Simplify It

My Diorama in August-Sep 2011

2011-09-12T07:50:00.000-07:00

I pen down this post as I wander and saunter in the world of movies and books this week. Also navigate through the misty Malnad hiils with my folks. For last few months have not had the opportunity to see quality movies but was able to sneak through couple of good hindi movies. So I chanced upon Rocket Singh and Chalo Dilli.

Rocket Singh though is a good movie, but definitely to get the plot going the movie has many flaws. Directed by Shimit Amin who is known for his earlier works , gritty Ab Tak Chappan and masterful Chak De India. The theme is very good and I don’t think any movie has been made on Salesmanship earlier in bollywood. The movie harbors around the protagonist Harpreet Singh (Ranbeer Kapoor) and his endurance to make name in salesmanship .After getting in, he comprehends the world of salesmanship and gets to know about the dirty things which prevail there. Demolished and insulted by his peers and his boss this movie depicts how he stamps his foot in the world of salesmanship. Well made movie punctuated with some apt acting by Ranbir Kapoor, but the plot loses its pragmatism and hovers around the unreal tactics.

I followed that movie with Chalo Dilli. This movie for sure has been inspired by the 1989 classic ‘Train ,planes and Automobiles’ and the recent Robert Downy Jr. starrer ‘Due date’. I would say the director could fathom the sense of a road movie and at the end created a good one.Vinay Pathak as always is a very good actor and ascribes his part with élan and panache. But I would say he is being now stereotyped in these kinds of roles. Lara dutta played her part well and all in all a nice movie to watch with the family.

Last but not the least I was able to complete Dante club. A marvelleous book and a hat off effort by Mathew Pearl to pull out this classic book. Intermingled with Dante Aligheri’s poetry. Pearl has a written a masterful thriller. Some real life characters coupled with a maven plot this book is a must read for thriller fans who also relish a twang of history. I have already conjured up my mind to read his latest book ‘The Last Dickens’ which is again based on the mysterious death of legendary Charles Dickens.

To accentuate the week I finished the week with a trip to Chickmanglur with my folks. It was a trip to remember although it had the tint of spoiling rain. But nice is the way to spend quality time with your folks nestled in the hills.

As I now move on to my daily life, I surely enjoyed the last week where I could muster up some splendid things and ended it with a good seal.

Glory brought to the shores

2011-08-30T07:00:00.000-07:00

Neither Nationalism culminated in a day nor was fighting against the British the only mean to exercise it. In 1911, setting was in Bengal; Nationalist movement was on all time high after Khudiram’s martyrdom was causing ripples in the hearts of people. People were fed up by the vile British and with their way of governance. The unfair rules and regulations had started to take toll on the natives. Leaders like Gokhale and Tilak were able to inculcate and imbibe the roots of nationalist thinking in the heads and minds of people. Roots of rebel had been planted all over the country and were flowing like a stream. They were craving for change and something fresh was asked for.

Sport has always been one of the means to unite the segregated mass, it is a harmonious language which binds together everyone. In Bengal football had taken the same seat and it was becoming the undying passion. Somehow get a round ball and start hitting it. You need a field where the ball can roll and turn, hence a pretty inexpensive and popular means of entertainment. So football as a sport in Bengal became one of the foremost sports to be exercised. Football as they say is also one of the most violent sports. It has killed people more than any other sport has.

Now to juxtapose all the earlier discreet points together we head back to 1911 and glance towards the IFA shield. Mohun Bagan club of Kolkata had started plundering English clubs like rangers and Middlesex regiment. They stormed through the finals of the shield subsequently. The bare footed players were locking their horns with the mighty British. What eventually comprehended out was that in football they used to get the chance to hit the British and plunder them.

The very same emotions and feelings are arrested through the lens in the Bengali movie Egaro (The immortal eleven). It tells you the true saga of the eleven players who took the field in IFA shield final for Mohun Bagan against East Yorkshire. Caught immaculately through the lens of the cinematographer this movie is worth a watch. Well surely there are some melodramatic moments to magnify the effect of the movie, otherwise I felt the movie was flawless and was able to establish the crux of the subject. After seeing this I was kind of perplexed that how could no movie till date has been featured on this subject. Some may argue Lagaan was made on the same lines, but this football story is a true one.

This movie clearly depicts how the players had to face different kind of hardships. Most of them were deprived of any friends and family support because some of their folks thought it’s a risk which you bring to home if you take challenge with British while some of them did not see playing football a virtuous thing enough. Even some leaders of the nationalist movement foresaw football as a mere luxury and something which does not have a value of penny in the context of Nationalism.

Well eventually everything turned upside down as the match day progressed. People started taking this match as a mean and an opportunity to take revenge against the British. The footballers started to receive best wishes and compliments from all over the country. Media started to take note of this match. Shibdas Bhaduri (captian of the team) was hailed and talked about all and sundry. All had same mission that was to defeat British even the owners of other Indian club also started to hoot for Mohun Bagan.It became simple point blank fight between Indian resistance and English might.Government had to operate many more trains and buses before the match day, because people started to flock over to Calcutta from all parts of eastern India to see this much talked match. People as far as away from Benaras, Dhaka, Guwahati came to witness this historical event. As it happened Mohun Bagan was able to defeat East Yorkshire in a thrilling encounter.

Well this still looms large in the memory of all historians and soccer lovers; this thing has percolated down to our veins. This game was no lesser an effort to subsidize the british., these eleven were as sacred sons of soil as other revolutionaries were.

Fear of leather - Part 1

2011-08-04T03:27:00.000-07:00

Anything which moves fast is quite a difficult thing to foresee and tackle with .Consider an object in air which moves along quickly also starts to sway away, keep imagining how difficult it would be to anticipate where that thing would be finally(Hiesenberg's Uncertainty huh ?) .Imagining a bulltet fired from a gun ?.

Well here I draw the analogy with a cricket ball .Similarly as it happens in the game of cricket. A fast moving ball can be very unconformable for any batsman to handle and to score run against. I have always thought a pace bowler running up in rhythm on a lush green field with the wind blowing behind him and then his delivery uprooting the timber is one of the best sight in the game of cricket.

A fast inswinger or a pacy bouncer can make a good batsman look like tottering kid.From time to time fast bowlers have become the nemesis of the batsman. Even the best bastman would get some jitters when facing a true fast bowler.

In this post I will divulge myself in discussing and sharing about the 10 best fast bowlers of last 2 decades (basically the time from which I am following the game).It will be a two part post as it is quite difficult to capture all the aspects in one post.I also start it by paying tribute to the infamous pace quatret of West Indies in the late seventies and early eighties.(in the picture from left Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Colin Croft and Joel Garner) They actually showed how menacing and fearsome pace bowling can be.To properly envision what it mean check the 'Fire in Babylon' documentary.

So here is my list of fast bowlers.

10. Shane Bond: I say very less people have as good an action as Bond had. Bond’s toe breaking Yorkers coupled with his express pace made him a menacing bowler. Also coming from a country where there has been no pedigree of fast bowlers apart from Sir Richard Hadlee.I consider him to take in the Top 10.

9. Courtney Walsh: A bowler who had bowled the least number of extras during his bowling tenure. Discipline and Dilligence were synonymous with Walsh. He successfully carried the legacy of great West Indian bowlers forward. I can recall that he was one of the few fast bowler captains the game has ever witnessed.

8. Chaminda Vaas: Claimed as Sultan of swing. He loyally held the citadel of Sri lankan seam attack for years. He became better and better as he aged on and his potent swings were literally unplayable. Coming from the pitches where there was little assistance to a pace bowler, Vaas’s credentials as a bowler accentuate more.

7. Jason Gilespie: May not be one of the elegant bowlers or as charismatic as his contemporaries. Some may argue with me about his inclusion in the top ten lists but for me Jason Gilespie was a toiler, was a hard worker. He was always there to provide support to the main strike bowlers like McGrath and Lee. Most of the times because of his endurance the strike bowlers used to reap rewards .A special mention must go to his batting where he used to hang in however the condition was. His grittiness was exemplary and to me he was a great character the game has ever seen.

6. Waqar Younis : One of the genuine swingers of the ball, both with the new and older ball. He showed an extra-ordinary mastery over the reverse swing .In fact I can say he was one of the pioneers of reverse swinging. One of the Double W’s of Pakistan pace attack Waqar had troubled and subjugated almost all the best batters of his generation.

Dont miss to check the next and the final concluding part of this blog where i reveal the top five of the list .And also wait and watch for the inglorious list of fast bowlers who they say were fast and furious.

The Masinagudi Trails

2011-06-05T22:58:00.000-07:00

It’s good to experience good and it’s even better to experience which is better. My Masinagudi travel experience was awesome to say the least. Last weekend I set to visit Masinagudi with my in laws and J.As Budhha once said ‘It is better to travel than to arrive’ .

The voyage from Bangalore to Mysore and then crossing Bandipur and eventually reaching Masinagudi was a spellbound feeling for me. Most of the times I have seen the hills from top, this time it was a novel experience to have the view from foot. Its get accentuated when the mysterious jungle looms over you

Masinagudi is nestled in The Madhumali Tiger reserve and surrounded by the lush green forests. I found the whole tiger reserve and the forests to be very well maintained .The serene and scenic beauty of these forests can catch anyone on his toes. We took our shelter in the resort of Nawab Shafath Ali Khan who is a well know man-animal conflict expert and was recently in news for hunting down a Man eater in Faizabad. We were completely impressed by the facilities of the resort and more importantly the wonderful behavior of the owners there.

The most superlative part came when Nawab sahab’s son extended us an offer to join them in a jeep ride in the forest. It was already dusk and it was supposed to be the time when the animals would start leering and loitering around. The thrill of the jeep ride still excites me, it was just an open jeep with around 10 people in it and a sense of safari scattering around. We were fortunate enough to sight Bears and and a Panther along with the other usual suspects like Deer and wild buffaloes.

Hustling the jeep into the forest and chasing the animals like hunters to fetch a glimpse of these exquisite animals was an enchanting and unforgettable experience for us. Less to say that it was unreal and an illusory occurrence of events for me.

If It was not enough, me and J were offered a night stay in the exotic Tree house in the resort by the Jo (Daughter-in-law of Nawab sahib).Special thanks to her who was generous and kind to us during the whole visit. And well the night stay at the tree house again was one of the most resplendent experiences I have seen.

The next day started with again a safari rides amongst the dense and impenetrable forests of Madhumalai.This time we were gifted by the glimpse of the famous Tuskers of Madhumalai.When the ride ended it was like waves of satisfaction sailing over the shores like faces of everyone. After breakfast we headed back to the high risings of cities leaving behind the mystery and aura of Madhumalai.Still when I recall the experiences which I had back there I want to scuttle back and immersed myself again in the puddle of that majestic flora and fauna.

When red and blue started bleeding together

2011-04-04T00:00:00.000-07:00

I thought I should capture these emotions as soon as possible after the Tango and Rumba of 2^nd april ended. My prolonged wait and agony has now ended, the always elusive trophy have been retained by us. Nation’s hope and trust was restored by this team following a dismal performance in the Caribbean four years ago. Dhoni has always been different; I had always felt that his serenity actually brings the pacifying tint to this pressurized and hyped game.

The Indian operation in this world cup has been nearly smooth and silky. This world cup truly marks the example of stars living up to their expectations and the other players filling the gap wherever needed. Tournament kicked off with Sehwag’s swashbuckling century against Bangladesh. India stumbled little in the middle of the tournament by conceding the tied match to England and losing the already captured match to SA. Then how they came back strongly by beating WIndies in group stages and defeating Aussies,Pakistan and SLankans in the knockouts for the WC glory. I would take this as peaking at the right time and hitting the iron when it was hottest.

Batting had clicked in the first two games, then I from the WIndies match bowling and fielding also rose and joined the Jamboree. Raina’s inclusion from the QFs brought sharpness to the field. Sachin scored most of the runs along with Mercurial Yuvraj with both bat and bowl leading the batting attack. I felt seam bowling has been of supreme quality as spin department was always expected to fare better on the Indian pitches. Zak ‘Scotch ‘Khan, as they say Zaheer is like a wine or scotch whisky.He is getting finer as he ages on. He has mastered the art of bowling with potent reverse swings, well directed bouncers and those compelling in swingers. With Munaf his close companion bowling well, even Nehra they ensured that Seam bowling pulls the right chords.

2007 had been a tragic performance, losing to Bangladesh in the opening match and they crashed out of the world cup. Even before we could settle in our seats to watch the world cup, we were out from this prestigious moment. Those were the times we felt very low and the most sorrowful moments. Bouncing back from that is an exemplary redemption.

A special mention must go to coach Gary Kirsten. He helped the team to phase out of the shoddy Greg Chappell era to the fresh air of this new breed of free flowing cricket. Now we have got good, confident young players backed up by ever supporting senior players. Job has not finished yet, the team needs to be invincible and champions in all terms and all sense. They must show the same domination in the upcoming tours of England and Australia.

Celebrations began on every nook and corner of India right after the match ended, with people coming out of their homes, bursting crackers, waving flags and dancing throughout the night.I imagine this cricket is not a game, its a religion, its a force that unites the nation.Well done India, I am going to cherish this moment for long and hope I get this feeling very soon again.

Honey and Hills

2011-03-14T01:44:00.000-07:00

Life takes it own turn and mine took a big turn. It turned me into the voyage of married life and eventually we celebrated it by sailing out for the Honeymoon.

Hills had always enticed me, the vastness of hills for eternity have pulled the strings of my guitar. So I decided to spent one of my memorable days of life being cuddled and hugged in the valleys of Uttarkhand.Though I have spent my early days in Delhi, apart from a short visit to Nainital I never could feel the hills of Uttarkhand.

We took the flight from Netaji Subash international airport to Delhi.The flight arrived late and then punctuated with rains pouring heavily on the way, we reached the charming Nainital at 11 o clock night. We missed most of the picturesque ride from Haldwani to Nainital as rains and night blocked the view.We travelled from Delhi-Moradabad-Rampur-Pantnagar-Haldwani-Nainital .Our stay was arranged at Dynasty resorts in Khuraptal.Other than being pretty far from main Nainital, the resort was magnificent. Nestled in the valleys of Khuraptal the view from the loggia of the hotel room was celestial.

Next day morning after having breakfast we started our journey towards the petite Himalayan town of Kausauni.Its a 5 hrs drive from Nainital to Kausauni.Enroute we passed over the picturesque Ranikhet.Then the time for lunch arrived and we had one of the best experiences of our voyage. We stopped by a very small and cute Homestay and café for lunch. Reaching there we learnt that, the café was closed for some time for some renovation work. But then the café owner was kind enough to fix some sandwiches and coffee for us. Interior of the café was mesmerizing and well decorated that my camera rolled itself on to capture the scenics.A must recommendation for the travelers who like something new.

Then as it happened we had a tyre puncture and after that we reached Kausuani at around 5-30 p.m.It was freezing cold .My wife started feeling little nauseatic after experiencing whirl winding rides in the hills and hence we decided to call the day off.

Next day we woke up leisurely and headed for some local sightseeing in Kausauni.Kausauni is situated in the Kumaon region of the Uttarkhand and native people speak Kumaoni here. Gandhiji once came to Kausauni and hence it has a Gandhi anasakhti ashram here .It boasts magnificent views of Himalaya which is sure to enthrall many hearts.We did a small trek here and roamed around the Ashram.

Then we headed towards the Tea gardens of Kumaon.There was also a shawl factory nearby.We went into the factory and the local boy explained us how wool is being made and processed.The factory was churning out shawls,stowls,tweeds,mufflers and yes we chose some of them from there.

I have always felt food and wine is one of the important and defining parts of any travel.As being once explained ‘A romantic traveller is not one who walks is one who dawdles and imbibes the local culture ’.

If you havent experienced the local cuisine you haven t felt and smelt that place actually .This was part was certainly missing till now.Then I stumbled over a small local joint near the tea garden and the owner mentioned he is one of the few people here who serves local food here.My gourmet self woke up and I ordered few local specialities.

Bhatt ki Chutkani (Local cereal), Aloo Mooli ka chetuah (Sabzi preparation made of Potato and raddish) and Kumaoni Rice were my lunch for that day .The food was scrumptious and we enjoyed eating every tiny bit of it. After finishing the day’s work we returned back to the hotel room and savored the evening tea under the drooping sun.The temperature reached below 4 in the evening, so vibes of chill was superflous.

(Dairy version starts here)Lying inside the woods of Kumaoun and snow peaks view with the flip of my eyes as I keep typing these lines. It’s definitely the best travelling experience I have for long time and romanticism of travelling reaches to the pinnacle here. The hotel room was comfortably made up of wood, fireplace keeping the room warm,water in copper glasses turned into nectar ,a cozy room and sonata of chirping of birds, with all these I couldn’t have asked more than this. Coming to Binsar has made up my trip and a pat on my back as I decided to come to Binsar. It is one of the offbeat destinations of Uttarkhand and it boasts of a wildlife sanctuary which has a varied range of Flora and Fauna. Our resort ‘Binsar retreat’ was well juxtaposed inside the sanctuary and the Himalayan peaks.

Listening to the howling of animals outside, we both hugged each other and enjoyed the romantic serene settings. Plus I got those Kumaoun specialties on my plate. As I write this I have to leave this place and we will be starting heading towards Nainital.

(End of Dairy version)

Cold welcomed us into Nainital again. Nainital Lake was worth looking into as it was ornamented with lights and mist spraying over it. At last my wife got some opportunity here to delve into shopping. Nainital is famous for its Wax candles. From a beer mug shaped candle to lantern, the shop possessed it all.

Next day was our turn to descend from the hills to the plains of Delhi. Coming back it took mere 7 hrs. Then we took the flight back from Delhi to Kolkata. It seemed like a six days full of tranquility and harmony in the hills had finished and we transcended to day to day life of mortal plains. The enormity of Himalayas still alive is in my hearts and as start planning my next explore into the hills.

This year..What year ?

2010-11-20T01:32:00.000-08:00

Well i dont want you to go without a blog post in a year.I dont care whether you have read Ray Bardbury or seen cheesy movies like Golmaal-3.From mid of this year, after Romit's departure defintely my life has become one dimensional. Movie watching has hit to all time low this year.Couple of good movies which were running in theatres i could catch like Bengali movie 'Autograph' and blockbluster Inception.

So has been the sad condition of my book reading frequency.I read defintely 'The Lost Symbol' followed it with Ray Bradbury's 'Farenheit 9/11' coupled with a couple of plays.Surely all time low in terms of feeding my hungry intellect. Well surely my technical blogging has been on a all time high. I will definitely try to get things right in these things also next year and also would try to blog more in coming days.

Thankless Well you are !

2009-10-24T04:11:00.000-07:00

Well thankless job it is. I surely say so, you finish up the thing which is fit for human consumption and you don’t get that appreciation and much deserved adulation. I, myself belong to this smarter race of people. We want to scoff; we want to eat good food, authentic food. We are open, we are objective and we can eat anything under the only sun we have.

Bengalis are known for their eating habits and to top that elite list we have Bengali sweets. Not going far and keeping my self modesty at its own place let me explain, there is a round faced, cute looking; white colored sweet called Rasogulla which they say is the baap of all sweets. We have competitions which turn into ferocious battles of Rasogulla gulping. The person who eats the maximum is bestowed with all love and admiration and then my dear fellas he is a man to look upto.

Children or Older people without a single strong tooth take part in the widely regarded and prestigious ceremony of Rasagulla eating. Not dragging this Rasogulla eating thing further I will tell you a short account of eating

That one fine day, yes fine it was. My uncle was telling a heart absorbing and rib tickling tale of consumption. This is a story of those days when you would get a meal for Rs 6. He and few of his friends in their youth went to this place for lunch. They went to the eating place and ordered the meals. The owner of the shop came with a tinkling smile on his face and happily asked them.’ So fellas how is the food, eat eat this is unlimited meal’. Then it started and yes the metamorphosis started, the smile on his face was well substituted by a grin. He said ‘I did not say to eat this much’. It is being heard after that day the owner who was selling the meal for 18 long happy years had abolished the meal system.

So tales like this prevail in the land of gourmets, epicures and obviously few gluttons. I often sometime think what is there without food; it brings a smile to the face of the poignant one. It is a platform for people to communicate; to converse. It is the opportunity for the introvert to shed his laconic tint and to intermingle with people. It is a topic to discuss, a subject to debate, an object to love. It is a joy, a cheer which enlivens the grief.
Foodie hain hum
Well now it is my time for lunch.

Plethora of Acts

2009-08-23T22:47:00.000-07:00

Why not analyze the recent bioscopes I witnessed. For some time movie watching has become a
rare event for me. I could point out the three movies I watched during last four months so to say. These movies varied from Genre to Language. From execution to act.
I sometime wonder the thoughts and ideas which wander across the director’s mind. Let me start chronologically.Vittoria Di Sica was considered as the pioneer of Neo Realistic movies which originated from Italy. After seeing his movie ‘Bicycle Thief’ I was mesmerized by the simplicity of the movie. This time I got the chance to watch ‘The Shoeshine boys’ .Again this movie magnifies the power of simplicity which Di Sica demonstrated. It is a heart wrenching commentary of two impecunious boys' life about friendship, betrayal and moreover life. Oscar Winner Satyajit Ray was deeply inspired by Di Sica’s ways of making movies which later inspired him to make his path breaking movie Patter Panchali (The Story of road).

Then I chanced upon Buddhadev Dasgupta’s tour de force ‘Kalpurush’ (Bengali).It is a convoluted story illustrating the father-son relationship, very amicably played by National Award winner Mithun Chakraborty and Rahul Bose in lead roles.This movie typically harbors the stunning cinematography and direction.Dasgupta’s each frame has a sharp angle attached to it which sometimes reminds me of Stanley Kubrick, as how he took his shots in ‘Clockwork Orange’.

Last but categorically not the least I saw Michael Mann’s Public Enemies. Johnny Depp is one actor who in my view has never compromised on his roles and has always tried to do something very diverse. Christian Bale on the other hands is known for his enthusiasm and dedication to the roles he portrays (remember Machinist).These two combined in his brilliant controlled movie.This movie trails back to 1930’s when crime in America was rising with John Dillinger (aptly played by Depp) who was considered Public Enemy no.1.This movie also briefly shows the uprising and the formation of F.B.I.
This surmises my little roving into movie world for last four months.By the time I am finished writing this posts I saw movies like Amen and Kaminey also.So all and all it makes a quite decent package to my strong belief.

Ekdum ich Latest

2009-08-06T07:42:00.001-07:00

Stretched to the limits after working madly, that too with a grin on my face.
I wondered why not test my typing skills for a change, hence these piece of words.
I wonder why Micro Fictions are great piece of art. Simply and fully because I know the outcome first then I start writing it.140 words in Twitter gives it an unassailable edge.
I started following Arjun Basu who tweets resplendent Micro Fictions and then it was well carried by my friends Romit and Rohit in the twitter arena. That pushed me to think within 140 words.

As I prepare and then again prepare for buying my bike, I swing from one model to another model. Some has good looks; some take pride in mileage where some are happy to bestow you with power. Good dilemma I would say I fell into.

Then when I saw one of my dreams getting fulfilled. I was happy and then I was happiest. You know being happier how it is. o.K. now deliberately coming back to the dream, yes Copenhagen. Definitely when I saw Copenhagen was about to be performed in Rangashankara I knew I had to experience that, feel that and get immersed into that also. Definitely Michael Frayn knew what sort of Hangover audience would get, as they would continue to linger and loiter in the uncertainty principle.

As I continue Subhash is dead, how much did he achieve and what were the consequent adulations he got, I am again made to wonder. This time I do wonder.CPI(M) after losing considerable seats in Loksabha elections to Mamta and Congress Junta would consider loss of Subhash as a significant one.

Now the abstract ending i.e. Latest Ich mein itna ich milega.

Historical Moral Fibre

2009-08-01T02:20:00.000-07:00

It was important, like a new flower blossoming, like a new life barged in to catch the glimpse of light.Shibnath Shasthri’s book' Ramtanu Lahiri o totkalin Bongosamaj' (Ramtanu Lahiri and Contemporary Bengali society) does capture the essence of that era and is a book to read for all people who feel history defines a Civilization’s character.

As Sunil Ganguly had in his book, like an arrow which to go forward recoils back a bit, people should look back a little to move forward.

It happened one week

2009-07-17T10:55:00.000-07:00

Frank Capra would have got thrilled to know the title of this blog post of mine.I definitely wont do the audacity of consciously mistakenly thinking myself as Clark Gable.Now coming to the point.

This time when i went home, i could anticipated it as coming. And It happened. This is a feeling you get after you accomplish something. Nothing much to do in the weekdays; most of my friends would be typing in daytime as well as when owls start hooting. So this gave me the chance of lifetime when i found two great books were gleefully winking at me.

Witty, sarcastic humour for me is the highest form of emotion a writer could evoke.Doulgas Adams knew it well how to do it when he started writing ‘The Hitchhiker’s guide to galaxy’. It starts with ‘A Blue planet where people still think digital watches are cool’ and then I could sense what was coming in my way. Brilliant witty humour coupled with a mind boggling science fiction. After a long time i was reading a science fiction. Ray, H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, Isaac Asimov or recent day’s Michael Crichton all are/were greats, Douglas Adams definitely climbs up into that list happily. His writing is completely diverse and refreshing to read.

After the joy ride of Hitchhiker’s I was faced with the thought provoking account of Bengal history in the Bengali Novel named ‘Shei Somoy’ by flamboyant writer Sunil Ganguly.An epic of a book capturing the history from 1840s to 1870s.He mentioned the main protagonist in this novel as none other than ‘The time’ itself. From Ishwarchanda Vidyasagar to Michael Madhusudhan dutt’ from Indigo plantation movement to Widow Remarriage, all the historically significant entities are captured and enlivened in this book. A Must read for all people who can read and fathom Bengali.

Last but not the least, i punctuated this marvellous journey of books with back to back splendid plays.Rudraprasad Sengupta’s Agaytwaas (The Incognito) told a story of an old lady who seem to lose her memory every now and which then ably followed by a rib tickling comedy of Arindam Ganguly’s ‘Chalo Potol tuli (it translates as lets die).That was based on the short stories of Shibaram Chakroborty, one of my favourite writers. One cracker of a week i must say. Let’s hope i am able to spend by well deserving breaks in this way.

A Drop of water on the dessicated one

2009-06-23T04:12:00.000-07:00

Odd hours I will come back to you.
Rains will pour down. We have to move fast.
Rusty windows, muddy roads, Melancolic heart.
At the Odd hours I will come back to you.

Land lying east of India,the state of West Bengal is considered as a very politically vigorous one.Time and time people have looked down the state in a negative way as it is plagued and hammered by strikes, political violence and other dysfunctional activities. But have we tried to dig out the rationale behind it, does anyone care what mayhem this state has undergone, do they sympathetize for it. I would take this small opportunity to pacify the biased thoughts.

The crux reason dates back to the era and political turmoil of partition. To think of Calcutta now known as Kolkata used to be compared with the cities like Edinburgh and London. People used to take pride in the charming vibes of the city. That aestheticism and the aura of the city were totally devastated by the sin called the partition. People were forced to leave their homes, their birthplace. They had to squander the dreams which they carried all along their lives. Same intolerable scrape happened with people from Bangladesh.

The plight and the insufferable quandary faced by them in India are never told again; that populace had to come here and faced many hardships and destitutions. Those days the disparity between rich and poor was increasing alarmingly again coupled with the ignorant government residing in Delhi. That enforced these poor and food-ridden people to align and put their belief with the Communist party. It was not with only the Refugees who faced the problem but also other poor and unfortunate people like peasants, laborers also were undergoing the same hardships.

As they say, there are only two categories of people, the torturers and the sufferers. Sufferers are all those people who suffer the pain of poverty and who doesn’t have power to stand against the torturers. Rich always take advantage of the system and annoy the poor.

Communism rose to the power and caught the beacon inspired by Lenin and Mao Zedong. Communist ideology did give the consolation and solace which these poor people were seeking for. The flames were ignited and the dying hopes of poor people were rejuvenated again. As Trotsky would surmise ‘No War No Peace’.

So the present political turbulence does attribute its cause to the incidents happened in the past of Bengal. Did any other state had to suffer like this? It’s important to understand the hardships and trauma which these people have undergone.

The worst part is that some obnoxious weeds still talk vouch about Communism, these people who doesn’t fully understand the conception of Communism; they start to preach about communism. They are the people who try to distract people to other blasphemous causes. They take advantage of the past and hoodwink people .I know Communism is not a very pertinent theory at present times, but people will always ascend whenever the need is there.

Welcome to the Shop

2009-05-21T02:33:00.000-07:00

Ok I admit I am stimulated by the blog I read that other day about the resplendent service of Air Deccan, but all and sundry is inspired starting from Satyajit Ray to Marlon Brando. Why me be left behind. Now let’s barge into the real story of Peeliance Defresh which is held by Bambani group.

That day I was ordered to get bread and few eggs I gleefully planted my foot into the Peeliance Defresh which is just below the gym I hop into. The Janitor there is so good that he allows you to take the bag inside without checking anything if you mention you carry a laptop and also if it looks like a laptop bag. I have seen earlier that the items are so fresh that you would be damn lucky to get an item before the expiry date. That day I think I was lucky enough to get the bread which was to be expired just two days before. Lucky me.
But now where are the eggs.Peeliance Defresh staffs (if you find anyone other than the people at billing counter and the soporific janitor) are so good that they keep their customers always on their toes and they force their customer to find the things on their own. I had to make two rounds of the whole shop before I found the eggs lying at the corner.

Excellent now I have both the things. Then I was confronted with the queue which was before the billing counter, Peeliance Defresh people as they would claim they make their customers to stand and give some exercises for the leg. The gym instructors above would be elated.

So I joined the queue. Now this time they take care of their own staffs and help them to improve their mathematical skills. When the magnetic readers are intentionally sabotaged so that the staffs do the manual calculation on their own .Cat aspirants here they come. Now you give them the debit/credit card. Boy now they train their staff on the physical level when they have to run up and down and swipe the card in the card reader which is located at some mysterious arcane place.

Dewar (quoting FIP) meanwhile has scored a century that too in a test match. Then I succeeded by counting the change I got and came out of the shop. I thought the eggs would have hatched by then.
Bambanis now should listen to this and put some IPL players as Peeliance Defresh staff.

Farewell to the Talisman

2008-11-11T09:55:00.000-08:00

Long awaited Talisman, the aggression for which whole India awaited. Steadfast son retires from the battle of cricket. He banged into the scene 17 years ago rather faltered in the first step, but came back mighty strongly in 1996 at lords where he scripted a grand return with two back to back splendid centuries.

From that time he never had to look back, although had to face many obstacles. But the fighter was never bogged down and lived to play many battles. With another maestro Sachin tendulkar, Ganguly were the two players who single handled won many matches for India.

Time came; nation’s passion got indulged into grubby controversy of betting. Seniors like Azharuddin, Jadeja were forced to leave the game.Sachin was not up to the mark as a captain. Indian cricket was in shambles. It needed a leader who put the much needed aggression and passion into the game. There came Ganguly and boy, did not he change the face of the game.

Ganguly known as an aggressive captain much debated character who knew how to throw the ball back to opponents. His nexus with Aussie captain Steven Waugh is well known.Ganguly nurtured a young brigade like Harbhajan,Sehwag,Yuvraj,Zahir and all who have now become the backbone of the Indian cricket team.

Let’s give a standing ovation to the man who played royally till last day and surely was a talisman who was long awaited for.

A staggering raft in Turbulent waters

2008-05-16T09:52:00.000-07:00

Coupled with leftist sentiments the modern prodigy,Mrinal Sen has given us one of the most soul searching and thought provoking movies.In the league of Ray and Ghatak,Mrinal Sen is always considered one of the best directors ever.

Mrinal Sen is regarded as one of the pioneers of Parallel cinema in Indian Film Industry.Started with Bhuvan Some, the simplicity of his movie making style reflected. Starring Enigmatic Utpal Dutt and charismatic Suhasini Mulay in the lead role, the movie was a critically acclaimed hit.

With the advent of Naxalite turbulence in Bengal,Sen directed movies like Padatik and Calcutta-76.Those movies wedged the exact plight and mindset of people that time.He made movies with on versatile subjects with each movie used to carry a message,From the famine struck wife of the poor farmer in ‘Akaler Sandhaney’ to ‘Lonely mysterious girl’ of Antareen, sen had portrayed each of his characters in subtle shades.

My favourite of his films would be Mahaprithibi,the movie again based on the Naxalite Movement.It tells the story of a Person who left his family in dire straits during the movement and went to Germany, and what happens after he comes back, aptly played by dynamic Victor Banerjee.

Always tagged with the ideas of Marxism,Surrealism ,Italian Neorealism etc,Sen’s movies seldom have a happy ending or precisely it did not have a definitive finale .

On His 85^th Birthday i pay my tributes and salutations to this great man.

A girl leans over Seine River with tears in her eyes

2008-04-25T23:26:00.000-07:00

When I say love stories or romantic movies I have seen a many. From my childhood to now moved by lots starting from Notting Hill to Intermezzo. Starting from Julia Roberts to Ingrid Bergman. Do I really mean it? Do they really define the meaning of love and the passion of longing for each other.

Much not into this genre I kind of stumbled onto a French movie called ‘Girl on the Bridge’ in English by master director Patrice Leconte.The film is made in black and white to magnify the effects and emotions. It’s a story about a knife thrower and his target. How their luck change when they meet each other and how their love cultivates.

About the girl (masterful performance by Vanessa Paradis) who thinks perfect love has always eluded her. Who thinks she is bad at luck of finding a faultless and ideal love.

About a man who is a knife thrower who doesn’t want to get intimate with his target as so could make him weak, who himself is not successful just saves the girl when she tries to jump of the bridge and suicide. The film revolves around these two characters that emote, like, love each other. Their journey towards finding the true love, the true meaning that makes this feeling an oasis in the desert, the accurate connotation that makes long voyages a rather small stroll.

A true film on love, which asks us what is this feeling, what is meant by being together.

As Rogert Ebert said ‘There is nothing like being partners in a knife-throwing act to encourage a man and a woman to focus on their relationship.’

Ek Aur Dalega?

2008-01-19T01:57:00.000-08:00

Stick to the decision,believe in your abilities and the things will go well.The Old Cliche was again proved correct by the men in blue.When Viru knew Ishant Sharma is capable of bowling long spell they stuck by him and gave him the chance and boy did he get the wicket of Aussie captain.

India’s win at Perth reflects the team game,grit and determination of the Indian players.Kudos to Jumbo for lifting up the team and giving the memorable present to the fans.As sherry paaji said killing the lion by entering into their own den.Perth has been always the steadfast citadel of Aussies,beating them there is a esplendent effort.

Influx of two fighting attitude laden cricketers also in my view had added to the cause.Sehwag chipping in with some useful runs at the top,taking on the attack on the pace attacks unleashed by aussies and plucking up crucial two wickets of Gilly and Lee.Pathan deservedly got the man of the match bowled well and made useful contribution with bat.

Off the topic As Sunny bhai just said its a good omen as Gary entering into the arena.Lets hope for the best.Lets go for the Champagne and raise our eyes to the Southen Australian city of Adelaide(Remember 2003?) and let me switch the channel to Star sports and put my eyes on the Rod Laver Arena

Talaffuz Janab

2007-12-23T02:09:00.000-08:00

Its a finicky feeling when you have some retrospective aura around you with the Heritage and culture you inherit.I had that opportunity to spend one weekend in that charismatic atmosphere.Rather we recreated that mahoul for us.

Two factors contributed this post motivation for me.One is the Sudhir Mishra’s latest flick ‘Khoya Khoya Chaand’.Awesomely planted in the 60’s caressing through the intricacies of film industry.A tale of love and passion.Some resplendent screenplay and cinematography.Kudos Sudhir for rejuvenating the old spirit.Usage of Urdu and pure Hindi punctuated with awesome sets produced an undying aura which will be memorized.

Another is in the series of myself and my roomie Kaushik’s venture of discovering a new eatery every weekend.This time we stumbled upon a perfectly made pure Indian restaurant named ‘Roomali with View’.We grave for speciality and my boy this was the place.With Ghazals of Jagjit Singh,Ghulam Ali and Pankaj Udhas filling the atmosphere with just what the doctor ordered.Food served with Rajasthani,Awadhi and Kashmiri speciality made us being poised and paused while we were having the Daal baati which was well complemented by the Jaamun.

Always had wanted the heritage to be kept alive by travelling through the subtle nuances of life.I felt the weekend was perfectly ordered for me.Just again i thought let me concentrate on my Talaffuz.

The Brain Weapon

2007-12-18T06:59:00.000-08:00

Rose to the Golden Fortess,dived into the intricacies of Hills of Darjeeling and Gangtok.My Hero has done it all.Childhood was like digging into his adventures,feeling the intensely gripping stories.I was also transported to the crime scene or used to be the fourth member of the gang.
My tribute to the great master continues in a prolonged exposure.Ray’s creation of Feluda, the Detective has enthralled and has given ecstasy to people of all ages for ages.

Felu a.k.a Prodosh Chandra Mitter Ray’s answer to another master i.e. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.Feluda’s adventure was used to be penned down by his nephew ‘Topshe’.The trio part was completed by charismatic,hilarious,mirthful,unparallel and so on LalMohan Ganguly a.k.a Jatayu a crime thriller writer by profession who had the unique tinge of giving some hilarious names to his own stories and whose English was bit squeaky.
Ray had arranged some highly exciting plots and had transported these characters into the scene.Feluda’s wit,Topshe’s presence of mind and Jatayu’s mere presence had solved complex mystries.Some intruiging stories ranging from potrait of Napoleon to Antuique idol of Ganesha.The Major thing which gives the pleasure is the bundle of information that we get while by nosediving into the stories.When Feluda was asked what’s the weapon he carries with himself,it was replied aptly by saying i carry a weapon called ‘Mogojashtro’ (Mogoj=Brain + Ashtro=Weapon).Where we see the cases solved and mysteries getting unrevealed by the sheer intelligence and wit of Feluda not any hard action.
Apt lumintation to the stories were the humorous angle provided in the stories by Jatayu, whose awesome timing of dialogues were amazingly planted.One example being where Jatayu wanted to say telepathic connection but what came out was ‘the telepathetic connection’ which sends reader to laugh rides.
Moriarty was more and less replaced by another icon called Maghanlal Meghraj with whom Feluda had confrontation in few stories.
Lots of Ray’s stories have been translated into English now, so no excuses from the Non-Bengali readers J.May be next post i would tear apart another splendiferous icon named Shonku.

Marewa

2007-09-12T14:40:00.000-07:00

Sudden paths charted out.You feel traversing into new corners of introspection.
Marewa by Indian Ocean came to me like that.
I have always been a great fan of this fusion band.I might have heard of Marewa before
but with the headphones stuck to my ears giving me the stereophonic sound
punctuated with the thought of i have to give some demo to my client tommorow
produced a nice reverberating feeling.

A day off my GMAT prep, rather two days off as after yesterday's current off fiasco.
Thought of listening to Indian Ocean once more.Yeah was treated with one of the
best Indian song i have ever heard.

Marewa is song to be categorized 'Euphoric Sufi' tells about some water body whose
water is nirmal.
Mind boggling accoustics and bass.Indian Ocean's another gem after Kandisa,Hille le and Kandisa.Imagination and Versatility has always been their virtue.
Long live Indian Ocean.
time for me to catch me sleep although 'with you' of Linkin Park banging in my head
strewn through my headphones.

Cheers

Gourmet sense

2007-09-02T14:14:00.000-07:00

Gourmet eats exactly the way how he is supposed to eat.

I reckon my stay at UK has made me in more colloquial sense

'A foodie'.

A perfect way to eat has to be emphasized.

In UK i saw the all forms of food, the perfect way to eat sumptous food.

Unless we taste a all kinds of food, its difficult to say which is the best and more

precisely to decide what to eat. As William Saffire's points out the difference between

Epicure,Gourmand,Gourmet,Gastronome and Glutton, I would rather prefet myself to

be an epicure who likes to display a thin satisfactory smile.

Well made food gives me a pleasant satisfaction.

I would rather like to incline my apetite for one delicacy and that is Bacon.

How much wherever you give me i never get tired with Bacon.

The egg and bacon salad is my favourite.Later in my blog posts i will come

up with my top-10 favourite dishes including Indian,Chinese,Mughlai and Continental, the major

genres i gulp down.

Here i have become a believer in heavy lunch and grand dinner.I have just stopped liking

the crossover midsized kaam chalau items like Burger and pizza. Bring on the full thing please.

Rice-Daal being old time favourites i speculate can not be taken over by anything.Home food is uncomparable.

I have tried to keep my mind and heart always open, always tried new things be it food or any other thing.

to end with i would again say keep your mind open and belly empty.Let the Gourmet have a good time.

Cheers mate

The Scottish Experience-1

2007-08-28T14:05:00.000-07:00

History kept alive in the era of modernisation.

My Scottish experience has been a rather astonishing feeling.

A couple of friends alongwith charted to the Historic Edinburugh and

the terrains of the Highlands, which turned out to be a life lasting

experience.

I have to divide my journey into three major parts.

Edinburugh- The first line of this blog post certainly was written keeping

this city in my mind.

Glasgow- They say it is one of the most interesting cities in the world, we will

come to know once i dig into the subtle nuances of this magnificent city.

The Highlands- The rich history of Scotland coupled with Beautfiul countryside of Highlands.

Its a must see thing for all countryside lovers.

Scotland home of Scoth Whisky and Golf boasts of many unique things, which i would

later explore into my later posts.

Neva say die NEVA

2007-06-12T12:11:00.000-07:00

Down but not out what I think…….what I believe in…………….

Let it come…..let the odds stack against you…come on………….

I will face every damn thing.

What are tough men meant for…….not going to be supressed by

Anything.Always I have fought……..against myself,against some one

Else….i consider myself a figther…….never let it down baby………

Tough times don’t last but tough people do…..

Life is neva been easy……neva it meant to be…………

Who said life is full of roses…..Once again the time has come

To stand up and defend, to defend self dignity…………

To prove thyself………..

Aaj phir wohi dum dekha de………………..

Aaj phir jaan pe khel le………..

Kaaton pe chal ke manzil paa le………...

Let it come baby………let it come……………………….

Director's Vision-1

2007-06-11T13:25:00.001-07:00

Films…what are they made for. Is it for mere entertainment or for some

Specific purpose which we don’t know about.

A Director's vision is a film, a definitive angle of thinking.

His views, his perspective, a cumulative perception is what a film is about.

Do the directors compromise on their films or should have they done that.

When a film becomes specific for money raising then it becomes a

Compromising element for its visionary.

Who are culpable for this, are we the one who to blame.

Its an unprecedented, unthinkable view which is not materialistic.

The society plays a major part as producers don’t want to make some

Controversial films which would ignite a rage in people, so they put

Barriers in the creative aura of the director.

If we see French films, there directors can embark on any damn idea.

Liberty is the entity which they inculcate there.

I don’t know which is right or wrong.

If in India Kissing or any intimate scenes were considered obscene, I am

Not judging whether it was morally or socially right or wrong.

Ray once said 'As kissing was not acceptable in Bengali cinema, I had to

Make the scene somehow intimate' in 'Apur Sansar'

Generally on other zones also, creativity takes a big time knock.

Money plays a part, it will.

I feel sometimes the actors, who are really mega stars here can

Plant their foot forward and look forward to do some meaningful films,

Bcoz they have nothing to lose.

We have seen very few Indian films which explores into the unknown area.

Dissection with really good movies I will continue further…………

For not lets think and rethink 'is the director constrained'?.

If he is, then what are these constraints?.........

Forgotten

2007-05-30T11:38:00.000-07:00

The forgotten sentiments, sometimes sprangs up in our memory.

An entity which sometimes pops up, again it melts down.

Movies,Songs etc have now become the flag bearers of true flag.

We see the movies, our sentiments flow,we feel the thing.

As Rang de Basanti did…The Robaroo song ignited the fire…..

The spark came but again after a fortnight same eroded thoughts.

As famous American critic 'Ambrose Bierce' said

'In Dr. Johnson's famous dictionary patriotism is defined as the last resort of a scoundrel. With all due respect to an enlightened but inferior lexicographer, I beg to submit that it is the first '

A man now does not have any time to look out for broader things, as his own mindset

Alongwith his deeds are trying to find the narrowest lane, where the lights are glistening.

It doesn’t mean everytime you have to die to show how big a partisan you are

It means doing small things, it means following certain principles.

But in the battle for survival for fittest who has the time to look at

These things.

Its easy to say ' is desh ka kuch nahin ho sakta' but how many of us Have come forward as 'DJ' did to rectify the situation.

Its easy to reproach but to take the responsibility and carve a space

For your country by yourself is gruelling.

Lets try to do a very simple thing to remember the forgotten element

Badla

2007-05-27T11:17:00.000-07:00

Runs scored…….wickets shattered……an innings win………..

Indian cricket team has won the Badla series…the revenge is being taken.

All the batsmen scored centuries……..bowlers bowled well……one more

Series victory over minnows like Bangladesh,Zimbabwe or even away win at Windies.

Where is this going?........what is the root cause? We are blaming the coach……..

Greg Chappel the perfect scapegoat…….Dravd's subdued captaincy.

I think focal culprit is the cricket board, their policies, their inablility of

Getting elegant batsmen, real fast bowlers(not like Zaheer and all)…….agile

Fielders……capable all-rounders(Karthik-give me a break)……………….

For that we have to dig inside…….under-16,under-19 cricket has to be encouraged…….

Make them to play on bouncy tracks……..arrange foreign tours…let them play

Agianst Aussie,English juniors………..expose them …let them face it…..mature them,build

Them………………

Some officials who don’t know A,B and C of cricket have been ruling the roost

In BCCI, making imperative decisions……………

The asli badla when Indian team will be able to win series,torunaments

Abroad,playing on bouncier and sporting wickets.

Otherwise the history will repeat itself nicely.

Are you thinking?

2007-05-19T16:14:00.000-07:00

Ray's nuances simplified, a contemporary story punctuated with the human idealism.

Pratidwandi or 'The Adversary' in my view is Ray's one of his best films.

A character dwindled, an idealist whose idealism wants to go away from him.

A lost childhood tranquility,innocent serenity metamorphoses into youth rage.

The movie captures the social conditions which prevailed in Calcutta now Kolkata

In 1970's, brilliantly imagined parallelism by Ray magnifies his vision.

Corruption, unemployment depicted as the major contemporary problems.

Pretty much diversed from Ray's earlier movies….where he first time plants his foot

In urban genre……….here he proves his true versatility keeping his true signature

Temparment.

What was that?

2007-05-12T13:02:00.000-07:00

it happened really......

Shaken by bomb blast or stunned by nuclear tests……life became

Dynamic and moving for a moment.

All the senses started flowing, what was that?

Saturday morning….i was drained after another exhaustive week.

Sleeping nicely…….suddenly this…..traumatized and dazed….

I was totally knocked for a six……….what was that?………

Its true…….i have never experienced this……………….

Straight lines got curved……..geometrical equations were false

What was that?……………..

Yeah…common now……….i was taken aback by seismic forces

Movement of tectonic plates caused……..means it did all the above things

Yes it was an Earthquake…….Richter scale 4.3

Epicenter not far than my place……………..

English Channel mein epicenter………..folkestone and dover got affected…..

That was that