Rendezvous avec une experience magnifique

 It was my first class at 'Alliance Francaise' after a long time, three years, to be precise. The long walk towards the quintessential Gothic 'Khaleel Manzil' from 'Ravindra Sadan' was a pleasure, since it was garnished with a collage of cherished memories of my rendezvous with French, three years back.

I was reminded of the incident, when I missed the first class, for watching 'Spiderman' at Inox & the utter joy of finding out, that the sweet girl who I thought was a fellow student, was supposed to be our French instructor, Mademoiselle Paromita. I remember the hilarious event when the mere inclusion of an extra letter in a sentence,  made the class erupt in a roar of laughter, courtesy, 'moi', who uttered the not-so-utterable 'Je t'aime' instead of 'J'aime regarder la television', in a class 'activite'. The camaraderie that existed was pure and I think I should thank my stars, for such talented batchmates who turned out to be great friends too. It is here, when I mention 'friends' that I think I need to make special mention of the guy who I thought, was a Frenchman, in his past life - Monsieur Soudipe (yeah, that's how the fair 'bhodrolok' from Chandannagore - once, a prosperous French colony, spelt his name, for which I blame his obsession with anything and everything that was 'French' or related to France).

The class was a huge success as far as the 'enjoyment quotient' is concerned. However, I was least bothered about French grammar and more concerned about the overtly interesting French vocabulary. The 'French feel' , the French movies, the library with its huge stock of books, of which I dared to read a volume of 'Asterix', once (rather, 'tried to read', to put it accurately), the 'fete de la musique' where we sang 'Aux Champs Elysees', the sensuous 'La femme chocolat' by Mlle Paromita, the lady who was my inspiration, the birthday of our batchmate Sohan -who was a cute little precocious teenager, at that time, and my attempt at some creative calligraphy on the white-board, the tall 'Frenchman' with a beard, Deepanjan, who shocked me again when he revealed that he was infact a Bengali...... everything, just everything about the 'Alliance Francaise' days, has been etched in my memory and is something 'inoubliable'.

The wooden staircase of 'Khaleel Manzil', the multilingual and multitasking Salim da, and the once haunted Bimal villa (which had a creaking door and scared me out of my wits when I had reached early, one fine day, only to find an empty AF), which now shines beneath a fresh coat of bright red paint, were some of those few elements which existed back then, and still do.

It's with such fond memories and hopes of more such unforgettable events, that I have begun another journey, which was cut short earlier, and I hope to do justice to every bit of the 'Francaise' soul in me :)

'Bonne chance' to me !!! & cheers to Alliance Francaise !!!

The 'Indian' in me

A land which Mark Twain once described as the "...cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history...", India, is a land, which showcases 'unity in diversity' in the most pronounced manner.

A land, which possesses a rich definition of 'culture', India, unlike other such nations of the world, has never ever invaded any land, which is not surprising, when one considers the doctrine of 'Ahimsa' preached by the Mahatma.

The land, through its very name, proclaims its rich heritage, reminding one, of the 'Indus', and the archaic tales of the early settlers, who  were responsible for the inception of an entire civilization.

If one speaks of the Indian pride, the contemporary conquests made by the Indian cricketers,the Indian beauties,movie stars,authors and scientists abound in the instances, thus quoted. But,what about the jewels adorning our Mother nation's crown since the ancient times? Even Einstein did not flinch from mentioning our treasured land, when he said, "We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made", referring to the birth of the decimal system. The complexities of Algebra, Trigonometry or Calculus, the treasured concept of Yoga, which oozes the spiritual essence which our land has to offer, or the age-old formula of the 'Ayurvedic' concoctions which have healed the young and the old, for centuries, are just a few of the very many ideas that have emerged from the great souls who have once inhabited this land.

However, in its skewed brilliance in sports (Read: The Government's overtly enthusiastic attitude towards cricket and cricketers, while ignoring other sporting activities) , the rigid education system( Read: The middle class obsession with technical and  management degrees, stifling the emergence of any form of divergence, such as fine arts, or extracurriculars), or the pandemonium called 'politics' (the word which has acquired a new meaning in the contemporary Indian milieu--that of an almost shameless pursuit of public attention, by politicians, every five years), India has seen its worst.

However, the 1.15 billion inhabitants, who reside in this land of ours, will never cease to be proud of India. We dream of witnessing the birth of a new India, devoid of poverty, bribery, honour killings, domestic abuse and violence against women and children, and many such evils which are still awaiting an early eradication.

On this note, here's wishing every fellow Indian, a very Happy Independence Day. Long live India.

Divine Poetry on Earth

The Garden of Eden was perhaps not the only marvel that the Almighty had in store for mankind. One is reminded of the supreme being's kindness to us ,mere mortals, when one takes a look at the ethereal, almost  unearthly of all creations by the Almighty.

To start with, what does one think of, when one witnesses the beauty of the Aurora Borealis of the North--the natural display of light and shade? Perhaps it arouses the same overwhelming feeling one would have felt by witnessing the enamoring pulchritude of some Greek goddess.

The same enveloping feeling of joy and astonishment is felt when one comes face to face with the poetic splendor of the coral reefs, reminiscent of the under-water kingdom which was home to the beauteous mermaid of Hans Christian Anderson.

Similarly, one cannot help but be enthralled by the mighty stalagmites and stalactites, the natural formation adorning limestone caves, the largest of which may be found in the rocky caverns of Cuba.

Similar instances include the astonishing marvels such as the pearl -the splendid embellishment of the oyster, or the diamond- the peerless form of the same carbon that forms coal.

Such wondrous creativity can only be showcased in heaven, with the divine palette. However, in order to justify his creativity, the Almighty too needs the canvas that our mother Earth has to offer.

Good things happen to good people

'Poetic justice' - the very idea is very captivating for us, mortals. The pleasure of reading the Shakespearean masterpiece, 'Macbeth' or merely flipping through the Karmic connotations of Gautam Buddha's teachings which delve deep into the significance of 'karma' or deeds in the 'samsara' or 'life', and how it eventually decides a person's journey through life or beyond, is very marked.
Similarly, even in Hindu theology, 'Karma' or the notion of 'good begets good', is very widespread. It is not a way of merely glorifying God, by proclaiming that the Almighty or the supreme entity which rules us, is always 'fair' in the end, but also a way of making people monitor their own selves in order to pave the path for a better tomorrow, where everyone is disciplined in their actions, in fear or hope of the Karmic effects.
Perhaps this belief itself, is a necessity in the contemporary world, to rein in the earthlings and their wayward progression.
Similarly, this concept also makes one the ruler of his own destiny, thereby proving its significance and importance.