" Thats a cross between a lion and a Wolf !!!!! " .. he said. "Wow!!.. quite a thing!" we replied, looking at the Dachshund (Smooth)[here you must check out Google to get a glimpse of this beast.. trust me , U MUST !!]. So, that was the day when I realized: you don't have to be stupid , to be naive .. you just need an immense trust on people, a big heart and a saint-ish belief that all living beings are good !! Because the person am talking bout here had enough intelligence to teach a bunch of crazy lunatics a subject called maths! And among those lunatics, barring a few , rather 2 to be precise, rest all had the urge and the tenacity to learn about numbers! ...... But yet he sacrificed all his judgmental abilities to believe what his neighbor had said about their pet.. the Dachshund!
This is a tribute to the "naivest" and "simplest" human being I have ever known in the past 26.5 years of my existence on this planet... Konar Sir.
As most of my dear friends know that my brother and me had above average intelligence when it came to mathematics! Therefore to further hone our skills we joined the tuition classes of Mr. Konar. My friend Aveek also joined the same batch with us, and am sure will keep regretting that decision as long as he is sane. Because if not for us, he would have learned some more maths than what he did.
We first got the taste of Konar sir's naivety during an early morning class one day. It was circa 1999-2000, and TB6 was reigning the masses (for those who are unaware of TB6 pls use google). So naturally a large part of the pre-class adda was dedicated to discussions on TB6 ... and that day was no different.
(I am going to write this discussion in Beng-lish, rest everything will be in English)
"baba sourojit .. baba aveek .. TB6 ki re ?" .. suddenly sir asked ( we were unaware that he was standing behind us)
"sir, ota kichu na .. ota national geographic er ekta sister channel", prompt came the reply from ingenious Aveek
"ohh!! tai !!! baah baah .... ta ki ki dekhay ote?", Sir asked
"All natural stuff sir !!!! shob natural jinish patro!!... ei dhorun evolution theke shuru kore population obdhi shob!!", .. I said
"ohh tai bujhi !! aacha tahole ajkei ami amar cable-wala ke bolbo TB6 dite" !!!!!!!
(we never really tried to find out what happened next)
Arijit's Australia trip and the kangaroo Incident:
Since that event, we were sure that Sir was oblivious of everything on this earth except mathematics. So quite often we would discuss TB6, Debonair (magazine), Mermaid (magazine), kamona-bashona (novel) etc , and sir would enthusiastically take part in our discussion to quench his thirst for knowledge. Sometime he would even note down the names of these "educational movies and magazines' with an aim to look for them in Kolkata's College street during his next visit.
Things were going fine and smooth ... and we were now a little bored .. we wanted some new excitement ... Finally it happened:
It was a chilly morning in the January of 2000. Indian cricket team was touring Australia and the telecast would start early in the morning in India. It was also the time when my dadu (maternal grandfather) had an angioplasty in Vellore and so Arijit (my twin bro) went to vellore with my Dad. Konar sir used to take the classes very early in the morning, and on that fateful day, we all saw India being completely devastated by the Aussie pace attack, before we started for the class. So the general mood in the class was gloomy... very gloomy . (remember cricket was a religion for us back then!!!)
[ I will translate this discussion in English]
Sir: What happened to you all? Why are you guys looking so sad ?
Someone (I dnt remember who it was): Sir ..... Sir ... there is a bad news ... (!!!!!!!!)
We all could sense that something was coming ...
Sir: what happened !!!!?????????
That Someone: Sir ... Arijit .. Arijit is .....
Sir : WHAT ???????? TELL ME ??????
(we all were dumbstruck and quite....we didn't know what was happening)
That Someone: Sir... Arijit has been beaten by a Kangaroo !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(Now that was it !!!!!! ..... everyone was trying to turn their head 360 degs and laugh!!!)
Sir: What??????? I don't understand !!!!
(it was my turn now....)
Me: Sir .. actually we forgot to tell u that Arijit won the Brittania contest and went to Australia to watch India play. Now there I told him to be careful ... but you know how he is ... he went to a safari ... and saw some kangaroo kids playing .. so he wanted to take one of the kids back home with him and also wanted to have a joy ride in the pouch of the big kangaroo!!!! ... he ran towards them .. and the father kangaroo .... sensing danger .. bit him !!!!!!!!!!! ( I still dunno where this story came from!!!)
[Pin drop silence]
Sir: Oh My God (OMG) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What are you saying !!! OMG !! How is he?? How bad is the cut ?? is he in a lot of pain? Where did it bite him ??
[ Now that was the point when we almost collapsed trying to control our laughter!!!! he actually had believed a complete bullshit story!!! .. we actually had devised a new source of fun!!!!!]
Me: Sir !! Sir!!! please calm down !!! control yourself !! he is fine now!! .. I talked with him today morning , he said it bit him in ... bit him in his .. in his .. ASS!!!!... and he also said that it was not painful at all!! rather he felt a little ticklish when the kangaroo bit him .. he realized later that it was actually a bite and not a lick!!!
[ha ha ha ha ha !!!!!! god it was all happening] ...
So, for the next few day all of us would stretch our imaginations to the fullest and tell stories from Australia (apparently heard from Arijit). I don't remember how long this went , but it ended when one fine morning Arijit re-joined the classes.."limping" (!!!!!!!!)
Konar Sir could never even think that someone can lie to him! His world, his perceptions and his ideas were as pure as his love and respect for his profession. For, how on earth could he believe the fact that a class XII student actually showed a "complaint letter" written to his parents and got it signed by them !!! Or how could he NOT believe that it was not the concerned students' dad ... but the student himself, talking with him over the phone !!!
After leaving school, I have tried to visit him whenever I went to Durgapur. But the last time I saw him was almost 5-6 years back. But still today whenever I do even a little of maths (the kind needed for my work).. I still remember that 5.5 ft tall figure... in crisp white "Dhuti-Panjabi" .. and with the most harmless and heart warming smile ..
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Watching the Maharaja ...
Some days back .. Dec 7th to be precise , my brother and some of his friends , during a Safari at the Ranthambore Forest, Rajasthan India , met with the king of the jungle . The Tiger was a mere 8 feets from them !! And this happened after they had spotted Tiger Cubs sometime back .
Watching Tigers in their natural surroundings and outside a cage .... is in itself a thrilling experience. But u need sheer luck .. to spot a tiger during these safaris.
Anyways .. so one of the members in that safari (a very good friend of mine) wrote me this paragraph .. on the experience. I was thrilled ... hope u guys feel the same ...
" ultimate mindblowing experience!!! jokhon dekhlam,odbhut ekta anando hochhilo...feeling-ta undescribable...watching a tiger in its natural surroundings,free from any shackles...odbhut ekta feeling...Valmik Thapar-er moto conservationists-der jonyo respect bhishon bede gechhe...the animal is so beautiful,so majestic je bhabai jaay na keno loke maarte chay...the tiger skin is no doubt beautiful but ota eka jyanto tiger-er opori bhalo laage...
but tiger chharao the national park is very beautiful...aamra duto safari korlaam route 3 and 4 -e,dutor-i terrain ekebaare different...3 -te bodo bodo water bodies,khola khola grassland char dike,ekta silent rough beauty...4-e aabar majorly dense forests,kichhu ta grasslands...ekebaare alada duto...Ranthambore-er puro system bhishon organized laglo...
aar ekta byapar.,tiger dekhar aage tiger chase-ta oshadharon chhilo...we went to some 3-4 places initially after getting the news je ekta tigress and duto cubs dekha gechhe...tarpor ekta forest clearing we stopped for some time with bated breath trying to hear a call (to give ur brother credit,he recognized a pugmark at the beginning of the search and also heard the first call)...as soon as we heard one,the guide said hold tight,jeep ebaar dourobe...she ekta thrilling experience...tarpor we reached another place,okhan theke aabar race korte korte aarekta jaygay gelaam where we waited in silence for some 15 minutes (which felt like 1hour) and finally got to see the two cubs...cubs maane sub-adults,14-15 months old,almost adult...oder chhobi-tobi tolar por khushi hoye jokhon berolaam,1-1 and a half kms egiye giye dekhi ki ekta full grown male rastar dhaare grassland-er opor boshe aachhe!!! unbelievable luck chhilo shedin...tiger usually never come out in the open so i dont know why it was sitting there,maybe it was just waiting for some time before going to hunt as it was already nearing sunset,the time when tigers start to hunt...
ekta jinish realize korlaam,jongole aamra holam at the mercy of the tiger,tiger is not at our mercy...
tui ele aamra aabar jaabo Ranthambore!!! "
NOTE : THE PICTURE ABOVE IS JUST A TRAILER ... MORE PICTURES AVAILABLE IN MY FACEBOOK AND IN MY BROTHER'S ORKUT / FACEBOOK :)
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Failures are the stepping stones to success !!! is that true !!!
Recently , something happened to me .. which was an almost exact repeat of a similar incident that occurred about an year back. So instead of typing this fresh incident ... i thought of putting the older one here.
While u read it .. just remember.. the date was different and the "food" was different this time, although my "hunger" for "experimental food" remains the same ...
It all began with a desire... the most inherent desire of mankind. A desire for which we work in the office, for which we educate our selves and for which we create occasions in others lives!! … The desire to eat well!!!
I don’t remember the date (and don’t want to remember either) when the story began. It was one of my regular trips to the local Food Store, when I came across this stuff. Now, before I tell you what followed next, let me explain the psychology that drove me into this….
Recently back from an invigorating trip to Nashville and the Smokey Mountains, I was still loaded with the memories. Beside the natural beauty of the place, another thing that kept coming back, were the delicious preparations which my Scientist Friend Ayan and My Scientist big-sis Sudarshana di (I use “scientist” to mean that they are not Chefs in any Indian restaurant) had prepared at different time points, during the trip. While Ayan had a Keema preparation, Sudarshana di made Mutton Liver.
So, I had a hidden desire in me, to try and prepare these above items so as to satisfy my taste buds, which were still searching for those delicacies. Neways lets come back to the story now. So here I was in a Food Mart, with a burning desire to “eat Better”… and a hidden fantasy for Keema and Mutton Liver!!! Thats when I saw this thing, a cute white box in the “meat” section. I just couldn’t resist myself. It had those words written on it “G R O U N D” (which is basically keema). Little did I realize that it was neither Chicken Keema nor Mutton Liver, rather it was “Ground Chicken Liver”, and that’s not all!!! It had stuffs like Curd and Egg, mixed!!!!!! My confused mind, hidden passions and Scientist mentality (which never works in the lab), forced me to put it in my cart though :(
Back Home with a contended feeling for spotting the stuff that I wanted, I started with great enthusiasm!! Sudarshana Di had said, and ayan had made, the preparations very rich! Therefore with tears dripping, I finished chopping a mountain of onions,chillis etc etc! The cooking began with its usual good smell, when you fry onions with some Masalas (here I must say, I had a heavy dose of masalas put in , in an attempt to make it extra spicy).And finally It was time to open the pack and put the coveted “G R O U N D” stuff into the pan !!!! Like a child opening a box of Ferro Roche, I opened my prized catch!!! BUT… the first look of the stuff inside, made me sad.. it looked bad .. real bad!! I told myself “looks are deceptive”, and went ahead to put it , in my already fried onion and maasala mix !!!
:
:
:
The Gap signifies the shock, I got when I put it in the pan!!! .. It was like a Biological “smell” Weapon!! I was thrown back with the overwhelming (read nauseating) smell!! I had nothing to do!!! I gathered all my strength, and told myself “cooking make things better”.. little did I realize that I was a dumb fool to believe that !!! Even after sweating it out for 2 hours… there was no change in the atmosphere!! The smell was persistent and self generating!!!
That was it …. 2 hrs of my time, 20 litres of sweat, and almost $20 of Spices, resulted in an “alien” delicacy, which may b extra terrestrials would have liked.
So friends what did I do with my marvelous creation??? ..He he !! .. I am intelligent enough to keep it in -20.. who knows may b the smell will “freeze to death” !!!... someday ... :(
Moral of the Story : Next time when you have good food, get it packed …
While u read it .. just remember.. the date was different and the "food" was different this time, although my "hunger" for "experimental food" remains the same ...
It all began with a desire... the most inherent desire of mankind. A desire for which we work in the office, for which we educate our selves and for which we create occasions in others lives!! … The desire to eat well!!!
I don’t remember the date (and don’t want to remember either) when the story began. It was one of my regular trips to the local Food Store, when I came across this stuff. Now, before I tell you what followed next, let me explain the psychology that drove me into this….
Recently back from an invigorating trip to Nashville and the Smokey Mountains, I was still loaded with the memories. Beside the natural beauty of the place, another thing that kept coming back, were the delicious preparations which my Scientist Friend Ayan and My Scientist big-sis Sudarshana di (I use “scientist” to mean that they are not Chefs in any Indian restaurant) had prepared at different time points, during the trip. While Ayan had a Keema preparation, Sudarshana di made Mutton Liver.
So, I had a hidden desire in me, to try and prepare these above items so as to satisfy my taste buds, which were still searching for those delicacies. Neways lets come back to the story now. So here I was in a Food Mart, with a burning desire to “eat Better”… and a hidden fantasy for Keema and Mutton Liver!!! Thats when I saw this thing, a cute white box in the “meat” section. I just couldn’t resist myself. It had those words written on it “G R O U N D” (which is basically keema). Little did I realize that it was neither Chicken Keema nor Mutton Liver, rather it was “Ground Chicken Liver”, and that’s not all!!! It had stuffs like Curd and Egg, mixed!!!!!! My confused mind, hidden passions and Scientist mentality (which never works in the lab), forced me to put it in my cart though :(
Back Home with a contended feeling for spotting the stuff that I wanted, I started with great enthusiasm!! Sudarshana Di had said, and ayan had made, the preparations very rich! Therefore with tears dripping, I finished chopping a mountain of onions,chillis etc etc! The cooking began with its usual good smell, when you fry onions with some Masalas (here I must say, I had a heavy dose of masalas put in , in an attempt to make it extra spicy).And finally It was time to open the pack and put the coveted “G R O U N D” stuff into the pan !!!! Like a child opening a box of Ferro Roche, I opened my prized catch!!! BUT… the first look of the stuff inside, made me sad.. it looked bad .. real bad!! I told myself “looks are deceptive”, and went ahead to put it , in my already fried onion and maasala mix !!!
:
:
:
The Gap signifies the shock, I got when I put it in the pan!!! .. It was like a Biological “smell” Weapon!! I was thrown back with the overwhelming (read nauseating) smell!! I had nothing to do!!! I gathered all my strength, and told myself “cooking make things better”.. little did I realize that I was a dumb fool to believe that !!! Even after sweating it out for 2 hours… there was no change in the atmosphere!! The smell was persistent and self generating!!!
That was it …. 2 hrs of my time, 20 litres of sweat, and almost $20 of Spices, resulted in an “alien” delicacy, which may b extra terrestrials would have liked.
So friends what did I do with my marvelous creation??? ..He he !! .. I am intelligent enough to keep it in -20.. who knows may b the smell will “freeze to death” !!!... someday ... :(
Moral of the Story : Next time when you have good food, get it packed …
Monday, September 8, 2008
The Twin Paradox
Statutory warning: This has nothing to do with Einstein's Theory of Relativity.
Over the years I have come across a lot of inquisitive souls. And the most commonly asked question has been about my childhood: how it was to grow up with a photocopy/mirror image of myself or in short "How it feels to grow up with an identical twin?" .. and so I thought of writing this ... just to give them a glimpse ... after all you don't get to see a lot of identical twins around! ......
We came into this world in the August of 1982, weighing four and a half pounds each; with hard little knots of muscle in our arms and legs that our mother said came from fighting in the womb. And I think she was correct, because we were the living embodiment of the cliché about brothers who beat the hell out of each other but team up to defend each other against anyone else.
Most of our early childhood was spent on risking life and limb with daredevil stunts. Like the time we saw that man on TV (later I knew he was Mr. AB) beating hell out of another guy, and went to the bedroom and tried to cut off each others head by using a sliding door of the dressing table! We were pretty good, as well as I can recall; we came really close, but nobody got beheaded that day. In the later years our fights became more competitive, I exactly knew what his next move would be ... and so did he !! Therefore in most cases the result was a bi-lateral damage and mostly needed a third party intervention with force (read mom or dad or both)!!!
Being kids we thought that we have supernatural powers. This idea was further re-inforced by the hindi movies (specially the 70s,80s n mid 90s stuff) where they showed the highest level of wireless communication possible :... yess between twin brothers! We saw twins transferring data, sound, videos (probably more than 1000 GBs!!)etc etc etc ... just by thought!!! Needless to say, after several failed attempts (specially during exams) to replicate the superhuman feats depicted by those human beings on screen, we were convinced that reality sucks. But people around us didn’t seem to believe that! Because they kept asking "Do u feel the pain if someone pinches your bro?"(!!!!@#$%@#$%) . Now I wish I could say "Yes" .. and make a fool out of them!!! .. But, back in those days, I was not that mean ! (am talking about III-IV standard).
Although mother nature didn’t allow us the supernatural powers, but it did give us an added advantage over others, and that is the “confusion” associated with identical twins like us: Teachers, friends, x, y, z ... no one can call you by your name. Everyone seems to be apprehensive - in case they "hurt your sentiments" by calling you by your brother's name!! For most of our childhood, teachers, friends and some relatives tended to address us as if we were one person! BUT to tell you the truth it never mattered to us! On the contrary, this confusion helped me more than once when I was a kid, like when I committed some crime in school.. and my naive brother faced the consequences !!!! Therefore as a kid it was a good cover for both of us .. depending on the situation :)
By now, you must be jealous of all the twins in this world! So, to make you guys feel a little better I will tell you that everything was not that smooth and fun. Being twins has its downside too: First, when you are a kid you are MADE to wear similar dresses.. and hence you become the center of public attention everywhere. Now that’s the norm for all twin kids … people around you seem to enjoy the ‘double trouble’ !!! But ask any twins and am sure you will understand how frustrating it is!! Then as you grow up you gain your "rights" and can now stand up against the "inhuman dressing torture" inflicted by your parents .. so you consciously wear different colors and dresses . But now that you are growing up, you have to pay the price for it. And like all of you, bhowmick twins also had to pay the price:
Firstly, we both got caught more than any of the other trouble-makers did in school, because everybody recognized us. Someone would see a bunch of boys bunking classes or involved in a fight, or whatever the particular offense was, and call the authorities to report: "I saw a bunch of boys doing (whatever). I couldn’t recognize any of them, but I know the Bhowmick twins were there (even if only 1 of us was present)." The Bhowmick twins always got caught, even when we weren’t guilty. If there were any two boys in a group who happened to look alike, the Bhowmick twins got the blame !!!
Secondly, while Bhowmick twins were a strong united force against any enemy, they started having issues as they grew up, which resulted in occasional disputes among them: I must mention here (and you will know why) that all this happened for the last time in college ... and thankfully it has never happened again. But this was an issue that kept us busy from school days till the last day in college (before we got physically separated by distance). The problem was .. our similar genetics always made us admire the same girl !!!! ... Wait !! dont get a shock !! .. I told you it stopped at the end of college!! So STOP your imagination from going wild !!!! Anyways, we soon found a solution to this problem !! - Thankfully there were more than one name.. "almost" EVERY TIME and so we always had an EASY SOLUTION when the number was EVEN .. BUT in case of ODD numbers, it was a diplomatic nightmare! Under such circumstances the deal generally made sure that "you pay a heavy price for attending the 'target' un-interrupted" .. that meant loosing your rights to choose a dress, shoes, watches or even the "equal share of cigarettes and pegs" ... for almost a month! Hence, a detailed scrutiny of the "subject" involved was mandatory before you sign the deal (NB: For women activists: please dont screw me for these words, its a joke after all!!) .... Good old days !!! :(
(I can go on and on and on writing about the exploits of and the experience of being the Bhowmick Twins, but am sure that some of my readers are slowly moving towards that little red cross sign at the top right corner of this page. So ... I will try and wrap it up ..)
Today when I look back I realize how important it is to have a twin brother. Because when you are a kid or a teen (the two most vulnerable stages of life) its your twin who is the only person on earth who can understand you the best. He is the only person with whom you can share anything and everything AND he is the only person who ensures that you always have a "partner in crime" ... and hence that way the "punishment" gets shared!!! (Even if it involves the heinous crime of "re-scoring" the mark sheets.. or bunking the ever boring Brilliant's / NICS exams !!) .
.
.
.
.
.
Ask me, and I will say, those were the wonder years! Although things have changed now e.g we do not fall for the same girl anymore except for gals like ……. (that’s a classified info), we do not look exactly same now, and the Bhowmick Twins are no more the “notorious” bhowmick Twins, BUT as they say , old habits die hard .. still today if I make a mistake …… its always his idea ;)
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Another "About me. .".
Well ... Suvro and Avik C , may sue me for this ... coz its completely their brain child (or is it?) ...rather I would say the Bollywood way .. "this was inspired from Suvro n Avik C's blogs " .. :P .. sorry guys .. but thanks ...
.. Ohh btw .. it seems Suvro got this idea from someone else .. so its ok .. :)
So here is my "About Me" in an "attempted" intelligent manner :
* I don't like (rather hate) Pizzas / Burgers / Hot Dogs.
* I don't like making 1000's of new friends any more. Am happy with my circle of friends.
* I can't talk well specially when in front of a cute/sexy/good looking gal whom I have never met before. Ok .... and this is a newly acquired trait!!!! :(
* I realize my mistakes after I commit them ...even when they are the most stupidest of all
* I cant play scrabble, don't like chess, crosswords are my sleeping pills and confused with KBC ... so that probably describes my level of intelligence.
* Ask me if I always wanted to be what I am today .. and my answer would be NO ..
* To add to the above point ... I like what I do now .. although it was never an ambition as a kid.
* I am very bad at keeping contacts (and if am still connected to you or try to keep in touch, it means you are really important to me) ..
* I believe that good looking gals always fall for ugly guys but somehow it doesn't seem to be true the other way...
* I believe in god ( well .. more strongly during tough times ..)
* I am not good at flirting.. ANYMORE .. :(
* Once I was very good in Snake II and cricket ... now am doing better in cricket coz am pretty good with my finger-eye co-ordination. And the snake has died.
* I have a twin brother .. and we are very close ... but trust me we don't have similar looking moles under our left armpits !!! ( the point is bollywood gives you crap!!! )
* Only 2 places on earth where I would like to go back whenever I get a chance are Durgapur and Kolkata.
* Pink Floyd changed the way I admired music
* I was and still am weak in maths
* I like cooking .. and I like making cocktails ...
* I like to help people, but only when they ask for it .. or when I feel they need it real bad .
* Am not addicted to Coffee ... neither to tea
* People say that I talk nonsense when drunk .. although I vehemently deny this !!
* I prefer sitting and sipping ... rather than shaking my legs, even when its a disc and even when there are pretty girls around .. ( NOTE : AM NOT GAY) !!!
* One thing that always makes me laugh .. irrespective of the situation : A resounding fart
* I love my country. ... except the fact that all the adult / porn channels are off air now-a-days !!!!!
* Its difficult for me to identify a SINGLE fav color or a fav movie or a fav actor or a fav actress or a fav book. (BUT I DO HAVE MANY OF THEM !!)
* I don't believe in astrology, palmistry and sun signs .. although I sometime check what the stars have to say for the day.
* I realised that am no "dude" for the first time at Delhi Airport, Aug 14, 2006 .
* I think anywhere is a walking distance ..... if you have time
* I am a good listener .. if you are a girl or if you talk sense ..
* I (too) think that am a good boyfriend and husband "material" :)
* I love nature
* I am very impatient .. specially when people keeps me waiting
* I don't believe Gandhi gave us the freedom .. coz i don't think you can scare away a bunch of people (who fought the WW !!), with just a stick and some sweet talks!
* JOYDEV (those who don't understand... pls don't try .... those who know what it is they might as well know that its a part of my existence)
* I would rather eat cornflakes for lunch... than wake up early on a Sunday morning.
* I feel evolution is the root of all problems ...
* I cant remember dates ... so please don't expect a call on your birthday .. it may happen sometime within +- 7 days of that date .
* And trust me .. "green vegetable" gives you a great "vision" :)
whoooofff !!!!! 32 mins ! .. can't write any more. And If you still don't understand me .. then thanks , I don't mind ! .. :)
.. Ohh btw .. it seems Suvro got this idea from someone else .. so its ok .. :)
So here is my "About Me" in an "attempted" intelligent manner :
* I don't like (rather hate) Pizzas / Burgers / Hot Dogs.
* I don't like making 1000's of new friends any more. Am happy with my circle of friends.
* I can't talk well specially when in front of a cute/sexy/good looking gal whom I have never met before. Ok .... and this is a newly acquired trait!!!! :(
* I realize my mistakes after I commit them ...even when they are the most stupidest of all
* I cant play scrabble, don't like chess, crosswords are my sleeping pills and confused with KBC ... so that probably describes my level of intelligence.
* Ask me if I always wanted to be what I am today .. and my answer would be NO ..
* To add to the above point ... I like what I do now .. although it was never an ambition as a kid.
* I am very bad at keeping contacts (and if am still connected to you or try to keep in touch, it means you are really important to me) ..
* I believe that good looking gals always fall for ugly guys but somehow it doesn't seem to be true the other way...
* I believe in god ( well .. more strongly during tough times ..)
* I am not good at flirting.. ANYMORE .. :(
* Once I was very good in Snake II and cricket ... now am doing better in cricket coz am pretty good with my finger-eye co-ordination. And the snake has died.
* I have a twin brother .. and we are very close ... but trust me we don't have similar looking moles under our left armpits !!! ( the point is bollywood gives you crap!!! )
* Only 2 places on earth where I would like to go back whenever I get a chance are Durgapur and Kolkata.
* Pink Floyd changed the way I admired music
* I was and still am weak in maths
* I like cooking .. and I like making cocktails ...
* I like to help people, but only when they ask for it .. or when I feel they need it real bad .
* Am not addicted to Coffee ... neither to tea
* People say that I talk nonsense when drunk .. although I vehemently deny this !!
* I prefer sitting and sipping ... rather than shaking my legs, even when its a disc and even when there are pretty girls around .. ( NOTE : AM NOT GAY) !!!
* One thing that always makes me laugh .. irrespective of the situation : A resounding fart
* I love my country. ... except the fact that all the adult / porn channels are off air now-a-days !!!!!
* Its difficult for me to identify a SINGLE fav color or a fav movie or a fav actor or a fav actress or a fav book. (BUT I DO HAVE MANY OF THEM !!)
* I don't believe in astrology, palmistry and sun signs .. although I sometime check what the stars have to say for the day.
* I realised that am no "dude" for the first time at Delhi Airport, Aug 14, 2006 .
* I think anywhere is a walking distance ..... if you have time
* I am a good listener .. if you are a girl or if you talk sense ..
* I (too) think that am a good boyfriend and husband "material" :)
* I love nature
* I am very impatient .. specially when people keeps me waiting
* I don't believe Gandhi gave us the freedom .. coz i don't think you can scare away a bunch of people (who fought the WW !!), with just a stick and some sweet talks!
* JOYDEV (those who don't understand... pls don't try .... those who know what it is they might as well know that its a part of my existence)
* I would rather eat cornflakes for lunch... than wake up early on a Sunday morning.
* I feel evolution is the root of all problems ...
* I cant remember dates ... so please don't expect a call on your birthday .. it may happen sometime within +- 7 days of that date .
* And trust me .. "green vegetable" gives you a great "vision" :)
whoooofff !!!!! 32 mins ! .. can't write any more. And If you still don't understand me .. then thanks , I don't mind ! .. :)
Friday, May 23, 2008
The Tele-Soap World ..
Remember those sundays ... when there used to be no one on the streets between 9 am to 11 am ...? When the rest of the week passed in eager anticipation.. waiting for those precious 2 hours of the sunday morning ? .. when it was a matter of pride among your friends, if you could discuss what happened in those 2 hours , in a greater detail than others ? ..... yess am talking about those days when we were kids ... and sundays had only 1 meaning ... TV Serials .. Mowgli-Jungle Book, Tailspin, Chandrakanta, Mahabharata n Ramayana .. to name a few memorable ones . And also there were other equally attractive ones like Circus, Byomkesh Bakshi, Malgudi Days n even .. as I just remembered ... Tehkikaat !!! I must say, they were a big part of my growing up ... and I seriously do not miss those Marks or Those Homeworks, which I often had to sacrifice for them (although mom-dad rarely knew about this).
Over the years, I grew up (well thats obvious isnt it !!! )...rather we all grew up (this is referring to my dear friends with whom I grew up).... and the defination of a "Sunday" changed with time. There were no more discussions about the previous days tele-soaps on monday mornings or at the play ground. Well, probably because there was nothing worthy to be discussed !! As we grew up , our good old "Sunday Friends" said good-bye one by one. And with that, came the end of what I call "the age of entertaining, sweet, informative and sensible" TV-soaps.
Probably the society was changing fast then ... probably the viewers no more wanted to see the cartoon character of a little boy dancing around with a bunch of monkies, or even a 50+ private investigator fighting crime! And as you know with the entertainment industry.. you get what you want...
So then started the age of Never-ending family dramas.. filled with crime , sex , extra-marital sex , pre-marital sex, unfaithfulness, disloyalty !! Some years back , I was shocked to see even a rape scene in a Family type TV Soap !!! (dont think i was watching it .. i was surfing channels when it came up).....
As if the increasing TRP ratings of these soaps were not enough to indicate what we as a society wanted. Therefore we started giving signals in reality.
Cases of extramarital sex , honour killings, murders due to unfaithful behavior, illicit affairs, suicides due to illicit affairs, murder by inlaws n vice versa ...... and recently the killing of ones own child or murdering a disillusioned wife's lover ... increased, and thanks to the media ... these were highly glorified.
All these past 2-3 years I have always wondered, how these stupid serials, which mostly show the negative aspects of life, could do so well !!!! But then I realised : If you go 10-15 years back, I am sure you would hardly find such incidents happening in a regular basis, both on and off the TV screen. But as I said, the incidence of such incidents have multiplied over the years. And today , every other Tele-Soap have some element of these... and why not ... there are more viewers to take such drama than ever before !!!
God Knows where are we heading ...... but sometime I sincerely wish the days of Mowgli, Chandrakanta or Swami (Malgudi Days) come back again ....
( http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Love_sex_top_murder_motives_in_cities/articleshow/3067492.cms)
Over the years, I grew up (well thats obvious isnt it !!! )...rather we all grew up (this is referring to my dear friends with whom I grew up).... and the defination of a "Sunday" changed with time. There were no more discussions about the previous days tele-soaps on monday mornings or at the play ground. Well, probably because there was nothing worthy to be discussed !! As we grew up , our good old "Sunday Friends" said good-bye one by one. And with that, came the end of what I call "the age of entertaining, sweet, informative and sensible" TV-soaps.
Probably the society was changing fast then ... probably the viewers no more wanted to see the cartoon character of a little boy dancing around with a bunch of monkies, or even a 50+ private investigator fighting crime! And as you know with the entertainment industry.. you get what you want...
So then started the age of Never-ending family dramas.. filled with crime , sex , extra-marital sex , pre-marital sex, unfaithfulness, disloyalty !! Some years back , I was shocked to see even a rape scene in a Family type TV Soap !!! (dont think i was watching it .. i was surfing channels when it came up).....
As if the increasing TRP ratings of these soaps were not enough to indicate what we as a society wanted. Therefore we started giving signals in reality.
Cases of extramarital sex , honour killings, murders due to unfaithful behavior, illicit affairs, suicides due to illicit affairs, murder by inlaws n vice versa ...... and recently the killing of ones own child or murdering a disillusioned wife's lover ... increased, and thanks to the media ... these were highly glorified.
All these past 2-3 years I have always wondered, how these stupid serials, which mostly show the negative aspects of life, could do so well !!!! But then I realised : If you go 10-15 years back, I am sure you would hardly find such incidents happening in a regular basis, both on and off the TV screen. But as I said, the incidence of such incidents have multiplied over the years. And today , every other Tele-Soap have some element of these... and why not ... there are more viewers to take such drama than ever before !!!
God Knows where are we heading ...... but sometime I sincerely wish the days of Mowgli, Chandrakanta or Swami (Malgudi Days) come back again ....
( http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Love_sex_top_murder_motives_in_cities/articleshow/3067492.cms)
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
En-Light-enment
It was 8pm last Thursday , while driving back home from work ,I suddenly found an unknown warning light blinking on my dashboard. After a closer look I realized, it was something to do with the brake lights ...... and true to my guess .. found my left brake light at the back kept sleeping , when it was supposed to wake up as i apply my brakes. Now this was a serious issue (although it may sound funny to people who are used to driving back home), because I didn't want any stupid cop to stop me for "visibility violation". Hence decided to have a look once I reach home.
At this point its worth mentioning that ...., when in Durgapur my dad used to drive a Premier Padmini. And minor issues like a fused light , low battery, short spark plugs etc (which were in plenty) .... were taken care of by him inside our small garage itself. So years of experience as my dad's assistant, gave me some idea about these issues in a car.
But this time it was different , I was a little apprehensive to try my tricks on my new Toyota Camry....... after all it wasn't a Padmini !! But as they say ... old habits die hard ... so my Indian roots overcame my "american apprehension" .. and I started working on the brake light .....
The journey started smoothly ... open the hood .. remove the mat .. unscrew the access screws .. and unplug the sensor clip ..... and then .. there u r ... u can actually c the bulbs ...!!!!!! That was exciting .. coz here i was saving around $ 50 !!.. good enough for 5 crates of Guiness !!! But soon my excitement faded away .... and thats because .. I could only get a glimpse of the bulbs .. but could not reach either of them ....
But despite this, I was happy with my effort and contended with the fact that it was nothing to do with the circuits .. and just a fused bulb (which i could see)... I called it a day .. with a Guiness anyways.
By now you must be wondering why am I writing these things ? Well, so here comes the interesting part. ..... Next day , morning , the first think I did was, take my car to the local Toyota Showroom / Dealer, where they made me wait for 2 hrs (since I didn't have an appointment !!!!!! ) and then a smart looking guy .. in those "pit stop" attire, came to fix the problem . I will try and dramatize it .. (although I dont remember the exact dialogues... )
Toyota Guy (TG) : Hello sir ! how may I help you today ?
Me : I have this warning light .. blah blah ... seems to be my back brake light .. blah blah .. seems like the bulb is fused.. i tried .. blah blah .....
TG : Sir , it is dangerous to play with the complicated machinery of your car without proper training. I advice you to please come to us directly, next time there is any problem .
Me : OK !!!!!!!!!!! ( @#%@#$%@#$%#@$)
TG : Why don't you have a seat (pointing towards a chair at the corner, inside the workshop)?
so I sat and watched ......
He started by opening the dashboard first ... looking for any fucked up wire (sorry for the language ! .. thats an expression of my frustration) ... then ..something in the engine !!!!! next it was the circuitry at the back ... accessed from the boot !! ..... AND then .. finally ... after about 1 hr 10 mins ........
TG : Sir , its a simple fused bulb .. I well get that fixed for you right away !!!
Me : Thank you soooooo much !! I knew you guys are trained to do this .. I shouldnt have played with the " complicated machinary " ( .... stupid ass !!!)
and finally THE Bill .... $180 ( $40 new bulb , $ 80 labour charge , $ 60 for some "loose wiring replacement"... which I never knew existed !! )
.. No Wonder .. 70 % of USAs intellectual force consist of foreigners ! .. BUT STILL THEY CAN FIGHT A WAR IN IRAQ WITHOUT A REASON !!!
.. Thank God .. it wasn't a starting problem !!!
At this point its worth mentioning that ...., when in Durgapur my dad used to drive a Premier Padmini. And minor issues like a fused light , low battery, short spark plugs etc (which were in plenty) .... were taken care of by him inside our small garage itself. So years of experience as my dad's assistant, gave me some idea about these issues in a car.
But this time it was different , I was a little apprehensive to try my tricks on my new Toyota Camry....... after all it wasn't a Padmini !! But as they say ... old habits die hard ... so my Indian roots overcame my "american apprehension" .. and I started working on the brake light .....
The journey started smoothly ... open the hood .. remove the mat .. unscrew the access screws .. and unplug the sensor clip ..... and then .. there u r ... u can actually c the bulbs ...!!!!!! That was exciting .. coz here i was saving around $ 50 !!.. good enough for 5 crates of Guiness !!! But soon my excitement faded away .... and thats because .. I could only get a glimpse of the bulbs .. but could not reach either of them ....
But despite this, I was happy with my effort and contended with the fact that it was nothing to do with the circuits .. and just a fused bulb (which i could see)... I called it a day .. with a Guiness anyways.
By now you must be wondering why am I writing these things ? Well, so here comes the interesting part. ..... Next day , morning , the first think I did was, take my car to the local Toyota Showroom / Dealer, where they made me wait for 2 hrs (since I didn't have an appointment !!!!!! ) and then a smart looking guy .. in those "pit stop" attire, came to fix the problem . I will try and dramatize it .. (although I dont remember the exact dialogues... )
Toyota Guy (TG) : Hello sir ! how may I help you today ?
Me : I have this warning light .. blah blah ... seems to be my back brake light .. blah blah .. seems like the bulb is fused.. i tried .. blah blah .....
TG : Sir , it is dangerous to play with the complicated machinery of your car without proper training. I advice you to please come to us directly, next time there is any problem .
Me : OK !!!!!!!!!!! ( @#%@#$%@#$%#@$)
TG : Why don't you have a seat (pointing towards a chair at the corner, inside the workshop)?
so I sat and watched ......
He started by opening the dashboard first ... looking for any fucked up wire (sorry for the language ! .. thats an expression of my frustration) ... then ..something in the engine !!!!! next it was the circuitry at the back ... accessed from the boot !! ..... AND then .. finally ... after about 1 hr 10 mins ........
TG : Sir , its a simple fused bulb .. I well get that fixed for you right away !!!
Me : Thank you soooooo much !! I knew you guys are trained to do this .. I shouldnt have played with the " complicated machinary " ( .... stupid ass !!!)
and finally THE Bill .... $180 ( $40 new bulb , $ 80 labour charge , $ 60 for some "loose wiring replacement"... which I never knew existed !! )
.. No Wonder .. 70 % of USAs intellectual force consist of foreigners ! .. BUT STILL THEY CAN FIGHT A WAR IN IRAQ WITHOUT A REASON !!!
.. Thank God .. it wasn't a starting problem !!!
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Contact / No Contact
The other day I was wondering how I have changed !! I remember in my bachelor days (READ BSc DAYS ), I could spend hours on the fone talking (rather as we call "Bhat mere") with a lot of people .. some friends some just colleagues , some seniors some juniors. Rather I would love to call up people and knock them , when I realised that I am loosing contact with them !
Naturally when I count the number of people who were in my "circle of friends / acquintences / senior / junior / non-of the above etc etc etc " in knew then .... I find that the number has dwindled gradually over the years.
But ask me if am worried about this .... and I will say , I feel better now !!
I feel its human nature ... as you undergo the transition from school ... to college .. to professional life ... you tend to "loose "people on the way .. rather the better word is " select". You select those who you know , can be there for long .. those who wont mind if you don't call or talk to them for days !! After all its not possible to maintain a huge number of people in your "good contact list" when you are professionally occupied. Now-a-days I don't even feel like calling up or even contacting people online, just for socialising (although i have to do it sometime for reasons which are complicated ). Thats because I am happy with my small circle of friends ...... Its correct that "good things come in small packages"
Disclaimer : Blogging for me , is just a way to express my ideas/views and feelings, and not to impress anyone with unfathomable language and classical English. So if you expected this to be a literary gem , then am sorry for the disappointment.
AND this post is not meant to offend anyone.
Naturally when I count the number of people who were in my "circle of friends / acquintences / senior / junior / non-of the above etc etc etc " in knew then .... I find that the number has dwindled gradually over the years.
But ask me if am worried about this .... and I will say , I feel better now !!
I feel its human nature ... as you undergo the transition from school ... to college .. to professional life ... you tend to "loose "people on the way .. rather the better word is " select". You select those who you know , can be there for long .. those who wont mind if you don't call or talk to them for days !! After all its not possible to maintain a huge number of people in your "good contact list" when you are professionally occupied. Now-a-days I don't even feel like calling up or even contacting people online, just for socialising (although i have to do it sometime for reasons which are complicated ). Thats because I am happy with my small circle of friends ...... Its correct that "good things come in small packages"
Disclaimer : Blogging for me , is just a way to express my ideas/views and feelings, and not to impress anyone with unfathomable language and classical English. So if you expected this to be a literary gem , then am sorry for the disappointment.
AND this post is not meant to offend anyone.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
