Wednesday, September 9, 2009

abar tui r ami mukhomukhi

abar onek din por tui r ami mukhomukhi
tor mukhe hasi amar chhokhe anondo
tor chokhe mone korar chesta
amar thonte asonka....... "ki re chinte parchhis?"
abar onek din por tui r ami mukhomukhi
jogajoger sutro mone korate jabar agei chinte parli....
amar thonte sostir sobdo....tor thont bondho hasi
"kemon achhis?"..... "kothay achhis?"
abar onek din por tui r ami mukhomukhi
prosner uttore prosno korli tui.... "ki korchhis ekhon?"
tokei akhono khujchhi
abar onek din por tui r ami mukhomukhi
bastobe ami r kolponay tui
~Duronto kobir moner kotha

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Bangali theke Bong

Ek kaale chilo ballot paper, ekhon EVM
Ekhon chalu live together, aage lajuk prem..
Daakbakshe asto chithi hothat diner sheshe
Mail box aj jacche bhese hajaar sms ey..
Agey chilo polaash shimul, fagoon diner rong,
Aagey chilam damaal chele, ekhon holam Bong..
Piyal sakhar faake tokhon ek faali chand aaka,
Tokhon kotto bondhu chilo, ekhon bhison eka..
Tokhon chilo Ghoti Bangaal, chingri ilisher lorai,
Ekhon sesob smritir majhe ekla boye berai..
Tokhon chilo swapno booke palte dewar din,
Michil Meeting lal potaka, Mao Tsi Tung er Chin..
Chayer Cup ey toofan tule, torko hoto koto,
Charidike ja ghotche ekhon mon diyina toto..
Tokhon chilo torun aloy arun kusumkirno pothey
Ekhon kichui bhalo lagey na, loadshedding er raatey..
Tokhon joto damaal chele, ghurechi rodey jole,
Aj thikana bodley geche, tai hajir shoppingmall ey..
Tokhon ami bawul chilam, songe bhatiyali,
Ekhon setai remix kori, public day taali,
Tokhon tomar khopay chilo holud gaandar ful,
Bus stop ey aj hothat dekha, hoito moner bhool..
Durga apu kash ful ey, ar Ku-Jhik-Jhik rail..
Ekhon boli phone kor ma, noito koris mail..
Tai aj sob bangali-ke janai pronam bhalo basha..
Bangla thakuk, Bangla bachuk, eitukui thak asha..

Saturday, January 17, 2009

From Jamshedpur to Howrah: A mixed experence..

Traveling long distance by train was one of the most enjoyable modes of transportation in India. But that was before I got aquainted with the local versions of the royalty, which I did during my not so brief stay at XLRI Jamshedpur.

Once you get over the initial hurdles of getting a reserved seat or squeeze yourself in through the crowded doors as the train slowly rolls in to the platform or the frantic attempts to manage the porter and the family, the journey becomes much easy and enjoyable. Overnight train rides are better in this context snce the crowd is comparatively much lesser in "density" and you need not fight to manage a seat to doze off, but the challenge is that you also need to keep an eye on your luggage and belongings to protect them from the “highly friendly” co-passengers around you.

Most of this uneventful journey, I keep my attention encaptured in an action movie, played on my laptop and if I am lucky, a large pack of snacks like Kurkure or Lays. This is despite the dissapproving glaces from the senior citizens around me who claim that the only thing today's youth is capable of doing is spending valuable time on the "devlish" laptop, without trying anything constructive. Of course, today, the Indian economy is booming thanks to the generation that believes we are systematically ruining the nation. Little do they realize that our "always busy with nothing to do" schedule is such that for even to do anything constructive, we are forced to use the lean mean machine, to unleash our prejudiced meladramatic virtual selves in the worlds of Orkut and Facebook. Such is the dichotomy in the minds of Indian citizens. Again, given my non-existent disposition in this country, I can barely make a difference to the ideas that flow amongst the super-learned senior citizens in this country, so I continue to be engrossed in my planet wonder.

If you were unlucky enough of not having a proper reservation, as I often do, then your plight can only be imagined by those who took that journey. However, once you are settled in your seats or berths, temptations start knocking on your senses as the aroma of hot food attracts your attention along with the loud marketing attempts by the food vendors on the station.

Later, as the train crosses Kharagpur, we have to be consoled only with the food offered by the railway caterers which looked and smelled tempting but are barely tasty. Still, we wait eagerly for the moment when the uniformed caterers brought in those food trays with holes and slots filled with omlette, french fries, and fish fries. Often we are forced to carry better food with us like home-made delicacies, but only if we are blessed, which again, I am not. So I continue my uneventful journey staring at my laptop, passing occassional glances if I find anything tasty, for the tastebuds or for my sore eyes.

Another feature of this specific route was that most regulars hardly ever buy any tickets for their travel. After traveling few times, they all knew each and every Ticket Collector (TTs) and they had symbiotic relationship with them which reduced travel budgets significantly. In fact it was a disgrace for a young guy to travel with a train ticket as one of my co-passengers once explained to me. When he displayed his ticket to the TT on board, the disappointed official once had scolded him citing that a young guy like him should have been more adventurous.

I really appreciate our railway minister Mr. Lallu Prasad Yadav. It must have been a real challenge for him to make the railways profitable by collecting the proper fare from each and every passenger. However, he must have killed the adventurous spirit of the youth in this process, thus affecting the very spirit of mother India.

Thus ends my eventful journey from Jamshedpur to Kolkata. The deviation from the rather standardized process, is as rare as Mallika Sherawat donning a traditional saree without a reveal-all objective. Then all said and done, this I guess is expected of a public transport given the stage of development of our economy and the booming population.

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

"Honeymoon Travels" to "Alice in Wonderland"

I, watched "Honeymoon Travels" today...
The movie is, I have to admit, not that special. But there was something that made it special last night.. I was visited by the princess of my dreams after that, and we watched another movie yesterday..one that was made special, thanks to the eyes that made me feel special..made me the prince charming that I always wanted to be, but could not, due to other ongoing engagements..
I still fail to fathom whether it was reality, or am I still lost in dreamland?
The journey through dreamland started at Hongkong, and little did I know that it would culminate into the climax that it did. The dream that followed was the very embodiment of every graceful fancy I ever dreamt about.. Every time our eyes met, I was lost in their timeless beauty.. I, seemed to have developed amnesia. Forsyth could not have described Sigi more aptly, as I started appreciating the grace of the womanhood unfolding before my humble eyes. I started to develop wobbly legs, and don't know if it was an international conspiracy or otherwise, so did my chair. Thus I was left wondering, groping in the dark. Then she helped me to stand amidst all the turbulence that surrounded our ecstatic existence.. to allow me explore dreamland.. and I, worshiping the beau, fell once more in love with the pagan beauty.. The sounds of Darwin followed me in my dreams and Follet's liberal play with words sounded like Christmas bells in my ears.. Cupid's arrows started raining like "cats & dogs", and I started to comprehend the wisdom and the significance of the phrase in its true literary spirit..
We all need memories to survive in this ruthless world, this will remain one of the priceless ones.. one that will make this last term @ XL, so special.. .
The bells of Christmas rang true with the colors of the season.
The only desire I have now is to break away from these tormenting classes that chain me with this planet governed by Freakonomics.. to show her the land from which I hail... To feel her vibes with mine, in my homeland...the city of joy...

The warmth of love can rejuvenate everyone on this planet wonder. And I, being a mere mortal, am susceptible to the message so aptly delivered by Christ.

Love and be loved.
Merry Christmas.
And may peace be with you..

ps: I am only the representative of a phenomenon, and not reality as such.. :-)

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

A comedy of errors

I will tell you a story today, a story that had many characters, tom, dick, harry, tick & joe, and many more..

Not really though, there were actually only two protagonists (2 protagonists???), tom and joe. They were two insignificant(and hence the names in lower cases) and contrasting personalities on this planet wonder that provides us with so many varieties amongst each species.

It was during a certain time that friends come together in a certain campus to study business. The "hilarious" comedy that followed arises from a simple issue, that people fail to understand what exactly is personal business unless the joke's on them.
Tom, dick, harry, tick & joe are still great friends, in spite of what traverses between them often, make no mistake about that, and they will stand for each other, in the times of need.. [ :-)]

It all started when "famous 5" slowly got to know each other, just after coming to the campus. What started as a fun filled session on teasing tom, about his platonic relationship with his fiancee, turned out to be a little more private, when certain issues that are strictly sensitive issues, were made fun of. Still tom appeared calm, and soon, the name "intellectual intercourse" was made synonymous with his name and his existence. No doubt when publicly tom was made fun of, in front of his seniors, during games of cricket, with the name, he was extremely "pleased" about the conquests made by joe. After all, no chiding about one's fiancee in public was too "personal". Friends are always "entitled" to do that in public.
But things did not stop there. Joe somehow got to know that tom had a great friend, a senior friend in terms of age, who treated him generously every now and then. He also got to know that tom hates accepting favors from anybody. So another pang of "jealousy" (am not sure if this is the right word) made joe start accusing tom in public of living a life of fun and frolic at the expense of his friend. Of course, this was done purely out of fun and there were no intentions to rebuke anyone, especially in public.

In other completely random sequence of events, dick, harry, tick and many more batchmates, grew a bit tired of a few habits of joe's. He was a true "half communist" by nature, like a few "communist political leaders". He believed in himself, and that whatever belonged to others belonged to the "people", and can be used by the "people" at large to enjoy the benefits. He believed that things loaned (with or without the owners consent) from friends don't need to be returned, unless it was of utmost emergency. He truly believed that treats are an interesting concept and are meant to be expected from others only. Also creditors are meant to be treated as "sundry creditors" in accordance to the accounting laws prevalent in planet wonder.
He believed in the "superiority" of certain people over all the others, and was a true guru of Hitler and Mussoloni. Also, in spite of repeatedly trying to woo women on the campus, he believed whole heartedly that he has never done so, and quite convincingly (despite shows like Tom&Jerry, Yam-Yam). This is in spite of his charismatic capabilities which would have put the "Barney Stintsons" and "James Bonds" to shame.
Joe believed white lies are good, if it benefited "someone".
He believes there exists a particular "Homo Homo Sapien" who is way above the other students on campus, having come from a rather enviable background, a work-ex in the "best company in the world", and having latched onto one of the best summer offers on campus. The classmates and the other members of the "famous 5" group "admired" these qualities inherent in joe.


So I am sure now my readers are now dying to know the climax that follows this "interesting" turn of events.


A new day came into our lives. All the senior batches moved to tom's hostel. Soon the qualities of joe came to the forefront even more, and he became one of the most admired personalities on campus. Thanks to his enigmatic charm that rediscovers itself, every now and then.
So one day, something happened. Nothing was personal though. Nothing ever is.

One day, joe accessed Orkut (the official site for "communication") through tom's laptop, during a certain "mergering & acquiring" session. Then tom, after receiving his laptop from joe, did a certain joke on the latter. He changed his profile message to support a "certain cold war" that was brewing on campus. That cold war was no brain child of the rest of the "famous 5", but was coined when both joe and "shawn" (another friend) started showing "very similar interests".. sounds funny right?
Then came another session of friendly gestures aimed at joe. He was (in an absolutely mocking mood) locked up in his room, by Mr.X (don't know who that is though) and that friend of his started describing tom's rather "admirable" charisma on his door with a marker. Tom did none of these, but somehow joe felt tom did, and so, without warning fired a friendly missile (on test waters) on joe.
After these events needed to be sorted out, joe started accusing that someone had messed up with his orkut profile, more than just the profile message. Of course, although joe's updates were always visible, the same changes were never visible by any of his friends through his updates, other than his "sister", and thus a serious bug of GOOGLE was uncovered.
Tom wanted to reciprocate the kind gesture from joe, but was asked generously by harry, to be mean, and not repay the kindness showered on him. Guess harry could not actually judge the implications of the kindness shown by joe. Tom, being the selfish guy, agreed half heartedly.
.
.
.
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No the story gets spicier..
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.
.
There occurred a certain instance when a certain "title nameplate" used to hang above joe's door. One day, after a bout of table tennis, the same caught the imagination of a Mr.Y. Tom took a photo of the same, and passed the same "door pic" to Mr.Y, sensing that his dear friend may be teased a bit for fun. There happens to be a "elite club" in the campus, and in the true spirit of joviality, joe was nominated the secy of the "elite club" know for having similar tastes and for their slogan "main aadmi hoon, aadmi se pyar karta hoon..!" Guess what, joe did not see the funny side of the story, and failed to appreciate the class of the blog that was written on the "newly appointed secy".

So what now?
Even I as the story writer is waiting in anticipation.

Tom has, in the meantime, decided that he is really fired up, and in case of any more "misfire", he will launch "little boy" again.
Joe claims he is always spoiled with affection from his batchmates, and thus he is entitles to reciprocate the same to him.
The rest of the batch (and the rest of the "famous 5") also are eager to see how things work out, and will continue to be affectionate towards there admirable friend Joe.
In the meantime tom and joe continue to be insignificant people and the best of friends in this planet wonder.

So I guess, as the story writer, I can only wait in anticipation..
Guys, I am writing a blog after a very long time and under severe time constraints, so forgive me if my story telling is not so juicy..