North Kolkata Calling !!

Wherever the Queen Bee goes she is immediately followed by the males.  This time the Queen decided to board an Airplane maybe for a flight from Kolkata to Delhi! She was followed by her followers and a part of the Plane's body was soon occupied by them. The light coloured plane turned into patches of black. Usually with the arrival of winter their activity seems to grow. Hence next day , being a Monday, the same activity was seen in another plane. All efforts by spraying pesticides proved useless. Finally the Airport's Firebrigad was put into action which solved the problem.    The Authorities are trying to find out the source from where  these bees  may be coming from !

Have anyone heard about Firebrigad trying their luck to bring down a kitten from a large mangoe tree ? Yes it certainly happened on Sunday when local people of Barrackpore were compelled to call the 'Domkol' to to rescue a kitten which went up the tree. It stayed there for three nights and gave no peace to the surrounding area. It meowed continuously and sort it's mother ! The mother gave birth to three  but  two of them were destroyed by a male. The third however escaped death and took shelter on the mangoe tree.  A man named Subroto Dasgupta tried to serve milk but it crouched further up the tree. When Subroto came down helplessly the kitten too came down a few branches lower and lapped up the milk. The firemen repeatedly tried to reach the kitten but failed. The higher they reached - the higher the pussy climbed. Finally they took the help of two stairs and reached the top.        Now finding no upper space the kitten came down and jumped upon a wal...

It happens that some thoughts suddenly creep up for no reason at all. It maybe some incident that happened several years ago . It can also be some mishap that came your way - without any warning- which upsets you and give you no rest - until it's resolved.  I would like to relate such an incident that occurred long time back. I was around 10 years of age and very fond of my brother who was a year or two elder. The bond between us was so strong that it was quite impossible for us to stay away from each other even for few minutes. It was around 1955 /1956 when we went to Galudih ( now in  Jharkhand) to spend a month. Our exams were over and hence our father decided to send the family there.  Just before the Cottage House -  where we stayed-there was a hillock which we used to call Nekre Pahar. We two brothers often  went  up to the top to get a clear view of the surroundings. We specially liked to see a pond just beside the hillock.  Once we saw a big ro...

From my very childhood I have been obsessed by  various ideas. Some were fantastic while others were - well a kind of time passing. I have often shared some with my friends who simply laughed and maybe thought I was silly. The more I tried to to explain the more they.....! Finally I stopped as I believed that I was trying an impossibility. Later from this obsession I ventured to build a  Piano which were still imported. In this respect I met with various people. One among them was the Bengali film actress Madhabi Mukherjee's mother Leela Devi. She used to give lessons in music-I mean in Piano. She told me a very strange story about the making of Pianos in India. It must be a moonless night - it should also be a rainy night-there should be a human skull - the hollow eyes of the skull should be full with rain water-the place should be a burning ghat-a snake should  chase a frog-the frog should jump into the hollow eye of the skull and try to hide-the snake should find it an...

We are indeed fed  up with negative news ! News that depress us and shows us the path towards destruction. Shouldn't we wake up to this ? The world,in fact, is not so bad as we think - there is yet happiness- if we only have the heart to look forward. Hence let us look towards new thoughts and believe that we are and we could be happy in our present circumstances too !

The Police along with Chrime Branch and Forest Officers recovered 12Kgs of monkey meat. It was near Sonapur  Gauhati. Apart from that they also recovered 5 monkey  heads, 2 rifles and 11 bullets. They arrested 2 shikaris (poachers) who were responsible for such a chrime. They came down from Garo hills and built their hut over  paddy field to carry out such poaching!         One wonders where they supply the meat and who their customers are ! Though Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland's jungle areas are believed to be carrying on with such habits.

  His name is Joshua Hutagalung and he is a citizen of  Indonesia Sumatra. The 33 years old Joshua was standing casually on the rooftop of the building where he lived. It was night and so he decided to watch the sky & stars. Soon he was distracted to see sparkling light rushing towards him. Before he could react he heard a heavy sound just before him. However he soon brought his senses back and found that a big meteor has fallen before him!           Later the weight of the meteor was found to be 2.1Kg. He collected further information and thereby knew it to be Carb- onaceous Chondrite. It was around 450 crore years old!     The price he got was simply fantastic. Ten lakh pounds which in Indian currency comes to around 9 Crore 80 lakhs !  

  Our discussion encircled around Calcutta's fast food.  From there it turned to Old Calcutta's renowned shops & restaurants and their specialities.   Being a Calcuttan by birth I took pride in naming few restaurants which were renowned for their  specialities. Mughlai Paratha was our target and I quickly took the names of few Old Calcutta restaurants which were famous for such items.  My wife with whom I was discussing was from Murshidabad  and looked upon me to guide her in this respect. I named few  (Anadi Cabin, Oriental Restaurant, Mitra Cafe etc) and claimed them to be the best.   Oriental Restaurant beside Oriental Seminary (Tagore's school) being the nearest I decided to give it a try.  I looked up at the net and found their timings. I took an auto to reach there but found the shop just opening. Unfortunately they were not ready and requested me to come back in the evening.  My wife already took the required holiday...

A superfast train too have its limitation. Sometime it so happens that those  limitations are kept in abeyance for emergency purpose. Here is such a case of emergency :      To save a three year old baby from an absconding kidnapper a superfast  train was compelled to run for 240Km. It had to skip several stations since it was a non-stop run.      On receiving a complaint from a lady at Lalitpur Station (UP) the RPF  immediately swung into  action. The mother of a three year old girl was  completely devasted at the loss of her daughter. Someone snatched the  kid and jumped into the running train! On the CCTV camera the RPF  found  a man with the girl boarding the Rapti Sagar Superfast Express. They immediately contacted the Control Room at Jhansi and informed them to stop the train at Bhopal Junction, by-passing the intermediary  stations. Finally the culprit was intercepted there. Later it was known that the...

Who have not heard of Aladdin's lamp and the genei ?  In this century it is impossible to believe that such a lamp could exist. Yet an educated gentleman (a doctor) was somehow convinced and thereby cheated.  In 2018 the doctor operated a lady named Samina. He used to visit the lady for dressing and there he came in touch with Islamuddin. He introduced himself as a tantrik and convinced the doctor that he could make him a very very wealthy man. He along with another man named Anish showed a lamp which they claimed to be a magic' lamp. They even twice showed the doctor how the genei appeared in a semi dark room ! Unbelievably the doctor fell in their trap and paid 2.5Crore for the lamp. Later nothing came out from the so called magic' lamp !!

Last finishing touches.                                          Alpona by the ladies of the house on Panchami.                                                      

Most of us have perhaps read Foyodor Drostoivosky's 'Crime and Punishment' where a mercy killing was involved. The intention of the killer was a philanthropic one . Finally the Law took its usual course and the killer was sent to gallows.        Takahiro shiraishi of Japan was involved in a similar crime. A 23year old young lady expressed her wish in Twitter to commit suicide. Henceforth she was untraceable.        The police enquiry uncovered 9 dead bodies in her house along with 240 bones in cooler.         Takahiro used to connect through various websites and find out those with suicidical motives. In his Twitter Account he expressed his  wish to help those who suffered from such tendencies. In fact he was responsible for all the bodies! (From a Newspaper repor)

We used to call him Gopalda. In fact he was universally known by that name. He was our local Dada and a much sorted man as far as bargaining was concerned. We were then mostly in our teens and our requirements encompassed around our age. It maybe a badminton /  cricket bat or a football but Gopalda was the very first name that came to our mind.     I  could still remember his method of bargaining since I had the good fortune to accompany him on his errand. I was eager to buy a Gramaphone and requested him to do the bargaining for me. As always he readily agreed and thus we started towards Mullick Bazar , better known as Chor Bazar. We somehow believed that stolen goods were sold there and hence the resale price would be quite suitable for our pockets.   When nearing the shop Gopalda changed his facial language drastically. It looked as if he was uninterested in whatever he saw before him. In a callous and indifferent manner he would ask the price of the com...

Vinod Seth, a criminal minded thug, regularly cheated online banking customers. The Manager of a bank found large transactions being held in a particular account. All such transactions were held online. He became suspicious and reported the incident to the police. The Regent Park Thana police raided Vinod's residence.  Immediately Vinod put up his hands and kept shouting " I have Corona....I am a Corona patient.. .... please maintain distance and don't come near me," The police team was taken aback but maintained their stand.  For few minutes they discussed among themselves. Finally they decided to proceed and arrest him. Later they found that Vinod indeed had Corona in the past and was quite fit at present !

They are simply exceptional. Yes l am talking about the mothers. Here l would like to relate about a mother who at the age around 64 yrs still dreams of her children as little kids. Few days back the mother seemed to be in a very good mood from the early morning. When asked she finally revealed her secret. She dreamt of her daughter who lives  in aboard with her cute little daughter & husband, In her dream  she found her daughter as she was in her 2 years age- just learning to speak the jargon speech. They were in a far away mountain or valley with flowers blooming spontaneously all around. Both were delighted to their heart's content.The daughter repeatedly hugged her mother and said 'I love you...I love you.. l love you very much Ma.....!! But suddenly the little voice in her "Dreaming ears melted away !" She tried to grab the dream again and again but.....,?? Throughout the day she was in a trance trying.. trying.. trying to bring back the dream. The most preci...

It's a very small incident. In fact it isn't worth mentioning. Yet it left a  mark on me- which finally I would like to express through my writing. Yesterday morning I went out to buy few daily requirements. While I was crossing a rickshaw a man aged around 35/36 years suddenly intercepted me. He stood right before me and said " I could judge you by your very looks !" I looked at the man who was more or less well dressed and seemed quite normal. He said again with conviction" You are a No1 man." What he meant was that I was a pure and sincere man. I smiled a bit and tried to cross him. This time he hold my hand lightly ( without worrying about the present untouchability Corona rule ) and repeated the same sentence. My very first impression was that he would ask for help or money. I smiled and moved towards a shop. At home I reflected upon the incident. Probably the man was really in  trouble. Perhaps he needed money urgently. When I related it to my brother...

He got married on 2nd June 2020 in Mosat. That very night the Newly Wed couple returned to their home in Konar. Their Bridal feast was to be held on 4th June. The groom who was the Dassnagar Thana Civic Volunteer -  in the meanwhile - was tested for Covid 19 on 29th May. Unfortunately the test proved positive on 3rd June- the day before the Feast (Boubhat). The ceremony was cancelled and the bride went back to her father's. She kept contact with her husband over the phone. Fortunately the groom recovered after 14 days in hospital under Dr. Subhashis Mitra.

Have you ever seen a puppy in distress ? The answer will probably be  in the affirmative. How many of us have dared to save a little one and give it the necessary requirements? Just to give it a chance to survive and lead a descent life ? This time the answer will be a hesitant negative. The eldest among the three sisters, however, never hesitated. When she knew that the puppy would not stop following her - she immediately decided to adopt it.  The puppy looked  around its new home  but nervousness seemed to overrule its satisfaction. It was afraid and suspicious of its new found owners. Finally ... finally and finally she gained her confidence and things turned topsy turvy. I mean previously she was nervous But now she (at the drop of a hat) is making the house so. Her name is Ting and probably this is their way of protecting the house !

Corona ! The very word is like a curse- from morning till night hanging over our head. There is no peace and the very humanity seems to be doomed. Feeling of sweetness and well beings are slowly but steadily vanishing from our lives. Even Music and all other forms of Art- that used to provide us the required inner strength seems to have lost their charms. In such a situation leaving all gloominess behind :                            At once a voice arose among                            The bleak twigs over head                                                 In a full- hearted evensong                             Of joy illimited...

The Legendary Singer Asha Bhonsle finally opened her Account in YouTube. In a report she laments that she had been too late to open the said A/c though she had been thinking about it for a long while. In one of my blogs I have written about her loneliness.    Now let's hope she would fulfill hers as well as our desire to hear from such a yesteryear Legend ! Speak up Ashaji ....we are all ears !

Suppose you along with your family are sleeping peacefully. At the dead of the night you hear a loud sound and find a part of your  overhead roof come crushing down. The roof  along with debris, surprisingly, brings a deer which sits comfortably beside your gas oven. This happened in Poai ( Maharashtra). Finally the Forest Ranger Santosh Kank rescued the deer. According to him perhaps a hungry  tiger was chasing the deer and hence the accident.

In Memari's No 7 Ward a young man got affected by the Corona Virus. 75 families of the surrounding area has been restricted. Burdwan's Subhaspalli has become a restricted area. Civic Volenteers are looking after the requirements of the residents. Police informed that an old man reguested over the phone for Newspaper.When supplied he said he got the wrong one and wanted according to his choice. In fact another wanted 2 bottles of beer and some chicken. Some insisted delivery within 15 minutes. Even bidis, cigarettes & beers were in the list of some.    Finally the frustrated Police announced that only essentials will be delivered !!

Only once did l had the opportunity to interact with the icon of Bengal if not India. It was probably during the mid 60s when l went to meet one of my friends in The State Bank of India's Headoffice, Strand Road, Calcutta. My friend took me to a huge Hallroom which was once Sirajjudulla's 'Nach Ghar' said my friend. We were having a bit of chitchat when suddenly the Hall became quieter as if some VIP had entered. Yes it was none other  than Chuni Goswami with his everlasting smile. My friend quickly went up to him and introduced me-before l could react. Goswami said something about our family connection with Union Bank which later became The State Bank of India. I was a young man and least bothered about our family history, etc. After few minutes he left and the Hallroom staffs became busy once again !

According to Chin Kai Director of Academy Of Medical Science's Institute Of Pathogen Biology we will be unable to get respite from the Virus for a long time. Also America's Director of National Institute Of Allergy And Infectious Desease sends out a similar warning.Director Anthony Fouchi on previous month declared that  Covid19 could become a seasonal desease. It might keep returning every year !! Let's hope that the Vaccine will be ready as early as possible.

People are advised to maintain distance but most of them are turning a deaf ear. I mean they are not willing to keep a safe distant especially in market places. A Gram Panchayat of Allipujja in Kerala has come out with a unique solution. They are providing Umbrellas to those who are compelled to break the Stay At Home policy for various urgent purposes.      The point is that they will be able to keep a safe distance while holding an Umbrella over their heads          Not a bad idea l presume!

Advertisement, that we see in various Medias, usually focus upon the product. Quite understandable since that is the very purpose of th Ad. They say ' When the going gets tough the tough get going." Considering the present situation (Corona Virus) the Client & the Advertisement Company had both shown their Duty as well as Creativity towards the Nation as well as Humanity. Like others they too have focused upon their own product ( Soap & Handwasher) but deviated a bit from others.  The message they gave was unique as they adviced the viewers to use any Other Soap or Handwasher if they failed to get their own product.     Hats off to such magnanimity !!

When the airlines were active an elderly couple, living in  Salt Lake, decided to make a trip to Mexico. They had their return tickets from New York on 21st March. They however came to know that from that very date International flights to India were cancelled.They desperately looked for a flight from NY on 20th March. But due to shortage of time it was not possible to do that either. They tried every possible avenues but failed. Their daily take of medicine too were finished and they were forced to buy alternative medicines from local shops. Thus the elderly couple is still stuck in their hotel room-  having no idea when they could get back home ! (From ABP report)

In today's ABP there is a News about a 18 years old boy who suddenly without any provocation began shouting at his parents. Is the prolonged Lockdown responsible for the boy's unwanted action ? The parents however took immediate step and rang the helpline number for support. The number was for those who needed counselling. The boy somehow cooled down after the said counselling. How helpless are the parents regarding their children- staying at home day after day. Probably counselling provides some relief to the little ones !

His name is Kazi Nazrul Islam. He was s friend of my uncle Ganesh Deb. We used to see the man in white passing by the private passage which we sometime used as playground. At times he would stop and watch us playing with a rubber ball. He sometime went even further by clapping his hands-when someone scored a goal. Little did we knew or cared to find about the man. Ganesh Deb's house was just opposite ours and frequently music poured into our little ears from a downstare window. It was a quiet Calcutta during those days-. except the monotony sometime broken by the utensils sellers.           Later when we were young men  Ganesh Deb's nephew Utpol Basu Chowdhury charmed us with Nazrul Geeti- which we still remember. It was he who shared the above facts.

Yes it was William Shakespeare who penned the above in Othello. What he meant was - first put our the candle light and then put out the (life ) light of Desdimona. Our Prime Minister adviced the Nation to go without Electric light  for 9 minutes as this will help to fight the killing virus. On the other hand oil and candle lights should be on to fight the Corona .            But...but those responsible for implementation doesn't feel  so confident. Just putting out the power supply for 9 minutes ( that too throughout India) and bringing it back within that limited time is a scarry task- they presume. Hence we should keep our fingers crossed as they fear Grid failures. It is nearing summer and the heat is already unbearable. Hence let us hope that we pass this test too and keep our focus on fighting the  present situation !

When I picked up my pen everything went blank. What am l supposed to write-thought I. I suddenly came upon the advice of a Bengali Author Sunil Ganguly who shared his thoughts equally matching my present predicament. The writer adviced not to give up and carry on writing till a particular plot appears automatically. Well-at present every thought of us encircled around the fearful Corona Virus. It has become impossible to write anything else while the desease prevails.    However I tried to divert my thoughts which naturally encircled around the said desease.   Finally, being a Musician myself, I devoted myself towards my old friend.         My friend guide and philosopher did not deceive me !                       Drunk with the joy of Music                  I forget myself and call Thee my Servant   ...

Yes I too agree with the Bengal Singer Nachiketa when he requests the Corona Virus to exit. He went a step further with his request to keep back the fear factor intact. I am sure he meant those persons who have become too reckless and fearless in their sinister motive to hold power at any cost. They seldom think about the 'Have Nots' although shedding crocodile tears just to fulfill their endless greed. I only hope that henceforth they would learn the lesson to be learnt !

It was waiting to happen- I mean the fight between humanity &  and  other unknown elements. And finally it happened. Now let's see where it ends !

Is it Eat Drink & be Merry -tomorrow you may die ?

What would be our feelings when we suddenly see a   a renowned film actress of our time -aged and walking with the support of a walking stick ? Am sorry for such a beginning but the aftershock effect of such an experience compelled me to react in the fashion that I did. On my second thought I justified the situation as quite normal. In fact she was doing the correct thing and should get adequate appreciation for the same. When there was time she utilized it completely in her favor and became a much sort after heroin. Popular actors of her time like Uttam Kumar , Soumitra Chatterjee etc were heroes while she was the heroin. She was the favorite heroines of Directors like Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak and others ! Yes she is Madhabi Mukherjee- the Evergreen Bengali Film Actress !

"Sir please give me two rupees. "  As usual I was taking a stroll around our locality when I heard the above request. It didn't have any effect upon me as I thought it was a beggar asking for alms. As I moved on I heard the same request being made to other passersby. But I was surprised when someone casually asked him the reason the beggar replied "I want to buy a Newspaper. " I couldn't hold back my curiosity and asked him what would he do with such a thing like a Newspaper. Here is the story that he said :-   He was around 45 years old and the owner of a house which he rented out -keeping a room or two for his own use. He was a Gov. Contractor by profession and married. His only daughter left him while studying Madhyamik. I am not sure whether his wife was with him or not.    He was cheated by someone to the tune of 12 lakh after which he left business. I have no reason to disbelieve him although he looked like a beggar...

It is quite cold in Kolkata and people are generally sorting out sunny places to make themselves as comfortable as possible. Hence I too took the opportunity to find such a place  to sunbath for an hour or so. A young college girl whom I knew was doing the same. We picked up a conversation while enjoying the sun. In the mid of our chitchat the young girl   changed her topic and suddenly said "Girls are very selfish while the boys are more magnanimous." Surprised -I asked the reason for such statement. She spoke of her college friends (she is in a morning College near Amherst Street) and said that they never share Notes while the boys obliged immediately! She went on  and on on the subject just to prove her point.   We didn't proceed any further as I was getting late for my lunch.  But nevertheless- I thought what would a college boy say to that !

Once upon a time there were Rajas and Zamindars in India.  They were usually considered as Royals since they belonged to these particular class. Of course after India's Independence they lost their power & wealth and lived like commoners. In North Kolkata one could still hear or meet their descendants though most have vanished into the thin air. I met one of them today belonging to the Darjeepara Mitra's whom we usually know as Chanduda from our childhood. While having a bit of chitchat our topic rested upon Jamawars. Chanduda used to work at British Airways many many years ago. He is at present about 84/85 years old and still fit. We have often seen him during his younger age -A smart man with a pipe hanging from his mouth. He was a very stylish  and a handsome looking man. However coming back to Jamawar story - he recollected an incident where he had to attend a party in Calcutta Club. He was quite at ease with his english style dress...

                How happy is the family that loves music. The above photo tells a lot about that. I personally believe it and have myself experienced moments of joy & pleasure!  Like any other person I too have faced the usual hum drums of life but music often gave me the strength to overcome them ! Mausam's Tabla is there while he is busy with the camera and Surela Deb (Ghosh) and my wife enjoys the music !