published!

Brushing up on my Hindu Mythology

2009-02-02T14:09:00.002+05:30

Reading all the headlines and breaking news about what happened in Mangalore recently, a thought hit me: Shri Ram's Sena (army) during the attack on Ravana / Lanka was comprised, almost exclusively, of monkeys. Wasn't it?

SlumK9 Millionaire

2009-01-28T17:32:00.003+05:30

I finally watched Slumdog Millionaire. I don't know what's the big fuss about the movie and it's criticism.

I don't get the objection about depicting poverty. It is not the only India, true. But it IS India. They are all real life scenarios, except maybe the "potty" scene. Just that, all of it may not happen to one person. But it's a work of fiction. No one claimed this to be a biography of anyone!

Talking of real world, how realistic is a scantily clad lady with a bare chested, 6/8 packed man singing and dancing in open spaces? Or better still, with rows of similar dressed ladies dancing in the background? Or villains doing Olympic level spins in the air before falling after being hit by a hero's punch? Or cars rotating in the air, and rolling before exploding in flames? If I can handle those, I can handle depiction of poverty.

The big question is will it get the Oscar? Should it? When I think of Oscars, some of the movies that come to my mind, are the ones I can see anytime, anywhere, n number of times. I don't think this movie belongs to that category. Still a decent watch.

P.S: Another reason why I liked this movie... I knew the answers to all the questions asked, except for the 100 dollar bill question. Then I would have used "phone-a-friend" and called one of my US based friends.

Reality health-check

2009-01-20T11:38:00.002+05:30

It happens so many times that we talk about getting a health check-up done, and then we forget all about it and get on with our lives. And in unfortunate cases, one fine day, without any warning, a pain in the arm and someone finds out he has a heart condition. Classic example - my father. My father was a top class footballer who played for Mohun Bagan and Bengal, didn't smoke / drink / party, slept / woke early, avoided spicy / oily food, had a lean body mass, in short - a model "healthy" person. Yet he suffered from a heart ailment in his early 40s, and carried a pacemaker later in his life. If it can happen to him, it can happen to anybody.

Proud to announce that yesterday I had a lipid profile test done to check my cholesterol level, and all is well here. So, my friends, do the right thing - get yourself checked, specially if you are over 30.

The list grows

2009-01-12T15:36:00.002+05:30

I don't trust most politicians for obvious reasons. When approaching a police official, I don't know if he is a rare honest and hardworking law enforcer or the more frequently found corrupt one. When going to a doctor, I don't know if the medicines he prescribed is what I need or they are prescribed because he gets cut money from the medicine companies. When seeking justice, I don't know if the lawyer only does lip service to his "noble profession". It's a long list, but there were still a few sectors / industries which I believed won't join the list.

But, when one of the top IT companies in India, whose shares determine the fate of the Indian Stock Market, with numerous awards including a recent award for corporate governance, with a blue eyed boy of Indian IT sector with several "Entrepreneur of the year" award as it's CEO, with one of the top ranking auditor firms auditing it's accounts, is involved in a humongous financial scam, I just don't know what's next in the list.

New Year Resolution: To have fun

2009-01-06T15:50:00.000+05:30

A very peaceful new year to all. Hope you had fun ushering it in.

It's been a nice extended weekend for me. First, I had to spend a day visiting distant relatives to invite them for my cousin's wedding later this month and quite liked it.

Second, the school gang met up after a long time for a nice dinner. This, despite the fact that much of the conversation revolved around my marital status and chalking out an action plan to "rectify" it. Good luck guys :)

Then I spent a day accompanying friends on a whirlwind tour of Kolkata including spots I haven't been to / haven't been to in a long time. How I wish that all my friends came with places like a cemetery, and a boat ride on Hooghly river on their must-do list, instead of malls and "Someplace else". I guess, all of us can't have common interests. But one common interest which almost all my friends have, is good food sampling, and I sure can't complain about that. Kolkata, in my humble opinion, is still the best place to have food in India. The only regret is one needs a few days to try out the different delicacies Kolkata has to offer, and almost always, my friends leave before I am satisfied they had even 10%. Anyway, doesn't matter, if they had a good time here...

Final report
Week: 1, Year: 9, Millennium: 3 - Fun; resolution fulfilled.

Happy Days

2008-12-26T17:46:00.002+05:30

Gentle breeze, soft sun, a few John Denver song, extra layer of clothing, laziness, friends, family, a few plans, cakes, coffee, good food - this has to be the best time of the year in Kolkata.

Merry Christmas and a very happy new year.

What's Totto?

2008-12-16T22:00:00.003+05:30

If you go ahead and search "Bengali Marriage Rituals", you will get a bunch of sites dedicated to the subject. But those that I have seen does not cover one essential practise: Totto.

Totto is essentially items that are required in other rituals. One small set is sent by the groom's family to the bride on the morning of the marriage. The other set of gifts, which is much bigger, is sent by the bride's family to the groom after the marriage, usually after a day. Please note that there is no pressure on any family from the other family for dowry or anything- not at least in urban Bengal. So, it's the happy families sending happy gifts to happify others. Now, I can't possibly stop others from carrying on and thus encourage this apparently nice part of marriage. But I have my reasons to promise myself not to allow this if (that's a big if) I ever get married. Of course, I am the loser. Here's why:

I won't get to see my relatives shop, pack, unpack, dishevel my house, and repack for several weeks before the actual marriage. Of course, I will miss out on their encyclopedic knowledge of marriage rituals. It is really interesting to see people debate over what is followed in the bangal (East Bengal) way as opposed to ghoti (West Bengal) way, which unfortunately I will have to pass. I will miss remarks like "We only sent 72 trays of gift? At your cousin's marriage, we sent 101", which, btw, happened 17 years ago. I didn't realize we were still playing that game.

In case you are interested in things that I will NOT get, here's a few: shoelace to things to wash your face; suits to boots; shaving cream to gadgets that trim; powder puff to handcuff (oops, disregard that - that's just the sadistic poet in me), savory to lingerie, furniture to fruit hamper. It's demeaning, as if the groom is a beachcomber.

So, my future in-laws, please don't let your relatives pressurize you, or pressurize yourself to show off, by gifting these things: I use them anyway. And if I don't have something, I probably don't need it. I know as a Bengali you are proud that these days there is no dowry, but if you are anyway going to spend lakhs of rupees on useless / perishable things, what's wrong with dowry?

Strange but true

2008-12-10T15:58:00.002+05:30

Observations from the latest few days of my life:

I went to a party of mostly second and third cousins, some once or twice removed. I actually enjoyed the party!
At the same party, I heard two young girls discussing Bajaj Pulsar 220 vs. Hero Honda Karizma!
Some people want India to attack Pakistan, though there are countless problems, including terrorism not sponsored by Pakistani elements, within our country.
We still don't know how to handle people. If only you saw what happened when Maradona was in town, you would know what I am talking about. Hundreds of people on the stadium ground, with otherwise no business to be there, trying to get close to him, or get a snap, or get an autograph.
Just when I was giving up on my old laptop, it started working on it's own.
My pen-drive went through a wash and spin cycle in the washing machine along with my pair of jeans. And it still works! Transcend rocks!
It's a quarter month gone in December, and it's still warm here.

Rebuild India Mission

2008-12-08T12:27:00.006+05:30

India Crying: Politicians face the people

2008-12-01T16:53:00.006+05:30

One sentiment coming out clearly from the Mumbai terror attacks is the lack of credibility of politicians in India.

Be it Mr. Hemant Karkare's family refusing the one crore offered by the Gujrat CM Narendra Modi, or Major Unnikrishnan's family refusing to let Kerala CM, V S Achuthanandan inside their house, the mood seems to be unanimous. BTW, only if all the philanthropies came a little earlier, maybe our soldiers would have better equipment / protection and not lose their lives so cheaply. If only the sniffer dogs sent to sniff out bombs in the late Major's house (so that the CM can be safe there) were deployed elsewhere, maybe the terrorists would be caught earlier.

Sobhaa De's angry reaction on television to the attack was "Remove security cover for these politicians. Only then will they act". I totally agree with this. What's the point of giving highly trained NSG commandos the duty to protect politicians, when it takes hours to deploy them in a crisis situation like Mumbai?

I have even heard of conspiracy theories about Maharashtra CM Vilasrao Desmukh being involved in this attack to get him out of the MNS / Marathi Manoos row! Though far fetched, if people can even think that the CM of a state may be involved, it shows what respect they have for him. The less said about his deputy, R. R. Patil, the better. Times of India, today, on the first page called him a joker. If he says one more sentence like the one he said earlier: "Small incidents happen in big cities", devil help him from mob fury.

Several SMSes are doing the rounds asking where MNS chief Raj Thackeray is, and why he didn't tackle this problem of non-Mumbaikars attacking iconic landmarks in the capital of his beloved Maharashtra?

I didn't see the Home Minister, now ex Home Minister, Shivraj Patil, giving any statement, or reaction even after couple of days of the attack. Instead, the foreign minister gave most of the statements. What is the use of a home minister, if he can't stand up during times of crisis and lead the operations?

Several people I know, and some eminent personalities are asking the common people to refrain from voting, and electing scumbags. The only meek response to this seems to be "What will happen to our democracy?". No one is saying that voting allows the right people to run our country. Seems everyone is sure there is no right person to run the country! I would have endorsed this boycott votes too, but I, like many people, do not know the answer to: What's the alternative?

Politicians: Please show us some sign that you have the desire and will to lead this country.

Emotions: I am

2008-11-27T15:30:00.004+05:30

tired from all the physical work that I did for the last few days.
happy that the marriage went smoothly.
not sad, and neither did I cry, when it was time for me to say goodbye to my sister after her marriage. I have been asked this question a hundred times, and I don't see why, after planning her marriage for the last several months, so that she starts her own family, would suddenly regret it at that time and cry. My relatives found this a bit un-emotional.
amused at how some people try to make their living by dishonest means.
a little sorry that I missed all the football matches over the last week.
absolutely disgusted at what's happening in Mumbai.

The big, fat, chaotic, funny Indian wedding

2008-11-17T14:15:00.004+05:30

Have not been able to write anything in the last few days as I was super busy. There's a marriage at home, and you know how things are, in any Indian house, when that happens. Lot's of shopping, planning, re-planning, more shopping, invitations, bookings, caterers, decorator, flowers, etcetera, etcetera.... most of our close relatives are visiting us often to help us. Some of them have already traveled to Kolkata for the event. It's family reunion time.

In the midst of all this, I have found a new pastime: Sudoku. I only attempted my first Sodoku a fortnight ago, and the first two days, couldn't solve anything! But now, I am able to solve them everyday, and one of the very first things I do each day. It's fun.

Most likely, won't be able to write anything in the next two weeks. Till then...

Celebrating Difference

2008-10-30T15:11:00.002+05:30

When my Ma fell ill in the middle of the night several years ago, it was my Sikh neighbor who brought out his Taxi and helped us to the hospital. No, he didn't charge us a single Rupee.
When I flew overseas for the first time, I had a senior with me from Bihar. We goofed up in the foreign land together, helped each other and discovered things together. We even sang at a party together.
When I started my career in Bangladesh, I became friends with some of them. I even have an adopted sister and brother there.
When I shifted to Delhi, I made a few friends who formed my support group and still remain close friends. They happen to be Rajasthani, Malayali, UPite, Himachali, Uttarakhandi, Tamil, Maharashtrian, Punjabi etc.
When I was in Bangalore, my office friends were Tamil, Chattisgarhi, Malayali, Hyderabadi, Kannadiga, Kashmiri, etc.
When I traveled to Sikkim and Munnar, my friends from Karnataka were there to share those moments with me.
When I got lost in Thadiyendamol, a friend from Maharashtra and a Punjabi friend from UP were also lost with me and fought with me over interpretation of the map.
When I was traveling through the barren hills of Ladakh, there were friends who happen to be Bihari, Punjabi, and UPite (I guess, I never checked).
My chat history shows I chat a lot with my friends who are from Assam, Manipur, Delhi, etc.
When I find a long lost non-Bengali school friend on Orkut, I am equally elated as when I find a Bengali friend.

Yes, we are all different. Maybe, we speak different languages at home. Maybe, what we eat given a choice is different. Maybe our prayers are different. Maybe our traditional clothes are different. But isn't that a good thing? How boring life would be if everyone around me were similar in taste, manners, and habits! I can't alienate people because they are different. I will go on celebrating the differences. Are you with me?

Happy Diwali

2008-10-27T11:57:00.000+05:30

Global economic depression, terrorism, racial fighting... nothing stops people from celebrating their festivals.

Similarly, if there is something bothering us from inside, no matter how many people around you are celebrating, how much lights have been lit, how many fire crackers are been burst, we can't enjoy.

May we attain inner peace this Diwali.

Feelings

2008-10-14T16:25:00.003+05:30

I like you. I like the way you show different shades and various moods. I like you in the morning, when the sun's rays touches your beautiful face, and you glow like a goddess. I like you when your calmness matches the mood of the setting sun. Or when it rains, how it leaves you with a nice fresh fragrance. I like the way you make me want to be near you, and just when I try to go near you, you make it difficult. Sometimes, when I do get near you, you really take my breath away, and of course I like that too. It's been a while I have seen you, and I miss you. I am sure you know that I love you.

P.S: Her photograph as promised. Photo courtesy: Om

Riddle

2008-10-04T11:03:00.003+05:30

What does Himesh Reshamiya have that Shankar Mahadevan doesn't?

Clue: No, it has nothing to do with natural flowing hair.

More Clue: Ustaad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan or KK doesn't have it; Kailash Kher only has half of it; Sukhwinder has one too, and Shaan has one and half of it.

Answer: It's the Filmfare award for male playback singing.

Trivia:

Legends Kishore Kumar and Md.Rafi leads the male singers with the highest number of Filmfare awards with eight and six awards respectively.
Kumar Sanu has won the Filmfare award a record five consecutive times from 1991 to 1995.
Kailash Kher's only Filmfare award shared with Shaan is for singing the words "Subhan Allah" 16 times in the song Chand Sifarish (Fanaa). Subhan Allah!

The Political Parties of Waste Brinjal

2008-09-27T21:19:00.003+05:30

These are some of the political parties of the present day of a fictitious state of Waste Brinjal:

The government is made up of a coalition popularly known as the Theft Front. Leading the pack is the Creating Perfect Election Manipulation (CPEM). Among the other big parties in the Theft Front are the Corrupt Practises Expert (CPE), Backward Flock (BF), and Resisting Forward Progress (RFP). The government of Theft Party has ruled Waste Brinjal for over several decades. For their own benefits, they backed unions: who at every pretext harassed industries, and in some cases, stopped work as well. All for gathering popular votes from the villages. And another standard feature for decades has been opposition to whatever the ruling party at the center does.

The main opposition is a decade old party called the Grasseater party led by Ms. Mega Chaos. Her and her party’s reason for success has been successful emulation of whatever Theft Front had done for years. If Theft Front can rig votes, so can Grasseaters. If Theft Front backed unions organized most of the bus workers, then Grasseater backed unions got majority of the auto workers together. In addition, they oppose almost anything the Theft Front does, and is known to call for the use of Article 356 and President’s rule at the drop of a hat.

Now to the present situation:

The coalition government of Theft Front, after resisting change and industrialization for years, finally wants to catch up with other states. It has taken some steps to make the state investor friendly. But the opposition, out of habit, or out of fear of the ruling party taking all the credit for the state’s development, opposes everything that the government does. The Theft Front’s cause is not helped by some members of the Front itself who opposes some of the moves fearing loss of votes from villages if industrialization happens. On one hand, the state’s Minister of Industries, Mr. Nice Effort, goes to Ruritania to bring business; and on the other hand, a government agency controlled by the Backward Flock refuses to renew a trade license of a major investor from Ruritania.

Even other than industrialization, any change is resisted by the union structure Frankenstein that the Theft Front created. If they want to evict the hawkers who were not there a few years ago and have taken over major parts of the cities, the unions are there to back the hawkers. If the government wants to remove illegal autos and autos which use illegal fuel to curb the pollution problem, again, they can’t, because the unions won’t let that happen.

Now, the question is, where is Waste Brinjal headed?

Issued in Public Interest

2008-09-19T13:31:00.006+05:30

This is a message on our cell phones that most of us in Kolkata (probably throughout West Bengal) received last night / today:

"
Do not pay bribe. If Central Gov/PSU/Bank employee demand bribes for doing work in WB/Sikkim/Andaman & Nicobar, please call SP/CBI/Kol on 03322894404/9433060892 or email sp1ackol@cbi.gov.in
"

I know similar messages were sent in Bangalore and Delhi as well. Certainly a step in the right direction. Hope the state government agencies also take the initiative and set up something similar.

It's rock 'n roll baby!

2008-09-18T12:41:00.001+05:30

As experience has taught me, I am sceptical about movies which everyone raves about. For example, people were going gaga over Chak De last year, and some even suggested that it should go to (and get) the Oscars. But I had a hard time digesting a women's international team playing a men's international team and keeping the scores close; or the entire team going to McDonalds for lunch before an international tournament (whatever happened to sports nutrition) and getting into a brawl with local rowdies and the coach encouraging that in the name of team spirit. I need spirit of a different kind to gulp that. For me, you either make a movie where practical scenarios can be tossed aside (like Munnabhai movies, superhero movies) or you make movies which are true to practical scenarios. Of course, when you tout the film as being inspired by true stories, I would expect you to stick to real life.

Why am I saying all this? Because Rock On comes very close to being a superhyped movie which lives up to it's expectations. The direction is good, the characters are well defined (mostly), and all the lead actors are excellent. I thought Sahana Goswami was outstanding in her portrayal of Arjun Rampal's wife.

The music is ok, but nothing great. I mean I am not keeping it on a repeat loop on my player or eager to learn the lyrics like I did with Life in a Metro. Prachi Desai's character for me was a little too sweet for a lady from the portrayed society. Not complaining about her acting though. I didn't care about a band member getting brain tumor and dying soon after their last performance sub-plot: too filmy and repeated too many times. I would have loved to see the characters physically change (weight gain, muscle definition change) between the 10 years gap, and not just through change of hairstyle and clothes. I am really nitpicking here, isn't it?

Overall the movie was enjoyable, and while watching it, one does wish that the band get together again, and sort out things between themselves. And kudos to the producers for investing in a film with a uber-urban subject like Rock band.

Where are you from?

2008-09-12T22:36:00.003+05:30

Let me write the disclaimer first: I am not a Raj Thackeray or MNS or Shiv Sena fan, neither do I have any connection with them. Personally, I don't see the reason for the hue and cry over Mrs. Jaya Bachchan's recent comment in the music launch of a Hindi film, "Hum UP ke log hain, humein Hindi mein baat karni chahiye" (We are from UP, we should talk in Hindi). It was a Hindi movie after all! If these guy had their way, they would make it mandatory for all hindi movies to be dubbed in Marathi before release in Maharashtra. Won't even try to find a reason for their actions, as I don't think they apply logic.

But Jayaji, tell me something: You are from a fairly well known family in Jabalpur / Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), and your first few acting ventures, all in Bengali movies, are well documented in Kolkata. So is your move to Bombay, and subsequent achievement of stardom and marriage to Mr. Amitabh Bachchan. Now, how the hell did you become "UP ke log"? Your family has Mr. Bachchan Sr. who is from UP but spent few years in Kolkata, and then settled in Mumbai; you, yourself a Bengali now settled in Mumbai; your daughter-in-law is from Karnataka and has represented India internationally in a beauty paegent: you could have projected your family as a perfect example of national integration. But instead, you choose to make off-hand, ill-thought comments. You are a Rajya Sabha member - you should say "We are the people of India, let's speak the success language of India".

Help!

2008-09-08T15:14:00.001+05:30

Last evening, I stepped out of my house for a stroll. After a few minutes, I was on a semi busy road, when suddenly, barely 10 mtrs in front of me, an elderly man let go of his walking stick and fell on the road. He was in obvious discomfort as his whole body was trembling and he was sweating profusely. I helped him stand up but he was unable to grab his walking stick or stand on his own. I asked him where he stayed or if he had a phone number, but he couldn't answer. He just stared blankly. Till this point, I am alone with this man, and no one stopped to help us. After a few minutes, another elderly gentleman came and asked about the problem. We called a local lad and arranged for a chair to sit and a glass of water to drink. Meanwhile, he still couldn't remember where he stayed. Neither could he remember his name. We searched him for any identification, but to no avail. Many passed by after saying they have seen this man before walking nearby, but no one could tell us where he lived. Fortunately, after a few minutes, he started feeling better. He told us his name and address. We took him to his house shortly afterwards.

Two points here:

Each of us, specially elders, should carry some sort of identification with address and contact numbers. If this man would not have regained his memory / speech, we would have been in big trouble.

I am disappointed by the apathy from people. Most people just looked and walked away. Some people would stop and comment, and soon be on their way. Just two men were there to help this man! All this, in the city of joy, where people are known for being helpful to others!

Homecoming anniversary celebration post

2008-09-03T22:37:00.002+05:30

Last year at around this time, I was still a normal guy. A guy working for several years with reputed companies, working his way slowly up the corporate ladder, enjoying his travels, his photography and football. One unsuccessful relationship leaving him devastated, difference of opinion with part of his family leaving him hopeless.

Then I quit my job. A lot of people ask me why? Well, to start with, it was all getting too boring for me. Going to office, coming back, getting ready for next day's office, waiting for the weekend to arrive, only to find it gone too soon. I had reached a point when I realized the bigger company I joined the lower the job satisfaction I had. I wanted to take a break from this life.

The second reason which is harder to explain is a calling from within to come back home to my family. Inexplicable, since I was not too happy with things in Kolkata and kept myself away from here for a long time. Looking back, it may have been a premonition. Since only a few months after coming here, my father passed away.

So, while I try to escape the normal life, life drags me to lead a life that I never thought I would live. I guess that's why they say - Cest la vie.

Last word on Indians at Beijing Olympics

2008-08-28T22:04:00.001+05:30

My 82 year old aunt was greatly disturbed the other day because of India's Olympics performance. She said, "Boxing, wrestling... are these sports? Hurting each other... ". I pointed out that the other medal, the big medal, came from shooting guns, which if someone from Iran or North Korea would have won, Mr. Bush would have labeled as WMD. She said, "Still, they are only practising... hitting targets, not a person".

Then I came out with my ace of spades, saying, "These games of archery / shooting was the cause of Ramayan. If only King Dasarath would find a gentler pastime than target practise with arrows, Ramayan would never have happened". To avoid any counter point, I quickly added. "And look at how much drama a game of target practise created", referring to the archery competition during Draupadi's swayambhar. My aunt diverted the topic, "I like gymnastics".

Talking about gymnastics (and India and Olympics), did you check out the Israeli rhythmic gymnastic team's performance in the three rings and two clubs routine? The background music was "Dhoom Tana" from Om Shanti Om.

Indians at the Olympics

2008-08-23T19:43:00.002+05:30

As the Indian participation in this Olympics came to an end today, everyone is going ga ga over the Indian performance in the Olympics. We have managed one Gold, and two Bronze medals - the best ever by any Indian contingent in the history of the Olympics. Already crores of rupees has been promised to these guys as gifts or prize for getting an Olympic medal. We, as a nation, are very emotional and show this outburst of generosity whenever someone from our country achieves something in the international arena. After all, we saw the same frenzy when the young Indian cricket team won the T20 World Cup. Being emotional is good, at least in some situations, but unfortunately, not in this case. We tend to reward those who achieves something despite the system, where we should really develop the system so that future athletes achieves due to the system.

Don't get me wrong, I have no problem in these champion sportsmen getting money or accolades, they deserve it. It's just that I think if only a fraction of that money was spent in development of infrastructure and other aspects of sports, we would have much better chance of achieving something in sports in future.

And there is no better time to say these hard words than now: when the nation is overjoyed and celebrating, before we stop forgetting about them. Otherwise, before the next Asian games, Commonwealth games, or Olympics we will suddenly wake up and start finding medal prospects.

Bloggers of the world, united

2008-08-18T14:36:00.004+05:30

Rohit Talwar a.k.a RT had been making plans to come to Kolkata to meet Sayantani Dasgupta, when she is here in Kolkata and me. So mid July, we had booked tickets and made a plan for the long weekend of 15th August.

After much confusion, cancellation (of tickets) and change of plans, RT finally arrived in Kolkata late on Thursday night. We came home, and talked, gossipped, discussed everything under the moon. Also since he came with a long list of things-to-do-in-Kolkata, we discussed those and decided that only a quarter of that could be done in the three days he was here, and made a feasible plan for the weekend. This was accompanied by the usual snacks - biscuits, potato wafers, and Maggi, of course. Finally slept around five in the morning.

Next day, RT woke up at one in the afternoon (despite my attempts to wake him up since 8:30), which meant all the plans that we made last night were to be reworked. So we ended up having lunch at Mocambo in Park Street, and I showed him Park Street. Then we went "sightseeing" - Eden Gardens, High Court, GPO, Writer's building, Howrah bridge, 2nd Hoogly bridge, Race course, Victoria memorial, Fort William - all from outside in an hour or so (I am proud of myself). Then we strolled in the old market area of Esplanade called New Market. Rohit finally had something that he liked - the mutton roll from Badshah. We took the Metro to Rabindra Sadan and had coffee and browsed books at Crosswords. Later in the evening, handed him over to Sayantani, who took him to her grandparent's house in Salt Lake.

On Saturday, RT came back around noon, and informed me about yet another change of plan. He had to prepone his going back to Delhi. So we had lunch at home (he liked the poshto or poppy seeds, I think), got his new tickets online, and cancelled his old tickets. We had fuchka (paanipuri) nearby, and strolled over to Rabindra Sadan / Nandan complex. We saw Victoria Memorial, and then went to Park Street once again. Had tea at T3 (The Tea Table) and then went to the highly anticipated (by RT) Someplace Else - a pub. A few drinks later, we came out and had rolls from a local vendor and came back home.

On Sunday, we got ready early and then went over to young blogger Sinjini Sengupta a.k.a Butterfly's home. Sayantani and her brother - Aritro also came there (Sayantani and Sinjini are first cousins). We took a cab and went to Vedic Village, a resort in the outskirts (technically outskirts, looked outside) of Kolkata. While going there, we revised our discussion of the remake of Sholay that RT and Manasi are supposedly making, with all the meaty roles going to them and people they like. Meaning, I am reduced to the minor villainous role of Kalia, and Sayantani is Samba. Watch out for this movie, as this is going to be the first time that Veeru (played by RT himself) is going be be beaten (badly) by Kalia.

Anyway, so we reached the middle of nowhere Vedic Village. The resort is nice with spa facilities, conference facilities and nice restaurants. We chose Bhoomi, the bengali restaurant, and enjoyed the lunch (not sure about how much RT enjoyed it) there. Here is Butterfly's version of our day at Vedic Village.

As Rohit's flight was later that evening, we came out soon after lunch. Dropped the Dasguptas and the Sengupta at Salt Lake, came back to my place at Bhawanipur, quickly packed and went to the airport to see off RT. A very enjoyable weekend came to an end with a tired me reading Haruki Murakami's Underground, a gift from RT, just before going to sleep.

P.S: The title should really read "Bloggers of India, united", but then, Sayantani does stay in the US these days. Some photographs to go with the text will be published as soon as RT sends me his set, or Sayantani uploads pictures taken from her pink Nikon Coolpix.

Serendipity

2008-08-13T21:27:00.003+05:30

Yesterday, I had gone to a village about 70 kms away from Kolkata to attend a wedding. It was a distant relative's wedding (infact she happens to be my grand niece), and I had only gone there once as a child. Anyway, the plan was to go there in the afternoon and come back early in the evening. However, it rained heavily here in the afternoon and it took me quite some time to reach the bus terminus. Another hour of queue and waiting, and it was already early evening when the bus left the terminus! A few rounds of traffic jams and snarls, and I finally reached the place well past eight! As soon as the pleasantries were over, I was quickly informed that there was no way to return to Kolkata at that time. So, there I was, all dapper and dandy, stuck in that far from anywhere village, with the prospect of having to stay with the 'wedding party' looming large. No way, I was going to do that! Damn, if only I had my all-terrain boots on (or even my sneakers) I would have started to walk back.

Just when I was about to embark on my backup plan of going to the nearest town - Diamond Harbour and stay put there in a hotel, my aunt (maternal) appeared. Now, I was not even expecting her to be there (the marriage was on my father's side), but somehow (long story) she was invited too. She happened to be associated with a school nearby. After she heard of my plan, she recited a grand plan of taking me to the school, which had a guest house, and where she would be staying as well. A quick ride and a short plod over mud road to the school, and I was in a comfortable guest room, with clean sheets and towels and all. The bonus was total isolation from the urban world, meaning frog croaks and cricket sound mixes were playing as lullabies. After a good night's sleep and a great cup of tea in the morning, I caught a bus for Kolkata.

Olympics

2008-08-10T12:53:00.006+05:30

The Olympics is on! And what a show the opening ceremony was! I have nothing to add to what the world is saying: "Wow"! One reason I always watch the opening ceremony of the Olympics is because each time I learn about new countries. This time, I heard of these countries for the first time: Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Tuvalu.

I had already seen numerous pictures of the Beijing National Stadium a.k.a The Bird's Nest. But what impressed me was that the inner rim of the stadium is actually one giant (and I mean GIANT) screen!

One thing that could improve about this Olympics is the coverage by Doordarshan. I am already tired of the blabbering by the hosts, who doesn't seem to have any clue about what they are talking about. I am particularly fond of the gentleman who was wearing a "cricket ball and bail" motif tie (and covering Olympics)! And each time the lady says "Olampics" (I swear she says that). And each time they say "Maruti Suzuki Olympics update brought to you by Maruti Suzuki" (what a miracle!).

Anyway, so everyday, while working I keep checking the widget on iGoogle, which updates me on what's happening. And whenever I get TV access (damn I need a TV for myself), I am checking the Olympics. I saw the first match of Saina Nehwal. She is good! She outplayed her opponent quite easily and seems to have a cool head. Oh, talking about Saina, wonder why TOI published a huge picture of her showing her midriff (while she is in action). Trying to create another Sania Mirza, are we? Let the kid play! Don't make her a fashion icon, model youth, youth symbol, sex symbol, and what not... like you did with Sania.

I hope the games is without any political disturbances. It was good to see a Russian and Georgian share the podium in the 10 mtr air pistol event without any problems. Rightly so, there shouldn't be any politics in sports.

Update on Monday, 11th August 2008: Abhinav Bindra won the 10 mtr Air Rifle event, becoming the FIRST EVER Indian to win an individual gold medal at the Olympics. Way to go! Am I happy or am I happy?

Some songs and memories associated with them

2008-08-02T09:50:00.002+05:30

Tomake chai: A song by Suman that changed bangla music scene in the early nineties. It literally means "I want you", but the entire song is about wanting a cigarette, without mentioning it once. It's part of my growing up years.

Country roads: Another part of my growing up. Listening to it a thousand times and thinking about how to get a voice like John Denver.

Hum dil de chuke sanam: That was the summer of 99... my first job, and most of my colleagues made this a quasi theme song, and sang it in various tunes every day. There was also this teasing me about a friend, but that's another story.

Leaving on a Jet plane: My favorite airport / railway station / bus stand song.

Jab koi baat bigad jaye: I sang it once and the listener cried.

Comfortably numb: Well, my favorite "comfortably numb" song.

Bidhir badhon: A subtle yet strong patriotic bangla song by Rabindranath Thakur. Used brilliantly by Satyajit Ray in his film "Ghare Baire". Sung by Kishore Kumar with no background music.

Wish you were here: Another Pink Floyd favorite. Just plain soul.

Zindagi mil ke bitayenge: The seven of us in a team made this our theme song, especially for the lines: "Hum to saat rang hai, ye jahan rangeen banayenge". And boy, did we make our life colorful or what?

Everybody hurts: Hope! Eternal hope!

I am sure you have your songs and memories attached to them. Please share, if you wish.

2008 - Spain - Sports

2008-07-28T22:03:00.001+05:30

Rafael Nadal won the French Open, Wimbledon, and now the Toronto Masters.
The Spanish National football team won the Euro 2008.
Carlos Sastre won Le tour de France 2008.

Phew! What are they eating for breakfast? Super Paella or something?

Wonder what they will do in the Olympics!

Profound Thoughts

2008-07-22T22:20:00.002+05:30

Kolkata is plagued by power cuts these days, and during those times there is practically nothing to do... and as we all know, the idle mind is the devil's workshop... so these profound thoughts and observations are a direct result of Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation's inability to produce adequate power. Samples, not only mine but others in my vicinity, in random order:

In Kolkata, specially buses, there is no concept of a singular lady. There is only the plural: Ladies! Even if there is only one of them trying to de-board, the conductor still cautions the driver: "Ladies"; or "Ladies, ek jon" (translation: Ladies, one person). Haven't tried to correct them. It's like "Xerox": no one says photocopy here. it's 'xerox', even when done on a Canon or a Panasonic.
The worst ads are those by "saria" (iron rods). All of them feature a celebrity with the iron rod in their outstretched hands. Be it Sanjay Dutt, Mithun (here in Kolkata he is still the rage), Prosenjit (national award winning actor) or Sourav Ganguly. Oh man, the creative geniuses behind these ads need some serious help.
We need to introduce CAT style entrance exam for politicians. To prevent overage participation, a hundred meter run (target: in 14 seconds) would also be part of the exam. This should take care of 70% of our politicians.
DB and I were seriously considering the options of buying an island each near India and proclaiming ourselves as the Kings! The discussion went till the point we reached United Nations, but then, power supply was restored :( India just lost two new neighboring countries!
Oh, btw, it's Aro's birthday today. And I have promised Prashant that my gift to Aro this birthday would be a matrimonial ad in this Sunday's TOI Delhi on his behalf. Let me go ahead and execute this. I can almost audiolize (did I just make this up? If we can visualize, why can't we audiolize?) the conversation between Aro and me, between the numerous phone calls he would get on Sunday, cursing me and promising me that he would take revenge. Can't wait, really. Once in a while I do enjoy these sadistic pleasures. Happy birthday, Aro :P

Long live power cuts!

Investment of a different kind

2008-07-07T10:44:00.003+05:30

The buzzword is "invest in art". So I did! But this time the investment was not for me. I invested in a child's future! Here's the story:

My friend Prashant, and in recent times Aro and Tushar, were involved in various activities of the ASK Sankalp project. The motto of the project is "Ensuring normal childhood to working children in brass industry of Moradabad". Recently they organised a painting competition for children at Moradabad. Prashant decided to take it further and showcased select paintings from the competition for sale on his blog. The condition was the interested person should be ready to buy each painting for Rs. 500/-. I chose the painting by Sadim of class III which had nothing to do with the theme of the competition: child rights / child labour / rain. Instead, it covers the bigger picture: India, her flag and the national anthem. I like that vision!

Prashant had collected Rs. 10,000/- (with pledges of a few thousands more) in a few days, which is almost double the target and should cover the non formal education expense of two kids. While I was in Delhi, I accompanied him and Aro to the ASK office in Gurgaon, and delivered the cheque. It was very interesting to chat with such passionate and focussed people as Dr. Khan and Bindiya about their work. Hope to be actively involved with their projects in future, and turn ideas in to reality.

Of all the 500s I have spent on fancy clothes, food and beverages in a fancy restaurant, or accessories to go with my laptop, this 500 makes me proud!

Links:

Ask Website: http://askindia.org
Sankalp link: http://askindia.org/sankalp.html
The painting sale / fund raising drive link is here.

Weakened

2008-07-06T18:51:00.002+05:30

Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away... well, isn't that always the case when you meet old friends, after a long time, and have a blast? The occasion was Dibakar's (popularly known as DB) office opening anniversary, and I was so full with the tonnes of biriyani, chicken tikka masalas and the gallons of carbonated drinks we had, I almost skipped dinner.

Today, I played football after at least two years, and at least a decade later at the same slushy ground (it's still slushy the exact same way) where I used to play as a kid. And with couple of old playmates in the team as well. It was a eight-a-side "Senior" vs. "Junior" match, and we, the seniors, totally turned it in to a one sided affair. We beat the kids 6-0, and I scored a hat trick! True to old habits, some of us carried a ten rupee note each (cell phones and wallets are not carried to the field), just to celebrate after the match. Remember we hadn't spoken about this, it's just a old habit from the last millenium! So after the match, we pooled in and treated both the teams to soft drinks and biscuits (that's all we could afford with the ten rupee notes). One of us dumped his wasted shoes in the garbage bin, one of us lost his pair of shoes, and both walked home barefoot. Finally, after letting the entire neighborhood of the score, returned home.

I have a swollen ankle, which is getting an alternate hot and cold compress. Also getting an Iodex treatment for the ankle and it's wrapped in a crepe bandage. I am walking with a limp. But who's complaining?

"The return of the native"

2008-07-04T10:44:00.002+05:30

So, I had to come back to Kolkata! Couldn't meet a couple of friends in Delhi, which I regret. But really, was too busy there in a blurry way. Next time, friends, I promise to meet you guys first!

The train schedule was revised the day before, so I checked trainenquiry.com and got the new schedule. I planned to catch the Metro from Dwarka Sector 9 to New Delhi station (approximately 55 minutes). Aro and I went to Pizza Hut for a quick lunch before he was supposed to drop me off to the Metro station. But he got stuck in some bank work, and I forgot a very important item - charger, at home, so he drove me 10 minutes to the Nawada station, bypassing all the Dwarka stations (8 stations) saving almost 15 minutes.

Note: After assuring me that the T-shirts he stole were all out of shape and discolored and what not, Aro gifted me with a T-shirt of his own. And he did return my suit that was with him. However, just when we were about to leave the house, he HAD TO change in to one of my T-shirt, which I should add, didn't look discolored, nor out of shape (the wearer did look grossly out of shape). Damn that scheming mind!

In the train, I played a version of the Snake-Ladder game, only this time for berths! I chose Upper berth while booking, since they are the best place to have - you can climb up and lie down any time you want, and sleep till you wish. However, when I boarded the train, the lady in the lower berth wanted to shift to my berth and give her berth to me! I reluctantly agreed. However, another lady, destined for the other upper berth, later wanted to swap berths with me! Again I oblige! So, I guess, after all this match-the-following-seats combination, everyone was happy, which is most important!

The train had to take a detour and hence was delayed by over an hour and half, because a bunch of losers thought all the problems this country has will be solved if they could block the train line.

Anyway, I reach Kolkata, have lunch at home, and catch up with Ma. In the evening, catch up with my childhood friend (it's high time we had langotia yaar in English) who has come for his vacation. Ended up having dinner together over laughters and hilarious recollections of the many misadventures we have been part of or privy to. As is the common joke in our neighborhood, a book should be written about them, with chapters dedicated to each protagonist!

Tease me, tea-se me, Tea-is-me, baby!!!

2008-06-30T01:16:00.006+05:30

Sunday
07:30 a.m: Wake up after a few hours sleep. Stayed over at Shaji's place, after some good drinks and private screening of "Varekai"a circus DVD by Cirque du Solleil. Had good strong milk tea prepared by Betsy. Only the other day when we visited Shaji's place, and Betsy made tea, came the remark, "The best tea I've had in a long time". But, today Betsy outdid herself. Needless to say, the breakfast that followed was neat too.

11:00 a.m: Shaji comes to drop us at Aro's place and Sunil joins us. Probably inspired by Betsy, Shaji prepares tea. I have never seen a man so dedicated to a cause. For half and hour, he labored to prepare the four cups of tea. The result: the most awful, tasteless tea that you can have anywhere. A more detailed and accurate description is here.

Shaji: We all love you. You do a wonderful job of mixing the drinks ( I particularly loved the small whiskey, large soda in a bottle mix that you did last night), but please don't ever (and I mean, ever) make tea. Please!

04:00 p.m: Reach Prashant's place and have good strong north indian style tea (extra milk, with CTC tea leaves boiled a few times). Conversations, insights and foresights later, move out and hang out.

08:00 p.m: After shopping for CDs, DVDs, and books (all by Aro - he bought at least a dozen CDs and the entire Calvin and Hobbes collection!), we went to Sector 37 and visited a place called "Teasta" - the tea shop. Sampled Darjeeling tea and was disappointed as it was served with a hint of milk. Sampled the iced tea, which was awesome. Bought some tea leaves and later, had samosas from a shop I used to frequent when I stayed in Noida.

Monday
00:10 a.m: Made tea from the leaves bought earlier from Noida. Now settled in front of the TV, sipping the tea and watching the Euro 2008 final match between Spain and Germany.

10:30 ki second last local

2008-06-25T00:06:00.003+05:30

Apologies for not writing as frequently as I would have liked to, especially since a lot is happening here in Delhi. Here's what is happening, in short:

Meeting old friends. Mostly from the Hughes gang. Somehow, the Hughes gang has remained friends although most of us left the company three or four years ago. Changes from last time: Good to see Sunil lose a quarter of his previous weight; Milind and his new car, and his special "friend"; Shaji's son Shaun, and the new sprawling apartment he has moved to; and Rahul's son Raghav.

Watching great movies as varied as Sideways (2004), Casablanca (40s), Cleopatra (60s), "The Matador" (sometime this century), and "One flew over the cuckoo's nest" (70s). Aro has a great collection; hope to explore a few while I am here. Unfortunately, not getting enough time to read the books he has.

Having varied food as Chole Bhature (how could I skip this in Delhi), Momos, Dosas, Tikkis, Dal-Roti (at National Dhaba in CP) and the hundred different types of finger food. Not to forget the drinks, the star of which has to be the milk shake from Keventer's in CP.

And did I mention that I am now an expert on CP? Four different days there for me in less than a week here!

As far as the title is concerned, that's the Delhi Metro train I took to reach Aro's place in Dwarka tonight. Nothing as dramatic (none actually) happened as in the movie, but I guess you need to take the last train for that.

Where my "Dil" is: Dilli

2008-06-20T17:01:00.002+05:30

On Tuesday, I took the Rajdhani Express to Delhi. This was after a long time that I was traveling somewhere, that too alone. The journey itself was pretty uneventful, although the pretty girl who borrowed my spare book managed to change the physical shape of the book! I badly wanted to return the favor by spoiling her make-up, but then, I was in a good mood otherwise. After all, I was back in Delhi, although for a short time.

The change that immediately caught my eye was the Delhi Metro. It's efficient, fast, far reaching, and clean so far - truly world class public transport system. The other positive change is the green low-floor public buses. Looks like Delhi is getting into the international mould. Like every other time, this time too I noticed a considerable increase in the number of flyovers here.

One thing that has not changed much in Delhi is my group of friends. They are still the same goofy, fun loving, mis-adventurous bunch. Great, great feeling to be back among you guys.

In case you doubt my choice of adjectives for my friends, I give you one example:

On Wednesday, I reached Aro's place (the guy who stole my T-shirts) in Dwarka. Arun (Salwan, our friend, and my flatmate in Bangalore) had taken Aro's car to office. Despite Aro's warning that the fuel gauge is not working, Arun thought he had enough petrol in the car. His car stalled at 11 p.m. He could only manage to call us to let us know that the car was stalled when his cell phone battery called quits before we could get the location. Fortunately, he had another phone with him (which didn't have our numbers) from which he called a friend in Bangalore, who in turn called me on my Kolkata number, and gave me the details of his location. We rescue him and get back home, and guess what he does? Leaves the car keys inside and locks the door! And there was no duplicate key at home, since, just the day before Arun had managed to break the duplicate car key as well. Any doubts anymore?

But make no mistake about it: no one was angry with this whole episode. Only laughters, and jokes, and my promise that I would put this on my blog.

My most intimate secrets - revealed!

2008-06-14T10:03:00.004+05:30

Tagged by butterfly! This one's short compared to the few 100 pointers I was made to attempt!

Name three most valuable assets.

Ability to see, walk and laugh.

If you were to be stranded on a deserted island, who are the three blog buddies you would take alongside with you?

Arun "Sallu" Salwan, Prashant "Om" Bhardwaj, Bhawna "Bhaws" Rao - travel buddies first, blog buddies later.

Where is the place that you want to go the most?

Machu Pichu.

If you can have one dream to come true, what would it be?

To be a professional athlete.

What are you afraid to lose the most in yourself?

Eyesight.

What would you do if you found a briefcase full of money?

Contact my lawyer and go to the police station.

If you meet someone that you love, would you confess to him/her?

Yes. Meeting someone is the difficult part :)

Which type of person do you dislike the most?

Dishonest people.

If you were given the chance to have one super power, what would it be and why?

Power to fly! Why? Flight tickets to Machu Pichu (so with other places) cost a fortune, that's why!

If you could do one thing different in life, what would it be?

Not lose friends.

Are you a shopaholic?

I used to be. Not any more.

Which actor/actress would you like to be?

Charlton Heston. Ever since I saw Ben Hur as a child.

One song that gives you goosebumps?

"Jab koi baat bigad jaye" - it's the memory with the song, and not the song itself, which gives me goosebumps.

Do you have any plans for tomorrow?

Nope.

I tag?

DK, Rohit, and Aro - long time since they posted anything.

I am losing it... para pa pa pa!

2008-06-11T10:00:00.001+05:30

Points in case:

1. While troubleshooting my friend's Windows access problem, I tried replicating the same problem at my end, and created a new administrator account. Then conveniently forgot to delete that account. As a result, a few days later, when I restarted (which I normally don't; I hibernate), I lost my default administrator account! Meant, setting and customising the entire system almost all over again.

2. In the process of the last part of Pt#1, forgot to switch on the internet speed tweaking software. Without realising that, for about a week, have been cursing Tata Indicom for their slow speed, blaming others for frequent disconnects from chat, thinking of writing to Facebook since their page was not loading fast enough etc, etc. Sincere apologies to all of them.

3. While watching France's game against Romania in the Euro 2008, couldn't remember the name of the french goal keeper who won the world cup in 1998. Could remember his face, how he kissed the forehead of team captain Laurant Blanc before the start of every game, how his jersey looked, everything but his name. Finally, after 45 minutes, during the half time break, got up and googled - Fabien Barthez!

And I used to be a regular in the local school / college quiz circuit! Chyaaah! What happened to that brain? Really, brainbit = bit of brain that is left!

BTW, if there was anything more painful than realizing the degeneration of my brain, it was watching France play without Zidane (and Viera) like a headless chicken.

The atheist's guide to change of fortune

2008-06-04T19:00:00.000+05:30

Five tips to Kolkata Knight Riders for next year's IPL:

1. KKR should change the name of the team to Kkkolkata Kite Flighters according to Robin Jumanji. Non-believers, think about this: Shah Rukh Khan can make it sound sexy (remember Kkkiran from Darr?)

2. Shah Rukh Khan should start wearing jersey # 42. Since Shah Rukh is in his 42nd year, it will prove lucky for him. Also according to the Douglas Adams Thought school, that number is THE answer (do I see RT starting a mexican wave here?).

3. KKF should only have three cheerleaders at any time wearing golden dress instead of black which will invoke positive energy to the field. They should also wear flouroscent green (glow-in-the-dark) head bands, arm bands and shoes. This has nothing to do with Fengshui - just to track them even when there is a power malfunction in Eden Gardens!

4. KKF should shift their dressing room from South of the stadium to West. This will remove the vaastu doshas. Also, the cool breeze from the Hoogly river will flow from the west keeping everyone cool.

5. All team members should go and pray in the Siddhivinayak temple at midnight on a Saturday just before the tournament starts. Actually, early morning is a better time, but chances are Amitabh Bachhan, Abhishek Bachhan, Aishwarya Bachhan and thousands of "journalists" following them will also be there at that time! If the players are too tired after attending one of the parties thrown by Shah Rukh, and want to go in the morning, they should check if the Bachhans are attending any award function out of town.

Amen!

Satisfying Saturday

2008-06-01T10:13:00.003+05:30

First up in the morning, I received two pleasantly surprising and nice phone calls from friends in Delhi and Mumbai just saying "hi".

Then Naveen called and said he was in Kolkata for a hiring event. "Come and meet me", he said. So after lunch, I go and meet him. Along with him were two more ex-colleagues - Rupam and Indrajit Sir. While talking to them I saw another guy looking at me trying to place me in his memory. Even I thought I know this guy from somewhere. Then he came up to me and introduced himself as Vipin. We had worked together for a brief period in different teams, and know each other through common friends like Aro and Arun. And the biggest surprise was that he followed my blog! Even Rupam said he read it from time to time! Err... I didn't know my blog was that "famous"! Damn, I could have charged a subscription fee and got rich ;-)

Anyway, so after reminiscing about old times and cursing Naveen for not telling me earlier that he was coming, I came back home. I expected guests at home in the evening. So, I cooked up a dish quickly and tidied up the room a bit.

My schoolmates Arindam and Soma along with their respective spouses Sharmistha and Amritendu came fashionably late, but once they were in it was chatting about everything from pets to pyrotechnics with intermittent discussions about IPL of course. We never realized when or how a couple of hours passed. Only when Sharmistha reminded us that their pet Labrador Ghnoton* is alone at home did we rush to dine.

*Pronunciation Guide: First syllable is a nasal ghow rhyming with mow; second syllable is a soft T - tone. The resulting sound is the most disgusting name ever given to dogs or human.

All in all, a highly enjoyable day. Can't think of too many better ways to enjoy a Saturday!

Respect!

2008-05-30T22:03:00.000+05:30

This story is about two people who stays near my house in Kolkata. Both of them were known to me as family acquaintances.

The first, Subhash uncle, was a fan of my father's football, and later became his friend. The son of a well known Professor, he was an engineering graduate from a premier engineering college in Kolkata. He ran a small printing press from his home. However his main passion in life was politics and social welfare service. He is a member of a minor local party. As long as I have known him, I have always seen his tall lean frame riding an old Hercules bicycle.

The second, Piyush da, much younger, was also from an average middle class family. The only distinguishing factor about him I remembered was his less than average height. But then, on an election day, he was seen running through the streets brandishing a pistol. Only then did we came to know that he was a cadre of a ruling party. This was in 1998.

Cut to 2008:

Nothing much to report on Subhash uncle. He has an email address now and has grayed a bit. Otherwise, everything else, including his Hercules bicycle remains the same. Maybe he is now involved in a few more community welfare projects.

Piyush da now has a construction "consultancy" business and takes care of bottlenecks for building developers or promoters as they are known here. He drives a bike and three cars, including a Mahindra Scorpio SUV. His wife is the local councillor, and he is known to have "powers". He is now a well respected man.

Special Disclaimer: This is a work of true fiction. None of the characters depicted in this post are real and any resemblance to any person living or dead is purely consequential ... blah blah blah...

Boon or Bane?

2008-05-26T18:50:00.000+05:30

The Ford model T - the first mega successful production car was produced in 1908. Since then, in the last hundred years, we have built millions of cars, each more powerful than the other. Cars provide the means for man to reach faraway places that took far greater time before. That also means greater de-forestation, as people now needs roads to reach those places. As distance is not a problem, more forest lands are reclaimed for urbanization. More petroleum is needed every year to meet the global demands of automobiles pushing oil prices to an all time high. Since all other commodities' price, including food, is directly linked with petroleum price, there is a global inflation. Cars also produce active pollutants, which directly affects people - more people have asthma and other breathing problems than ever before.

So, is it a boon or a bane? Or like many other scientific things (remember atomic energy and atomic bomb?), we have managed to turn a boon in to a bane?