The Meandering Life

Time flies! It will be a shame to think otherwise, when you reflect. It was early April last year (2019) when I was flying to Mumbai from Bhubaneswar to attend the interview for the role in Sri Lanka and here comes another April of our lives - wherein I and my wife have spent nearly an year in the country - however, which has brought so much of uncertainty to the fabric of normalcy in our lives, with the fight against Corona Virus taking centre-stage across the world. An April wherein I cannot be back to my home land, even if I choose to! This year has been a steep learning curve both in my professional as well as personal life. Knowing how to be living in a distant country, learning the "dos & the don'ts", exploring the culture, the language and so many other aspects of the daily life has been fulfilling. Learning the nuances of the Foreign Trade has also been very gratifying. Couldn't thank my organization enough for the opportunity to live the "exper...

"Myanmar's colonial rulers -- as they did throughout the world -- played ethnic groups against each other, boosting the Christian Karen and other non-Buddhist minorities and importing large numbers of Indian and Chinese workers. As Suu Kyi herself wrote in 1988, "the practice of encouraging the differences between the various racial groups was to have sad consequences for the independent nation of the future." - CNN (Dec 14, 2019) How many countries had the British destroyed with the all pervasive "Divide & Rule" policy; how many ethnic divides they could take advantage of, pitted against one another and destroying the humanity in all of them.  As we are saddled today, with hate amongst races, crimes against humanity - I cannot but wonder what would the future of the world be - if the all conquering "British Empire" hadn't done what they had done. For their own selfish gains they thrust Hindus / Muslims / Buddhists / Native Religion practi...

This was written on Jul 10, 2016 while I was posted in Siliguri, West Bengal Hey all! I am addressing after a long time (six years!); the last journal was dated probably somewhat in 2010. So much has changed in these years. I have joined Bharat Petroleum, been posted in Rourkela for around three and half years and currently am now in Siliguri. One of the best places one can work, I suppose. The weather, job environment is enjoyable enough. The biggest change in personal life has happened. From being a care-free bachelor, now I am a responsible married person. I am lucky that God has allowed me to be with the person I have known and loved for nine years. She has had a lot of influence in shaping my life. Today, she’s in Kolkata, recuperating from fever and I hope she gets well soon and joins me in Siliguri. Without her, home doesn’t seem the same. I admit, it is quite difficult to stay alone when I have been accustomed to her presence and love. Mitu, I really thank yo...

I wrote this on my 20 th Birthday Twenty years have passed since the day I was born. Through these years, I have passed childhood, boyhood & entered the realms of being a man. I have matured with time. Now I think of my actions, the words that I speak… the spontaneity & innocence is lost. Wisdom, caution has taken over, as it does to most of the people on this planet!   What have I learnt in this time? Well, that life is a beautiful, exotic thing & one is more privileged than one thinks. In addition, that life is unforgiving, it never forgives mistakes, although time is a great healer of wounds. I have been lucky! Life has been not a bed of roses but it certainly not has been a bed of thorns. I have had a fair mixture of both & I am happy that I am still going on. I have also felt God. The supreme power that controls everything & takes care of every responsibility, dutifully. I have felt his love & care for all creatures & I believe that ...

A tight slap from one of my teachers brought me back to senses! I have been chatting nonchalantly in our Geography Class (if I remember correctly). It reminded me that I had eventually landed up in the Class 6 - the Secondary Section of my education journey. Gradually, the mysteries of Physics, Chemistry & Biology started to unravel, taken by our uncompromising  Chandana Miss . I remember vividly that she always encouraged us to ask the "why" behind everything!  Deepali Roy Miss  was our Class Teacher in Class 6A. It will sound incredulous, but she taught us singing in SUPW classes! Imagine our hoarse teenager voices singing the evergreen Rabindra Sangeet: "Agun er Porosh moni..."!  I also remember a subject called "History Project" was introduced, which was taken by the very knowledgeable  Suvro Sir ; and much to our astonishment he even turned a subject like History into something quite exciting. Sonali Mukherjee  Miss was our Class T...

The experience is from my MBA days. There were loads of assignments in those two years and we always struggled with the punishing timelines.The decision to join the course rested solely with me and I felt that much needed determination, which I rarely had felt before in my education career. Probably in my exuberance to excel, I always pushed myself / my team to complete all assignments well before time; in fact a tad too early, now that I reflect. I earned the reputation of an early-finisher; however, it was not long enough since I understood I / my Team was consistently underachieving with respect to grades. First year went by, and I was left pondering as to why I couldn't reach the levels of perfection as I aspired for. I decided to observe... and then the breakthrough came while watching a colleague ( Suyog Markandey ) during internship. I always had this knack of rushing through the job, being a hands on sort of person, I believed in completing fast (best efforts ...

My School , Durgapur was the first step into the education journey of my life. It was a school just off my locality where all my senior cousins had gone and I followed suit. There was one Prafulla Sir I remember, who would point out the tree I was dangling to whoever came to pick me up when school was over. Barring that, I hardly remember, anything of studies... Probably was boring enough! I moved to Salt Lake Nursery School, Calcutta for my Kindergarten section. I remember my father went alongside me and got me admitted. There was hardly a racket then for admission as it is now. We were three / four students in the section and probably got the fullest attention from teachers. I recall, one particular incident, when a teacher rebuked me for not carrying a handkerchief as I sweated enough. I presume it to be a learning which was far better & lasting  than anything which I could gather from the books! Though it was a sweet but small stint in the school, before soon enough de...

To My Dearest Didis & Sisters, First & foremost a very "Happy Rakhi" to you. My sincere regards, love & wishes to all elder sisters and my sincere love, wishes & also regards to my younger sisters! I, for one, never believed that age was a criteria for respecting someone... and hence my regards to all younger ones too for the way they have carried themselves in their lives. We all have a lot to learn, I guess, from everyone. As time takes a toll, our interactions have been limited; obvious responsibilities and sensibilities of life has encircled us and that is the way it should be! I take this opportunity to recall a few things about all that I treasure and appreciate in you all. Bordi: I have seen how a person can change for the good. I have seen, how one can brave our society's norms and come up good. I have seen, inspite of challenges & irreparable loss in one's life, how can one retain the capacity of being & doing go...