Identity

Sometimes, there is this strong sense of loss. It has been half a decade now, away from home. The person in me that had left home five years ago has evolved substantially since then. And now, the distance between me and that left-behind value system gapes so large, that I often find myself floating. Uncomfortably. Cut off from my roots.

Visiting home doesn't feel the same any more. I have just drifted too far away, and find myself a painful misfit in those familiar surroundings. And therefore the sense of loss. As if I no longer have a home to go back to, some place I truly belong. And it is at times like this that I shut myself up, alone, in the hushed darkness of my room, searching for myself. Searching for a spirit, that has silently evolved within, and has now become my only home, my roots, and my identity.

All you who sleep tonight

All you who sleep tonight
Far from the ones you love,
No hand to left or right
And emptiness above -

Know that you aren't alone
The whole world shares your tears,
Some for two nights or one,
And some for all their years.

~ Vikram Seth

The Day after the 4th!

Taadaaaa.....the first Post Pujo 2008 Blog is here! (I am a wee bit gleeful at the thought of beating the head honchos of the organization at it). The Pujo yesterday was simply amazing and did bring to life the oft used cliche of a "rocking event" . Rocking it was...and how! The "Protima" was, to say the least, beautifully different and innovative to the E. I never knew till yesterday that FREE food could taste that good and as for the cultural program- it was effortlessly enthralling. But most of all, what I cherished was the feeling of belonging that the event exuded which made it a Pujo to call my OWN. A Pujo I have been proud to be associated with the past 4 years.
Before I retire back to bed with the liner smudged panda eyes (speaks volume of my post dance laziness), I would just like to thank everyone involved in what transpired yesterday for making it so beautiful. The people who've worked silently behind the scenes and those who've been vocal in front, from the President ofthe organization to the unknown smiling face who served food and everyone in between who made yesterday a warm bouquet of beautiful memories to be cherished for a long, long time.
A special thanks to my "partners in rhyme"- Payel, Sonia, Radhika and Tallin. I had an wonderful time performing with all of you.We did an amazing job yesterday and I would not have had half as much fun as I did had it not been for the friendships I forged with all of you over my hyperventilating bouts of practice, loud (and if I may add sometimes corny) jokes and hearty laughter. Your patience with me was indeed amazing!
Thanks again BSSM for the lovely evening...and a home away from home.

Quiz during pujo

Bhor Theke Chutochuti, Haansi Aar Lutoputi
Chalo Jai Dekhe Aasi, Tumi Ami Didi Masi
BSSM Korche Pujo, Felche char-e pah
Korbo Shobai Anondo, Bah bah bah bah bah !!!

Uporokto choratar rochoyita ke?
Jodi apnara er uttor jaanen, tahole apnader shokol-ke janai BSSM aayojito Quiz-er nimontron. There would be prizes. The time would be posted along with the schedule soon. So keep yourself informed.
See you all at 4th Oct, SPSC then !!

Lalmohon Babu hole bolten...!!

Lalmohon Babu nijeke aar shamlate na perey bolei fellen.."bujhlen moshai....aie jokhon thekey Sushil Kumar aar Vijender Kumar-er bronze pawaar khabor-ta peyechi... bhetore bhetore ki je ekta iye hochche ....ki bolbo moshai....shokaal thekei kintu daan chokh-ta lafachilo"...ektu themey "jyamon Aravalli-r Dacoits-der pichone tara korte giye ekta chapa uttejona hoyechilo sheirokom feel korchi.....lom gulo khara hoye giyeche, dekhun".... Feluda haath-er paaNch-ta angul shunnye tule diye, majhpothei Lalmohan babu-ke thaamiye dilen..."Vijender-er bronze-ta ekhono confirmed noi....ota slver-o hote pare abar gold-o hote paare....abar apni ja bollen ...Bronze-o hotey paare, aar aiete jeney raakhben Vijender-er opponent-ra apnar Aravolli-r Dacoits-der thekeo bhoyonkor, era holo giye Cuba theke jhanu boxer shob"...
emni shomoi hotat Telephone-ta kring krring kore bejey uthlo....abar ki natun rohosshyo ??....na onnyo keu ??....amar mukh-e tokhono ordhek jyam makhano paunruti..Feluda expect korchilo....ami phone-ta tulbo....amar obostha dekhe nijei ponchom baar krrring howar porei ekta upper cut bhongi-te reciever-ta tule nilo....
ami thik Feluda-r telephone-r kotha gulo follow korlam na....amar mathai tokhon breakfast sesh kore...Lalmohan babu-r bahannotomo upponnyaash-er molaat-ta ki rokom hoyeche sheite dekhar chinta !!
phone-ta rekhe Feluda bollo "ekta guess korto, ke phone korechilo, bhodrolok-ke tui chinish"...ami bollam "Tirthankar Babu...Elgin Road-e bari, jaader kaal raat-e bari theke oshtodhatu-r murti churi giyeche"...Feluda uttor dilo "na thaak paarbi na............. phone korechilen Krishnendu-r Baba"....Lalmohon Babu bollen "ke Krishnedu ??? Shoptopodi-r Krishnendu, you mean ....the grrrreat Chobi Biswas"....
Feluda:-"Corrrrrrrect Lalmohan babu...uni bollen Krishnendu aar Rina Brown naaki ekhon Beijing-e, oder biye-r 50th anniversary palon korbar jonnyo oNra Olympics dekhte giyeche...sudhu husband-wife.....ora naaki Vijender-er fight-ta dekheche stadium-e boshe.....ebong fight-ta howar porei shoja naki Chobi-Dake phone korechilen...tai bhodrolok amake onar khushi howar golpo shonachilen ...sesh korlen aie bole..Felu tomakei first phone-ta korlam kintu....ayi NDTV-ta ekbar chalato...dyakhi headlines-ta...."
ami remote-y teen-te botaam tepar porei channel-ta peye gelaaam...LIVE dekhaache desh-er Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru congratulatory message ..."soul of nation, long suppressed, finds utterance..." ...................bhodrolok-er chokh-er tolai jol dekhlaam money holo !!

Celebration of Mediocrity !

Demands of mediocrity are simple to fathom, it asks you to feel joyous about Abhinav Bindra's gold, it tells you to clap heartily for a Zakir Hussain's performance and expects you to write-off a Prosenjit-enacted Bengali movie potboiler. It does not tell you to add a new brick on the wall. It ensures that you be a good audience. It is a self-sustaining institution and primarily feeds on itself. There are Arundhati Roy-s and Amartya Sen-s and Saurav Ganguly-s and Moni Bhowmick-s who had been entrusted with the task of taking care for setting new precedents and new standards, which fall in the domain of excellence.
Funny thing about mediocrity is this, it wants to grow. Picture this "When I grow up, I want to be a Metro"- written on a Calcutta tram on a B.B.D Bag-Shyambazar route. It is saying, I know I am a mediocre but I want to end up being excellent because I can see what can be achieved by excellence, a 75 minute strainous tram journey can be reduced to a 15 minute Metro ride. It is this sheer sense of acknowledgment that mediocres indulge in, which has sustained them for years.
As Subhabrata Ganguli posed this wonderful query "What's driving?". I think a one-word answer will be excellence.
The queries are this, with our mediocrity can we define a new cult, a new standard for others to follow. Maybe we won't hog the covers of Newsweek, Guardain or Cosmopolitan, maybe we won't have Patents against our names, but can we create a platform, a podium where we can give ourselves that chance to be excellent and thereby define a norm that hasn't existed before in any form in any shape? Can we celebrate our mediocrity with a bottle of Champagne and luchi-alu-r dom, can we sing "Chorono dhorite diye go amari" and at the same time grab our Subway sandwhich while listening to it? Can we be seemingly sacrilegeous yet be sacrosanct and thereby do an Adam Smith by co-authoring a book named "Theory of Mediocre Bengali's Moral Sentiments?"

বাঙলা ব্লগ

মাতৃভাষায় ব্লগ লিখলে কেমন হয়?