Showing posts with label trip. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trip. Show all posts

Sunday, February 20, 2011

a story and a few questions

Once upon a time, there was a Someone. let us assume that this Someone was a "he".
he wanted to make it big in the world...he wanted to be reckoned with...and most of all he wanted a Name.
A Name that would be his own. A Name that would give him an identity...all he desired was individuality.
He loved to write. He was good at it. Infact, so much so that a few of his writings found place in some of the best editorials in the country. But then...he did not become a writer. he realised that writing will not be able to bring to him the name and the fame that he desired. he left this life...he left his love. He went away in search of Gold. the Gold Rush was on. and he worked tirelessly for his prize. all day he searched for the Gold...and at nights he sat planning his next move. which way down the hill is the Gold mine...which way? He was hardworking. and he kept trying. he searched the entire land...the whole territory. he tried several means to get to his Gold. he put in tireless effort...at times he would feel that this was not meant for him...this was not what his life was meant to be. this was not what he was meant to be. but he remained focussed on his goal. and then one day...he found his prize. the Gold lay gleaming before his eyes. he bent down to pick it up. in his hands the Gold shone like the Sun...he had emerged victorious. he was happy.


then he returned... with hopes and dreams of starting afresh. he started writing again but....his time was now gone. he had quit his destiny is search of something that was not meant for him. he had left keeping his love and life at stake...hoping that it will stay till he returned. he had left his life the day he had begun his quest...and when he returned...all was lost. his pen still carved letters but in his poetry...the rhyme was lost. papers lay stacked on the table...most of them untouched. whatever he wrote he felt that it was not upto the mark. he scratched out line after line...word after word... till he realised what all he had lost.
The Gold remained...locked safely in the locker...and the floor remained scattered with torn pieces of paper. the words that did not rhyme anymore...and the sentences all refused to make sense.


but there was his Gold...gleaming...bright...lustrous. his prize.
he was sitting at the foot of his bed...his pen in his hand...



the above story is based on an observation by a friend who had said... "Good time will come...one day you will be free from all hardships and all pain...but am afraid, maybe by that time a lot may be already lost..."
the statement made can be interpreted in many ways.
Failed personal dreams in attempts to live up to the expectations of the World. 
It may even be applicable in cases of failed relationships.
it may be true in several cases.


Where is the balance in life? Is life not worth taking risks with? some risks may be too costly though... but then where's the fun without some excitement, some adventure? is adventure necessary at the stake of everything we love and everyone we care for? can we not come to a balance? are extremes necessary?


so many questions...
answers...i know none.


lemme ask YOU.....what do you think?

(....Idea by Avishek Roy )

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Photo - synthesis




I took this snap around two weeks ago on my 1.3 megapixel phone cam (wish i had my digi cam with me)...I'd walked out of the hostel with two friends to explore the Steel City...and trust me, the natural beauty of the city held me spell-bound...  


Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Sunderban... Aila



The Aila had a devastating effect on the Life in the Sunderbans...
its effects are etched on the hearts of the people there...and only time can heal the wounds! of the many real life experiences i heard i will narrate one...here i go...
the storm had struck Sunderban during low tide...generally in cases of flood or storm people run for shelter to the rooftops or the bandhs (embankments)...but this time there was nowhere to run to...
nowhere to hide...
nothing to hope for...
people put all their faith in God...probably Bonobibi, Shah Jongoli and Dokhkhinrai...and let Fate take over their lives...
One man in a desperate attempt to save his family put his two young sons in a big "haandi" and let them go in the stormy river, hoping that someone somewhere will save them and they'll live...he took shelter on a rooftop with his wife and father-in-law waiting for the monstrous storm to calm down... after the storm subsided he went looking for his sons...and he was lucky. his sons had been saved by boatmen who were out in the river at that time...
this is a story with a happy ending...but life is not a fairytale...people lost lives...families were separated...and dreams were destroyed...

on the day of the storm...i remember, my friends n i were sitting in our rooms in the hostel...taking in the beauty and enjoying the rain and wind in Durgapur...the only thing we were worried about was our semester practical exam scheduled for the next day...
how ironical...

this year Sunderban is not "celebrating" Durgapuja...Puja will take place but there will be no celebrations....they still have Faith but they dont have a reason to celebrate!

Sunderban...the Folklore....

Sunderban has a beautiful story to tell....its about Dokhkhinrai, the tiger king...Bonobibi and Shah Jongoli, the twin Deities who rule over the Sunderbans...donachacha and dhuke...and many others. The tale as narrated by a local is as follows...

The Sunderbans
Dhuke was the only son of a widow who lived in the sunderbans. dona was a boatman who had hired dhuke to do his biddings and run daily chores on the boat. Dhuke's maa had reluctantly relented to Dona's offer of hiring Dhuke and had made him promise that he'll treat Dhuke like his own son...and thus began Dhuke and Donachacha's journey. Dona wanted to collect honey from the forest and start a small business out of it....but Dona was not having much luck...wherever he went he met with failure...he could not find even a single drop of honey anywhere...confused and disheartened Dona gave up all hope. it was then that Dokhkhinrai appeared in his dream and told him that he must trade Dhuke for good luck! Dokhkhinrai wanted Dona to give up Dhuke to him...and promised that he will get as much honey as he wanted from the forest..but if he did not give Dhuke to the Tiger King he would drown on his way home. Dona reluctantly agreed. he sent Dhuke off to the forest to get firewood and sailed off...leaving Dhuke all alone at the mercy of Dokhkhinrai!
On realising what had happened Dhuke started praying to Bonobibi, the forest Goddess, for help. She and her brother Shah Jongoli fought the Tiger King and defeated him...and sent Dhuke home.
the struggle for power between the two forces, Bonobibi n Shah Jongoli and Dokhkhinrai continued for a long time till Gazi Saheb intervened and reached an understanding between them.

People of Sunderban offer prayers to these Deities every time they venture out to the forest...they narrate this tale in the form of Jatras and keep gthe folklore alive...!!

maa interacting with the locals

The Tiger Camp...


It was an amazing experience...spellbinding...enchanting...enthralling....actually words can hardly do justice to the experience i had in the truly sundor (beautiful) Sunderban...our trip began on Maha Chaturthi with the bus ride from Deshopriyo Park to Gosaba via Basanti...


from Gosaba a launch took us to the Sunderbans via the Durgaduyani river...and thus began our trip. the Sundari trees...the exotic birds...the wildlife...the life of the locals...the folklore...the folk music, mainly Adivasi with a touch of Sadri and/or a Noihati dialect...the Jhumur Akhera song "modhuro modhuro geeto gaiya...." performed by the Radha Krishna Sampraday...stole my heart away...


Glimpses of Sunderban...as seen through my eyes....






Sunderban is not just the land of the Royal Bengal Tiger or "Dokhkhinrai" as the locals call them meaning the King of Tigers...its way beyond that...its a way of life...its an experience that lives on long after you've returned to the busy city life...
i'm going back...as soon as i get a chance to do so!!

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

DeviPaksha...and what's coming up next...

i love this time of the year...its DeviPaksha...the countdown for the pujas is almost over...its Maha Panchami today...Pujas begin tomorrow...
well.....i actually have loads to write...just returned from a fantastic trip to the Sunderbans...and DurgaPuja officially commences from tomorrow...i'll be really busy hanging out with friends...pandal hopping and will be attending family reunions...so i guess i wont get time to update sa'matri'yoni till all these things are over...here's a synopsis of what's coming up next....
My Sunderban trip...
DurgaPuja '09
and whatever else happens till i post updates....
till then...Happy Pujas...

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