Bengali Men : A competetive analysis

For some days, I was wondering how I was faring against the world in global competitive markets with other bengali men. I started  to do a bit of research in bengali matrimony site, once again, this time focusing on men.
I searched with the following criteria: Male, 25 yrs to 35 yrs, Height 5Ft 0in to 6Ft 6in , Unmarried, Religion: Hindu, Caste: Any, Physical Status: Doesn't matter, Country: Any, Resident status: Any, Education: Any, Occupation: Any, Annual income: Rs.12 Lakh to Rs.1 Crore, Horoscope: Any, Eating habits: All, Drinking habits: All, Smoking habits: All.

The search showed me 901 results (surprisingly not so small after all)

A deeper analysis revealed the following interesting trends.

Caste wise break-up: Kayastha (482), Brahmin(19), Baidya (64), Kshatriyas (120), Mahisya(87) and other castes(Caste no bar) (129).

Locationwise break up: India ( 40 only )  United States of America (327), United Kingdom (47), Europe (126), Australia(220), others (133). Almost 95% (if not more) of the population in US was made up of IT professionals at client location. Almost similar results were available for those in Australia, but the population pursuing higher education was slightly higher.

Profession wise break up: Bachelors in Engineering (254), MS/MTech(120), MBAs(190), Bachelors (120).
Amongst the engineers, there were mostly Information Technology professionals working abroad at a Client Side stint and thus earning in Dollars. Amongst the bachelors, more than 90% were professionals managing their family businesses. Management professionals were mostly from the top 20 B-Schools and maximum had an age profile of over 28-35. Engineers with MS or MTech degrees were mostly working at the client site (82%) and the rest (18%) were pursuing higher education. There were a total of 32 students pursuing PhDs and out of that 5 were in Management , 14 were in engineering, 13 being in general streams. Only 27 men had resident status in USA, UK and Australia put together. Interesting to note was that there were only 4 doctors in this income category, despite being such a revered profession.
An issue to deliberate a bit may be the fact that at least 95% of the IT engineers and professionals enjoying a stint abroad are more likely to return to India, once their projects were completed abroad, and have a very different earning potential and life-style than they are enjoying currently, since most of them are in the IT services industry and not in IT products industry.
An earning equivalent to above Rs. 12 Lakh in foreign currency (say 50,000 USD) did not account for the Purchasing Power Parity of the country and evidently raw economic conversion was done in Indian Rupees in most cases. Now, a decent engineer in the USA earns close to 50,000 USD (pretax) annually. 50,000 USD was calculated as 22.5 Lakhs INR where as in real monetary terms, it was equivalent to 5 Lakhs INR, after accounting for Purchasing Power Parity. So when these men returned from abroad after completion of their onsite projects, their actual income in India dipped back to 5-6 Lakh INR. While clearly job profile and salary was a crucial determinant of selection of grooms, this issue surely should draw more attention than is actually doing.

Lifestyle / Habits:
Non Vegetarian (839), Vegetarian (26), Not Specified (26)
Non-smoker (603), Light / Social smoker (170), Regular smoker (114).
Non-drinker (485), Light / Social drinker (376), Not Specified (22)


Interesting trends. I leave it to your judgement to do further analysis and grasp meaning out of this data.

Aqua mania: When fashion meets passion.

Ever thought what could make your neighbors’ eye pop out with envy? Ever dreamt of decorating your drawing room with a Mercedes, nay, a Maybach? Maybe sporting your very own Kohinoor in your bedroom is also your fantasy? Welcome to the world of aquariums, where today, hobbyist (aquarists) sport so much more, with the wide collection of exotic fish available in India, in recent times.

One such fish, the Flowerhorn, represents a class of its own. Flowerhorns are ornamental aquarium fish noted for their vivid colors and the distinctively shaped heads for which they are named. This fish does not exist in nature but it is a hybrid result of various cross-breeding of South America cichlids. Flowerhorn breeding dates from 1993, in Malaysia. The fish has a hump known as “Kok” on its forehead, similar to the forehead of the Chinese God of Longevity.

The high forehead of a Flowerhorn also symbolizes a cool, calm and stable mountain. A fully developed hump on the Flowerhorn's head is believed to bring its owner prosperity, luck and longevity. The black markings on the fish’s body known as flower or “hua”, resembles Chinese characters. According to the Malaysian-Chinese tradition, its red eyes are believed to ward off evil. These superstitious, its relative exoticness in terms of availability and its highly aggressive yet playful nature made it an instant favorite among mature hobbyist.

In their childhood, looking at the fish makes one reflect upon the “ugly duckling story” where the ugly duckling on growing up becomes the elegant and beautiful swan. The same can be said of the Flowerhorn who when juvenile are not too attractive, but will catch the fancy of every eye once they mature. The Flowerhorn is a rather hardy fish, but to bring out the best of looks, a lot of care and cash needs to be invested. Frequent water changes, proper diet (high quality fish pellets and periodic treats of beef liver, prawns and live fishes).
Maintaining the perfect water conditions (filtration, aeration, Ph level, temperature) become crucial to bring out the beauty in the fish.
Of course, not only care, but genes also play a huge role in the beauty of the fish, especially in the beauty of its Kok. The overall beauty of the fish can create an adult(12-15 inch) with a price tag of Rs. 20,000 to over a Lakh while quality juveniles (1-2 inch) are available for around Rs.1000. Males being more beautiful, are costlier.

Today the aquarium hobbyists of Kolkata have matured. More and more hobbyists are exchanging the accumulated knowledge forming social groups. The largest and most active group by far, the Kolkata Aquarium Club (KAC), aims to make fish keeping more popular in the city. As an online forum that started in Orkut, KAC has over the last 2 years guided many hobbyists to successfully develop a plethora of knowledge and expertise in the hobby.

According to the initiator, Tirthankar Chattopadhyay, “KAC is a group of hobbyist whose only intention is to spread the fish keeping hobby in a scientific manner and raise consciousness among people to preserve our native water bodies and fishes.” With their tagline, “Fish keeping simplified”, KAC does, what it promises. Few hobbyists who have successfully bred the Flowerhorn in Kolkata are Walter Chen (9830888873), David Lee (9830090982), Ranjan (9331292592). These exotic fish, besides others, are also available at the following fish stores.

ENTALLY FANCY FISH EMPORIUM
P-48, C.I.T Road, Schm 52, Kolktata - 700 014
Phone: (033)2244-3398

HOBBY CENTRE
58/1N/1C RAJA Dinendra Street, Kolkata 700006.
Phone : 23509354

AQUARIUMS INDIA
Belilious Road, Howrah 711 101
Phone : +919230822854 / 98315 555411
 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.

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

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..

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.