LOADSHEDDING (i remember quite distinctly elders in the house getting quite iriitated by its arrival) this word used to be a part of my regular vocabulary when I was 7/8 years old... then as I grew up it disappeared somewhere...there were no more Powercuts (also as I grew up I started calling Loadsheddings 'Powercuts'... coz i thought, that was stylish...)
However much my grandmom used to be bugged by it... to be honest Loadsheddings were quite a respite...being brought up by health concious (bengali) parents meant no studies during Loadsheddings coz the flickering of the candle could damage my eyesight... howmuchever it meant that the bid sized mosquitoes of south Calcutta might sting(!!) me.. there was a romanticism about the Loadsheddings...The few obvious things it meant to me and whihc are still in my distinct recollection are:
(i) My granddad would call the CESC if electricity does not come back within 1 hour thinking it is yet another cable fault (if not a burst transformer) ... thereafter on completion of that task would take long strides along the lane at one end of which our house was situated...all other old people would assemble below the lamp post and exchange news(!!)...I have not seen many matching my grand fathers poise...He used to say thats coz he has blue blood flowing through his veins :)
(ii) my grandmom would sit in the seat created in our balcony for adda's with her set of friends and would also cut some vegetable
(iii) my mom and dad(is my dad was home by then) standing in the 1st floor balcony chattig away to glory
(iv) my aunt would be pestering my cousin brother(who used to come first in class) to study (not bothering much about his eyes) and in turn asking me and my sister as well to engage in the noble deed
it would always be a whole lot of varied activities going on in the pretext of not doing the regular chores because there is Loadshedding :)
what is most remembered by me today is there was no sounds of TV's no music...no serials.. no chitrahaar's... no news ...happenning during that time ... as if there was some melody in the silence... some comfort in the heat without fans.. some romance in the breeze which blew suddenly during the Loadshedding
Now there are no more Laodsheddings in Kolkata and even if there are they are quite well taken care of by the Invertors... so with time .. technology has caught up to give us uninterrupted (Mega) serials ... 12 news channels...MTv's and V channel which show film music all the time.. but what it has taken away is the peace of human mind the romance of Laodsheddinsg and the romance in the Breeze...
Dont know what it has taken away from u.. but from me it has taken away my capacity to roll out in laughter in nothing... as a child no one could undertsand why i laugh all the time... I think i used to be happy all the time... theres a comfort in living with your parents living of your parents and living under your parents...
even now i carry a smile most times... but thats often coz i have read in innumerable books that a human should maintain a positive attitude..... as my father put it sometime ago.. he thinks i am running against my nature....
In fact i am trying to reinvent the laughters...
Today while I was sitting at office there was LAODSHEDDING...usually it is followed in seconds by the roar of the generator which lits the entire office in seconds...
but today it refused to get started... there was peace once again and there were memories rushing past...
Though i often think like many others I do not have the pleasure of memories but today... I could infact in those few minutes see myself peeping from the gate and could see my grandfather taking long strides in that narrow lane
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
For all bhombol kaku's and papu kaka's
I have a bhombol kaku... a papu kaka... a chumki pishi ... a bunty didi... a buchkun dada ... a manadada ... a bapi kaka ... a ruby pishi ... a shoma pishi ... a bubu dada ... a rintu kaku... a piklu dada ... a tukun jethu ... a tatu dada ...
This list is a product of a faint recollection at quarter to ten at night on a working day...... sure I could name zillions more who i know...
I got this as a forward from the "bunty didi" ... so i share it ... may be to share her agony of being bunty for all times to come!
___
Dedicated to all the sons and daughters of Bengal, including Buba,Bapi, Babuli,Chumki, Jonaki, Jhumpa, Kakuli, Lali, Ruby, Shoma,Sharmistha...This post is part of an ongoing series. In these pages, Iwill attempt to alert people to a great injustice that is beingperpetrated upon the sons of Bengal. So you thought they were wimpy tobegin with. Far from it, my friend. Their current state is a result ofyears of conditioning by the oppressors - namely the women. By using avariety of psychological weapons, they have reduced these fine men towhat you see today. Today we focus on the first weapon in their hands- the NICK-NAME.When a son is born into a Bengali household, he is gifted with aresonant sonorous name. Bengali names are wonderful things.They conveymajesty and power. A man with a name like Prasenjit, Arunabha orSukanta is a man who will walk with his head held high, knowing thatthe world expects great deeds from him, which was why they bestowedthe title that is his name upon him.But it simply will not do forthese men to get ahead of themselves. Their swelling confidence needsto be shattered. How can one go about it? This task is left to themothers of these lads and is accomplished by the simple act ofreferring to the boy, not by his fine-sounding real name, but by anickname which Shakti Kapoor would be ashamed to answer toThere are some rules for creating nicknames, which need to be followedThey are1. Nicknames must have no connection to the real name. Arunabha cannotcalled Arun No, for that would be logical, and such things areanathema in the world of women. Instead he shall be called Bhombol Ifpossible the nickname and real name must have no letters in common,but an ancient alphabet proves to be the constraining factor there2. Nicknames must be humiliating. If you are a tall strapping boy,with a ;flair for soccer, an easy charm and an endearing personality,then you shall be nicknamed - Bhondu Bittu, Nontu... And every time,you have set your sights on a girl, and are on the verge of having theaforementioned lass eat out of your hand - your mother will arrive and pronounce loudly Nontu Bairey eso. The ensuing sea of giggles willdrown out whatever confidence you had earned from that last winningfree-kick3. A nickname must refer in some way to a suitably embarrassingincident in your childhood that you would give your arm and leg toforget. If it took you a little too long to shed your baby fat, thenyears of gymming will not gt;rid you of the nomenclature - Motka Ifyour face turned crimson when you gt;cried as a toddler, you will becalled Laltu or even Tutul When you turn 40, your friends' childrenwill call you ;Laltu Kaku Even age will not earn you the right to betaken seriously thereafter4. Different members of the family will make up different nicknames -each more embarrassing than the preceding one. If one member of thefamily calls you Piklu, then another will call you Mitul, and anotherwill call you Chaadu. The humiliation multiplies5. You will always be introduced by your nickname, until people forgetyou had a Real Name Ranajoy might have taken on a gang of armed mensingle-handedly, but Toton ;really didn't have a chance. After a pointToton will completely take over the beaten body of Ranajoy, weigheddown by the pressure of a thousand taunts;6. This strategy is surprisingly effective. Ask yourself - would youtake Professor 'Rintu'seriously? Or put much weight by the opinion ofDr 'Bubai'? Or march into battle under the command of General 'Thobla'7. The power of the nickname has scarred the psyche of Bengali men;everywhere. It follows them like a monkey on their backs. That too, a;monkey with a flair for slapstick, that was gifted to them by theirown mothers That, dear Bong friends, is Step No.1 of their grand plan.I must leave now before they realize I am telling you all thisStep No.2 of the plan shall be revealed in the next post. Now let memake my escape. But wait! There's no way we can let you go now -you've seen too much. Not before you answer the questionTomar daaknaam ki,Khoka The crowd waits with bated breath in anticipation of thegreat warrior being hoisted by his own petard. They lick their chopshungrily. But tonight is not their night. He stands tall and straightand a smug smile plays on his lips. From his lips come the wordsMazhi aai Bangali nahee my mother is not a Bengali) And he survivesto fight another day
This list is a product of a faint recollection at quarter to ten at night on a working day...... sure I could name zillions more who i know...
I got this as a forward from the "bunty didi" ... so i share it ... may be to share her agony of being bunty for all times to come!
___
Dedicated to all the sons and daughters of Bengal, including Buba,Bapi, Babuli,Chumki, Jonaki, Jhumpa, Kakuli, Lali, Ruby, Shoma,Sharmistha...This post is part of an ongoing series. In these pages, Iwill attempt to alert people to a great injustice that is beingperpetrated upon the sons of Bengal. So you thought they were wimpy tobegin with. Far from it, my friend. Their current state is a result ofyears of conditioning by the oppressors - namely the women. By using avariety of psychological weapons, they have reduced these fine men towhat you see today. Today we focus on the first weapon in their hands- the NICK-NAME.When a son is born into a Bengali household, he is gifted with aresonant sonorous name. Bengali names are wonderful things.They conveymajesty and power. A man with a name like Prasenjit, Arunabha orSukanta is a man who will walk with his head held high, knowing thatthe world expects great deeds from him, which was why they bestowedthe title that is his name upon him.But it simply will not do forthese men to get ahead of themselves. Their swelling confidence needsto be shattered. How can one go about it? This task is left to themothers of these lads and is accomplished by the simple act ofreferring to the boy, not by his fine-sounding real name, but by anickname which Shakti Kapoor would be ashamed to answer toThere are some rules for creating nicknames, which need to be followedThey are1. Nicknames must have no connection to the real name. Arunabha cannotcalled Arun No, for that would be logical, and such things areanathema in the world of women. Instead he shall be called Bhombol Ifpossible the nickname and real name must have no letters in common,but an ancient alphabet proves to be the constraining factor there2. Nicknames must be humiliating. If you are a tall strapping boy,with a ;flair for soccer, an easy charm and an endearing personality,then you shall be nicknamed - Bhondu Bittu, Nontu... And every time,you have set your sights on a girl, and are on the verge of having theaforementioned lass eat out of your hand - your mother will arrive and pronounce loudly Nontu Bairey eso. The ensuing sea of giggles willdrown out whatever confidence you had earned from that last winningfree-kick3. A nickname must refer in some way to a suitably embarrassingincident in your childhood that you would give your arm and leg toforget. If it took you a little too long to shed your baby fat, thenyears of gymming will not gt;rid you of the nomenclature - Motka Ifyour face turned crimson when you gt;cried as a toddler, you will becalled Laltu or even Tutul When you turn 40, your friends' childrenwill call you ;Laltu Kaku Even age will not earn you the right to betaken seriously thereafter4. Different members of the family will make up different nicknames -each more embarrassing than the preceding one. If one member of thefamily calls you Piklu, then another will call you Mitul, and anotherwill call you Chaadu. The humiliation multiplies5. You will always be introduced by your nickname, until people forgetyou had a Real Name Ranajoy might have taken on a gang of armed mensingle-handedly, but Toton ;really didn't have a chance. After a pointToton will completely take over the beaten body of Ranajoy, weigheddown by the pressure of a thousand taunts;6. This strategy is surprisingly effective. Ask yourself - would youtake Professor 'Rintu'seriously? Or put much weight by the opinion ofDr 'Bubai'? Or march into battle under the command of General 'Thobla'7. The power of the nickname has scarred the psyche of Bengali men;everywhere. It follows them like a monkey on their backs. That too, a;monkey with a flair for slapstick, that was gifted to them by theirown mothers That, dear Bong friends, is Step No.1 of their grand plan.I must leave now before they realize I am telling you all thisStep No.2 of the plan shall be revealed in the next post. Now let memake my escape. But wait! There's no way we can let you go now -you've seen too much. Not before you answer the questionTomar daaknaam ki,Khoka The crowd waits with bated breath in anticipation of thegreat warrior being hoisted by his own petard. They lick their chopshungrily. But tonight is not their night. He stands tall and straightand a smug smile plays on his lips. From his lips come the wordsMazhi aai Bangali nahee my mother is not a Bengali) And he survivesto fight another day
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