A life transforming retreat!

On 15th December, I attended a religious retreat, centenary birthday celebration of Swami Ranganathanand-ji's, my 'Guru' and the 13th president of Ramakrishna Math and Mission. This seminar was pivoted upon the topic Total character building for success in lines of Ramakrishna - Vivekananda - Vedanta philosophy. This was the first religious retreat that I have atttended till date. There were eminent monks of the Ramakrishna order, orators of international repute, delegates from across the globe, who shared their views attuned to Ranganathananada's ideals. Some senior monks shared some incidents from Ranganathananada-ji's life, spoke about his ideals, his life and his work. The day was truly an enriching experience. I purchased swami Ranganathananada-ji's book on his interpritation of the bhagvat Gita. This day shall remain etched in my memory as a day that changed me into a better person.

Diwali '08 @ Mukherjees'

I am a Bengali and for most Bengalis, Diwali and Kali Puja are synonymous. A little trivia before I move on, Goddess Kali is a Hindu deity who is the manifestation of eternal power and symbolizes destruction as a prelude to creation. Having said this Kali Puja is big in eastern India.Animesh Mukherjee is my ‘best buddy’ since high school days at VMS, Joka. Every time after Diwali, Animesh used to enthusiastically share stories of the Kali Puja that they celebrate at his place with all his uncle and cousins. I used to be invited to his place for the Puja every year. However the opportunity had eluded me every time because of some reason or the other. Finally in October end 2008, I happened to be in Kolkata staying over my maternal uncle’s place in a place called Parnasree (Animesh’s house is also in Parnasree). By evening I get free enough to consider the option of paying my school ‘best buddy’ a visit. I call him up and say “Animesh, I am in Parnasree, you mind if I swing by your place?” Pleasantly surprised Animesh says “I am with all my relatives preparing for the Kali Puja tonight, but you can come by, no problem”. There was no second thought, giving a damn about the social etiquette of having an invite, I literally was a gate crusher to the Mukherjees’ Puja celebration.Animesh’s grand-father used to perform Kali-puja at his place in his prime days, after him the tradition has been carried forward by Animesh’s father and his seven brothers. Every year the brothers along with their families get together, do the marketing, prepare the sweet-meats, purchase the idol and procure the items for the vesper worship of Goddess Kali.

The day of the puja is the best demonstration of coordinated, cohesive team-work. This year Animesh’s dad did the cooking – ‘khichdi’, ‘paachan’, ‘sabji’, fries, chutney and kheer. One of his uncles did the fruits, decoration and other miscellaneous activities. Animesh’s eldest uncle did the actual vesper worship of the goddess – reciting the Sanskrit hymns and performing the ‘yagna’, while the other uncle was the EQ (entertainment quotient) of the evening, looking after the guests and other invites of the day.Not less than fifty member strong family, all united under the roof with the common goal of having fun - peels of laughter, kids running around and bumping into the grown-ups with innocent demands, youngsters gossiping away on the latest blockbusters watched, aunts sitting in groups scrutinizing every scandal of the locality – all in all, an environment teeming with energy and commotion. The vesper worship culminated at 4:00 am, followed by ‘anjali’ and ‘shanti-jal’. Tonight I would be going back for attending the ‘bisarjan’, will update you folks with the events as they unfold!

Are you a Foodie?

If the answers is a spontaneous yes, then check out Flame n Grill @ South City Mall, Kolkata.

Rock On – a must watch movie

This weekend I could find some time to watch this much hyped movie – Rock On! For movie buffs – it’s a movie of Dil Chahta Hai and Rang De Basanti genre. A must watch for generation today. A subtle portrayal of friendship, love , music and the struggle of budding talents in the music arena runs across the movie.
Farhan Akhtar and Arjun Rampal have performed fabulously and set a league apart for the actors of today to achieve. The script woiter has done marvelously for having spun out this realistic, believable and ‘out –of-the-box’ story with no loops at all!
I would rate Rock On a staggering 9 on a scale of 10. A good movie and a must watch for rock-stars, budding rockers and movie lovers.

A trip to remember!

India over the last few decades has witnessed exponential growth in fields of IT Services. Oxford dictionary has included the term 'bangalored' to define the phenomenon of outsourcing IT and ITES engagements to India. Engineers from of various specializations, across different institutions, are joining into the bandwagon of becoming an IT Engineer or a 'coder' as they say. Reason - its the easiest way to earning decent moolah at the end of the day. Another juicy opportunity that majority of the 'IT guys' seek is an engagement at client location abroad! Earn, enrich your cross-cultural expertise and also visit the tourist spots in and around the place of deputation - what more could you have asked for? This has been the trend in majority of the top tier Indian IT companies. 10+2+4 Yrs of academic track, good communication skills and a decent enough aptitude is all that is needed to be a part of this phenomenon. Well, I am a 'coder' and a part of this IT gamut too!

Mid Jan '08 I set on my maiden flight to Los Angeles, USA. It was indeed exciting - so many a stories my friends had shared, so many a dream did I have! Landing at LAX and reaching the hotel at Pasadena was no less a challenge especially with a full blown jet-lag. Coming from an Indian metro city, the first thing that hit me was the traffic on the freeway. It was such organized, well thought out and disciplined. I reached the Hotel eventless to find there was no drinking water in the room, it did not take me long to realize that you do not have drinking water kept in rooms as you have it even in the cheapest 'dharmashaalas' of India - you have to buy water or drink tap water or die of dehydration. Walked two blocks down to 'Rite Aid' store and bought myself a water container, on the walk back I was almost getting run over my a 4x4! My ignorance at fault, - as is my habit, I was jay walking on Colorado Blvd. In US you also have traffic lights for pedestrians, you only cross a street when you see the 'green-man', or else you stand a chance of getting run over by vehicles zooming past at 50 miles per hour! Back at the room I changed, drank lots of water and dozed off on the couch watching TV. When I awoke, it was well past 9 pm and I was hungry. Went out to grab something to eat, only burger outlets - is that all people eat here? The lack of variety was sad indeed, second shock of the day.

Several shocks unfolded that day - there are signals for pedestrians to cross the road, no jay walking like Indians are so good at. Streets are sparkling clean, neighbourhoods are picture postcard beautiful, fancy cars, beautiful ladies on the streets and awesome steak for lunch. What more could a man possibly ask for?

Tourism has been very consciously and methodically promoted there – be it Disneyland Anaheim, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Hollywood Studios or San Diego Sea World! The US trip was truly a dream come true for this lad from Thakurpukur whose fore-fathers had to leave their homeland in one cloth at the time of partition, struggle for their existence in the initial years.

Film review – Om Shanti Om

Om Shanti Om is a movie that ‘has it all’. Good narration, composition and a decent plot mixed-n-matched from several Hollywood and Bollywood flicks. The movie can be split up into two - the pre interval and the post interval.
The first half is a retro to the sixties, seventies and eighties of Hindi cinema. Subtle details, wardrobe of yester-years, gross duplicates, dialogues and a storyline borrowed from several Hindi blockbusters makes the first half a nostalgic extravaganza wherein the plot moves round two central characters Om and Shanti. Junior artist Om, played by SRK, is in love with superstar Shanti, played by Deepika. Om dreams of being a super-star one day, receiving coveted awards and marrying Shanti. Om’s honest love wins him the friendship of Shanti and things seem to be finally falling in place before destiny plays spoil-sport. First half ends with the unnatural, pre-mature death of Om and Shanti.
Second half is stylish, back-dropped in present times, boldly introducing Om reborn as ‘super-star Om’ to live his unfulfilled dream to the exact detail. Om Kapoor (O.K.) has it all – stardom, wealth, popularity, awards and tantrums but minus the memories from his past life. ‘Circle-of-life’ brings O.K. to the place where it had all ended, reminds him of Shanti and the events that had brought their fatal termination. Late junior artist Om’s mother and brother join forces to actionize O.K’s plan to revenge Shanti’s death. What follow is emotion, action, and ‘ghostly’ fiction. The movie ends on a happy note, O.K. finds his ‘Dreamy Girl – Shanti’ in a modern day avatar and justice is done to the ‘bad-man’.

The movie is a must watch for SRK fans, and a clean entertainer for the rest. Folks, watch out for the star-studded ‘Om-Shanti-Om’ number in the movie. To conclude, OSO has platformed Deepika, one of the most innocent and beautiful faces Bollywood has witnessed after Madhubala and Madhuri.

Leading Team India

With Rahul Dravid having hung up captaincy boots its time now to zero in on the first man of India’s cricket team. India has been witness to cricketing phenomenon of the likes of Sachin, Saurav and Dravid who have all led the team at some point or the other. With each victory of the team is celebrated and players heightened to demi-gods and every failure criticized, the job of the Indian cricket captain involves a lot of pressure, especially where cricket has the stature of the nations’ religion.
The T20 team minus Sachin, Saurav and Dravid is pretty young and inexperienced, with only Shehwag, Yuvraj and Harbhajan as senior players. Dhoni’s ability with the bat makes it fairly acceptable to have him as captain in T20 matches, where hitting the ball is the ‘mantra’. But when it comes to leading team India in One day and Test matches, the boys would want to look up to someone who has put a lot of years in the middle. Cricket is a game of nerves/ team coordination and I believe Dhoni is too young and inexperienced for the job as captain. Making Dhoni the captain for the 50 over matches is a gamble which BCCI is playing with the stakes really high.
Would Sachin captain the test team? Sachin, beyond doubt, is one of the best players of the game, time-tested and unanimously accepted. But Sachin as the captain of India has not had a good record - not only had the team suffered defeats but also his individual performance went for a toss. More importantly lasting three more seasons, building up a winning team and commanding respect from the younger members with his waning performance - is it not a tough call for Sachin?
India’s next captain should be able to lead from the front, set examples with his performance, be a team-player, a good manager, aggressive and be able to continue as captain till the next world cup to top all (a change in captaincy before world cup would be a big set-back to get over). Saurav in my opinion has it all - his remarkable come back and statistics as Indian captain makes him the top candidate as India’s captain. After Kapil it’s only in him that I see the spirit to win us the elusive World Cup that we as a nation so crave to bring home!

Sex Sonagachi and Me

In the City of Joy, very close to the heart of the city, are the lanes where sex sells cheaper than a pair of woodland shoes! Yes guessed it correctly, Sonagachi – a place where the city turns to satiate its basic instinct. As the sun sets, the backdrop drastically changes from a bustling traffic riddled C.R.Avenue to a shady red-light area. The pavements get dotted with creatures of the dark - the mistresses of carnal joy with dicey offers and appealing charisma.
I was a bit late that day, had upgraded my desktop from Chandni Chowk and was walking towards the metro station. With a heavy system to carry, it was a relief to see the sidewalks having a few people. I had only walked a block to find women in revealing clothes measuring me up. I was new to the city, having come from Bangalore only a month back. Not knowing about this infamous place from before, my gut sense told me that something was very odd about it.
I paced up to a brisk walk, wanting to cross the area as soon as possible. But to my surprise I found that the more I walked the more towards the core area I was heading. The glances of the sluts changed to mouthing me their rates and sleazy offers for cheap sex. With my wallet stashed with cash, a newly upgraded system and a costly wrist-watch, I was good loot for the urchins there. In case anything went out-of-hands my shout for help would go unheeded with the police, stuffed with their cut money, nowhere to be seen.
My mind clouded with grey thoughts, heart beating the wind out of my lungs I walked on praying to the million Indian Gods and Goddesses. Suddenly one skinny man, with an orange-peel like face scarred with chicken pox marks, walked into my way and exclaimed “Babuji aapko khush kar denge, naach dekhna hai to der hazaar, puri raat ka paanch - boliye school girl, college girl, bhabiji - kya chahiye!” I was stunned, not knowing what to say. I did not even look at him - as if deaf I walked on leaving him behind.
I had barely taken two steps, that I heard one of the pimps telling the other “Is gore-chitte saab ka to hum free mein lenge”. I could feel I was shaking - may be out of fear, may be out of anger, I do not know. Those glances, the crude smell of their perfume and my vulnerability, all combined was nauseating. Just then I could hear an approaching car. I turned back to find a cab coming my way, looking for passengers. My prayers were answered - I frantically waved at it and yelled “Taxi!” at the top of my voice. The taxi stopped, I opened the door and almost leapt inside slamming the door behind me. The cabby, an aged Sikh driver, was no less than an angel rescuing me from the lanes of hell.
In the cab, it took me some time to settle down, after which I lit a cigarette and reflected on my predicament. I found that we the people from ‘good society’ are the root cause behind the mushrooming of sex industry. Be whatever the reason, dissatisfied men turn to brothels for sex, with a hope that their upright image in the society would not get tarnished. This in turn encourages sex workers, providing them with an easy way to fast money.
Looking back at the golden ages, when men were chaste and women virgins before marriage - free from sexually transmitted diseases the society was healthy, sex was considered to be a physical expression of love, Jove was busy with his golden darts. Prostitution has spoiled it all, pimps play Jove, sex is money – the more you are ready to shell-out the better whores you get. Pleasure is an industry and sin is now a city called Las Vegas!

Indian Independence - an opportunity misused!

We have been celebrating 15th August as our independence day each year, for the last six decades. But do we really respect our hard earned independence? Are we really independent from the clutches of poverty, illiteracy, female infanticide and corruption? When I watch movie like Range De Basanti, Bhagat Singh, Forgotten hero – Subhash Bose, this question haunts me all the more. Valuable lives have been sacrificed on the altar of freedom struggle, with a dream of gifting the generations to come, with independence of thought, words and action.
During ‘British-Raj’, foundation to the construction of roads and railways were laid. Infrastructure, electricity, post and telegraph networks were established. Food, basic education and medical facilities were available to all. No doubt there was colour discrimination, yet there was law and order in the country. Corruption was not as wide-spread and malignant as it is today.
Post independence great leaders framed the constitution, country was witness to the green and white revolution. Exponential development happened in the fields of science and technology, universities were started. But this growth was short-lived, soon the people of free India, took the things for granted, got back to their basic lazy nature and in turn did perennial damage to own country and children.
Japan was torn apart by the twin nuclear blasts only two years before India’s independence. It had to cope with the nightmare and start their efforts afresh. Both Japanese cities were rebuilt soon after the war and today have become important industrial centers; Japan has gone a long way ahead of India in every aspect. Do we have an answer to why India could not achieve what Japan could? The differentiating factor I believe is, Japanese love their country, they respect their flag, stand united for the glory of their motherland, hard-working people with dignity of labour and honesty of purpose are in majority, qualities we Indians unfortunately lack.
India in the golden ages was rich not only in precious stones and gold but also with fertile river-riddled agrarian abundance. The land was culturally and intellectually blessed - Buddha, Ashoka, Aryabhatta, Chanakya, Tulsidas, exponents to have made history. But toady developed country look down at us with pity, tag us as a ‘developing third-world, poor country’. It is time we Indians awoke to the clarion call, stood united and pledged on the eve of our Independence day – that India would reclaim its rightful place among the best and lead other nations towards a safer, brighter and glorious tomorrow.

Reservation - a curse in disguise

It’s been sixty years of glorious Indian Independence, which has seen then nation mature as the world’s largest democracy, shift economic paradigm from agrarian to industrial, to an outsourced Information Technology hub. The common man has come a long way ahead, crossing the seven seas and going abroad for higher studies and job engagement, women empowerment, a balanced socio-economic structure and a broader outlook towards life. Considerable progress in science and technology, from building and launching its own satellites, to becoming a nuclear power has put India among the elite league of nations.
Post independence, great leaders and visionaries wanted to help the down-trodden. They wanted to provide an opportunity to the deprived, extend a helping hand towards the backward classes. Reservation for the Scheduled Classes, Scheduled Tribes and the Other Backward Classes were introduced with the motto of changing the fate of the long oppressed lot. People from these segments of the society made good of this opportunity to become IAS, IPS, doctors, engineers, lawyers and bureaucrats.
Two generations of the backward classes have been reaping the relaxation and benefits over the years. We find majority of the breed as rich, successful and respected amongst us. When the quota system was introduced, the makers of the nation desired to be in enforcement for fifty years, beyond which the reservation and benefits would be justly decommissioned. However its human nature to take blessings as birth-right, unfortunately the quota system had the same fate. Fifty years have gone by a decade back! Yet we are living with this epidemic of reservation – demanding to increase the percentage of reservation. What a mockery on the face of a nation that boasts of being an equal opportunity providing, non-discriminating democracy!
Had it been a unanimously agreed upon mission such as food and safe water for all, or jobs for all educated citizens - we the people of this country would have gone an extra mile in helping the government. But reservation as we all know is a curse in disguise. Folks with lesser intellect and rankings in competitive exams are depriving the bright and deserving examinees – thanks to reservation. These students from backward classes are sharing the pie with meritorious students from the general quota – in turn diluting the standard of exponents from crème-de-la-crème colleges and universities. Proper grooming can be a whetstone to the sword of intellect, but a ballast for the shallow minded.
To conclude I would like to put forward a request of terminating this curse of reservation system. Let’s open our eyes to the vision of ‘one-community’ where competition is fair and without quota!