Seasons of Calcutta

The best part of Calcutta, or Kolkata as it is now known as, is that here different seasons are distinguishable... i stayed in Bangalore for a very long period... everyone says the weather of Bangalore is pretty good... however, i found it pretty monotonous... there are just two seasons.. namely Summer and Winter... on the other hand, in Kolkata, its a different matter altogether... when after the scorching heat of summer, the sky gets covered with dark clouds, it means we are going to experience one seasonal change... when the white clouds start floating against the backdrop of the azure sky after the rainy season, it means we are going to see another season change... it means that the “Sarat kaal’ is approaching.. it means that Gariahaat will be crowded with the enthusiastic people for their puja-shopping... it means that the Bengalis are getting prepared for their puja-holidays... it means the ‘probasi” bengali will flock the railway reservation counter for the puja special trains... and after the puja season gets over, when the morning mist becomes visible in the horizon, when the vegetable market becomes over- flooded with variety of vegetables, cauliflower, cabbage, tomato, and what not, when the halogen lights on the roads are switched on as early as 5 o’clock, when the migratory birds from unknown corners of the globe start flocking in different parts of Kolkata, it means that winter is imminent... and bengalis get ready for their winter-visit to their ancestral homes...and after all the happy moments of the winter, when the holi festival is celebrated with fanfare in Kolkata, when the morning temperature gradually goes up, when the A/C buses start plying with their capacity full, when we get mango “chatni” regularly for our lunches, it tells bengalis to get ready for another onslaught of the summer heat....

Go Slow in Life...

Its very important to go slow to enjoy a happy life...

One of the famous Tagor’s songs goes like this …

“Jibono jokhon shukaye jay...
Karunadharay eso...”

It essentially means - When the life dries up, O Lord! please come to me as a balmy breeze...

fast moving life has its own drawbacks... its important to enjoy the sprouting green leaves after winter... its important to enjoy the dark cloud as seen through the small window of the 10X10 room... its important to enjoy soothing music....its important to enjoy the smell of raindrops falling on parched soil... its important to enjoy watching kids making castles on the sands... its important to enjoy walking bare-foot on the moist green grass... its important to enjoy looking at the starry sky from the roof-top in a blacked-out night...

Happiness

Ekti sishir bindu (the glistening dewdrop)
বহু দিন ধ’রে বহু ক্রোশ দূরে
বহু ব্যয় করি বহু দেশ ঘুরে
দেখিতে গিয়েছি পর্বতমালা,
দেখিতে গিয়েছি সিন্ধু।
দেখা হয় নাই চক্ষু মেলিয়া
ঘর হতে শুধু দুই পা ফেলিয়া
একটি ধানের শিষের উপরে
একটি শিশিরবিন্দু।
– রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর (স্ফুলিঙ্গ হতে সংগ্রহীত)


“Bohu din dhore, bohu krosh dure,
bohu byay kori, bohu desh ghure,
Dekhite giyachhi parbotmala, dekhite giyachhi sindhu,
Dekha hoy nai chokkhu meliya,
Ghar hote shudhu dui pa feliya,
Ekti dhaner shisher upore ekti shishir bindu”


English Translation : (taken from the Internet)

I traveled miles, for many a year,
Spent riches, in lands afar,
I’ve gone to see the mountains, the oceans I’ve been to view.
But I haven’t seen with these eyes
What two steps from my home lie
On a sheaf of paddy grain, a glistening drop of dew.
– Rabindranath Thakur (Collected from Sphulinga)

Everybody wants to be happy. We work, we play, we talk keeping only one thing in our minds - we want to see ourselves and others around us happy. But do we really know the definition of happiness? Happiness has different meanings to different people. Thus a student becomes happy when he performs well in the study, a player becomes happy when he plays well, a scientist becomes happy when he does something worthwhile in his path to discovery. In other words, we become happy when we become successful in our endeavors. But to strive for success we need to understand that we should not neglect the small moments of joy. Hence by fixing our eyes at the targets while traveling through the bumpy rides of our lives, we must not overlook the small moments of happiness. It reminds me of a few lines from a poem of Rabindranath Tagore of India:

“Dekhi nay sudhu du chokh meliya, Ghar hote aaji duy pa pheliya, Ekti ghaser shisher upor.. ekti shishir bindu......”
This essentially means that while searching for some eventful big happy moments, we sometimes forget to enjoy the small moments of happiness.

These days I have changed my outlook towards life and have started enjoying the small so-called insignificant beauties of life like children playing in the school ground, a little boy trying to learn how to ride his bicycle, the flowers covering the small tree in front of my balcony, birds chirping in the bush, white clouds floating against the backdrop of an azure sky, a sip of the hot coffee at the cozy corner of my home.

This is what life is.

At the end of life, how much you love others and how much you have been loved by others - that only matters.

Yes...

This is #TRUTH

Enjoy the song - life is like a river - the flow must not be stopped - or else life becomes death...

It reminds me of one story from Mahabharata, the great epic from India. My grandfather used to tell me about this story too often. It says that one-day Yamraj, the God of Death, asked Yudhisthir, the eldest brother of the Pandava and one of the sanest persons in Mahabharata, Who is the Happiest Person in this World. Yudhisthir replied that the person who does not stay in a foreign land, who does not owe anything to anybody, and who is contented in life with bare minimum necessities is the Happiest person in this world.

To become really happy one has to embrace a slow life. Fast-moving life has its own drawbacks. It's important to enjoy the sprouting green leaves after winter, to enjoy the dark cloud as seen through the small window of our bedroom, to enjoy soothing music, to enjoy the smell of raindrops falling on parched soil, to enjoy watching kids making castles on the sands, to enjoy walking bare-foot on the moist green grass, to enjoy looking at the starry sky from the roof-top in a blacked-out night.

“Aaj mile hai jo khushi, kal pe na usko talo... Titli hai yeh ud jayegi, jitney bhi pehere dalo......

Added: For your reference...

Conversation between Yudhisthir and Dharmaraj
(as described in Mahabharata. because of the internet, I can get the originality.)

Question No. 1:Yaksha questioned: Who makes the sun rise and ascend in the skies? Who moves around the Sun? Who makes the sunset in the horizons? What is the true nature of the Sun and where is the sun established?

Yudhisthira answered: Brahma makes the sunrise and ascends. The Gods perambulate about the Sun. The Dharm
sets the Sun. Truth is the actual Sun and the Sun is established in truth only.

Question No. 2: Yaksha enquired: What instills 'divinity' in Brahmins?
What is the quality of virtuosity in a Brahmin? What is the humanlike quality of a Brahmin? What is the conduct akin to a non-virtuous person in a Brahmin?

Yudhisthira replied: The self-study (Swadhyana) of the Vedas is divinity in a Brahmin. Penance is the quality of a virtuous person in a Brahmin. Death is human-like quality in a Brahmin. Criticising others is conducted in a Brahmin like a non-virtuous person.

Question No. 3: Yaksha asked: What instills 'divinity' in Kshatriyas? What is the quality of virtuosity in a Kshatriya? What is the humanlike quality of a Kshatriya? What is the conduct akin to a non-virtuous person in a Kshatriya?

Yudhisthira replied: The art of archery is the divinity in a Kshatriya. Oblation is Kshatriya's quality of virtuosity in Kshatriya. Fear is his humanly quality. Abandoning people under the protection of the Kshatriya is conducted like a non-virtuous person in the Kshatriya.

Question No. 4 the Yaksha asked: What is that thing which is like a Mantra in the performance of oblations (Yajnya)? Who is the performer of rites and ceremonies during Yajnya? Who accepts the offerings and oblations of a Yajnya? What is that which even a Yajnya can not transgress?

Yudhisthira replied: 'Breath' is like a Mantra in the performance of rites. 'Mind' is the performer of all rites in the course of Yajnya. Only Shlokas of the Vedas termed rucha or the richa accept oblation. The Yajnya can not surpass nor transgress the richas.

Question No. 5 the Yaksha asked: What is heavier than the earth, higher than heavens, faster than the wind, and more numerous than straws?

Yudhishthira: One's mother is heavier than the earth; one's father is higher than the mountains. The mind is faster than the wind and our worries are more numerous than straws.

Question No. 6 the Yaksha asked: Who is the friend of a traveler? Who is the friend of one who is ill and one who is dying?

Yudhishthira: The friend of a traveler is his companion. The physician is the friend of one who is sick and a dying man's friend is charity.

Question No. 7 the Yaksha asked: What is that which, when renounced, makes one lovable? What is that which is renounced makes happy and wealthy?

Yudhishthira: Pride, if renounced makes one lovable; by renouncing desire one becomes wealthy, and to renounce avarice is to obtain happiness.

Question No. 8 the Yaksha asked: What enemy is invincible? What constitutes an incurable disease? What sort of man is noble and what sort is ignoble?

Yudhishthira: Anger is the invincible enemy. Covetousness constitutes a disease that is incurable. He is noble who desires the well-being of all creatures, and he is ignoble who is without mercy.
Question No. 9 the Yaksha asked: Who is truly happy? What is the greatest wonder? What is the path? And what is the news?

Yudhishthira: He who has no debts is truly happy. Day after day countless people die. Yet the living wishes to live forever. O Lord, what can be a greater wonder? Argument leads to no certain conclusion, the Srutis are different from one another; there is not even one Rishi whose opinion can be accepted by all; the truth about Dharma and duty is hid in caves of our heart: therefore, that alone is the path along which the great have trod. This world full of ignorance is like a pan. The sun is fire, the days and nights are fuel. The months and the seasons constitute the wooden ladle. Time is the cook that is cooking all creatures in that pan (with such aids); this is the news

Yudhistira could answer all the many many questions of the Yaksha, but all through he had this doubt regarding the real nature of the Yaksha. He had also raised the question in this regard, but he wasn't replied to. However, in the end, the Yaksha revealed himself to be Yama-Dharma, the god of death, who was none other than Yudhistira's father. He also admitted to Yudhistira that it was he who had stolen the ARANI in form of the deer. He blessed him, saying since he had adhered to Dharma(the righteousness), the Dharma shall protect them. Nobody will recognize them during the Ajanta Vasa.

My feelings while invigilating....

I understand this is a difficult topic... However, while invigilating, i had a strange feeling... the urge not to copy from others or not to do any malpractice at the exam center should come from within the student community... the student community must understand that the exam is not the end of life, but the attitude they show during exam will be their lifelong assets... one may get good marks in the exam by foul means, he may prosper in his future life as well by corrupt means... but this is possible only in the corrupt environment of India... he will never be accepted by the global engineering workforce...

in this context i would like to mention that i was utterly shocked when i heard the news that few judges have been expelled from the exam because of malpractice during exam... what else can we expect from the student community when the judges are setting this example? it is as if everyone is competing to win the race... nobody is happy by participating in the exam that is called life...

i would like to end this write up with my favorite quotation...

"To win is no more than this...
To rise each time you fall..."

Owning an address

Whenever I used to receive a request from any office or any government agency to submit my communication address, I used to wonder “Will I be here next month?” The answer was uncertain... So far my permanent address in a city was probably the email address... however the situation is changed now... I have got a permanent physical address of my own in Kolkata... its really very very assuring... as I see the final paint or the interior decoration is coming to an end, it gives a pleasure unexplainable in words...as I watch my wife actively taking part in the discussion with the carpenter or the painter about several issues, when I see her dancing in ecstasy in front of the newly built cupboard, I feel that every woman in this world should get a home of her own... I think for a woman it really does not matter if the home is a mansion or a hut, what matters the most for her is whether that home is her own or not... it reminds me of an old Bengali song in which the poet is asking the cuckoo how it feels not having a nest of her own...

the best part of my new home is that it reminds me of my own childhood days... its not in a very posh locality... in fact the people around are those type of people who constitute most of the Indian population... however, they are friendly unlike a very cosmopolitan culture... and when they start chanting together “Bhole baba... paar karega...”...whenever I visit the small roadside temple of God Sani...or when i hear the sound of conch in the evening... its just my childhood days revisited...

Now I understand what is meant by

“Dekhi nay sudhu du chokh meliya...

Ghar hote aaji duy paa feliya...

Ekti ghasher shisher upor ekti shishir bindu...”

When the pattering sound of raindrops falling on the leaves of the coconut tree enters my ears, when i smell the fragrance of the raindrops falling on the parched soil, when I look through the windows of my kitchen at the far away outside advertisement hoarding through the raindrops, when the wet breeze with cold rain water drenches me and the window curtains... I feel like I am on cloud 9. one does not need a mansion to feel this, however one has to have his own hut for this feeling... and i thank God for whatever he has given to me...

Life from a different perspective

"Sir, I have started at 5 o'clock in the morning. cycled almost two hours with the stock of guava to come to this market place, and will cycle another two hours to my home at the end of the day..." this is how the wretched-looking guava vendor started the conversation... and suddenly i felt how privileged i am... of course i have my own set of problems, but not like the guava vendor who starts his day as early as 4 o'clock for a paltry sum... and moreover guava is a seasonal fruit... so he becomes a mason when the guava season is over...

as i watch my dad sweating in the small low-asbestos-roof shop at around 46-47 degree Celsius of Purulia summer, i feel so much privileged... i feel the power of education which has given me a much smoother lifestyle than my dad's... when i see people are looking at my technical blog from around the globe, i feel so much privileged that i have got a laptop fixed with a broadband connection... when i write software codes at a cozy corner and use my touchscreen mobile phone, i feel myself so much privileged because it reminds me my dad's nervousness with new technologies...

The statement "When you are down... look downwards..." has a great meaning for me... when i think of our Habsi of the small village Gangara near Purulia i feel so good... Habsi was once a daily porter and a farmer of our paddy fields... and now his children are graduates, well established in the village... thats the power of education...

i am interested in spreading the technical education among the not-so-well-to-do bright students... probably my future association with an academic institution will help me in achieving this goal... i wholeheartedly want to do that because i don't want people to suffer the ignominy like me because they don't know...

The life that is called Kolkata...

It was a smoggy winter morning... The feeble sunshine was trying to warm my bedroom...The chirps of the morning birds started entering into my ears... From under the quilt I searched for the mobile phone and switched on one of the Bengali FM radio channels...The Kolkata special winter morning just started...

At around half past 6 o'clock, when the morning mist was just fading away, we sat down with cups of hot tea...We started playing the Gayatri Mantra...We looked out of the window... The momentum of the nearby roadside market was just getting started...The chit-chat of the school going children were gradually becoming audible...

We got ready to visit the roadside vegetable market...We took a drab carry bag that is popularly called the “Bazarer Thole” in Bengali...

Once we reached the vegetable market, it was a total pandemonium...The shop owners were furiously trying to draw the attention of the customers with their loud, not-so-soothing voice...However, its a very common scene at any market place of Kolkata...And I think it shows the energy level of a thriving market place...If one becomes timid, it would be difficult for him to do the marketing at these market places...

While returning from the Bazar, we picked up few newspapers from a roadside vendor... Here I would like to share one aspect of this city... Here reading newspapers and getting involved in the discussions about almost all of the news at the roadside adda is considered one of the most favourite pass-times... Although people of Calcutta are changing and getting accustomed to the mad office time rushes, but the very basic nature of adda of Kolkatabasi is one of the finest attractions for aam-aadmi as well as intellectuals...I have travelled to Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad...Its difficult to get newspaper from roadside stalls at these places...But the roadside adda with a cup of tea and a news paper is something unique for Kolkata...

People of Kolkata are a bit laid-back...They don't race against time...A good afternoon nap is not quite uncommon for the people of Kolkata...However, Kolakatabasi are changing and adapting to the new “time is money” culture...

Let me end this discussion with the views of a guy who is seeing the changing face of Kolkata after a long time...With the mad rushes of Digital and Mobile technologies, with our blind one-sided view towards the definition of development, with the high adrenaline of the market economy, with the sprawling hi-tech shopping malls, with the centrally air-conditioned call-centers and BPO offices, with college street loosing its significance in the wake of digital library, with the adda at the old kolkata coffee house giving its way to the discussion over a cup of coffee at the brand-conscious modern air-conditioned coffee shop, will Kolkata leave behind its old-styled definition as the cultural hub of the country...Only time can answer....