North Kolkata Calling !!

I was always curious about pianos. Mr Ludwig was our music teacher and he was the main person responsible for my love in this particular instrument. I could still remember his reddish face with big eyes. His lips - always holding a pipe or a cigarette.   Later (being business minded) the idea somehow came to me that I should try my hand in pianos-I mean to manufacture and market it.    But my hope soon started fading as I was about to know about the manufacturing of the said musical instrument ! Little did I knew that there was a lot of confusion awaiting me. Little by little I came to know that pianos were not manufactured in India by that time. I heard a lot of stories about men who tried but failed. My 10 years old daughter Surela used to take her  piano lessons from a local teacher named Samar Dutta. He was attached with the renowned Calcutta School Of Music where Roshan Chowana was the principal. Mr Dutta used to organize ...

Often night guards in Dooars tea garden face life threatening situations. Recently such an incident happened when three guards were watering tea bushes. They finished the job around midnight and decided to rest on the tent pitched at one end of the tea estate. There was a gorge nearby through which a stream passed. Two of the guards were asleep while the third was still awake. Suddenly Jivan (the 3rd guard) heard the sound of twigs and branches being broken by an approaching elephant herd. He quickly alerted the others and soon realized that they were in between the herd and the deep gorge. At first thought they decided to dodge the elephants but later found it to be too risky. There was every chance that they might be flung aside and trampled upon by the herd. Luckily they had a long rope in the tent which they tied to a bunch of bamboos. The three of them-one after the other-held the rope (their only hope) and dangled as quietly as possible. T...

Probably yes !

From our very childhood days we have been listening to various historical facts about our forefathers. Among them Ramdoolal  Dey (Deb) was perhaps the most notable personality of his time.  He was supposed to build up trade relation with America shortly after it gained independence from the British.  I would, however, like to relate one incident around the year  1821. Ramdoolal was in his 69th year when paralysis overtook him while he was writing. He fully lost control over himself and lay prostrate upon the ground.  Intimation about his condition reached to Messrs. Clark and  Melville the partners of Fairlie & Fergusson & Co. who reached by his bedside with Dr. Nicholson. The doctor took out a phial from his pocket and allowed a drop to fall on the neck of  Ramdoolal. A blister formed and immediately burst. The magical drop helped the patient to sit bolt upright. Thus he regained his v...

Someone told me that there was a time when we ran after music while at present music seems to run after us. Well-it gave me food for thought.  I was really in a fix since it made me loose my precious sleep.  For some moments I reflected   upon  the matter. Yes I agree what is mentioned as ' Golden era of music' but somehow disagree too about the notion that the present era is aiming towards nothingness. With due regards to artists like Md.Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhonsle, Manna De,Kishore Kumar to our Bengal artists Hemanta Mukherjee, Sandhya Mukherjee, Shyamal Mitra etc. - I would still like to claim the supremacy of Music -even more-during the present era. At times it stunns me to see very little girls and boys performing at levels unthinkable during the said era. Reality Shows in TV, easy access to YouTube etc has given us the freedom to listen to any kind of music anywhere,anytime. It was not always possible during...

'They flash upon that inward eye   Which is the bliss of solitude'                       -William Wordsworth. I thought and thought about today's morning. It was just a  morning like any other mornings. Yet there was something else-something different from all the mornings that I have been witnessing  during my 72 years life. Why was it different thought I.. Yesterday night I couldn't sleep well , neither could my wife. We rose early, discussed about our restlessness and decided to go for a morning walk together. It was after quite sometime  that we went for such a stroll. It would help us to get rid of our  uneasiness, we thought. We went to the nearest river side and watched a fisherman throwing his huge net while a steamer passed by . After loitering there for an hour we decided to return. My wife went to the kitchen to prepare the breakfast while I stood at my b...

She lost it ! Yes my wife lost her mobile-a part and parcel of her life-that is. The revelation came when I was busy watching my favorite show in the TV. I was so absorbed that I failed to notice my wife's  concern for few moments. Of course she often missed things and  hence I was accustomed to it and -sorry to admit-I kept mymyself glued to my TV show. But reality soon awakened me when I came to know about the loss. Finally her concern became mine too and immediately I started enquiring where she last used it, where she went next etc etc. In the meanwhile I started tracing it through my phone. I could hear the mobile ringing away happily -in fact very happily -without anyone bothering to pick it up or respond. Was it in the shop she visited last ? We both -I mean Mr & Mrs Felu Mitter tried our best to locate it through our Feluda instinct. Mrs.Felu Mitter decided to visit the shop and find it out. If she fails the only thing to ...

                                             Organized by Saibal/Mausam Deb. Sohini Sinha Majumder-Kheyal & Thumri. Arindam Chakraborty-Tabla. Ramprappana Bhattachary-Sitar. Arindam Chakraborty-Tabla.

I thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to go  through the book 'Beg Your Pardon' written by you in Marathi and later translated into English by Mrs.Jayashree Naidu and Capt.Dr.ACapt.Dr.Anil Deoghare.      Let me thank you again Mr.Anant Joshi for doing what an  honest man (especially as a writer) should do to expose the the ongoing corruption in coalmines.I appreciate your endeavor to bring forth the arrangements, which has become a system in itself, between officials and contractors. I just want to add that this unwritten system has spread not only in coal mines but in every sphere of activities prevailing in our lives -as we are all aware.    I am sure you have related your experience through grass root level - I mean knowledge directly gathered by working among such characters.     There is a silver lining though when we find character like Murlidhar too among these people ! They ...

A first time flyer has shaken every passengers in the mid air ! It happened in the Delhi-Patna GoAir flight . The man tried to open the aircraft's rear door mistaking it to be the lavatory gate.  Of course he was unable to do so due to the existing cabin  pressure. In the meanwhile a co-passanger gave the alarm and alerted the crew who quickly intercepted. 150 passengers felt relieved when the plane landed safely. However the Airport police station later confirmed that the man was indeed a first time flyer and had no clue that it was the rear gate.

It all began on a Sunday morning.  I was staying in Hyderabad with my son's family and my wife - who went to Kolkata for few days- was to return. Ria- a close associate of my son & daughter in law -was to accompany her on the flight. My son was abroad and Arnab (Ria's husband ) was the sole person responsible to receive and bring them back from the airport. It was 45 minutes to an hour journey from our place. My son's flat was on the 9th floor while Arnab stayed on the 14th. We went to bed with the expectation of a good day ahead. All was going well until Archi ( my son's wfe) made a phone call to Arnab -well -just to find out if 'all was ok'. The phone went on ringing. After few moments Archi put in few more calls but all went unanswered. Finally she decided to go to his flat and find out whether he was still there. The plane was to land around 2pm and the time was ripe. Within few moments she came back with the news that Ar...

It all began when my sister requested me to write out a story in bengali. She repeatedly told me to make it short as the publisher (whom she knew) wanted it to be so.  Although I told her I was out of practice yet she insisted.  So finally I decided to give it a try. After a lot of hesitation I prepared myself to go for it.  I wrote out few sentences and it provoked me to write on and on. I was perhaps carried away till I suddenly found  out that I was writing an 'Uppanyas'(Novel). I informed my sister about this development and was shocked to learn that the publisher wanted only a short ' Romyorochono'.   She however tried to encourage me to complete it and look for some other big publishers like Anandabazar, Bartaman etc. What a predicament ! However by this time I was sufficiently stirred and there was no stopping. Hence I decided to go for both Romyorochona and Uppanyas. And here I am sweating i...

I am about to write about a dream that I dreamt today-that too in my afternoon sleep. Wonder how food affects our thought that finally somehow turns into dreams. Well probably there were other factors included that  helped to manipulate my feelings and hence such day dreaming! Now comes the hardest part, I mean, to express my dream in words and sentences. I will however give it a try.    Sorry for creating an environment of over expectations but the fact remains that it was a wee and scattered dream -as usually dreams are.    I found myself among students- both boys and girls- of probably some local school wearing white dresses with red ties. They were absorbed in a running kind of game. It was a medium sized park and I was sitting on a bench quite far away from them. Suddenly one of them came running towards me. She was trying to express her feelings- probably complaining about something. I tried harder and harder to understand ...

After an uncomfortable night I finally fell asleep. At dawn (probably) I dreamt a wonderful dream ! Or was it a kind of hallucination ? There should be another language to explain such situations only. It is useless trying to describe it elaborately ......!! In short it was all about fairies with magic wands surrounding me (as a little boy) and together singing Happy Birthday -Happy Birthday !! One wee little fairy especially took my attention all through !! Unfortunately my birthday is no way near !                             At the dead of the night a sweet vision I saw,                         And thrice o'er the morning I dreamt it again ...                                                        ...

The trend cannot be ignored. Going through various  magazines & newspapers it seems very true. Students nowadays are getting more attracted towards foreign education and this could be seen in various fields.  Wonder if the Indian Education System is lacking or lagging behind! But as far as my knowledge goes our system seems quite ok but needs a bit of discipline -I repeat -a bit of discipline !!

Wonder when was the last time I thought of writing a short  story. Probably a long time back -when idea of writing out something that stirred my inner self -often possessed me to such an extent that I was compelled to surrender. But those days have past and -now-writing out even few lines seems to tax my brain to no end. Under the present circumstances I am seriously requested by someone-who is very dear to me-to once again pick up my lost pen and get going  ! What should I do ?

Programs                                              Sanyasis dancing with fire at Chatu Babu's Bari !                       Sanysis feasting at Chatu Babu Latu Babu's Thakurbari  after a month long fasting ! This could not have continued without the support of Deb family members,Thakurbari staffs & of course Chatu Babu Bazar Samity & local persons. 

Few days back I was travelling in an app cab . There were only three passengers includimg me.I took the back seat along with a married lady around 38/40 years of age.Soon we picked up a conversation and I came to know that she was a housewife.As we plunged deeper she declared that she was childless though married for 20 years. On further enquiry I came to  know that her husband runs a manufacturing unit in Varanasi.Since I was in business - left after heart problem - I naturally enquired about their product. To my great exitment she revealed the products as noodles, chowmein,pasta etc. She even showed a video of their automatic machine producing such items on  her smart phone. Now it was my turn to exite her with my revelation -having done pioneering  jobs in such machineries. In fact some local people still says 'There goes the  Chowmein man' whenever they see me! She immediately asked for my phone  mumber.I ...

We usually used to go to bangalore every year to our son.  It was in such a visit -we found our son and daughter-in -law pretty busy with music rehearsal. There were other young guys  too and they looked quite serious.My wife ,of course, got busy cooking some tasty snacks for them.On enquiring we were informed that they would be participating at  BoiTHEK by Ananda Publisher and hence the rehearsal. Finally they participated , enjoyed and came back with 1424 Sharodia Anandabazar Patrika.  It was from that Patrika that I came along Tara Bhora Akasher  Niche by Srijato. Today I finished it and found it quite abstract and interesting . A sort of dreaming experience- I should say !! .   

One seldom come across news of book lifting from Book Fairs. Hence when such news appear in Newspapers one couldn't help being curious or even amused. The first thought that comes to mind is about the prosecution. In the said case a 45 years old government engineer and a 22 years old college student were arrested for stealing bag- full of books from Calcutta Book Fair.  The final outcome ? The engineer was taken to few stalls (from where the books were stolen) where he was forced to pay.  The rest were deposited in the Guild office. The boy however called his uncle who paid for the books.  Both were set free after stern warning by the police! 

I could still .recollect those velvety paws and innocent eyes. They were  our pets when we were 10/12 years of age.We had a "Chiriawalla" named Gani who frequently visited our house to supply various rare birds.Yes my father was a bird lover & collector and he constructed a big cage-as big as a hallroom-on the terrace which we called "Pakhi  Ghor". It so happened- we knew later -that Gani was aware of our father's wish to present us tiger cubs.He finally arrived with a bundle from  where two cute puppy like cubs peeped out. The deal was done and a big wooden cage with iron grills soon arrived. Bhortu, our head servant was given sole responsibility for their up keeping. Within a month the cubs became restless and their mews turned into snarls. Our father decided to free them from morning till evening from their cage. Then began a season of running jumping- even scaring and scratching with snarls. Every evening...

Wonder someone is doing exactly that- who is doing it ?

Wonder and wonder !!

Yes probable we are !