Boleto Mamu Apun ek chhotasa Software Engineer tha aur abhi usse bhi chhota manager banne ja raila hai. Baki sab mere Resume me likhela hai kya:
OBJECTIVE:
To make plenty of money by securing a full-time job at a firm where my proven strengths in impressing (read ****ing) the CEO’s daughter will prevent my boss from firing me even when I don’t show up for months.
DESIRED POSITION:
Company’s President or Vice President. But seriously, whatever’s available.
SEX:
Not yet. Still waiting for the right person.
EDUCATION:
Yes.
POSITION HELD:
Target for middle management hostility.
SALARY:
Less than I’m worth.
PREFERRED HOURS OF WORKING:
1:30 – 3:30pm., Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.
CLASSROOM SKILLS:
• Have the unique ability to make cat-calls with my mouth shut. Never been caught even when the teacher was just 10 feet away.
• Can laugh out hilariously on professor’s stupid jokes while still convincing the whole class that I am laughing on the professor, not his/her joke.
• Extremely proficient in sneaking out of the class (after attendance, of course). Once I took the chair with me so that no-one gets suspicious to see it empty.
• Have 100% track record of sitting on the last bench.
INTERNET EXPERIENCE:
• Familiar with almost every site that parents do not want their children to see.
• Have a user-name and password to every web-site that features **** photographs.
• Was among the first recipient and distributor of the famous Mahayan.
HOBBY:
Ornithology (pretty cryptic huh).
ACHIEVEMENTS:
• Awarded the SHRI status twice
-Boys Hostel, November 2002. Was suspended from the hostel for the rest of the semester for ragging juniors. Pissed off the warden by 1000%. Rs.1000 fine. My name appeared on the college notice board for full 15 days.
-Boys Hostel, March 2003. Jumped the gates of the hostel to enter at 4 am in the night. Was told to bring parents to college. Convinced the parents that the college teachers are all jerks. Settled the issue over a phone call, thus saving time and money.
• My incredible collection of stolen pens and ‘post-it’ notes.
OTHER SKILLS:
• Consistent – Can sleep for 14-18 (and sometimes even more) straight hours if no-one disturbs.
• Environmental friendly – Save a lot of water. Once didn’t bath for 13 consecutive days, saving 1635 gallons of water.
• Signature Forging – Can fake even the most complex signatures. 15 years experience. Faking Dad’s signature on report card since primary-school.
• Few other special skills but they’re better suited to a more intimate environment.
HAVE YOU RECEIVED ANY SPECIAL AWARDS OR RECOGNITION?
Yes, spent one night at the police station for just having a brawl with one of the constables.
WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE DOING IN FIVE YEARS?
Living in the Bahamas with a fabulously wealthy dumb blond supermodel who thinks I’m the greatest thing since sliced bread. Actually, I’d like to be doing that now.
DO YOU CERTIFY THAT THE ABOVE IS TRUE AND COMPLETE TO THE BEST OF YOUR KNOWLEDGE?
Yes, absolutely.
SIGN HERE:
Aries.
Boleto Mamu ghabrane ka nahi, asal mein apunko masti karneka bahut khujli hai kya.
So if you want to know about me, you need to know me first:-)
About Me: I think I am changing the world, but I am not. I think I am contributing to the Indian economy, but I guess I am not. I think I love my work, but I cretainly do not. I think I hate all people who made me earn my engineering degree, and I do. I think I am living, but and most importantly, I am LOOKING for someone!! Ok…I won’t be funny anymore. I am a cool guy with zeal to enjoy life (If you know me–> “Just stop laughing!!”)
Relationship Status: What? I’m in love with my computer and it’s getting pretty serious.
Birthday: The day my PL is about to fire me.
Age: 11010
Here for: Web browsing in company hours.
Children: Can’t be (hey, don’t get me wrong here!!)
Ethnicity: Programmer.
Languages I Know: Java, C/C++, 010101110101
Religion: I get holidays on all religious festivals, so I love all religions.
Political View: The guy sitting beside me is a pig!!
Humor: Weekly.
Sexual Orientation: I might look happy but I am not gay.
Fashion: Ask my company HR. By the way, I like jeans, t-shirt and a cross-bag.
Smoking: The second greatest displeasure on the earth.
Drinking: The first is this.
Pets: Yeah, my PL looks like a dog.
Living: Come on, this is a stupid one. How can this be asked to a software engineer? Believe me, I am living!!
Hometown: My Company (Oh God! Please bring my appraiser to this page)
Passions: searching for the cheapest restaurant around, cursing my company, looking for other company, remembering my good old college days, worrying about my future.
Sports: Quake, CS (Counter Strike), computer chess, and anything that requires no kinetic energy.
Activities: Are you crazy?
Books: “How to lose weight in 20 days?”, “How to live a happy life?”, “101 ways to attract a girl”, “Java Unleashed”, “C++ at your footsteps”, others censored.
Music: Metallica, Pink Floyd, Nirvana, ACDC, and anything depressing.
TV Shows: Can’t afford one.
Movies: Anything that can be downloaded for free.
Cuisines: Bread Butter, Maggi, anything available within 200 meters of Home.
As the train approached my station I reflected back on my life and to tell you the truth I have never felt better. I was happily married for quite some time. In the beginning everything seemed to be picture perfect till I understood marriage is neither heaven nor hell, it is simply purgatory. Marriage is a wonderful institution, but who wants to live in an institution?
Her continuous shouting and my eternal silence made me understand that marriage is the only adventure open to the cowardly. I built a house round myself wherein no one who hated me existed, it is bliss. The great secret of a successful marriage is to treat all disasters as incidents and none of the incidents as disasters.
It was all going fine till today morning when the fights took an ugly turn. After all marriage is an adventure, like going to war. Moreover, there are two times when a man doesn’t understand a woman – before marriage and after marriage. As per her she had enough and wanted to end it all. It took me a moment to realize that I was awake and whatever was happening was real. Man am I lucky or what! End she wanted then end is what she got. I walked for the office as I have never done before, a free bird.
The whole day in the office was just like a vacation which I seemed to have missed in the last decade. Though while returning the train was a bit more crowded with people trying to bail their nose out of the armpits of others in vain, it was just not like other days. I was in some sort of delirium where everything seemed to be good.
It was already 9 p.m. and I had a 20 minute walk from the station to my house. Being a winter day, everything was already in the late night mode in this suburban place. The shops were closed, the roads were empty. I turned on my headset. There was the same news that had been making rounds for days now. Stoneman has struck again. The commissioner has warned all the people of my town to pay extra care towards their security and other such things. I had a small laugh seeing the irony of the whole situation.
Suddenly I was taken aback by a pat at my back. I turned around to see my next door neighbor Mrs. Bhanumati. I never liked this female. She is typically the type of woman who spreads rumors and hatred in others household. I always believed that my wife’s attitude was vastly due to Bhanumati’s chit chats.
“Good evening Mrs. Sharma. How come you are so late”, I asked her trying to be polite.
“Yeah, I went to attend my niece’s naming ceremony and got late there. Near the station could not see any rickshaw, so decided to walk. Thank God you were there. You know about that Stoneman right. It’s creepy”, replied Bhanumati.
Now you want my help!!! Anyways we took a turn to enter an ally. Suddenly she caught hold of my hand and brought to my notice a figure that was a few steps behind us. In the twilight of the night I could only understand that it was a long man, strongly built with something in his hand. A chill went though my spine. Can it be… will he catch me and my tenure in this world will be prematurely terminated!!!
I could see the same fear in Bhanumati’s eyes. I clutched my handbag and both of us started to walk briskly. The man behind us also increased his pace. My heart beats were increased and I had no clues what to do. We took a left turn as he police station was a few blocks away. The man behind us took a right turn and disappeared. We were relieved.
“That is the stoneman for sure”, she said.
I paid no heed as sweats gathered on my forehead. I searched in my handbag. Bhanumati was a couple of steps ahead. No one was in sight. I could feel the touch of wood and the steel in my handbag. The Stoneman will strike again today so that the two friends are united. I gave a smile seeing Bhanumati walking in front of me without any fear. Revenge is sweet.
In India we drive on the left of the road but in Bangalore we drive on what is left of the road. I believe it is the only city where distance is measured in units of time like Ram Krishna Ashram to Electronics City is 2 hours flat on your best day.
Over these last few years of living in Bangalore, I have slowly grown to like the jams, which this city provides in abundance.
These jams do build your patience and character. Is it a coincidence that India’s most patient cricketers, Dravid and Kumble, hail from this city of jams? (Dravid is even nicknamed “Jammy”). Does it tell you something? Sri Sri Ravishankar – does he get his daily dose of spiritual inspiration while in a jam?? And will I also get a halo after a few more years of this “character building”?? There are, I am sure, thousands of future Anands stuck in the Adugodis and Anand Rao circles, who are plotting their moves against future Kramniks, those poor little Kramniks stand no chance. And if you see a professor-like guy prancing around the Palace road jam, you can deduce that a postulate in Physics has just been proved.
A few days back, I had a thought – If we can have reviews of movies, which occupy only a few hours of our life in a month, why not reviews of traffic jams, which takes up significant hours of our day?? So here is my review of some of Bangalore’s famous and not-so-famous jams (in no particular order).
But before that, a general comment – as they say, the taste of food in a restaurant is dependent on the ambience; similarly, the way I see jams, cozy inside the office shuttle or public transport, is different from the way the owner of the swank new SUV sees it (by the way, if you are the owner of the swank new SUV, don’t run me down).
1. The Hosur Road Jam – Unarguably, the mother of all jams. We Wiproites are proud of being associated with a great company. We are equally proud of contributing in no small extent to this jam. This jam gives a great glimpse of the Other India – colorful music-blaring interstate buses, garment factory workers, highway trucks, smoke spewing lorries and such – the drivers of which use horns instead of brakes. It provides ample food for thought for socialist minds. (Rating: ***1/2)
2. The jams around Koramangala / Forum mall – Definitely the best jams in town. PYTs (Pretty young things), fancy cars, and fancy restaurants; this place has it all. But you can’t afford any of those. Never mind!! Your sadistic brain can take pleasure in the fact that the guy in the fancy car next to you is cruising around for a parking space, feasting his eyes on the PYTs, while his family is having dinner in one of the fancy restaurants. (Rating: ****1/2)
3. The K.G. Road jam – To be experienced in the evenings before a long weekend. Every auto/taxi in town seems to be stuck while going towards the City railway station – your hair stands on end, you start sweating, the heart beats faster, and you get the rush that a Michael Schumachaer gets on his last lap. And just as the auto moves, a movie show ends and a few hundred more vehicles pour out. Which was the train that hooted just now?? (Rating: ***1/2)
4. The Jayanagar jam – The puzzle-lovers jam; Jayanagar is a maze of bylanes, one-way streets, no right-turns, no left-turns, traffic signals and what not. It is an established fact that Point A to point B, in Jayanagar, can be reached in 6436 distinct ways. But whichever way you take, you are left with a hollow feeling that another route had a better and bigger jam? (Rating: **1/2)
5. The jams around Marathahalli / Whitefield – The IT professional’s dream jam; As (s)he sits in the office shuttle looking at other office buses, (s)he can make his / her career plans. A typical evening in this jam goes thus:
Voice from Company A bus : “Any J2EE developers in your bus?”. Three guys from Company B bus respond “Yeah” and get down. By the time, the bus crosses the Marathahalli bridge, the first guy is hired as a J2EE developer. The second guy, who didn’t know what J2EE meant, is hired as a project manager and the third guy is rejected as he realized late that he has already worked for Company A last year.
(Rating: ****)
6. The Airport Road jam – Similar in taste and character like the Koramangala jam but has socialist twist. This jam treats the rich businessman, who will later travel business class on Jet, the same as a poor programmer, who had unusually come to office early in the morning, 3 months back, to buy one of those cheap airline tickets. (Rating ***)
7. The BTM 7th Main x 7 Cross jam – Close to my home, so close to my heart. But alas, the spoilsports at BDA finished the flyover at the Jayadeva circle and brought an end to this jam. But for a couple of years, this jam used to give me pure joy as vehicles of all types created a tangle in the small bylanes of BTM layout. The BDA is now planning a new flyover at the Udupi Garden junction; so there is still hope (Rating ***1/2).
We jam lovers – currently this club consists of only me – have petitioned the government to protect and preserve traffic jams as a cultural asset of Bangalore. Just so that traffic jams are not endangered in the future, we have these suggestions:
1. Build more flyovers – Flyovers do not reduce jams. They just transfer it to the next junction. And in the 2 years that it takes to build them, you are assured of some joyous jams. I am drooling!
2. No public buses – If everybody goes by buses, where will our culture go? So everyone should travel by their own vehicles.
3. Make Tata’s 1-Lakh car cheaper by making it tax free – Imagine every two wheeler replaced by a car! The prospects are mouth-watering.
Trrrring…the mobile went off. It’s Monday again and it’s also 7:30 in the morning. Monday is an awful way to spend 1/7th of your life. It’s Time to get up and get going. Another hectic day of office work was looming large in the horizon.
Man the wine has still not settled in my stomach. To be intoxicated is to feel sophisticated but not be able to say it and that I understood yesterday. A hangover is the wrath of grapes. So much for thinking about the numerous peasants at the grape yards and drinking a few extra glasses. Not that I really wanted to get drunk but there was this proverbial business meeting yesterday wherein a great deal was to be signed off. How does it matter to me, I am just a project manager for Christ’s sake. I have the right to remain silent. Anything I say will be misquoted, and then used against me. Give me a break at least at the week ends.
Thud… “Ooooff….Archana look what Babu has done. I told you so many times not to let him put his toys here and there. This is one pesky little kid.”
“If only you use the 2 eyes that god has given you, you would not bump into things every morning”, retorted my wife.
Love may be blind but marriage is a real eye-opener and now I understand why. I somehow limped to the bathroom and reached for my tooth brush – do tiger’s wash their teeth or take a bath- self hygiene is first. In my mind I was still cursing the day when we decided to have a family. My wife had this beautiful thing in her hands, “isn’t he gifted”. Hell ya looks can be deceptive or else why do you think I have married such an expensive depreciating asset. As far as “gifted” is concerned now I know no one would have certainly paid a dime for him.
“Honey is the breakfast ready”, I can never understand how come she seems always so busy when all she has to do in her office is to sit idle, after all girls hardly work.
I got dressed and dashed down the stairs towards the dining room. Babu was already at the table. “Good morning baba. Look at what I have drawn”, he showed me a picture of me falling down over a toy truck, with a smile on his face. The pain in my leg sprang again, he is only 5 and look how he is enjoying troubling me. I went straight to him and twisted his ears, “how many times have I told you not to put your stuffs here and there. Next time I see you doing so, you will have it.”
I gobbled my breakfast and rushed towards the door as I was getting late for a meeting. Wham I collided with Archana. “Lady did you miss your appointment with your ophthalmologist? You should change your glasses and look where you are going”, I did not even bother to hear her response. I took my car out of the garage and went away.
In front of me lied the greatest adventure of my daily life, a one and half hour journey across the city covering over 20km to reach the Treasure Island i.e. my office. Everything goes at snail’s pace here except the signals. The cars hardly move as the signals go red and green in only 40 seconds. They should prioritize the signals. At office hours it should be green for a longer time. Somehow I managed to reach the office just before 10.
I took my laptop and rushed towards the gate. I bumped into one of my colleagues. Can anything go straight? “I am sorry”, he said. “No, I’m sorry the fault is mine, I should have been more careful”, I replied and moved on.
What followed were all the mundane office activities: Meetings and meetings over the upcoming projects, estimates. It is the picture of my happy life and I am mesmerized to see how managers (including me) work hard to make the proverb “if at first you don’t succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried” come true. After all no one is listening until you make a mistake.
One of the team leads was sick and being a good manager I called him up and asked whether he is doing fine. I felt a satisfaction in doing my job properly. After all this is what I always wanted to be. I still remember the days when I was frustrated with how the managers really handled me. Me being a brilliant resource they never gave me the proper recognition. After all success always occur in private and failure in full view. I make it sure that even if I’m unable to appreciate the worthy ones I don’t appreciate someone who is not worth it. Some might argue that it might be judgmental, but then I am the best and I know what I’m doing, I can never be wrong. It’s only that for every action, there is an equal and opposite criticism. I have done a lot to be here. The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese and I have been both.
I looked at my watch. It’s already 4 o’clock and I didn’t have my lunch. I took my lunch box and advanced towards the canteen, and as always had a quick 5 minutes lunch. I was back in a jiffy.
“There lived a certain man in Russia long ago”, someone’s phone is ringing. I find it really irritating when someone doesn’t put their mobiles in vibrator mode in the office. Whose phone is ringing, o sh** it’s mine. I saw the irony in it and felt it to be comical, and managed to get a smile I don’t know after how long. I changed the profile to vibrator mode and checked on the number. It was an unknown number. “Hello”, I said. “Sir, this is Rajesh from ICICI”. “I’m not interested”, before he could finish I answered and cut the phone. I really enjoy these calls.
The phone started to vibrate. It’s from my mother. Now what does she want? My father was sick and I got him admitted to the hospital. I visited him a couple of weeks back only. I am so busy and so I pressed on the busy button. After some time a message floated in my mobile. “Your father has expired.”
I could not believe what I was reading. Everything round me started to get accelerated. I was sitting in this endless time zone where each second seemed to be a million years to me. The world was rotating round me. I was losing my focus. Everything started to come back to me.
I started to ponder how times have changed.
When I was a child I had family outings on weekends, at dinner table all were together. My parents never missed anything that I was involved in even if it be the bunny dance in the first grade. But look at me now I hardly get to see my son. He might directly grow from his diapers to 10000 bucks Armani suit.
I have been long running after that elusive happiness of mine that I have completely lost track of where it actually is.
I still remember the birthday parties that I used to have at my place which my parents were very fond of throwing. But then I never invited them to any of my promotion or achievement parties, because friends were the in thing and parents are old fashioned.
Before marriage it was like we had some nice conversation be it movies, politics, our jobs etc. but now it’s mainly hi honey, bye dear or the quarrels that comprise our conversation.
Today I bumped into my wife and though the mistake was mine I scolded her left right and center whereas I apologized for the same to a stranger. Office etiquettes you see.
Instead of appreciating the works of my son I scolded him this morning, not because of his fault but because I had to vent my anger on someone. I cannot do the same in the office duh. I can call up a person completely unknown to me and ask about his health but fail to get time out for my ailing father. I receive calls from unknown numbers but miss family calls because I am too busy. I have been running after a dream of mine that could make me happy and in the process I turned into men whom I really despised. I thought the manager’s life was easy coming at 10 doing nothing but meetings and screwing other’s lives during appraisals. I was different and I wanted to do things differently after all great men don’t do different things but they do things differently.
I once had friends to do anything but today even for lunch I have no company.
Look at me now everyday I manage to make more foes than friends. I do the same things that my managers whom I disliked once did against me. Now I understand they just did their work. From within they were same as us. If work is so terrific, how come they have to pay us to do it?
Am I happy or I am pretending to be happy. Do I really understand what happiness is?
In the words of my father “We are but the prisoner’s of the prisons that we ourselves make. So we must make them wisely.” I never understood what it meant till now. It’s so simple and clear, how could I ever not understand it?
My mother once told me happiness is a relative thing. You are happy if you think you are so. Nothing can make you happy if you don’t feel it. You are happy only if you are at peace with yourself. Am I in peace with myself? Is anyone in peace with himself?
I got up of my seat. The feeling has settled in me. I gave a weary look around, and I could see many more “me” working. For what? Their dreams that will make them happy. But is it really so?
I rushed to the hospital. My wife was already there and so was Babu. “It will take some time to release the body”, she said. I gave them a hug and proceeded towards my mother. She was sitting on a chair with her heads down, tears rolling down her cheek. I could not stop my tears. Is it manly to cry? To hell with dictums, one should do what he feels like.
I knelt in front of her. My tears made my shirt wet. “I am sorry”, somehow I fumbled these words.
“I know son”, she replied. She held my shoulders and gave a jerk and said “get up son”.
“Get up son, it’s already 6”, I heard the voice. My shirt was wet. I woke up. Was it a dream? It must have been. My mother was standing in front of me with a glass of water in her hand and she looked young. “You are late. Get bath, I will get your breakfast”, she said.
“You know mom, I love you”, I said with a smile and dashed to the bathroom.
When I came to the breakfast table, I saw my father sipping on a cup of tea and reading the morning newspaper. “Good morning dad. Nice suit. I was thinking it’s long since we went to some place together. You were saying something about going to masima’s house. Plan on a date and let me know”, I said. He looked up with a look of surprise but I could see a smile on his face. As usual he asked me, “So how is your new work going? Are you happy?”
“I have never been happier baba. I have ambitions but to tell you the truth I am happy”, I said and moved to catch the office bus. The sun was out and a day never seemed to be brighter.
“Which is your place to live happily ever after?” asked my friend.
Without even a second thought I replied Kolkata.
Wham, a thunder might have hit him or at least he was struck by a lightning. He had a look of utter disappointment on his face to hear Kolkata instead of New York, London or may be Singapore. I had no frame of reference to describe the look on his face, may be this is what my parents felt when they were expecting a girl and I popped out. But that was in history and I had hardly any memory of that (not that I should have any). I was searching the recesses of my brain to find a few more tangible instances to compare the present situation but in vain.
“Out of all the places, Kolkata, why? It’s a waste. I’m also from there and I find nothing in that place to brag about. Most of the other cities are far better than Kolkata”, my friend retorted. He had gathered his wits and now he wore a rather defiant look (like “I’ll be back” Arnold type).
“It’s not about Kolkata”, I replied, “I think in general a person finds solace at the place which is his homeland.”
“Kolkata is my hometown and I don’t find anything that makes me happy”, he said curtly.
“If you don’t find anything to be happy over there what can I do?” my mind was screaming at the highest chord. It was also cursing me for being such a naïve to answer Kolkata when in reality I should have answered a foreign city. “Now handle the mess you have put yourself into”, japed my mind. I was always afraid of this type of confrontations as more often than not I am at a loss in such occasions. May be this is due to the middle management hostility to which I was subjected to from my very childhood. Anyways I thwarted the voices in my brain and asked, “What makes you to think in such a way?”
Being a Bengali I knew that I had hammered the last nail in my coffin. Never and I mean never invite a Bengali to arguments as we love them (though I consider myself an exception due to my lack of knowledge in different spheres of life) and if it ends in a brawl, then nothing better than it.
“To start with look at the political condition that prevails over there. A single party dominating the state for years and you call this democracy! As part of political wars Common People are being butchered at places, Nandigram being the latest in the list. The infrastructure is bad, rather there is no infrastructure. Old people who have one foot in the grave running the state. Factories are closed. People are unemployed. Corruption is going through the roofs. It’s a dirty place with garbage on the roads”, riposted my friend.
And my Lord this is the long and short of the story and my educated friend Sayan (that’s me) has lost the case. His words wrung my heart. They were true but were they really what they seemed to be. That was the exact kind of situation, to be a part of serious discussion, which I feared. I remembered how my grandfather said to me once that I could do nothing better than a dumped comedian or joker due to my incessant cracking of PJs (pathetic jokes) which none but me understood. I had a dry throat and there was no water nearby. Drat then I knew what it meant to be “Khaal kete kumir aana” (digging your own grave).
“Tell me will you go to politics?” I asked him.
“Why should I go into that dirty water? It’s not for cultured people”, sallied my friend.
“Exactly we learned youth don’t want to get into the politics. We blame the city, the society but forget the fact that society does not make us; rather society is just a mere reflection of its members. When we go to US, Europe we don’t spit on the road (not because we are sober but because we are afraid of their laws). But when we are back here in our lovable city we litter the place on the pretext of not finding any dust bin. I do agree that dust bins are not in abundance in Kolkata but the shops are. Each shop has at least one bucket to collect trash. Drop it there. Whenever we get a chance we try to cheat others to have meager monetary gains and I can give umpteen numbers of instances wherein people don’t buy bus or rail tickets while traveling, bribe officials for their own benefit. And it’s not only Kolkata which is facing these crises, I live in Bangalore and more often than not I find police taking bribes, electricians taking bribe so on and so forth. You cannot change a place from without if you do not change from within. You say old people are ruling but you are not ready to take a plunge into politics. Let others do something and I will cherish the fruits that it bears. This attitude of ours lets a handful of people take advantage and rule us. People are unemployed and so they do anything to earn their daily bread and butter. The political parties take advantage of this situation of theirs. After all who doesn’t dream of better life? Have we done anything really to help those unfortunate people? The answer is plain and simple – NO. The question is not only about unemployment. It is also about illiteracy. If some amount of knowledge is their in the stomach then even an ordinary person can do wonders as he can distinguish between good and bad, take the examples of Dhirubhai Ambani, Chris Gardner”, I replied.
“But the living standards of the people are not at all noteworthy. We still see old cars, cycles. Conveyance is a problem”, argued my friend.
I replied, “Kolkata was the city of middle class people and I say “was” as now it has become the hub of the riches. It’s not necessary that every other car needs to be Ford Icon or Fiesta, what matters is that you get the conveyance that you need. It takes one third of my salary to get a decent house in Bangalore, Mumbai or any other so called posh metros, whereas in Kolkata one can survive with a meager salary. It’s a place for people from all walks of life. It has a low cost of living and sadly and thanks to the IT companies the cost of living will increase in near future. You say you do not have proper conveyance in Kolkata. In Bangalore you might have to walk miles to get a bus stand and even there the bus might not stop forget about any place in the middle of the road. Now if I can talk about Kolkata, we have local trains, buses (though the condition may be a bit dire to say the least), auto rickshaws, taxis, cycle rickshaws, metro and even those private vehicles (whose drivers carry people to earn a few extra bucks). The prices are nominal (barring that of the taxis, though Mumbai is no better at tariffs). What else one can want; a pickup service. For God’s sake that is only given by companies to their employees. To understand Kolkata we need to understand its culture and way of life; it’s not only about high rises and malls but also about the road side food joints and the simplicity that encompasses it.”
“The people are dirty and you do not get a hygienic food out there”, my friend muttered.
Now this is a food for the mind and my mind was all gung ho at my proceeds. I said, “Don’t tell me you never had phuchka, alukabli or roll from the road side or footpath shops! I have had food from the roadside shops may be from the day I was born (ok that’s a bit exaggerated) and did not suffer. Nevertheless better be safe than sorry and I can understand one’s concern about health living in this age of “Phurphure” pollution. But to tell you the truth in other cities it is just the outward show, a goodly apple rotten at heart. You seem to have the feel of everything good as the ugly part is hidden behind the doors. And believe me this time I am not exaggerating. One of my friends is in hotel management and his anecdotes if revealed would make many leave eating at many of the so called posh restaurants. And just tell me where else can you find such good food, such varieties of food at such low costs. Not that you don’t have posh restaurants in Kolkata, rather you have some fabulous ones like peter cat, marco polo to name a few.”
I was finding a certain pleasure in refuting the points being put by my friend and for the first time in my life I realized that beating someone with words is far better than literally beating someone up (which I do more often than not). Ok I’m ready come with whatever is left.
“Hey Kolkata lacks the spirit dude”, he quipped, “in Mumbai even after serial bomb blasts everything was back to normal within an hour, whereas in Kolkata a small accident causes road blocks and stuffs. Moreover, the climate also sucks.”
“Yes, yes, as if you get air conditioner wherever you go. Reality bites dude”, I sneered “you say Kolkata lacks the spirit of life. Forgetting such a dire situation in minutes is lack of humane emotions. I still remember when my favorite doggie died (but that is again delving into history lessons). The way we stand beside each other at times of need, the way we celebrate every occasion is commendable. Out here the life is so mechanical we don’t even get time to socialize. In Kolkata, people like to know each other, people like to be friends. Adda on rock, ornithology (bird watching – just being cryptic), playing cricket, “baro mashe tero parbon”… You name it you find it. It’s a place that has doled out success and failures to you and friends to celebrate each of those moments. What else do you want? Now climate Delhi has an extreme climate, Mumbai is equally sticky, Chennai is bad. Bangalore among these stands out for its climate but it is also changing. The reason is simple – global warming, deforestation and pollution. Kolkata is far better than many places. Climate also plays a major role in water and electricity problems which are in abundance in many of the metros. Delhi has major power cuts, Bangalore faces water problems. So I would say it is better to sweat under the sun than get dehydrated or drown and lose life whenever we go out.”
By this time he was at a loss of words, but still being the royal Bengal tiger he made a last attempt, “In Kolkata there are no places to chill out. The night life is abysmal. You don’t even get a pub or disc open after 12 or 1. Think of the plight of the BPO people.”
Ha come to the point so what was pinching him is the fact that Kolkata is dry compared to other places. Now I understood “akhir kira hai kaha”. It’ not about the BPO people, it’s about him. Anyways I replied with a sardonic grin, “You are talking about night life, right. In kolkata you can find restaurants open till 11, conveyance till 12 (though I agree it is not for all places). What else do you need!!! Talk about BPO’s and their plight, don’t you think it’s the byproduct of the kind of job they are in and invariably it’s the same everywhere. Personally, though Bangalore is IT hub, I do feel it’s an overrated city. You can find medicine shops open even at nights in Kolkata (not often is the case in Bangalore). You can find conveyances late in the night as well. You can also find pubs and discs open as well. And as far as places to chill out are concerned, I think we have many be it coffee house, central park, Swabhumi, Victoria memorial, maidan, forum, city centre. The list is endless because even a small rock turns out to be a place to chill out as far as I am concerned. Kolkata is not a city of concrete, rather it’s our dreams, our true love. It’s here where we experienced all the beautiful moments of life for the first time.”
I don’t think I convinced him that day but little do I care.
You cannot find everything at one place and even if you do so it might not make you happy. Each one of us is different and has different views. Some like to see the glass half empty while others still find it half filled. Saying all these I do feel that we are so concerned with our failures that we try to vent our frustration by criticizing other things without recognizing the fact that it is we who can make difference even in those areas if only we want to do so.
As far as I am concerned “Being happy does not mean everything’s perfect. It means you’ve decided to see beyond the imperfections”. So bottom line is any place can be Utopia – A place to live happily ever after…So which place is your place to live happily ever after?
Last year (2017) I had my most expensive city trip as I was stranded in Delhi for my flight to Leh. Due to snowfall around the time of 26-Jan-2017, the Leh bound flights were cancelled. It was a unique experience as I went to the airport in the wee hours of the morning, waited anxiously till afternoon and then returned after rescheduling the flight. That time the Chadar Trek was cancelled.
The Chadar Trek or the Zanskar Gorge is a winter trek in the Zanskar region of Ladakh, India. The only way to reach Leh during winter is by flight (though a tunnel across Rohtang Pass is being built which will connect the region via road throughout the year) and it is surrounded by snow clad mountains. We catch a glimpse of the snow-capped mountains from the flight as it descends toward Leh. It’s an army airport and commercial flights are allowed only during morning times, and taking pictures is a strict ‘No, no’.
This year one of my friend insisted we should go for Chadar, so I chose a later date of 3-Feb-2018.
Being Sayan, I never bothered to look through the itinerary which ‘Adventure and Thrills’ provided. I just knew the start and the end dates. They charged me Rs. 20,000 + Rs. 2,540 (permit fee payable at Leh towards Chilling, provided you’re caught). I booked my return flight from Delhi at around Rs. 5,800.
Now started beg, borrow and steal philosophy of mine. I borrowed a jacket from a friend of mine. I had trekking shoes, which I regretted to take in the trek as I completed the entire trek in the gum-boots that were required for that terrain. I had two pairs of thermocot, a woolen cap, a baraclava, one pair of water-proof gloves, 4 pairs of woolen socks, a quick dry t-shirt and water resistant trousers. I was all set for the trek. There were a few added items like sunglasses, sunscreen lotion, head lamp, wet tissues, dry tissues and a stick.
I would recommend others not to be that carefree like me, rather pack an extra pair of clothing just in case you get wet (chances of which were high while our return journey).
Deep Meditation at Delhi Airport
As our flight landed at Leh airport (11,400 ft), I woke up from my deep meditation aka slumber (I always fall asleep in flight journeys). I saw many people sneakily taking pictures, but I preferred to capture the beauty of snow clad mountains surrounding the airport in my mind.
Aerial View
We got our luggage and booked a taxi to our guest house. As we got out of the airport, the -20 degree centigrade hit me and unwillingly I had to put on my jacket. I pride myself on being cold blooded as I can withstand more heat/cold than a normal being, but the low temperatures blew away my misconception.
Leh Airport
After reaching the guest house I had some garlic soup and again went into hibernation. People do say we need to acclimatize, since I had no extra days I had to make full use of 3rd. In the afternoon I went to the market to buy a pair of gum-boots from an army shop for Rs. 350.
Shanti Stupa
Leh Palace
View of Leh
Lunch Time
I also went to see a game of ice hockey which was quite interesting to say the least. Since the stadium was near our guest house and no tickets were required, I chose to spend some time there.
Game of Ice Hockey
In the evening, I met with other members of our group. We were 11 people in total coming at different shapes and sizes. There was a lady in her late thirties and there were couple of guys straight out of college. There was a guy from army background and a lady reporter. We also met our guide Tenzing and decided to start early the next day.
In the night I had to complete my daily quota of meditation, and as always I woke up early the next day and was ready well before time. I went down to have breakfast. Slowly but steadily all the members appeared in the dining hall. All of us were ready but the bus in which we were supposed to be taken to Tilad Do was delayed and we again justified IST (Indian Stretchable Time).
Finally the bus arrived and we got into the bus. It whizzed through the roads towards Chilling. A couple of kilometers before our destination, the roads suddenly vanished and we were into shooting star zone. At one point we had to stop for some time as the roads were blocked due to land slide. The roller-coaster ride (small advice have your breakfast judiciously) took us along the Indus to Nimu village, where the Zanskar meets Indus. There are quite a few heart-stopping moments as the bus passed the steep hairpin bends (like that of a professional belly dancer) over snow covered road.
The Journey
Nimu Village – Confluence of Zanskar and Indus
Finally we reached Tilad Do and promptly we wore our gum-boots for a trial walk. The river was frozen and at places we could see the crystal clear water gushing from the cracks on the ice. The stretch was totally white with a bright contrast of hills which sprung on both sides of the river. We walked a bit and started posing for pics. To add more spice to the pictures, I tried posing as if I was falling and this is the first time I had a fall. To come to such a place and not to fall is like Adam not having the apple (but note of caution you should fall properly as otherwise you might hurt yourself pretty badly – fall on your bum as the bag you’re carrying will support you, don’t try to obstruct your fall with your palm etc.).
Tilad Do
That night we camped there. We had vegetarian dinner (something which I am allergic to) and a bon fire. As the flames rose to the sky, we could see the glittering stars which otherwise elude us in cities due to pollution.
Bon Fire
The biggest challenge for the next day, and the subsequent days, was to get out of the warm sleeping bags and to go out into the giant freezer outside the tent. Another point of advice, is to drink water judiciously before going to sleep, as certainly you don’t want to wake up in the middle of the night answering nature’s call. Believe me no amount of adventurous soul in you can make you do so with a smile on your face (on the hind sight you do get to see nice and quiet blue skies, the silhouette of mountains, the snow and the gushing of river – a mesmerizing experience to say the least).
From next day the schedule was pretty much the same, early morning tea, then breakfast and we started to march by 8-9 am. Reach lunch site, have soupy pasta/macaroni and then walk some more. Evening at 6.30 we had soup soon followed by dinner. A little bit bon-fire, few games of Uno or Mafia, songs and dances and finally sleep.
So on 5th we started from the camp site to Gyalpo. As we walked over the thick ice, the real beauty of nature unfolded itself before our eyes. The terrain was pretty ok, slippery at places and my friend had a great fall. Sadly she didn’t follow the falling rules and landed on her knees. She injured her right knee, but to all our surprise did finish the trek like others carrying her bag (which had loads of extra clothing, I think she compensated for my not packing anything at all).
The river seems to have bodyguards on both sides of near vertical cliffs up to 600 m high. The ice can do a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde at times as it changes from dangerous at times to safe during others.
It is always good to be aware of the ice conditions if you don’t want to play Captain America in real life. There are several factors to consider ensuring a safe journey:
One must be aware of the ice sheet conditions
There may be cracks in the ice which should be avoided
Finding places with a coating of snow/rough snow is the best place to walk normally
Slippery ice can be found on several sections as well and should be walked/fall on with utmost care
Cracks may suddenly appear around/beneath you and it is required to run to more solid footing immediately. Dilly-dallying may be life threatening and not to spread fear, one local did fall into freezing cold river as the ice broke and her dead body was recovered few kilometers down
The frozen river is not our friend and we should be aware of it especially while choosing the camping spot
People with heart problem, high blood pressure, asthma and epilepsy should avoid this as there are many other adventures to be done in the years to come
So our army friend made all of us (except me as I posed as a photographer) to do stretching exercises before and after our trek for the day.
Stretching Exercises
On 6th our team again started to do warm-up exercises led by the army captain. I being a lazy guy, skipped the drill by photo shooting the event. That day’s walk through the deep ravines of the Zanskar was mind blowing. The bodyguards of Zanskar kept the sunlight away from the Chadar for most part of the day. There were many caves in those mountains. We came across a spot where we relived our childhood by sliding down the ice. We ran like crazies up the mountain and slipped on ice on the chadar. We also came across couple of frozen waterfalls, one of them had the formation of a ‘Shiva Linga’. Surprisingly one of the waterfall was not frozen. The rocks below this waterfall were covered with moss, and this is the only greenery we saw on this trek. We came to know that there is a story behind it (every beauty of nature has a story to tell). As the fable goes, centuries ago the local villagers faced a dearth of water and went to Tibet for water. They were given a box to be opened only in the village. We are a curious bunch and we do the very thing we are told not to (we got it from our ancestors Adam and Eve), so out of curiosity the villagers opened the box before reaching the village and two fishes jumped out of it, creating two huge waterfalls.
Revisiting Childhood
We reached Tibb Cave and camped there.
The next day target was Naerak. One of our team members was already saddened by the fact that we will be returning the same way as we are going, so there will be nothing much to see. Her name meant ‘lover of God’, no wonder God listened to her plea. The chadar started to melt.
As we neared our lunch spot, we came across many teams who had to come back as the chadar has broken for some part and it’s difficult to climb hills to go to Naerak.
That morning a local person fell into one of the cracks and her body was recovered few kilometers down. She died of hypothermia.
Still a miss is as good as a mile and so we had to give it a shot. A few of us along with our guide proceeded to the spot. In the way there were thin ice and I had a near death experience as the ice beside me cracked (though I am pretty certain that I won’t go before 70, believe me I read my life line). For a millisecond I froze (no pun intended), and then I jumped across on the sides of the mountain on the boulders.
There was around 100 m of broken chadar and the hills had hardly any way.
We came back to break the news to others. As the guide stated that it would be dangerous to go to Naerak, I was adamant. I gave him two choices and was backed by a few good men, who I think were high at that time. We told that we would camp there, keep all our belongings with the porters and only who are willing will
go to Naerak and come back that evening itself
go to Naerak, stay overnight and come back next morning
Finally the guide agreed and 5 of us braved our way to Naerak. As we approached the climb (we hoped that our spider skills were working), a porter fell in the river. We were quick to pull him up and he was saved. Then came the climb, as we felt like Ethan Hunt in MI2, clinging on the mountain putting our feet on rocks hoping they won’t fall thus taking us with them. As we approached the end of the broken chadar, one of the female member slipped and luckily the guide and porter caught her. Since at that point the mountain had few foot holdings, she was saved (I think God likes entertainers and so adds such things to spice up His otherwise boring days).
Finally we reached the mother-of-all frozen waterfalls – a huge frozen mass. Though I know only primary colors, I can bet I could see dozens of colors in this enormous ice structure as sunlight fell on it. Right next to the waterfall is a bridge across the river. The village was another hour of walk. We took refuge in one of the porter’s house, what can I say we had ‘Lover of God’ with us. The inside of the house was so warm, the only thing warmer was their hospitality. I had the best food that night. We had a great sleep and next morning we were back to the grinder.
The next day we came back and met our friends and continued our journey. We decided we should finish the trek one day earlier, as the chadar was breaking and we could explore Leh more. The terrain looked completely different from the one we came. The sliding place was under water. At places, we had to walk through ankle deep water, or climb on the cliffs at the side of the river. At one point our guide had to hold a thin sheet of ice as we just ran across that to a more solid ground.
I was walking at the end making sure the entire team was hale and hearty. I know for people who walk fast, it becomes difficult to be in a team where people with different pace are walking, but in such treks we should take care of each other at least that’s what I believe.
We camped between Tibb Cave and Gyalpo at the lunch spot while our onward journey.
The next day we started early and reached the camp site by late afternoon. The only thing that was left was a dip in the river. Since I was not carrying my swimming trunk, I had to wear my water resistant pant and get into the river. The currents were very strong and so a rope was put across my waist as I walked into the river and then finally started to swim. After sometime I was numb. As I came up and walked on snow bare feet, I could hardly feel anything.
Quickly I wiped myself dry, wore my warm clothes and had soup. Then it was our journey back to guest house. The next day we explored Leh but all we could think about was the grandeur of Chadar.
The next day we flew back to our hectic mundane lives.
Life is a wave that passes by
Memories to save never die.
Itinerary:
Day 1: Leh
Day 2: Leh – Tilad Do via Chilling
Day 3: Tilad Do – Gyalpo
Day 4: Gyalpo – Tibb Cave
Day 5: Tibb Cave – Naerak Camp
Day 6: Naerak – Between Tibb Cave and Gyalpo
Day 7: Camp Site – Tilad Do – Leh
For more beautiful pictures of the trip visit:
Day 1: Leh – SECMOL (Phey)Day 2: Phey Monastery, Leh Monastery, Leh Santi Stupa, Leh Palace, Leh Market, Hall of…
An early morning start from Kolkata to Antpur, around 60 km drive.
At Antpur there is Ancestral House of Swami Premananda and Ramakrishna Temple. Though they were supposed to open by 6.30 am, it wasn’t till 7.30 am. So I had to see it from outside.
Just a few hundred meters away lies Radhagovindji Mandir which opens at 11.30 am and so I had to see it from outside the gate as well. The temple is very big and well decorated with terracotta carvings. Outside the temple, in the same campus there is a Shiva Temple and a Rasmancha. Just beside the campus there is another Rasmancha and 2 Deuls. On the other side of the road there are couple of smaller deuls and a beautiful pond.
Then I proceeded to Hadal Narayanpur. If you put Hadal Narayanpur in Google Maps, it takes you to Mandal Chhototorof Mansion. I proceeded a bit farther to reach Mandal Borotorof Mansion. There is a 17 pinnacled Rasmancha and a Dalan. Beside that there is an enclosure where they put the bell metal chariot which comes out during Rath Yatra. Once you enter the mansion, you see a Durga Temple on the courtyard. Walk in to reach another set of 3 deuls, including 5 pinnacled temple.
Then I walked to Mandal Mejotorof 9 pinnacled temple. It’s the least maintained of all the Mandal temples.
Finally it was time for Mandal Chhototorof Mansion with another 9 pinnacled temple. The building was built in similar fashion as Mandal Borotorof but it’s not as grand and big.
Just beside Mandal Chhototorof there are couple of ruined temple structures. It’s our misfortune that such beauty is in shambles due to sheer negligence.
A few meters ahead in the way I came, there is another ruined temple.
A few hundred meters ahead there is a relatively new Brahmani Devi Temple.
Map of Hadal Narayanpur:
As I finished Hadal Narayanpur, the next stop in my itinerary was Bishnupur’s Madan Mohan Temple. Just before reaching there, I could see a temple. There was no road, and so I decided to walk the dirt road, the edges of a pond to reach Murali Mohan Temple. Later I found very few villagers can point you to this temple and it was good that I decided to walk to this heritage temple.
Then I proceeded to Madan Mohan Temple. Outside of this place I saw the world famous Bankura Ghoda.
After that it was destination Rasmancha, where you buy a Rs. 15 ticket for entering all other temples in the block.
A little bit ahead was the Dalmadal Canon and relatively new Chhinnamasta Temple.
A bit farther is a set of three temples called Jor Mandir.
Then I had to come back a little and take the road towards Lalgarh to reach Nandalal Temple.
A bit farther is the Radha Gobinda Temple.
Just opposite to it, Radha Madhab and Kalachand Temples are situated.
Again I came back to the main road and proceeded towards Gumghar.
Opposite to it a road goes in to Panch Chura aka Shyam Rai Temple. Luckily there was some occasion and the entire road was full of rangolis.
You move ahead on the main road and you can see Mahaprabhu Temple or the ruins of it.
A bit farther lies the remains of Krishna Balaram twin temples.
Moving farther just opposite of relatively new Mrinmoyee Temple, you can see gorgeous Jor Banglo aka Kesto Rai Temple.
Beside it there are Radhe Shyam Temple.
A bit farther is the Lalji Temple.
Opposite to that there is road going in, and a few turns ahead you can see the ruins of a fort or palace standing as the witness of the grandeur that the place once had.
On the main road there’s a Big Stone Gate. Bikes can go through but cars cannot go through this. So with my car I had to take the hill beside it and had a small thrill of my own, going up and down on non existent track.
Beyond that there is a Small Stone Gate.
Beside that there is a Stone Chariot.
Then I proceeded to the last place, the Malleswar Temple. En route I saw some beautiful old temples, few are in poor conditions.
Map of Bishnupur:
After Malleswar it was time to leave Bishnupur and go to Gakulnagar to see famous Gokulchand Temple and the Natmandir. In one of the sides of the Natmandir, there is a staircase leading to the top.
By the time I finished that, it was evening and I decided to call it a day as I headed towards Purulia.
Day 2: The next day it was an early start as well. I chose to go from Baghmundi side. A couple of kilometers ahead of Baghmundi is a small village called Charida. This place is famous for making masks primarily Chhau masks.
Then I came back to Baghmundi and proceeded towards Ayodhya Hill. I went towards Bamni Falls side.
The first thing that came was Turga Falls and Turga Dam.
A little bit ahead was Bamni Falls. It was peak summer, so I could just imagine how beautiful it’ll be during monsoon.
From there I came back and took a detour to Laharia Village where there are few beautiful temples, most prominent being the Shiva Mandir. There is also a small dam in the village.
From there I proceeded towards PPSP Lower Dam and then PPSP Upper Dam.
Once you cross the Upper Dam Bridge and move forward, you reach a three way road, one going towards Bamni Falls and the other towards Hill Top.
Take the turn towards Bamni till you reach a Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s statue. Take a right and go for half a kilometer to see Marble Lake.
Return towards Hill Top. Before reaching there there is a detour for Sita Kund. It’s a small water area and there is also a Ram temple here.
Come back to the main road and proceed towards Hill Top till you get a turn towards Mayur Pahar. There is a small Hanuman Temple at the top but mostly it’s famous for the view of the area from the top.
From there proceed further to Murguma Dam.
Map of Ayodhya Hill:
Finally from there go to Deulghata famous for a couple of Ancient Temple of Sen & Pal Empires. There were 3 relatively new temples as well.
That wrapped my hurricane tour to Purulia over the weekend as I returned towards Kolkata. En-route I saw a couple very nice temples as well.
Itinerary:
Day 1: Kolkata to Antpur
Antpur – Ancestral House of Swami Premananda and Ramakrishna Temple; Radhagovindji Mandir , Shiva Temple and a Rasmancha;
Hadal Narayanpur – Mandal Borotorof Mansion (17 pinnacled Rasmancha and a Dalan; Bell Metal Chariot; Durga Temple; 3 deuls, including 5 pinnacled temple); Mandal Mejotorof (9 pinnacled temple); Mandal Chhototorof Mansion (9 pinnacled temple); Brahmani Devi Temple
Bishnupur – Murali Mohan Temple; Madan Mohan Temple; Rasmancha; Dalmadal Canon; Chhinnamasta Temple; Jor Mandir; Nandalal Temple; Radha Gobinda Temple; Radha Madhab and Kalachand Temples; Gumghar; Panch Chura aka Shyam Rai Temple; Mahaprabhu Temple; Krishna Balaram Twin Temples; Mrinmoyee Temple; Jor Banglo aka Kesto Rai Temple; Radhe Shyam and Lalji Temples; Big Stone Gate and a Small Stone Gate; Stone Chariot; Malleswar Temple
Gakulnagar – Gokulchand Temple and the Natmandir
Purulia – Chataneshwar Shiv Mandir; Dak Bungalow; Rath Tola and Poka Bandh Para Durga Mandir at Luke Mrita Street.
Day 2: Suisa
Deuli – Jain Temple.
Chorda (Charida Village)
Baghmundi – Rajbari; At Chala Temple of Radha Govinda; New Radha-Govinda Temple; Rasmancha; Pancharatna Siva Temple
Ayodhya Hill – Turga Falls and Turga Dam; Bamni Falls; Laharia Village; PPSP Lower Dam and PPSP Upper Dam; Marble Lake; Sita Kund and Ram Temple; Mayur Pahar
Murguma Dam.
Deulghata – Ancient Temple of Sen & Pal Empires
For more pictures of this trip visit:
Day 1:Kolkata to AntpurAt Antpur there is Ancestral House of Swami Premananda and Ramakrishna Temple. Though they…
Early morning I started from Kolkata to Shantiniketan, a pleasant drive of around 170 km. There I saw the famous Visva-Bharati University, which means the communion of the world with India. It was founded by Rabindranath Tagore.
After that I set my Google Map for Bonkati মহাপ্রভু মন্দির (the only place that Google Maps show about this village which is around 27 km away). On reaching Bonkati Village and after seeing Mahaprabhu Mandir I asked for Rathtala where there is a terracotta temple, remains of a big house and years old brass chariot with intricate designs.
Then I asked for Kalitala or Rai Bari. There is a diversion on the way. First I took the straight road to see a set of three terracotta temples and a couple of remains of old houses. Two of the temples are not accessible because of jungle that had sprung around them. There is also a pond where we took a break and chilled for sometime.
Then I took the other route to reach Rai Bari. It’s not mentioned but we had to open our shoes to enter the temple complex as the place is believed to be sacred. There are five terracotta temples and a modern Kaali Temple. Behind the temples there is another ruin of an old house and two more terracotta temples. Though there is jungle, these temples are accessible.
Then I set the map for Deul Park. Before reaching there I saw Ichai Ghosh’s terracotta temple.
After that I moved towards Deul Park where one can spend some family time, see a deer and peacock.
Then I continued on the same route to enter a dense forest. I continued farther to see Shyamarupa Temple and Garchandi Dham.
While returning I came back to Bonkati and asked for Bohorapara at Ajodhya village. These two are adjacent villages. There I found couple of more terracotta temples, one of which has been recently refurbished.
After that I asked for Kamarpara. It’s the locality of blacksmiths and one can find a smithy there. Behind it there is a set of four terracotta temples telling you stories of the past.
These temples are not properly maintained and most of the terracotta works had been stolen in the past and sold. Government should look after these before they’re gone forever and you should go there over a weekend to just enjoy the peace and serenity and the simpleness of the people around.
I was a fellow at TFI and during that stint I encountered many funny moments while teaching the kids. I made a few cartoons on the same, “Those Moments at TFI”…
Abol Tabol's Crazy Escapades 