Eternal time

Does time have a death? Only an eternal being could answer that. And yet an eternal being would mean time to be eternal and have no death at all. The famous question in this terms is this -

Before all creations there was nothing. Then God came and created everything. But to create God needed space ('nothing' is nothing but a lot of space, isn't it?) and energy. And before God came and created everything there must have been time flowing as it is flowing today. Thus God cannot create everything. Time, Space and Energy must have existed before God. Or is God time, space and energy combined together? Then who created all these? Who created God?

While you ponder on a deep philosophical understanding over this unnecessary questions, I'd tell a tale. A tale of nothing that is very important. And a tale that tells itself. Some says that this year has ended in a melancholy tune. At least in India or rather West Bengal. The year saw a large number of accidents and deaths in result. So the most important personality of the year that we are just about to leave behind was the Shadowy Death himself. Well Death takes on everyone and everything that is either living or non-living all withers away in time. Just as I said in my previous article that even time is lost in time. And then one can say that being eternal, just like time means to escape Death forever. Does this mean that Moksha, that is spoken of in the Geeta is to flow eternally with time? Or become time itself?

Living in time

This is how blogs get lost. You get busy suddenly on something and your blog gets no new updates. Slowly the readers fade and slowly the blog is lost in time. Everything is lost in time. Even time is lost in time. So before getting lost completely till I've no more to lose in time I want to live. Live life like I've never lived before.

I want to find the boy who had a whole universe created within his mind that was larger than any universe man can perceive. The stories that were framed in his mind were bigger and better than anything that kids see on TV or Movie today. Well those were trying times. You saw little and read much more. So your imagination made the movie instead of any movie director. You became the hero/heroin, you fought the battles, you won the trophies. You lived in the book and lived the book in your life.

But we are living in time. A time that was not imagined a few years back. A time that is hard to imagine even now. A time that is flowing like it always flowed. Only we got busier and we don't have any time any more. Only a few years back when you were away from home it would take days to communicate or in an emergency a rare phone or telegram. But now you can talk every minute you wish to. Nobody writes a letter now a days. The last time I wrote one (I'm talking about personal letters here), was to my girlfriend, a love letter which I never posted and after a few day read to her while talking in cell phone! Sounds funny? Huh ??

That's what is called modern age. That's what is called living in time, a time that's different.

Memories

That's all we have with us. That's all remains in our heart. "Feelings change, but memories remain" - that's what was written in our hostel t-shirt back in 2007. Life is nothing but a collection of tangled memories of tears and smiles, of joy and sorrow, woven in the thread of times gone by.

And when we are lonely they come back making us dreamy and drawing a smileys of various emotion on our face, that could only be noticed when you look closely with affection and love into someone's face. You might discover the toughest of the lot living for a moment in the tender days of his life. A tiny smile and a spark in his eyes. Or the happiest amongst you suddenly concealing a tear and drying it up in her eyes faster then the camera shutters for which she is posing. You may suddenly find out the tranquility in the eyes of a wise man gone for a moment when he remembers his days gone by. Or find a notion of innocence in a corrupt politician's face when he is lost in his childhood.

We store all the memories in our brain, in the tangle of neurons. But sometimes if you sit back and relax you would know that it is the happier one's that we like keep and remember often than the sorrowful ones. When we think of someone gone, we never think of how he was gone but of how he was when we were together and happy.

Now it's time. Time for me to go back 20 years in the past. In the house that's now no longer the same and you have no right to enter. A house that I hated because it was not beautiful and well planned like the houses of the rich. A house that I love now, because it's the most beautiful house ever, because it's home.

joie de vivre

At last I've finished reading the book about Van Gogh. Although I've gone through 200 of his paintings and drawings while reading the book, I still believe to understand Van Gogh fully I'd need to go through all 2000 in chronological order. That's about understanding him like a art critic. But I'm no art critic. I'd like to be a painter one day. For now I'm just amazed at passion of a great artist. In fact what he put in 10 years of his life (I say rather the last 2-3 years), none have done that in their entire life time. Even if he lived short, but he lived justified. And also it shook my firm belief that painting cannot be learned. Either you have it or don't. But now I believe that you have it always, it only needs to be nurtured and brought out. A man who barely gets the perspective right slogs for 7 years to bring out some of the greatest paintings in the history of modern men. No it's a tale that every aspiring artist should read. Not only painting but all forms of art - spun out of passion and woven with emotion. How I'm losing my words to describe what I feel right now.

May be I'll stop here and continue my daily life as it is. Meanwhile I'll gather my wits.

Lust for Life

I was going through Q&A sections in Yahoo, when I noticed a question on Van Gogh's sunflowers. Somebody had answered they were famous because they are full of life. I suddenly had an urge to go through Van Gogh's paintings. I was trying to suck in the work of a Genius. They are beautiful and he must have so much within him to produce such vibrant works.


Later one day I somehow reached and wikipedia article having a list of the most expensive paintings ever. The majority of the list comprised of Picaso and Van Gogh. There was a comment in it - "Vincent van Gogh and Pablo Picasso are by far the best represented artists in the list. Whereas Picasso became a wealthy man, Van Gogh (supposedly) sold only one painting in his lifetime, The Red Vineyard, for 400 Francs (about $1600) to the impressionist painter and heiress Anna Boch." I thought why?

One of paintings from Sunflowers series by Van Gogh

I got the question the very next day. I was in office and discussing greater philosophies of life with one of my senior colleague. He suddenly said, "Read a book called 'Lust for Life'". He spelled out the name for me. I instantly did a Google search and found out this book was a biographical novel on the life of Vincent Van Gogh. What a coincidence! There was a movie too. But somehow I thought of reading the book first. I downloaded the pdf from a site. But before I read it I started reading his short biography from wikipedia. It was touching how an artist becomes what he is and dies because he could not become more of him. Think of genius dying in despair that his vision exceeds his ability to execute!

I'm just 10 pages into the book and will return to blog only after I finish reading.

A bus full of Engineers

I told you before that my daily journey to and from office is an adventure. Today I had a new one worth mentioning. The buses get very crowded during my journey back home. So it's a tough job boarding one and then keeping to one's feet for the entire journey. If you are lucky and powerful enough you might get a sit, though. Mostly I'm a lucky guy in this matter :D.

As usual I boarded a CTC (Calcutta Transport Corp) bus today. They are my choice because even they don't look nice and sound even terrible, they are faster and cheaper. But the evening had a surprise in store for me. After a couple miles there is a vast empty space where no vehicle stops. And our bus suddenly got stuck there. When people started shouting at the conductor, it was revealed that the accelerator of the bus was disconnected. So some people started getting down and trying stop something or anything that moves. Some, specially those who had cut the tickets already, were siting/standing with a confused look on their faces.

Meanwhile, there were quite a few IT engineers in the bus (I think almost 50% of the crowd). They started cooperating with the driver to fix the engine. And a very raw fix came up with a piece of rope, a cardboard and a few newspaper scraps. The accelerator pedal was attached to the engine. And to everyone's surprise the bus started moving! Of-course there was a price to pay. The engine was lying open and heating up the already hot environment. We traveled a bit slow but reached the destination safe.

Well, this happens only in India!

World's Financial Crisis

All the people in the world are suddenly becoming wealthier. Every country is getting developed and there is huge GDP growth everywhere. That's what the media tells us. That's what our politicians tell us. That's what everyone says to another! But we all know the basic truth, that, wealth is relative in nature. That's to say like you got a ton of gold and you are marooned on island; your gold doesn't even worth a cent. But with one glass of water in the middle of Sahara, surrounded by some thirsty people, you have a mighty chance of becoming a millionaire! I'm telling the truth guys, there was someone who sold a glass of water for one million dollar (in present money) worth gold bars. Sadly he didn't live to enjoy his wealth, but his wife and children did.

So keeping that in mind and looking into economics we also may deduce that if someone is getting richer by making a profit, then someone will get poorer by making loses. And if everyone is making a profit, then the economy is no more sustainable. It's in fact a time bomb, set to go off anytime someone in the circle drops off.

Here is a video I found that I'd share with you explaining how it happens. This has actually happened in the
USA, and since they influence much of world's economy, so many other economy has also become a time bomb!

 

Why God's Debris ?

Back in 2008 I read a novella by Scott Adams, the creator of famous Dilbert. Well I love Dilbert, though I never read Dilbert before 2009. And the first thing I read about Dilbert was the "Dilbert and the way of weasel". It was a fantastic read and helped me a lot progressing through my work environment. I don't recommend that book to anyone who doesn't have a very subtle sense of humor, though. Anyway let's get back to the question I began with, "Why God's Debris?"

In 2008 one of my friends gave me an e-book named "God's Debris". I didn't know the author then, or what the book was all about. I printed the book (utilizing the free unlimited print service given by my office) and started reading it. As I started it, I found it boring and stopped after 2 pages. Then again the training sessions were far more boring so started reading that book once more. This I somehow crossed 10 pages and WOW! It suddenly got interesting. And when I finished it, I suddenly had a feeling rooted deep in me. This feeling might never go from me.

I had read many religious texts and scriptures, books on various philosophies; of which only one left a lasting impression in me - The Geeta. And reading God's Debris supplemented it in a different way, like a modern interpretation by a village old man, of the age old thoughts in men, that, God is Universe and Universe is God.

Thus a journey began. I started to rummage through this debris, the universe, beginning with the Earth. In order to find something, something that we all seek through our lives.

Independance day

Looking at the present scenario of India I am sometimes at a loss of words and unable to express myself. For me it seems India is a lost nation. Even it's 4000 years old name is lost from the face of the world. We call her - India !! I know many and most would differ in view with me and that's agreeable. But there are some who think alike. Here is an article that has exactly the same thing to say as me (the link in case your browser messes up -  http://themag.in/2010/08/is-india-really-independent/). Please read this if you feel you should or may rather discard it. Yet a question from me that you might feel like answering.
Tomorrow we celebrate ... but what?

Haldiram under water !

It's been five days and yet Haldiram is under water. In fact for those who don't understand, Haldiram is a name of a place (a junction of two highways in North-East Kolkata, near the Airport). The water is mostly knee deep and in some places waist deep. Here is a video report for the same.

Surprisingly the main cause of water logging here seems to be lack of any drains (!?!)

A poem

নিঝুম শান্ত রাত নয়;

এমনি এক সাধারণ ব্যস্ততার সন্ধ্যায়

নীরব আকুতি জেগে ওঠে দু'টি প্রাণে |

এমনি এক অস্থির মাতাল সময়

দু'টি প্রাণ এক হয়ে মিশে যেতে চায় |

এমনি শীতের কোন ভোরে

একটু উষ্ণতার জন্য

হতে হাত রাখে |

অথবা কুয়াশাচ্ছন্ন ঝড়ো হাওয়া বওয়া

কোন স্বচ্ছ পূর্নিমার রাতে -

থরে থরে জোছনা যখন

আলোকিত করে রাত জাগা পাখিদের ডানা,

আশায় আশায় বসে থাকে দু'টি প্রেমিক হৃদয়,

"কখন তোমার আসবে টেলিফোন?"

wrote this poem when I was posted in Bangalore. I used to wait for a call every night :P

Flooded Kolkata Streets

It rained and rained from yesterday. It rained again in the morning. It rained through afternoon and finally stopped in the evening. I thought it would be nice to go out and have a pleasant evening walk since the rain has cooled down the late summer heat of Kolkata. But it was a mistake!

Those who live in this city or know it's news, they are well aware that the City of Joy, turns into Venice of the East during the heavy showers of the monsoon.Well here is a video that I captured in my cellphone when I went out in the evening. I managed it since the water level was quite low at these places! In the deeper level, I could hardly manage myself!



It's pouring down still as I upload this video. Unfortunately I live in the ground floor :( That's a big worry for me if it rains and rains, water will flood my rooms !! :p
Only God can save me now. Amen.

The Cinnamon tree

দারুচিনি কথাটার মধ্যে যে কত রহস্য আর সৌন্দর্য লুকিয়ে আছে সেটা প্রথম বুঝতে পেরেছিলাম ১১ বছর বয়েসে |
দারুচিনি দ্বীপ, দারুচিনি দ্বীপের মেয়ে, তার গায়ে দারুচিনি গন্ধ !

(The word 'Cinnamon' hides a lot of mystery and beauty in it, which I first found out at 11. Cinnamon island, a girl from cinnamon island, her body smelt like cinnamon )

When I was a kid I often would go to our ancestral home in a village around 6 miles from our small town. There in the yard of one of our neighbors' house, was a tree. A cinnamon tree to be precise. A tree vastly different from others, in which we took a deep interest was the fact that we could just scalp her barks to eat, literally. It was fun back then.

When life got busy, I forgot all about that tree. Then one dreamy afternoon, after a decade, I visited that house only to find an empty yard. The tree was at the center, with she gone, The mystic beauty of that house was also gone. And I realized that my childhood was also gone, long long ago.


Still in my dreams, in a dreamy late autumn afternoon, when the sun rays are pale and golden, I see that tree - standing lonely in the middle of a big yard. Her leaves are fluttering in the mild evening breeze. Children playing around her.Shouting, laughing, jumping with joy abound. A little boy suddenly stops and touches the tree, only to find she is gone!

Beautiful Bangla

There is something so beautiful about Bengal. Sadly couldn't get something good enough from "epar" (this side). So sharing something really good from "opar" (other side). In fact sometimes I wonder how good it would be with the Bengal as a whole. I could dive deep in its beauty and never ask for more.

If some feel it little regional, then I don't mind. No video was made that could justify the beauty of India as a whole. The Incredible India commercials are too short and too commercialized. Not heart-touching as this one. See you till I find one. So long.

Over a cup of tea

They say a lot can happen over a cup of coffee. A lot can be discussed over a cup of tea, too. We all do it and all did it. Mostly starting in our college canteen and then moving on into professional life. Every tea break becomes a hot bed for discussions and debates. But there is something different about the tea breaks with me present team. Specially with Deep da.

The discussions are no more bound to the small events in day to day life or local and at best national political events. The options are varied and spread into a wider region of philosophy, economy and socio-political conditions of the entire human civilization as a whole. The debates are much more open ended and topics are much more global. And dear me! this is fun!

Just yesterday our discussions began with a normal topic of inflation and rise in price, leading to discuss the actual interest and reason behind growth in various economy and what drives this growth. Soon Energy was the major topic on the board and by energy we all now mean petroleum. Thus the philosophical aspects came into play over what the whole economy of the world is being governed and contradicting each other. Finally the global position of the super powers and whether there would be a third world war, if any, and for what reason!

 A conclusion was drawn that the limitation of petroleum not being infinite and estimating it will finish over some 10-15 years at this massive rate of consumption, if there is not any new source of energy that can replace petroleum, very soon the world will see a move towards a war of resources. And here comes the position of US to occupy the gulf (petrol bunkers), to counter Russia on the equation of who has the oil when it's needed. Finally, we all unanimously agreed to the fact that a decline of petroleum will not really result into a war as we need to petroleum to fight a war, too! That means with the end of the petroleum era we might see a new global cooperative economy or utter distraction of humankind.

So it was deduced that we have around 10 year to enjoy fully before we might start having those changes, safely speaking. We might not even see the changes in our life time, too!

So, it's your decision now on how you spend those 10 years :P

Facebook, Google Plus, Orkut, Twitter, Linkedin?

Yes, what? What are we gonna do with so many social networking sites? There was Facebook from a long time and twitter. Even before that we had MSN, Rediff and Yahoo chat rooms. Then came Orkut, and gained instant popularity almost killing the chat rooms, especially with Google talk. In fact Orkut was more used in India with FB and twitter only being used by a small population. Slowly we moved to Facebook and rest is history. We all know this. Now one after another social networking sites are entering the market. Everyday my mailbox has at least a couple of requests for joining some sites. The list is endless (By the way, here is the complete list of all social networking site) I never tried out most of them. In fact I only tried out Orkut, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn seriously. And now that Google+ enters my life, I'm divided over which should become my primary social networking site?

got this picture on the web, thanks to the source, whoever you may be :)

There are many who don't have this dilemma, as they are continuously here or there, but there are people like me who can't tolerate a massive reconstruction. I used to do Orkut in college just for fun. Later I just registered in Facebook to play the games they had (Mafia Wars and Farm Ville), for time pass in office. Soon the shift was complete as all my friends in Orkut followed suit. I hardly open Orkut now!!! I thought LinkedIn would help my professional growth, but alas I never could fully use it's features. Twitter at first seemed fun, but soon it got boring, since hardly a 20 people follow you! And now with Google+ I'm so confused.

It's true I love Google like a little more than my life!! I use everything of Google, Gmail, Google docs, Google Notebook (an obsolete product of Google labs), Blogger, Google Maps, igoogle, and so on and so on. But what good am I getting from Google+??? I know it's a lot like FB so problem in using it. A good amount of my friends seem to have joined it, (but hardly anyone is using it). So when it comes to Google plus versus Facebook, I'd tilt to FB. Just realized that no matter how good a social networking site may be, it of no use without a sizable amount of regular users. For now it seems Google+ has lost its purpose in India. Facebook thrives and I'm loving it. But the one question lingers in my mind, "Isn't Facebook too crowded with midless apps?" That may be the drowning factor for FB, if Google cashes on it.

Time to go to bed now. Thanks to whoever is reading this line for your patience with me :P
Good night :) 

A dozen guys and a dozen chicken

This is a story that I tell everyone I meet while eating grilled chicken. About 11 others already know what I'm going to tell now. But I can't stop myself. I know this is not really funny, but each time I remember that evening I have a hearty lough at the ingenuity of the event.

Some of us might remember the exact date, though I don't. What I remember is the year was 2008, it was late autumn or winter in India, though in Bangalore it all feels the same. We were a dozen guys gone for an outing in the Bannerghatta National Park. It was late afternoon and a memorable trip for me solely due to the bears dancing around our safari bus. But that is a different story.

It was pretty late when we returned. We had walked a lot and that build an awesome appetite for us. The awesomeness of the appetite was realized in the next 3 hours in a restaurant "The MMA Kebabs". This was our "The Grand" for eating out - cheap and best, as the saying goes (and I mean it. Also there are a dozen others who will support me if you contradict this view). As usual, we ordered a few plates of grilled chicken as starters. Now the play started with one guy saying, "I want to eat a whole chicken alone, I'm so hungry!!"

Well, go ahead, who is stopping you. But that's no reason for another couple of guys copying him and saying we think we are also hungry enough for one chicken each. Aha! so you guys are gonna get a whole chicken for yourself, why should I be left behind. So I joined the party. And very soon the train followed. As the waiter stood by taking orders, 11 out of 12 guys opted for a whole grilled chicken as "starter"!!! (Whoever is reading this is thinking us to be "Rakshas" now).

Naturally, we ended up with 12 whole grilled chicken. Actually we didn't bother to order half a plate for the poor friend of ours (the only seemingly human in a group of Food Demons). So he opted to be rich and joined the full chicken club. Here is a point to note. Baring one guy in the group, if you see the rest, none ever, by their physical appearance, looked like a foodie. But that's no point to stop you from eating good food and drinking good liquor, isn't it?

So, 12 empty plates were served and then 12 grilled chicken were cut and served on those plates. And leaving a few crushed and whole bones, the plates were empty when we finished. I still remember the bewildered eyes focused to our table, specially those who didn't get grilled chicken because of us. That was a great meal and I never looked back from then on. Rightly, I gained 50 pounds while in Bangalore.

I'm never gonna try that again. I still feel a whole chicken sitting in my stomach when I think of that evening :P

A party and a few songs

I had a party few hours back. No doubt it was fun - singing, dancing, food and drink, also some smoke (no joints only tobacco). But that happens in almost all the evening parties, right? So why am I writing about this one?

Yes, the DJ played some beats that everyone enjoyed, the food was good, drinks were unlimited and you could hear a lot of tall tales. But that's not what will make me remember this night. It's only a few songs. Towards the end of the party those were played on request. In fact those songs are not party songs or songs that DJs usually rock the dance floor with. Those were classic rocks of the golden period. You may be guessing by now and needless to say that you are right. There was Pink Floyd, Eric Clapton, the Scorpions, Eagles, Bon Jovi and Brian Adams.

Last time I played air guitar (also the real guitar at times) to those songs were in college three years back. Life changed much since then. No more grasses, no more getting drunk (I mean really drunk so that you mostly don't remember what you did). No more crazy head banging and no more the free spirit.

Yes, many things may be lost but the spirit is never lost. That's why I could see people at 40+ dancing like college kids lost in the tune and forgetting where they are. That's blissful. My spirit was revived once again and hope I'll not lose him now for a long long while. Kudos to rock music.

A side note: But surprisingly, I never feel like listening to those songs anymore after leaving college. I think they make me too nostalgic. And of-course they feel far better when in a crowd, that holds the spirit of rock.

The feeling of Max Payne

This post is for all those who are familiar with the character known as Max Payne. And for all those are not so fortunate enough to come closer to this person (!!) please click here to know more. Though I guarantee you that you will never know the truth until you have played the game as if you the Max Payne.

I first heard of him when I was in school. It was an award winning game. My primitive PC was hardly able to run it. But yet we played. We became the NYPD detective, searching through the dark alleys of New York City for someone unknown, with revenge in our heart. Each chapter took us forward to becoming more like him. Getting more share of the pain in his heart. Getting relief with every shot of the gun in my hand and dying every second.

The music that stills lets a chill run through my spine. I played the second part in College. By then I could feel him more in me. With every stage a pack of cigarette would burn out. With every passing hour of the night I would move deeper in him, until I become the Max Payne.

And how could I forget Mona. The story is so incomplete without her. The lady who kept the hopes alive and set a fire of burning desire in our hearts.

The feeling still lingers deep in my heart. Hope to hear from those that loved this game at least once in their life.

A naked man

As usual in the evening for me, I am just standing outside DLF Towers near New Town, to catch a bus home. It's around 8:00 PM in the evening and the place is pretty crowded. Buses and shuttles (shared cabs) are passing by and stopping to pick up passengers. I left two buses because of the crowd. I could see a streaming flow of headlights of speeding vehicles descending from the over-bridge far ahead. Then in the midst of all those lights I noticed something odd.

At first it looked like a man walking with a long stick in his hand for support. The man seemed to be wearing dark clothes. Soon as he came closer I felt the man to be scantly clothed. But when he reached within 50 feet or so I realized he was naked and very old, probably mentally disabled, too. Barely able to walk without the help of the thin, long branch that he was using for support. On the other hand he held on to something that looked like a white loin cloth.

It was a pathetic sight to watch him pass by through the crowd of all well dressed men and women. Does the people of this country not deserve their minimum basic needs? The question in my mind is what the rich do with so much money stashed away at the swish banks (which of course remains vastly unused!) when they need only a piece of cloth and 6 feet land at the end of life?

And what sin did this poor man commit that he will not even have a single piece of cloth on him even as he is alive??

http://library.nu/

Good things spread by word of mouth. So I'm trying to spread a few good things here. This is for those lovers of book who sit mostly in front of their PC (like me!) and love to read e-books. Well an e-book can never replace the original paper book that we can hold in our hand and unforgettable smell the pages of different old and new books. But still it's better than nothing, and you can always take a print out.

So just try out the great library. You will find all sorts of books for free reading. Though searching and browsing is little difficult for guests. But then you have the option to join in the project and help out to get the most out of it.

http://library.nu/

Happy reading. :D

NPTEL

The IITs and IISc came together in India to produce a great study material that is available online, even in youtube. The link is http://nptel.iitm.ac.in/courses.php

The courses are great. They contain videos of lectures from IITs and pdf or web pages with class notes. The courses are detailed and of the highest quality. They are full of examples and animations. I'm really having fun learning. The teachers are the best in India I guess and the way deliver is impressive that you just don't need to touch a book. The written materials are great, too.

I'm really very thankful to the IITs for coming up with such an online study material. Hope this trend continues in future.

Rain in my life

There is something special about rain in my life. I was born on a stormy morning in the middle of the monsoons in Bengal. Since then it almost always rained when I'd something big in my life; even in the middle of a dry winter or spring. But more than that rain makes me travel back in time with an odd peak at my past. I almost always remember a pair of Jack-fruit trees, all wet in rain in the late afternoon, when I become nostalgic. I remember the streets full of water and a group of careless boys jumping around (well, I was a part of that group) in school dress. I remember a great black sky and a great howling wind. I remember the Hasnuhena tree by the side of our TV antenna (those days we used to have black and white TVs with a separate antenna attached to a long bamboo pole or something outside). I remember bathing in rain and playing football for hours like crazy. I remember the flowing rain water down the Fr Wery path and into the streams. I remember looking at the vast stretch of young paddy fields with waves like a green sea from the window of a thatched mud-house. Oh how I remember them and how I wish I could go back and relive those days just once.

We all have the same wish, but we all can only go to future as time takes us there.

A daily adventure

Going to office for me has turned into an adventure. An adventure that happens daily! Twice !!

Since I moved from Chinar Park to Belghoria, the daily traveling time and complexity has increased three folds. I've become so called DP (Daily Passenger) in train and bus. In spite of the complexity and time consumed I seldom grow tired of it. May be because of the variety of people I meet on the way, or the variety of route I take each day (There are three different major routes that I can take), or because it's still only a couple of months I'm in the business. Whatever, it doesn't really matter.

Well at first I never thought it to be an adventure. But each day I'd see something interesting on my way and relate it to my colleagues in office. After a couple of weeks one said,
"Samarjit's journey to office is becoming an adventure!"
Then I thought, "Oh it really is !"

Well I'm still thinking. Each day I talk to at least one stranger on my way. Try  to help out people with, who might need it. Notice the variety of people I live among. And I really really wish to continue doing so till my strength lasts.

Sometimes I think I'd write it all down. Those little things; but what I think can do most justice to this daily adventure is not a travelogue. It is a picture gallery. So things will be off to the other blog of mine for a while. In fact sometimes I really wish to merge them together. Is that a good idea?

"জীবন যখন যেমন"

আমি যখন ছোট ছিলাম, তখন ছোটকাকু একটা বই কিনেছিল | বই টা নিশ্চই বড়দের জন্যে - কারণ আমি ২-৩ লিনে পড়ে ওটার উপর কোনো আগ্রহ বোধ করিনি | তাছাড়া বইয়ের প্রচ্ছদে ছাড়া কোনো ছবিও ছিল না ! কিন্তু বইটার প্রচ্ছদের সেই ছবিটা আমার খবু ভালো লাগত | তিনটে মানুষের ছবি | এক চাকুরে ভদ্রলোক (ঠিক মনে পড়ছে না এই ছবি টা ), এক জিয়ানস পরা তরুণ আর এক শাড়ি পরা নারী | ছবি গুলো line drawing করে আঁকা | যতদুর মনে লাল আর নীল রং দিয়ে আঁকা | তিনটি ছবি তিনটি box এ | উপরে তিত্লে তাও মানানসই লাল নীল এ "জীবন যখন যেমন" |

বইটা অনেক দিন আমার গল্পের বইয়ের তাক এর একপাশে নিতান্ত অবহেলায় পড়ে ছিল | পড়ে যখন বড়দের ব্যাপার গুলো একটু বুঝতে শিখেছি তখন সেই বইটা আর একবার পরার চেষ্টা করেছিলাম | বেশ অনেকগুলো ছোট ছোট গল্প ছিল | সেগুলো connected কিনা সেটা বোঝার চেষ্টা করি নি | যেই জায়াগাটা ভালো লাগে নি সেটা বাদ দিয়ে চলে গেছি | তবে কিছু জায়গা পড়ে খুব জোর হেসেছি | অনেক কিছু এমন জিনিস ছিল সেই বইটায় যেগুলো রীতিমত ১৮+ | সেগুলো পড়ে শিরদাঁড়া দিয়ে একটা অজানা শিহরণ খেলে গেছিল সেই মুহুর্তে | তারপর সেই বইটা ভুলে গিয়েছিলাম | অনাদরে অবহেলায় সেই বই হারিয়েও গেছে আজ |

অদ্ভুদ তীব্র sattire  এর বই ছিল একটা | লেখক তীব্র তির্যক আক্রমন করেছিলেন সমাজ এর একটা মুখোশ কে যেটা সুযোগ পেলেই খসে পড়ে | যত বড় হয়েছি সেই বইয়ের যেটুকু পরেছি সেগুলো সত্যি বলে বুঝতে পেরেছি | লেখকের নাম মনে নেই | যদি এই ব্লগ দেখে কোনো পুস্তক প্রেমী আমাকে বইটার সন্ধান দেয় তো একবার কেনার চেষ্টা করে দেখব বলে ভাবছি | এখনো জানিনা আমি বইটার নামের সঙ্গে অন্য কোনো বইয়ের content মিশিয়ে ফেলছি কিনা !! কিন্তু মিশিয়ে ফেলি আর নাই ফেলি এটুকু বুঝি "জীবন যখন যেমন" তখন তেমনই পথে চলতে হয় | নইলে কপালে দুঃখ আছে গুরু |

The seat for disabled

Everyday I take the bus DN/2 or DN46 for going to office. Today was no different. Soon after I got into the semi-crowded bus, a guy with a short leg got in.

Now every bus has a couple of seats reserved for the disabled persons. One of those seats was empty and the other occupied by a middle aged gentleman(!!). The guy occupied the seat he deserved. More people were getting into bus and after a few stoppages, another guy with crutches boarded the bus. He had a leg cut off below the knee. Naturally  he went towards the reserved seat.

Traditionally the able man would now get up and let the other guy sit. But to everyone's surprise the man refused to stand up. And then people saw the chivalry. The gentleman with the shorter leg stood up and allowed the second person to seat. Though he soon almost immediately found a seat left by another gentleman who would get down two stoppages later.

Watching the whole incident from the backseat was like watching what men have become!

A 'Sadhu' and his magic

I almost never had an encounter with a sadhu before, except for seeing them in temples or here and there. At least I never faced one of them alone before. But every day is not the same and I live in India, where 'Sadhus' are in abundance. This is a land of faith. These 'Sadhus' know how exploit this gift of God well. Blessed be those who found a real 'Sadhu' in their life - for they are rarer than the rarest gem.

Today just as I came out of my house on my way to office, someone called me from behind. Usually I'd not pay heed to any call from a stranger, but there was something in this strangely clad man, may be his gesture or his gaze (I'll never know what) that drew me towards him instantly. I thought he would ask me for time or directions, but he asked for nothing. He said "May the Almighty bless you, and I see faith in your eyes. May you be successful wherever you go." What flattering statement. I smiled.

With a smiley face he drew me into his traps. He said more of the world then asked for a 1 or 2 rupees so that he could drink tea. I usually don't return a deserving beggar. This guy was not one deserving, but my hands went into my pocket and I took out a two rupees coin and handed it over to him.

Thus started a series of dazzling performance usually demonstrated by a 'common Indian Sadhu', and ofcourse, needless to say my doomed morning. But hey, an encounter of such is an experience of a lifetime. He took the coin and thanked me and as I thought of walking off suddenly he commanded me to stretch out my hands and for my utter surprise, returned me my money.
"Keep it. Don't ever spend it away. This coin is blessed", he said.

A colourful Indian Sadhu (courtesy Flickr)

I was puzzled, but happy that he returned my money, so might be at last I met a real Sadhu. Little did I know then of what more lay in wait for me. He asked the money back again with eloquent speech that he was delivering. It was mesmerizing. Hypnotism with words. He looked straight into my eye with such a strong gaze that I could not take my eyes off him.

"Stretch out your palms my good lad,"he said, "Here is something for you to keep".
He handed out the coin to me again, but when I took it in my hands it was no more a coin but a "Rudraksh".
(Those who are not familiar with Indian culture and Vedic myths, Rudraksh is a seed of a fruit, rarely found. The tree is known to be born out of the tears of Lord Siva, the God of destruction, when he cried for mankind). No wonder I was a little influenced by his tricks, so I stood there for longer.
"Tie this on your right hand or keep it in body contact. Thou shall be successful to the envy of others", a boon came along with the "Rudraksh" from the mysterious man.

Happily I'd have walked away at this point, but I didn't. I stood there listening to him.
"Now I'll leave this place and travel to Tarakeshwar (a holy place of Lord Siva in West Bengal). There I'll pray for you. And shall read the Ramayan for you", he said, "But alas! I don't have one with me now. So give me a hundred bucks for buying one".

Well now, he was talking sense. I immediately replied, "Sorry I'd have given you something, but for now, I'm in a hurry ". I said but I couldn't leave somehow.
He badgered on with eloquent words, that would make a man give up all his worldly possessions  for the love of God, as everything is an illusion!
"No points", I thought, but still said, "Look I'm going and I'm in a great hurry".
"Well, so you want to test 'Baba' of how much strength he has? So be it", he took the Rudraksha from me and turned into a glossy stone sphere of the size of a battle-nut.

At this moment precisely the connection with Mr. Sadhubaba broke away. I just gave him back the stone and said, "See you later, right now I'm off", and left very unceremoniously. I heard him calling out from my back, "Could not spare a little money for Baba! That's really sad. Wish you all the best though".

I walked off with the amusing experience and caught a bus to office.

Jungles of Civilization

Forests and jungles were there since the ancient time, before mankind and will remain after mankind. But the type of vegetation that populates a jungle changes through ages. The forests of the Dinosaurs is in no way similar to the forests of the Neanderthals; so are the jungles of the modern times, of the modern man. The greatest difference being that most natural vegetation is getting replaced by man made ones. I'd like to give you a few examples. Be careful as they are not so soothing to the eyes of normal people.

A very colorful small jungle inside a modern building

bengali and sex

I heard that the Indians constitute the highest no. of visitors to porn sites in the net. Well, If taken percentage wise I don't agree to that. I know and agree that we are though a little conservative outside, but inside we like to take peeks at things that are morally banned in the Indian culture. But considering the huge population of India we definitely would make up the highest portion, inspite of being low in comparative percentage. The reason for this would be it is more private and easily accessible with almost no chance of being embarrassed.

For Bengali's the scenario is little different. We pretend to be very intellectual and cultural. And as per the culture goes sex is dirty everywhere, but intellectually not, if you describe it in an artful manner. For example, the great Indian poet, Kalidasa. And then so many more contemporaries. While some just hint at it, others give it a more explicit  exposure, all for the sake of art. I don't mind that even if it is a pretension. It looks nice at least.

Just an hour ago one of frustrated friends (frustration at the behaviour of a girl) vented saying the girls act differently in the society outside, but are all the same b****es inside. I'd add a little more and say, whatever pretensions we were outside, we all (men and women) still have that animal instinct in us. We show it out in glimpse. Everywhere.

Note: This is a test post in order to check, whether really the word "sex" draws a huge number of visitors...

Looking out

Looking out and looking forward. Now that I'm here I need to start doing all that I wanted to do for such a long time, starting with finding a place where I can get settled - come back and rest after a long outward journey. But that's not what this article is about. It's about looking out of your window and seeing things. Window here is not only physical window of a house, but the window in our heart.

So what do you see when you look out your window?

The answers should be collaborative. So I'm not writing anything.
Please reply in comments as to what you see or feel. That'd make a great combined article.

- Sam

Leaving Bangalore

After 2 and half years in Bangalore, I got what I wanted all the time, a transfer to Kolkata. Today is supposed to be the last day in Bangalore. The city that I felt like hating all the time, today feels a little different. Suddenly I realize I'm gonna miss a lot of things, that I got used to in these years. The high life, malls, south-Indian food, specially Kerala style fish and Andhra style meals, the ever stagnant weather, the mix of language and the joy of hearing Bengali suddenly (now I'm gonna hear it all the time). I'm gonna miss a lot of people. Friends, roommates and colleagues. Shopkeepers and hotel owners. And a lot more crazy people roaming the streets of Bangalore, a crowd I might never find anywhere.

Every city leaves an impression on you. And for me, who never could settle down at any place (so far my highest stay has been in 2 places - Kurseong-school, and Kalyani-college, for 4 years each), each place I stay keeps its impression like a human being, an associated face, an associated emotion.

I'll cherish my memories of here, and wish I'll come back to visit Bangalore sometime, though I never want to come back here with a job.

Contrasting India

This photo and the topic are cliche. But they are such a stark reality in India, looking with a questioning eye to every responsible Indian citizen. While many of us (like me for example) just sit and talk or write about this, (some even make films) some, a rare few go out there to work on it. It looks like we need a few more people (in fact a lot more) out there in the field. Anyone coming with me?

 

 This is what I see when I look out from the balcony and I don't like this view.

The growing idea

Last time I was writing a blog about inception of an idea. Well there were quite a few of them and the good news is that they are coming to life. As they rightly say "Ideas are like sparrows, if u don't catch them they flee". So this time I tried hard not to let them fly away. In fact it is so delightful that nearly all of them are taking shape. And more I'm exploring them they are getting better and better.

My first idea was to start drawing again and to tell the truth my other blog, the figments of imagination, has kept me on my toes for updates and updates means new drawings. A new drawing for me means a new idea come to life. All these ideas - drawing in MS paint, chinese calligraphy, sketching Bangalore and urban life, sketching in blue, sketching in pen, all of them, combined together in a series of permutation and combination is giving me the time of my life.

There are other people around me with ideas, too. They are my friends, relatives, acquaintances, who have great ideas in their head but never let it bloom. For example, there is a friend of mine with a unique business idea for "fuchka" or "Panipuri". I want to see him do it, but he is too busy earning his daily bread. Some of my friends were artists and musicians. Most of them have forgotten that they ever were something creative once. But the good news is, many of them are coming back to life, life of creativity.

I personally feel that for me the year started in a great way, and it shall continue to be so. Let's call it the year of growing ideas.