In bits and pieces

First, the reasons. For penning the blog, that is. They are not in any particular order :-)
1) A new post was long overdue in this blogspot.
2) Trashy writers suffering from partial insomnia (read, yours truely) need to vent somewhere!
3) Thesis writing is way more blah...
So, coming right back to the post. We've had some scattered developments (much like the dreaded scattered snow showers yet to come) with select few BSSMites which are decent enough to be shared with the entire community. Not that it matters, but any news seems like a manna from heaven in this news-parched deserted landscape of stillness. So, what else has been happening since our rocking, U-la-la, Va Va Voom of a success -Durga pujo? Nothing much...and yet quite a few things have been brewing in the proverbial pot. For starters, Suvo da et al. started a music club, the first session of which was organized at Tallin's place and which I heard, went amazingly well. Also, some of us spent a beautiful Saturday evening at Angshu da and Baishali di's pad last week amidst tons of pure ISI grade/ FDA certified adda and amazingly mind numbing, unbelievably delicious food (I still halucinate about that spread). And finally, who can forget, Saurav's birthday celebrated the day before Thanksgiving at CTC. Anybody who's a somebody or a nobody dropped by and the evening passed by in wolfing down great food, peals of laughter (special jarring effects were provided by a certain female) and a lively banter encompassing all. The final verdict: we need to have more of such get-togethers! Here's hoping that the year end brings more of those our way.
Have a great Sunday all!

Musical track on 50th Month Commemoration of BSSM

Designed on heavy bass and electric piano for the youthful brigade of Bengali Students Society of Minnesota on its 50th Month Commemoration. Regressive notes were intentional. Composed and designed on Apple’s Garageband 1.0. 14 tracks and 373 loops.
Saurav Mitra
(http://fractalss.podbean.com/)

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Paroma Chakravarty fondly remembers BSSM !!

50th Month Commemoration of BSSM (in gratitude and fond remembrance)

“Home is behind

The world ahead

And there are many paths to tread”

-“The Edge of Night (Billy Boyd, Lord of the Ring: Return of the King)”

I can’t help but start with these lines as I write something about BSSM, an association which has provided the comfort and remembrance of a home far away. 2005 was the year when it all began, around the same time as I inwardly celebrated my first year of surviving PhD and the harsh, Minnesotan winter (I celebrate random things in my life which have no cosmic meaning anyway). As BSSM took its baby steps towards organizing the first ever student organized Durga Puja in continental US, I chose to stay away from the thick of things-call it shyness or reluctance to admit that I am useful in being part of any organized effort or a strong belief in the incredulity that something like this could be actually pulled off (the Bengali association in Toledo, OH sucked oh so!) or just plain shirking responsibility by being my lazy self (a perennial trait in me which I am not proud of, but which surfaces in most things I do anyway). Overall, I am thankful, and may I add, very, very thankful that everything came together and happened so beautifully. The birth of BSSM also seemed to be a birth of some sorts of a certain side of me that I was not aware of for a long time-the desire to be part of a community, the desire to reconnect to my childhood through the smells and sounds of Durga Puja and finally the desire to put on my dancing shoes which had long been hung up. Looking back, I am so, so glad….and again, vociferously thankful.

I do not have all the gory details of the “how”s and “where”s of our dear society’s inception. Thanks to a bunch of proactive people who felt the need to protest against the monopoly of a certain organization, BSSM was born. My solitary role in the whole thing was to perform one of the two dance numbers of the evening at CTC, which was itself borne out of a lot of hesitation and nervousness. Irrespective of the ghastliness my steps, I felt happy. We bongs are not all song and recital, we love to dance too! It was a fulfillment of a dream of some sorts-to dance on stage and that too for our very own Pujo!

So what started with a handful of us blossomed into something bigger the next year at the St. Paul student center, the year after that again in CTC, the following year at St. Paul and then we came back a full circle back to CTC this year. Amidst the beautiful protima, amazing cultural program, tons of helping hands pitching in for sumptuous bhog and Puja decorations, resonance of beautiful Bangla in the air and tons of warm smiles and friendly faces, did BSSM flourish and prosper. The Puja magazine appeared dutifully each year barring one, the low/null subscription continued and the deadly combo of lunch, snack and dinner made every occasion even more joyous! My dances continued (I have two very persistent left feet) as did my closeness to the community from which I had kind of strayed and stayed away for years; and my participation inched towards multiple facets of the organization. Looking back on all these years, it warms my heart that we have our own, my own BSSM after all. Its sheer existence (thanks to everyone who pitched in monstrous efforts in its survival) helped me connect to a lost sense of belonging, revived my childhood Pujo memories and bequeathed upon me the feeling of a “home away from home”.

I do not know where I will be next year. As graduation draws close and I think with shudder of what lies ahead, I am constantly reminded of the fact that I will be once again leaving “a home” behind. Needless to stay, wherever I go and whichever paths I tread, I will carry the memories of this organization in my heart. I am happy that it found me and gave me one of the few joyous occasions in my life to be proud of, love, cherish and reminiscence.

Paroma Chakravarty/BSSM veteran (year joined BSSM: 2005- Rah!Rah!)

Very much vegetating/ hibernating/ cooling off my heels in Minneapolis….

BSSM Music Club: Getting started ...

Okay, it's finally time to get started ... with the first BSSM Hobby Center!

Or perhaps I should use the term "BSSM Music Club" instead of "BSSM Music Hobby Center". The phrase "Hobby Center" sounds more catchy (yes ... we all crave for attention), but it's not quite self-explanatory. The idea of "club" is perhaps what we have in our minds ... and so I decided to edit the title of this post in the last minute.

Anyway, as the wise folks say ... what's in a name? ... the point is that we are getting started :)

Here are some of the activities we plan to do in this club:

A) Meet regularly!

(i) Spend some time with people who want "to do something" related to music.

(ii) Catch-up with what's going on in the music world.

B) Create a digital archive - to easily share music among us!

C) Brainstorm (and practice) music which we may play as a group!

D) Provide a platform for newcomers (newly learning music) to perform!

Thanks for all the enthusiastic responses I received so far. (frankly I thought my blog-post will go unnoticed ... so I was surprised to receive 3 positive replies within 30 min of my posting!)

We are planning to meet soon! (Tentative date: Nov 1 or 8 - Sun, after lunch. Venue - TBD)

Curious to know more? Email at subhabrata.ganguli@gmail.com

Response to my suggestions

I have decided to give a bit more fuel to this blog. I decided to do so (rather impulsively) by posting some of the email exchanges following my previous entry. I am hoping that the folks who emailed me back won't terribly mind for taking their permission for granted.

Email 1: From Suvo, 12:18 PM

Here's my reply to the blog entries recently made. I decided to also email my comments as I think the blogsite may not have as much readership as this e-list does. Please respond with your comments, if possible.

Follow-up Comments

I liked reading the original post. Not just because the author is a good friend of mine (and thus I have to do my cheer-leading/-following part). It's more due ....

[part of original email deleted]

These are my thoughts on a Monday morning.

What are yours?

- Suvo

Email 2: From A, 12:32 PM

Suvoda,

I would be very interested in the Music group that you suggested! When should we have our music group meeting? Lead korar moto knowledge (breadth or depth) music e amar nei....kintu jodi from co-ordination perspective bolo ami shei tate kaaj korte raji achi...

tumi ki ekta band er moto conceptualize korcho?

Email 3: From B, 12:52 PM

To Subhabroto,
Me and my husband C is game for the music group.We would love to join the group.

Email 4: From Suvo, 12:52 PM

Thanks for your quick response! Email korar agey ami implicitly assume korechilam je tui (and a few others) definitely interested hobi :). But I still wanted to send out a generic email - to see if we can get some new people/fresh ideas in.

I was thinking more of a "club" like atmosphere. Amar money hoy "band" brand naam-er onek gulo negative effects :) ... for e.g. ego-clashes, the need to perform with increasing frequency, etc.

I was thinking of our goals along these lines:

a) Meet at a regular interval - spend some social time with people of like-interests (music).

b) Discuss music which we can play as a group (like a band). example - 5 people presenting a jazzed-up bengali folk song - vocal, keys, drums, guitar, violin

c) Provide a platform for solos + duos

d) Catch-up with what's going on in the music world

e) Create a digital archive - to easily share music among us

Again, these are my 5 min thought on this. Perhaps, the first few meeting should be designed to figure out what would attract us to meet regularly, given our busy demanding life is US ;)

- Suvo

Email 5: From Suvo, 12:52 PM

Great! Thanks for your quick email.

I will wait for a few more days to collect all replys - I will get back to you.

- Suvo

....

There were a few more email exchanges which I am excluding as they are not relevant. Also, I replaced the names of the email authors by A, B, C, etc.

Why post emails?

So, why did I post these?

Well, first, to give credit to the folks who were quick to positively respond.

Second, to provoke some more reaction from other BSSM members. (I know there are many others who are interested, but probably are running from class to class, or didn't get time to check their emails).

I will keep you posted on this topic.

REPORT CARD on DP 2009

Introduction

Coupon tickets tell us, number of people registered in the Front Desk, throughout the day of 4th October is 115. And if you would like to add, less than 10-year old girls and boys that frolicked around in the Arena, the total number of human beings will be 125 around. A mighty number I say, given, the Venue that we had chosen. (funny part is, we actually did not get to make a choice, this time, either the Date or the Venue, it was preordained by intangible beings who reside in the far-away galaxies and beyond)

Present Status

Post Pujo, the video, the audio and the image files got themselves posted in a webbed space; effort and time needed to unravel all those webs and stack them up comprehensively, so that people have a one-stop solution to look and peek into them. I had been told, "they" are working on this. I am not aware of the specifics of "they". Let's assume, "they" are there and they exist and it will get done. Details of finances are being worked out. There would be a buffer amount left in the BSSM bank account, which would enable us to give an impetus in the next BSSM show, whenever it is.

Review

Reviews and feedbacks had been overwhelmingly positive for Pujo 2009.
Leaving aside the gladdening ones, let's look at some of the murmurs and whispers that had gone around : " Why do we meet only one time a year?" (an age-old universal complaint, only that, the decibels had been tad bit higher, this time). "Why did we not plan this much earlier, we could have had a better Venue and a Saturday to our advantage ?" "Why this was not publicized elsewhere ?" Many more. Let's look at each of the components in separation.

a) Pre-production stage: Grade A+

Bodhisatwa masterminded this time's pre-production stages with his deft touches, supported by Sonia, Shameek and myself. He had this idea of sharing Google spreadsheet within the list. It kept tabs on many and we were able to tighten up many loose screws. It was damn important, since we were running on limited resources with respect to finances and time.

However, it lost its way a bit at the final stages, days before the Event. Wish we could have perforced that.

Suggested solution:-Through email-list or google spreadsheet or website or through Blog, this planning stage should start early, preferably a year before. So, for example we should start thinking about 2010 from now. The more you will keep it for the last month, the greater are the chances of failure to fine-tune it. We know all this. Nothing new. Yet we forget. I wish I had a hard-coded solution to suggest for this, other than the obvious:

1) Are we doing a proper house-keeping of the usable and reusable items, that we have gathered over these years ?

2) Are we clear what we are set out for and what kind of preparation would it need ?

3) Are we in a position to speculate the number of audience we can draw ?

4) Are we in a position to speculate the money that we might end up using ?

5) Everybody will have primary engagements with respect to profession and similar pursuits, and on an obvious note there would be demands that need to be met personally. Can't we plan and manage ourselves, create a separate window for this Event, and this time of the year, from a year ahead ? It will make each of our responsibilities lighter and easier for the volunteer next to us.

Comment:-By far this time's was the best one. Way better than the previous 4 years.

b) Website, Email-list and Information Dissemination : Grade A-

Website does not have "all" the current details. It does not map the information correctly as conveyed in the Email list. Confusion created in the process of information dissemination.

Suggested solution:-Two dedicated people who have the requisite skills should put up their hands and work on this. World will look at us through our website. It needs extreme care.

Comment:-It is miles ahead than any other Bengali Society related website I had seen, given the amount and kind of information we handle.

c) Pujo, Bhog, Ayojon and Purohit: Grade A+

Why was there no pujo-r nirghonto ? There was no prior public information, what is going to happen in Pujo and how. Do take into account, we perform the Pujo in an abridged manner, which might irk many people's sensitivities. We need to be more careful and vigilant on this.

Purohit, Subhrajit did an extremely good job, this time, by far the best. What if, he is not around next time, do we have a back-up ?

a) Can we have a Chondipaat next time when the Pujo is on, before or after ?

b) Can we have Bhajan songs when the Pujo is on, before or after?

Suggested solution:-More people need to brainstorm on this part, beyond the present duo of Nilanjana Di and Subhrajit. Anything else going wrong or misplaced in Durga Pujo is acceptable, but not this one.

Comment:- Given the resources we had and the significance attached, we did an extremely good and a brave job of this one, ably supported by volunteers.

d) Protima: Grade A

We can only add number of plusses to the alphabet A in future. Where would you see such an in-house effort, breaking the norms and subtly avoiding the traditional ? It happens only here.

Suggestions:-Do we know, what is going to be our next time's presentation ? Surely we are not thinking of getting one from Kumartoli, anytime in future, like many other NRI organizations do.

Comment:-Refer to e).

e) Pandal, Decoration and Lighting: Grade A-

Factoring in, we have the best of the best creative minds at one place, why couldn't we push the envelope in design? What is going on, is not only fine, it is extremely brilliant. Note, the number of fine design minds accumulated at a single place; much was expected from this section. Here is a section, where everybody can go wild with imagination and creativity and unleash them. Think about your school or college days or in your locality, wherein you came up with some stunning designs and installations. Why does it look constricted in comparison with the potential it has ? It has to improve. This is a major component where you can generate maximum feel-good factor and hence brand, value and legacy. Passion and spirits will sleepwalkingly follow.

a) Can we have a chandelier at place next time ?

b) Can we have arrangements for Dhaki next time ?

Suggested solution:-Get organized and focussed. Look at the other decoration examples from the web. Innovate. Remember, this is the only place where you can score points. And this is the only place where points are scored in a Durga Pujo. "jaanish toh, okhaane lighting-ta daruun hoyeche", "okhaane pandal-ta oshadharon korechilo."

Comment:-It was fine and dependent on the Venue we had. Maybe overall presentation could have been improved by a mere 5% , going by the initial plans we had. Executing 95% is no mean achievement and it means something and speak volumes about the desire and the efficiency of the volunteers who had put their hearts in it.

f) Culturals and Sounds: Grade A

Why wasn't there a list of participants ready with their items beforehand ? Why is there no "natok" in this section ? Why isn't there much variety in the overall cultural presentation ?

Why are we not getting the "sound" of pristine quality ? Why are there stop-s and start-s in between ? Why is it looking like, that the participants had rehearsed for few days and somehow managed to get themselves up in the stage and still deciding what to do and what not to ? Are all the individual talents or groups alike getting a space in the main show ? Are we keeping proper tabs to allow that? Are we ensuring an atmosphere that everybody is performing to the best of the their abilities? Is there necessary and sufficient communication happening between the interested participants during the time of rehearsals?

Suggested Solution:-More practise sessions and detailed planning are required if you want to give it any chance of improvement. There can be 101 points mentioned here. I will leave it for now.

Comment:-I know, how late everything began with respect to preparations of Pujo and I did not expect it would be such a superb one. Kudos to all ! Quiz was consistent and extremely a good show.

g)Food, Lunch and Dinner: Grade A+

Why was there no Bijoya-r mishti served ? Given that we are dependent on Indian restaurants to serve our food, and I don't think it can change in the next 10 years, there is no physical way of improving the quality of food. The resources we had in Twin Cities, it couldn't have been budgeted any better.

Suggested Solution:-Not one I can think of.

Comment:-It is commendable to serve out a Saturday dinner, Sunday morning Bhog, Lunch, Tea and Snacks and then Dinner.

h) Magazine: Grade B

Why were some of the copies have to be photocopied ? Why the formatting is dependent on Purnendu-da? Who is the alternative? Why isn't there a web-magazine ? Why are there no continuous contributions in the Blog ? It is unbelievable, that each BSSM member is exposed to world of information and facts and they are not sharing their views and opinions through articles. This is totally unacceptable. All of them have strong opinions and viewpoints and are extremely sensitive being, yet we had not been able to create a podium where people would feel free to share them. A student's society that don't have a good outlet of opinion and expressions, is bordering itself on an oxymoron !! You have to excuse me for I had to resort to such sardonic sarcasm.

Suggested solution:-Much like the Information affairs, dedicated people are needed for this as well. Increased participation from all is required.

Comment:-Given that we are housed in an University setting, we should have done a good job of getting the Magazine to perfection. We are falling short of our own expectations. We need to raise the bar more. We are still at School-level.

i) Finances: Grade B+

Approximately, 2400 dollars were used as opposed to 2800 dollars generated through various sources. The presentation that we had put up, easily 400 dollars of expenses could have been trimmed down, if we had planned it well and thought about the specifics much earlier.

Suggested solution:-Refer to a).

Comment:-It gives me great pride in sharing you this fact, this is one component which had led to split in so many groups and organizations in past, all over the world; but, BSSM has been intact in spite of the fact it handle finances of such amounts each year and for a continuous run of 5 times, without an iota of conflict. The grade awarded had to be a poor one. In these times, one can't afford to give a good grade to management of finances, for, that can give rise to horrible financial speculations. Each one of us know through the Forbes and the Fortune-s what can horrible financial speculations lead to.

Sincerely,

Saurav Mitra

P.S.:-This is not a self-complete comprehension.

Ja janano uchit chilo othocho ekhono bola hoi ni....(Ek)

Aiebar-er Pujo-r Bhog jara toiri korechilo ebong toiri korte shahajjyo korechilo taader naam jothakrome:-
Nilanjana, Arpita,Taraswi, Tallin, Paroma, Payel ebong Basabdatta aar Sonia. Bibhinno shutro thekey jana giyeche
je Bhog-er ayojon aiebar-er moton naki agey kokhonoi hoi ni. Era shobbai Shonibaar sesh raat thekey
Bhog-er ayojon korechilo. Protibaar-er moton ebareo, Nilanjana ( amader shobbaier kache Nilanjana Di)
muul daitto niyechilo.

Pujo-r Alpona-r kaaj koreche Arpita,Taraswi ebong Shahida.

Naam prokaash-e onichchuk kichu byakti ayibar BSSM-ke bishesh bhabe orthoprodaan korechen. Amra taaNder-ke
aie shujog-e, dhonnyobaad gyapon korte chai.


Onekei hoito jane na, purut moshai, Shrimaan Subhrajit Roychowdhury goto ek maash dhore alada kore onek porashona koreche Durga Pujo-r poddhoti ebong jogaar niye. Prayoshei shey nanan rokom proshno korey Nilanjana-ke bibroto korto. Ki bhabe puro jinish-ta shonkhep-e kora jai, jaatey Pujo-r muul bhaab-ta prokaash pai.
Ey ek kothin challenge, Student-der ekdin-er Durga Pujo, tar moddhye muul kathoma-ta dhore rakha ebong beNdhe rakha, besh taatporjye-r bepar.

Shongoshkritik poribeshon-er shomoi-er moddheo, poribeshona-r shonkhyanukrom bodleche. Kono onghshogrohonkari tar poribeshon-er 5 minute agey obdi jaante pareni, je tari poroborti poribeshona. Maane backstage-y totaaaal chaos cholchilo :-)

Rajes Sau-r Waltz aar "Packington's Pound"-er poribeshona-r pichoner itihaash.....Rajes, January-er 2009-er agey obdi kokhono kono baadyojontro chuNye-o dekhe ni. January-er ek bikelbela-i or hotat shokh hoyechilo, je kichu ekta bajano sikhte hobe. "Guitar diyei shuru kori."


BSSM-er Durga Pujo- aie prothombar kono Robibar-e palon kora holo. Sadharonoto eta Shonibar-e hoye thake. Onek-kei onichchashotteo taratari hoito beriye jetey hoyeche Venue thekey.

Aie prothombaar BSSM Durga Pujo-r shomoi-e amra kono byabshayik protishthaan-er kach thekey shahajjyo chai ni. Ashole, lokbol-er obhaab-e taagid dewa jai ni.

(Kromosho)

Wall Painting on Washington Avenue Bridge

Concept,Design and Composition:-Sauptik, Ayan and Bodhisatwa
Support Staff:-Puja, Sonia, Basabdatta,Shameek,Purnendu and Saurav

Timelapse perspectives :-A prologue

Time:-October 4,2008:9:30 PM
Place:-St Paul Students Center Theater, St Paul, MN-55108
Streaming out from the venue, were hordes of people, celebrating BSSM-s Sharodotsav 2008. Each of the minds were occupied with ecstastic fervour after the execution of the year's Mega Show and the conversion of it into a Blockbuster !! Some felt liberated, a feeling one has while reconstructing data from the observations of atomic force microscopy, or after getting the specimen right on a petridish readied for cell-culture, or after hitting the correct pitch and notes while singing a song and maybe getting the contents of Rum in the right proportion while preparing Mojito.
Moments of high, or liberation as one might call it are all weak or maybe strong functions of the background noises then.
The times and moments then were different as they are now. What was unknown then, is known now.

Those times were such: Michael Jackson was then a bad word to utter, he was in the radar of public memory as a paedophile and not as the Pop-icon as the generation of 80-s used to know him, until everybody felt bereft after his death. Anil Kapoor was remembered as the actor with leather pants and red jackets, until the year-end Globes and Oscar red-carpet changed all that. All believed and rooted for Saurav Ganguly to continue in the International Cricket for another 2-3 years and muster some more 100-s in the Test Matches and One-Dayers, till he would announce the retirement days after,October 4 2008. Sarah Palin's failure was everybody's wish and desire, not many expresses interest in knowing the current travails of Joe Biden. Obama was the sentimental favorite of the season all over the world, the victory he would have enjoyed in the next few months in the Presidential Elections, only echoed those sentiments. CPM was thought to be as invincible and indestructible entity as the mighty Colossus in the lands of Bengal, till the verdict of Lok Sabha Elections would open the eyes of the public and everybody would chant in unison,as people do while stating the obvious, and present it as their own Theory : "okay, it is all over for them".
India was about to set its first unmanned Moon Impact Probe, Chandrayaan, and for once all of us felt, okay we are catching up with the super-powers in the space-race only to feel disappointed late last month. Large hardon collider in CERN was believed as the Second Big Bang of the Universe and one K Santhanam from DRDO if present would have pre-told us, "neah, its just another fizzle".

Economics and global warming are discussed in its global scale by everybody and each one of us have an opinion, which are us as unacademic and as un-technical as TV reality show judges and they only get accentuated by the pop-articles in newspapers.

A timelapse photography of these series of perspectives would have revealed to us a montage that could have only been mapped in a hyperbolic geometrical space .

Times have changed, quantitatively by a year only and as BSSM gear up for Sharodotsav 2009; with new noises and specks of obfuscated information in their minds, wonder what it would have to offer for year 2010.....Any hands up for timelapse photography for the upcoming year ??...Any shot at the Epilogue ??

Poila boishak celebration video

Poila boishak celeb -2

Poila boishak celebration