CHANTINGS OF THE HEART

Over the past few weeks, innumerable thoughts crossed my mind. I thought well let me halt them for the time being. I wanted to pen them as I was pained looking at the degradation of the Indian values to an all time low, from seasoned politicians, wannabe politicians to journalists, everyone wanted to taste the 'politics ka ladoo'.  The heat was building up; fans, supporters were voicing their dissent or consent on what was shared, tweeted, addressed, delivered and battles were ranging not only in the political fronts but at the comforts of the drawing rooms, cubicles of the office, newsrooms, social media, roadside corners and where not name some more.Yes, the greatest Indian Circus of all times was here with hoardes of jokers entertaining the masses who knew all the gimmicks up the sleeves of the entertainers but still participated for the one thing HOPE.   You, may think I am insulting an institution which gives us the rights to be called the citizens of the country. In...

The word 'Impossible' brings to forth a negative connotation in our minds. But have you ever thought that the word if broken down into parts connotes to 'I M POSSIBLE', Yes indeed nothing in this world is impossible, everything is possible if we know the ways to achieve the possibility.  Let me share a few cases of possibilities where the unachievable was conquered with sheer determination, dedication, hard work, patience, perseverance and of course strong will.  How many of us know that there was an autistic and dyslexic boy who went on to become a scientist of repute? Well here I am talking about the famous physicist Albert Einstein. Einstein didn't graduate, yet he discovered the photoelectric effect for which he won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921. He showed how possibilities could be realized if they have the potential to reject impossibility.  All of us must have read about Helen Keller, who despite losing her eyesight and ability to hear wrote several boo...

  Should it be truth about liars or Liar's truth you decide... 'Liar's Truth'- well that might sound a bit unfamiliar and you must be having 101 questions on your mind on how could liars tell the truth? Well don't worry, I am here with you to solve the oxymoron. 'Liar's' I have met many of them in my life. You must be guessing how I got to know that they are lying? Well, I think I have mastered the art of catching liars red-handed and tactfully, however, I would not like to share how I find out who is lying or not. Liar's always come with a superiority complex as they feel people won't be able to understand that they are lying and believe me they don't even wink the eye and lie you about things in a straight faceted manner that you often feel embarrassed to counter-attack. But I am not a person who takes things lying down and digest all those lies from people I know. I have an interesting incident to share. It was year 2006 and tim...

Autumn has arrived, the cool gentle evening breeze blowing from the mighty Brahmaputra, the dew in the grass, the mild fragnance of the Xewali/ Shiuli flower as we embark on late evening walks, the wavering of the Kash flowers, the beats of the dhak from some far flung land is here to flutter your heart once again.  The week long celebrations which all Bengalis wait with bated breath for over a year is back.  Yes, it's Durga Puja; the time for shopping, rituals, bonding, merriment is back. But, this year 2020 is a stark different from the ones we celebrated over the years. The decor is missing, the idols have shrinked in size, dance of the dhakis and the dhunuchi dance is nowhere to be found, no competition for winning the best lighting, pandal or idol. Pockets are empty, clothes and jewellery limited, relatives and friends missing, fun and excitement to pandal hop is gone. Oh! how cruel it is to see some of the best themed pandals ordinarily done. The other day when I was mov...

Tonight is 31st October, 2020. As I opened one of my social media pages I was flooded by some unusual pictures. Well you must be wondering about the content of the photographs. Photographs which are uncommon in this part of the world. Yes, pictures of young Indian kids, dressed as devil's, vampires and ghosts happily posing for the camera. It was a shocker of sorts for me as Halloween which is celebrated in the Western countries has invaded Indian homes. Shockingly, parents who are active in social  media ( though they would find it difficult to write a proper sentence in English) have  dressed up their kids just for some added advantage in the form of likes and comments in their several social page handles. They just want to be active on social media by hook or by crook and these innocent children are being made scapegoats of their parents desires. These Indian parents would shamelessly and blindly follow anything celebrated in the west. Even though we consider ourselves Inde...

Just going through the title ' Great Expectations' many of you might think it has got something to do with Charles Dickens novel bearing the same name. The character Pip was an orphan and he had to face tremendous struggle though he considered himself lucky at one point of time.  Well, I am not contemplating anything on the novel but rather an act which has created shock waves in the hearts of many animal lovers. Imagine you are terribly hungry and want to grab some food. You land up having a plate of food only knowing that it was poisoned. What would be your condition?  I am not talking about you here but that innocent elephant which was brutally murdered by a group of savages and morons who could think of the cruel idea of planting a bomb inside a pineapple. Oh! how disastrous!  I can't even imagine the plight of that pregnant elephant which was running and then dipped it's shattered mouth in the water. Oh! how cruel humans have turned. How pathetic to know that over ...

Even as I allow my thoughts to wander deep into the blue skies with the white clouds or into the deep seas with corals, I just pondered over a subject which is of gross interest in every person's life, yes 'Happiness'. Can you define happiness?? What according to you is the true meaning of happiness??? Can anyone of you out there tell me what makes you happy? Isn't happiness just another everyday occurance in your life? Can't we be happy all the time? After all it's our mind which decides on what the real definition of happiness is and believe me it differs from person to person. For some of you happiness might be having a lavish lifestyle, for me it might be spending some time with the person you love. A few might find innate happiness in  getting expensive gifts all the time; for some it could be just the feeling of holding someone's hand and sitting on the beach or riverside which could be the cause of happiness. Well does happiness has anything to do wit...

Has Frankenstein returned? Are we heading towards Doomsday?  Mary Shelley is long dead but her novel Frankenstein written way back in 1818 till date has the capacity to send shivers down our spine. As a student when I was going through the novel almost a decade back as part of my graduation syllabus I was wondering why Shelly did make the innovator powerless. Why did the innovator not have the capacity to control his own creation? Why did he have to flee and die an untimely death? Well Shelly must have had her own ideas about making it dark, grave and fearful giving it the true Gothic feel.  Two centuries later Frankenstein has returned. Yes, Frankenstein in the form of COVID 19 or Corona Virus has returned first to haunt its own creator. Though Shelley ensured that the innovator who under fear of losing his life made a female counterpart for the demonic Frankenstein yet killed it later much to bewilderment of Frankenstein. Shelley in her novel could contain the procreation of...

Well Lockdown or otherwise I always had inclination towards mouth watering dishes be it at home or outside. Now completely cut off from the rest of the world and maintaining social distancing in the right way. I am at the mercy of my phone and the soulfood internet. Imagine my condition when my ever encompassing tongue and the taste buds are crying for attention and all I can do is look at interesting videos on cooking channels and slurp imagining to taste all the delicacies.  Well I am trying to recreate magic in some of the dishes I have been watching these days. Some to outstanding results, some to just perfection while the rest having some disastrous results.  Now with most of the shops closed, I am at the mercy of the available ingredients which stock up the home basics. If I want to have a dish which would catch the viewers fancy I am sorry I am incapable of doing so. Let me tell you why, neither do I stock up basic things like food colour as I never felt the necessity o...

Proverb well written but denied completely in the present. Well as a parent many of you might question me as to what is the requirement for using a rod in the first instance at all.  First hand experience suggests not always does Molly cuddling work, you at times require the rod to tighten those nuts out of place. Yes, as a teacher working for a reputed school I faced innumerable occasions where I felt that using the rod would have been the best option.  Instances where a young child (much elder than the others of the batch) cut his hands to a game named Blue whale which was quite popular then and luring others to do the same. Despite several warnings the same continues, parents are summoned and they vehemently deny any such thing on the child's part right in front on the child. But strangely enough the cut with compass was done the previous day at home when the child was absent from school and was glued to the cellphone provided by the parents. Who is to be blamed for this- t...

Hi, I am writing after a long time. Well long time means several years. My journey as an educator is on the verge of ending. Yes, I am leaving my job as I am pissed off with the people I work with. Such double standards, such dual faces. I think I can do better as a creator then being someone's paid bonded labour. Modern day slaves who are paid peanuts and are expected to dance to their rhythmic- unrhythmic tunes. How hopeless they are with unrealistic expectations from the paid slaves and the unpaid ones- the students. Will write more soon. Stay tuned to this blog. 😊👆