Prologue

Kolkata, India
November 19th


    Pitch black darkness has enveloped Kolkata in the middle of the night. The city lay in peace and silence when a muffled sound of an ambulance is heard at a distance. It was fast approaching and the sound which seemed muted at first was now clear and distinct. The watchman, a potbellied man in his late fifties jogs back to the hospital and informs at the reception ‘There is an ambulance arriving, get up!’
The receptionist struggles to fight her late midnight slumber but finally succumbs to the high pitch sound of the watchman. She reacts rather slowly and opens her eyes reluctantly. Within a minute the ambulance arrives at the hospital in Dhakuria. The driver darts out of the van and orders the receptionists to inform the doctors of an emergency. The watchman now opens both the doors for the ward boys to work with ease. Within no time, the ward boys arrive and open the ambulance’s back door.
The patient is lying on the stretcher, moving her head to and fro, while her husband was holding the right hand. She was breathing through a Bag Valve Mask, as she was nauseated and claustrophobic. He was constantly coaxing her ‘It’s okay; everything is going to be fine.’ He kept blowing air from his mouth on her forehead, in order to keep her calm. Her perspiration was perpetual and the pain was increasing exponentially. He caressed her both out of concern and happiness. One of the ward boys enters while the other stays outside. They lift the stretcher and rush towards the Operation Theatre (O.T). Meanwhile, the husband of the patient follows till the threshold of the O.T., where he is forced to stay outside by the doctor in charge. The husband looks worried and pale. The doctor, in his early fifties was very experienced, he stood firm and upright. He also assured the husband that everything would be fine and placed his palm on his chest and said ‘She is in good hands, you need not worry.’
The husband felt assured and nodded in affirmation…he had no other option but to believe the doctor. The doctor placed his hand over the husband’s shoulder and asked ‘What is your name?’

‘Vivek Sen’, replied the husband.
‘Don’t worry Mr. Sen, I assure you once again, she is in good hands, I am Doctor Arijit Banerjee’, he was familiar with the pre delivery jitters and pointed out to the reception and added ‘I urge you to please complete the paper work, it’s important too. Ja hobe bhalo hobe’, and he entered the O.T. Vivek progressed towards the reception area after feeling a little assured. As he walked towards the lobby, he remembered something very important; he reached out for his cell phone in his pockets and in his heightened state called his father.

‘Hello Dad?’
‘Hello Son, what’s the news? Is she okay?’
‘Yes Dad, she has just been taken to the Operation Theater, and the doctor has assured me that everything is fine.’
‘Thank you God’, said Vivek’s father Mr. Sujit Sen, who was calmer than his son, given the experience and level headedness.
‘Dad, I miss you and Mom here, I feel alone and panicky.’
‘Well son, it’s perfectly normal, although it is a moment of chaos and panic, the thing is, you should remain calm and composed. Only a brave heart can go through this time, and you are my proud son, I have faith in you, don’t worry, everything is going to be fine.’
‘Thank you Dad, but when are you coming here?’
‘I am taking an early morning flight and will be there first thing in the morning’
‘Okay Dad, I will be waiting for you, good bye’
‘Take good care my son’ and the senior Sen disconnected the call. 

After gaining confidence, Vivek now sat on one of the chairs facing the reception desk. The receptionist who was now wide awake was arranging for some paper work. There was a large television which was switched off. Apart from a few ward boys, nurses and attending doctors, there was no one in the lobby. The chair seemed to be rather uncomfortable for him, and he twisted his body to find a relaxing posture. Sweat seeped from the pores of his forehead and trickled under the frame of his glasses. The eye brows were wet and he constantly dabbed his forehead with his handkerchief. Time was ticking very slowly for him. He perpetually shook his legs in tension. Every few minutes he would run his fingers through his hair, exhale through his mouth rather heavily, squeak and pray everything is fine.
The receptionist after a slight struggle with her drowsiness found the required paperwork and called for Vivek. She handed them out to him and very quickly ran though the instructions in filling up the form. He took a while in filling up the form, he was in quite a lot of pressure and nobody from his family was here. There was no old hand to comfort him during this time. He carefully filled up and gave it back to the receptionist.
The receptionist, Kristy, cross checked and gave the form back to Vivek, ‘Please sir, fill the form entirely. You still have to sign here and you haven’t mentioned the relationship.’
Vivek was rooted in his thoughts and turned a deaf ear to Kristy.
‘Sir, you have to sign here!’ said Kristy amplifying her voice to wake Vivek up from his dreams. Vivek was suddenly brought back to reality by the semi-awake receptionist. He shrugged himself can cleared his throat to speak ‘Excuse me; I am very sorry, I was thinking about something else.’
‘Yes you were Sir, please sign down here and mention you relationship with the patient, you are the husband right?’ Kristy was losing all the calm she had after being woken up by the watchman past midnight.
‘I am sorry once again’, Vivek took the paper and signed it. He took a look at his signature and gave the form back to Kristy.
‘Sir, are you not her husband?’ asked Kristy now doubting the relationship of Vivek and the patient.
He takes the paper again, apologizes to Kristy and ponders again about the first day he met her- 20th February. Although, it seems like a short time, yet this was one of the best days of his life. Kristy looks at Vivek with utter disdain and running out of the last bottle of patience squeaks ‘Sir, are you the husband?’
Vivek is clouded by thoughts and reluctantly writes ‘HUSBAND’.

When i earned real friends...!!

“Maybe love won't let you down. All of your failures are training grounds and just as your back's turned you'll be surprised...as your solitude subsides.”- Beatles. My solitude was on the rise when I walked back to my flat; my home for the past eighty days. The flat was silent, and lacked skirmish of any human vocal. I felt lonely; the feeling is one of the worst that I had felt. I still remembered the first day I had come here, alone and curious. Curious I was, because I didn’t know the kind of people I would meet. I regard myself, an anathema.
          After finishing off my Post Graduation, I stayed at home for a month. Tragedy struck thrice during my stay, first I and my brother were charged with physically abusing a woman. A fake complaint was lodged. No evidence was found and nothing bad happened. Secondly, one of my uncles’, who was battling with cancer, succumbed, and left a void in his family. Thirdly my Mother suffered a septic attack, precisely Septicemia. She survived the attack, but she was diagnosed with bronchitis. My mind took a battering that time and within ten days I had to join TCS (Tata Consultancy Services) Hyderabad, for the start of my career.
          I landed in Hyderabad on the 9th of July 2011, at about half past nine. I took a cab and reached the home of one of my chum, Ashutosh. He was in Hyderabad for the past eighteen months. He made arrangements for my night stay, and also helped me in shopping. The next evening I went at the accommodation provided by TCS, known as Manjeera towers. It was far from the city, but closer to the training center. I reached with my entire luggage alone. Although my college students were also called, yet I knew no one. I could make out some familiar faces, but I had interacted with none. I hoped to find somebody I knew. All my classmates were called to Trivandrum and I was told to join Hyderabad.
          July 10th 2011: There is a perception, I don’t know where it comes from but I got it too. It’s said that South Indians are not good people. They speak their own language, eat different food, and hate people who speak in Hindi or English. Some of my friends, back at home, who have been ignorant throughout their entire lives, claimed that the only food you get in South India is Dosa, Idli, sambhar, and wada. I had heard this from a long time. I was terrified at the thought of it and walked towards the reception.
While on the way to the reception desk, I saw parents of my prospective colleagues, I remembered mine and hoped that my mother will be discharged soon. She was still in ICU while I arrived in Hyderabad. I finally reached the reception desk. I saw a lady there who was very busy. She told me to register my name address and mobile number. I jotted down as fast as I could. She then told me that my room will be in the ground floor, numbered H-005. I requested her to give me a room with my university fellows. She declined. I moved with my baggage and met my first flat mate- Sarath. Full name, Karanam Venkata Sarath Chandra. The people in the south do have long names, I don’t deny the fact. Most people in Andhra have Venkat or Venkata in their name, as a matter of fact; Venu is also a common name. Then I met my room partner Ajay, full name Ajay Mohan Arasada. He probably had the shortest name in my flat, after me of course. Back in the place from where I come from, people regarded my name as long. I like long names; it gives an aura of a dignified person.   
I started talking casually to Sarath, after he asked me where I came from. My SIM could not connect to the service provider and I had to call home. I asked Sarath for his phone, he accepted without reluctance. I asked him for one call, but I made three, I panicked and thought that informing everyone concerned was more important. Till this date I don’t know if Sarath knows about the three calls, but it hardly mattered to him. This is the first natural fact I got to learn about Telegu people (not everybody but most of them), they are very helpful. It doesn’t matter even if it costs them money, they will go to the stretch to help you. Meanwhile I also spoke to some other people, one of them wanted to change rooms’ with me. I tried requesting the receptionist who accidently was from Darjeeling. She declined again.
    It was late when I arrived and Ajay told me that we had to get up early the next morning for the first day. College has spoiled my habit, I usually slept at two, and now I had to get up at half past five. I usually take a long time to sleep, but today was different. I slept fast and woke up at half past five. All my flat mates were up on time. I am ready too I said to myself. It’s a very uneasy feeling when you see people talking among them but not to you. I looked in the mirror for a final glance and saw one of my flat mates approaching me.
“What is your name?” he asked
 “Manoj” I replied.
“You don’t have any friends from college?”
“No”
“Okay, no need to worry, we are friends now”, he extended his hand for a shake and I gleefully accepted. It was a big hand indeed. He looked dangerous from the outlook, but he surprised me by his gesture. He was Sai Ram, full name Satya Alla Sai Ram. (Just for fact, alla is not pronounced same as the Muslim god Allah, it’s pronounced aa-la, but everybody called him Allah). He is tall and well built; he even claims he has the most beautiful body structure in this world, no six packs but just natural. Then I met two others Prasad and Anil, Vattikolla Venkata Siva Prasad and Yerramsetty Anil Bharath respectively.
Although the people I met were very nice to me, but I didn’t get along with them instantly, maybe because of the language barrier. I looked to befriend other people, who spoke the language I knew. I found some of them in my batch. They were from Haryana.

          July passed by and I was hanging out with my Haryana friends more often. Watching movies, going to the training together, eating and watching TV I did all of it with them. They were funny at times, but abusive on most of the occasions. They abused more than anything else. Haryanvi is a coarse language, I didn’t like the way it’s presented, but I can’t help the fact. There were six people in the so called Haryana flat viz. Sumit, Sagar, Punit, Yogesh, Surender and Vikas(aka Pahadi). There were few others whom I saw occasionally, Vikash (aka chotu because of his enormous size), Sandeep and KD. Till date I don’t know the full form of KD. He is the most difficult of all of them. Sometimes I couldn’t figure out if he was speaking or abusing. Chotu was a very informed person; he had the knowledge and remained cool and composed. He is the only person who knew where Darjeeling was and the political condition there. Sandeep was a self parsing person, I didn’t know him well, and neither did I want to. Same was the condition with Punit, a lanky, miser boy who was in love. I spoke very less; I was open to Surender, Sumit and Sagar, because they were my batch mates at training. I didn’t connect to the rest of them much. The other Vikas (Pahadi) was very intelligent; he had the knowledge of almost all the things I liked. In fact I can even say that his knowledge was better than the other five combined.
There is one more thing which I learnt about Haryana folks, they are believed in castes. Not all of them but a few, Yogesh specially. He used to ask people of their caste on the very first meeting. I have always hated such prejudice, I do it even today. Caste is no means to differentiate people, for that matter there are no means. 
          Some of them misunderstood my silence. They thought I was not open to them. I don’t blame them, but I am only open to few people, to my close friends and family, and with the name of family I remembered my Ma, I hoped she would recover from her diseases faster and return to her good health. I hardly contributed to their discussions because on most occasions it was futile.
In came August, I started to bond with my room partner more. He is a nice guy. He wants to be a musician. I hope he succeeds. We also connected with music; he played the guitar better than me. I wrote stories and made him read. He analyzes it very well. I like the way he says “Ah huh….” It assures the speaker that he is being listened to. He is from Vizag. At times he calls me Annaya, meaning brother. I feel nice to hear it. Anil and Sarath also call me the same.
         On alternate weekends I paid visits to Ashutosh, I never missed it. I even cancelled other plans to see him over weekends. I went over to his place even if it was raining cats and dogs. Certainly one of the best friends I have ever made.
         During the training, I kept mostly to myself, soft spoken and a man of few words. My batch was good. But, like every rose has its thorn, there were a few, who were competitive and not friendly, I don’t want to take their name. There were some people who looked down upon people. They had the air f condescension flowing around their head. I pity them.
         I was the only Post graduate in my batch, which meant I knew more. I did know but, I never voiced it in the sessions. My knowledge was fair enough, but I lacked concentration. My mind could not concentrate on things that were taught. It always thought about other things. I missed my home very much. I wanted to return home, to Ma and Dad, but I couldn’t. Slowly August passed away too, but before going it gave us out first salary. It felt nice, very good in fact. In the first week of September we got a holiday for four days. I decided to spend all the four days with Ashutosh. But, before I could go, Sumit, my good friend decided to leave TCS and go to Videocon. It paid him more and he will be working on electronics, he had majored in that.
         In September, I couldn’t bond well with my Haryana friends, Sumit left and his place was taken over by KD. I didn’t like him, because of his aggressive nature. So I started to ignore them. My relationship with my flat mates developed exponentially. I was closer to them more than ever. Anil became the closest to me. We went to the training together and even took evening walks together. It is during this period, that we were grouped into projects. Each team comprising of six people and one of them will be the leader. Lucky for me Sai ram and I were in the same group.
          Our leader was Udit Kararia, from Haryana, but he always claimed he was from Delhi. I don’t know the reason why he does it. Maybe he considers them as yokels. He is a typical person and I doubt anyone will see a similar kind. He is fast in calculations, sharp mind but he had the air or condescension around him. He hardly trusted us for anything. He wants to be a leader, give ideas and lead. But the place where he lacks is that he should lead by example. He never does that. I appreciate his brain, its fast and filled with ideas, but he has knowledge of very few things. He has no knowledge about current affairs or sports. I personally feel that every person should be good at something other than academics. We as a team did well. Except Udit, every one shared a good relationship with each other. I just hope he learns how to make friends in future so that he doesn’t get lonely.
         Back in the flat, I enjoyed more than ever, I watched Telegu movies without subtitles, and astonishingly I never complained. I liked it. I heard news in Telegu, I didn’t get the news entirely but I could understand some of it. I was so into Telegu that I started leaning it. This is one thing I thought was impossible, learning a south Indian language. I started with the abuses; I started to swear at most of my flat mates. They enjoyed it and never took it to heart. I respect them for it. We had biryani’s together. We even had a karaoke evening one time. Ajay brought me prawns cooked by his Mom, while Sai ram got me cakes. I loved both of them. I stayed with Anil most of the time, I told him about things, my love life and my mother. Well I actually told about my mother to all of them. Anil and I had breakfast together, watched movies together and studied together.
         Project completion was a daunting task and when we were all engrossed in it, we stayed in the training center for thirteen hours. Those were tough times, and I am happy I did my part. We did have our usual differences with Udit. He even made one of our team mates cry. Jackass he is. The times I spent at my flat were very good and filled with joy. In September I didn’t go to Ashutosh’s place. Not once, and I didn’t want to, because I had such great friends here. This was the first time I didn’t feel home sick, I didn’t think about my Ma as much as I had done in July and August. Slowly it all came to an end on 30th September.
After the final see off of our batch, it suddenly felt hollow. I couldn’t believe that my time here was over. I could not help it but I had to leave too. I had two days in hand; I thought I will spend it entirely with my friends. But, it was not to be. Prasad and Sai left on the 30th itself. When they went they had tears in their eyes. Sai cried. I remembered our first interaction, when he told me not to worry because we are friends. I wanted to cry but I could not. I had to be strong. I waved them good bye and returned to the flat.
          Ajay left to search for his room as he was posted in Hyderabad. Anil, Sarath and I remained. Sarath left that day too but in the evening and Anil the day after. Ajay left in the evening the next day. I met his Mom. She had also come. I felt nice to see his family. Finally we made way to his car to bid farewell. He greeted his friends and told me to go or else he would cry. I understood the feelings, even I wanted to cry, but there was no one, I couldn’t cry here too. I came back alone in the flat H005, Manjeera Towers. I left the day after for Mumbai, far away from all my flat mates. I don’t know for sure what they think about me, but I left with some fond memories which will be cherished forever.

Ajay: a budding musician, lover of music and a great fan of Dhoni. He is surely one of the best roommates’ I have ever had. He is also one of the best riders of the bike I have seen, smooth as whisky. We shared some good times together. One thing about him I want to mention is that he always listened to songs before going to sleep. And he would get up half an hour later to switch off the music player. He is surely dedicated and passionate about music; I hope he turns into a musician soon.

Prasad: he is an excellent manager; he manages events and takes good responsibility. He is a very cool customer, a fine man. I don’t know what he really wants to become, but whatever he does, he does it very well. One thing about him I would like to mention is that everybody said his father owned a train. I know for certain that he possesses a heart as big as a train.

Sarath: he read novels and my stories too. He danced well. He is a great Ganguly fan. Lover of cricket and watched all the matches. We spoke less but when he said anna I liked it. He wants to do MBA, and I hope he does it from a premier institute. He speaks well and will do well in life.

Sai ram: A hi-fi big shot, Sai never looked down upon anyone. His sarcastic remarks were noteworthy. He acts well too. I will never forget his birthday party. It was awesome and the best party I ever had. Sai wants to do nothing and live a happy life. He has a sharp brain and he has the ability to learn anything. I think that is a Sollu. Sai ra, can understand. I hope he does better than what he is doing now.

Anil: he is like a younger brother.  Stunt is what everybody called him. He is a great Green Day fan and listens to all of their songs. He is also one of the biggest fans of Power star Pawan Kalyan. I hope he gets a girl friend who robs him of his money. He too called my Anna. He is the reason I am on twitter.

The greatest and the best thing I liked about these guys were that whenever they call me or vice versa they always ask about the health of my mother. Each one of them, without any exception and it is this gesture that makes me cry when I write about them or even think of the times we spent together. I stayed there for eighty days, I was close to them for only one month, but in that one month I got a set of truly awesome friends for life. I hope they turn up for my marriage.
I had not been my best during the first two months; I hope you forgive me for it.
In July and August, I missed my family and especially my Ma, In September I didn’t miss her because I had a family here with me.

Naaku Telegu ante ishtam   
Naaku Telegu manushulu ante ishtam.

Biography- Guess, who am I?

Countless number of times we have wished to be lucky. We wish to have fate of a superstar, a rock star, a businessman or even a politician (considering the immense amount of fortune they pile up during their tenure). There are some, who are born rich and some who turn rich. It’s all about hard work. The rich try to maintain their riches and work hard, while the poor works hard to get rich. Some believe destiny is scripted and some are the makers of their own. My story is among those famous stories that you would have heard from your mother at bedtime. It motivates some and some are left thrilled. I hope this article leaves you enthralled, yet keeps you motivated.
    The youngest child of four children in the family of French Canadian roots, I was born as James on January 17, 1962 in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada to Percy and Kathleen. My father was an accountant by profession and also an aspiring jazz saxophonist. Both my parents suffered from ill health. My mother Kathleen used to suffer from hypochondria, an extreme depression of mind or spirits often centered on imaginary physical ailments. She used to lie on her bed and take pills all day long. I wanted to cheer her up, so I used to walk over and do impressions of praying mantises and other weird things. I’d bounce of the walls or even throw myself on the stairs, just to make her feel better. This led to habit of entertaining people. I loved it very much. As a child I’d performed constantly, for anyone who would watch, and I even mailed my résumé to "The Carol Burnett Show" at age 10. Later I extended the funny performance to my classmates at Aldershot School in Burlington. I even obtained the teacher's permission to regularly carry out a stand-up comedy in class few minutes before the end of school day.
    All laughter and humor all took a drastic turn when I was in the 9th standard, my father, who was 52, lost his job as accountant. The financial status plummeted like the pack of cards and we were in dire monetary straights. That was a huge blow for my mild mannered father who had given up musical dreams in favor of family security. Due to this fiscal turnaround we had to sell off our home and relocate to the eastern part of Toronto. This was our family’s bleakest period, as we all agreed to work as factory cleaners for secured accommodation. We even took up janitorial jobs at Titan Wheels factory in Scarborough. I continued to study at the town's Agincourt Collegiate Institute. I did my schooling there and then worked at the factory for eight long hours every day. Inevitably the A grade student began to fail and this showed in my behavior in the community. I decided I had no option but to leave school.
Eventually my family decided the hostility between fellow factory workers and their general unhappiness was too much to bear and we moved into a Volkswagen camper van. Despite the cramped space my family was happier again. Seeking an opportunity for my stand up comedy abilities, my dad and I explored the whole of Toronto’s comedy clubs. Finally at the age of fifteen I landed with a show at Yuk Yuk's. I appeared in the show with a bright yellow suit made by my Mom. The initial performance at Yuk Yuk's sadly did not result well, but I was not discouraged, and kept reworking and refining my material to satisfyingly become the club's headliner when I made my comeback two years later.
My early routine comprised mainly of impressions and along with the positive feedback I was receiving I took the brave step of moving to Los Angeles in 1979. The Comedy Store soon had me on the bill and I found myself spotted by Rodney Dangerfield who booked me to be his support act, leading to Vegas gigs. During this period I called my parents to move in from Canada to the U.S. I knew things had to change and above all I realized I wanted to make people laugh and headed back to the comedy circuit, began to explore new material, often bombing in front of the audience but never giving up. However with less money and with no option I was forced to ask my parents to leave, Therein followed a bleak period in my life. During this time I wrote myself the now legendary cheque for $10 million for services rendered.
My personal life however looked more promising. In 1986 I met an actress Melissa Womer at the Comedy Store where she was waitressing, fell in love and married her a year later, shortly followed by the birth of my daughter, Jane. I was no longer a single man; I had a family to think of.
I had already taken part in small budget movies before I married Melissa. Other movies began to filter through soon after, "Finders Keepers", "Once Bitten", "Peggy Sue Got Married", "The Dead Pool", "Pink Cadillac" and "Mike Hammer: Murder Takes All" then came "Earth Girls are Easy". Despite being an unimpressive movie I managed to make an impression on co-star Damon Wayans who recommended me to meet his brother for a new show "In Living Color".
This was to be his big chance. The role led to my Unnatural Act in 1991 and led to a role in Fox's Emmy nominated TV film "Doing Time on Maple Drive". A serious role in which I played a young man with a serious drinking problem, it showcased my straight acting talents but I continued with "In Living Color", sticking with comedy.
I was able to push boundaries and test audience reactions and across the industry I was receiving attention and acclaim, which lead to my first blockbuster in 1994.
 During my bleak period I had written myself a cheque for $10 million, which I kept in my wallet. I was given that amount when I signed a film in 1996, the cheque which I had in my wallet all the time I poignantly placed in his father’s pocket at his funeral. I am James Eugene Carrey, known famously as Jim Carrey, the 94 movie is called Ace Ventura and the 96 movie is called The Cable Guy.









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Sites from where the information is taken:
1.    http://www.imdb.com
2.    http://www.jimcarreyonline.com
3.    http://www.aceshowbiz.com

The Curtained Love

She comes over to my store, yashmak (burkha) clad every three days. I could only view her eyes. She gets to the imagination of every person she speaks or even looks at. With long eyelashes and pitch black eyes, she casts a spell among all boys, and I am no exception. She is fair as snow, and applies thick, heavy kohl around her eyes; she looks stunning. I was blown away the moment I saw her. She was beautiful and shyness added that extra mile to her gorgeousness. The instance, I first saw her is still vivid and glorified in my memory. She is Yasmin.
She stays in a bungalow across the street. She is a daughter of a Biryani outlet owner, a wealthy man indeed. She has two brothers, one elder and another younger. The elder brother Yusuf is married to a rich man’s daughter and stays in foreign lands. The younger brother Asfaque has just hit adolescence. She comes to my store with Asfaque, every time to take paan (betel plant) for her grandmother.
It was easy for me to fall for her. She is attractive not only by looks but also by nature. She speaks with ultimate calm and serene voice. Although being from a rich family, she never let the riches arrogant her nature. She is humble towards all the people she speaks to. She has her brother as company when she comes to my store, well actually it was not my store, and I work here. I like to call it my store, not because it makes me feel rich but I love to work here. The owner is a kind hearted man who had given me a chance to work and earn a living. Little did he know that I was love struck and mesmerized by the charm of Yasmin.
It had been a year; I watched her come over to my store and ask for the regular paan. Although one year is a long time to get accustomed to anybody, but, for her I am just an acquaintance; I still blush and turn red when she approaches me. Let alone the feeling when she accidently touches me. The moment she appears, I feel the time freeze. The scene lasts for only two minutes, but I always feel it is more. I wanted to speak to her, in order to extend the precious moments and prolong her stay, but resented on most occasions. There are thousand thoughts that cross my mind- what if she rubbishes me off? What if she abuses me? No she couldn’t abuse, she is much better than that. I was clouded by such thoughts and always postponed my assignment.
I look myself at the mirror every day and think about the improvements I can make to make my entire package, make it worthy or notable. Finally I give up that argument too, when I hear John Abraham on the television quote “Money makes you look good.”
Approaching a girl of your dreams is no joke; I don’t know how people do it. Maybe that is one of the reason people say Love happens only once. It is a herculean task when the girl is pretty and rich and the boy, poor. Moreover, I had no friends whom I could talk to, no one who is an old hand and could guide me through my misery. Adolescent love is so restless and relentless; it eats your head and time. It will always provoke you to focus only on it. The worst part is boys will be impatient and will be in a hurry to propose and get into a relationship. Noteworthy, I had less time too.
Almost the Day: She came in with the usual fragrance and charm. Without any reluctance I prepared her regular paan. She paid me the money. I looked on for motivation and finally, I mustered all the strength and approached her. I wanted to ask if she had a boy friend, lame, as it may sound but I had decided that was the way to go about things. I opened my mouth only to ask “would you like candies? I don’t have change.” I chided myself many times, while she gleefully accepted. I gave her an extra piece from my side. She didn’t know about my small gift. One step at a time I thought. She took all except one and said “This one is for you.” Every time I am blown away, but this time, I am cloud nine with her gesture. I kept the candy under my pillow from harm’s way, my treasured possession- a candy.
The next day I thank her for her gesture, she acknowledges and smiles. I want to see her smile. I am sure it will adorn her and make her more beautiful, but to my misery I only see her eyes. We speak sometimes about general things, some regarding her brother and some about her family and sometimes about my family. She is innocent of my intentions. I still remember the day when she had asked my name. I think I am progressing, from no one to my name, it means a lot to me.
Time passed by faster after that, we spoke often and it took more than four minutes. One day she told me that she likes to talk to me, and left. I was flabbergasted. She had touched the soft spot in my heart and I very well knew that the time had come. I thought I was making amends and it was time for me to strike the iron while it is hot. It seems like a fairy tale, rich man’s girl and a worker at a store falling in love. I am afraid at times, because her family is respected and well known. My employer will throw me out of this job as soon as he gets the news. Little things bother most, and this prevented me from approaching her. I had my family to support too, but the moment I think of her, all the sense flies out of the window. I keep falling for her, building castles in the air. I see her fading from my sight as I once again postpone my execution.
I am content with my behavior towards her; she is unaware and happy too. This could not go on for long if I have to transform the castles into a fine house. I preferred to wait, but I did not know how long.
The Day:  She turned up as always in her black yashmak with her brother. Her brother had locked hands with her. She asks for her regular stuff. I start the preparation and look at her at frequent, immediate intervals. She looks beautiful as ever. I am ready with the paan, she hands me the exact amount and turns to leave. Suddenly, I feel my life was going away from me. I wanted to stop her, tell her all that I had in my mind. In the mean time she had moved a good distance away from the store. I panic and grow restless, and finally in desperation I call out her name. She turns back without reluctance.
I approach her out of breath. I think again, whether to postpone or go for it. She looks on for me to say. I look in her eyes and open my mouth. I tell her how crazily I am in love with her, and although monetarily I am not competent enough yet, I promise to keep her happy. I tell her about how she had impacted my heart and if she gives me a chance I will keep her happy. Her eyes look at me in disputation. She then turns towards her brother who was a witness to my confession. Finally, she gazes at all the people around. She says nothing. She then turns to her brother and leaves me without a reply. I call her again, but this time she didn’t turn back. Her brother looked at me all the while; maybe he would understand my feelings. Already people were watching us and it is not good for her to talk to me in public. I felt assured that, that was the reason and she would reply me on her next visit.
She didn’t turn up for a couple of weeks, and I thought that was her answer. Day in and day out I had imagined her coming to my store and replying me or rather accepting my proposal. The feeling had left me happy at first, but slowly it turned into a nonsensical and fictitious.  Maybe she is upset at what I had said. Maybe I am not worthy of such a human being. Too many maybes crowded my brain. I was baffled, and didn’t know my next step. I thought about it for days and felt reckless. The mind can be fascinating at times and at times it can be haunting. I felt no good. I am now lazy in my work and often forget the things I have to do.
My boss decided to fire me seeing my ignorance at work. It cost him money, but I am concerned with my life. I had to return to my village in four days. On my finals days of work suddenly, I spotted her. She is with her brother as usual. The street is rather crowded as it is evening. I give no second thoughts, and walk to approach her.
 Her bungalow was close by, all the people knew her, because of her father’s stature. I pay no attention to them as I want my answer. I was not been feeling well, I lost focus on my work, I forgot how to smile and most importantly I forgot how to live. I walk over to her; I want to know the reason why I was discarded. She tells me to go away and never show my face and left. She was definite with her answer. I felt awestruck at her answer while she left. I spoke to no one. I felt I had committed a crime by breaking her heart.
I walked alone back to my room, desolate and shattered. Time could be a great healer; I just needed some time so that I could continue with my regular life. Difficult times are hard to pass, but they will pass eventually. I reach my room, lock the door and crawl into bed. I keep thinking about the incident in the market. It was agonizing. It still is. I close my eyes but the thoughts still chase me. I wanted to get away from this world, take a holiday or spend some time with my family. I think over and over again. I wake up look beyond the window. I spot a bar. What a view? It suits the occasion fine. Finally to get over my wretchedness I walk over to the local bar.
In the Bar: It is crowded and each one is busy drinking their stuff. I take a sip. The taste is bitter, as it is my first time. Nothing happens in the first two pegs. After a couple more, my head started spinning, and it gets me tripping. I can’t even walk the fine line, and struggle for an erect posture. There is something about drinking I feel, when you have a little- you stay a human. When you have little more- you turn into a tiger, pretend to be a renegade, raging and hostile. This can be troublesome for both- the drunkard and the one who gets into an argument with him. Well, a little more than that a man turns into a pig, falling in every pit and on every bend. I leave the bar at nine in the evening, like a pig, too drunk to sense anything. I slowly make my way back home. My room was not far away, just a small bridge and a bend to cross. I was in high spirits; the liquor in me was influencing my thoughts as well as my control. Slowly and steadily, I make it to the bridge. The cool wind blowing feels nice. I felt a sudden urge to get some more air. With boisterous heart and thoughts I climb the railing. I stand in akimbo. Bah! Forget all the things that happened, I will lead a good life now, it feels great. But, deep down I missed her, I knew that this enthusiasm is out of anger and not motivation. I outstretch my arms and feel the wind. I then close my eyes and feel much better.
Hello, he said what are you doing here? Come down or else you will fall. I heard these words but choose to ignore. He then shook my legs. I get startled and yet, try to control my posture. Within seconds I am moving uncontrollably and take a fall, but on the wrong side. It was a bridge but no water flowed under. It had dried a long time back. I could not make out the face of the man who tried to save me. I cry out loud Yasmin, and strike the ground with a great thud. My head bangs on the hard surface which consisted mainly of stones. Blood gushes out perpetually, I feel the pain but only for few seconds, I think my neck and skull both were broken. I lay there immovable. I try to figure out the person on the bridge and close my eyes for the last time.
My soul left the body and my call from heaven had come. Perhaps I had done some good deeds to get a call from heaven. But,  a soul only leaves the earth after the list rituals are performed. I wept like a small kid, I felt bad for my family. They would definitely miss me. My body was recovered from the stench within an hour (thanks to the man responsible).
My body was cleansed and kept in my employer’s house. It reeked of alcohol. My family had arrived and they were in tears. I felt like returning back to life, but it cannot be. It was ten in the morning and it was time. They carried me to the cemetery. A grave was already dug, all people had gathered who knew me, but I waited for Yasmin.
Yasmin, on seeing the shop closed inquired to few people. She got the news that was related to them by the man on the bridge. Apparently, when I called out Yasmin, he heard it. When people questioned him regarding the incident he said, I jumped off the bridge and committed suicide. Before I jumped he heard me shouting Yasmin, I love you. Plain and simple, he got away without a trial; he as well as I knew that it was an accident. Neither he nor I were to be blamed. But, when I heard the story I felt bad, because it made me weak. I was ready to accept a new life, but a false story gave entirely a different picture.
Everybody watched each other; finally the time for my cremation had come and the time my soul was to be taken to heaven. When my body was lifted to be buried, everyone heard a loud cry. Yasmin had come, it was against the customs for a girl to attend funerals, but no one could stop her. She came in running and out of breath. My body was still in air; she dropped on her knees and cried. She was warned that the time had come for me to go. She cried and asked for few seconds of time. All men grumble among themselves. I was watching my Yasmin. She lifted her veil, showed her face and with tears in her eyes said, I Love you too! The next moment she was pushed aside and I was buried. My soul got the signal from God for heavenly aboard, I cursed myself “Kal jab main usse pyar karta tha, tab wo parde me thi; aur aaj jab wo mujhe pyar karti hai to main parde me hu.” (When I loved her yesterday she was in a veil, and when she loves me today I am draped).

Remember the Titans

On 18^th of February 2012, India will again be playing to qualify for the men’s field hockey for the forthcoming Olympics. The London Olympics 2012 will begin on the 28^th of July. A record eight time winner, India will again go for gold.

This article, deals with Hockey, Olympics and the District of Darjeeling. Confused? Read further to understand. The people who don’t know, will think why Darjeeling? This article is about remembering what and how does the district of Darjeeling connect to the Olympics and Field Hockey.

There have been three Olympians associated with Kurseong, a town 30 kilometers away from Darjeeling. The fourth player who will look to qualify for the London Olympics 2012, according to my sources is from Kalimpong, 50 kilometers from Darjeeling.

Goethals Memorial School, Kurseong has the following notable alumni.

1. Cyril James Michie : (August 20, 1900 – 1966) was an Indian field hockey player who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics. He was educated at Goethals Memorial School, Kurseong.

           In 1936 he was a member of the Indian field hockey team, which won the gold medal. He played       one match as goaltender. No goals were scored against him. (Source: Wikipedia).

Wiki link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyril_Michie

        Unfortunately I couldn’t find any solo pictures of Cyril. The only picture that I found on the Internet was of the 1936 winning team. Unfortunately again, (as far as I know) no evidence is there to prove which one of them is Cyril. If there is anyone who can identify him please let me know.

                                                 1936 Berlin Olympics Gold Medal

                              

     2. Joseph "Joe" Deville Thomas Galibardy (January 10, 1915 – May 17, 2011) was an Indian field         hockey player who competed in the1936 Summer Olympics.

            In 1936 he was a member of the Indian field hockey team, which won the gold medal. He            played five matches as halfback.

            He was the last surviving member of the 1936 Indian field hockey team that won the gold            medal. He came to his alma-mater, Geothals Memorial School during their centenary celebrations in 2007.

            (Source: Wikipedia)

            Wiki Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Galibardy

                                        The Winning Hockey team of 1936 Berlin Olympics.

 (Joseph is second from the left in front, Dhyan Chand second from left standing but don't know about Cyril)

India in 1936 Berlin Olympics (Germany was under Adolf Hitler’s rule)

Played: 5
Won: 5
Goals For: 38
Goals Against: 1 (The only goal that was struck was against India was in the finals by Germany. India won that 8-1 under the leadership of Dhyan Chand).

India was up by 6 goals in the finals. The Germans now decided to play rough. Going for Dhyan Chand, the German goalkeeper removed one of his teeth. Coming back after receiving first aid, the bare-footed Dhyan Chand instructed his team to go easy on goals. "We must teach them a lesson in ball control," he said. As the stunned crowd watched, the Indians repeatedly took the ball up to the German circle and then backpassed to dumbfound their opponents. India ultimately prevailed over Germany 8-1 in the finals to win its third successive Olympic gold medal.

The Fuhrer was very impressed by Dhyan Chand's performance in the finals. At a dinner party after the finals, Hitler offered to elevate Dhyan Chand to the rank of a Colonel if he migrated to Germany. Dhyan Chand turned down the offer.

(Source: http://www.bharatiyahockey.org/olympics/golden/1936.htm)

1. 3)   Chaman Singh Gurung: I could get no information about his date of birth and death. He hailed from Kurseong and he too studied from Goethals Memorial School, Kurseong. He was a gifted player who participated in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics and won a gold medal. Unfortunately the information I got was that his gold medal was stolen. A man of such caliber and gift died a long time back and very few people know about him till today.

          India in 1952 Helsinki Olympics (Finland)

          Played: 3
          Won: 3
          Goals For: 13
          Goals Against: 2  

                       1952 Helsinki Olympics Gold Medal (which was stolen from C.S.Gurung's house)

1. 4).  Bharat Chettri: is an Indian hockey player. He has been appointed the captain of the Indian hockey team for the four-nation Super Series and an international tournament in Australia beginning 12 October 2011. (Source: Wikipedia)

         (Wiki Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bharat_Chettri)

         He is currently the fourth player who will eye an Olympic Gold, but as a captain, from the Hills. I hope           and pray that he along with the team do us proud and bring back those glory days.

        Lastly I feel sorry when I see that Hockey is no more a part of school sports in many places, (at least in    Kurseong) even after the association of so many great players and also being the National Sport. If there is   any information anyone can add, please provide it in the comments section.

Googling for better results.

I really can’t imagine a life without www.google.com. I would have never completed my projects if it wasn’t for Google™. As we all use the Internet so frequently, we use Google™ quite often (at least I do). While searching the contents we first open www.google.com. Then, we fill in the search keywords and press enter. Sometimes we don’t even have to press enter; thanks to AJAX technology it displays us the options as we type. I have seen many people follow this procedure and I have compiled some tips here which I think will help you refine your search and get results faster.

1.    Searching through specific sites : You can reduce the search criteria specific to only a website
e.g.: type espncricinfo: tendulkar, and this will show you the instances of Sachin Tendulkar in www.espncricinfo.com 
P.S Not all the links provided by Google ™ will be of espncricinfo, only the first few links will be of espncricinfo.

 

2.    Searching your name: Have you ever tried searching your name?

                If no, then try this, type facebook : “your name” in Google’s search bar and see if your profile link is displayed.
(Tip: try without quotation marks to see different results) 

3.    Excluding words from search: you can also exclude a word from your search criteria by adding a "-"(minus/ hyphen) sign followed by your word after typing the search term.

e.g.: If you want to search Burman but not Sachin Burman, type burman –“sachin”. This will list all the burman results excluding sachin.





 4.    Calculating via Google : Google can also be a calculator.
        e.g.: Type 36 * 36 and press enter. If your network connection is good you   don’t even have to press enter.

5.    Google as a dictionary: you can Google to find out meanings of words. Type, define: “your word”.
e.g.: Type, define: bogus and press enter. Again, if your network connection is good you don’t even have to press enter.

 6.    Google as a converter: You can use Google to use it as a converter. Type 1 foot to inches.
Similarly, you can also try 5USD to INR or 50miles to km

 7.    Searching for a file type: If you know the file type you are finding then try    this.   
        Type pdf: dining, you can also do this for ppts.

 8.    Searching maps : I have seen many people do this, they first open  www.google.com. Then they click on the menu bar title “Maps” and then do their search. To the people who do this and want to save time, this is for you.                                                                                                                                                         Type map: “place you want to search”                                                                                                                                   e.g.: map: Mumbai.

 9.    I have also noticed many people; they type the website address in the address bar instead of using the quick search bar. If you haven’t set your default quick search www.google.com. I suggest you do it. This saves time and if you are on a slow connection you know you have to do it.

10.    For chrome users, if you don’t want to use the quick search bar then just type your search keywords in the address bar and press enter. If you are using Internet Explorer then the search is done via Bing. (I don’t know about the others, you can check it out).

11.    Finally, Happy Googling and I hope this blog helps you out in the future.

Cheers. 

I Got her Number !!

It was during the final year of the graduation when a notice was put up regarding the campus interview of one of the biggest software companies of India which was to be held in Kolkata. The interview was schedule for 1st of September, and it was already the 27th of August, which consequently meant that I had less time. So I made good friendship with my books and I was a worm in no time. Reading dry books was never my ardor, but novels –yes! Understanding computer languages was always a daunting task. It always aroused the sleeping procrastinator that had now become an integral part of my soul.
    This story is not about an interview and how I cracked it, in fact I didn’t. I booked my tickets for Kolkata and the date was 30th of august. Bearing in mind that I had to crack an interview, I had to focus and be poised, but that really wasn’t the source of concern. I mean, who wants a job at the age of 21? Certainly I didn’t, because there’s only one life, and I didn’t want to finish it off earning at such a young age. The fact of the matter was that I had to get a phone number – whose number? Kiran’s number.
    The next question, for you readers is “Who is Kiran?” Well she is the girl of my dreams, and yes she existed in reality too. She is an awesome girl with a gracious smile. She had the uncanny knack of keeping the whole world around her, happy. I therefore, had fallen for her but the predicament was that I was in touch with her only through the internet. Weekly messages and a handful of e-mails was all that I could do to keep in touch. This leads to a confusion for you that where was she? …… she was in London, studying engineering, and then the next question is what her relation with Kolkata is? Well she had a sister who was studying in Kolkata and I knew her too. I directly couldn’t ask Kiran for her number because I was too shy. The very instance of her made me blush. It was lame but I couldn’t help it.
1st September:         I couldn’t make it to the company because I was chucked out of the final round; apparently they thought that I was not good enough for them. Damn it, to hell u company fellows, I don’t want a job and I kicked the stone and started taking a stroll in the lonely but serene Salt lake, sector 5.
    Back to the problem, to make matters worse I didn’t have Deepika’s number either (Deepika is the sister of Kiran (paternal)). So I contacted Sandeep, who studied with Deepika and was our common friend. He gave me a number that was received by some male, who was pissed off with his life, and to my misery that was a wrong number. I gave a call back to Sandeep, he gave the number of yet another friend Keshav (common again after the conversation).This was the first time I was speaking to Keshav, and to my surprise he was happy to give me the number, which apparently was not of Deepika’s and he told me that Deepika was out on a holiday to Goa. The number was of Supriya’s (elder sister of Deepika). This wretchedness was beyond my imagination, only this time, I had never seen Supriya nor did I know that she existed in this world. To my inconvenience I was a shy person who didn’t ask for Kiran’s number directly but I was here now doing stuff that I had never imagined in my fantasy: begging for a number to every person who gave me hope.
So I gave her (Supriya) a call. She received with a certainty “Hello-who is this?” I said, “I am a friend of deepika as well as of Kiran’s and I wanted to meet you because I have to give you something.” She was taken aback and then replied “I don’t know u, why should I meet you anyway “after a short pause she disconnected the phone and after a long beep I did the same.
All hope was gone to vain, no recruitment and no phone number as well. My agony was multiplying and who knows what will happen next?
As I took a lonely ride back home after winning nothing, a quotation came to my mind, I don’t recall who quoted it but it hardly matters “When you win, nothing hurts”. Just as I was about to unlock the door to my brother’s flat, I got a call on my mobile. It read ‘Supriya’; I was in a dilemma whether to receive or to disconnect. I started getting weird thoughts on why is she calling me? Isn’t she done after she disconnected my only ray of hope or now she wants to finish off things in style but swearing at me? To cut short these irrelevant thoughts I received her call. “Hello, are you there?” she said, I replied with a wry smile “Yes I am here I can hear you.”  She then said “I am sorry about the reaction, I hope you understand that it is difficult for a girl to believe a phone call” I moored my eyebrows when she continued “ I just had a chat with Deepika and everything is clear now and are you Deepika’s  friend or Kiran’s? ”. I was not paying attention to her but suddenly my twenty bones jointly made an effort to smile and I replied “yeah, I am actually Kiran’s friend but I am acquainted with Deepika too.” I still couldn’t figure out the reason for her call. She broke the suspense and asked “Can you meet me tomorrow at 8 in the evening?” Now I was dancing with joy and it knew no boundaries, I without any further reluctance agreed upon her request. That night was hard to pass, every second passed on slower than ever and I started dreaming, which eventually made me sleep.
The next day had its confusion of its own- am I just going to meet her to ask her, her sister’s number, how convenient and brazen of me to think like that. Certainly I didn’t want to make a false impression on Supriya, because now she mattered a lot to me than the day before. So, I started thinking about an alibi that made me come to meet her and I am about to enlighten you with one of the truths of life. Do you know why males are better managers than females? I’ll tell you why, because when it comes to saving your life, a male can do everything that he possibly can, you can see the example right above. The next day, I was so exited that I wanted the day to pass by so that it could be twenty hundred hours and I could meet my prospective sister in law. There was still a thing that had to be done, that was to buy gifts and give it to her as a birthday present for Kiran and in return I would ask her Kiran’s number. This was my alibi. Buying gifts was never a problem until then, selecting the best gift requires truck load of money which adversely I didn’t have. So the next best thing was “Cheap and best”. I bought a coffee mug because I remembered that Kiran loved drinking hot chocolate and coffee in the winters and winter was approaching. To be precise it cost me 180 rupees, not expensive but for her it was still a trifle amount.
Next stoppage was at Supriya’s locality, I had never seen her so this was going to be fun. I gave her a call and she told me that she is wearing black top with a pair of jeans. Everything seemed just fine when I saw a girl wearing black tees, I approached her, and firstly she kept looking at me so I was almost sure that she was the one. Then as I got closer, she had an animated look on her face and her hands slowly transferred itself into a powerful fist, as I sighted that, I knew that this time the number was wrong. Without further delay I changed my direction to see yet another girl wearing black who was in a public booth trying for a number. I immediately thought in my excitement, which was at its zenith, that this could be her. Again I approached her, but this time I was more cautious, as I was about to call her name, I heard mine. This time it was Supriya, she recognized me because of my excitement and anticipation.
After a formal introduction, I briefed her up on my visit to Kolkata and I gave her the gifts. She did the kind bit to ensure the delivery. Now the moment had come. I stepped forward and said”Supriya can you give me Kiran’s number?” I stepped back for the reaction and she asked in predicament “Why?” I had a definite reason but yet I told her nothing I wanted her to understand. Silence was common to us both then she again suspected me. She thought for a while and said “okay here you go it’s …………………”. “I hope you do know that it is going to cost you a princely amount to call her” she said and smiled.”I will only call her sometimes” I said and returned back the smile.”Sometimes is also expensive, anyway take it, as you desire”. I blushed.
Only my hands moved on the keypad of my mobile and I saved it. We both turned back after I said “Thank you”. After three to four steps further I jumped in the air punching the breeze that was flowing. Everybody noticed me and then came a name that stunned me to silence. Supriya called me back and said “give me your mobile” as I did so; she checked the name against Kiran’s number which read as ‘ANGEL’ and then she added” you are a nice guy she (Kiran) told me.” Again to my discomfort she paused, but then said “Good luck she is also nice”. With those last words she turned away and I had got THE number.