Once upon a time, there were three brothers. They embarked upon a journey together. Days passed, weeks, months. And one morning they saw a beautiful fountain ahead. As they went nearer they saw an extremely beautiful girl sitting by the fountain. On seeing the three brothers, the girl said “my name is Beauty. Come hither and speak of what you think of me”. The eldest moved forward and said “my name is Any one and as he sees your breathtaking beauty, Any one wonders if he could make love to you”. Then, the younger brother moved forward and said “my name is Some one and as he sees your beautiful eyes, Some one thinks if could marry you and have children with you.” Then the youngest brother moved forward and said “my name is No one and as he sees your most charming self, No one thinks he doesn’t desire but only loves you.”

To this Beauty answered “Any one desires me, Some one wants me and No one loves me. I could have embraced Any one, married Some one. But I have decided to love No one.”

Aamar shohor

I love you more and more each day as time goes by.......Bertie Higgins.

I have only a few days left in Calcutta(yes, I prefer Calcutta to the more bengalified Kolkata) and as the day approaches, slowly but steadily, the above song keeps coming back to my already pissed mind. Yeah! Pissed!! Thats what I am. Everyone around would expect me to be beaming with joy, thrilled at the prospects of a whole new world, lost in the eternal American dream. But I already miss my city.

Ret-e mosha din-e machhi
Ei niye Kolketay achhi..............Kobi Ishwar Gupta.

The 21 years that I have spent in Calcutta(+2 in a goddamned Kanpur, that makes me 23. Sigh!!!), every single day has been like a whole lifetime. Every person I have met, every place I have visited has a special memory attached to it. Sometimes it seems as if nothing about this city is ordinary. Be it the extremely messy traffic jams, the hartals, the numerous fairs going on all throughout the year, the waterlogged streets, the festivals .........every other thing about Calcutta seems to be weaving a magic touch on my otherwise ordinary life. Sometimes a healing touch. A walk amidst the book stalls in college street, the fragrances of new and old books in my veins have often calmed a brewing storm. Many a fond memories have been chalked on the ragged old carpets of Olypub(Ahhhh! Oly!!!! More on it later). On the alleys of this city I walked alone, made friends and foes alike, did what I didn't mean to, lost what I never knew if I wanted or not ............in Calcutta I found what I long for, most.

Ei shohor jaane amar prothom sobkichhu
Palate chai joto, se aase amar pichhu pichhu.............Kabir Suman.

This city has made me what I am today, it knows me inside out. And I have tried all these years to know her, to be one with her. And now when I will be leaving for New Jersey in a few days, I don't miss my parents as much as I miss her. There would be quite a few raised eyebrows on hearing that. But the greener pastures I am leaving for, promise me a better future when I can, in all probablities afford to have my parents by my side anywhere in the world. But with all the moolah in the world raked in, I won't be able to have even a tiny piece of Calcutta around me. That very thought hurts!! Muchly. And I want to come back. Desperately. Even before I've left. Maybe its my roots calling. Maybe my soul. Which strays along the roads of the city, wherever I am.

A (very)short story

His beloved mother often accused him of being forgetful. Little did she know, how he spent his days yearning to forget.

He has always likened himself to a rock. Has always tried to take life as it comes. Pain, happiness, solitude, he received all with a nonchalant look in his eyes. But deep down, he longed. Longed with all his might for what he had no hope of acquiring. And at times when it bore down on his mind, he wished that he could forget everything. Every damn thing!! But then, forgetfulness is a bliss. And he was not blessed.

False accusations, he thought.

Naive old lady, he laughed.

"Bless me, o God!!!!!!!", he cried.

Disclaimer: Likenesses to anyone living or dead is purely coincidental.

Two sides of a coin....

Life can be funny. Peculiar, to be exact. This morning my blissful sleep(induced by the huge amount of intoxicants I gulped down the previous evening, ahhhh, that reminds me of Oly, what a place!!!!!) was hit by a row of shrill cries and moanings and I woke to find that the ninety year old lady who lived next door had died. It felt quite strange. To start the day with a death. Though I wasn't very close to her, I have been seeing her standing on the barandah and talking with everyone who chanced upon to pass that way, from my very childhood. I sort of got used to her. Everytime I left my home for some errand, I heard her asking kothay cholle baba? She, her questions and her time out in the barandah had almost become a part of my daily routine. The instant my mother informed me of her death, the first thing to strike me was there would be no more questions from tomorrow. Maybe, felt a little sad too. In the afternoon when I was going out for my driving lessons I saw her body being taken to the burning ghaats in a car. The bed they carried her on was decorated with rajanigondha flowers. I stopped for a while, looked at the scene, paid a silent tribute to her soul and walked out of the golly. And there it was!! Another scene that hit me instantly. The decorator just opposite the golly was at his work, vehemently decorating a wedding car. And he used flowers to do so. Rajanigondha flowers. I pondered over the scene for a moment. Thought of the different facets of life. Smirked. Laughed a little. And went away to my work.
Huh!
Life indeed can be funny. Peculiar, to be exact.

Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy........

Yeah! One of the very few things that make me happy is sunshine. On my shoulders ala John Denver. Especially after the insanity in the name of rainfall that we had last week. Its a real relief to see the sun burning bright. Although much of that tends to ruin my complexion.

And yes, the real reason for me being happy is, sunshine means I can again wander around happily all over the city. Ohhh, did i mention being able to meet people more regularly?

FUQ (few unanswered questions)

A new blog. A new horizon. Lots of new ideas. Few, that will be executed. Maybe none. Then why the toil? Maybe because it always feels good to start afresh. Not only a blog, but life, in general. Maybe because it feels even better to fool a lot of people with random shit written purposefully. Or maybe just because I don't have anything better to do. You would never know. You wouldn't need to know, rather. You would probably come by someday, see some pictures, read some lines, leave an unnecessary comment and leave. You won't even notice the fagments of my life, my mind scattered all over this place. But then, it's better that way.