When will Bengal be Truly Enlightened?

Does anyone have an answer? I am seriously looking for one, as I am pissed off reading and viewing on TV the horrendous pictures of political clashes every now and then in Bengal.

In the name of peaceful protests for price rise and such other issues affecting common man, the political parties are becoming violent in fighting with the police in public. In today’s Telegraph, there is an article with a picture of a policeman and furious mob throwing stones at each other. A policeman with a stone! What more can you want.

When a Kolkata city leader of an all-India political party (that held the rally yesterday) was asked by a reporter as to why there was a chaos, when they promised to move peacefully? He only praised his party men for gathering such a strong crowd compared to that of last year, and smiled generously as if nothing has happened or he at least knows nothing of that sort.

So, this is the real picture of Bengal politics. Whom to blame, when every party is ready to throw dirt at each other!

Another naked truth of Bengal politics – the parties call bandhs or rallies almost every month to protest government moves and act as people’s spokesmen. But have they ever asked what the people of Bengal want? Do they really want bandhs or meetings in the peak office hours or in week days? Nobody is bothered to ask any such questions, and rather might thrash me for asking one.

The thing is who cares what we want. We are like guinea pigs in the hands of various Indian political parties. They call bandhs, carry on agitations in the busy hours of the day, takeout processions, and make people wait for long hours to reach home, or take patient to a hospital. Common men have become used to it, and its no use thinking otherwise.

Bengal will soon witness a state election next year, with chances of a new political party coming to power. But, will there be any chance of Bengal rising from petty political shambles, promising a better tomorrow? Well, let’s just wait n watch.

Durga Pujo is here!

Durga pujo 2010 is knocking at the doorstep. Its really exciting to think of all such things that I usually do every puja time – pandal hopping, moving with the crowd, taking pictures of goddess durga, relentless staring at some of the beautiful pandal art work, etc.

There’s still a month in hand for the pujas, but who will stop the Bengali shopaholics, who are already out there shopping their favorite accessories and designer wears from various shops spread far and wide. Whether it is the elegant boutiques or the simple street side stalls, Bengalis are seen everywhere hustling and bustling to buy the best ones at affordable prices.

One typical feature of Bengalis is their bargaining power. I’m sure no people on this earth can bargain like the bongs. They are masters in this area – fight over the prices till the very last moment until the shopper is convinced or rather forced to sell his/her goods at the price quoted by the customer. (However, I must tell you; these sellers have a tendency to increase the prices by rocket high so as to reap higher profits).

Pujo time means hanging around with family and friends – eating out, totally relaxing, and most important breaking rules whenever and whereever you can. However by this, I meant to say, rising late from sleep, skipping your regular routine in life such as having lunch a bit late, or totally skipping the breakfast, etc, etc.

These 4 days of pujo brings lots of hopes and dreams and it’s an action time – to do the undone and to have the greatest fun and frolic.

Hope, this pujo brings more fun and happiness in our lives and more prosperity.

Air Crash in Mangalore

Another air crash! now in Mangalore. I wake up every morning with expectation to get some good news on TV or radio. Saturday, however, was not the right day for me, as it made me feel shocked and sad. The plane crash news in Mangalore was a news not worthy of to begin a day fresh and relaxed. Investigation has started as to why this AI flight crashed down? The black box is still not found - once found it will perhaps make things clear as to what exactly happened at the time of landing.

The plane was carrying some 160 passengers, including pilot and cabin crew, from Dubai. I was thinking as to some passengers could be those who had gone on a holiday to Dubai with family and was flying back home with bags full of souvenirs and fresh memories of trips to cherish.

No one can tell when bad luck comes. Could anyone of them ever guessed what will be their fate a few minutes later, when they were about to land in Mangalore? The answer is no, since who in their wildest dream could ever imagine of some grave danger like this! Indeed it’s a real sorry state of affairs for all of us and we, as Indians, extend our best wishes to those who have lost their near and dear ones.

God Bless

For the love of painting

Painting was one of my hobbies since childhood. From the time I understood what a drawing book is and what’s the use of so many crayons, I have started sketching almost anything to everything that would caught my imagination.

I used to look at trees, flowers, sky and butterflies and draw them in my drawing exercise copy. I used to score good marks in my art examinations and was particularly inclined towards sketching scenery. The natural world used to and even now inspires me a lot.

The colourful flowers, awesome sunrise and sunset, remote villages and the simple village life always made me go crazy. The love for nature, its various forms and changing hues has made many writers and painters, for centuries, to create something out of their mind and truly appreciable masterpieces.

It’s always challenging to bring out the best in you in terms of portraying something – man, machine or nature. And, an artist can surely be satisfied when he or she can correctly draw the things that the world is bound to recognise and appreciate him or her for the good work.

Today, I hardly get time to sit with my drawing book and pencil and sketch something, but in future whenever I will get an opportunity, I will definitely keep some time exclusively for myself to perhaps sketch one of my best paintings so far!

Dhoni and his T20 Team

Dhoni, the Indian T20 captain said they failed to make it to the finals of the World Cup T20 because of night long IPL parties, which happened just a month back.

Backing his team, he went on to say IPL parties have left them exhausted coupled with the 45 hour journey to reach the Caribbean – the venue of this year’s T20 tournament.

However whatever may be his opinion and judgment – one thing is for sure – no one from the IPL side has told them party is mandatory. According to many cricket experts and IPL organisers, there was at all no need to present in the nightclubs, dancing to the tunes of DJs, when you are feeling tired and restless.

These are just lame excuses given by Mahendra Singh Dhoni to justify their horrible successive losses against West Indies and Sri Lanka, which closed all roads to reach the semi-finals.

I simply don’t support Dhoni’s statement, since it’s very much doubtful what would the outcome be had there not been any partying at all! We have seen before many such moments of India losing matches miserably against teams, in spite of enough practices and a good night’s sleep!

Whether it is Ravindra Jadeja or Yuvraj Singh, no player has done justice to their names on the field. Who can forget the pictures of Yuvraj Singh partying hard with the sizzling models of Bollywood?

The Indian team has returned to the country this morning only, and already news of Sehwag replacing Dhoni as T20 captain is in the air. Now, it’s up to the BCCI to demand an explanation from Dhoni, as to what actually went wrong in West Indies. Process has already started to look into each player’s fitness level to play in the next month’s Asia Cup matches in Sri Lanka.

Social Networking Sites: Friends or Foes?

Social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, Orkut, hi5, etc has opened newer channels of communication and friendship in this age of digitalization. However, there’s one thing for sure – just as they have their ‘good’ sides, they are not altogether free from negative points.

Positive traits – have revolutionalized the online business.
Provided unlimited scope for people worldwide to make friends, display or share photos, find old acquaintances and share feelings and dialogues without coming face to face
Play games, join like-minded groups or forums and express opinions on about anything and everything

Negative traits – Social networking has its own drawbacks.
Offer easy access to hacking, fraud and freely publicize one’s photos and identity, if not taken adequate security measures
Often leads to false friendship that ends in crimes – physical and mental abuses
Can lead to monetary loss, making friends and asking for some financial help

These networking websites can be full of fun to play with, but be very cautious as to the amount of trouble it can cause you.

One of my friends happened to become a member of Orkut (she joined in July 2008). While she was very excited in adding friends and extending her friends list every other day (counting to almost 300+ till she removed it), she has deleted her account late last month. The reason for taking such a step: Well, she was totally exhausted by the kind of friend requests and scraps she used to get.

Her photos were not locked (it’s in private settings), and as such strangers would see her pictures and send her offensive scraps and requests to add them as friends. She got bored of deleting scraps and stuff, and finally decided to shift to something new and all the more exciting! (She got married to an NRI and at present living happily in US)

Hence, it is absolutely necessary to do justice to your self in these kinds of public web sites. It is OK, if a normal person checks your profile and goes away. But in case you come across some filthy-minded brat, then no sooner will she or he make your life feel like “hell”. You will be left with only one option - delete your account from the site.

Honour Killing: Barbaric and Brutal

What is this honour killing? Am I asking a stupid question? After all, people might say the answer is so simple – it means killing to safeguard one’s honour. Well, a little more thinking on this topic will lead to many questions unanswered. Do we at all need such honour killings?

It is steadily becoming a menace to the traditional Indian society. Youngsters and couples are getting killed in the hands of their parents and neighbours, for the sake of protecting a community’s respect and honour. The case of Nirupama Pathak, a budding journalist of Delhi who is the latest in the death row over honour killing, is haunting me for the past few days.

The girl in his twenties, decided to get married to the boy she loves and likewise chose a date to tie the knot. However, from day one, his father was against the wedding, as the boy happens to be of lower caste, while Nirupama is a Brahmin (a much higher caste).

She decided to take one final attempt to convince her parents to accept their marriage, and went to her Jharkhand home. However, some days later, the girl was found dead in her house.

According to her mother, she was electrocuted, but police sources and post-mortem report state that she is a victim of ‘honour killing’ and got murdered by her own family so that they could resist her from marrying the boy of her choice.

What else can we deduce from this incident, but such raw realities of crime and death? Her mother’s statements varied on several occasions, as and when asked by the investigating officers, which make the case all the more interesting.

In March this year in Haryana, the city court pronounced death sentence to five people who acted on the provocation of a “khap panchayat” – that are given powers to maintain caste contours and act as social guardians and kangaroo caste courts, to kill Manoj and Babli, a couple of same caste (another case of honour killing!)

In today’s face-paced, modern world, it’s really very hard to digest issues like same-caste marriage, or a girl marrying a boy of lower caste or otherwise. The above two cases of honor killing once again brought forth the memories of barbaric practices of “sati” that was widely prevalent among Hindus in the medieval period.

26/11

Finally, the much awaited Mumbai terror attack verdict is given today – he is charged for committing a series of attacks that lead to the death of about 62 people. However the final fate of Ajmal Kasab is yet to be read out. Don’t know how long we will have to wait to hear what the judge says about Kasab. Will he be hanged? Or pronounced life-long imprisonment? We still have to wait with utmost patience to know his future life course.

It seems to be only that day, when the terrorists came by sea and ransacked the industrial capital of India – Mumbai. They chose South Mumbai as their target destination and went on a butcher expedition, shooting whoever came in front of their bullets.

So many innocent lives got lost. Many came with their wife, kids or parents at the CST to bid good-bye to their near and dear ones who were travelling outside the city for some reason – who knew this good-bye, will fall so heavy on them - taking their lives altogether.

God forbid, these acts of terrorism should never happen anytime in future in India, or in any other country around the world. We love our dear ones, and seeing their life end in just a matter of time, are so shocking and unbearable. No words are enough to express one’s sorrow and loss.

In the course of the November 26 deadliest terror attack, top-notch police officers like Hemant Karkare, Salaskar and such others had to lay their lives while fighting bravely with the gunmen.

There is no clue as to what would have happened if Ajmal Kasab could not be captured live (with all his group men dying on the spot, killed by the Mumbai police). Perhaps, this 17 months old case or trails would have never come up.

Last but not the least, all of us Indians wants a proper and most deserved judgment on Kasab. The judge much pronounce a verdict that would make the terrorist think for at least once, what kind of crime he has done, and this is how every ‘bad’ man is punished for his sins.

Another Day Off!

Yesterday was “Bharat Bandh”, called by the CPI-M and other non-Congress parties to protest against recent price rise. The bandh in a sense came as a blessing to many Indians who hardly get time to relax at home, with family and friends.

For the Kolkatans, most of them didn’t complain in not making up to the office just like any other normal week day. Rather, they tried to enjoy every bit of time, playing games on PC or chatting with dear ones. For me, it was a sudden holiday! My husband and I spend a quality time, watching TV together and trying out some new dish from my recipe book.

There was hardly any transport seen on the road. The bandh was for 12 hours, but who cares going out after 6pm in the evening, apart from visiting some friend’s house close by. Majority of the shops remained closed and there were few buses and auto rickshaws seen after the bandh got over.

The daily news showed some hartal supporters trying to create havoc by pulling down the Metro Railways shutters and not allowing passengers to enter or leave the station. There were mobs in and around many streets, particularly areas termed as hot seats of Congress or Trinamool Congress Party leaders, shouting and pleading to support bandh as it is called to protect 'our' interests only.

We, the common people know very well, how much our interests are fulfilled. Never ever have any of the political party leaders do anything good for the citizens. They are holding prestigious positions in the Parliament and Constituencies, being elected by us, and are ‘good for nothing’ fellows.

Being a citizen of the world’s largest democracy, India, it’s really a shame to see political leaders fighting like children in the Parliament and throwing papers and chairs to each other like a bunch of fools.

Anyways back to where I started from – it was a lazy, joyous morning for most of us. There was no tension of rising up early to get ready for office, no rush at the metro stations, bus and auto stands to get into one at the earliest, and no sweating and burning under the hot sun. To add to the flavour, there was a much needed respite from the summer heat, as it rained quite heavily the day before yesterday.

People who tried to go to their office had to face problems due to the unruly bandh agitators. They tried to prevent office goers by various possible means – telling them to go back home, not letting them enter Metro stations, showing muscle power and verbally abusing them.

Nonetheless, what ever may be the cause for calling a bandh, the Kolkatans are simply happy in getting another day off (apart from regular holidays on Saturdays and Sundays). It was just a few who seem to complain about the CPI-M government for stopping all work and wasting valuable 12 hours of Tuesday.

Kolkata is Sweating: Want some Rain

Kolkata is literally in the ‘dying’ stage because of the scorching heat of the sun. There is no rain for the past few days, although earlier Alipore’s Met Department predicted of some rain. It’s becoming impossible day by day to go outside, with temperature rising high to 39 and 40 degrees Celsius.

Added to this natural calamity is the power cut and shortage of water supply in the city. There is load shedding for long hours often stretching to more than 3 hours. And, just like any other summer, in this year also, the picture has not changed. With extreme hotness and unlimited sweating, most of the generators at the thermal power stations have stopped working on the pretext of power disruption.

The Kolkatans are devastated with now-and-then power cuts and lack of adequate water supply. People have already started agitations in the front of the CESC head office in central Kolkata. I don’t know why this happen with our city all the time?

It’s no old news that during the summers every time we face such difficulties. No proper steps whatsoever are taken to ease the situation by the KMC or the CESC. They should keep extra, powerful generators exclusively for the summer months – April and May, and must do something to handle power shortage and water disorders in the future.

KKR - Again not making to the Semi-Finals

Kolkata Knight Rider’s dream of making to the semi-finals got shattered with the winning of Chennai Super Kings last Sunday (run-rate calculation didn’t favour KKR). It was a lovely match to watch out for – how Mahendra Singh Dhoni, captain of Chennai Super Kings hit fours and sixes to pull his team to the last four.

When all of us were thinking that it was Punjab who will win, Dhoni showed his real talents. Like a brave soldier in the battlefield, he started to bang Irfan Pathan in the last over, thus sealing his team’s victory. Chennai needed 25 runs of the last 2 overs and they easily made up that.

However coming back to Kolkata Knight Riders or KKR, it was more than a nightmare. What else can I say! Although I am a fan of my home team and love to see KKR win matches and ‘dada’ hitting sixes, still I cannot dream of the team making it to the semi-finals, when they played so BADLY.

When all the teams are trying hard not to leave an inch to the opposition, the KKR bowlers were allowing the batmen to score boundaries and over-boundaries (with their superb bowling skills). They need to do a lot of hard work in terms of fielding and bowling. Just when we need to restrict the runs, the bowler were giving scope to the rival batsman to hit sixes and fours! It really a shame to see the team losing 50% of the matches ‘just like that’, when there was every chance of winning a match.

Every one who knows the game of cricket is well aware of the fact that ‘accidents’ can happen, but come on, not in this way! Sourav Ganguly, the captain of KKR himself has admitted that there are serious flaws in bowling and fielding. It is common sense that some teams will win and some others will loose, but please you should at least show that stamina and drive to lead your team to win.

The match between KKR and Punjab where KKR made 200 runs, but still lost the game because of Jayawardhane’s lovely batting, or the match between KKR and Delhi, where in spite of taking some early wickets of Delhi, we failed to get victory – all these points out to just one thing: we simply don’t have that inner zeal to shatter the rival team and take away the game. The KKR batsmen are just horrible, getting out early and lacking consistency.

When everything seems to be going in its favour, suddenly one simple miss calculation or bad hitting or trying to hit a ball, when it is going to be ‘wide’, leads KKR to lose a match. Why will this happen always with Kolkata Knight Riders? All of us know, every team starting from IPL season 1 has at least made to the semi-finals, just leaving KKR. They have played so poorly that all our expectations and praises have gone in vain. Never ever have they at least showed that hard work and dedication to win a match easily.

Only once or twice (once in a blue moon) has the Kolkata fans got to see that rare sight – KKR winning a game very comfortably and playing brilliantly (like the match played yesterday).

Yesterday’s match between KKR and Mumbai Indians had the feast for the eyes, with some beautiful knocks from McCollum and Ganguly to look out for. The captain also took 2 great catches and got good applauds from the Eden Gardens crowd.

However, it’s really sad to see our team – KKR bid adieu from this season of IPL 3. While seeing the team win the match yesterday, I was only thinking – had they played a nice game with Chennai or Punjab or Delhi, we could have made it to the semi-finals.

But, yes enough is enough. KKR must wake up from its dreams and finally make the team ready for the coming year’s IPL season 4. They should learn from their mistakes and take the ‘good’ match-winning lessons from other IPL teams.

What has Mr. Dav Whitmore (KKR’s coach) and Mr. Wasim Akram (KKR’s bowling coach) has to say on this!

Poila Baishakh Madness

Tomorrow is the Bengali New Year, 1417. For every Bengali, this day is a time to rejoice and leave behind an old year to welcome the new one. Earlier Bengali families used to prepare various kinds of Bengali delicacies to satisfy appetite.

But in today’s fast and hi-tech age, who cares spending long hours in the kitchen. Instead many Bengali couples head towards various luxurious restaurants that offers mouth-watering, traditional Bengali food such as “bhetki macher paturi”, “aam sorbot”, “doi illish” or “pabda macher jhol”. There are a lot more to this – desserts like rabri and payesh to end a yummy lunch or dinner.

Bengalis are always known to be foodies and when it comes to any festival, we always like spending time eating out and giving uninterrupted “addas” with near ones. Its fun altogether to manage a break in the midst of hectic work schedules of daily life.

Just like any other new year, this year will also see Bengalis hopping to the jewellery shops, saree shops, etc to get a large packet of sweets and a bangla calendar. People take pride in going out in the evenings to some shops that have invited them to come on this auspicious day, with family and kids.

Tomorrow you will get to see huge rush from afternoon onwards, when people will flock to shops beating the heat and having a fine glass of cold drink and sweets. Wearing new dress seem a bit uncomfortable particularly during this unbearable summer weather, but nobody shows the slightest of uneasiness, when it comes to merry-making or getting ready for an occasion. We are Bengalis – totally mad about anything and everything!

Subho Poila Baishakh to all of you. Bengalis rock!

Lovely and Inspirational

Travelling by Metro: A Living Nightmare

I usually travel by metro and most of the time it’s really hectic and tiresome. The reason been the excessive crowd that metro pulls during and after office hours. Most of the office goers prefer reaching office and home by metro, as it saves a good amount of time. And it didn’t create any problem, at least some times back. But now the picture has changed with the introduction of 4 more new stations after Tollygaunge (now named Mahanayak Uttam Kumar).

With metro railways expansion policy, new rakes should have been happened, but that is not the case and it is herein that lies the trouble. Orders to build new rakes have already been given to railway coach factories located within India, but they are delaying in supplying additional rakes on time.

Only a few days ago, it came in the newspapers that its hard to say whether by September this year the rakes will be available or not. Such is the situation! And as always, it’s the innocent office goers and common people who are scapegoats. Just like me, hundreds of Kolkatans and people living outside the city in the nearby districts hire the trains everyday to get quite comfortably at office on time.

But now the word 'comfort' is missing from the metro railway dictionary, as everyday loads of people jostle and fight to get accommodated in the compartments. Addition of 4 new stations has led to the increase of metro population, but compared to this, there is lack of additional space and compartments to lodge these people.

Hence, the biting truth – men, women, and youngsters pushing each other and often falling on each others back to get into the metro compartments on a first come first serve basis. And, you will get to see a beautiful picture during the weekday’s office time, at about 9 am to perhaps 10 or 11am in the morning and at the time from about 6 to 8:30 in the evenings.

It’s very likely that at any moment some major accident might happen, since no body is willing to leave space at any cost – just to get back home first, and it leads to unnecessary pushing and stamping one’s feet. During the earlier times, travelling by metro was so comfortable and a hassle-free journey, but now it has become the worst nightmare, I have ever dreamt of. I get nervous whenever time comes to get back home and I have no other option but to hire metro railway. Hope everything goes of well with metro and I happily reach home as always.

Whom to Blame??

The Stephen Court fire may have died down, but its horrifying memories will remain afresh in the minds of many Kolkatans for the years to come. It’s just like another great heritage building that stands tall in the city of joy. The beautiful, big 150-year old building with wooden staircase and royal architecture used to speak high of the by-gone British era in the then Calcutta.

But, now it has turned to ashes, with the great fire that broke on 23rd March afternoon. The fire destroyed the building and left many residents homeless. There used to be quite a few offices, which were brought down by the devastating fire.

Indeed a tragic moment for all people who lived there and who worked there. Most of the persons hardly got time to escape and were charred to death. I really hated to read the newspaper for the first couple of days, with pictures of relatives crying and narration of the burned and how it feels losing dear ones.

Father lost his child, mother crying over the death of her only son or daughter, relatives blaming the police or fire brigade for the intensity of the mishap – who is the actual culprit in the Stephen Court House case?

Well, everyone knows that every coin has two sides. Hence, just like the fire brigade and police is to blame for reaching quite late and not having adequate measures to combat the huge fire at Park Street, the Stephen house owners and Kolkata Municipal Corporation cannot be left behind.

How come KMC has given permission to erect floors number 5 and 6, without any valid documents? A leading Kolkata daily has quoted the caretaker of the house saying these 2 floors were started to be constructed much before the owners got the permission from the corporation to do so.

Loose wires were seen hanging from the walls and near the meter boxes, which were many in number. Why was no step taken to address the matter?

The terrace remained locked everyday, why was it so? The residents and office people have said that they repeatedly told the caretaker to hand over duplicate keys to them, but nothing has been done. Had the terrace remained open, at least some could have escaped death.

The Fire Minister, Pratim Chatterjee is a person well known for speaking out of the world in specific situations. He is still “learning” from the lessons of fire breakout in the city and is now suddenly awake from his dream to make arrangements to bring the skylift from Salt Lake and Behala to central Kolkata, where most of the high rises happen to be situated.

It is really a shame to see these kinds of figures holding such prestigious posts in the West Bengal government. Men like him hardly repent for the fault that lies with his department; instead he has entered into the dirty game of politics, blaming KMC for not looking after houses in hazardous areas.

The CPI-M government will never learn from its lessons, and this is not the first time that a fire of this magnitude has broken in Kolkata. Earlier also we have seen occasions were the fire brigade has failed to take adequate steps to save life and property in different parts of the city.

The fire brigade hardly reaches a place on time! And, there are always excuses ready for things not falling on the right place. The fire men came without any rubber masks, only with gumboots and without any nets to save lives of those who might jump from the high rise to save their lives. Later, it was known that they have carpets and no nets ready in hand!

What a lovely picture of such an important, emergency department of every government in the world!! The fire brigade station is located just a few blocks away from 18A Park Street (address of Stephen House) but still it took nearly an hour to make proper arrangements to start life-saving operations.

Truly I wonder, what will happen to this city and to the people like us, who reside here! Is anyone listening?

A Troubled Wed-Lock!

A new drama has started revolving around the wedding of Sania Mirza and Shoaib Malik. A girl named Ayesha Siddique has claimed of her already held marriage with the former Pakistan cricket captain.

Shoaib Malik is denying his “nikahnama” with the Hyderabadi girl, who at present is in the city to meet his fiancée, Sania. However, the Siddique’s will not let Shoaib go so easily and as her father has lodged a FIR with the local police to make the cricketer accept the wedding.

Now this news has become a regular feature in almost all leading newspapers of the country. I don’t understand what’s so special out there for the media to get itself glued to the otherwise private affair of a celebrity life and wedding. Indeed, it appears to be a very juicy issue and how can a reporter let the news go just like that! Starting from the day it was revealed that Sania has chosen Malik as her future husband, rumours and controversies has started pouring in.

Now, as normal citizens, we don’t know who is sane and who’s lying. The girl’s family claims that the Pakistani has married their daughter ‘legally’ and now he have to divorce her in public. They will then have no issues of him tying knot with Mirza on April 15th.

But the fact that Malik is refusing from day 1 that he has whatsoever not married Ayesha has made many to raise their eyebrows.

The whole thing seems confusing, with the qazi stating in a daily newspaper that both the parties have signed the “nikahnama”, but the marriage is not legal since you have to be in the country where you belong and Ayesha was at that time in Sharjah.

Anyways, I guess, there are only a handful of people, excluding the media barons who are really bothered – what’s going to happen next in this so-called high profile marriage of 2010.

Let's hope whatever happens, happens for good only!

The Game of Killing

Terrorism has no end. In almost every part of the world, people are killing each other on some pretext - the latest and most deadly being terrorist attacks. It’s so sad to see pictures of person crying in pain or having lost their dear ones.

In Russia, the recent metro suicide bomber attacks have killed about 39, injuring many. Many have died on their way to hospital. What’s the use of shouting for peace and brotherhood, when it takes a few seconds to end one’s life? Is it so simple? It seems to be at least keeping in mind mass killing every now and then in various cities of the world.

Another danger to mankind comes from communal clashes. In the old city of Hyderabad, communal groups are shedding blood in the name of religion. Still now curfew is remains in various parts of the city, with RAF (Rapid Action Force) moving on the streets, keeping an eye on the insurgents.

Who can ever forget the Godhra massacre or the Babri Masjid demolition by Kar Sevaks in 2002? With increasing urge for a better living and so-called “rat race” among upper and middle class to earn more and live better – jealousy among people are on the rise. Men are wasting no time in pushing the other person aside to make his way to the top in their respective fields. I guess, even we have become a part of this rat race game!

Sin in the name of Spiritualism

The way the baba’s or spiritual gurus are showing their tricks on national TVs (video clips taken from hideous spots) has forced many to raise their eyebrows against religious institutions. The video coverage of Swami Nityananda with a South Indian actress only justify the increasing perversion among these so-called sadhus, who always seem to speak of attaining salvation and peace, leaving family life and passion behind.

As Lord Gautama Buddha and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu did (left their home, family and all pleasures of material life to gain peace of mind and enlightenment), so these saints claim to be like them. But it’s really a matter of shame to find them soon in the arms of women. They are burden to the society and in the name of God they are causing immense damage to the age-old Indian culture and tradition.

They simply have no right to play with the emotions of so many people, who come daily to get their blessings and have become their ardent devotees. How sick they are to behave like this! The news channels are continuously showing the clippings and pictures taken from some remote corner of the room.

Legal proceedings have been started against the baba and his men. Let’s see what comes out from this case – a snake or something much bigger than this!!

Sob Kuch Maya’wati’ Hya!

Mayawati seem to believe in “sob kuch maya hya!” What else. This middle-aged lady is in headlines again (first being in the Taj Corridor Case) for the huge garland that she wore on the eve of celebrating the 25th anniversary of her party – BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party).I am not against her wearing a garland, but the fact that the garland was not made of mere flowers, but of real 1,000 rupee notes made me sit straight! Yes, it’s true. And believe me, when I first saw the picture, I was left wondering whether this is for real or am I day dreaming!!

The long, thick garland contains (I don’t know) how many 1,000 rupee notes! At first, the party members said its only Rs. 25 lakhs. Later, the amount increased to Rs. 1 crore and then to Rs. 5 crores. I am made to believe, money lies scattered here and there in UP.

And why not! It’s only quite recently that the Chief Minister of UP – Mayawati, who claims she is from a dalit family, has said in public that the government has no money to help the victims of Pratapgarh tragedy. And now from where is the money flowing? Is it from party cadre’s pockets or from us – innocent citizens, who struggles everyday to earn their living? There’s no answer to this or perhaps no one is willing to answer.

Last but not the least, again a cash garland of Rs.18 lakhs was presented by party workers to their dear leader this morning. In spite of much controversy from the opposition parties – Congress and BJP, and adverse reactions from different sectors of the society, BSP is in no mood to step back. The party members have even said, they will happily go on gifting ‘madam’ with cash garlands in the future, if she accepts them.

What a Show!

Do you believe in these TV shows where people come to select their bride or groom? It’s only on the last weekend that for another time Rahul Mahajan found his perfect soulmate in Dimpy Ganguly, the Kolkatan bong beauty (the first being Rakhi Sawant and Illias).

The show seemed to attract whole lot of crowd, and lots of beautiful girls gathered to woo Rahul and get engaged to him. I wonder what’s so special about him!

His past is not so rosy, with charges against him of keeping drugs or drug-related charges. It is with the support of his late father, the well-known politician Pramod Mahajan that he got released from jail.

However, his father suffered an untimely death, being shot by his own younger brother Pravin Mahajan. It was at this time that his childhood sweetheart Sweta came at his side and they even married! But once again, it has its own stories to tell, as the wedding was not so successful, and it eventually led the the couple to get divorced in 2008.

And, now, sitting in 2010, we got to see this man, Rahul Mahajan again getting married after so much of hassle-bustle. I wonder what made those young, aspiring girls to come at this kind of a show and that too to get Rahul as a groom!

All the more, there are Indian audiences sitting in front of the TV and surfing channels just to see “their act”. Girls were making his favourite dishes, flirting and trying to do all sorts of things to win Rahul’s heart. But, finally it was Dimpy who was the lucky (or unlucky whatever!) one out.

A glimpse of India's General Budget, 2010

Today, the Union general budget was read out by India's honourable Finance Minister, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee. He came at around 11 am in the Parliament, making all hopes go high, with increased expectations for something good in the long run.

With the prices of food grains and other consumer items reaching sky high, it was quite expected that Indians were looking up to this man to shower in some news that will bring relief of mind and more important to the pocket of “aam admi”.

The general budget 2010 has already led to the rise in fuel prices, with petrol Rs. 2.67 per litre and diesel Rs 2.58 per litre in Delhi. In general, the Finance Miniter has said that the prices of fules will go up by Re. 1. The changed prices will be implemented from tonight only.

For the individual service taxpayers, the budget has brought in good news, as there is no tax for up to Rs.1, 60, 000, a rate of 10 percent for up to Rs. 500,000, then 20 percent for up to Rs.800,000 and finally 30 percent for high income persons.

Pranab Mukherjee also announced the establishment of a National Clean Energy Fund (NCEF) for funding research and innovative projects in clean technologies. The Finance Minister proposed to levy clean energy cess on coal produced in India as also imported.

Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) is increased from the current 15% of book profits to 18% of book profits.

Among the consumer goods, there will be hike in prices of TV, refrigerator, AC, cigarettes, jewelry, cars and liquors.

Among the commodities that will remain low in price are CDs, mobile phones, toys, gaming software’s, etc.

Buying my first Mobile Phone

How can I ever forget the day, when I arrived at a popular phone shop in the Dalhousie area. It is quite a big shop, with lots of mobile phones on display. Salesman and woman are there to make you have the best buy and help you select from the vast array of colourful handsets with latest technology and features.

I, with my parents went up to a corner of the shop and asked for a Nokia handset (it was my personal favourite brand since I thought seriously of buying one). They showed me many kinds, and tried to convince me of why not trying of some different brand like Sony or LG?

I said no, as I chose to stick to Nokia only. I liked the 1600 model, which was low at price and again very trendy to carry and handle. The sales girl explained to me how to operate it and what its features are. I was really excited to finally bag a mobile and hence was literally ‘on top of the world’.

My parents were happy to gift me my chosen handset and we happily left the shop. As a bonus, I got a silver coin with the image of Ganeshji engraved on it, as a memento for purchasing from this shop. It made the occasion all the more blissful and memorable.

Later, once more I happened to visit the shop, to exchange my old 1600 handset with a new one. This too a Nokia model 2760 – looked ravishing and girlish.

Women are born Free

Women are no slaves in this society. They have their own identities and self-respect to live life in their own terms. Torturing women, beating them has become a regular feature in the world since ages. In this male dominated society, women are believed to be pawns in the hands of greedy selfish husbands or relatives.

There are thousands and thousands of untold stories everyday, of women dying in pain and agony. No one is there to pay heed to their words or bring them justice. In a country like India where majority of people live in villages, there asking for any betterment of the girl community is treated as something highly extravagant and sheer ‘non-sense’.

However, if the picture in rural areas is like this, then the cities and metropolis is no exception. Here, everyday, unlimited number of girls is molested and physically and mentally abused. And, what is more shocking is that, in many a case, they are manhandled by their own relatives and persons they know and have grown up with.

Today, women are increasingly becoming a target for harassment in both public and domestic areas. In public places, such as in bus, trains or simply on the road, girls have to move carefully or else some cruel eyes are watching you to get the better of you at any time!

Another area of torturing women is at home. Whether it is some uncle or brother, man-handling continues relentlessly. With marriage, girls think of some better life in the house of her husband, but only handful lucky girls get to see that. In other cases, women end of their life getting everyday beating and mental exploitation by their in-laws. They beg for some peace and happiness, but all in vain, since the in-laws want more money and dowry from the bride’s father or else random oppression goes on.

Sitting in this 21st century, we are witnessing so much development in almost every field, be it science and medicine, education and technology. But, in one way, we, women are stuck in that dilapidated old-age, where mental and physical harassment was a regular feature.

At present, women are dominating and actively participating in every aspect that was initially believed to be falling within the male vicinity – going to the space, flying a plane, climbing the mountain or exploring the unknown zones of the earth. Girls have become and always were mentally head-strong and brave-hearted. We never feared the tough and moved elegantly with great determination and love for something new and different.

Women of today are crossing every line gracefully, balancing home and work. On one hand, they are showing their love and care for the family and on the other hand, they are simply rocking in their workplace, understanding their duties and performing likewise to earn appreciation from seniours and the management.

I am proud to be a woman and will always be. Hats off to those who are fighting courageously every day, every moment and adding more strength and will power to their existing self.

India did it again!

India is still ruling high in cricket. What a majestic win for the Indian team and that too at the Eden Gardens!

As Kolkatans, we are definitely proud of this historic win. By sealing vistory, India has retained its position as World Number 1 in test rankings.

The match in Kolkata was really nerve-racking. At the last moment, India needed just one wicket, but the way Morkel was batting, it seemed bowlers will not make it. But it was Harbhajan Singh who did 'magic' with his spell. He took Morkel at the time when there was just 9 balls remaining for the day.

Eden Gardens roared at the joy and people started dancing and shouting like crazy. There was cheerfulness and the much wanted smile on the faces of the players.

Indeed, we needed this win badly!, as India has lost the first test match in Nagpur. This match levelled the series to 1-1. Harbhajan Singh has become the hero of the day, with his teammates patting him for his heroic deed.

It is really lucky for Indian cricket team to play in the “city of joy”, as the name implies.

Where is Peace?

Now, I hate to go through the newspapers every morning. It’s simply disgusting, being filled up with news of violence, sex scandals and bloodshed all around the place. The recent bomb blast at the German Bakery in Pune is yet another eye-opener of the callousness on the part of the police and intelligence bureau to act on time. Had they known about the probable terrorist attack before, this thing would not have happened.

But, who can ever foretell the future. The innocent youngsters and people, who were in that bakery on that day, were least aware of the dangerous consequences they were going to face minutes later. The crowd was in a joyous mood, with Valentines Day knocking the door.

The waiter, Remal noticed the bag that was kept under the table and was going towards it, when someone stopped him and told him to bring bottles of water. Just a few minutes later, everything was blank. People were spot dead, some limping in pain and majority in a state of shock.

Who loves to see pictures of dead bodies and bloodshed early morning? But, this is life and we have to accept it. Newspaper agencies are ‘on their toes’ to print in some fresh violent scene or men crying in pain to get maximum attention.

There were debates and talks over this issue, when many Indians showed objections over publishing bloody images and brutal pictures in the very first page of various local and national newspapers. But, the media persons are least bothered and they are carrying on the saga with closed ears and eyes.

Everywhere there is war, with people killing each other over wealth, anger or to take revenge. At one end, there’s the increasing threat of price rise of almost every commodity and inflation, and on the other, there’s butchery, violence and rage.

Peace is nowhere and seems to be living in a distant land, far away from mankind. We wish her to come back in this world and make it a better place to live happily and with a little less tension than what it is now.

Do we hate our neighbours?

This is perhaps a million dollar question. Neighbours can be good or bad, depending on your luck. Really, I mean it! There are neighbours who are very helpful and maintain peace within their family. While, there are ones who seem to be born to fight over almost any petty issue in life. They literally make the life hell of those who happen to live next to them.

Now, you may wonder as to why I have decided to write on this topic. Well, one thing we must all better accept that our mental peace to a great extent gets affected if we happen to live next to lousy people. In many a times, we come across incidents or news of some rude neighbour living next to someone known to us.

Really, life literally becomes ‘hell’ when some dreadful family decides to rent or own a house next to ours. Thankfully, I am spared from such a situation, but my friend’s life seems to be in miserable condition.

My friend lives in North Kolkata, in a quiet, peaceful locality. But all peace from her life seems to wave her bye-bye, with the coming of a family of 4 – a couple with their 2 children. A few days after their coming, everything seemed to be nice and good. My friend had even become friendly with the man’s wife and they used to chat for at least once or twice a week.

But, then came the days when the husband dear and his wife used to quarrel over their children’s education. Then even started having fights over her husband's coming late from office and getting drunk at late hours. Matters became worse, with the locality hardly getting any peace of mind, and the condition of my friend was more pathetic. (Her house was just next to theirs)

In Bengali there’s a proverb (“barite kak chil boshte pare naa”), which means that there is so much noise in the house that even a crow or kite cannot sit there. This is true in case of my friend. Gone were the days when she would sit comfortably on her bed studying or reading some books. Now, she hardly can keep the windows of her room open, since her room is just next to the couple’s room, and she gets utterly disturbed by all sorts of verbal abuses that they throw to each other. It has become a daily routine now and she keeps me complaining about changing the house and moving to some other area.

But, getting a decent house in Kolkata is not a matter of joke, especially for a single like my friend. Just hope all things gets sorted out and my friend gets happy again!

The Last Man Standing!

On Tuesday, the late CPI-M veteran leader, Mr. Jyoti Basu was given 21 gun-salutes, the highest honour given to any West Bengal leader. Many VVIPs, noted sportsmen and celebrities from diverse field came to offer their last respect to this Marxist icon. We pray may his soul rest in peace.

Jyoti Basu was a history in himself in the sense he has got the rare opportunity to meet up with such legendary figures like Nelson Mandela, Indira Gandhi, Mother Teresa and Fidel Castro to name a few. He has made a record of being the longest serving chief minister in the world for any state at a span of 23 years.

Of course, it’s not a matter of joke to rule a state, particularly West Bengal that has populations diverse in terms of imbibing different ideologies and political inclinations. A question has come up as to does the death of Basu offer a death knell to CPI-M as well?

To me, the communist party in the state has already started suffering a set back, with the rise of the opposition leader Miss Mamata Banerjee quite sometimes back. Nothing seems to have fallen right on place for the Marxist party - losing major seats in the so-called bastions of the Left, untimely death of 2 experienced Front leaders, Anil Biswas and Subhas Chakraborty. Miss Banerjee has taken a vow to uproot the stronghold of the party completely from West Bengal and looks very positive on winning the 2011 assembly elections.

Now, if we discuss about the developments Mr. Basu has brought in Bengal, little did we see any change as such. Communists are against any kind of industrialisation; hence we can hardly find any development in terms of opening new factories and plantations in this state during his tenure.

Rather than opening up new channels of private and public investments, we have found one by one closing of factories such as the Dunlop Factory and various jute mills across the state. The health conditions of the inhabitants of Bengal and sanitation and living conditions of the poor are beyond any say - withering off rather than improving.

In their 32 years of non-stop rule, no fruitful results have come up and we failed to see our beloved West Bengal ruling the top in terms of food supply, health, sanitation and condition of roads and the drainage system.

It seems that change is inevitable and let’s hope whatever happens in Bengal, happens for good only.

Hacking: the New Buzzword of 2010!

When computer was invented long back in 1942-43 (Colossus was the world’s first programmable, digital electronic computer, developed in England), people thought it to be the safest of the devices born till date. However, with time, loop holes of computers came into limelight. Hackers started confiscating highly secured, personal information from the computers. The rate of illegal access of data from public institutions and government offices began to increase.

Little did the police got success, as the hackers were very intelligent people with sound technical knowledge and tactics to carry on illegal opertions and then escape without getting caught.

Last year saw a massive hacking of confidential data from public libraries to hospitals and government departments. Both the FBI and the Interpol has undertaken a head-long hunt for the criminals. In some cases they were successful in putting the hackers behind bars, while in most cases they failed to do so.

The breaking news of December 2009 was the pleading of guilty by the infamous hacker Albert Gonzalez. He is charged of hacking into the computer networks of US credit card processor Heartland Payment Systems, US convenience store chain 7-Eleven and supermarket chain Hannaford Brothers. Gonzalez has got access to data from tens of millions of credit and debit cards. His case is said to be one of the largest data breaches ever investigated and prosecuted in the United States.

2009 has enlisted many cases of hacking and phishing such as 'Truth', a Christian dating website that was compromised by 4chan hackers and they used the information to take over the victims’ Facebook pages. In October, about 10,000 Windows Live Hotmail customers’ accounts were illegally exposed on an Internet site. And, the beginning of the last year saw a major hijacking in the form of Britney Spears and Obama Twitter Feeds following a phishing attack.

Hence, we all need to be more careful, while surfing the Internet and check on the daily mails that gets stored in our mailbox.

My Favourite Poems

Hi there,
Today, I have decided to post 2 of my most favourite poems, which I happened to read for the first time during my school days. These poems were included in our school syllabus. Indeed, the poems are just awesome to read again and again, and I have treasured the book “Pageant of Poems” (which had these 2). The book contains some really beautiful and thoughtful pieces worth reading.


The Highwayman
Alfred Noyes (1880-1958)

PART ONE

I

THE wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees,
The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor,
And the highwayman came riding—
Riding—riding—
The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn-door.

II

He'd a French cocked-hat on his forehead, a bunch of lace at his chin,
A coat of the claret velvet, and breeches of brown doe-skin;
They fitted with never a wrinkle: his boots were up to the thigh!
And he rode with a jewelled twinkle,
His pistol butts a-twinkle,
His rapier hilt a-twinkle, under the jewelled sky.

III

Over the cobbles he clattered and clashed in the dark inn-yard,
And he tapped with his whip on the shutters, but all was locked and barred;
He whistled a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there
But the landlord's black-eyed daughter,
Bess, the landlord's daughter,
Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair.

IV

And dark in the dark old inn-yard a stable-wicket creaked
Where Tim the ostler listened; his face was white and peaked;
His eyes were hollows of madness, his hair like mouldy hay,
But he loved the landlord's daughter,
The landlord's red-lipped daughter,
Dumb as a dog he listened, and he heard the robber say—

V

"One kiss, my bonny sweetheart, I'm after a prize to-night,
But I shall be back with the yellow gold before the morning light;
Yet, if they press me sharply, and harry me through the day,
Then look for me by moonlight,
Watch for me by moonlight,
I'll come to thee by moonlight, though hell should bar the way."

VI

He rose upright in the stirrups; he scarce could reach her hand,
But she loosened her hair i' the casement! His face burnt like a brand
As the black cascade of perfume came tumbling over his breast;
And he kissed its waves in the moonlight,
(Oh, sweet, black waves in the moonlight!)
Then he tugged at his rein in the moonliglt, and galloped away to the West.

PART TWO

I

He did not come in the dawning; he did not come at noon;
And out o' the tawny sunset, before the rise o' the moon,
When the road was a gypsy's ribbon, looping the purple moor,
A red-coat troop came marching—
Marching—marching—
King George's men came matching, up to the old inn-door.

II

They said no word to the landlord, they drank his ale instead,
But they gagged his daughter and bound her to the foot of her narrow bed;
Two of them knelt at her casement, with muskets at their side!
There was death at every window;
And hell at one dark window;
For Bess could see, through her casement, the road that he would ride.

III

They had tied her up to attention, with many a sniggering jest;
They had bound a musket beside her, with the barrel beneath her breast!
"Now, keep good watch!" and they kissed her.
She heard the dead man say—
Look for me by moonlight;
Watch for me by moonlight;
I'll come to thee by moonlight, though hell should bar the way!

IV

She twisted her hands behind her; but all the knots held good!
She writhed her hands till her fingers were wet with sweat or blood!
They stretched and strained in the darkness, and the hours crawled by like years,
Till, now, on the stroke of midnight,
Cold, on the stroke of midnight,
The tip of one finger touched it! The trigger at least was hers!

V

The tip of one finger touched it; she strove no more for the rest!
Up, she stood up to attention, with the barrel beneath her breast,
She would not risk their hearing; she would not strive again;
For the road lay bare in the moonlight;
Blank and bare in the moonlight;
And the blood of her veins in the moonlight throbbed to her love's refrain .

VI

Tlot-tlot; tlot-tlot! Had they heard it? The horse-hoofs ringing clear;
Tlot-tlot, tlot-tlot, in the distance? Were they deaf that they did not hear?
Down the ribbon of moonlight, over the brow of the hill,
The highwayman came riding,
Riding, riding!
The red-coats looked to their priming! She stood up, straight and still!

VII

Tlot-tlot, in the frosty silence! Tlot-tlot, in the echoing night!
Nearer he came and nearer! Her face was like a light!
Her eyes grew wide for a moment; she drew one last deep breath,
Then her finger moved in the moonlight,
Her musket shattered the moonlight,
Shattered her breast in the moonlight and warned him—with her death.

VIII

He turned; he spurred to the West; he did not know who stood
Bowed, with her head o'er the musket, drenched with her own red blood!
Not till the dawn he heard it, his face grew grey to hear
How Bess, the landlord's daughter,
The landlord's black-eyed daughter,
Had watched for her love in the moonlight, and died in the darkness there.

IX

Back, he spurred like a madman, shrieking a curse to the sky,
With the white road smoking behind him and his rapier brandished high!
Blood-red were his spurs i' the golden noon; wine-red was his velvet coat,
When they shot him down on the highway,
Down like a dog on the highway,
And he lay in his blood on the highway, with the bunch of lace at his throat.

* * * * * *

X

And still of a winter's night, they say, when the wind is in the trees,
When the moon is a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
When the road is a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor,
A highwayman comes riding—
Riding—riding—
A highwayman comes riding, up to the old inn-door.

XI

Over the cobbles he clatters and clangs in the dark inn-yard;
He taps with his whip on the shutters, but all is locked and barred;
He whistles a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there
But the landlord's black-eyed daughter,
Bess, the landlord's daughter,
Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair.

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 1798

PART ONE
IT IS an ancient Mariner,
And he stoppeth one of three.
'By thy long grey beard and glittering eye,
Now wherefore stopp'st thou me?

The Bridegroom's doors are opened wide,
And I am next of kin;
The guests are met, the feast is set:
May'st hear the merry din.'

He holds him with his skinny hand,
'There was a ship,' quoth he.
'Hold off! unhand me, grey-beard loon!'
Eftsoons his hand dropt he.

He holds him with his glittering eye--
The Wedding-Guest stood still,
And listens like a three years' child:
The Mariner hath his will.

The Wedding-Guest sat on a stone:
He cannot choose but hear;
And thus spake on that ancient man,
The bright-eyed Mariner.

'The ship was cheered, the harbour cleared,
Merrily did we drop
Below the kirk, below the hill,
Below the lighthouse top.

The Sun came up upon the left,
Out of the sea came he!
And he shone bright, and on the right
Went down into the sea.

Higher and higher every day,
Till over the mast at noon--'
The Wedding-Guest here beat his breast,
For he heard the loud bassoon.

The bride hath paced into the hall,
Red as a rose is she;
Nodding their heads before her goes
The merry minstrelsy.

The Wedding-Guest he beat his breast,
Yet he cannot choose but hear;
And thus spake on that ancient man,
The bright-eyed Mariner.

And now the Storm-blast came, and he
Was tyrannous and strong:
He struck with his o'ertaking wings,
And chased us south along.

With sloping masts and dipping prow,
As who pursued with yell and blow
Still treads the shadow of his foe,
And forward bends his head,
The ship drove fast, loud roared the blast,
And southward aye we fled.

And now there came both mist and snow,
And it grew wondrous cold:
And ice, mast-high, came floating by,
As green as emerald.

And through the drifts the snowy clifts
Did send a dismal sheen:
Nor shapes of men nor beasts we ken--
The ice was all between.

The ice was here, the ice was there,
The ice was all around:
It cracked and growled, and roared and howled,
Like noises in a swound!

At length did cross an Albatross,
Thorough the fog it came;
As if it had been a Christian soul,
We hailed it in God's name.

It ate the food it ne'er had eat,
And round and round it flew.
The ice did split with a thunder-fit;
The helmsman steered us through!

And a good south wind sprung up behind;
The Albatross did follow,
And every day, for food or play,
Came to the mariners' hollo!

In mist or cloud, on mast or shroud,
It perched for vespers nine;
Whiles all the night, through fog-smoke white,
Glimmered the white Moon-shine.'

'God save thee, ancient Mariner!
From the fiends, that plague thee thus!--
Why look'st thou so?'--'With my cross-bow
I shot the Albatross.'

PART TWO

THE Sun now rose upon the right:
Out of the sea came he,
Still hid in mist, and on the left
Went down into the sea.

And the good south wind still blew behind,
But no sweet bird did follow,
Nor any day for food or play
Came to the mariners' hollo!

And I had done a hellish thing,
And it would work 'em woe:
For all averred, I had killed the bird
That made the breeze to blow.
Ah wretch! said they, the bird to slay,
That made the breeze to blow!

Nor dim nor red like God's own head,
The glorious Sun uprist:
Then all averred, I had killed the bird
That brought the fog and mist.
'Twas right, said they, such birds to slay,
That bring the fog and mist.

The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew,
The furrow followed free;
We were the first that ever burst
Into that silent sea.

Down dropt the breeze, the sails dropt down,
'Twas sad as sad could be;
And we did speak only to break
The silence of the sea!

All in a hot and copper sky,
The bloody Sun, at noon,
Right up above the mast did stand,
No bigger than the Moon.

Day after day, day after day,
We stuck, nor breath nor motion;
As idle as a painted ship
Upon a painted ocean.

Water, water, every where,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink.

The very deep did rot: O Christ!
That ever this should be!
Yea, slimy things did crawl with legs
Upon the slimy sea.

About, about, in reel and rout
The death-fires danced at night;
The water, like a witch's oils,
Burnt green, and blue and white.

And some in dreams assur'ed were
Of the Spirit that plagued us so;
Nine fathom deep he had followed us
From the land of mist and snow.

And every tongue, through utter drought,
Was withered at the root;
We could not speak, no more than if
We had been choked with soot.

Ah! well a-day! what evil looks
Had I from old and young!
Instead of the cross, the Albatross
About my neck was hung.

PART THREE

THERE passed a weary time. Each throat
Was parched, and glazed each eye.
A weary time! a weary time!
How glazed each weary eye,
When looking westward, I beheld
A something in the sky.

At first it seemed a little speck,
And then it seemed a mist;
It moved and moved, and took at last
A certain shape, I wist.

A speck, a mist, a shape, I wist!
And still it neared and neared:
As if it dodged a water-sprite,
It plunged and tacked and veered.

With throats unslaked, with black lips baked,
We could nor laugh nor wail;
Through utter drought all dumb we stood!
I bit my arm, I sucked the blood,
And cried, A sail! a sail!

With throats unslaked, with black lips baked,
Agape they heard me call:
Gramercy! they for joy did grin
And all at once their breath drew in,
As they were drinking all.

See! see! (I cried) she tacks no more!
Hither to work us weal;
Without a breeze, without a tide,
She steadies with upright keel!

The western wave was all a-flame.
The day was well nigh done!
Almost upon the western wave
Rested the broad bright Sun;
When that strange shape drove suddenly
Betwixt us and the Sun.

And straight the Sun was flecked with bars,
(Heaven's Mother send us grace!)
As if through a dungeon-grate he peered
With broad and burning face.

Alas! (thought I, and my heart beat loud)
How fast she nears and nears!
Are those her sails that glance in the Sun,
Like restless gossameres?

Are those her ribs through which the Sun
Did peer, as through a grate?
And is that Woman all her crew?
Is that a DEATH? and are there two?
Is DEATH that woman's mate?

Her lips were red, her looks were free,
Her locks were yellow as gold:
Her skin was as white as leprosy,
The Night-mare Life-in-Death was she,
Who thicks man's blood with cold.

The naked hulk alongside came,
And the twain were casting dice;
'The game is done! I've won! I've won!'
Quoth she, and whistles thrice.

The Sun's rim dips; the stars rush out:
At one stride comes the dark;
With far-heard whisper, o'er the sea,
Off shot the spectre-bark.

We listened and looked sideways up!
Fear at my heart, as at a cup,
My life-blood seemed to sip!
The stars were dim, and thick the night,
The steersman's face by his lamp gleamed white;
From the sails the dew did drip--
Till clomb above the eastern bar
The horn'ed Moon, with one bright star
Within the nether tip.

One after one, by the star-dogged Moon,
Too quick for groan or sigh,
Each turned his face with a ghastly pang,
And cursed me with his eye.

Four times fifty living men,
(And I heard nor sigh nor groan)
With heavy thump, a lifeless lump,
They dropped down one by one.

The souls did from their bodies fly,--
They fled to bliss or woe!
And every soul, it passed me by,
Like the whizz of my cross-bow!

I have posted only that portion of the poem, which I had in my poem book. The original poem is quite long and one can check it out here: http://poetry.eserver.org/ancient-mariner.html

A Joy Ride

For those who want to enjoy an Antarctica ride, here’s a piece of good news. Croydon Travel operates Antarctica Sightseeing Flights, which is an Antarctica tour service that has flown about 30,000 people over Antarctica since 1994. Most recently, the agency is offering flights on the new A380 Superjumbo jet departing from Melbourne or Sydney a couple of times a year during the Antarctic summer.Antarctica travel is something that almost everyone wished, but only a few could actually make it. Adventure lovers and scientists would only manage to get to that area, which is one of the coldest place on earth, the other been Arctic. Many a times, we have seen pictures of the vast stretch of land with snow all over the place and penguins marching in hundreds and thousands in a line.

Among the animals that we get to see in Antarctica include blue whales, fur seals, colossal squids and of course Emperor penguins and other types of it. Little vegetation grows there, as the area remains covered with thick snow all the year around. Travellers may want to visit the region, but there are hardly any flights or trains going there. However, this flights news will be greeted by those who are willing to spend some money to enjoy a trip to Antarctica.

Indeed, travelling to the untouched wilderness on the planet is made easier and cheaper, in at about the same price as an economy class ticket from Hong Kong to San Francisco.

The most recent A380 flight was a New Year’s Eve flyover, and the next one will take off on 24th of January, followed by a 747 flight on the Valentines Day, February 14. Flights to Antarctica usually take passengers during the Antarctic summer because days are 24 hours long and weather conditions remain most stable. The trip lasts from November to February and Croydon plans flights accordingly, offering 3 to 12 flights during that time period.

While on flight, depending on the tickets that you have purchased, you will get to admire the prolonged beauty and white wilderness of Antarctica. There is business class seat, economy class seat, centre seat and superior window economy seat to name some. One can easily imagine the amount of excitement and joy that one will get when he or she will board on the plane and get to experience the true lasting beauty of white snow and the sight of elegant penguins walking and standing on the Antarctic land.

Are other sports neglected for cricket?

A cricket lover knows well that BCCI is the world’s richest cricket board. The board is spending crores of rupees on cricketers every year for playing various domestic and international cricket. But does anyone know of the 20-year old swimming champion from Bengal - Rashmi Sharma, who is in real need of a sponsor for making her dream of being the first Indian to swim English Channel both ways, come true!

How many of us ever think of any sports apart from cricket. Thanks to our Indian government, sponsors and media for bringing in cricket in our bed rooms, close to our heart and soul. Cricket is not our national sports, and to be frank, not many countries around the world play this game. So what? Indian cricket team is successfully making its mark in the world sports’ arena and it will continue to do so in the near future.

I am not against this sport, but what I mean to say is why we are neglecting other sports such as football, hockey, lawn tennis, table tennis or swimming when they are bringing in so much glory to our motherland. Take for example, Leander Paes who won Bronze medal in the Olympics (Atlanta, 1996) or weightlifter Karnam Malleswari who also won bronze in Sydney, 2000.

How can we ever forget the only Indian gold medal that Abhinava Bindra has won in archery in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games? There are so many of these real-life instances when various players from India have brought home triumph and honour. It’s really sad to see parents trying to make their son admit in a cricket coaching center to become the next Sachin Tendulkar or Kapil Dev rather than imbibe in him interest for hockey or football.

However of late, Indians have started paying attention and enjoying sports other than cricket. But, I am a bit confused as to whether it’s a genuine love for the game or for some other reason, may be get to see beautiful Sania Mirza or Saina Nehwal for that purpose!

Another very sad aspect is the indifference of the national sports authority towards players at various state-levels. Many of the aspiring young boys and girls, coming from humble backgrounds are finding it quite difficult to make their ends meet. They are literally begging for sponsors so that they can compete at the international meets held all-round the year.

An interview with Rashmi Sharma was published in a city’s daily newspaper, where she was upset in not getting a sponsor to make her fulfill the dream of swimming English Channel both ways. She has already made a hattrick in swimming in the stormy icy-cold strait from Calais to Dover.

Most recently is the news of the national hockey team in not willing to play unless their fees are cleared. What a sad instance for a country so rich in culture, heritage and with world famous players like Leander Peas, Vishwanathan Anand, Prakash Padukone and Sachin Tendulkar.

Record Fine for Driving!

Fine for rash driving is a common feature in many countries, but fine of $290,000 or £180,000 for high speed is really surprising.This has what exactly has happened to a Swiss millionaire who has been caught red-handed for a record speeding fine by a local court. The man was driving a red Ferrari Testarossa at 137km/h (85mph) through a village.

The penalty was calculated based on the unnamed motorist’s wealth, assessed by the court as $22.7m (£14.1m). The huge fine was awarded to him because of the past history of repeated rash driving. It is more than double Switzerland’s previous record speeding fine, which was handed to a Porsche driver in Zurich in 2008.

Really, accidental death due to vehicles has become one of the most common features in various countries, including India. Yesterday only, 4 students were hurt in an accident in the Rajarhat area of Kolkata. The pool-car carrying children to school were toppled down when it was hit by a private bus in early morning.

This area is very prone to accidents due to heavy traffic and rash driving by careless drivers. In many an instance, people has been found drunk in their driving state. FIRs have been lodged in the police stations, but no real positive change has come with regard to these horrific incidents.

Until and unless, drivers themselves become conscious of driving properly, nothing positive is going to happen.

School Bags Weigh too much

A few days back, there was interesting and eye-opening news about children and school bags. The authorities of the Kendriya Vidalaya chain of schools have ordered the principals of the schools to check the weight of the school bags. They have even threatened to take extreme steps against those principals who do not abide by this new instruction issued on them.

It’s a known fact to every parent, the amount of pressure kids have to handle in school. There is tremendous competition of performing up to the mark in school examinations. All the more there is the burden of the school bags, which has a good weight because of the fat text books and exercise copies that children have to carry to school everyday.

Its nice to see at least some school authorities have thought out of the box, and have tried to bring out some solution to the increasing weight of bags in educational institutions. The central government-run KVS (Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan) have over 1000 schools under them.

Under the new norms, these central school principals must ensure that the total weight of textbooks and notebooks does not exceed 2 kg, including the bag, for students of classes I and II. The admissible weight limit is 3 kg for students of classes III and IV, 4 kg for classes V to VII and 6 kg for higher classes.

Parents have long complained about the excessive weight of school bags that leave children bowed down to the ground. We cannot deny the fact that children of today hardly get any time to play. They are seen lost in doing homework, preparing ‘projects’ for various subjects and studying hard to get good marks in the examinations. Thus, they barely get time even to eat and sleep properly.

In the age of computers, and increased rat-race among people to make a good career and land on a fine job, a kid’s innocence seem to disappear amidst strict everyday routine of studies, tests and winning prizes or performance awards in schools.

It’s Picnic Time

Winter is the best time to arrange a picnic. We see loads of buses running towards some nearby lovely spot to enjoy a whole day of fun and extracurricular activity. It’s the season to relax under the sun, with chilly gusts of wind blowing across. This winter, Kolkata is experiencing a record cold that has not happened in the last 10 years, as reported by the Met Department.

Hence, the Kolkatans have become all the more excited to pack their bags and head for some real-life adventure with friends and family. But, in many places, these picnic parties end up in creating a problem for the local residents. This has just what exactly has happened in the adjacent area to the Bethuadahari Forest, on an open area along the 34 number National Highway. Bethuadahari Forest lies in Nadia district and the place is frequented by tourists who come for picnic during the winter season.

The local inhabitants have complained about the immense noise that continuously comes from the sound boxes that the picnic parties bring with them. Along with this, large amounts of plastics and other garbage can be seen on the spot after the picnic gets over.

Bethuadahari Forest is a reserve forest and any kind of disturbance to the animals living there is strictly prohibited. But, instead of the cries of the animal lovers, NGOs and local residents, this has become a daily routine. People are seen cooking with gas stoves and kerosene just next to the forest, and all kinds of chitter-chatter and yelling sounds keeps on pouring from their precious music system.

In the Alipore Zoological Gardens, on the 25th of December, pictures were flashed of people eating on paper and plastic plates, and huge piles of plastic bags and packets lying here and there, making the place look all the more nasty and dirty.

The Cheapest Car to take US by Storm

Nano is till date, the world’s cheapest car. It is made by the Indian automobile giant, the TATA Group. There was a lot of speculation over the making and selling of this car in India. Many of the Indians were skeptical about the price of Nano at Rs. 1 lakh only, which is a meagre sum of money for owning something luxurious like a car! However, the news turned out to be true, with the first introduction of Nano in the Delhi Auto Show in January 2009.

Till then, Nano has earned quite a bountiful of customers. They are happy in using the world’s cheapest car. Of late, the news of Tata showcasing the car in USA has once again attracted good media attention. Nano will be displayed in Detroit on January 14 at the Detroit auto show.

Tata Technologies have their regional headquarters in Michigan. The car will highlight its end-to-end vehicle engineering and design capabilities to its auto industry customers.

The really out-of-the-box thinking has made Tata Nano to take the centre-stage in the arena of world car manufacturing business. Nano will be sold for about USD 2,500 which is equivalent to Rs.1 lakh in India.

A Memorable Trip to The Sunderbans

Sunderbans is a participant and incidentally one of the finalists of the 2011 hunt for new 7 Wonders of the World. Bengal should feel proud to see Sunderbans nominated along with some of the most beautiful natural wonders on this earth, such as the Table Mountain of South Africa, Great Barrier Reef of Australia, Amazon in South America and Black Forest in Germany to name a few.

The Bengal Chief Minister, Mr. Buddhadev Bhattacharya has requested all residents of Bengal to vote for the largest mangrove forest in the world. For us, Bengalis, it’s a matter of pride as well as that of sorrow. Pride of course for its selection in the 7 wonders list, and sorrow because of the negligence on the part of the authorities to save this delta from getting eroded.

Sunderbans is in the midst of extinction. It’s perhaps not very long when we will hardly get to see the stretch of land, with tigers and deer and the infamous sundari trees, spreading across parts of Bangladesh and West Bengal.

I was studying in class 4, when I went on a trip to the Sundarbans with my parents. We had to reach Canning, a place near to the delta, from where launches sail for the mangrove forest. Our launch had a big team of around 30 people, couples and families, mostly Bengalis. I was very thrilled over the thought of seeing a Royal Bengal Tiger or two and some deer on the way.

The trip was for 3 days and 2 nights and we had lots of fun on the ferry, with people singing and taking photos of the surrounding forest and that of the Bay of Bengal. I remember well of anxiously looking at the Sunderbans to find some big animal staring at me. In a sense, I was lucky to get a view of 2 to 3 deer. They have come to drink water at the shore. But, they instantly disappeared on hearing the loud engine noise from our ferries.

There were about 10 ferries in line, since the place is said to be frequented by sea-bandits, who come to loot the tourists, when given a chance. People seem to be scared on hearing this fro our launch manager, and as such all the ferries used to stay very close to each other during the nights.

The Sundarbans have a crocodile sanctuary, where crocs are fed and babies are hatched from eggs. There were also different kinds of snakes in that sanctuary. In another place, we got to see a man-size puppet, who was sitting with a hookah in his hand. It seemed to be absolutely real! When asked what this was for, the authorities told us that it is meant to scare the tigers, who frequent this place.

The puppet has electric wires in his body, which is activated very night, and if an animal touches the man, the animal gets a light shock and instantly runs away in fear. There was also a watch tower, from where we got a lovely view of a large area of the forest.

The trip to Sunderabans was a memorable event in my life. I was happy to visit the place, but I would be all the more happy if I could get to see the Royal Bengal Tiger at least for once!

Friends forever!

Today, I feel like writing on something very special, very close to my heart – friends. Friends have always being a very good part of my life. I remember those days when we used to have lots of fun amidst our strict daily classes in school and college.Most people say school days are the best days of their life, but I somewhat differ from them in the sense that college days were the best days of my life. In school, I was really a shy girl, with a very few friends to mingle with.

We enter the school at a very young age and so mental maturity doesn’t come, as it happens when we grow up. And, so perhaps, I remained somewhat unknown to the actual meaning of friendship and bonding. For a kid, to understand these serious terms takes a bit time, and under stringent school rules and classes, we hardly get time to share our feelings with each other. Of course, we used to have fun during break time, playing hide n seek and tug-of-war, but they were all for a limited period only.

Freedom and maturity in the true sense of the term came in college, when I was a grown up lady. We had a close group of seven, and we friends have still kept contacts with each other and will remain to do so in future as well.

Most of my friends have got settled, with kids, and I to remain busy with my work and other family ties. But of course, whenever we get some time out of our daily commitments, we call each other and make a plan for a ‘get-together’. We meet either in City Centre, which is a much happening place in Kolkata or sit in a friend’s house to get lost in an unconditional, never ending “adda”. Time passes like a fast flowing stream, and so when the clock strikes 8 or 9 at night, it reminds us that time has come to say good-bye to each other and leave for the day.

We used to have loads of enjoyment and travelling during our college days in Bethune. Almost all Saturdays, we used to watch a movie (since our classes used to end by 12-1 o’clock) or plan a trip to Nicco Park or Victoria Memorial.

We even would enjoy a ‘gala’ feast with sandwiches, chips, popcorns and cold drinks. Our college has a big ground with lots of space to sit and chat during break time. I remember each day, waiting anxiously for the tiffin time to come, as it was the time to be free like birds in the sky.

The college canteen was also good, and they used to make bread chops, vegetable chops, chicken chops, fried rice and aloor dum. Girls used to gobble them down like anything and everyone would shout to get their order first. It was really nice to become nostalgic about those by-gone days. Three years we have spent in the college studying, enjoying and making the bond of our friendship strong and even stronger, with each passing day.

"Kalapani” and “Dasgaja"

This new year, we are going to see two new movies based on border dispute. Well known Nepali directors, Uddhav Abidit and Dayaram Dahal, have based the plot of their film on the border clashes between Nepal and its southern neighbour India. The movies names as “Kalapani” and “Dasgaja” are based on the actual conditions of the Nepali inhabitants living in these two regions and their views and thoughts on the same.

Both the directors have carried on a field survey by visiting these places and recording the opinions of the local residents. The films focus on the tribulation and insecurity faced by Nepalis living in what is now the “no man’s land” after the boundary between the two countries was affected by rivers changing their courses.

Kalapani is an area located in Nepal’s eastern Darchula district, on the borders of India, Nepal and China. Since the India-China war of 1962, Indian troops have been occupying Kalapani. The film title as same as the name of the region Kalapani is going to be released this summer tells the real-life story of the Nepalis living in constant fear of death and eviction. They are like refugee in their own country, states Uddhav Abidit, director of this movie.

Social filmmaker, Dayaram Dahal has also has a new film in offer on the border war named “Dasgaja”. This film is based on the village by the same name in far west Nepal’s remote and under-privileged Kailali district, where poverty and famine drive hundreds of able-bodied men and women in search of work to India across the border.