The lunch box

The classroom was getting restless in the last few minutes before the much-awaited lunch break. The teacher could feel the students shift in attention. She banged the duster twice on the desk to bring back the focus of the students to whatever she was saying. The students were immediately alerted only to hear the next lunch bell; the harbinger of their joy.


This was the usual scene every day during the fourth period of my school. We couldn’t have waited to open our lunch boxes, much less to see what other students have brought.


The lunch break used to commence as usual- with everyone opening their boxes and trying to eat what they can before going for a hunt to others’ tables. But that day was a bit unusual. The introvert Naveen was sitting idle with his tiffin box lay in front of him. We all had waited for him to open so that we could jump on it. He was one of those rare students who picked from other people. His innocence was often mistaken as his stupidity as is always the human nature to substitute any virtue with naiveté.


We were busy wondering why he wasn’t opening his box. It was then he grabbed it and made a move towards the door. He wanted to eat alone that day. There had to be something special, we thought. We began calling him from behind. He didn’t respond and continued walking. We started following him, he paced up. We realised he was avoiding us. There is something special, we were assured. We doubled our pace. Being not the fastest runner, he was finally outrun and caught.


He begged not to snatch his lunch. We were in no state to negotiate. He threatened to complain. We were in no mood to listen. One of us snatched his box and tried opening it. Naveen protested and tried getting his box back. In the strife, the box broke open, and the entire content fell out, resulting in no one getting anything. Naveen broke down in tears shouting and blaming us. His wail was loud enough to get teachers’ attention. Two of them came out running towards the commotion. They hurried towards the crying fourth standard boy. Learning on what happened, they took him inside the staff room. Before leaving, one of them gave an angry look. We knew we were up for some severe punishment.


But sir had something else in store for us. After the school got over, he took us to the nearby slum. He showed us the way children live there. They merely had anything to eat. And we waste food without thinking. We were all very silent. Coming back home only one thought haunted me. What if I had to live that way? Why can’t they live like me?


As a child, I was never able to answer these then. That day didn’t just make me feel how fortunate we were or that we shouldn’t waste food like that. It opened my eyes towards another India. I wanted to do something for them.


Often we take what we have for granted not realising how it affects others around us. We need to understand that this world is for everyone and everyone is liable to the same respect we think we deserve. It is my urge to everyone to understand, appreciate and respect what we have.


This incident inspired me in ways more than one. My story ‘The Bottle’ in my upcoming book is one such story dedicated to those marginalised children around the country.

The Bottola- an evening spent with literature and much more...

Being an independent self-published author, I had always wanted to meet and interact with people with an equal knack for storytelling and literature. They are not the authors you find in the bookstores or online portals; because they are the ones who write for themselves, for the sheer pleasure of writing, to answer their urge for story-telling.

My cousin Ushni Dasgupta reading her story

One such opportunity came in my way when I received an invitation to attend a ‘Bottola’ gathering in Faridabad, last weekend. It was hosted by my aunt, Dr. Mousumi Dasgupta, and my uncle, Mr. Shantanil Dasgupta A Bottola is a gathering of like-minded literature enthusiasts who meet regularly and discuss literature. They read their stories, poetries and anything they’ve written to an audience and experience and appreciate other people’s literature. I was invited as a guest along with my mother. She’d written her periodic short story pertaining to that theme of that gathering - ‘It was your promise, you’d write to me.’ There were people from varied profession from artists to travellers, from retired people to the ones having a 9-5 job, almost everyone who sought refuge in literature.

Bottola Story-telling session running full fledgedly. 

A section of the members present 

Another section of the attendeees

The host of the evening Dr. Mousumi Dasgupta with Ushni and the moderator for the evening-Mr. Dipak Mukhopadhyay

It was my opportunity to express myself about my book- “Laments and Virtues”, also a book giveaway and book signing followed. I received an overwhelming response and blessings from the members, all of whom were much elder and much-experienced people when it came to writing.

Me signing the copies of Laments and Virtues. In the chair- Mr Kishore, a senior Bottola member

This Bottola, is remarkable in more than one ways for it witnesses and sustains Bengali while miles away from Bengal. This shows the attachment of people towards their mother-tongue and the enthusiasm to recreate the same passion in home away from home.

Often, in the modern urban lives, the pursuit of our career (job or studies) makes us leave our home and make living in an alien land far away from our culture. I was born in Howrah (West Bengal), but had my childhood in Chowduar, Cuttack (Orissa), Dehri-on-son (Bihar) and Bardhhaman (West Bengal), Kakinada (Seemandhra) and Haldia (West Bengal) before joining college in Jadavpur University. While my nomadic childhood offered me the various experiences and understanding of different cultures, which wouldn’t have been possible if I were brought up in one place, it also kept me away from my own culture. There was one point where I had difficulty understanding the quirks and sarcasm in my own language.

But these people I met here in Bottola had a similar life. They were away from their home and culture, yet they took time every day from their busy schedule to nurture and relish their language and come together once a month to exchange their views and words.

That evening left me both baffled and inspired. I felt a sudden tinge in myself that I have many stories in me trying to come out. There was an imminent urge to write, feel and enjoy. More than anything I felt at home after a long time.

I take this opportunity to thank every member of Bottola for inviting me and giving me an evening to remember for a long time to come.

The Selection of our new Class Monitor.

Every year at the beginning of each academic year, our class teacher appoints one of us to be the ‘class monitor’. His/her job is to mind the class in absence of any teacher, collect all the notebooks for the teacher and accompany her with the lot to the staffroom. In other words, he was the ‘teacher ka chamcha’. The monitor was who enjoyed a special status in the eyes of his classmates. And his friends enjoyed a special status of never getting punished.

It happens in every school, and in everywhere the procedure is more or less the same. One of the few toppers is selected from the batch of scores of students and given the honourable position of the ‘class monitor’. Every probable leader- everyone from the last year’s top rankers began to ally and tried to be in the good books of the teachers. And the entire class tried to be in their good books.

I still remember the time we were in our fifth standard. That was our first day. We were fresh with enthusiasm and optimism. The smell of new books was still lingering and could be felt every time we opened our bags. Like every time, our new class teacher entered. While many of us had known her previously, a handful of newcomers didn’t. She was known for her anger and strictness. With her commanding voice, she introduced herself. Then she asked us to introduce ourselves. One by one, right from the first bench, each of us stood up and said our names and one line about us. The last benchers though had to repeat their words for their voices were inaudible. The backbenchers had lost their voices on learning about their new class-teacher.

After the introductory session, it was time for declaring the class monitor. Every expectant eye looked at our teacher. The first benchers could well be predicted have their fingers crossed.

Then she called out the name of a student who was never bothered except during attendance call and declared him to be the Class Monitor. At her announce, even her prestige couldn’t prevent the classroom from the imminent commotion that followed. How could a non-topper be given that respect? Hardly were any of the back-benchers or timid non-participants ever noticed, except a few talented ones who were only acknowledged during the annual Sports Day or School Fest. The class was becoming unruly.                         

The teacher banged the duster twice to bring back order in the class. Everyone returned to an uncomfortable silence. However, no one dared question her authority. Our desire to be answered remained unquenched even to this day. The only thing significant on that event was the realisation that there were students beyond the regular good scorers and active participants in the classroom and that they had equal chances and opportunities like the rest of them.

Why sometimes we must let it be with one?

Recently, I have read somewhere about a probable sequel of Christopher Nolan's 'Inception' and somewhere I was left feeling uneasy about it. Unable to comprehend it back then, I decided to work it out myself.


To begin with, it's evident that most, if not all, sequels disappoint. The reason being far too many. Below is the list of reasons I feel sequels disappoint:-

1) The package goes missing:-

The first of any book/movie sets up some universe adds characters and plots that at times serve the dual purpose of entertaining and teaching a life lesson. It serves as an entire package. Sometimes while doing the sequels, this entire package gets lost in the plot. Sometimes characters don't live up to the expectations, sometimes the moral is weakly delivered or sometimes the plot itself dilutes (e.g.  Rock on 2 by Shujaat Saudagar).

2) Easy formulae do not work:-

Most of the plot lines, in case where the story isn't continued in the sequels, work on the same formula, like in case of any Jack Reacher stories, the protagonist always finds himself amidst a plot of some conspiracy that can only be solved by him. Sometimes, these formulae work in the beginning for they promise novelty, but this gets used and overused the readers don't feel monotonous and regressive. As a result, the sequel fails e.g. Inferno by Ron Howard..

3) No one likes to be forced:-

At times, we feel that the purpose isn't strong enough and the plot feels kind of 'Forced' into the sequel to match with its predecessor. The readers or any movie goer, reads or watches for entertainment (primarily) and out of one free will. Now what if one is forced to watch something. Surely one'll end up hating it. For the stories can be as out of the world as they want, for as long as the 'suspension of disbelief' isn't forced, it will always be appreciated. (like- Hangover 2 by Todd Phillips)

Though some exceptions to watch out for:-

When most of the sequels fail to deliver, there are some sequels who outperform their predecessors as enlisted below:-

1) Godfather II by Francis Ford Coppola- The sequel to the classic Gangster family movie is still considered by and large the best sequel ever made.

2) The Dark Knight by Christopher Nolan- Christopher Nolan's only story that ever got made into a franchise was his batman trilogy. No one can ever forget Heath Ledger's last on screen performance which left the audience loving the antagonist to the protagonist.

3) The Empire Strikes Back Irvin Kershner- The fans of the Star Wars' franchise would unanimously agree that this is so far the best movie in the series.

4) The two towers (LOTR 2) by Peter Jackson- This adaptation of the Tolkein's novel is said to have bettered its prequel.

5) Home Alone 2 by Chris Colombus- A young boy lost in New York. The makers decision to stick with the previous formula of a left alone boy and yet come up with a different background was appreciated as well as enjoyed by the audience.


The list is really long and exhaustive. I would love if the list is furthered by the readers. Thanks.

So, as it turns out while most of them disapoint, not everyone deserves our frown. So if there is at all any chance of Inception having a sequel let's keep our finger's cross and hope it falls into the latter category.

Laments and Virtues

Hello, everyone! apologies for not being able to update any blogs since long. Not that I didn't feel like blogging during the interim, with so many things going right from the Rio Olympics to the election of Donald Trump to demonetization of the Indian currency with higher denominations to the issue of the Cauvery water distribution. there indeed were many things that needed writing about, but as it turns out, I was pretty preoccupied with the publication of my first book. Yes, my prolonged struggled to get myself published is finally coming true with the publication of "Laments and Virtues" my collection of poetries and short stories.

With the arrival of my book due December, I finally have some time to spare to write update my blog and highlight some points about the book which may not be possible to convey through my facebook page, twitter or Instagram. So here it is:-

LaV is a collection of ten poems and three short stories. The essential theme that binds them together is the plight, dilemma and laments that seem to engulf us during our day to day lives. Sometimes, we feel like breaking free and escaping, sometimes we stay and fight, sometimes we succeed while in other times, we fail. Whatever might our decision be, or whatever be their consequences, we always find them become part and parcel of our lives insomuch as they end up being the defining elements of our lives. We find some virtues in our laments. This is the heart of the book to be realised through every piece of writing.

LaV was not incepted the way it has turned out. My first book was supposed to be a collection of short stories for middle-grade children and the poetries were not to be published anytime soon. But as it turned out, I found that many of my poetries seem to be telling more or less the same thing in ways more than one, yet each having its own way of expressing its meaning. It was then I came up with the idea of getting them published under one title. And the result was the emergence of 'Laments and Virtues'.

So, till the time it comes out and reaches your bookshelves, KEEP READING, KEEP LOVING.

The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable by Amitav Ghosh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An eye opening account of our negligence to the most important and influential factor of our very existence-Climate change.
It urges the writer in us to question the established norms of narration and wants us to encompass collective narration involving greater and richer literature, because what else has the world recorded its history in but literature itself. It's imperative for us to leave a mark and ask questions and write about the prevalent issue of climate for the future generations as witnesses in our justification for our negligence amidst politics war and other issues.


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The DESIRE PATH

The government made the roads for tourists’ convenience. They spend a great amount and labour trying to maintain them. Every year, tonnes of tourists can be witnessed in their polluting vehicle marching up and down the hilly roads, risking their lives, just to get a glimpse of a well-known lake which contained water only for a certain period in the whole year. The toils of the local people can be realised in the very rubbles of the previously fallen boulders. The song of nature can be heard in the rumblings of the clouds hovering upon the mountains.

Amidst all these painstaking efforts to give a pleasant experience to the tourists alongside maintaining the serenity of the very mountains, the lives of the local people often go unnoticed. As it always is the case, any place is known for its beauty, but always it is remembered by the people who inhabit the place.

When people were busy in their vacation from their daily jobs appreciating the nature only to forget it upon their return, the locals chose the desire path for their daily jobs, collecting wood, nurturing tea gardens and preparing steamed food in their shops for the resting tourists.

Being a tourist one can know the beauty of the place, but looking at the same place from a residence’s point of view, one can realise the place much more than any prolonged tourist can. To work, make a living, raise a family amidst the uncertain weather and roads, are the things that make life really challenging and unveils the true nature of nature. The extreme at which it could go is beyond the predictability of mere mortals.

So next time, we visit any hill station or any other mountainous place, along with appreciating the nature, we also need to keep in mind the people who make this place what it is. We can talk to them, know their culture, their problems. We don’t have to bring them up from their drudgery, but at least we can take some time to appreciate them. For without them, the place won’t be the same.

THE CIRCLE OF REASON, BY AMITAV GHOSH

The Circle of Reason by Amitav Ghosh
My rating: 1 of 5 stars




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The AUTORPRENEURS and their era..

“Literature” has, in both form and way it reached the readers, evolved during its course of history. The long dramas of Shakespearean Era refuting the dogmas and structure of the erstwhile Elizabethan Era, the emergence of various forms of poetries and establishing certain conventions in the usage of symbolism and appreciation of beauty of the Romantic Era, the rise to prominence of the ‘novel’ genre in the Victorian Era (which still continues as one of the foremost genre), cite only one thing- that Literature, like any other thing in the universe, follows the only constant thing “Change“.

With the evolution of lifestyles, has evolved our literature. There was a certain time writing was seen as a non paying profession. Unless the current time when some writers who by employing certain celluloid-inspired methods to promote their books, garner greater readership and hence make huge profits in this “dying business”. They treat their book as a “startup” or business and go on to profit from it. This group of authors who run this enterprise are known as “AUTHORPRENEURS”.

These authorpreneurs have given a new dimension to modern literature. We can find many a newcomers taking up writing as a profession. The authors who reach the level of stardom can boast of having readership equivalent to that of fans of any superstar.

Why do we need authorpreneurs?

Often there were instances of many good books never see the light of the day or even upon doing so, they barely reach beyond a handful number of bookshelves. These authorpreneurs take it to themselves to make it reach satisfactory number of readers. The number of bestsellers has increased, so did the number of readers. His is certainly a positive sign for those taking up writing as a profession. They no longer have to worry about money to some extent.

But how far does commercialization of literature help literature?

As a matter of fact literature was never bereft of commercialization. Shakespeare never out rightly opposed Elizabethan beliefs so as to maintain the number of audience visiting his theatre. Dickens began serializing his novels to keep the readers always in want of the complete story.

In the current times however obtaining better profits from books has become more prior to coming up with better books. We know how a product rightly advertised sells irrespective of its quality. So will looking at a form of art as a product mean the decline of its quality imminent? Well to some extent it does so. Many writers without putting in much research and hard work bring out their novels.

This situation gives rise to two different segments of readers. On one hand we have selective readers (the class) who settle for nothing less than good, on the other hand, we have the mass, who give in to popular fiction without considering about literature. The readers of belonging to the class feel low towards the mass and look down upon them as mere less educated. This causes dissent to the writers of the mass. This gives way to “LITERAL DISCRIMINATION”.

Moreover the business these books do currently in the market has no indication whether it would go down in the history as “classical”. Whether our era of authorpreneurs will be regarded of as highly in future as the erstwhile eras are? Well it will be better to leave these questions for time to answer.

As it has always been difficult to identify something as black or white distinctively for everything is to varying extents “grey”. We have to accept the two sides of the coin. Being literal about literature, if thorns could be appreciated in spite of bearing thorns, we must all see the good about our era thus adjusting ourselves to the thorn. We as readers, pivotal to the whole scenario, must understand the difference and appreciate the good. We must not allow someone to take advantage of our aloofness and misguide us towards having a bleak conception about literature.

Hope to see better days in future. Keep reading, keep loving. 

Of Christmas... and us.

Being a fan of Dicken’s literature since childhood, Christmas always reminds me of the famous character of Ebenezer Scrooge. The man, as miser as a miser could be and as cold in emotions as his suppers would be, when visited by ghosts of past, present and future and looks at his situation undergoes a change of heart and unleashes the spirit of Christmas . This being the plot of the story not only is fascinating for the children but is motivating for the grown ups alike.

In our everyday life we do come across many people who seem to be of similar nature, not that they are cold, but they seem to have lost the track of time. They think they have plenty of life ahead of them to enjoy, but what they do not realise is that the time they think they have is actually the time that is spent on thinking so. It is often so that when we really think of enjoying our time, we realise we haven”t really got much.

All those things we worry about, our career, our finance, our position, if reflected upon introspection, we shall find that it is all a hollow thing we are all chasing. It seems meaningful from the outside, but within it, it contains nothing but void. Life is not meant to be a void.

So in this Christmas, let us not just worship Christ,let us take time to rejoice what the almighty has left us with. LIFE. Let us try to bring some smile on our fellow being faces, let us restore hope to the people in despair. Let us live in this Christmas. Merry  Christmas. Spread love. 

Why do we do when we don't want to?

Often in life people do certain things which we never really like doing, but somehow we are compelled to do so owing to the circumstances and our inability to escape. Given one chance to do the same in their field of choice they not only bring good results but also work more diligently and with a greater passion because there is no greater incentive than the burning desire of our hearts.

The where do we go wrong in choosing our paths? Why don’t we all follow our dreams? The answer may seem difficult and many people may seem to avoid it. In fact the answer is something which is not unknown to all. Following one’s dream requires dedication and hard work, not everyone is rich enough to afford it. In a dream following art or creativity, the path is not easy. Neither is it for those seeking quick money. Those pursuing it may find their peers succeed in life much before they had even began. More than that, we have our conservative family system’s hypocrisy which loves to adore their homes with art, listen to music all the time and discuss literature with pleasure but when it comes to allowing their kids to pursue such profession is a big no-no.

Thus we find bored up government clerks, uninterested people in information technology, irritated commuters in public vehicles. I really cannot say how this problem needs tackling because I myself am trapped in this rooster coop. The only thing I can assure is that till I set myself free, I shall keep fighting. I won’t let anything as moral degradation come in my way. I shall strive to survive and strive to be someone from no one, even if it is someone who tried to be something, I’ll be that. No matter whatever it takes.

Intolerance, Tolerance or Acceptance, What we must be our way?

Recently, there had been a ruckus in the media giving rise to endless debates and discussions in the homes of the common man and the Parliament alike. It has reached such a level of pseudo-priority that we have almost turned our blind eye towards other serious incidents occurring around us.

The debate for “Intolerance” seems to be replacing all the other issues of our country. Now, what is “Intolerance” and how did it emerge?

Intolerance is belief that in the present times, the Hindus (the majority religion of India) have become intolerant about other religions and are taking violent means to suppress them. The veracity of this notion is so far buried by the opinions of the individuals and religious radicals of both the groups.

The ones who believe in the existence of this are coming forward and raising their voice condemning it. While others simply believe that the concept of Intolerance is vague as they are tolerant towards other groups or other people are tolerant about them. But by simply stating that they are tolerant would not mean you are opposing Intolerance, rather you are giving rise to the inferiority of the other groups because being tolerant would mean you have a power over them. This is not equality. The opposite of intolerance had never been tolerance. It is “Acceptance”. Yes, we need to be accepting towards each other, like we had always been.

Of course there had been many cases of disturbances which speak against acceptance towards others like the Gujarat riots of 2002, the riots after the assassination of the then Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi in 1984, the rise in the toll of deaths due to honour killings and the like.  While we point a finger at each other for these incidents, we must remember that only a few people were responsible for the genocides and murders and not an entire religion. There are many people who were against these gruesome acts. The people who initiated these were the very ones who do not want us to be united with each other. These are the same people who are giving rise to these notions of intolerance, to create another disturbance. We, as Indians must not give in to this.

We were divided earlier and these divisions were the catalysts for East India Company’s taking over our territory. Should we give in to this, we may give way for rise of a similar scenario. History is for us to learn, not to repeat itself. We have shown our solidarity towards each other during times of turmoil in Chennai and in Uttarakhand, we had come together and demanded justice for a rape victim, we were united while during Civil Disobedience Movement. Let us not forget the very essence of our country and let us not allow any person to misguide us with their notion of intolerance or tolerance. We must come forward to raise our voice against intolerance and instill the notion of Acceptance. We must strive to keep India’s Unity in Diversity.     

An auto driver's lesson

One evening coming home from university, I boarded an auto-rickshaw, and as usual reported my lack of change before hitching the ride. There was nothing unusual about my co-passengers, (yes in Kolkata we have a system of shared auto unlike other metro cities) apart from the lady in my right who seemed to be in a little hurry. She was frantically searching for something in her purse, switching between chains and repeatedly zipping and unzipping them. My attention was soon diverted towards the rainfall outside the vehicle, the moment the sound of the motor’s engine reached my ears.

The auto was halfway, when the lady suddenly demanded the auto to be halted for she’d dropped her purse. The driver complied and she got out searching for her wallet in the middle of the road. No doubt she is anxious. I thought.

We were waiting inside the vehicle with the rain gaining momentum outside. The lady on my right, who went unnoticed hitherto owing to the presence of the other lady and the weather, was growing impatient. She kept checking her watch every now and then. Why don’t we leave her and proceed? She  asked. Both of us stared at her in amazement. How could a person be so insensitive? The driver replied. What if the same thing had happened to you? The lady went silent. Turning her head aside whether it was anger towards the driver or realisation of her insensitiveness, one could not say. I looked at the driver and smiled, in gratitude and in the humane way in which he took his stand. Moments later the she returned to our auto and we rode to our destination. She thanked us for our patience and support.

This was a little incident, but it certainly made a big difference that day. The driver could have followed her and in doing so, he would not lose a thing rather he would save time and pick a different passenger. We would have reached a little earlier. The lady whose purse dropped would have eventually found it and hitched another auto and rode home. No one would have really lost anything. But instead, he decided to wait, and thus was a lady able to learn a lesson, a lady’s faith in a stranger was sustained.

Often in our busy life, we tend to overlook our vicinity, and the little things which we refrain from doing, because we are in a hurry (for if you are not in hurry, you are not doing anything to make you successful), can cause a great difference to others if given a little time. Helping an aged man with his bag while climbing the stairs, replying to the good morning wish the gate keeper of your building greets you with, or even saying thank you to the milkman every morning etc. are the very little things that we can painlessly afford creating a big difference to others. The aged man will get another son, the gate keeper will feel valued and will take pride in his job, the milkman will have a reason to relish amidst his early morning toil.

So do small things and bring a big difference. And about the Return on Investment, well you can see it for yourself…..

An encounter at a certain tea stall

A dim lantern was glowing inadequately at the counter beside a burning stove. Seated upon the stove was a saucepan slightly bigger than the one we see at our houses. A new lot of empty cups were being laid, ready to be filled. “Two small cups,” said a voice from the other side of the counter. “Without sugar.” She nodded in acceptance and immediately dispatched two cups with steaming hot tea towards her customers.

After paying, the two customers left, when a little girl, of age might be five or six years, appeared with a notebook in her hand and said “Mamma, homework done.” So she was her daughter and probably she was doing her homework while her mother got occupied catering to her customers. Her mother took the notebook in her hands and began inspecting whatever her daughter had written. The light made it too difficult for her eyes to read.

Her tea shop opened late in the evening. She may have other jobs during the evening which did not permit her to meet her daughter to help her with studies. She was thus forced to bring her to her stall during the night amidst the dim light.

She might be the only earning member of her family, and her evening job was not enough to maintain her family and her daughter’s education. Thus forcing her to tire herself even more to ensure they went on progressing. It was clear that she valued education and knew its importance. Or I may be completely wrong. It’s possible that her tea stall was the outcome of her passion not out of compulsion. And she was aware of her duties towards her daughter and did not shirk either passion or duty. In that case she becomes more respectful in my eyes to be able to find a job that keeps her happy.

Whatever the reason might be, she deserves a different salute for her dedication and hard work. She might not come in any news, neither shall any biopic will be made about her, but she is undoubtedly a real life hero to her family and her daughter. And she is makes wonderful tea.

While returning home after having tea at her, I saw a half ready life sized idol of the Hindu Goddess Durga, who symbolises ultimate feminine power and a woman who is adept in simultaneous jobs owing to her ten hands (metaphorical). Even she was with her kids.

It was a great similarity that I found between the mythical character and to the person I met in real. She, like the Goddess had her demons which she fought regularly. Though in her case it was not any person, but her own draining strength, the dim light, her condition at home and the like. Like her even most of us have our demons, which tend to succumb us in its girth and we tend to lose ourselves. Everyone has problems in their lives, coming out of it is what separates the Durga from the rest.    

DIGITAL INDIA- What has it in store for us?

Since the time it was announced, there had been rows of debates and opinions regarding the ‘Digital India’ initiative spreading all across the social media. ‘Digital India’, as the name suggests, is an initiative by the Government of India to make every government services and information digitally available and accessible. It ensures all government works to go online promising a greater transparency.

What the DI aims at?

The major aim of the DI is to set up broadband in 2.5 lakh villages, universal phone connectivity, net zero imports by 2020. It also aims at providing 4 lakhs Public Internet access points along with enabling schools and all universities with free Wi-Fi. Every citizen shall be provided with a digital locker for storage of digitised documents. It seeks to restructure of the National Informatics Centre (NIC).

Benefits for the citizens

Firstly the Wi-Fi hotspots and the Public Internet Access Points (PIAP) in public places (including 500 railway stations), hitherto which were restricted to restaurants or at hospitals, enables net services for the people on the go, thus reducing the dependence on the mobile data by other private telecom companies.

The ‘Digital Lockers’ provide an online storage system for important documents like passports, mark -sheets, degree certificates etc. for easy accessibility during submissions for application of any services, thus making the whole system hassle free by sparing us the toil of carrying he physical documents along with reducing the paper costs. The lockers also provide access to govt. issued documents. These lockers can be availed by signing up with the Aadhar Card number and the phone number that is linked with the Aadhar number. The documents would be safely locked with an e-sign authentication.

Benefits for the students

It was prevalent in some universities but hardly in any schools. The DI’s initiative seeks to establish free Wi-Fi in 2.5 lakh schools and all universities. This step is going to benefit both teachers and students alike, for almost every required information are available in the internet and availing them would no longer be a problem especially for those children with no net connection at their homes.

Benefits to the villages

The high efficiency Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) will be used to connect the 2.5 lakh villages announced, with Fiber To The Home (FTTH) based broadband. Their connectivity to the network would introduce them to an arsenal of information for them like Early harvest Programmes, proper weather forecast, which would serve as a guideline to the farmers who remain at dilemma and are succumbed to the debt traps, to plan their crops. The DI also includes the Government services like providing a reliable agri information and alternate marketing schemes through the services like mAgriculture and mGramBazar.

Benefits in jobs

The DI initiative being a massive project for a large mass would invariably require a huge manpower for its working. DI would ensure a rise in jobs in the IT sector in both public and private domains. An estimate of 1.7 crore trained for IT, Telecom and Electronics jobs and indirect at least 8.5 crore jobs will be created.

Major drawbacks

So far the DI seems to be dormant regarding its privacy policies for protection of the digitally stored documents and informations. Without strict privacy laws, there lies a risk of identity theft and cyber abuse of the information.

The DI is undoubtedly a giant leap towards development of India in the digital era unifying the cities to the villages through virtual string. With the tremendous support it is getting now from India and abroad, it can be clearly stated that it has many expectations to fulfil by almost every group of citizens.

From 'Gurukuls' to Schools...and a student's life.

Gone are the days when parents used to send their children to the ‘gurukuls’ or teacher’s home where there used to be a ‘guru’, a teacher, under whose tutelage the students used to obtain all their life lessons. At the end completion of their education, their teachers used to ask for his fees (gurudakshina) from his protégé depending on their learning and capability. This system though made great warriors and priests, it had many flaws within its folds. They never sought to teach remove the barriers of social inequality like the Brahmins were not allowed to enter in the gurukuls meant for other castes and vice versa. Back then the women were not allowed to be educated beyond kitchen management and child bearing. The gurukuls had a blind eye towards it.

With the passing of the eras, the system of gurukuls has evolved. Now the modern schools have become more accepting and encouraging. Now a student is free to attend any school, not caring about his background, girls are being educated and are breaking the boundaries of kitchen to fight for their own identity.

Eventually even this system began to be flawed slowly. With the huge amount of commercialisation, even education has become an investment for the parents. Education has obtained the same impression of any other commodity. The more it costs, the better it is. Thereby this system has brought an economic division, and the school one goes in has become a ‘status symbol’.

The changing in the system has also made a great deal of change in the student’s life. Along with creating an economic sieve, a few schools have also made it just too unreasonably difficult to crack their admission tests. To get you admitted in one of those, there are a lot of coaching classes. Even for those seeking admission in kindergarten. They are supposed to know to do stuffs like sharpening your own pencil and know your ambition in life even before you join school. Adding to the fun, there are coaching classes or pre-schools to get you there. Hear money raining?

After losing his innocent days, in pursuit of a good school, he finally gets there, into one of those colleges. Right from then he is given a number of tutors for making him learn what he was supposed to learn back at obtained-with-difficulty school. The number of tutors increases with the number of subjects. One can easily find any secondary or high school student to return from school, drop their bags, grab a few bites and rush for their tuitions.

Even when the books and multiple teachers do not suffice, there are a lot of further books that teach you to ‘pass’ or score good in the examinations, and the fact that they are all potent bestsellers, clearly indicates that marks are everything rendering knowledge almost no importance. A child building a wind powered toy car is seen as nothing compared to the student who was able to write about utilization of wind energy, in a better way, in the exam.

After struggling through almost his entire childhood, one has to appear again for entrance exams of various colleges. For that again, yes there are, the coaching classes come into play. Shell out some more and be there. He gets into a college. Now the student-soon-to-be-a-man has been duly inculcated with the lust for marks and job.

Doing all the chores of education and passing through all the stages, he is finally settled. Being a product of a huge commercial investment, he now has the burden of proving his worth and sets the target of earning money and life in his mind and thus rejects a job in the school in the outskirts of the city.

Dalai Lama’s words on the most surprising thing about humanity..

“Man. Because he sacrifices his life in order to money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.

Christie-The Queen of Crime

15th september 2015 marks 125th the birthday of one of the pioneers of English detective stories, the queen of crime, Agatha Christie. She was the brain behind some unforgettable characters like Hercule Poirot, miss Marple etc.

No matter whether it is a typist serial killer, an organized international crime, a simple murder of a man who knew too much, you just name it and there is Christie present with her unputdownable page turners. ‘The Mysterious Affairs at Styles’, her debut novel, marks the beginning of an era of thrilling mystery stories and has given birth to Hercule Poirot, the beloved detective of English literature. The first Marple novel appeared in the year 1930 in the book ‘Murder at the Vicarage’.

Browsing through the pages of Poirot or Marple, one must not forget the other independent stories like ‘The Secret of the Chimneys’, ‘Unexpected Guest’ etc. Apart from giving us wonderful characters, she has also redefined the narration of detective storytelling. She engages her readers throughout the investigations and one feels like he is solving the case himself, unlike her counterparts where the reader’s patience was tested till the climax where the sleuth explained everything. She engages her readers like no other writer in a journey of crime and investigation, making her the third best seller outsold only by The Bible and Shakespeare.

Under the pseudonym of Mary Westmacott, she had penned down few novels like ‘The Burden’ , ‘Giant’s Bread’ etc. Along with mystery novels, this queen of crime had also written few plays which were later novelised by Charles Osborne.

Her stories were adopted into the silver screen and the role of Hercule Poirot, was played by David Suchet, thus immortalising the Belgian detective. Christie served as an inspiration for many movies and detective stories in the future. No matter how technology evolves or how the techniques of detection change, Christie’s ways will always be a novel and the most exciting methods and irreplaceable.

Our Decorated Roads

Certain sights become so common to our eyes that whenever we see them we tend to overlook, but to an onlooker and any newcomer it might be remarkable and disgusting.

 There are many sights that are generally witnessed in most of the Indian roads. Littered garbage, for example, lay strewn around the public dustbins as if someone’s effort to perfect his aim has failed him repeatedly in throwing his waste into the bin, or maybe those garbage were too beautiful to be confined into the bin. In places of no dustbins the roads are decorated with variety of pattern of dumped waste sometimes even releasing their fragrance imploring the pedestrians’ attention towards itself. Even the busiest man takes his time to appreciate the elegance of the strewn garbage. Some people remark saying why is nothing done about them. Little do they realise that the aesthetic value added to the roads by the virtue of well planned dumping of the garbage is irreplaceable. The garbage which would have been recycled losing its identity, have found a new incentive to live without losing their identity. This is not something any ENVIRONMENTALIST would ever understand.

There are some warriors fighting an endless battle to clean our city with the intension of keeping their vicinity disease free, but what good is health without beauty?

Some people involve themselves to cleaning to show our visitors from foreign countries a clean India. Why do we bar them from having the sight of decorated roads? Or is the scenario so blatant that it is solely for our countrymen?

Whatever it is, or however one takes this fact, the fact remains a fact and the fact is that THE CONDITION IS ALARMING and needs immediate change.

The Words of a Dead Tiger

I still remember the time before my death, when I was being beaten up black and blue by the new residence at the end of the jungle that had hitherto been my periphery. All I wanted to ask was why was not I given any prior notice before I was made homeless, just like it happens in their world?

Last week, a few cubs had gone missing. One of our streak had gone in search of them, only to be attacked and chased down by the humans.

We are non - violent peace-loving tigers who growl only to protect our family, much like the humans. I was asking them the name of the person who had allowed them to cut down our habitat and call it their own, when I was mistaken as a threat and thrown pebbles at. I urged them to keep peace because I had come for a peaceful venture, but they got angry (or rather scared) and gathered groups of men who began hitting me with sticks. Unable to solve the issue I was about to retreat when someone hit hard on my head and I was alive no more.

Innocent humans had been so naïve with their intelligence. They had been depleted our species eventually, finding no other job, since the very beginning of their kind and now they have began a campaign for saving us. Yes, it is true that in the recent times we are increasing in numbers and our depletion rates have gone down, but on the other hand looking at the way our habitat is being gradually succumbed and the hostility we face upon our visiting their locality is a clear indication that they do not care about our survival.

The Postman

Recently I was reading ‘The missing Mail’ by R.K. Narayan, when a sudden realisation occurred to me. Whether the present generation will understand the essence of this piece, how much will they feel connected to the core of the story and are they even aware of the importance of people like Thanappa, a postman? Or the community culture shown in the story?

The pursuit for this answer opened my eyes to the changing, or rather changed, times. Walking through the streets of Borivali, Mumbai, on my way home in the evening, I witnessed a school bus making its halt at my building’s gate. The happy faced children jump off the bus to embrace their mother, holding their hand they were being brought towards the elevator, when Rahul, a five year old toddler, spoke up. “Today I’ll make a record of 50 goals”. Of course it was some game he was talking about. Had it been my case back in my time the only thing ran all over my head while returning was to somehow finish eating and rush to the fields, where I would be spending hours till the sun had almost retired from the zenith.

I still remember the time when my father was posted in a different city of a distant state when I was seven and how I had spent my entire evening in an effort to compose a proper letter addressed to him. It was a delight to me t have written about my marks obtained in tests, runs scored by me in the evening match and about how we missed him while celebrating  mother’s birthday in his absence. It was a worthwhile experience. Had it been in the recent time, a simple text would have done the whole thing, sparing me the effort and happiness of it.

I heard my youngest cousin complaining when his uncle had forgotten to call him on his birthday, and there was a time when I had received birthday greetings two days post my birthday and still how much it delighted me to have a physical proof of their present to me. I never complained for its late arrival, for I was aware about the postal services and its demerits.

Letter writing used to be an art taught in school  when I was in my junior classes and as I grew up while appearing for boards the topic had changed to writing an e-mail. While writing this blogg, my SMART PHONE beeped, ‘yaar notes bhej,’ says the text from my friend. ‘send me the notes buddy’. I immediately took the pictures of my notes and sent him. Life has really become easy with the advent of these technologies and the world can be seen as a single connected unit. I no longer have to wait for the next morning’s newspaper to know about the fire mishap occurring in another part of my country. Thanks to the mobile news apps which are available for free. People have many friends in their virtual world, but what good is a hundreds of them compared to one true friend who is ready to be there at one call.

There are advantages of the advent of modern techniques of communications, they are fast easy and hassle free. But at the end of the day the text alert beep of the phone could never replace the essence and feel of that came upon hearing the bicycle bells of Thanappa.