"I Love You"...Irony and Truth

The groom and his family has asked for

One double bed Divan

One dressing table

A fridge

A showcase 

A Golden locket for the groom

A golden ring

And also the expenses for the reception party (around 4 lac)

Total expenditure of the bride’s family is around 15 lac

The marriage has been fixed and will take place after one month.

In the first night, Just after the reception party, this same boy (Husband) will tell the girl (Wife)….”I Love you”

Or maybe he has already said it coz they are now spending time together to know (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) each other more deeply.

What an irony Sir Ji….

One of the truths of Social Marriage.

P.S. this post can be read in past tense also.

Back To Back..

There were no better option than availing the train from my native place to reach Bengaluru as soon as possible, availing the flight was an option but it would delayed my arrival there coz to avail the flight I had to travel five hours of long bus journey to reach the nearby metro city from where the flights are available, after that it would take more one and half hour more to reach the airport availing a cab, on the other hand train to Bengaluru was available from my place so I decided to utilize those seven hours of time in my journey towards  Bengaluru, it was a thirteen hours of journey and luckily I got a seat in ac 2 tier.

I got the seat in the lower birth and on the other side there was a girl, I never have the habit to talk with the strangers while traveling rather I prefer to read books or listening songs , so I took out the book and started reading, after a while the girl asked 

…Hi Uncle, what’s your destination?

Replying her I asked the same, we talked for a while and came to know that she is going Bengaluru to take admission in M.Tech. in a famous university there, looking at my book  she shared her interest about detective stories, we went for some discussions about different writers from Saradindu Bandopadhyay to Sir Arthur Conan Doyel and also discussed about different detectives like Miss Marple, Feluda, Byomkesh Bakshi, Basab and obviously Sherlock Holmes, her reading habit made me too happy to express in words, now a days the addiction in social media among the young gen is very common to observe, but this girl is addicted to books of different genres.

Though I was very much tensed about Rajib but I also liked the conversation with her. That day morning around 11AM Arpan informed me over phone that Rajib has met a dangerous accident while returning back from a meeting driving his car, Rajib used to be my neighbor in our last rental house, he is almost 11 years younger than me, I used to help him in the science subjects, gradually a good brotherhood build up with time, he used to and still respect me as his elder brother, with time the brotherhood transformed with in good friendship, we have spent a long time  together, though from last eight years we are not in regular touch coz getting the job Rajib has shifted to Bengaluru and I have remained almost motionless, sometime during festive season he used to visit my town, his birth place.

Arpan  asked for my suggestion whether he should inform Rajib’s parents or not and I suggested not to inform them cause that day morning they had just started their journey for a trip abroad, Rajib informed me earlier about it.

As I have mentioned earlier that I don’t have the habit to talk with the strangers much so even after one hour of conversation I did not asked the name of the girl, in the mean time I also came to know that the girl has immense interest in chess, just like me, so we planned for a game in her laptop, when we were making the plan I felt ashamed of myself for not asking her name and then went for it, the natural question that knocked into my mind to ask about her parents and when she informed me about her father’s name it gave me a shock, I remained stunned for a while and found it tough whether should I laugh or should be surprised.

Have you played chess against computer?...she asked me after clicking the chess icon in her laptop.

I replied…yes

Have you defeated computer...she asked again

Yah, many times…I replied with a smile.

I have played many times against computer but never been able to defeat Mr. Computer…she expressed her sadness.

We went for five back to back games and she defeated me back to back five times, I will not show the excuse that I was unable to concentrate in the game coz I was worried about Rajib, rather I already made up my mind that I have nothing to do until I reach there. So, I played with full concentrate but yet failed to defeat her.

After the books and chess we went for some general discussions and she shared a lot about her family history, she shared how her family has dropped down from a millionaire to a middle class family after lots of misshapen, her great grandpa (grandpa of her dad) was a very famous and popular personality during the reign of British govt. for his kindness, helpful nature and high designation. I was listening to her with deep concentration to find out whether she has any wrong info about her ancestors or not.

The journey was very special for me, the train arrived in the scheduled time, Arpan came to receive me, an uncle of the girl received her from the station, bidding her good bye I took my seat in the car and the thought was knocking into my mind…should I had to inform her? 

The sky was being clear with the enriching sun rays, it was around 5:30 AM when after half an hour of cab journey the cab stopped in front of the gate, I was surprised after getting down from the cab…it was not a hospital in my view front, it was the house of Rajib decorated with flowers and pandals, uncle aunt and Rajib came out from the house with a meaning full smile and a tricky look and almost announced their win

…we were not sure whether you will attend the ceremony or not.

…so we made this plan

Rajib added

…above all it’s my marriage and I can’t imagine it without your presence, but sorry for the disturbance, I know you almost from your childhood days, you rarely attend any function so I could not take any risk.

Back to back two surprising and stunning experiences made my brain almost out of my control, the meeting with the girl in the train already made me restless; from the time I have left her in the station I was eagerly waiting to share the “spiritual” incident with my sister…

I reached two days earlier of the marriage, the day passed by with lots of works, taking care of the decoration and arrangements, though Rajib already managed everything so that the his closed ones do not need to take much work load, yet I took some responsibilities coz it was tough to spend time lazily.

In the evening, around 8PM Rajib,me and his friends were spending some lazy time in the terrace, Rajib informed me that he is gonna introduce me to an interesting human being, I asked two-three times about the personality but he was more interested to give me a surprise.

We decided to spend the time with some unusual activity and that was…everyone will give performance in which he/she is very poor, after some performances it was my turn and I have to share a joke, oh God! I cried out silently, what is gonna happen now, I don’t want to make cry anyone in this fantastic time. The idea of making a joke was proposed by Rajib, above all he is well acquainted with my nature. So finally I tried to deliver a joke and when I finished an young boy stepped into the room and informed me

…Sorry uncle but my grandpa (Nana) did not inform me about this 

He said it very seriously and then laughed out.

I was looking at him being perplexed for a moment coz it was almost beyond my imagination but my mind immediately calculated the relation…may be its true.

I asked being highly curious…are you…?

Rajib interrupted…yes, you guessed right.

After the sudden proposal of Rajib that I have to share a joke, I gave lots of pressure to my mind and finally a joke knocked into my mind, it has became very common to make funny jokes with the eminent personalities, it becomes more relatable for the listeners and it also explains the popularity of the personality on whom the joke is made, such one I read much earlier, it was on our fav megastar Rajni Sir, yes, I am taking about Rajnikanth.

It was really very surprising to meet that boy, Rajni Sir and Dhanush both are my so much fav that I can’t express in words, I have watched all the movies of these two personalities.

I enjoyed a lot there, made some new friends…o sorry! Actually credit should be given to those who showed interest on me , we exchanged our whatsapp numbers and naturally after few months only few of them kept good contact with me and after few more months fewer persons continued the chatting, to some extent I am responsible for it…it takes to make a quarrel.

Day after the reception I shifted myself from there, though Rajib made intense request to stay for few more days coz he was not going anywhere for honeymoon for next one month…he did not get leave from his office.

It was the first time I boarded the Lufthansa flight, it was Rajib who took the responsibility to book my ticket and he chose that airline, their service made me too happy to explain, though it was short journey but their hospitality was amazing. It was enriching experience with Lufthansa.

I already decided to share my sister about the meeting with the girl after returning, so after being freshen up I dialed her number, she picked up the call and after exchanging the general queries I said

….do you remember Doyel?

Who Doyel?...she asked

And again added…my classmate or our old neighbors? I can’t relate with the name

Give some pressure to your brain….i requested

She remained silent for a while and then replied

….no I really can’t remember

…ok giving you a clue, she is our relative?

She took some more time and replied

…no I can’t,  pls don’t create suspense…

I interrupted

...once I shared a story with you, it was made by me, I made it when our younger uncle became father being blessed with a girl, they kept her name “Doyel”, that time my age was 25, did you remember the story

…yes I remember, the plot of the story was…may be one day it will happen that I will travel in a bus or train, after a while Doyel will sit beside me, then we will go for conversation for long time, she will share about her family and ancestors, hearing her parents name I will remain silent, will pretend as I know nothing, the most interesting part will be that she will call me “uncle” during the entire conversation, its natural coz due to the age difference she will feel to call me as “Uncle”, as we have not met and there is no chance to meet so she will never know that the “Uncle” is actually her “Elder brother” in relation. Is not is funny?

… Exactly.

So what about that story? my sister asked.

…exactly

Why are you repeating the word?...she asked being curious

I am repeating coz the story has come true, exactly everything has happened in the way I mentioned in the story

…are you joking?

I shared the entire experience in the train.

After listening she was totally stunned just like I became.

The entire journey was an unplanned one, #SayYesToTheWorld…this was how accepted everything from the experience during the train journey. Whatever happened were beyond my lists and plans…#TheBlindList ones.

#SayYesToTheWorld with Lufthansa to explore the world with amazing experience during the journey.

  


P.S. My age is not around 45 years, it needs more time to reach there, this post is written with futuristic thoughts  and i think in future Lufthansa will continue their service and will flourish more with time, their adaption with the changing time will help them to exist with their own glory and fame.

"Smells" are no more #DurgaPujaSpecial

You can relate with this post deeply if you have spent your life (short or long time period does not matter) in any village of West Bengal, logically those who have/are spent/spending life in towns or specially in metro cities are far away from the smells of nature, yes, I am talking about nature, the towns and metro cities have become so much polluted that we all are craving for some fresh and pure air.

Thankfully, a long time period of my life, my childhood days, I have spent in my village, this is the reason, just like other villagers, I have deep relation with soil, the mud, trees, fruits, ponds,hays and agricultural fields and greenery.

 

Lying on haystack

If you close your eyes you will experience the sound pollution in a town or metro city but if you do the same in a village you can experience the sound of passing air, the twittering of birds, the sound of movement of dried leafs, the smell of the soil…everything leaves an enchanting effects in the mind.

The greenery…where it is in any town or metro city?  You have to travel a long  to experience it leaving the city but if you are in village the greenery is very common to experience.

No, it’s not a comparative post mentioning the differences between a village and a city, what I wanna mean is…you become much attached to the nature and its enchanting effects if you are from village.

The vanished smell in air

Yes, this year the smell in the air is no more…I am talking about the season ,the festive season, this is why I have already mentioned the name of the state…West Bengal, with the pomp and grandeur Durga Puja is celebrated here can be hardly experienced anywhere. This is actually the time for the season “autumn”…the weather remains pleasant for more than two months, the dew from the evening gives a pleasant experience and sometime becomes the reason for cold and cough but unfortunately all these are vanished, when there is no dew so no question of its smell, it’s just yesterday the rain due to “Titli” has started here, before that we were suffering from scorching heat in the day time. The essence of dew, the smell in the air all these are very much attached with Durga Puja which knocks your mind with the feeling “pujo ese geche” (Durga Puja is knocking at the door), the scorching heat made us feel that it’s the may-June season.

The vanished smell of Colors

This year what I have missed a lot to see is…the coloring of houses, the age old Bengali tradition is…the coloring of houses take place just one or two months before the Puja but this year in my colony only a single house has gone for it but not for the Puja purpose rather for the marriage of their daughter that will take place in the month of November, rest of my colony members have completed the coloring three four months earlier, even in our house the coloring of the second floor has been completed in the beginning of this year so no question of any more work.

I have been brought up experiencing the lime was of houses while staying in my village the colors have some special smells which I cant forget even now, the most intense effect related to this is the smell of pitch, yes the pitch which is used for the construction of roads, surprised? Actually there WAS a common practice in the villages that the main door of the houses used to be made of woods and to keep them safe from water and other natural effects the door used to be colored with pitch…oh God, I can’t forget the smell till now and I miss it a lot, even the houses which were made of mud, their outer portion used to be colored with pitch.

Now a days the use of pitch has vanished and this year in my colony and nearby colonies no one has gone for coloring…most of them have completed few months earlier ….so you can understand the vanished feelings...

The vanished season

As I have mentioned above, until “Titli” has stepped in here we were experiencing the season as May-June, otherwise the morning of autumn has a different feelings, you experience the coldness from the dawn to morning, the freshness in the trees and plants filled with dew drops makes your day and in this context it reminded me of the poem…

Dekhite giyachhi porbotmala

Dekhite giyachhi sindhu

Dekha hoina du chokh meliya

Ghor hote sudhu dui paa feliya…

Ekti dhaner shisher upor ekti sishir bindu”

This one is written by Nobel winning famous Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore

The meaning is…in the search of beauty I have traveled lots of places, have explored different countries, mountains and rivers but I have missed to cherish the beauty of a dew drop upon the grass just outside my house.

Catkin…this one plays a vital role with this season, to be exact…with this festive season, walking out in the morning exploring the jungle of catkin, the mild blowing air and the falling dew drops with pleasant sun rays make you feel that you are almost in heaven. It’s not only heart and mind soothing rather very eye soothing also.

But this year, due to improper season and the scorching heat the catkins are very rare to see.

These are some pics captured last year.

Heading to Explore

Cleaning the bushes

Adjacent to the outer wall of the boundary walls of the house, just beside the road,the small grasses grows up during the winter season and this is the time the cleaning take place with the honor “Maa Aschhe”(Durga Maa is coming), so everything should be neat and clean. This cleaning actually takes place average two weeks before the puja but this year I have experienced it just from yesterday.

So finally, which we, the Bengalis feel from two months of arrival of Durga Puja every year, this year we have started to feel the same to some extent just from yesterday, yesterday evening while talking with some of my colony members they expressed the same…”Due to the weather change, now we are feeling like Durga Puja is knocking at the door”

New dresses and gorgeous pandals are also attached with Durga Puja but the feelings of mind, the happiness and the mental attachments with the season and the nature…all these play most vital role in our lives.

Actually what I feel is…you can experience the gorgeous decoration and designer dresses in other occasion also but the feeling of “Pujo ese geche” or the effects of nature in your heart and mind can only be experienced when all these natural phenomenon take place and you are attached with it.

“Pujo Pujo gondho” means “it smells like Puja” ,very common feelings of the Bengalis from two months earlier of Puja, its intensity has decreased a lot.

Later I will try my level best to share more about Durga Puja but I really doubt coz this year i have some responsibilities in my shoulders regarding Durga Puja.