An emotional Get-Together

The day started with little excitement, I was gonna see my dearest ones after a gap of around 3 months. But I had no idea that this was gonna be the such an emotional day, that it left me with a nose blocked by held-back tears..

Indra was the first to reach college. I too had planned to get to my college by 9 in the morning, but a last minute appointment at the bank delayed me by around 2 hours. Some of you might know that I and my friends had built a mobile phone controlled robot car for our B.Tech project. I had brought it back home to show it to my parents. Alas! it didn’t work. I tried repairing it, but without success. Today I had planned to take it back and deposit it with my project guide. The 8B buses are always too much crowded for carrying any such delicate piece of work. So, I had to take another route and so forth. Anyway, getting off at my college I saw Avinandan with his better half. On entering the gates we saw Indra and Sneha at a distance. Sneha was a bit miffed. Her better half had scrapped his plans of coming and meeting us here coz of sudden fever. Otherwise it was great! we could not stop talking and smiling and laughing.. Needless to say, I kept cracking my fresh baked anecdotes whenever I felt the atmosphere settling down. My main target was Avinandan, coz his new-found girlfriend has brought about some seemingly impossible changes in him, that too in a couple of months.  So, we set off to get our N.O.Cs and final mark-sheets from the Registrar. In the course we went to different labs we had attended in this 4 years. Memories came flooding back as we visited them. The bench vices of the workshop, the drill machine diagram diagram on the black board, those huge DC motors in the electrical lab.. With all the signatures we went to the Admin Block for the next formalities. We were surprised to know that the piece of paper with all those signatures was not to be submitted today 😦 , we got to wait till December to submit it. Then we shall get our certificates.

So, finishing off this business we went off to Panch-Phoron, a restaurant nearby. On the way we saw a lot of policemen armed with guns and sticks. Reason? The town development authority has decided to demolish all illegal constructions in the city. They didn’t even spare the roadside makeshift food stalls. The ambient scenes could have dampened our spirits any other day, but today. We were too charged up for that! We were so busy talking that we hadn’t noticed that we were walking past our destination 😉 . It was Avinandan who pointed it out. The restaurant was on the 2nd floor. We first thought of taking the lift. But not being patient enough for the lift to come down, we set off the stairs.

We took an 8 chaired table for ourselves. Handed over a paper napkin to Sneha, she took out a pen and started . She is the manager at all out outings. She finalizes the stuff we order, how much each one has to pay etc. I had expected an item of PANEER, but no one else seemed to think on my line and so it wasn’t ordered. We ordered 4 plates of mix veg, 3 plates of biriyani and some more plates of some chicken items (I can’t recall the names :P). It was quite a while before we were served. We spent the time listening to Arijit’s experiences at Durgapur Steel Plant (he works there), telling Avinandan’s new found love how much had she changed him in these last 3 months who kept complaining about how much of a trouble it was to bunk a day at his job, I got my rakhi from dear sister Priyanka, teased Sneha how she never likes her own smiling photos, took a few pics etc. Finally, it was time to dig in! The food had been served. I was damned hungry.

There was a shortage of gravy 😦 but it was all great! Sneha and Priyanka could not finish their cold drinks, which I happily finished off! I am well known among my friends for my vicious appetite. All were saying they were full to their throats, but I felt like I could finish off another half plate of mix veg (though after a loud burp). We paid the bill and came out. Again thought of taking the lift. The lift showed “overweight” sign and I had to get off. We all met at the bottom of the stairs. Avinandan and his girlfriend were the first to take off for their workplace at city-center. They were getting late. Then it was Sneha’s turn, she took another auto to city-center bus stand. At last myself, Indra, Priyanka and Arijit were left. We took the next bus to city-center.

Within half an hour we were at city center bus stand. Sneha was smiling and waving furiously at us from her window side seat, the bus was “vroom”ing. There was still a minute left for the bus to depart. We kept talking but she insisted us to go on, enjoy the evening and not wait for her. Suddenly she turned her face away from the window. We could sense her choking on her cries. A few seconds later, she did look back at us, smiling, once more. But this time her eyes welled up and she could not hold back her tears. The bus started moving, tearing away her tearful eyes from our view. Slowly the bus took a turn around a barrier and she was gone.. I caught a glimpse of Priyanka misty eyed, before she wiped them off.. I could neither cry properly nor could I brush away the emotions (like I always do). I don’t know what was holding back my tears. My eyes were red, but my nose was runny..

The last time we had parted, we weren’t so much emotional. We had a reason which made sure that we would meet within another couple of months. But this is the final parting shot.. This time, we really don’t know when shall we meet again, if at all..

A job Interview, an adventure -> 2nd day, Written test and Card tricks

Funny enough, this day started around 4 in the morning! Actually, it was a cat moaning, and those who know it know well how much disturbing and irritating it is. A few times I left my bed to shoo away the cat, but it was beyond my reach behind a door. By the time of my 4th attempt, the cat had dared to appear before me. I was so angry I could have strangled it bare-hand even before it could take out its claws but, fortunately enough, it managed to give me the slip by a few centimeters and fled for its life. Next thing I remember is waking up around 5. A thought hit me like a hammer, “OMG! I have forgotten to bring my resume!!”. Imagine my situation. I had gone for an interview without my resume!! I felt chilly for a few seconds, but then another idea warmed me up! I would have needed the resume on the next day only if I managed to pass the written test.There was ample time in hand. So, I was back on track! here are some pics I snapped in the morning..

Sudipta had finished his morning business in the only toilet for the whole floor and it was my turn. Avinandan was as late as ever. Even after jostling him we managed to get him out of bed only after 6. By the time he was ready and packed we were at Sealdah station buying tickets. Among the three of us, Sudipta is the most punctual and Avinandan the least. I am somewhere in between 😉 .  We were waiting.. waiting on the train..waiting for the train to leave or Avinandan to come, whichever came first. All of a sudden Avinandan’s head and his tall figure popped up among the crowd far away, then he ran the length to our coach with the air of a “Bollywood hero chasing his love“. Half a minute late and he would have missed this train. We departed from Sealdah, promising ourselves that we wont go to that horrible hotel again no matter what happens.  On our opposite side, a young man in interview formals was sitting beside the window. I was hungry. Decided to have a pack of “CHOLA-MIXTURE” (sprouting grams mixed with chopped onions and salts). Since I was awfully hungry, I hadn’t noticed the dripping spice water smeared all over my hands. At last I washed my hand and shook my hands dry (my hanky was in my backpack) and that window side person gave me a glare. Though I told him an inaudible sorry, the milk had been spilled. At least it animated his expressionless face to some extent! 😛

Getting off at Madhyamgram station Sudipta and Avinandan had a cup of tea each. Both were too tense to eat anything. The drone of a plane  passing overhead told us that we were quite near to the DumDum Airport. Looked above, it was an IndiGo plane.  I had a funny yet strange thought seeing the planes overhead, passing so near. I thought what if the plane stops mid-air and falls on our heads, coz literally they looked like hanging from the sky 🙂  We were told that we were gonna be picked up by a bus at the station, and then at another bus stop. We were confused, didn’t know which way to go. Started walking. After a little distance we noticed there were bands of guys and girls who were no less confused. They too were wandering without a clue. The looks in those eyes, we knew we were in the same boat. The scattered groups congregated under a flyover. Someone told “lets go to the next pick up point”, and we all did so. Groups of 4-5 took a rickshaw van each and off we went. It was a fun ride!

Got off at Madyamgram Chowmatha. The traffic police gestured us to go to the other side of the road, the college was in that direction. Soon a small yellow bus appeared. We scrambled to get on to it. I was luck, I got a window seat. Within minutes the bus was jam-packed and we started for our destination, “Camellia Institute of  Technology”. I didn’t look behind but I was pretty sure that many were left standing at the bus stop. It took around10 minutes.

The college campus..

The college is situated in the middle of a grassy wetland. No facilities such as transport or any good hotel nearby. The entrance itself smells awful coz of the high drain passing in its front. Anyway, we had to ourselves registered and authenticated. To that I said to my friends “None except those who have lost their minds will come here willingly, so there isn’t a need for authentication. We won’t have come here unless we desperately needed a job” . We were asked to sit in a medium sized auditorium. there we were supposedto take the test there. The people from “Exilant Technologies” had come. At first they arranged us into neat rows and columns. Then we were given answer sheets and question papers and the test started. It was a test of 15 questions, 45 minutes. My question set was easier, I had completed it within 20 minutes. Most of those sitting around me were slogging on till the 45th minute calculating and writing. The papers were taken back and we were told to assemble by 3 pm for the results. We went to the canteen for lunch. Avinandan had come here before, so he led the way. On reaching there we got a surprise!!! Another group of student from our college had gone there. We were searching for them, they for us and we hadn’t discovered each other till then 🙂 I had 4 parathas for lunch and back we went. There was a lot of time left so we decided to roam about in the college. After some time we sat on a balcony. O! I forgot to mention. Sukanto and Debashish, another two friends of mine had invited us to stay at their hostel for the night. I was immensely relieved!!

Sitting on the balcony..

By 3 pm sharp, the company guys had came to the auditorium. To my utter surprise my name was 2nd on the list! I had cleared the written test. Waow! what a feeling that was with the whole room looking at me. My friends congratulated me. I was asked to go to another room in another building. It was for a pre-placement talk. Sitting in that A/C hall, I was wondering if any more of my friends had cleared the test (Later on I came to know that another one did clear, but he had left for home already). I was a bit sad that neither Avinandan nor Sudipta had cleared the test. The placement talk went on for an hour and we were on our way back. Sudipta was feeling sick, so he had already left for home. Avinandan was kind enough to stay back with me, even though he didn’t have anything else to do. We went to DumDum. There we called up Debashish for the directions. He asked us to take an auto to “Khamkheyali Songho”, which means “the absent-minded group”. Kolkata is famous for such funny names! We were escorted to their room. Compared to what we had gone through the previous night, this place seemed like heaven! Soon we all went out for a meal. Sukanta was the hungriest among us. We went to a resturaunt, woke up the sleeping owner-cum-cook and ordered for 5 plates of noodles. Afterwards we returned as we were too tired to hang out any more.

5-6 people live in these guys’ room. The funniest of them all is a skinny Sikkimese. He is a student of BESU, Sibpur. He looks like he is always sort of intoxicated (which he actually is). Never mind, what I liked most was his card tricks. He is a master at card magic. He deftly performed many tricks leaving me and Avinandan awestruck. Initially I was an active audience, but after a few tricks I got too embarrassed to be fooled again. I pretended not to notice, but who could resist.. He is awesome!! Raghu, Debashis and Sukanta did treat us well. Sukanta even gave me a animated movie “Puss in boots” !! I would like to thank them again, they saved us from going back into that hell-hole. 🙂 For dinner I had a Bengali Thali and a bottle of Amul KOOL!

So this is how the 2nd night ends.. U know I skipped a lot of things, otherwise this post would have been even longer.

A job Interview, an adventure -> the 1st day

Let’s start the story on the day we left home. Me and my two friends Sudipta and Avinandan, were supposed to meet at Durgapur station. We were a bit late, still we managed to catch the train to Dakhineswar, the Jammu Tawi Express. We had general compartment tickets, but seeing the general compartments packed full; we decided to get on the sleeper coaches, which is illegal. Bad luck, we were caught by the TT soon. He was hell-bent on slapping a fine on the three of us. Thanx to Avinandan, we somehow managed to convince him and he let us go. He gave us strict orders to get off at the next station or go to the general compartments. So we did. Just as the train reached the next station, we got off and ran. Bad luck again, we were into the coaches near the end and the general coaches were right next to the engine. After running the whole length of the train panting for breath, we hopped on to the general coach and the engine gave the whistle. There was just space for the three of us and our backpacks. We were a bit tense if we would have to stand throughout the journey, but thank God! Halfway to our destination at Burdwan station, the crowd lightened up and we got seats. It was raining hard, so all the windows were closed. In such a closed coach if someone next to you farts every minute, what would it be like? It was horrible. It was like getting drowned, literally I could not breathe. Someone really needed to go to the toilet, I just could not guess who. At last, around half an hour to our destination I got up from my seat. I could not have sat there for another minute without killing myself. So, finally we were at Dakhineswar.

Dakhineswar station

This place is the famous for a temple complex of the Hindu goddess ”Kali”. Legend says that Lord Vishnu used his Sudarshan Chakra to destroy the body of Sati, then her right hand thumb fell at this place, so a temple came up here. Also, this is the place where the legendary Ramakrishna Paramahansa was a priest in the East India era.

Me and Avinandan

Sudipta in the front

This is the station ticket counter, designed just like the main temple of Dakhineswar

It was still raining, I wanted to go straight to Sealdah, but Avinandan was adamant about visiting the temple. He is damned good at convincing others, so I didn’t have much of a choice. We 3 were off on foot for darshan.  The rain was attacking us from all sides in turns so we were adjust our umbrellas at different angles. On entering the gates we saw many going here and there. Some were barefooted, some weren’t. There was the main temple complex on our left and the offerings shops on our right. Following the other people we went to a place where we kept our shoes for a token. Then we made for the main temple complex. While entering everyone has t pass through a narrow alley after a little checking. The narrow alley opened up into a huge open space, with many little and medium sized temples arranged neatly along the sides. We could not decide which one to visit first. Anyway, we started off the nearest one. The second one housed the main idol of Ma KALI. Here we had a hilarious incident. The temple itself was on a raised platform, and had quite a number of stairs. We first started on one side, got up the stairs, found our way blocked, came down. Went left, repeated the same thing 3 times, only to find that we had chosen the wrong way all 3 times. Finally, we found that the entrance was on the right side of the stairs we had climbed the first time! It would have been a fine script for a show of Mr. Bean! Laughing at ourselves we went to the other side for darshan. This side had 7 small temples of Lord Shiva, right next to the Ganges.
Taking back our shoes, we left for another temple named ADYAPEATH. On way, we had to ask a lot of people for directions. After walking for about 5 minutes we were there. This place wasn’t as big as Dakhineswar, but a lot more dense with many temples. We were hungry, had some snacks and made for the station. On way, there was a overflowing drain which had drowned up a long street in knee-deep water. Initially, we performed some daredevil long jumps along the little islands on the sides. Ultimately we had to give up. I took lead, dipped my feet and started wading along the street. It was funny and frightening at the same time. Funny coz I like walking in the rains, walking through puddles. It was frightening coz we didn’t know if we were gonna step into the next big pothole. At the end of the ordeal, I was utterly surprised! Avinandan was chatting on the phone throughout!  Talk about multitasking!!
We got to the station and boarded a train for Sealdah. The train was almost empty, given the bad weather. We got off at Sealdah and started our hotel hunt for the night. We started off asking a lone policeman for the nearest hotels, then passed underneath the AJC Bose flyover to the other side. It was muddy everywhere. We went from hotel to hotel but were told there wasn’t any vacant room. Only the A/C ones were vacant but they were gonna burn holes in our pockets. After a long search we managed to find one called Hotel Shefali Dx, where after a hard round of negotiation we got a room for the night for 400. The owner was a fine specimen of a typical boss! He is such a person who never talks and always barks!!He barks both at customers and his assistant (who is always on the edge of losing his temper and killing him). No doubt, customers come to this hotel and put up with this unbearable menace only when they have no other choice.  Just 20 minutes with him and we were going mad. Whenever he turned his back, the assistant silently muttered the worst slangs in his direction. We got a good idea of his frustration when he came upstairs to show us our room. Finally, we got a room. The room didn’t even have proper lighting arrangements. We took a CFL from the bathroom and fitted it in our room for the night. Before going for dinner and retiring for the night we took some pics from our balcony.  The room wasn’t good, but the view of Kolkata was awesome!! The pics we had taken aren’t good enough. This one is the flyover right in front of our hotel.

Look carefully, there is a warning painted on the road

P.S.- Whoever is angry at me because I didn’t visit ur blog, blame it on this 🙂

The final day of college life!

My day started with the thought “What if I can’t write anything today in my exams, I don’t wanna fail in the last one…”. It was real scary.

By 10 I was at the exam hall. It was the usual scene; most were preparing cheat-papers and writing on benches with pencils etc. Few were talking about the extreme heat of the summer, laughing at some anecdotes and so on.  I was feeling as if I was in a slaughterhouse about to be killed. Cheating in exams that is something I had never done before. I didn’t expect that myself being able to do that without being caught. The question papers arrived 5 minutes earlier, it killed me on the first look just as I expected. There wasn’t a single question that I could have answered by myself, all were lengthy derivations and I hadn’t prepared them at all. Something else was playing at my fate today. Suddenly something like a heat wave rushed over me and I uttered “Hey Adra, Pass me the cheat”. I was surprised at my tone of voice. This was one of the strangest things I have ever done. Next 2 hours went like breeze! I deftly cheated throughout the paper. I completed the paper with 1 hour left. There was ample time left to throw away the cheats through the broken window behind me. Time became slow. I could not wait to submit my paper and break into the final celebration of my college life! After the exam I ran to the library to submit my last library book and it was done! I was free! We started writing on shirts in the library itself (on other days this would have earned us a good scolding, but not today). Friends and all, we had become a family. Today it was time to depart, time for the last get-together. It was time to get emotional, time to speak those unspoken words we had in our hearts for years. It was time to show off our pent-up sentiments and so on…. Here, u can see some pictures my friends taken by my friend Avinandan.

In front of our library

                  

Afterwards, we decided to spend the night at Sudipta’s mess and visit Sudipta’s hometown tomorrow. I had to do some packing and stuff, so I came back home. An hour later me  Avinandan and Arijit we  3 joined the 3 others, Suvajit, Suvayan and Sudipta (remember the making of the song “college er sei dingulo“?). For dinner we went to restaurant named “PANCH-PHORON” (it is a Bengali spice).Enjoyed a hefty dinner, but it was already past 10 so, we were gonna have to walk the distance back. Luckily enough we got the last bus on the route. It was already running late, so we were at Sudipta’s mess in no time. I got to mention, in my B.Tech life of 4 years, I haven’t ever seen these buses going so fast! Avinandan was adamant about taking a his first sip of beer. Sadly enough, there were many who had planned to take the first sip tonight! as a result we could not find any good one. At last we found a bottle of Haywards 5000, it wasn’t chilled though. Arijit had bought a cold 2l Sprite. We decided that it should be mixed with the beer to lower its temperature. Avinandan was the first to take a sip. But he could not drink much. The rest of the bottle was finished by Arijit and Sudipta. Then we decided for game of cards. I am lousy player, so I was taking a little rest and the others were playing. Around 2 am everybody got tired and we came out of the room into the open air.

Now it is 2 3o am. Tonight, sitting outside by the side of a well, with a few of my friends under the open sky, counting the stars and yawning, we are reflecting on our life for the last 4 years. It was 8th August 2008, that we started this journey, the journey of 4 years of B.Tech. Looking back there are a lot of sweet and sour memories but most have been victims of my short-term memory. So I am keeping quiet, laughing at their anecdotes. In the meantime we can hear funny noises from the girls mess just beside the place we were sitting and we are wondering aloud what they are up to.. I am terribly sleepy, but trying to keep myself awake.

This is our last night together, A memory we shall cherish forever!

I got drenched!

You might think, what’s so special about getting drenched that I made a post of it? Read on please!

On this lovely day, I have come to Kolkata for our exams tomorrow. I and my friend Avinandan got off the bus at Esplanade. Lucky for us, the lights were still red. A short sprint and we were across the road. Within minutes we were down at the metro station, waiting for our rides. Avinandan was luckier, he got an AC one on his way to Dum Dum! I had to travel in the usual one. Never mind. The fun started at Tollygunge station. As soon as I got out of the station and boarded an auto, it started raining hard! On way, I got soaked to my underwear, but just on my left side. Anybody and everybody on road was cursing the rain, except me!

Guess why?

Coz this year I haven’t had the chance to get wet in the rain. Obviously, this was special! And moreover I got drenched in Kolkata for the first time! “So far off home“, “traveling alone” and “getting drenched in the rain” all together at the same time! To top it all, nobody was gonna scold me! It could not get any better!! So, I was really happy and excited! I could not contain my glee and my smile was driving my co-passengers mad! 😛 My co-passengers were an elderly couple. They were to attend a party. So obviously, getting wet was a real setback for them.  They were already frowning and my glee added to their anger 😉 .  Getting off the auto, I had a change of mind. I didn’t have any umbrella or rain coat.  I thought it might be  seriously careless on my part, if my exam hall ticket gets soaked in the rain, so I should wait till the rain stops. Yet, I could not resist the temptation of getting totally drenched. After a little fight, the devil won the match. I said to myself, “I haven’t actually prepared at all for this exam, if I don’t get an entry into the exam hall it wont be much of a loss. I am gonna lose anyway, so why not enjoy while I have the chance“. So, I decided to walk the rest of the distance, 15 minutes on foot.

I was enjoying every moment! My socks getting soaked in the puddles, dodging the potholes underneath, the vehicles passing by, their splashes, my windscreen (specs 😉 ) getting hazy, sudden thunder,lightning and the immediate following darkness… It was an experience worth in itself!  Loved every bit of it!

pondering over Plunging necklines and Waist-high slits

Aaahh.. the world of film stars and celebs. Norms and rules don’t apply there. No, I am not talking about laws. I am talking about something else. Read on..

plunging neckline

For the average guy, on seeing a girl, eyes go to rest on the *chest*, then travels all over her figure, leaving the brain to fantasize itself. This equation is same for celebs and fans. Word goes like, “Fans like to see, and celebs like to show off”. It is a win-win game. Earlier, just bikini clad poses in films were more than enough to tickle the sensitive organ. But “men are always men“. It is hard to satisfy them. So came, off-screen poses in plunging necklines and waist-high slits, without any underwear and tagged “hot”, “bold” etc. O! I forgot to mention, “Wardrobe Malfunction!” That is another phrase doing its rounds in the media parlance, lobbying for its place in the Oxford dictionary. Impressionable public calls these things “Kewwl” (Cool), although by sense it means the same as its dictionary antonym. 🙂

Assuming you are an average person, if you are videotaped nude or in any suggestive pose and that is posted on the internet, all your friends and acquaintances have seen it. Can u step out in public? You might be thinking, “I would definitely step out of this life before I step out of my room”. But, being a chicken-heart, suicide isn’t my cup of tea. I might try to move to someplace new, where nobody knows me.. (Wow! I made a poem 😀 )

Nowadays, I hear of lot of girls complaining of molestation. Then I think of the celebs. Their clothes, those are always on the verge of falling or being blown off. Why the fuss? I mean, if they can go bare on huge screens before billions of popping eyeballs, why at all take the trouble of wearing such about-to-come-off clothes. One feels like telling “Leave them at home! why not show off your assets like you mean it.”.. Yet, they manage to live comfortably lavish public lives!

Any idea how do they do it?

Pondering…

a milestone on our way to the end..

Yesterday, it was the last lab exam of my B.Tech.. getting pretty nostalgic right now. But this attack isnt as emotional as I had expected..

The day started with much excitement. Remember that song I was talking about in “Finally it happened“. We were planning to do a video recording of the song and dedicate it to all of us friends. Anyway, it was a typical Indian summer day. News forecast had warned that it was going to be 45 °C around noon, and it was hot indeed. Anyway, after the exams I took the bus to my friend, Sudipta’s mess.

Sudipta, posing with the guitar

Getting down at the bus stoppage I thought, I might have a bottle of Amul Kool, (saffron flavored milk). I bought one. No sooner had I put it to my lips, than I noticed two hooded guys approaching me. I was puzzled for a second at least, but their style of walking gave away. At once I recognised them; one was Suvayan (our lead singer)

Suvayan, our lead vocalist

and the other Avinandan (our only musician).

Avinandan, our only musician

Thankfully, they had come to pick me up. I was on the pillion when I heard the shopkeeper caliing me back. He had forgotten that I had already paid and was asking for it again. Damn! I never cheat on anybody, and how dare did he accuse me? Somehow, I managed to convince him of the truth and stomped off.. I left my bottle of Amul Kool there, it still had a some left in it..

With the usual welcome, I saw Suvajit was setting the plates and dishes for a treat of chicken Biriyani.

Suvajit, serving the BIRIYANI

It didn’t take much time to finish off the Biriyani, washed down with a few gulps of Thums-up. Then started the rehearsals for the song.

initial tuning..

Suvajit, posing with the guitar

Avinandan would think up and play some tunes and we would try to match it to the lyrics. It went on for around 20 mins. Finally we come to a decision on the song opening tunes. Then the rest went like a breeze. The different stanzas were being sung along with with the guitar.  The song video was being shot in pieces. Since this was our first chorus with a guitar in company, little flaws came up now and then. Somewhere the lines were too long, somewhere too short. But it was funny posing as composers and music directors 😉 .

We didn’t know when time flew by, until we heard someone shouting outside. We had frozen in our places for a minute, till Sudipta came back. He explained that ourselves, composing songs and singing at the top of our lungs, had added to his neighbors’ misery on that hot afternoon. Our rehearsals came to an abrupt halt, but we were too charged up to stop the shooting midway.. Suvajit then decided that we better go to another place (his previous mess), and within 10 minutes we were there. The juniors living there were kind enough to let us go on with our shooting, even after the abrupt murder of their afternoon naps on such a hot day. We are grateful to them. Now, the final stanzas were shot. Still, we hadn’t shot the whole song in a single video. So, it we shot another two to three videos on the whole song. The last one was the best. I have put it on YouTube, click here.

being Xaverian for a couple o’ hours

The thought of being able to attend an exam in the prestigious St. Xaviers college had me going “WAAaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAOoooow!!!”. It was a chance of a lifetime for an ordinary student from WBUT, to spend around 3 hours there. It was like a dream come true, (although I had never dreamt of it :D)

We started off on our journey around 8 am. Took a bus to Park street. Getting off there, we asked a policeman about St. Xaviers college. He directed us towards another road and we went off walking. It is no mean distance to walk, when it is a summer day. After some time, we saw a crowd in a distance.The first thing I noticed was a huge red building with yellow bordered windows. It was the St. Xaviers. There were some banners hanging outside. They were about the reunion of the alumni and some tech fest. I asked my friend Avinandan if I was dreaming, and he pinched me 😉 . There were around a hundred people. All waiting. The studious and serious were revising. Some were chatting on phone, mostly girls. And as usual, guys were gawping at the perfect figurines. There was one with so much of eye makeup, one might have mistaken her for having 4 eyelids! 🙂

Around half an hour later, we were asked to make a queue. There was a brief rush and the footpath was clear. The queue started advancing. Being at the last, I was looking at all the heads ahead. It was funny to see all those heads in a line, swaying to and fro, bobbing up and down. Reminded me of centipedes. Once inside, we were directed to our designated class rooms. My place was room number 12, 1st row from the door, 3rd bench. Then there was the usual exam scene. The room was buzzing. At the stroke of 10, the room fell silent. The questions were twisting my brain out of shape and I was telling myself “Shoot, how am I gonna spend 2 hours???”

Anyhow, I managed to spend the time answering 30 questions out of 60. Afterwards, I was very thirsty. Searching for water, I went further inside. A corridor led me to the playground. Rooted to a spot I did a 360 degree turn, and once again, I was going “WAAaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAOoooooooww!!!”. It was magnificent and huge.

There were some foreigner students taking snaps. With so many blondes all around, I was a bit uneasy. Walking past them, I was humbled. I wondered, “তোরাই জীবনে কিছু করলি, আমরা  শুধু বোকার  মতন  তাকিয়ে  তাকিয়ে দেখেই  যাব ”      (You r great, you guys have actually done something in your life, we the fools will always be left watching)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were walking back to Park street bus stop. On the way, we walked past “Music World” store and “Flurrys“. Flurrys reminded me of a  scene from the film “Parineeta“, where Sanjay Dutt bets a game of cards with Riya Sen. By now, I was quite used to so many blondes roaming around. Thus the Flurrys didn’t bother me much. Then there was the historic “Asiatic society“!! I was thrilled. For a moment, it felt like things were coming right out of my old history books. Afterwards, we walked to Esplanade. There I witnessed for the first time in my life, a gay couple. Among the two, one looked like a normal guy, but the other looked like a girl to the bone 😉

Today my Barber was frustrated

Tired of playing angry birds since morning, I remembered that I needed a shave and haircut. It has been over 47 days and counting..

At the first sight, the barber contorted his face, he hadn’t expected. He knew this wasn’t going to be another normal haircut (I mean the regular way, sprinking water, then trimming off with a comb and a pair of scissors, working smoothly etc.)

He pulled out a drawer from under a desk, took a bit bigger pair of scissors and went on a demolition derby on my head. He was “snipping my locks” without mercy and at random angles. I was noticing all of this, but didnt care much. Except for the occasional pricking pain at my hair roots, there wasnt much to care about. He didnt use the comb till the end. When he finally did take the comb, he raked down a ball of hair off my head, about the size of my face.
I was scared out of my wits!

Had I gone bald??

Had I gone bald??? I was starting to dream about horrible scenes of my friends making fun of me, right when the mirror told me that my hair was shorter than I had asked for. Thats all. I wasnt bald! phew.. Like a load had been taken off my chest..

P.S. Throughout the exercise till the end, I could feel his frustrated breath on my neck. 🙂

I got my B’Day gift!

After a long wait, I got my bday gift from my friends. Nagging them day n night, it was fun asking when when I would be getting the gift. They too used to say in the same tone, “sabr ka fal meetha hota hai” (meaning, being patient gets u sweeter fruits) 😉 It was really nice gifts!

They gave me this nice leather wallet from Shreeleathers and a Wild Stone deo

My own wallet has become worn out, it is over 2 years old. So, this new wallet is gonna be used soon. But the deo has such a nice odour. Man! I could be sniffing at it for hours and hours together. Frankly, I dont use deo. Dats why, I am gonna keep it safe. I am gonna preserve it as a souvenier from my last year in college.

Someday, It is gonna take me down the memory lane…
I might be sniffing at the deo, again…
Most probably,
my eyes would be moist then…

My first metro ride!

The day began with an unusual excitement and slight tension. Tomorrow I got to attend another job interview. This time, I have to take the whole journey by myself,  all alone… After packing, I went to buy the tickets, the shop was closed. A look at my mobile told me, I had gone there early. To pass the time I went to visit my friend Arijit. 10 am in the morning, and he was still sleeping. Noticing that, I thought of running off, but aunty wouldn’t let me go. I was very much pleasantly surprised that Arijit wasn’t angry at me for waking him up 😛 . Helpful as always, he gave me some proper directions to reach my destination. He also gave me some contacts, whom I may ask in case of emergency and the most important thing!!! He had given me detailed explanations on the way to travel by Metro trains.

By 12:30 I was on my bus. It was time for departure. contrary to the cold and cloudy morning weather, now it was a warm noon, leaving me sweating under my jeans.. The whole journey was quite uneventful, except for a little jam at Panagarh. By 4 pm, I was at esplanade. Knocking down people with my huge rucksack, I was walking up and down around esplanade. For this is the first time, that I had such a  chance to explore a new place all by myself. No rules, no limits, nobody to tell upon me..

Keeping exploring aside, I called up my elder bro to inform him of my location. He straightaway replied “take the BBD-Garia bus, and come to my place”. Bit apprehensive, I asked him if I could take the Metro Train route. He paused for a few moments, my hair was standing on edge for the climax…

Finally he said,”yes, if u have traveled by a metro before”.. I went ecstatic!!!! Crossed the road in a run, and there it was. A LED display board over my head, inviting me into esplanade metro station. At first I couldn’t find the ticket counter. A policewoman gave me proper directions. At the counter, I was given a plastic token. Then I crossed the barrier. Took the escalator, down into the station. I asked a person where to wait for the train and went to the platform indicated. I was a bit nervous. But the height of it happened when a crowded train came on the opposite platform. People were jostling to get in and out of the train. I was thinking, “this is no 8B bus that will wait till I am in. If the door shuts with me in between, or worse, if  I am not able to get on the train at all…”  I must have shown some signs, or maybe for my perspiring forehead, some people were curiously looking at me. That was complicating matters even more.. that is why, I was both surprised and happy when I saw that my train was quite empty!!! The train came to a halt, the doors opened. Instinctively, I sort of jumped in, my rucksack knocking off two men 😉 . No empty seat, I had to stand. Standing near the door, my eyes were wandering over the numerous heads and faces. I was sure no one around me was a novice at riding a metro. Some were dozing off in their seats. Some blabbering among themselves, some others looking at them and listening as if students in a class. A few tall heads were towering over all. In the meantime, my attention was interrupted by the mikes announcing the station names. Some had noticed my curiosity and were trying to be curious about me :-P.. All of a sudden, the announcement said “next station, MAHANAYAK UTTAM KUMAR, platform on the left side”. I got ready. The train came to a slow halt. This time I got off smoothly. Following other passengers, a deposited my token and got out of the station.. My first metro ride, all alone!!!!

P.S. sorry to disappoint my readers, but I couldn’t get pics good enough for this post

The 1st day of 2012, a Lesson is Learnt

First of all, a VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR to YOU. Sorry for being late. I was a bit busy with the job of applying for some job interviews 😉 , thanks to my friend ROKY GHOSH. Anyway, let’s get on with the story..This is how my 2012 started..

1^st January.That day I got up at 6 45. Morning was strangely warmer than the prevoius day, and less chilly. I went out to check the weather, and to my surprise it was cloudy! Winter has always been my favourite season. But, when it is adulterated with this monsoon weather; I don’t like it. 😦
Having nothing to do I thought, I might SMS some friends. That could take care of my boredom. Then I remembered, it was another blackout day, so I coudn’t SMS.Somehow, I had a feeling that if I tried, I could find a tweak for this problem. I use WAY2SMS for sending SMS on blackout days, that also only when I am at home with my computer. So I had been searching for apps which would allow me to SMS over the phone net connection. There are indeed plenty of apps, but none worked perfectly on my 2700 classic. So I had been searching and trying them all, one by one, hoping that the next would work. But the new year day, was my lucky day. I finally found a app, (named JAXTR SMS) which actually works on my Nokia2700c!!!!!  I could’t believe it! After 1 whole year of searching, I had finally found it!!! I felt ecstatic! Like, I was on cloud nine!

To some, this incident maybe such small and insignificant, it isnt worthy of mention. But, it has taught me an old lesson, Keep trying and u will succeed..

(O! I forgot to mention, SMSing with this app, it isn’t free, but still far better. On blackout days each sms costs 60 p. With this app and bsnl net connection, I am sending each sms for approx 4 p.!!!! Now, it doesn’t seem logical to fill the coffers of these Mobile Service providers, does it?!!) 

What a way to start a new year!!!  😀 “WELL BEGUN, IS HALF THE WORK DONE“.

With such a great beginning, I am not hoping, but actually confident that this year, is gonna be a great year!! 😀 😀

A JOB INTERVIEW, 3rd in my life,1st one away from home-> the journey ends..

Finally, a long awaited event comes to an end. Today we are returning back to durgapur.A few minutes ago Karthik left for his interview. we are getting ready, to leave. The caretaker has already told us to leave within 9 am, but I dont  think we would be able to get out of here before 9 30.. 😉

Well, it has been an eventful journey. A rich experience for the three of us and it is very hard to summarize all of this in a few words. Thats why i have tried to put it all in this collage

the whole journey, in a single frame..

For me, 2011 has been a series of misfortunes and bad experiences. Thats why, I had never expected the year to end on such a good note. Yet, it did.Someone said it right “All is well that ends well“. Lets hope, 2012 may bring happiness and luck for all of us… 🙂

A JOB INTERVIEW, 3rd in my life,1st one away from home

The story starts on a Wednesday, when we got mails for the off campus recruitment. Next day i was off to my college for more info. Took a look at the eligible list sent to us. My friend KRTHIK (keto) and SAIKAT (saaki) were on the list. We live in Durgapur Steel Township near to each other. So we decided that we shall go together. But the very next day KETO had done a big blunder at home (what we Bongs say, “CASE KHEYECHE!!”). I m not going to divulge all the “CASE” details, but we couldn’t book our place of  DSP guest house till Saturday 12 pm. then we had a hell of a time trying to get 3 bus tickets to Kolkata. The ticket counters weren’t functioning normal. at places the agents were not at their shops. By the time i got an agent who could give me he tickets, he said the main counter had been closed. To compound our problems, the UREKA bus transport service had been discontinued. at last on Monday I managed to get 3 tickets on the bus to Karunamayee, that too after waiting 2 hours at the ticket counter in biting morning cold.

Then I informed my 2 partners, and went home to get ready for the journey. i have a short-term memory, so I forget most important things with the utmost ease (I do get a lot of scolding for that). Anyway, I had my things packed, got a bath. All the time I was trying to remember if i had missed anything. Took a bus around 1 pm, the bus was to depart around 2:15. Went to city centre, after waiting for a short period of time, i found karthik with his “special somebody” at a sweet shop. RIGHT then he remembered that he hadnt brought his formal shoes. Leaving me with his luggage, he went back home to get his formal shoes. i was waiting alone, till CHANGA (aniruddha) turned up. He was boarding the Esplanade bus of 2 PM. right after he disappeared, Saaki appeared on the scene. He was carrying just a long blue travel bag. We had a short chat, and then Keto came back. He reminded me that I had forgotten my phone charger. Now, I was growing nervous and trying to remember what else??? By 2 13 we had boarded the bus, Keto and Saaki had given me the window seat, thanks to them.

Now, we were on bus chatting and taunting each other. All of a sudden karthik remembered that he had forgotten his papers for the Guest house. Without them he would not be allowed to stay there. We saw him perspiring in the cold. He tried calling the office phone numbers with no avail. At last, his mom went to their office and cleared the matter. It was around 6 30, we reached Karunamayee. we 3 boarded an auto-rikshaw to College More. There we had an endless wait for the bus to take us to Chetla. It seemed like all the buses were showing up except the one we needed. at last we saw a Chetla bus. Boarded it, but had to get down after a few minutes. The conductor wouldn’t allow us with all our lauggage. alas, we were again walking back to College More. By luck, we saw a empty taxi. the driver didnt know the exact place we were supposed to go, but he seemed to be confident enough to take us there. Then, after another long journey we did manage to reach Chetla guest house. We filled in the rooms. Keto was in one, me and Saaki in another. We had roti tadka for dinner. i am going to sleep, in my room, karthik and saaki are practicing apti for wipro..

Tomorrow is a big day