Love and trust

My best friend sent me an sms today, his sms said trust is greater than love and a lot more was added after that to prove the sentence right. I instantly agreed with that.

 

Trust is an necessary ingredient of lasting love. If you want a love to last, there should be a deep trust for the person you love.

 

If you cant trust a person, that love wont last for long, its funny, I always go by this. The friend of mine who sent it to me is one of those rare persons who instantly win trust. Even though we are net friends and have met only twice, yet since the first time I saw him an immense trust was formed, a deep faith which stayed ever since. He is one of those rare persons I can trust with my eyes closed.

 

Love is blind, wise people say that, that is why it needs the walking stick of trust. During all those yearning, quarrel, jealousy and possessiveness only trust can keep two young hearts together.

 

Matured age love usualy doesnot suffers these trials unless they are too passionate. After crossing the warmth of youth, people usually create relationship with trusted people, they first judge whether the person is trustworthy or not, then work toward the relationship. They know that time is too short to keep on experimenting with different types of people, they keep a few, very trusted persons close to their heart and love others unconditionally.

 

After earning wisdom people look for security and trust, they know that if we can trust a person, and feel secured with him, love will automatically burst forth like a fountain. Its just like the birdsong, the moment they feel the surity that sun is just below the horizon, the song bursts forth. Its just like the feeling of warmth that envelopes a cold traveller when he is turning the last turn to his home.

 

Whereas youth first creates relationships then tries to trust that person. As a result he suffers more than matured persons. Youth goes by the outer layering and tries to search the pearl inside that shell later. First he spends his time exploring the oyster, then only with time he ends up with or without the pearl.

 

One thing should always be kept in mind when pursuing any relationship. It can be the relationship with a mate, spouse or friend. That trust is the foundation of any and every true relationship. Its just like the soil, which holds the tree of our life together. Every thing else depends on it.

 

A weak grip of soil will bring down even the most strong and beautiful tree. It will uproot it at the first strong blow of wind. If the soil is poisoned it will poison the tree, in gist, the tree of love or life is fully dependent on soil of trust.

 

So, I think any one who is looking for lasting love, should first try to judge how much trust they have for each other, not passion or attraction.

A strange syndrome

Well, I have only one feeling toward politics .. I hate it. in my eyes it’s the greatest business in today’s world which reaps golden harvest without any investment or with the investment of sheer sweet nothings. So I observe the activities of politician completely without interest..

 

Lately it has started to appear that indian politicians have started to suffer from a clinical condition where the skin of a person becomes extremely thin.

 

First the incident of shashi tharoor, second the incident of the kerala cop who called rahul gandhi “our friend”.. every thing points towards it. I think rahul gandhi is very sincerely trying to prove it that he wants to bridge the gap between the true citizens of india (people who live in mud walled huts) and the would be prime minister of india. Though just like majority I too don’t like the way he ignores his safety. I have a deep trust that he will turn out to be a good prime minister and most probably he will do something for the deprived people of the country.

 

Now back to the clinical condition, as I don’t count rahul gandhi among one of my enemies.. I have nothing against the poor cop who called him “friend” I think that showed his sweetness.

 

Is it our dignity that gets hurt in these incidences or ego?

Love and affection

I think these two are two different feelings altogether, their base may be the same but then like the branches of the same tree they grow up quite differently from each other.

 

In this piece I am using love as romantic love, usually I use love in its wide meaning.. it envelops all the forms of affection.  But here I am talking about the love of mates, spouses and lovers.

 

We become a little choosier when we are looking for a mate I believe, there are a lot of things which we can easily ignore in others but not in our mates.

 

For example a lot of persons will accept an extremely poor person in a lot of other relationships but a loved mate or spouse. That poverty can be of look, intelligence, wisdom or style. One person may accept poverty of intelligence in mate while it can be unacceptable to another, this measurement stick varies from person to person. Let’s just take the example of intelligence. A person may live happily with an unintelligent mother, son, friend or relative happily but may not accept an unintelligent person as a spouse or mate. May rather prefer living a bachelor life than committing to an unintelligent person.

 

I too belong to this category, there are lots of thing which I will happily accept in anyone else but my mate. What is the mystery behind this I wonder!

 

We can lay our affection on everyone but when it comes to love we become choosy. May be it is the animal side of us, which looks for the best mate possible.

Love and money

People often say that money is an important part of life. They often go ahead and preach that once love comes down to harsh reality of daily grind all sweetness evaporates.

 

Is that the truth? If two persons love each other and are completely compatible to each other then their love will survive everything.. I personally believe it from my heart.

 

Of course that love will have to be genuine, deep and mutual. Otherwise the love really will not last the grinds of reality. Then again, how many of the love affairs stand the grind of reality?

 

When I search my own soul the answer is always same, money is not the foundation of successful relationships. Say suppose if I had two choice, one is a person who is rich but does not matches my expectations for a soulmate; the other one is ordinary but compatible to my soul I will pick the second one up without least hesitation.

 

I have seen all colours of life, and after that I have started to believe that money may be need of life, but not essence. Its just the gravy of life, the meat is happiness and satisfaction. So if you are happy and satisfied with a relationship money rarely counts.

Love and looks

It’s a normal human tendency to be attracted to outward covering, a fancy from which I have been luckily spared. Most probably because I am not good looking myself, and have heard too many criticism since childhood. I have stopped judging people by their looks and started to search for inner values.

 

When I mingle with a person I always look for compatibility and then his strength of character. I think these two are more vital for a lasting relationship than bank balance, looks or other things.

 

The same rules apply in case of love too. If I ever take a fancy on a person his looks or money never counts in factors. I count on more dangerous things, nature, character, compatibility…

 

I can understand that its easy to match the criteria of others than mine. I think I am more choosy than them, and my conditions are tougher. Its easy to find a person who looks as good as brad pitt, but to find a person of good character, perfect compatibility is tougher, and equally tough is making them fall in love with you.

 

Hence I cant make up my mind whether or not I will tell others to ignore looks and bank balance. I think we all have our priorities and my priority is soul and personality.

A beautiful bond called friendship

A beautiful bond called friendship, is one of the purest and unselfish bond which binds two human hearts together. A bond praised by even angels. A relationship admired by human beings for centuries. Which brings together two complete strangers and tie them together with a bond deeper than love or affection.

When we love we seek the pleasure of the physical companionship of our mate, his closeness, his loving, his companionship.

When we love our parents we hope for their guidance, their protection and other helps.

When we love our children we hope their affection and patience with us when we are old.

Somehow our own happiness gets mingled with theirs to form a complete relationship. But when we share affection with our friends all we need is a little time and place from their life. Our expectation starts and ends there. We stay content with whatever we get, never complain.

We always back off when our friend is chasing his priorities, his love, his family duties or career, we back without complain. We never demand any thing from him.

Next time when any of your relationship loses all its colour and splendour, don’t bid it goodbye, mould it into friendship and see the difference, the only requirement is both will have to be willing to do so.

True friends

True friends are really rare these days, we have become so engrossed in pursuing our hectic lifestyles that we are sure losing this thing. We have colleagues, we have co passengers, we have booze buddies, we have neighbours and of course relatives. But do we have true friends? One of those people which our parents had till the last day of their life, or we had when we were in college? Who used to laugh with us when we laughed, cry with us when we cried and helped us to bunk the class and go out with our beloved? We knew our friends will always be there when the professor will scold us, he wont even try to be on his good book, or smirk at our humilliation. He will stand like a rock, his face showing as if he was also being scolded with us? I guess not, we have left that person back in college if we have moved out of our hometown and settled to some place other. Even if they are around, then too, that bonding is replaced with priorities at both ends. Some one is more involved with life, some one with love, some one with family and some one with career.

Our generation is a weird generation, our parents had bossom friends even at the ripe old age, but most of us have lost close friends ever since we left college. Those days, when we used to chat our heads off with a person, who used to listen to each and every word we spoke, and used to chat crazily in return having us as apt listener have been lost long ago.

I last had such a friend in 1996, after joining my first job. She was my last bossom friend but she was not of professional mindset, she got married within three months of joining the job and left india. Even though I have found a few good friends after that, but she was my last real life bossom body.

In contrast to common belief I have found some really good friends in internet, but in real life, they are rare. People say that net friends cant be trusted but my experience is different, I have found so many good friends via internet that it has taught me what real, unselfish friendship is. These friends trusted me, guided me, humored me and showered me with fabulous emails, brightening up my days. In the course of last four year or so I have picked up diamond after diamond on net. One of them is still in my life as a one of his own kind friend. Even though he doesnot believes it but his heart and character is made of pure gold. I have never seen such a person in my entire life. With such pure character and stable friendship.

In a pleasant turn, this year has filled up my arms with friends. The very best type of friends anyone can have. Now I have stopped counting their numbers because I am too busy with them.

The reason behind our not having flesh and blood friends is most probably our lack of faith in colleagues. As most of us relocate for job, like I have, we leave our college friends behind, and are too busy to make friends outside our office circle. So, we console ourselves with the superficial workplace friendships, where we have to watch our words, or else they may cost our jobs. That is one of the reason people cant be intimate with colleagues, because it may cost his or her career.

I don’t know about other people like me, who are completely engrossed in career life, and are as tactless as me, if they can always keep a watch on their tongue when they are out in the office. I cant so I end up regretting often mistaking a colleague as a friend, and miss those friends with whom I could be dead confident that I can say or do any thing.

The other drawback of office friends is when you change job mostly you lose them because they are too busy to keep contact with you. I have come in touch with some fabulous colleagues and have tried to maintain the contact with them, but all of them have drifted apart, and I have maintained my policy of life, the door of my heart is forever open to my friends, they can come and go at any time. They will never find some one locking or blocking their path.

Disillusions?

I have been born and brought up in a religious (not fanatic) family, a family with hundreds of years of holding various pujas perfectly at home. Not the puja which every hindu holds at the home altar, but the pujas which are performed on specific dates..durgapuja, kalipuja, lakshmipuja, saraswatipuja etc.

My ancestral home number 1 has atleast a dozen temples still maintained by my family through our priests. Being born in such a family, very naturally I had a deep attraction for God. And I admit without least embarassment that my being depends on God.

I simply love the atmosphere which says something holy. I feel a deep attraction toward it.

I have a marvellous friend, Girish, a couple of years ago he manipulated me into doing meditation, I do it as per my own rules, and he is quite aghast about that. But, the thing which I noted within a few weeks of starting it that an old sensation was coming back to me, a deep feeling at the junction point of both eyebrows. As if there is some pressure. Girish was quite impressed by that.

Then I read during my medical transcription course that one of the sinuses is located exactly at that place.

What a disillusionment!!!

Rainy days

The time of year, which is a little too long for west bengal or any other coastal region but still is charming.

Those drops pouring down from above, soothing every thing they touch. It’s a great fun for homebirds like me. To stand at the window and watch them pouring down. Specially after the scorching heat which we faced this year.

Every thing transforms with them, the trees become greener, small sprouts start to shoot up every where, vines start to grow in a grat speed and their dazzling, fresh green colour is too much soothing to the eyes.

I just loved to see those pearldrops coming down on vibrant green grass and bushes, trees.

Additional benefits are always there, the coolness enveloping our bodies after scorching heat.

unsung songs

Friends, people who fill up our lonely hours, who act as wind beneath our wings and the people we mostly neglect. We miss them and regret this fact when we have parted our ways, not out of dislikation, out of priorities..

When I look back, I think about some of them with deepest affection. Even though I rarely mixed with men before my thirties, I humbly admit most of these are men I met after crossing my thirties.

First person who comes into my mind is steve, an angel without wings from chicago, who completely changed my life by becoming my mentor.

Four more fabulous friends from the same time, ashish, madhavan, pradeep and girish.. they have acted like wind beneath my wings for years. Two of them are still my friends.

Three guys I met while I was working in a circus (a corporate office run by a drama queen) who taught me that worst environment doesnot kills a man’s soul Wriju, Rohit and Adnan.

The next guy, though he is 11 years junior than me, I can open heartedly admit that I almost adore him. He is ideal human being and boss in my eyes. He brought up my nerves from ashes after leaving drama queen and made me a human being again.. shubhadeep. Wherever he is my heart and soul blessings are, were and will be always with him.

Fortunately now I have dozens of fantastic friends under one roof. And most of them are girls… ladies, these women has changed my point of view about women and convinced me that women can be the very best friends of women. But there are guys too, who are equally fantastic. I just dote after them. they mean too much to me.

Borrowed things

Happiness purchased on borrowed resources never last. This is a golden truth of life.

I have often heard a proverb in my childhood, don’t wear other people’s jewelleries.. if you get attached to them you will hurt yourself. If you lose them you will hurt yourself.

So very true, it is specially reflected in today’s credit card age. I really feel pity for those who borrow money and double pity for those who get attached to borrowed luxury.

Where have those days gone when the lady of the house used to pin point at the beginning of month how much money should go to which account? And she used to follow that to the core.

I still prefer that lifestyle. Save money and then buy the things. Today we both work in good posts and bought a flat on borrowed money, massive instalments due every month.. then job market goes down and one loses job.. the creditors start to humilliate out on the street..

Its far better to spread one’s leg to the limit which the spread covers it.

Its not that the people of our earlier generations did not built their homes, they did, but ten years later than we do. But by their own money. Without the fear of being haunted by creditors.

Second thanks

I have truly admired ambumani ramadoss since the day he banned smoking in public places, not that it stopped it, but it showed he cared.

Second thing I loved about him was his earnest attempt to revoke the unfair treatment of people who love people of same gender. It was widely criticized but his seed has become a tree. Finally indian government has taken this too much needed step of treating normal citizens as normal citizens. Keeping my fingers crossed that it wont be revoked. My best wishes for these harmless, normal human beings who have been unfairly mistreated for years and famillies have ruined because of an unfair law.

Supported with best wishes.

too much sacrifice

Till date I have worked only in one so called corporate office. And after working in that I decided that I wont join another. Because the level of compromise they ask for is impossible to offer.

They appoint normal, ambitious human beings and transform them into shameless, ruthless, money hungry creatures. They expect all type of moral compromises from you, and if you don’t oblige the doors are open.

Working with them can be real torture from them, I left my office after a nasty drama created by my dramaqueen boss. I still remember the scene, how the quite nice, soft people were a mute spectator of the entire drama. Some of them had quite a nice term with me. Specially a few of them.

I still remember three of them, they were perfectly wonderful people, one was out of town but the remaining two were present there. I still remember the agitated face of one of them. it was quite clear by his face that he was furious but could not do any thing. He was sitting at the reception and shaking with anger, watching the entire drama.

Glad that I did not gave in to that moral compromisation.

poisoned daggers w/out sheath

in our life we will meet two types of people, one who are not shy to show their real face to the world..if they are good they wear it on their sleeves, if they are bad then too they wear it on their sleeves.

The second type are the tricky ones, the ones I really don’t feel safe with, people who hide their evil nature by extreme sweetness. And often mimic good people (or semi angels) to the perfection to have their ways. Have seen ample amount of these people, and the moment I recognize them I instantly withdraw from them (by the means of heart).

easy fame

When I was a child I used to get shocked when a group of writers used to thrive on criticising tagore and his personal life with a necrophilliac glee. they used to criticise his works, his personal life everything about it with the joy with which zombies feast on corpses. ignoring the horror on the faces of normal human beings.

Even in my childhood I used to get shocked that how could they be so cheap to criticize a writer’s personal life, even years after he has departed (without being asked for). Even then I knew, if we have any right on a celebrity.."if".. its on his works, we may criticise it (though i would rather prefer to present the improved version instead of criticising others)... not his personal life.

I remember my hot favourite tennis player (all time) who is coincidentally homosexual. I once said to someone that she is my favourite, and the first comment I heard was she is ugly and homosexual. I patly replied that as she is not my would be daughter in law I don’t have any thing to do with her personal life. I still respect that player with all my heart and always will. She is my dream sportslady.

Now after Michael Jackson is finally resting in peace, another group of necrophilliacs are out at job.

Do they sleep blissfully at night?

Ten promises to myself:

One, always love and forgive myself. Try to forgive others, and if I cant, be indifferent after extracting the lesson.

Two, neither bulldoze someone, nor let anyone do that. God has given every one enough capacity to handle his life, we can help others by suggesting.. that’s it.

Three, always treat myself like queen and others too (unless they make me change my mind).

Four, always find out some time in day to listen to my favourite songs.

Five, to enjoy, appreciate nature, and thank God for blessing me with this beautiful planet.

Six, always read something which will bring some smile to my lips.. jokes, cartoons any thing.

Seven, always start counting my blessings when my soul is trying to suck me downwards.

Eight, never fail to leave some encouragement for those who are feeling down.

Nine, to love without judging. Simply love, hold affection or compassion.. but whatever I do, should do it without judgment or with least judgment.

Ten, forever remember we all have only one life, and all have their share of problem. Try not to increase the problems of others, and never let them increase mine.

trust

On one hand they say
“trust everyone even if they put you down”

then they say
“if a person fools you once its his fault, if he fools you twice, its your FAULT.”

Being born and brought up amongst self contradictory phillosophies I took the path best for me, listening to myself, to my own soul and then others.

Trusting a person is good for a healthy life, but too much trust can be toxic. If a person lets down your trust too much, too many times its better to let that person go. No matter how indispensable that person is. He should go.

His intentions may be harmless, but the fact is his presence is toxic to you, you can point out his way once, twice but how many times will you say, “you are hurting me” without feeling guilty? Its better to move over.

Later when we look back at these relationships we thank ourselve for moving on.

After we all have but one life, why waste it among people who are toxic for us?

I love geeks

I love geeks. Why? I have been down since I read the news of MJ’s passing away. Was swinging between deep sadness and composed state of mind.

Today I laughed for the first time after visiting BC, I tried to log in, a message was displayed with a cup of steaming coffee that the site is down for repair.

It supplied the address of “the programmer” to “harrass”.

This is why I absolutely love geeks, I am laughing even now.

another fullstop

This seems one of those years when the final curtain is being drawn on one too many legendary lives. It started with Shri Ram Kumar Chattopadhyay (1920 to 18.03.09).. one of my hot favourites, Ustad Ali akbar Khan (1922 to 19.06.09) and Michael Jackson (29.08.58 to 25.06.09) followed.

Michael Jackson's passing away was a rude shock, i had to stare at the webpage and convince myself before swallowing the news.. early morning shock for me. good that i was at home.passing away of two of my heart throbs kanika bandhopadhyay (2000) and shantideb ghosh (1999) in public places, i dont like to get caught in public places by a painful news.

I was one of those who never believed scandals against jackson, and always trusted his version. i was also one of them who has been his fan while growing up and finally ended up at his wellwisher, who had full hearted sympathy for him.

may these three priceless souls rest in peace.

children

Nine months full of dreams and anticipations… then they arrive, tiny bundles of joy. Every thing about them is just fabulous. Tiny feet, tiny hands, tiny toes.. they are just perfect!

Then what goes wrong? Why do parent start to give more importance to their career than the children themselves? I have often seen parents crazy about their children’s performance, hurting them, abusing them to no end. Making their life a nightmare.

They try to make their 3 year old memorise all the poems in the book because they have to prove that she is smart, she must know the answer to all the questions of her book and if possible some more. These small ones drag their days from school to tution and back home for some more studies.

Its true that in today’s competitive environment studying is important, but trying to make Einstein out of Master X is too much. And when Master X comes to know that he cant meet his parents ever increasing demands he starts to lie, to save himself, slowly it becomes habit. Some times this pressure makes the life of these children so miserable that they take wrong decisions like ending their life or run away, which often results ending up in the hand of traffickers.

The only question which arises in my mind is, is the career bigger than the child you have brought into the earth? You were so eagerly waiting for his or her arrival, dreaming, loving him or her before she came to the earth. Then when did the paper became more important than the live being God has placed in your hand as Her greatest gift, those tiny hands which reach out at you thinking you are next to God? If every one was Einstein, then no one would have remembered him. Just like that, every one does not have the capacity of becoming megastars. So, why don’t these parents treat their children as human beings and give them their best, instead of expecting the best from them?

Children are wonderful … they are universally wonderful. A child is never born bad, it’s the way he/she is brought up determines his life’s path. Fault lies in the parents, not in children.

I personally feel that people who have a child in their life, a child they can love, cherish and bring up are extremely lucky. So they should not waste this chance of showering their affection by chasing the golden deer, the golden deer of realizing their dreams through some one who might not have the capacities or inclination for realising that dream. Whenever they will think that their child is inferior than some prodigy, they should think about people who never had a child.

They should bring up these little angels with tenderness and affection. They should be shown the path which they are capable of following and handling, guided not goaded.

Children not so lucky

Every alternate day we are served the story of brutality against children employed in various jobs despite child labour being banned in our country.

These tiny ones are sent out by their famillies because they don’t have much choice, but the famillies which take them in as workers or servants have a choice, even though they are doing illegal thing, but that sin can be rinsed by treating them with kindness and affection. And if possible educate them a little.

I have never been able to gauge these people, because I have been brought up in a family where we did not had any child servants, but the adults were always treated with respect.

I have only once appointed a child maid, then it was not illegal. That girl was always treated with gentleness, she was spared from heavy work even after repeated insistence from her mother. She did not walked out of Hindi movies, she was just like any child, greedy of glittery things, she used to drain cold drinks from refrigerator and replace it with water, gobble up any thing which lured her child tongue. Used to nag my mother to watch Govinda’s movies. My mother used to stick to discovery channel, and they both used to complain to us after our return from office. She used to fill up her squirrel box (of course without our knowledge) with my artificial jewelleries and music cassettes. She has been caught at the act too many times but did not changed her ways.

When dinner was served she used to get the first plate. When my mother used to hand out delicacies, she was the one who used to get maximum in number, because rest of us have lost interest in those goodies with age. That girl was nothing exceptional she also used to lie, steal and do mischief, but was always treated with this thing in mind that she had to leave her parents at an age when our children see darkness if their parents go somewhere for an evening. She became so attached to us that in the later stages she used to weep when her mother used to come to take her, and cried a lot to accompany us when we shifted to Calcutta.

Even though child labour has been banned, appointing a child as servant is illegal, still people who do it, they can atleast treat these children properly. Give them a little affection and gentleness, so that the things which their poverty has deprived them from, we being fellow human beings, give back to them a little. As human being, we can atleast show this much conscience, treat these helpless, shelterless small things with some love and tenderness.

Whenever I read these news, which I am really ashamed to say too often, my heart fills up with anguish, the stories of battering of children in the hands of their employers. Are these people human being or some thing else? Mostly these are family people, educated people, who have their own children, grand children they dote upon. Then how can they treat another child, who is so unfortunate that he/ she has to leave his parents at such tender age and move out to face the world on their own so cruelly?

People say that a woman is a natural mother, these mothers pamper their own children to no end, whereas a child, who is usually of the same age is beaten up for small mischief or faults. These persons usually get away with their inhumanity because we Indians are a strange community. We join rallies against child labours then appoint children as servants back at home, because they eat less, cost less and bear most tortures mutely.

Oh no!! its raining!!

Six years earlier I was a small town resident, all who had her share of monsoon misery was getting wet on the road that too occasionally. Never had any other problem, because once after hitting home we knew we were warm and safe.

Things changed after shifting to kolkata, in 2005 I was in Khardaha, outer Calcutta. That year gave me first hint about kolkata’s rainy day blues. I was informed after a downpour of two days that the trainlines are submerged, all I did that took a leave for three days. Last year and this year showed me the hell people of some areas in Calcutta go through year after year. No, its not a single year story, when Calcutta has faced abnormal rainfall. Its their every year story, even when the monsoon is normal. They know that they will have to wake up in the middle of night to see that their rooms are filled up with water.

Let me share my own experience to give a little view about their suffering, we changed our accomodations in 2006, when we landed in that house, no body told us any thing about horrible water logging which is that area’s monsoon woe. The agent was only interested in his commission, and the landlady and her family were sweet talking devils, I am yet to see another family so cunning, so corrupted, yet so sweet talking. Hence they too did not bothered about giving us the least hint. One fine night I woke up at midnight for a glass of water and when I stepped in the passage I felt water touching my feet, I turned on the light to see atleast 4 inches of water. And my adjoining room where my brother sleeps was six inches under water. My room was spared because it’s a little higher.

Next year, water logging started with the very first spell. Every day when I went back from office I used to see the rooms filled up with water which I had to drain out with buckets, no cooperation from landlords, who simply pointed their finger at their invisible mother/mother in law, (who was at that time living in Khardaha with her sister, quite a coincidence but we never saw them before landing in their clutches).

Then when I used to wake up in the morning I used to get welcomed by the rooms which I have cleaned up the earlier night filled up with water. Lovely way of passing time after returning home working entire day, was not it? And that too after paying 3000 rupees per month as rent, which is quite high as per kolkata.

Added pleasure was my office area was also infamous for water logging. Now when I am in a proper house I look back at that time with a light heart, but at that time Phew!!!

In gist I used to come out of the office and walk kilometres to reach bus, in knee deep water, praying to God for my dear life. Then travel through a packed bus for almost two hours and again land in knee deep water wade another few hundred meters and voila!! A house under six inches water waiting for me.

This says how polite people are always abused. If it would have happened anywhere outside kolkata, it would have happened only once.. one year.

A ghost story

My ancestral home is in a remote village, where electricity has reached only a couple of years ago. My ancestors were jamindars of that village and a few adjoining villages. Our home is just beside Damodar river, its partially in ruins and a small portion, which was earlier the courtroom of my ancestors is still in good condition, where we used to go every durga puja and kali puja.

During durga puja the place is full of people, we take generators with us and the entire place is lighted up, but during the kali puja the place is exactly the opposite. There are very few people there, only a very limited no of villagers who have the energy of attending the full night affair and a couple of family member. At the max seven or eight people, including the family members stay there through out the night and another half a dozen who are indispensable part of the Puja.

There are two seats, one seat on either side of our main entrance, seats which play the role of musical chair during the puja, but were free for all now. One of the seat faces and the other had its back towards a bedi, where our ancestors have performed tantrik rituals and one of them even got siddhi. According to the villagers our ancestral home is safe for the people of our family, but outsiders often meet a lady dressed in white colured, red bordered saree, who disappears all of a sudden. She is seen especially if some one commits some mischief there. That is why the place is deserted at night.

That year I went there with my uncle and my brother. I attended the puja but when the animal sacrifice started I left the puja mandap. I had the idea of lying down on the verandah of our house, to give myself a break after fasting the entire day, it was almost 3 AM in the morning, I was lying there exhausted when all of a sudden I heard sounds coming from inside the locked room. As if some one was banging the furnitures with a stick or some thing like that, a chill ran down my spine and I bolted from there, I went outside to sit on that seat, which had its back to the bedi. Actually I was thinking of lying down, when all of a sudden I heard a sound like some one has dropped some thing, right behind my back, I slowly turned back and saw nothing. I was weak from fasting the entire day, it was almost 3:30 in the morning, and I prayed that I heard it wrong, but then it was repeated again, then I went to the seat of the opposite side facing the bedi, to know what’s going on before bolting again.

Then to my utter amusement and relief I saw that the people of Burdwan were celebrating the diwali, and the sound of their cracker was reaching our small village after crossing damodar and its sand bank like nothing is in between.