Lifebites...

“ Hey! How many did you get this year?” “I got 6, what about you?” “What’s the plan this year?” “Let’s cover south in Sashti and Saptami, and let us keep north for Astami eve and Nabami. What say?” “You guys carry on ya, I am going to Shimla with family this year. Will miss the Puja here though!” These are very common examples of conversation lines during Durga Puja every year for the youth and kids of Kolkata. The numbers are that of new dresses they got this year for Puja and the plan is about pandal hopping where they are dividing the city into north and south for better planning. Actually the planning starts well ahead. And why not? After all the whole year of any Bong just rotates around the 4-5 days of Puja. We save our leaves, plan our vacations, complete our shopping, or save our new dresses, anticipate our bonuses only for these 5 days- MahaSashti to Bijaya Dasami. While some plan for pandal hopping, some take this time to escape into rejuvenation and go for the annu...

Be Game! “Be Game” is not the absence of fear, rather it is the willingness to walk through it. It isn’t a calculated risk, it is just a risk! It isn’t about safety nets and guarantees and assurances, It’s about you, the tight rope and the blue sky above! It isn’t about later, it’s about sooner. It should be at the top of your mind And dwell at the bottom of your soul! And before it surprises you, one thing’s for sure.. It will scare the hell out of you! I found these lines in one of the brand tags of a jeans I bought as a part of my Durga Puja shopping. Yes, Durga Puja is the most awaited event of any bong’s year. Our whole calendar revolves around these 5 days. That time of the year is here now. Am I excited? Like hell! Is this article about that? No, this time it’s about something else. When I read the above lines, I realized a long forgotten thing- What Durga Puja actually means? Of late, the autumn fest has been a means to lose your hard earned money ...

Everything is just so colourful, so shiny. It’s  all smiles and laughter and so very bright. Festivities and celebrations are in the air. Even in the day you feel an extra glow. The whole city is filled with joy. Yes, it’s the city of Joy. It’s my Kolkata.  Yes, my Kolkata. No, I don’t stay particularly in Kolkata. I hail from a small town, Ramrajatala, Howrah. And I am proud of it. But Kolkata is as much mine as it is of any other person staying in Kolkata. Actually, I feel lucky to be staying in Howrah, I get to see and pray to the holy Ganges through the spectacularly lit Hoogly bridge or Second bridge (as we call it locally) twice everyday I am out, which is sometimes the only place of relief and cool breeze. I also get to see all the special tourist attractions of Kolkata, Howrah bridge, Hoogly bridge, Victoria Memorial and the cultural centre of Rabindra Sadan every single day. Tell me how many kolkata staying folks get this lucky every day? We may not even realize...

“Only you know how things should be done, our experience and age does not have any value!!” How many times have you heard this universal sarcastic dialogue by your Dad or Mom? I can’t even keep count. This is an example of what the infamous generation gap. Our previous generation feels there is something terribly wrong with our generation and vice versa. This is a common story with each generation. But seriously, what’s with this generation of youth? There is something totally off about this generation of 25+ young India. I am not sure what should we be calling ourselves, Gen X, Y, Z? No idea. But whatever we are, we are very different than our previous generation at this age. WE are the age of Rebel. We think “hatke”. We have open minds and open eyes, out and away from the blinding influences of society and religious superstitions. We use logic! In everything. Every sentence spoken by an individual, be it your Dad or Mom or friend or professor or any random guy on the street is...

27568 steps. 2200 ft. 1500 stairs. 22.9 kms. 5 hours. Every bone of my body aching and screaming for rest. A whole night journey by bus without an ounce of sleep. Dance. Fun. Sweat. Striving physical hard to reach somewhere and actually reaching there. Revelation. Drinking from the fresh stream of water which runs between huge rocks. Getting lost in fog and loosing yourself in the mist. Getting drenched in your sweat and in the light drizzle. You still don’t care. You still have a long way to go. At every turn on the step you feel your body is going to lose it. The unknown physical strength and perseverance. Selfies. Lots of them. Clicks. At different positions. Confusion of which point is better than the other. At every corner of the mountain. Every inch of the fort. Reliving history. Relishing the deep rooted hatred towards British Raj in India and devotion for the pre-independence era.  Cherishing the feel of walking among the clouds. Literally. Your sweat drenched and se...

Considering the fact that we are absolutely in the middle of the biggest season of the year, I would like to ask each of my reader, how are you guys? By the biggest season, I do not mean wedding season, which is probably comes second in my present list. I am talking about our very near and dear summer season. Happy to hear the word? No? So, let me ask you again… How are you? Freezing? Chilled? Cool? Or the correct words would be roasted, boiled and toasted? Let me share the exact feeling I have when I hear that word. Summer is not yellow fields of mustard flowers or white sand blue water beaches where someone would lie down for hours to get that perfect tan while sipping some cool drink from coconuts with little umbrellas in it. No dude! That may be summer in the European continent. How boring! Summer in India is way more entertaining than that. Here this season is definitely the one time when everyone becomes an indoor person. People love their homes and poor corporate souls wh...

“I don’t know, but, there is something in you….” How many times have we heard this line? Not many times. This may appear special. Or may not. But it sometimes is really special. How do you describe that feeling which you can’t express through words? I don’t know. Yes, these exact words. We don’t know. It is so easy to simplify every feeling and every thought when you can coin a word to it. But it becomes so difficult when someone so talkative seems to be lost at words. I don’t really know. Again. Like my mom puts it, “when you cannot describe something through words, your silence does that for you”. I never understood the meaning of this until now. Have you ever felt the need not to say anything and just stay silent? The moment when you don’t want to say anything and just listen to the silence speaking in volumes. Oh yeah. Gives an amazing feeling, right? So what do you call this feeling? Love?? Nah!! Too presumptuous. Definitely not lust. Then? Again, at a loss of words....

Ask me again, “What do you want to be in life?” My answer is, “I want to be free, to attain Liberty”. Liberation is not coloring your hair a shade of fiery red, but abolishing the source of your nightmares, may be. Liberation is not smoking a cigarette when you do not find a way to suck in free natural oxygen for your lungs, but trying every possible way to survive that urge when you do not have a cigarette around, may be. Liberation may not be trying out physically harsh water sports in spite of being physically unfit for those events, but taking a 50 ft dive in the sea to explore the wonderful world under the sea and learning the importance of every ounce of oxygen you inhale, may be. A very famous saying goes as, man is born free but everywhere else he is in chains. So where are these chains? Who puts these chains on us to bind us away in an invisible cage and stopping us from flying like birds? Society? Orthodox family? Human nature? Obligations and liabilities? No! It’s ...

She is the beginning of the day. She brings around dawn to everyone. She also kisses goodnight to the stars. Some special days, she allows the sun the privilege to awaken the world. She has a smile which is brighter than sunshine. When she is sad, the day is gloomy and cloudy. Her attire shows her mood. She loves to dance in the rains without a care in the world. She tames in her craziness within her and only lets herself loose in certain occasions when no one watches. Sometimes she does not care.  Her hair is mostly a crazy mess and something totally opposite to the perfect picture of fictitious perfect women. She loves to leave it free, let it fly, laughs aloud when her hair pokes someone sitting behind. But no matter how messy her hair is, she always manages to look beautiful. Her victory dance can challenge any pro. Sometimes she throws out a tantrum even if a nail breaks. Sometimes she silently bears the burns of cooking. She is the jewel of her family, carefully protect...

Should I? Or I should not say yes to dad to start searching for a suitable match for me for my marriage? Scared of marriage? Hell, ya!! It is not only me wondering aloud, it is many other girls like me! So, this wedding season, the right question is- Why are girls scared of marriage today? It was the guys’ job to be scared of commitment and marriage, but now, the ladies take a step back when they hear the word. That doesn’t mean that every guy you meet is going to walk up to you and ask you to get married to him. No! They are still the big headed egoistic creatures who have the commitment bone missing from their body. I know quite a number of ladies who would not agree to this preposterous assumption of mine, but I happen to know quite a few lashes who will agree word to word with me on this. So what is wrong with these lashes? Why are they so scared to accept their so called ultimate fate? Marriage is getting a chance to create your own family, to make a new home with the one ...

Today, 21st Feb, is the international mother language day, antorjatik matribhasha dibosh, as we call it in bengali. It is globally observed to respect and preserve all languages spoken by people all over the world. Some of the countries have declared it as a national holiday. Amazing, isn’t it? It’s not only showing respect to your language. You are actually showing respect to your mother tongue. Most of us are multi lingual in modern times, given the fact that English is the official language of everything professional and that for Indians is not the mother tongue. So it becomes even more important for us to understand the significance of our mother tongue. How many of us can proudly claim that they are equally well versed in all the languages they know? Quite a few yes, and quite a few not as well, right? We may have many youngsters amongst us, who may or may not have fluency in reading, writing and speaking their individual mother languages. I can read and write Bengali, but am n...

Yet another Valentine’s Day is here and so automatically “love” is in the air! Literally! You have hearts popping out of every corner you look. Heart shaped candies, heart shaped balloons, chocolates, teddy bear and soft toys holding their hearts out for you and what not. This is officially the biggest sale time for Archies' gift stores. If you are someone special in someone’s life, you are in for a treat on this so called auspicious occasion for love. And if you are a single, well, dude, I got your back. Can anyone please explain to me why love is so closely related to the colour red? How did we come to assume that red resembles love? Never mind the fact that red is the literal colour of blood and also is the representative symbol of danger, so does that mean love indicates danger?? Hilarious, isn’t it? I got some arguments that red is love since love flows through our veins from heart like blood. But then I don’t see much of love when this blood is shed barbarically off inn...