North Kolkata Calling !!

Bengali movie Haami directed by Nandita Roy & Shiboprosad Mukherjee, seems to have caught the attention of the audience. I felt this while watching the movie along with my and my brother's family at Star Theatre yesterday. It is mainly about children participation in Reality Shows and the immediate after effect of their own little world.The over ambitious parents want to see them in limelight. The prize money involved in such shows too are attractive. This entice the parents too. In such an environment the child's suffering and mental stress are often overlooked! However the father in this particular movie seems to oppose such provocations!

The movie attracted the attention of the audience.My wife, myself and my brother's wife watched it in Star near Hatibagan today. It was a packed hall and the House Full board at the entrance hung proudly. Now regarding the film it was a pleasure watching Mithun as a new avatar.It is perhaps the first time that we found him in such a role.Being a good actor he had justified it in the best way.He acted as the father of Dev who too was quite at ease. On the whole the movie seems to have pleased the audience. There was however a surprise appearance in the Hall by Dev & his team. The audience simply went berserk with excitement.

Calcutta's famous Nizaam's was once a favorite place for we young persons.The food was quite delicious and me along with my friends simply devoured the dishes. After a long gap once again I visited Nizaam's on 25th December 2022.My wife and myself like every year went to New Market. Nahoum's was quite a crowded place. So we decided to buy some ham and sausages from Baldwin's Piggery. Since we were quite hungry and just passing near Nizaam's I decided to visit my favorite place once again. We ordered two chicken rolls. While waiting for our rolls we looked around to see if anything has changed. The very first thing I noticed on the wall were big pictures of Manna Dey, Hemanta Mukherjee and inbetween them Mehedi Hassan(performing) while Ptd. Ravishankar was listening.On the other wall I spotted Chuni Goswami,Uttamkumar and Soumitra Chatterjee. I asked a responsibile person, who was looking after our order, the reason. He quickly said that these emminent persons

Classical Music were previously held only at Raja Maharaja and Zamindar's Havelis .However times have changed and with it things.Some are still trying to stick to their traditions.Old Calcuttans still remembers the fireworks at the Chatu Babu's Bazaar and the Musical Soirees held at their Thakurbari (Natmandir).Artists like Bade Gulam Ali Khan,Ustad Vilayat Khan,Udayshankar & Amalashankar, Ravishankar, Ustad Amir Khan, Raushan Kumari, Nikhil Banerjee etc.performed.Tablawadaks like Pt. Shantaprashad, Kanthe Maharaj, Kishan Maharaj , Keramutalla Khan,Allaraka Khan, Shyamal Bose also performed. Apart from this their Charak Mela still exist at Beadon Street. Sanyasis are seen encircling round the Charak Tree. This is perhaps the only Charak Puja held in Kolkata. Now... A Classical Music program will be held on Saturday 17th December 2022 from 6pm at Chatu Babu's Natmandir.This program is organised by the family members Saibal & Mausam Deb.

This happened in Kanpur, Uttarpradesh. A Primary school teacher inhumanly tortured a boy when he failed to utter a multiplication table. The mad teacher, finding a Drill Machine in the classroom, tried to dig a hole on the boy's palm.In the process he severely wounded him. He would have been tortured further had not the boy,sitting next to him, put off the switch. The next day the parents protested against the teacher whose name is Anuj Pandey. He was finally removed from his post!!

Toshisuke Kanazawa is 86 years  old. He was a bodybuilder but left  from this profession when he was 34. At the age of 50 he once again  began practicing body building.  Now at 86 he participated in a com- petition with young men. Strangely he made a record in the said event! 

Jobs loved his pair of Birkenstocks.  The inventor of Apple was quite  fond of his shoes.  Recently his favorite pair of shoes  were Auctioned where it fetched 218,750 dollars  ! 

It is one of those days when you feel yourself the most foolish human being ever born on this Earth!  When you feel you made a mess of each and every opportunity that came over your path. When you feel like crying out aloud and telling the World of the terrible mistakes you made and could not  find a second person to share. (To continue) 

In Chennai lived an old couple. The man bought a packet of Biryani for himself. While relishing the  tasty Biryani his wife began  complaining. Without paying any  heed he finished the entire packet.  He was so angry when  his wife  kept shouting - that he poured kerosene  on her and lighted it with a match  stick.  While she was burning she  retaliated  by embracing her  husband. They both died.  Before death in the hospital the old lady related the entire fact to the attending Doctor  ! 

 The heart-rending news of  another Artist's heart attack while performing on the stage -should make us sit up and seriously think about the prevailing situation.  Recently  KK an Artist in Kolkata while performing had a  heart attack and expired while being taken to the  hospital. A  similar incident happened in 24 Parganas Canning Kumrokhali village while celebrating Kali  Puja. The incident happened in the function held on the said  occasion. Debashis Das was the Singing Artist who suddenly had chest pain while performing. He too was taken to the Canning Hospital where he died!  Why is this happening repeatedly  ? 

Instead of children they kidnapped three Baby Chimpanzees from a Congo Wildlife Sanctuary. This is the first time in history that such an incident happened. They even threatened to hurt the Babies if a six figure ransom was not paid.   Ms. Chantereau a Belgium citizen who ran Jack (the name of the sanctuary) is completely at  a loss since he is unable to pay such an amount. Besides -even if the amount was paid there was a chance that such incident might occur repeatedly in future!  The kidnapper's actual plan was to kidnapp Ms. Chantereau's children who were to come but didn't!   

AR least expected the honour bestowed upon him. The Music Composer was quite excited to find a Canadian street named after him. He penned a note of gratitude for the authorities of Markham in Ontario in his Twitter. 

The Indus International School in Hyderabad introduced a teaching Robot. Probably this is the first time that such an introduction is made in India!  Picture of Eagle Robot talking class could be seen in Times City of Hyderabad.  Children are using their laptops and mobiles to connect with the assessment and content of the Robot. 

In the Moscow Chess Open the Robot (chess playing) broke a child player's finger. The Robot takes the7 year old boys's pieces. In the next move it grabbed the boy's finger.  At least 4 adults helped and somehow freed him.   Sergey Lazarev, Moscow Chess Federation President said that the machine had played many previous matches without incident! 

 Kateryna along with her husband Olexandr and two children were compelled to run for their lives. They had no choice but to leave the city in a hurry. In the process, they  unwillingly left their white Siberian husky Belyi.  They finally returned after four months to find their loving dog still waiting for them! 

Did you ever heard of penalty for not smiling?  The Mayor of Philippines has passed such an order to public servants.  He believes it shows a feeling of calmness and builds friendly atmosphere. 

World's largest plane named Mriya (Dream in Ukraine language) was destroyed when Russian forces  tried to seize Hostomel airport.  The plane is 276 feet long and six stories high- heavier than any other flying in the sky.  Ukraine officials however decided to restore it once again. 

Mexican mayor, to follow an old custom, marries an alligator. There was a ceremony along with music & dance.    Mayor Victor Hugo Sosa repeatedly bent down and kissed the nose of the alligator, which was of course ,tied shut to avoid any unfortunate incident.  This pre-Hispanic times culture is still maintained.  It is to ask nature for rain , enough food and enough fish in rivers. 

It had 191 passengers on board and Captain Monika Khanna was the Piloit. It  was a flight from Patna to Delhi.  Unfortunately after the take off from Patna it was hit by a bird. This led to sparks & fire in one of the Engines. The cabin crew immediately reported and the Pilot's quick reaction saved  the situation.  Pilot Khanna swiftly switched off the effected engine. Took plane through the crowded passage and halted it in a safe zone-thereby saving the lives of the passengers as well as the crew. 

In India borewells are dug to provide water. These wells are usually very deep and narrow. Through a long pipe water is withdrawn by the help of a pump.  It often happened that small animals including children fell into these and perished.  Recently  an NDRF constable Anil Kumar showed great courage and perseverance in saving a speech impaired kid from a Chhattisgarh borewell.  For five days Anil repeatedly called out to Rahul (kid) to keep him awake. He looked up when he heard the vibrating voice of Anil. When heavy drilling work was going on his chest heaved rapidly and work was stopped immediately. Even a snake was seen beside the kid. It was however a relief to find it nonpoisonous.  Finally the kid refused to eat although he himself signalled for food.  When they finally broke through his right leg was visible. Anil called out and said that he was there and now he should get out! 

It was a sight that I still couldn't forget though several years have passed.  He was known throughout the place as a dog lover. Most of us have seen him stopping his Auto (he was the driver) in a particular place and feeding street dogs. There was a time when they rightly anticipated his coming. In fact they waited for him and enjoyed the food that he served.  The tragedy, to which we were witness, upset us and we simply looked on disgustingly.  A speeding bus dangerously hit the Auto along with it's driver. He was completely smashed and his intestine lay open.  The most disgusting sight was that the same dogs, whom he fed day after day, were seen busy devouring his intestines!      (With due apology to dog lovers) 

The mysterious aircraft flew through at least half a dozen Eastern countries without permission.  The two engine Beechcraft had no approved flight and had 2 people on board.  When intercepted by 2 Hungarian fighter jets , 2 Romanian F-16s and 2 US- F-16s the plane entered Bulgarian airspace. Later it was found in an old airfield. The crew however vanished. 

She claims to be Goddess Parwati. She further claims that she has been waiting for Lord Shiva to come down from Mount Kailash to marry her.  Her name is Harminder Kaur and she came from Lucknow. She has been staying in a restricted area of Nabhidhang near Indo-China border. She had a 15 days  permission and went there along with her mother  but decided to stay on for the wedding.  She seems mentally unstable and claims to be an incarnation of Goddess Parwati!  Police failed to bring her down. They are now sending a bigger team . 

After any major operation it is usually expected that pain, if any, will subside due to application of anesthesia. But can a patient behave in an unruly manner if his pain becomes unbearable?  A man, after blaming the doctor, bought an AR -style rifle and went into a shooting spree. He killed the surgeon and three other people before finally shooting himself.  According to Tulsa police chief Wendell Franklin the killing-patent had back surgery and was in constant pain. 

What are we thinking and where are we going? Now it seems that we are running out of ideas-Or maybe the reverse is  true! Probably the world is full of weird ideas which might get the stamp of 'Progressive Thinkings' to some.  Here is the latest idea from Gujarat. A young woman decides to get married. Who is the Groom? Alas she herself is the Bride as well as the Groom!  "Self-marriage is a commitment to be there for yourself. It is an unconditional love for oneself." she believes. 

At Louvre Museum, the world's most famous painting Mona Lisa, was once again targeted.  A man disguised as an old woman, who seated himself in a wheelchair, threw a piece of cake at the painting and shouted "Think of the planet Earth." However a glass protecting the painting helped it to save from any damage.  The 36 year old man  was sent to police  psychiatric unit. 

The thieves, who desperately stole precious idols from a 300 year old temple, had no peace of mind ever since they did it. It was an old temple of Lord Balaji in Chitrakoot District, UP.  A complaint was already lodged by Mahant Ram Balak Das the priest of Balaji temple. 16 idols, among them one of 'ASTHADHATU' weighing around 5 kg and 3 of Balaji, made of copper were stolen.  Within 6 days the thieves returned most of the idols to the priest with a written note. They couldn't sleep neither could they eat and were having terrible nightmares!  A diary was however lodged. 

How can someone kill a beggar for not accepting his offer. Offering food to a beggar has always been considered as a kind and holy deed. Yet it so happened when a man named Mahesh Babu offered a packet of Idli to a beggar who was sleeping by the roadside near Guntur Housing Board. Idli as we are all aware is a South Indian popular dish. Unfortunately the beggar refused even after several perusal.  Mahesh Babu ,disappointed, left the place.  Surprisingly after sometime he came back with 2 of his friends Anil and Satish Kumar on a bike. They took the beggar to an isolated place and beat him with boulders and sticks. The beggar  died at last!  ,  

The shocking incident happened in  Brazil while the plane was carrying  20 passengers. From the very start a strange sound was heard by the passengers . Even the regulars who frequently travelled by air- became suspicious . Then suddenly with a bang  one of the doors opened and a gush of wind overwhelmed the boarders .They became alert and immediately reacted by holding the door as fast as they could. They heard  the propeller hitting the door repeatedly.  The Pilot however kept his calm and landed the plane  safely. 

A man living in the District of East Uganda CMS I ganga-single handedly killed a lion.  The lion ,unnoticed ,entered his house and suddenly pounced upon him. Finding nothing handy,the Uganda man single- handedly fought the lion and succeeded in killing it.  He was however wounded severely and was taken to the hospital. 

PROGRAM  At Chatu Babu Latu Babu's Bazar.                        Beadon Street. Kolkata 700006.

At least 11 airplanes sees bright light in the upper air.Some were flying 36000 feet above while others were around 38000feet from the ground.Nevertheless they all witnessed big fire balls in the sky. Some of the pilots reported that flashes of lights were so bright that it blurred their vision.After repeated report from the pilots the ATC Authorities of Kolkata were baffled!

An educational institue, to rid its girl students from unnecessary fear of ghosts, has done an unimaginable thing. The Headmistress of the School, situated in Dhulian -Murshidaabad, instead of using modern scientific method -called priest & maulavi to practice black magic to chase the ghosts away. The Scientific Fraternity were wounded and showed displeasure. The students should have been scientifically explained they remarked!

In Kolkata some 65 years ago, we witnessed a show named Hol- iday on Ice. We were children then but still remember the show. Especially the Ice Skating on the Ice artificia- lly created by machine!! It was an amazing show!! It was probably held in Eden Gardens, as far as I could remember. It was a different Kolkata then.

In Siliguri's Phansidewa village a strange accusation was made. A tiger was killed and selfie photo taken along with the killers.  Later the tiger's meat was eaten by the so called poachers. It came to notice by the Authorities from a Facebook posting.  The forest authorities along with the SSB Jawans finally arrested the three culprits  from Kharibari faugi jot. They recovered the tiger's skin & nails! 

He is a qualified doctor and he loved his wife from the core of his heart.  Unfortunately his wife was detected positive in corona. He was forced to go from hospital to hospital and finally got her admitted but her condition became worse.  To save her he already spent his savings around Rs 10 lacs. But bills came pouring in. Finally he submitted his MBBS degree  and got Rs 70 lacs.  Fortunately he managed to get his wife   cured  and brought her back home! 

                    China opens the longest  Underwater Highway. This is under Taihu Lake - around 50 kilometers from Shanghai. It took 4years to  build this six  tunnel which is 10.7 Kilometres  long! 

How strange things happen!  I was returning in an Auto after spending a nice outing with my wife on the New Year morning.  The auto driver put up a loud song which - non the less- I was following It was a male female duet piece.  Being a musician myself I was  trying hard to locate Artists. When I failed I asked the driver the names of the Artists.  To my surprise he said it was Amit- tabh Bachchan. I thought -conside- ring my age- he probably thought that I would only recognise our  time heroes & superstars. Hence he quoted Mr.Bachchan's name.  There were two other teenagers too who probably were listening to our conversation. They started laughing and said that the singer wasn't Mr.  Bachchan. Strangely -when I asked them the same question they were unable to answer.  It pained me to find the present generation least bothered to know the name of the singers!