Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Lovers

*Contains graphic descriptions. Please read at your own discretion. The story is entirely ficitonal and is not meant to offend any person.

Her lips burned on mine. I could feel her body heat through the flimsy garments that separated our skins. I could smell the faint perfume of her hair. And I could feel her hand behind me, holding me, supporting me, bending me backwards, as always.

When naina first caught hold of me today and kissed me, I have to say that although I was taken aback, it wasn’t entirely unexpected. For a long time now she had been making it amply clear that there was more to us than just good friends and in the last few days the hints had hardly been veiled. I mean, I could never be sure. But I thought I felt her lips on the top of my head when fell asleep on her shoulders in that boring founder's day speech. Or I felt her hand brushing past mine too many times as we walked yesterday. Or the hand was more on my back than the back of the seat as we watched the Speed Racer in INOX. Maybe it was my imagination but she did touch my knees too often while talking and her hands had definitely brushed past some sensitive areas while walking past me. But somehow I always allayed my fears at the conscious level by calling it a coincidence or general figments of my imagination. So when she finally did touch me, I was very taken aback. When she suddenly wheeled me around, held me with her strong arms and kissed me, I was surprised, but somewhere all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place.

Naina. Girl extraordinaire. Tall, pretty, intelligent- she always topped class and was basket ball captain of college team too. She was universally regarded to be an all rounder and was a teacher’s favourite. She was also a great leader, they said. She could encourage and inspire the most timid of beings and could lead any number of people to any task. In short she was brilliant. But to me she was a lot different. She was my hero alright, but she was also my best friend. Like the rest of the college, teachers included, I was in awe of her personality. But where she helped others because she liked to be looked up to, her helping me was entirely because she genuinely cared.

Yes Naina genuinely cared for small insignificant me. It probably stemmed from her need to be looked up to and respected. But when she met me there woke in her a maternal spirit seen in all women, specially the domineering kind. She probably just wanted to protect me. And she did a good job. The marks I got were all fruits of her efforts. She taught me before every test, be it class test or the more important semesters. And sitting together for long hours in the library and corridors gave rise to a relationship much deeper than probably expected by people of us.

Looking back, what drew us together was our loneliness. For me that was understandable. Having come from a closely knit family, adjusting into a hostel life was never going to be easy. I moped in my solitude and did not open up. The result was as expected; no one took an interest in me. Some of the people tried being kind but it made me retreat into my shell even more. As a result I became what is defined as a loner.

But her story was difference. She had everything, she was outgoing. She was always surrounded by people. But all these people revered her and were in awe of her. But they were also secretly jealous. So she never found that camaraderie that she looked for.

And then we met. Well it was not that big an incident. It was quite harmless. We met in the cafĂ© when we both wanted the same drink but there was only one bottle left. Overawed I let her have it. But she gave it back to me, took something else and went and sat between her gang. I don’t know what came over me but I carefully divided the drink in half and handed it to her plumb in the centre of her friends. She looked up, startled.

That is how it started. Then she returned the kindness a number of times in class and lab. But even then the interactions remained the same as her interactions with the other quiet people in class. What changed it a little once was when I did very badly in an exam and I was publicly hauled for it. The teacher did not stop till she had her fill of publicly humiliating me. I must have looked very forlorn that day. She took a liking to me and took me under her wings. Probably the maternal feelings were born then.

But what sealed the bond was when one day I saw her cry quietly in the bench by the basket ball court. It was a Sunday evening and the play fields were deserted. I couldn’t see what she was doing. All I could make out was the tall, splendid figure slouched over the bench. Instinctively, I moved towards her. She probably heard my footsteps because she looked up. I took in her tear stained face and probably for the first time in my 18 years acted strong. I held her while she poured out her heart and cried. That day we became friends.

That was 2 years back. In the last two years we’ve seen a lot of successes and failures but we’ve always stood by each other. To the whole world, this pairing seemed strange. But for us it was just right. We acted as perfect counterfoils of each other. And so the friendship grew.

During these two years the friendship blossomed. We came really close. But it was only lately that I felt her behaviour towards me changing. Not that she distanced herself. But she became more possessive, aggressive if I was to have other friends. And then there were the subtle and sometimes not so subtle hints. And then today happened.

She caught hold of me in this wonderfully experienced manner. From the first moment itself she took control, the way she always has in this friendship. She put her hands around my waist to support me like she always has through life’s turbulences. In her eagerness she forced herself on top of me till I bent back, like always when faced with her whims. As her kiss got more urgent, the thoughts became more frantic. I did not know if I was ready for this, if this was right. But as usual she took control and took the decisions for me. I knew I had nothing to worry about. The thoughts were slowly displaced by her fragrance and her urgency. I thought nothing when her hand finally moved up to my breasts.

They were right, the cloud did have a silver lining... (Part 1)


Its no secret that this place depresses me horribly. Its no secret that I wish I was anywhere but here. But then sometimes things happen that brings a smile to my lips and warms my heart and then I get the rare feeling of being wanted again. Here are a few examples of few recent things I can remember.

1. One random day I was as usual wasting my afternoon on facebook when Jyothsni pinged me to tell me there was food in her room, I could come if I wanted to. I had already had lunched. but the simple gesture of asking me touched me so much that I went immediately. The food was extremely yummy. Prawns and mutton and biriyani and sweets and cake. But more than the flavour of the food, it was the invitation that left a great aftertaste..

2. It was placement week. Day zero morning. I was scared stiff. Very very nervous. The nervousness kept increasing exponentially as I kept getting rejected by company after company. I was waiting for my 4th company of the morning and my 6th interview overall when I saw Chandan standing under the balcony. He asked how it had gone. I told him rejected. He just smiled and mouthed keep faith, things will work out. 3 interviews later I was selected by that same company.

3. I was feeling really low and suffocated in college. I wanted a break, wanted to leave. That's when Gaju called. He wanted to know if I wanted to meet him for a drink and dinner. I couldn't have said no. I didn't want to. Time flew. I was with him for 4 hours. Nothing like good food, good drinks and good company to improve my mood.

4. I was again, as usual, playing through Farmville. Total time waste, I agree. But at least gives me something to do. This is when Anuj's chat message popped up. He was alone in his flat in Gurgaon, on a Friday evening, drinking. It somehow felt great talking to him. I could sense that once in a while he does miss me. Made me feel wanted.

5. I had called Arinnjay to wish him happy birthday. In the conversation it came up that he'll be in Kolkata from the 10th of December where as I am landing on the 13th. The happiness in his voice to hear he'll be meeting me again was a serious ego boost.

6. Every time a case competition comes up, Kari, Birla and I just know that we're participating, time and resources permitting. This comfort level, trust and compatibility is a great take away for me from this place.

7. Purna mailed me to tell me about this sudden urge to meet me after college one day, although she is hundreds of miles away from me. Things like this make you go mushy.

8. It was a presentation and I had worked hard for it. It was different from the usual presentations and I was worried about pulling it off. Just before going up to the front of the class I received a message. It simply said, "Best of luck eye!!!". It was BP.

9. Very often I have felt out of place and on the fringes of a group. Very often I've had the feeling of being there but not belonging. One person who really tries to change that for me is Karan. There is no particular moment to recollect, but he gives me this nice and happy feeling.

10. I was mad at the world and screaming bloody murder. Ronald happened to call me at the exact same moment. I was screaming the roof down into the phone and he tried to reason with me. I ended up abusing him pretty bad. Although he hung up on me then, he realised I was upset and called me back not only to make amends but also cheer me up.

A lot of other things happen daily, a lot of people play their part. Writing about them all would have taken me days. This is just a snapshot of ten things in the recent past of about one month that have made me smile when I was very upset.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

The recall factor of colours


""Whenever you see colours, think of us"

This is the tag line of a very famous paint company. This paint company, or its branding agency, gt its game right when they came up with this tag line. The reason I say so is because there is a very high recall factor with colour. I mean, we very often associate different colours with different things- people, moods, places, objects, etc etc etc... And this works both ways. For example, when I say blue I can only think of Mercure. This night club in Bangalore is bathed blue lights and some videos we took there when we went there recently are blue films in the literal sense (of course the subject matter of these videos were questionable too). Ofcourse, there are times when blue remind me of Lara Dutta in a bikini, diving deep below the sea, but that's more phonetically blue than visually blue.
In the same way, when I think of Monsoon in West Bengal, I can only think of green. The dust washed away by the rain brings forth the green-ness of the trees. The earth seems refreshed, it seems rejuvenated, alive.
And then there is this dirty, bottle green which will always remind me of Purna's kurta. It somehow defined her for me.
Another very strong recall factor for me is the colour pink. It gives me comfort. I've always known that pink is a very comfortable colour. I just didn't know why. Now I think I do. Pink was the colour of the walls of my bedroom as I grew up. Infact not just the walls, the book case, the curtains, some of the bed sheets, my pillow covers, the mosquito net, even the all-out that was plugged in my room was pink. And I never even liked the colour that much!!! But pink will remain the colour of relaxation.
Similarly, brown is the colour of the soil in shantiniketan. Considering the fact I've been there only twice, and once when I was very small, I didn't think it would have that profound an effect. But somehow it does. I believe it is because of the excessive use of "laal maati" in bengali prose and poetry and my mother's incessant chanting of the above mentioned literary works. So when you actually go there and see everything (and I mean everything, from trees to cars and houses, even roadside animals) covered with the fine red dust, you immediately recollect those words written and there is an instant recall.
For me black is the colour of the darkness. Black is the colour I remember from my early days in Chandipur where there was no electricity and the evenings were spent by candle light. When we sat out in the veranda and looked beyond the boundaries, all I could see was black, interspersed with the intermittently glowing dots of the firefly.
There are three other colours that I remember from Chandipur. The first is the orange of the "kumro phool" or pumpkin flower that I got everyday from my neighbours house, which my mother then fried in batter and I relished. The second was the green of my mother's sari this one night she locked me in the room and left on an urgent night call. That time we stayed alone, just the two of us. That green pattern of the sari that reminded me of chillies, when she finally came back after me having shouted myself hoarse and cried myself dry will always stand for anger and fear and finally relief. And thirdly, I remember vividly the red of the knicker I wore as I ran around playing on the fields as a care free two year old
Red also reminds me of the blood on a mother and daughter that my mother accidentally hit while driving, as they were taken into the car and driven to the nearest hospital. That red I saw as a 2-3 year old is a terrifying memory very difficult to put past.
And finally, a navy blue reminds me of this beautiful full moon night where our car went driving through the deserted roads of the countryside. Noone spoke a word and the silence was comforting. Outside there was hardly any trees. There was one gnarled tree looking silver against the shadowy landscape. That night somehow sums up all things nice for me- be it due to the comfort of the company or the sheer beauty of the sight. That dark blue and silver always puts in perspective by reminding me of something that is timeless.

*I acknowledge Purna Banerjee as an inspiration for this prose. This idea is adapted from a beautiful piece of writing she had produced many winters back, thus impressing me thoroughly.

Friday, October 9, 2009

Masque

I took the plane,
Flew far away,
Didn't look back at all that day;
You thought me heartless,
You still do,
Never showed you what was true.
I smiled lightly,
Swallowed my tears,
I assured you, hid my fears,
I convinced you,
Said we'll meet,
But I felt broken, I felt beat.
You showed your pain,
Shouted back,
Blamed me for emotional lack...
I accepted
All you said.
My heart to steel that day I made.
For three months now
I've been through hell.
Clammed up, drew into my shell.
Can't lie no more!!!
Feel caught in a net,
Truth is all that you'll get.
I miss you too,
I miss you bad,
Pain's so much it drives me mad.
Distance kills me,
Can't take the pain;
Trying to numb and shut my brain,
Trying hard to
Laugh and smile,
Trying hard to spend a while,
Trying to live,
Though you I need.
Though I know well I'll never succeed...

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Thoughts of a Procrastinator


8.30 pm: Dinner over. What should I do now? I could go through my books... But hey, isn't it too early for that? But I do have to do that case for tomorrow. Or else I may just be thrown out. But hey 8.30 IS too early. Abhi to sirf shyaam hai...

9.15 pm: God! Is 45 minutes up already? And all I did was chit-chatted. High time I got cracking on that case. But wait... isn't that Gautam? I really needed to talk to him regarding that book I wanted. Anyway its been 2 days since I last talked to him...

10.45 pm: I can't believe I've been talking to him for one and a half hours! What a waste of time! But hey, I shouldn't be calling it that. It was fun talking to him. But am I forgetting something? Of course! Go meet that senior! Cases might be important but networking is why we are here. Aur yeh gyaan prapt aur bhi zaroori hai...

11.30 pm: What a line! He must be running atleast half an hour late. Thank God thats done. Now I should really get cracking on reading and analysing that case. And its 23 pages long too! But I am hungry from all the talking. Maybe I'll catch a bite to energise me...

12.15 am: That took longer than expected. But then there were too many people in the canteen. And it wasn't just that I got delayed talking. The food came late too! But now I am really full. I need a short walk to stimulate my muscles and help me digest my food. I promise it'll be a very short walk.

1.00 am: God! I frgot how beautiful the campus is! I know I took longer than planned but it was totally worth it! Now I am totally refreshed to go tackle that case.

1.30 am: Am I sleepy already? I can't believe it. Maybe if I watch that movie I downloaded yesterday... I am sure half an hour of that movie would be great for me.

4.00 am: Its 4!!! Completely lost track of time, the movie was that good. Though I admit it was tad too long. Oh shit! The case! I'll do it right now!!

4.10 am: zzzzzzzzzzz....

4.45 am: Did I just fall asleep? Oh yes! That too with the light on! What was I doing? Oh yes! The case! Oh there's ample time during breakfast tomorrow. I need my beauty sleep. Goodnight!!

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Up for Adoption

Don't be surprised if the classifieds in the Sunday paper reads
Up for adoption. Only section A, C, D and E are eligible to apply.

I mean, I love my parents and all that and I really am not thinking about changing them. Its my section at B-School that I have a problem with. "Why?" you ask. Good question. No they are not mean to me. No they are not boring. No they don't eat human meat. And they definitely have no aversions towards Bengali's. In fact, they are actually funny. They make great friends. And they are cool company.

Then "Why? Oh! Why?" you ask.

Well, here goes... The reason is... That... They are BRILLIANT. No I'm not kidding you. They are too good for me. I mean sample this, it is a class of 70 odd people, give or take a few. We all gave our mid term papers, many of them common with other sections. And this is what statistic has to say.

Quant paper. Total marks 50. The section highest 50. Section average 40. The paper was common across all sections. Take the average across all sections, and the class average is 35. Wouldn't you call that unfair?

Managerial Economics Paper. Total marks 100. The section highest 97.5. Section average ~84. Standard deviation 8.something. The paper was common across 3 sections. Section average in another section with the same paper is 73.

Financial Accounting Paper. Total Marks 40. Section highest 28.5. Section Average 13 (I thought this will be comparable). Common across 2 sections. Section average in other section is much <13 class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">no one will choose me. But what the hell man. It'll still make me feel good to put up that ad this weekend. I am still up for adoption.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Living Like An Island


I live like an island.
A part of an archipelago, a group, a band.
I can see others around me.
But nevertheless an island I am to be.


I was 7 when as a good student in a religious Catholic School I learnt that hymn...


"No man can live as an island,

Journey through life alone"


At 7 I didn't know what it meant. Its catchy tune just made it a fun song to sing along.


Old Habits Die Hard. Even at 15 I sang it as I did when I was 7. I never thought what it meant. It was only when I left the comforts of my childhood school to join a new one that I felt the meaning. Leaving the warmth of a place I had known for the last 11 years, next only to home, was not easy. Leaving a place where everyone knew me, called out to me, smiled at me and talked to me was not easy. Leaving a place where I was a somebody for a place where I was but a name on the rolls was not easy. I walked the corridors of my new school as a nobody. I was desperately lonely. People looked through me. They didn't talk to me. They didn't even realise I existed. On one such occasion, at a morning assembly, that fateful hymn came up again. That day, at 15, for the first time I heard what I sang. I stifled my tears.


I did make friends eventually. But it took me almost a year. And till then, I spent a whole year being an island. I did everything on my own. I wasn't happy. But I claimed I was used to the solitude. I lied to myself.


Since then, I have often left a familiar place for a new one. Each time I have felt trepidation in my heart. Each time I have set foot in a new environment, I have sang the hymn quietly to myself. And each time I have triumphed over incognity.


But today I burn my bridges again. I try and build bridges with my surroundings. I fail miserably. I drift outward into the open sea with nothing to hold me down. I become an island. And I tell myself I am happy. I tell myself I have finally attained the freedom I have always seeked. I tell myself that there is no greater bliss than being a floating island with no strings attached. I convince myself of the opportunities the future holds and that can be achieved only by looking far far ahead. I keep repeating to myself that looking back is doom for me. I am sure that independence is what I seek and what I shall attain. I tell myself the hymn was only a child's song. It has no truth in it. I look into the mirror and see the smiling face of one who's happy. I also know I am a good actor. I know I am lying.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Richenpong - Takes My Breath Away


Richenpong cannot be called a village. Maybe a glorified hamlet, expanding suddenly and disproportionately in the wake of incoming tourists. But the serenity and virginity of the place has been unhampered by the development. Many city dwellers do come down to this beautiful dot on Sikkim's map. But here these people do not try and claim the place as their own. Instead, they tiptoe through the sleepy streets, almost to afraid to tamper with the beauty of the place.

Richenpong is about five hours drive from the nearest railway station New Jalpaigudi (Also known as NJP), the very busy gateway to all of North East's mountain range. Almost the entire length of the drive is through winding mountain roads, a steep wall of rock on one side and a breath taking valley along the other. To keep one company on that solitary drive, a river flows alongside for most of the duration of the journey, almost as if to reassure one that she is not lost.

Reaching the sleepy town of Richenpong gives one the impression of having come to an era long gone by. And the vista of some of the world's tallest peaks truly leaves one speechless. Everest and Kanchenjunga comes together in perfect synthesis. And when the sun comes up on these snow white peaks to set them on fire, no living soul could possibly look away.

The best part of this blissful retreat is the diversity in flora and fauna it offers. One can sit for hours looking on as varieties of birds come and strut their stuff on one or the other barren tree. These birds are of various shapes and sizes, colours and natures. Some are small and playful, while others are serene, yet beautiful. Yet others sing so melodiously that it brings tears to one's eyes. Richenpong also offers some of the rarest flowers in the world, including some varieties of Rhododendrons not available anywhere else.
With its beautiful winding roads, its serene monastries, its flowers and birds that bring together a riot of colours and a cacophony of melodies, its thunderous streams and waterfalls, its flitting cloud in which one could get lost, its silence, its quaint huts, its people with their hearts of gold and its majestic mountain ranges, Richenpong is truly heaven on earth.

My first blog post

Writing is something I really enjoy. I, however, considered myself one of those from the old school and believed that writing was best done with pen on paper. Of course, being very much a member of this generation, some amount of electronic writing was inevitable. But then I tried to keep it to a bare minimum. But it was only recently that I realised the importance of a blog when at a recent interview, I claimed to be a prolific writer but however the interviewer remained unimpressed when I told him I had never considered blogging an option. And then started my tryst with blogs. I was introduced to the world of blogs by a very good friend of mine only recently. After going through his blog, I was left highly impressed. And the rest, as they say, is history.

So after ranting and raving about why I have finally taken to blogging in a blog post which I agree do not make much sense, I have come to the conclusion that my first blog post is pretty futile and boring. But I like to believe that now that I have finally made a start, I can only move ahead. So I am looking forward to more such ranting and ravings and maybe some fun in the process.

Cheers!!!!!