Learning The Keyboard

When we were growing up in Calcutta, in the 1970s and 80s to be precise, there were several typewriting schools where they taught you typewriting and shorthand. There was one LCC - Lake Commercial College - near our locality which was pretty famous. Every time you passed by their office you would see hordes of young men and women waiting to go in to attend to their classes. 

Before the advent of photocopiers and computers, typewriting was a profession in itself. All offices employed typists. Senior officers and managers had stenographers. That is, a person (mostly ladies) who would take down dictation given by his or her boss in short hand and then type it out as a letter or note or whatever the instruction was. Copies of the letter used to be made by inserting carbon paper between sheets of white paper. It was another era. Another age. 

Thousands of people made a living out of type writing. Low paid job but a job nevertheless. And millions of young men and women would learn it very diligently in the hope of getting such a job. Jobs in those days were something scarce. There were self-employed typists too. They would sit near a court or near an important road junction with a type writer on a ramshackle table and would type out applications and official letters etc for others against a small payment. You took a handwritten note to them and they would type it out neatly as per your instructions. Even I have got my CV written by a typist several times. 

Although I respect all jobs and honour the desire to make a living out of anything and everything, somehow, I grew up hating the job of a typist. I could never imagine how anyone could aspire to be a typist. You aspire to be a musician, a player, a poet, a writer, a chartered accountant, an engineer or a doctor. But you do not aspire to be a typist or stenographer, for God's sake. It might be realistic for an ordinary boy or girl looking for a job (and I do not want to insult any typist if that is the only job he could find in those difficult days to support his family) but if your aspiration itself is so low then you would perhaps end up being a janitor. 

I always hated the job of a clerk, possibly because my father was one. And a typist was even worse than a clerk. I was not sure as to what I wanted to do in life but I was very very certain and clear in my mind that I would never become a typist or clerk or government servant. So this is how I grew up.

Cut to 1989. I am a teacher in the back end of beyond. At a southern foothill village school in Bhutan where there is no black top road or electricity. We have to prepare our own question papers for the boys. It involves typing out the questions on cyclostyle paper (supplied by the school) and then making copies of them on a cyclostyle machine. 

With zero keyboard knowledge I would spend hours in the staff room looking for the keys and punching them one by one. To type out an average page, that would now take me perhaps five minutes, would take me a few days. And my question papers were always very long. 

So I had to literally spend hours with the school type writer during off periods in the staff room. And then during a conversation with my Irish neighbour cum colleague Aisling, I learnt that in Ireland keyboard skills are taught in schools. For the first time in life I realised that no matter how much I hate the aspiration to become a typist, the keyboard skill is an important skill to know. Somewhat like cycling or swimming. Of course the advent of computers has made it a life-skill now but even back then when we were students learning the key board would have been a useful thing to do. 

Cut to 1991. I am in Mongar (a dot in eastern Bhutan) and my neighbour cum friend Jayanta Sen has a small portable typewriter on which he types out his question papers. I think it was an Olivetti. He knew the keyboard and how to type. He told me, why don't you learn it too? There is nothing much to it. It will speed up your work. I thought it was a brilliant idea. I borrowed the type writer home from him and in my free time I would practice. asdfg ;lkjh etc. Those who know typing would know that this is the first step towards learning the keyboard. 

Finally, after a lot of practice I became quite proficient with the keyboard and could quite type out a quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dogs - the sentence that has all the letters of the alphabet. 

Cut to 1992. I am in the journalism training school of Times group in Delhi and I am told we have to file our stories on the computer. ET in those days was the most computerised newspaper in the country. We had the Atex system, which in those days, was the most advanced system for newspaper offices. No one else had it in India.

My goodness!! How can I type a story on the computer? Unless the tip of the pen's nib touches a smooth piece of paper my brain does not work. There is a direct connection between the two. The brain and the feel of the pen on paper. But I had to slowly adapt to the idea of typing on the computer. 

I read a book of journalism where this subject was discussed. It said, true that many people say Shakespeare did not type his writings. Does it affect his work? The answer is, perhaps with a typewriter he would be a better writer, we do not know !!!! I got the message. 

I soon became a very fast typist. I could write, I still can, without looking at the keyboard. I can write even while chatting with someone. I can do it as effortlessly as I can walk or cycle. Of course the soft keyboard of the computer helps. The old typewriters were tough to work with. The computers are very easy.

I always remember what my mother used to say and I believe in it wholeheartedly. No knowledge goes a waste. And everything you learn will come in handy one day. In her language even if you learn how to make the cowdung cake - the worst possible job one can have - it will be of use some day (in Bengali she would say - ghute dite sikhleo dekhbi ekdin kaje aschhe). Incidentally, I have seen village women do it on high walls. It is indeed an extremely skillful thing to do. Keep a big lump on your left hand, pick a fistful with you right hand and paste a round shaped thin thing on the wall. No matter how gross it sounds to your urban consciousness and upbringing, it is an extremely skillful thing to do. 

In case you have seen a newspaper vendor throw the rolled paper on the second floor balcony from his running cycle you will understand what I am talking about. It is somewhat in that league of skillfulness. And I admit that I cannot do it. But I can certainly marvel at it.

Self Efficacy

Yesterday, that is 24th May, 2022 I learnt about a new concept called Self Efficacy. Never heard about it before. A swamiji of Ramkrishna Mission was talking about it. This is how psychologists describe self confidence, I suppose. There is a psychologist called Albert Bandura who developed this idea. There is nothing earth shattering about it. It is a person's belief in himself that he will be able to do something that is challenging. 

Instead of thinking about how it cannot be done or what all can go wrong, people with high levels of self efficacy tend to focus on how it can be done. They would rather learn how to do it than ponder over why it cannot be done. 

Isn't that what positive thinking is all about? But this is the psychologist's way of describing it or postulating it. 

No matter how you describe it, I immediately recognised that I have oodles of it in certain things. Perhaps I have it about most things in life and this is what has kept me going all along. I sincerely believe, from the core of my heart, that one can learn anything if one applies himself to do it and accomplish something that he cannot currently do. I will give an example. 

After buying the new bicycle in my old age, the Red Roadie, I taught myself how to take the wheel off, how to take the tyre off, how to take the tube out and replace it if necessary (I have done it on the road once and you can read about it here) etc. I feel a tremendous sense of accomplishment when I learn these things and do them. 

Emboldened by youtube videos, I even built for myself a bicycle wheel (read about it here) . I must say, it is one of the toughest things that I taught myself, though it looks relatively simple. While building the wheel, I also realised exactly how complicated a bicycle wheel is and what tremendous engineering brains must have worked on it to develop it over the decades and centuries.

Another side benefit of learning a new skill is, you appreciate it a lot more. For example, we take a bicycle wheel or chain for granted and don't think much about it. This is so because they just work and we do not quite know how. Build a wheel or fix a broken chain link, you will understand what masterpieces of engineering they really are.  

I have seen several cyclists avoid doing these things. I am giving the cycling example because last night almost immediately after learning about the concept I was conversing with a friend who wanted to change his tyre and buy a pair of very expensive new ones. I told him to do the change himself. Just for the fun of it. 

He started giving me one reason after the other why it does not need to be done or why it cannot be done etc. I realised that there is a difference between him and me in terms of our approach. While he is trying to avoid doing it, I love doing it and I go all out to see how it can be done.

Of course I feel more motivated about certain things and do not feel so motivated to learn certain other things. I learnt how to drive, so that I can travel to places. It is a very intimidating thing to do, particularly in the mad traffic of Calcutta. But I did it. I remember telling myself - if the uneducated Biharis can come from their villages and support their families by driving taxis and buses and lorries in the city, why can I not drive a small car, when I already know riding a geared motorcycle?

I do not feel so motivated about certain other things. For example, I have never bothered to find out how to become a better PR person, though I earned my living for more than 20 years in that industry. But I generally keep a very open mind about learning anything new. Even type writing.

People - well some people and not all - ask me whether I feel scared before going on a long drive. Lots of things can go wrong. Indeed lots of things can go wrong. But I cannot sit at home thinking about what can go wrong. Each time I go out I take a calculated risk. What all can go wrong? Up to a reasonable limit I can solve them. After that I tell myself I shall cross the bridge when I come to it. That is, if there is a problem I will see how it can be solved. 

I do all the homework about the route. I keep copious note of the route and what all towns we crossed, so that if there is any emergency we can go back. I know how to replace the tyre. I have a tyre inflator. What else can I do? Nothing much really. Is this courage? I don't think so. It does not take a lot of courage to drive from Calcutta to Delhi. But to not go out fearing lots of things to go wrong is timidity. It is rank cowardice. Particularly if you envy those who go out with their own vehicles. 

Wishlist

Through youtube I have taught myself to do a lot of small things that I always wanted to learn. But sometimes it becomes difficult to find a teacher to learn a certain thing. Of course, it is also true that if you really desire something you find a way to learn it, including finding a good teacher. But I have this list of things that I want to learn and finding a teacher for these is not very easy. 

1. Learning how to use a cobbler's needle. It's a very useful skill to know, particularly when one is travelling in remoter areas. 

2. Learning pottery. At least the basic art/craft of making a small bhar

3. Learning how to weave seats of chairs with strips of cane. I do not even know what it is called. I think rattan. We used to have such chairs at home in our childhood. They would routinely sag down over the years and would need retightening. My father would routinely get it done by the journeyman chair weavers. Finally they got replaced with flat seats and the art is as good as dead. I hardly see these people selling their skills on our streets.

4. Learning how to weave a fishing net. Actually this is high on my agenda. I see Nishikanta, our building security guard, weave a fishing net in his leisure time, which he later sells for a decent amount. Something like six seven thousand rupees. It is wonderful to see a whole net come up with just a small piece of wood and a white nylon thread, not to speak of his deft hands. I have told him to teach me the technique, once I retire. He feels being a Brahmin I should not be doing it. I feel that it has got nothing to do with cast. I strongly believe that any work that involves some knowledge is worth knowing or learning. And I am ready to learn it from anyone who would care to teach me. 

He thinks it might get him a curse from some higher power to teach me the work that is reserved for the lower castes. This is the problem of our society. These beliefs are so deeply etched and ingrained in their consciousness that it will take a few generations of education to come out of them. 

Ball Cock In Toilet Cistern

Few days ago I found the area under the cistern of our toilet was quite wet. I realised water was leaking out of it. Soon realised the ball cock was malfunctioning. The ball cock's job is to lock the water inlet when the water reaches a certain level. Obviously it was not doing it and water was rising upto the level of the lever with which you flush the toilet and it was leaking from there.

I spoke to Kushu-da who is in Orissa now. He said he will not be back before another couple of weeks. So I youtubed the subject and more or less got an understanding of what is to be done, rather how it is to be replaced. I bought a new ball cock from the local sanitary store for Rs 180. It looks like not a very difficult job. I will do it tomorrow.

I had meanwhile fixed the damn thing a bit but it is not really working. So it should be replaced.

Tuesday, 7th June, 2022

Last Sunday I changed the ball cock and it is working perfectly fine now. I bought a replacement one at Rs 180 from the local sanitary hardware store, threw away the old one and fixed the new one. It showed a very small leak initially. To fix that I guess I goofed up something and water started seeping out with the old venom. I took off the whole thing once again and fixed it - a bit through trial and error. It is working. Touchwood and Inshallah it will work for now.

I made a how to video for it.Here is a link to the video There are two viewers so far ;-) 

 

Pre Retirement Blues

Today is 4th of May, 2022. In another 5 months minus 4 days I retire from Exide. From October 1, 2022 I shall be joining the ranks of retired old haggards :-) I shall be turning 58 on 17th September and Exide follows a retirement age of 58. I never cultivated my bosses and never asked for anything. So I am not getting any extension. Even if it was offered I'd have refused it. But since it was not offered, let's not dwell on that.

People ask me what I shall do after that. I brush the question aside by saying that I will most likely go and travel to all the places that I wanted to see and follow my different hobbies - most of which revolve around travelling. Either on cycle or motorcycle or car. After the initial euphoria of unlimited free time is over I shall see what I shall do. And it should not be anyone's concern really. 

But things are not so smooth in my heart of hearts. I have noticed that I tend to sleep the whole day on holidays. For example, yesterday was a holiday. I went cycling with Mezda in the morning but after that more or less slept the entire day. And I wondered if this is what will happen to me in reality?

The fixed routine of a working day, no matter how boring it seems when you are going through it, is indeed quite valuable. Our system gets used to it. To change it to something else will take time. One has to find a purpose in life and then live it accordingly. 

I have noticed that I am most active in the evenings on a working day. After I come back home I do a lot of exercise and then go out to swim or cycle etc. But on the weekends my evenings are full of lazing around and doing nothing. I get into a solid deep sleep in the afternoons and that spoils my evenings. I feel very lethargic.

People usually feel insecure about two things when it comes to retirement. One is money. Obviously the monthly cash flow will stop and how do we cope with that? I am not so worried about that. Of course impulse buying sprees will have to stop but I don't think there will be any major financial crisis in the near future. 

People also worry about killing time. Indeed that's a worry for me. I don't know how I will kill the time. I have decided that I will cross the bridge when I come to it. Options are many when I think about it. But when those unlimited holidays really come I have no idea how I might react. As of now I am a little sad that my impulse purchases will have to be controlled. I am also a bit worried about the lack of routine in my daily life and how I will handle it.

As of now the plan is to exercise well every day. Perhaps in the morning. I do not do it now because I feel sleepy after a morning's exercise. This is what I did during the 100 per cent lock down of 2020. The video was taken on 28th April, 2020, at the height of lockdown. In fact I learnt the criss cross technique during that period and my Hba1C was brilliant.

I also have a list of travel related things that I want to do. How much of it will be ultimately achieved or materialise, only time will tell but this is the wish list and it is not necessarily in any specific order of priority. 

Some of these might look like a pipe dream to those who do not know me. To me they really are not. I will achieve many of these. I know. Some of these are indeed very expensive to execute, for example the treks in Nepal. Money might become an issue but not a single one will be left out for not trying.

Treks 

Everest Base Camp

Annapurna Base Camp

Mani Mahesh 

Complete Chadar

Stok Kangri

Ladakh general trek

Cycle Trips

Hazaribagh to Ranchi 

All the districts of Bengal

Rajasthan extensively

Darjeeling Hills extensively

Tawang

Ladakh - Manali - Leh -  Kargil and onwards

Motorcycle/Car Trips Or Both

Seven sisters

Gurudongmer 

Ladakh

June 8, 2022

The closer it comes to my retirement the more I am getting disgusted about working here. I wish I could somehow fast forward the calendar and get into the last week of September. Every time something negative comes up about work, I silently thank God that I have only few months left of this nuisance. The people I have to work with, thankfully, are not bad. Indeed they are nice. But they have very wrong ideas about PR and their entire approach to PR is totally wrong. 

I do not want to discuss things in this blog before the actual date of retirement but it is a text book case study on how PR should not be approached in a company of this size and stature.

June 23, 2022 

I am just back from what is possibly my last visit to the Battery India Exhibition organised every year by Mr Ajoy Roychowdhury. This year it was held in Bangalore as in 2019 when it was last held before the pandemic. Earlier this used to be held in Panaji, Goa - a very pleasant city to spend a few days in. The venue would be JW Marriott on the bank of the Mandovi river near its confluence with the Arabian Sea. Just sitting in their lounge and gazing at the vast open expanse of water was very pleasant. Though I am not much of a sea loving person this sight used to be very pleasant.

As soon as I would reach the hotel I would rent a scooty for myself and would use it as my local commute to go to the venue or any other place that I wanted to. The evenings used to be spent in the various floating casinos in the river nearby, losing heavily every year. I am a compulsive gambler. I have gambled with my life (by not studying) and I love gambling with money. My most favourite game is Blackjack.

For whatever reasons, possibly business reasons, they shifted the venue to Bangalore in 2019. Fairfield Marriott, which is the cheaper version of the real Marriott. And it shows. The food is very sad. And the exhibition itself has reduced in size. While the Goa versions used to be full of exhibitors from all over the world, the Bangalore edition is more about the technical sessions and less about exhibitors.

This year the experience of staying in the office guest house was a mixed bag. The first two days was in the ordinary one in Koramangala. And the last night was in the HSR Layout one which is a premium one. The ordinary one is pathetic. It does not have AC in the rooms, one of the bathrooms didn't have a seat on the toilet. The other bathroom has to be shared with the caretaker. Even in our college days we wouldn't stay in such rooms.

The Summary

If I had to ask myself what did I learn from Exide in these 18 years? In short I would say that the most important lesson I have learnt is that it is possible to own and operate a strong brand even with very mediocre people. Exide, despite being a leading lead acid storage brand, is full of very mediocre managers with little managerial talent. In most other companies they wouldn't be considered even for a clerical role. Yet the brand reigns over the country. And it has been so for a considerable period of time. 

What makes it so? Is it the reputation of the brand created over the last several decades? Is it the good work done by the past MD's that it is encashing on now? Is it the inability of the others to grab the market from Exide? I don't know. But I certainly know that in every department only the mediocre people thrive who engage in small talk and petty office politics.

I think the only thing it does well and very diligently is that it produces a large number of batteries across the country. It has that efficiency. It also has a massive distribution reach coupled with a strong brand. It will take the current management several years to destroy this.

Yesterday Mampu shared her joy when she informed us over Whatsapp that she has been selected as a counsellor for YSP at Ashoka. An online work for her university for a week or so for which she will be paid Rs 7,500. Not bad. Already she has managed an internship for two months at Yoda Press for which she will be paid a stipend of Rs 5000 x 2 . YSP stands for Young Scholar Programme. Children from the higher classes of schools pay to learn about Liberal Arts and what it's all about. Mampu will be one of the counsellors. She had applied for it quite some time ago but assumed that she wasn't selected. Now she has made it. Good for a first year novice. 

The Yoda Press internship will require her to stay in Delhi from Mid May to end June. Preferably near Hauz Khas because although the main work is online, she has to man a desk at a book shop or library (she isn't very sure) twice a week which is in that area. I spoke to my trekking friend Pankaj Jain who has a house in Green Park Extension and rents out his rooms to PG students. Mampu will have to share the room with another girl. I wanted her to go and see the place but she has not been able to find the time to do that.

She comes home on 8th May with Muskan by Air India flight. She goes back again on 16th. Alone by Rajdhani. Therefore she will be staying in Pankaj's house from 17th. Pankaj refused to be paid for this help. He is very well off, no doubt but I find it embarrassing to take advantage of it. Anyway. Monisha's ex-colleague Saswati also lives close by. In fact had she been there in Delhi Mampu would probably be staying with her but she is gone to England now to be with her brother's family who just had a new born in the family. Her husband is there if there is any emergency. Apparently they are almost across the road. Her husband is an executive director with Indian Oil Corporation and his official residence is a huge bungalow in Green Park. 

Mampu is gunning for another internship that is supposed to start in June and end in July. But that is purely online. Perhaps with some other publisher. 

So she comes home on 8th May, goes back on 16th, comes home again on July 1 perhaps and goes back in mid to end August. Quite hectic I must say. I prefer the train because refund is cheaper in case she needs to reschedule her travel. The first homecoming is by plane but then onwards it will be by train. Incidentally, the cost is more or less similar if one travels by AC 2 tier. I prefer for her to travel 3 tier because in 2 tier one is locked in a coup with just another person. Three tier is more open and therefore safer.

Tuesday 17th May, 2022

Just learnt Mampu has reached Pankaj's house in Green Park Extension. I feel so relieved. We went to see her off at Howrah yesterday. B6 22. The other passengers in her cubicle didn't look very friendly. Was a little worried. Not because of the co-passengers but because a train journey in India is fraught with various unidentifiable dangers. It could be a co-passenger, it could be dacoits, not to speak of accidents. But Rajdhani, of course, is relatively safe. It is given VIP treatment among trains and railway management in general. 

At the station we saw several sniffer dogs. Makes you feel protected.

Our worries got heightened when we learnt that Mampu does not have enough charge in her phone. In fact she switched it off to be able to at least hail an Uber from the station. Anyway, now it is all sorted. She has reached safe and sound. I hope her life goes smoothly over the next month and a half. 

Monday, 23rd May, 2022

Just booked Mampu's return ticket to Calcutta. She starts on 1st July and reaches here on 4th. Rajdhani. But this time I took a ladies' compartment. 

Mampu has landed herself with yet another internship that I wrote about earlier. This time it is to assist one of her professors who is writing a book to be published by Routledge. The lady professor is Madhvi Menon. Mampu intends to take her class next semester. 

This internship starts in June and continues till end of July. Entirely online. She had to apply for it and most probably had to appear for a test. Madhvi told her that she took her on on the recommendation of Prof Harris. Great. 

So, she is going to earn around Rs 27,500 during her summer break from 3 internships. Yoda Press is 5K x 2. Ashoka's YSP work was 7.5K. And Madhvi Menon's is 5K x 2 . That's a lot of money for a young college student. 

I hope she likes what she is doing. The work that she is doing is precisely what she wants to do, as of now. I know she will grow out of it, if she does it professionally but one has to go through the process.

Questions

I often go on trips. Different types of trips. Some are family trips. Some personal for either birding or hiking. And people ask questions when I return. We all do. Normally they are general questions like how was it? Or where did you stay? After birding trips people generally ask what birds I saw or how the weather was etc.   

After my recent nature trip to Bharatpur and Dholepur etc with Suranjan and Arijit I faced an office colleague whose first question was - what did you have for breakfast at Bharatpur? Honestly I froze. For the life of me I couldn't remember what I ate for breakfast at Bharatpur. Later I realised that we actually ate nothing for breakfast on the first two days. On day one we ate off a street side dhaba. On second day we ate dry fruits on the boat in Chambal. And I sincerely don't remember what breakfast I had on the third day except for some delightful jilebis made at the canteen itself by the forest department staff. 

Incidentally if you found nothing odd in the question, please don't count me as one of your friends. 

There was one other guy in office who during my trip kept on asking over whatsapp whether or not I had seen the skimmer but upon meeting me turned the discussion about my trip into where exactly Bharatpur was relative to Fatehpur or what other monuments are there on the route etc. These are questions whose answers he knew. So he took the discussion around those. 

Apparently there is some old step well somewhere on the way. Who gives an eff.  He is famous for not even knowing how to go to Howrah from Garia despite being an out and out South Calcuttan by birth and upbringing and with his own car since childhood.  

But this is how human nature is and if you observe closely you learn a lot about how not to behave.

প্রসূতি সদন

Male Oriental Magpie Robin; 2010; CKBS

আমার শোবার ঘরের পশ্চিম দিকে যে জানলা টা আছে তার গ্রিলের বাক্স টায় দুটো ছোট গাছ আছে। আর তার পেছনেই বড়ো আম গাছ। তাই জায়গাটা ছায়ায় ঢাকা থাকে। সেখানে একটা চড়াইয়ের বাসার জন্য বাক্স রেখেছিলাম। অনেক চেষ্টা করেছিলাম কিন্তু কেউ আসে নি। তাই ওটা অযত্নেই পড়ে ছিল। তাকে ঘিরে একটা এরও হেড বেশ লতিয়ে উঠেছিল। রাস্তা থেকে পেছন দিকে বলে জায়গাটা নিরিবিলিও বটে। 

এই জানলায় আমার একটা স্লাইডিং (ঘষা) কাঁচের ব্যবস্থা আছে। তার একটা দিক খুলে রোজ গাছ দুটোয় জল দিই। বাকি দিনটা বন্ধই থাকে। সারাদিন আমরা দুজনেই অফিসে থাকি তাই ঘরটা বন্ধই থাকে। ওখানেই আমার AC র বাক্সোটাও আছে নিচের দিকে। 

গত কয়েকদিন ঘরেই দেখি যেই সকালে জানলাটা ঠেলে খুলি একটা মেল দোয়েল ভ্যাবাচ্যাকা মুখে উড়ে যায়। আমি ভাবতাম বাসা করার প্ল্যান আছে নিশ্চই। কালকে, অর্থাৎ পয়লা মে ২০২২, সকালে জানলা খুলতে দেখি একটা মেল্ আর আরেকটা ফিমেল উড়ে আম গাছটায় গিয়ে বসল। তাদের মুখে দেখি খাবার ধরা। তাহলে কি বাক্সয় বাচ্চা আছে? তড়িঘড়ি জানলাটা বন্ধ করে পাশে মা'র ঘরের জানলা দিয়ে দেখার চেষ্টা করলাম যে ওরা কি করছে। 

প্রথমে কাউকেই দেখতে পেলাম না। খানিক পরে দেখলাম মেল টা পাশের বাড়ির একতলার ছাদে, যেখানে অনেক শুকনো পাতা পড়ে থাকে সেখান থেকে পোকা ধরছে। তারপর সে মুখে পোকা নিয়ে আম গাছের ডালে বসে এদিক ওদিক দেখতে লাগলো। বুঝলাম ও বাসায় ঢুকবে, তাই দেখে নিচ্ছে কেউ দেখছে কিনা এবং বুঝতে পারছে যে আমি দেখছি। আমি নিজেকে আড়াল করায় ও গিয়ে গ্রিলের ওপর বসল এবং তার পরেই কাঠের বাক্সটায়। সেখানে বসেই গর্তের ভেতর সেঁধিয়ে গেল। আমার ধারণা ঠিক। বাক্সয় ওদের বাচ্চা আছে। 

যা বুঝলাম বাবা ও মা দুজনেই পোকা খাওয়াতে ব্যস্ত। বাবার চেয়ে মা বাসায় ঢুকতে অনেক বেশি সাবধানী। রাত্রে ওই ঘরে আর শুই নি কারন AC র আওয়াজে ওর ঘাবড়াতে পারে। কিন্তু গাছ গুলোয় জল বাবার কি হবে? 

সাধারণ বুদ্ধি বলছে যে কিছু না জেনে এতদিন যে রুটিন চালিয়ে এসেছি তার মধ্যেই যখন ডিম্ পেড়ে, তা দিয়ে বাচ্চা তুলে তাকে বা তাদের খাওয়াতে বাবা মা ব্যস্ত তখন আজকে নতুন করে কিছু ভয় পেয়ে তারা বাসা ছেড়ে পালাবে না। কণাদও বলল যে বাচ্চা যখন হয়ে গেছে চট করে তাদের ছেড়ে বাবা মা পালাবে না। তাই আজ কয়েক সেকেন্ডের জন্য জানলা খুলে দুটো গাছে জল দিয়ে আবার বন্ধ করে দিয়েছি। তার খানিক পরে দেখলাম আবার বাপ খাবার নিয়ে গর্তের ভেতর সিধঁলো। তাই সব ঠিকই আছে। দেখি কত দিনে বাচ্চা গুলো বাসা থেকে বেরোয়। 

প্রসঙ্গত, কণাদ গ্রামে মানুষ ও পাখি টাখি নিয়ে বড় হয়েছে। ওর ফিল্ড নলেজ প্রচুর। বাড়িতে অসংখ্য না না পাখির ডিমের কালেকশন আছে (ছেলে বয়সের দুষ্টমি)।  এখন ডাক্তার নর্থ বেঙ্গলে। ও বলল বাচ্চা গুলো বড় হয়ে উড়ে যেতে হপ্তা দুয়েক লাগবে। 

4th May, 2022

কালকে ঈদের দিন ছুটি ছিল তাই দোয়েল দম্পতিকে দেখলাম খানিকক্ষণ। বাবাটা দেখলাম কাঠবিড়ালি তাড়াচ্ছে। মাও নিশ্চই তাড়ায়। আমি দেখিনি। নিশিকান্ত সেদিন বলছিল যে কাঠবিড়ালি নাকি ডিম নষ্ট করে। আমি বিশ্বাস করি নি। আজকে বুঝলাম ঠিকই বলেছে। মেঠো লোক। এসব জানে। 

আজকে ৪ঠা মে। আজকে সকালে বাবা ও মা দুজনকেই দেখলাম। তার মানে ছানারা ঠিকই আছে। কয়েক সেকেন্ডের জন্য জানলা খুলে জল দিচ্ছি। গাছ দুটো ঠিকই আছে। 

5th May, 2022

রোজ সকালে ঘুম থেকে উঠে দেখে নিই যে সব ঠিক ঠাক আছে কিনা। আজকে দেখলাম মা দোয়েল একটা পোকা মুখে আম ডালে বসে আছে। অর্থাৎ সব ঠিকই আছে। পরে ঘষা কাঁচের পেছন থেকে দেখলাম বাবা দোয়েল বাসায় ঢুকছে। That means all is well .

6th May, 2022

আজ সকালে জানলা খুলে গাছে জল দিতে গিয়ে দেখি বাবাটি সামনে আম ডালে বসে অ্যালার্ম কল দিচ্ছে। হিস্ হিস্ করে একটা ডাক। রেকর্ড করতে পারলে ভালো হতো। সাপের মতো আওয়াজ। বুঝলাম সব ঠিকই আছে। পরে কাঁচের পেছন থেকে দেখলাম সেই বাবাই বাচ্চাদের বাইরে থেকে খাওয়াচ্ছে। অর্থাৎ কোটরে না ঢুকেই খাওয়াচ্ছে। বাচ্ছাদের কোনও ডাক এখনো শুনতে পাই নি। 

মঙ্গলবার, ১০ই মে, ২০২২

গত দু দিনে কিছু ঘটনা প্রবাহ একসাথে হলো। লিখে রাখি পর পর। দুপুর বেলা পেছনের একতলা বাড়ির ওপরে আম গাছের যে ডাল গুলো আছে সেখানে আম গুলো পাড়তে লোক লাগানো হয়ে ছিল। তারা সারা দুপুর দাপিয়ে আম পাড়লো। আমিও দুপুরে ওই ঘরে AC চালিয়ে ঘুমোলাম কারণ রাত্রে মাম্পু আসবে আর ও ঘরে শোয়া হবে না। বিকেলে জানলার পেছন থেকে দেখলাম একটা চড়াই এসে বাক্সর ওপর বসতেই বাপ্ এসে তাকে তাড়ালো। 

পরের দিন সোমবার সকালে খুব বৃষ্টি হলো। বাবা মা কে সারাদিন দেখা গেলো না। মনীষা বাড়ীতেই ছিল ও খেয়াল রেখেছিলো। আমিও একটু এল থাকতে থাকতেই ফায়ার এসে অনেক দেখলাম কিন্তু ওদের দেখা পেলাম না। পড়ন্ত আলোর সময় ডাক শুনতে পেলাম কিন্তু দেখা পেলাম না। জানলাটা খুললাম তাতেও কেউ এসে নজর রাখলো না। 

আজ সকালে মা'র ঘর থেকে অনেক্ষন দেখার পর বাবা উড়ে এসে জানলার গ্রিলে বসলো এবং তার পর বাক্সয় গিয়ে গর্ত দিয়ে ভেতরে দেখে চলে গেল। আশে পাশে অসংখ্য কাঠবিড়ালি নিশ্চিন্তে ঘুরে বেড়াচ্ছে। ওরা কেউ কিছু বলছে না। আমি মা কেও দেখলাম নিচে পোকা ধরছে। একবার খাবার মুখে গর্তে ঢুকতে দেখলেই নিশ্চিন্ত হতাম। 

বুধবার ১১ই মে, ২০২২

গত দুদিন ধরে দোয়েল বাবা মা কে সেরকম একটিভ দেখিনি বলে একটু চিন্তায় ছিলাম। কিন্তু যেটা বুঝছিলাম ওরা, বিশেষত বাবা, বাসার কাছে কেউ এলে তাকে তাড়াতে ব্যস্ত হয়ে উঠছে। কিন্তু একবারও ঢুকে খাওয়াতে দেখিনি। 

আজ সকালে একদম নিচে কয়েকটা মা দোয়েল দেখলাম খেতে ব্যস্ত। কিন্তু কাউকেই খাবার মুখে বাসায় উড়ে আসতে দেখলাম না। গাছে জল দেবার সময় জানলা খুলে অনেক্ষন দাঁড়িয়ে থাকতে দেখলাম বাবা দোয়েল চলে এলো। একটা কাক তার আগে এসেছিলো বাসার কাছে। বাবা দোয়েল তাকে চট করে তাড়ালো। 

কিন্তু আমার মন বলছিলো বাসা টা একবার দেখা উচিত। শেষে আর থাকতে না পেরে সাইকেলের টর্চ টা নিয়ে গেলাম ও দেখলাম ভেতর টা। দেখলাম পরিপাটি করে সাজানো একটি বাসা। সরু সরু নারকোলের আঁশের মতো খয়েরি সুতো গোল করে দেওয়া। কিন্তু ছানারা কেউ নেই। অর্থাৎ তারা উড়ে গেছে। নিশ্চিন্ত হলাম। নিচে দেখা মা গুলো তার মানে বাচ্চা গুলোই। দুগ্গা দুগ্গা। 

My Father

 I am very bad with dates. I cannot remember any important date or year. For example, I routinely forget the year of our marriage. I even used to forget the precise date in February but my wife taught me an easy mnemonic - spread your palm out, it's five. So 5th February. I can never remember in which year Mampu was born. Fourth July I remember because it's the American day of independence and Mitch was in India that year and he earnestly believed the child would be born on 4th July. 

So it is natural that I would not remember the date on which my father died. I clearly remember the situation. It was a Sunday. We were upstairs. Our mother called out for us. And we went downstairs to find he had breathed his last. He was suffering badly and we were happy for him. 

These last so many years that he is gone (I cannot remember which year - possibly 2007) I remember him almost every day. Something or the other reminds me about him on a daily basis. But the dates are totally unimportant to me. What I am trying to say is that I have not forgotten my father at all but the precise dates are obscure in my mind.

There is one thing that keeps reminding me about his death anniversary is that my Mama (my mother's brother) had suddenly died a week or so before him. The nephews and cousins discuss it in our family forum every year and I remember that my father's anniversary is coming. I ask Monisha about the date and she would say - "25th November" and I would try to remember it but quickly forget.

This year early morning on 25th a queer thing happened. I saw in my dream as if my father was asking me for some water. He was tired and asked me for a glass of water. This was quite routine when he was alive. One of the enduring memories of my father is how he would look when he came home. Tired. Sweating profusely. His punjabi drenched in sweat. And one of the first things he would say is - get me a glass of water.

After seeing the dream I woke up with a start and asked Monisha if that was his death anniversary. She said yes. I felt very guilty. I was intrigued the whole day about this incident. The dream. In the evening I placed a glass of water in front of his photograph in Mampu's room. Next morning we poured it in one of the plant tubs. 

Actually we have this Hindu ritual of ceremonially offering water to our ancestors on the day of Mahalaya. Those whose fathers are no more, go to the Ganges (or any other large water body) and offer a very elaborate prayer standing in waist deep water. My father used to do this every year till his sixties. After that he would do it at home. After his death I did it for a few years in the Katwa Ganga with a very senior Priest who explained every mantra to me. He was a very educated Sanskrit scholar and a pandit in the true sense of the word. Unfortunately, after a few years he developed cancer and died soon. I had planned to record the whole thing from him so that I could do it on my own but that did not happen. 

Mezda and I tried to go and do it in the Calcutta Ganga. We hired a young priest near the Ghat but soon realised he just knew nothing. In fact between Mezda and I we know some of the mantras better than him. So we threw him out and I never went back again. 

But at the back of the mind I feel guilty about it. Not that I am a very religious ritual oriented person. I do it only in honour of my father because he himself used to do it. I try to do it in his memory. I do not really think that our forefathers are languishing in hell without water from us. 

But this incident rattled me. I have tried to reason that this was my guilt consciousness that came to the fore. But I swear I was not conscious about his exact date of departure. I was also not conscious that that particular day was 25th November. It is possible that the date was there in my super subconscious state. But I am not aware of it. 

I have the Purohit Darpan at home. This year I intend to jot down the entire process and do the ritual myself. Let me see. Purahit Darpan is a book that details all the Hindu rituals. It's a thick book. It has been written by different people over the last few hundred years. I hope I have one of the authentic ones. 

Garh Panchakot, Purulia

In August 2008 Monisha, Mampu and I went to Garh Panchakot in Purulia in our Esteem. Partha (Dr Partha Sen) also went with his wife and son in his Accent. The trip was very pleasant for all six of us. We stayed at the WBFDC resort. The resort is fantastic in terms of facilities and service. Here is a short account of the road journey. If someone benefits from this it will be my pleasure. View of Panchet hill from the main road that goes to Raghunathpur We had crossed the Dankuni toll plaza at 7.45 am and Asansol Morh came at around 11 am (distance of around 185 km), including a half an hour break near Shaktigarh and about ten minutes wasted at Panagarh due to jam. This little elephant had somehow got into the car & we loved her From the Asansol exit (that is, the point where you see the sign board on your left hand side saying “Welcome to Asansol Municipality”) the toll plaza on GQ is exactly 9 km. Exactly 7.5 km ahead of the toll plaza (Rs 50 for car) take the left turn entry into Sitarampur. This is where you leave GQ (basically 16.5 km from Asansol exit). This turn is called Chowringhee and this point is very non-descript. You will miss this unless you are very careful and watch out for it. Drive on straight for another 4 km to hit a T junction. Turn left here. You are now in Niyamatpur. After proceeding for about half a kilometer there is a traffic police point where there is a road going right. You should take this right turn. The straight road goes into the city of Asansol. (Some people try to save the Rs 50 toll and go through the city of Asansol to reach Niyamatpur. I think paying Rs 50 to avoid the confusion of Asansol city is worth it.) This was our official driver. Pic by co-driver It seemed this part of Niyamatpur is under a perpetual traffic jam. On a bad day, clearing this half km can take more than half an hour. The lone policeman looked like he was fighting a losing battle against the plethora of minibuses, trucks, motorcycles, cycles and rickshaws. Somehow we made it through this chaos. After all I negotiate the Tolly tram depot and Karunamoyee jams every evening! After turning right from Niyamatpur your next big town is Sanctoria which comes after 7 km from Niyamatpur Morh. Dishergarh Ghat comes right after Sanctoria. Here you cross the river to enter Purulia district. Exactly 14 km or so from Niyamatpur Morh comes Sharbari Morh where you turn right towards a small village called Puwa Para. The straight road goes to Raghunathpur (another important town of Purulia). From Sharbari Morh to Puwapara is about 8 km on reasonably bad road! If you drive carefully you won’t hit the road with your oil sump. Take the final left turn towards GP Kot resort from Puwa Para. From Puwa Para Morh to the resort it is a 1.5 km road through the horrendous village road. If you go straight you reach Panchet dam in another 1.5 km from PP Morh. I hope the above paragraph isn’t too complicated. The road from Niyamatpur to Sharbari is fairly decent. You might find trucks carrying slushy iron ore on this stretch. Keep a safe distance from them, as they spill out the red slush on the road and often on unsuspecting pedestrians near the railway crossings. On this road watch very carefully for the Sharbari Morh. Otherwise you might miss it (as we did). We finally reached GP Kot at around 1 pm. I drive really slow, as I enjoy the drive more when I have time to look around. There were a few bad stretches, especially around Puwa Para but nothing much. Won't scrape the bottom of a 170 mm GC vehicle like the Esteem. The drive through Puwapara In terms of things to see around GP Kot – apart from the brilliant greenery, you have the Panchet dam which was awesome, in terms of the sheer force of the water that was gushing out through the gates. However, I wonder if that would quite be the case during winter or summer lean months. The Panchet dam Damodar - once the terror of South Bengal You can also consider going to this ruin on the other face of the hill. A distance of around 12 km from the resort. You basically circumambulate the hill. Go in the direction opposite to Puwa Para with the hill on your left hand side It is a fairly simple narrow forest road upto Gobagh (8km from resort) where you meet the Asansol-Raghunathpur road. From Gobagh turn left and drive for another 1.5 km on the state highway. Turn left towards the hill again here and drive for 2.5 km on this road towards the hill. The road just ends here. I hope you can locate this left exit from the main road. If you come to a single rail line on the main road you should know you over shot and go back. Needless to say I learnt this the hard way!! A ruined temple in the ruined fort Apparently there was a king who lived here with his 17 queens. He was attacked by the Portuguese and fled leaving his queens to commit suicide in a well in the palace. The fort was subsequently abandoned. The ruins are really ruins and there is no ASI protection or any other such government effort to preserve anything there. The place only has a few shepherds and their goats and cows. Apparently there is also a perennial waterfall somewhere up in the hill. We walked for about 45 minutes up the mountain trail with a shepherd trying to reach the fall. Since we were not carrying any water we abandoned this quest and came down very thirsty. The shepherd is totally clueless about time and distance and we couldn’t understand from his words if it was ten more minutes or an hour away. The trekkers of GP Kot The view of the district from high up on the hill is very nice. It’s all green all around. The town of Raghunathpur is another place you might want to go to if you want to buy some Tasser silk. There is a place called Tanti Para inside Raghunathpur where they have quite a few silk cooperative shops. Whether the prices are reasonable, I have no clue. We went there in Partha's car. The lane was terribly narrow and we had a very tough time turning the car around while coming back. Mampu had a small injury on her finger when the door got shut on it. Those who are interested for the other mundane details – I went in my Esteem and my friend went in his Accent. None of us kept any FE record. We quite enjoyed the trip. One other word of caution. Please book your accommodation in advance. Don’t just land up there. First of all the resort staff there are not authorized to take in any guest, even if rooms are empty. Second, the resort is virtually full all the time. Third and perhaps most importantly – there is nothing else in that locality, except a small lodge in Panchet and a few shoddy lodges in Raghunathpur. I wouldn’t go all the way from Kolkata to spend my time in those lodges.