He came to attend my marriage all the way from Nashik

Here is the twelfth unforgettable character in my life …

I was surprised to see him at the venue of my marriage. I had distributed the invitation cards to my colleagues and friends in Nashik and had come to Kolkata for the ceremony. When I gave him the card, he had never hinted that he would come all the way from Nashik to join in the merrymaking. The reason of his sudden arrival was that both of us hailed from Kolkata proper while most of the other Bengalis in Nashik at that time came from various districts. He was from Kalighat and I was from Lake Town.

This friend of mine was a born orator and it was natural that he become a leader in the employee’s union. He would go on stage and keep his audience spellbound with his power of speech. Being a union leader he enjoyed special privileges and was always in demand.
One more feather got added to his cap when the regular priest, who performed Durga Puja, retired and moved out from the township – my friend was the automatic choice since, by then, he had acquired some experience as assistant to his senior. During Kali puja, he would maintain a maun-brata (period of silence) for more than twenty four hours – till completion of the rituals.
In private life, he had two daughters and his in-laws stayed with him. Both the daughters are happily married.
Throughout his life he had maintained his health, had remained slim with no accumulation of belly fat and, when the fashion of yoga came into practice, he mastered the art. He used to conduct classes for others and took pride in his staying powers. But, suddenly, he suffered a stroke. He was struck by paralysis and, finally, left for heavenly abode.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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A really cosmopolitan family

Here is the twelfth unforgettable character in my life …

He is one more person who had carved a niche for himself in the world – he might not be a national figure but, where it counts, he shone. He would talk at a super-fast speed and, at times, what he said was difficult to understand. His family owned agricultural land (paddy fields) in his native place Burdwan and the Durga pujas were celebrated in a grand way in his ancestral home.

His family was really cosmopolitan – his daughter married a boy of a different caste, one of his sons is married to a Gujarati, the other son’s wife is from Bangalore. The best part of this household is that the girls from other communities have embraced the norms of their in-laws.
As is known, Bengalis love fish - lunch or dinner minus fish is unthinkable. Both the daughters-in-law have learnt to cook fish and even serve them. But, they do not eat them.
Of course, their children do not have any such inhibition. And – yes, the daughters-in-law speak Bengali as fluently as any other Bengali. Unless one is told the secret, one will never know that they are non-Bengalis.
His youngest son has set up a small-scale industry and supplies material to various factories and my friend used to go around to their offices to collect the payments. Simultaneously, he would explore more and more territories to spread the customer base. The only problem in his otherwise happy life was his better half – she had undergone an operation on the knee cap and due to whatever reasons, has not been able to recover. She has been bed ridden for several years now.
My friend has passed away – he succumbed to a sudden heart attack.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

New outlets for fresh fish from Chilika

The Great Indian Bustard makes a comeback

Trekking options open up in Uttarakhand


Another boss who understood my feelings

My boss rode a scooter and wore a wig

The man who loved his work


Airstrikes kill at least 27 ISIS militants in Iraq

US police arrest serial killer of Phoenix who had killed at least nine people

Gunmen disguised as doctors shoot dead 38 persons in a Kabul hospital


Sequel of ABBA's hit musical Mamma Mia on the cards

Hackers demand ransom for Disney’s latest Pirates film

'Wonder Woman' with Gal Gadot arriving in India in June

The Russian who was afraid

Here is the eleventh unforgettable character in my life …

He was a Russian and I had the pleasure of his company for nearly one whole month in the summer of Delhi. It so happened that there were some problems in the aircraft that my company had supplied to the Air Force. The problem was related to the engine which came from another unit of our factory and I was deputed to attend a meeting at the Air Head Quarters with my Russian specialist. We flew from Nashik (yes, at that time there used to be an IAC fight from Nashik to Mumbai), landed at Delhi via Mumbai. Once in Delhi, I put up my Russian friend at his designated hotel and went to our Guest House in Asian Village.

Next morning after breakfast the transport reported at the Guest House and I went to the hotel to pick up my Russian specialist and we headed to the Air Head Quarters to attend the meeting. It was a very difficult meeting with plenty of accusation and counter accusations and finally it was decided that we study the matter first hand for which we had to move to Hindon where the aircraft were positioned.
Therefore, the next day, my Russian friend and I proceeded to Hindon in the same car with the same youthful driver. And, the ride was a nightmare for my companion. The driver wanted right-of-way always and would keep flashing the headlights with his feet on the accelerator and my friend panicked.
In broken English he requested the driver to stop the reckless driving and implored – ‘I have a daughter back home and I want to see her when I return.’
The driver just grinned back and did not bother but, the next day we got a replacement driver and had to do thee Hindon trip daily for a while before shifting base to Chandigarh where some more aircraft were held.
In short, my Temporary Duty which was initially for three days got extended to thirty days and I was in real trouble because I had gone with only one set of extra clothes and had to spend one whole month in the summer of Delhi with that. It was an experience that I’ll never forget.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

New outlets for fresh fish from Chilika

The Great Indian Bustard makes a comeback

Trekking options open up in Uttarakhand


Another boss who understood my feelings

My boss rode a scooter and wore a wig

The man who loved his work


Airstrikes kill at least 27 ISIS militants in Iraq

US police arrest serial killer of Phoenix who had killed at least nine people

Gunmen disguised as doctors shoot dead 38 persons in a Kabul hospital


Sequel of ABBA's hit musical Mamma Mia on the cards

Hackers demand ransom for Disney’s latest Pirates film

'Wonder Woman' with Gal Gadot arriving in India in June

My friend who loved his drinks

Here is the tenth unforgettable character in my life …

This friend of mine was a legend by himself. I first him at the naming ceremony of his son – he had two daughters by then and went on to father one more daughter. A jovial person, he was the life of any party. He never bothered about levels – he was at ease with the General Manager as he was with a Casual laborer or helper or mechanic.
He loved his drinks and was not very particular about the brand – once, at a picnic, he was in-charge of the cooking. There was the usual bottle by his side and, he and his cronies would take an occasional swig to keep up the tempo. It so happened that a mischievous member of the picnic party switched bottles. My friend absentmindedly picked up the bottle of kerosene instead of the liquor – the scenes that followed were hilarious.

This drinking habit took a heavy toll on his life; he got picked up by the police on being a suspect in an attempt to blow up a political leader. This meant suspension from service and his family was in shambles. He managed to come out unscathed but the drinking habit damaged his domestic life. There were instances when he was too loaded to walk.
Subsequently, he got rid of the habit – his son is an Engineer in one of the Arab countries, his daughters are settled in their lives. His wife suffered from attack of gouts and was bed ridden for a long time. He had to undergo a bypass surgery but took active part in organizing get-togethers of retired persons in the neighborhood. When I met him at such parties, he appeared to be the happy-go-lucky character that he always was with a smile for everyone.
Unfortunately, he is no longer in our midst neither is his wife, but their memories remain.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

New outlets for fresh fish from Chilika

The Great Indian Bustard makes a comeback

Trekking options open up in Uttarakhand


Another boss who understood my feelings

My boss rode a scooter and wore a wig

The man who loved his work


Airstrikes kill at least 27 ISIS militants in Iraq

US police arrest serial killer of Phoenix who had killed at least nine people

Gunmen disguised as doctors shoot dead 38 persons in a Kabul hospital


Mumbai will get to see Justin Bieber in action on May 10

Kangana Ranaut is 'fearless Julia' in Rangoon

Shakti Kapoor holds his audience spellbound in the Khandagiri Yatra

Another boss who understood my feelings

Here is the tenth unforgettable character in my life …

He was one more retired service Officer of the Indian Air Force who was another of my bosses and understood my feelings. He had a different attitude towards the work. He wanted to know everything about every subject and was always moving from one table to another discussing with the staff. When he went to attend meetings of the Departmental Heads, he would try to get involved in practically all activities – as a result, we his staff had to bear the burden of fulfilling his committed obligations. In a way, it was fun working with him.
It was in his tenure that I suffered a major setback.

Our promotions were normally in June and the oral examinations were conducted in April-May. The Departmental Promotion Committee would assemble in one of the Divisions and the candidates would have to appear before them for the viva-voce.
In this particular year, the Committee was scheduled to assemble in the Division where I worked. Those who would be interviewed were intimated by the Personnel department. But, my name was not in the list. I came to know about this during lunch time – so, dejected, I did not go back to my department after lunch but went straight to my room. I had expected the call and not getting it was a blow. I planned to go to my native place to get out of the stares and sympathetic words of my colleagues that I would have to face and endure for quite some time. As I was about to leave for the station, the calling bell rang. I opened the door and was surprised to see my boss. He held a file in his hand and there was excitement written all over his face. He pushed me in and opened the file.
‘See,’ he said, ‘GM has approved your movement order to go to Koraput Division where the next round of viva-voce would be held.’
I stared at him in disbelief and took my hats off to him. He had not seen me in the department after lunch; he must have talked to my colleagues and got the message about my depression. Therefore, on his own imitative, he prepared a part case file, took the approval of the GM and came to my room to prove that he cared for his staff. And, he did it all within a few hours!! I have never come across another officer of this nature.
Instead of going to Kolkata, I went to Koraput.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

New outlets for fresh fish from Chilika

The Great Indian Bustard makes a comeback

Trekking options open up in Uttarakhand


Another boss who understood my feelings

My boss rode a scooter and wore a wig

The man who loved his work


Airstrikes kill at least 27 ISIS militants in Iraq

US police arrest serial killer of Phoenix who had killed at least nine people

Gunmen disguised as doctors shoot dead 38 persons in a Kabul hospital


Mumbai will get to see Justin Bieber in action on May 10

Kangana Ranaut is 'fearless Julia' in Rangoon

Shakti Kapoor holds his audience spellbound in the Khandagiri Yatra

My boss rode a scooter and wore a wig

Here is the ninth unforgettable character in my life …

He was one of my bosses. Very stern looking, he wore a wig to cover the bald pate and, when he rode his scooter to office, he would push up the goggles to hold the wig in place. He was a retired Senior Officer of Air Force and the original Italian Fiat car was one of his prized possessions. He could play the guitar and one of his favorite songs was ‘Sunday kay Sunday….’ Every Sunday, he spent a lot of time inside the bonnet of his car, wiping clean all traces of dirt, oil and whatever unwanted items he could see.

When I reported to him on an internal transfer, he looked up from his papers, grunted and asked me to contact one of the other officers. He did not seem to be happy about inducting me into his department because I was, like him, a Bengali and he somehow had a very bad opinion about Bengalis. I did not have much choice and, since there was no space to put another table in the office for me, I was asked to share a table with another person. We sat on either side of one table!
I might mention here that the department was an important one and a majority of the officers were aged, experienced persons who could assist the customer by retrieving necessary information in a jiffy based on their long association with the air force. I felt I was a misfit in this group and, with a boss who would have preferred me to move out to some other department, I was in a dilemma. Suddenly, after nearly six months, one of the official letters came to me. My boss had noted in the margin: ‘Ghose, let me have details.’ I was elated – at long last, I had a specific work assigned by my boss. In real earnest, I went around gathering information. I was like Hanuman – I did not know what my boss had in mind therefore I had to pick up every bit of connected information so that I could answer all his questions.
We had a wonderful association after that. I gradually became one of his trusted lieutenants and, whenever any typical problem surfaced, he would ask me to share my ideas on it. He is now enjoying his retired life in Hyderabad.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

Barack Obama enters the league of top US Presidents with ranking of 12

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The curse of social media – cold blooded murders committed


Mumbai will get to see Justin Bieber in action on May 10

Kangana Ranaut is 'fearless Julia' in Rangoon

Shakti Kapoor holds his audience spellbound in the Khandagiri Yatra


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Suicide bomb attack kills at least 72 in a Sufi shrine in Pakistan

Mayor of London worried about ISIS attacks on the city

The man who loved his work

Here is the eighth unforgettable character in my life …

The other day he came over to invite my family and me for his house warming ceremony. I was surprised because we never were on such intimate terms – but we went. It was an impressive building – complete with the latest gadgets that one could think of. He proudly took the visitors around showing off his acquisitions – his son is an Engineer settled abroad. He had also contributed his bit to this wonderful asset. A couple of months later, he invited us to the opening ceremony of his restaurant – ‘dine vegetarian in air conditioned comfort’ was his punch line. We dropped in and were once again impressed with his thinking process. He really had it in him to put his thoughts into action.

There was a time when his wife would sell packed groundnuts to make money on the side – he would bring home five kilograms of groundnuts, she would fry them and put them in pouches that he would sell to the shopkeepers. He was also a penciller who took bets on card games (‘satta’) – the numbers would be declared at nine every night and he would encash his earnings on a daily basis. On top of that, he was fortunate enough to have a boss who could be influenced with a bottle of liquor – he took advantage of this and got his promotions in good time.
He recently had his cataract operated, and he has a limp from an accident. He certainly was a successful man traveling in his air conditioned car, but he passed away – to a heart attack.
I knew his father. The gentleman had sired a number of children and my friend was the eldest. With so many mouths to feed, the old man had a tough time. The children grew up independently and, right from the school days, they had aggression written all over them. It was said that when the old man traveled to Calcutta, he would never purchase tickets for all members and he never got caught by the TTE in the train or even at Howrah – in the train, he would ask the members to disperse at the sight of the TTE; at Howrah, he would come out of the station by making use of the broken fences. After retirement, he set up a tiny shop where he would repair various types of domestic appliances like pressure cookers, petromaxes and primus stoves. He would even take up bicycles for repairs, if required.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

Barack Obama enters the league of top US Presidents with ranking of 12

Public tours of the White House will begin again from March 7

Explosion in French nuclear power plant in a non-nuclear zone


Didi caught in the whirlpool of industries (satire)

Moody’s love hate relationship with the raincoat (satire)

The curse of social media – cold blooded murders committed


Mumbai will get to see Justin Bieber in action on May 10

Kangana Ranaut is 'fearless Julia' in Rangoon

Shakti Kapoor holds his audience spellbound in the Khandagiri Yatra


ISIS carries out car bombing in Baghdad - kills at least 55

Suicide bomb attack kills at least 72 in a Sufi shrine in Pakistan

Mayor of London worried about ISIS attacks on the city

A Bengali who is today a German

Here is the seventh unforgettable character in my life …

It was a meeting after more than twenty years – I was apprehensive, as was my brother. The person in question had his own distinct set of values that he treasured. He had been in Germany for many years and has a German wife. The two of them are known in the neighborhood as unsocial because they did not mix with others. When he peered at us, recognized us and opened the gate of his bungalow, it was a relief to us.

His is a story of opportunities gone waste. In his college days, he was a star NCC cadet, had won many laurels. It was his ambition to join the Army. But, his height was the factor that denied him the chance. He, therefore, went to BHU and did his degree in Agriculture. At that time, a group of Germans had come to BHU on some student exchange program. He became friendly with them and, they helped him go to Germany. He was working on his Doctorate but his research fell into the wrong hands and he was disillusioned and disappointed.
In desperation and for survival, he joined a Bank. Later he got married and stayed on in Germany. After the death of his parents, he came back to his home on a permanent basis and brought with him a whole lot of physical assets as memories. Among them was a huge casket that used to be popular in the time of sailing ships and pirates – the casket belonged to the grandfather of his German wife.
They do not have any children and, at an age of nearly eighty, both are always on their feet. They look after their garden that stretches from the ground floor to the second floor. When he brings home chicken, he carves out the boneless portions and sends them upstairs to his wife – she prepares it in true German style. He, however, cooks the remainder with plenty of spices and relishes the preparation, Indian style.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

Barack Obama enters the league of top US Presidents with ranking of 12

Public tours of the White House will begin again from March 7

Explosion in French nuclear power plant in a non-nuclear zone


Didi caught in the whirlpool of industries (satire)

Moody’s love hate relationship with the raincoat (satire)

The curse of social media – cold blooded murders committed


Mumbai will get to see Justin Bieber in action on May 10

Kangana Ranaut is 'fearless Julia' in Rangoon

Shakti Kapoor holds his audience spellbound in the Khandagiri Yatra


ISIS carries out car bombing in Baghdad - kills at least 55

Suicide bomb attack kills at least 72 in a Sufi shrine in Pakistan

Mayor of London worried about ISIS attacks on the city

He sang Rabindra Sangeet and looked after buildings

Here is the sixth unforgettable character in my life …

I met him in the hospital – I had gone for my monthly medical checkup, he had come for some other ailment. He was happy because he would be taking his son the next day to the American visa office – the boy was preparing for his MS in Engineering in an American University. It was good news.
My mind went back to the seventies when he had arrived from Calcutta, ostensibly to escape from the Naxalites. He had a diploma in civil engineering and possessed a wonderful voice, suited to Rabindra Sangeet. He got employed in the Civil engineering department and had to look after the maintenance of buildings.

Within no time, he became a favorite of the Bengalis and assumed a permanent role in the festivals like Rabindra Jayanti, Saraswati puja, and the Durga Puja. He even participated in non-Bengali programs because one who can sing can do so in any language. In due course of time, he married a local girl – she was ambitious, she also could sing and dance. The pair was a made-for-each-other couple. As luck would have it, she got a job on compassionate grounds in the same organization after her father’s premature death.
They had struggled in the initial stages and their son has made them proud now. He has retired from service and, once his son completes his MS from an American University, it would be still more feathers in their caps. My friend is an example of how Lady Luck can shower her blessings, if she wants.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

Barack Obama enters the league of top US Presidents with ranking of 12

Public tours of the White House will begin again from March 7

Explosion in French nuclear power plant in a non-nuclear zone


Didi caught in the whirlpool of industries (satire)

Moody’s love hate relationship with the raincoat (satire)

The curse of social media – cold blooded murders committed


Mumbai will get to see Justin Bieber in action on May 10

Kangana Ranaut is 'fearless Julia' in Rangoon

Shakti Kapoor holds his audience spellbound in the Khandagiri Yatra


ISIS carries out car bombing in Baghdad - kills at least 55

Suicide bomb attack kills at least 72 in a Sufi shrine in Pakistan

Mayor of London worried about ISIS attacks on the city

A sudden storm shattered my dreams

Here is the fifth unforgettable character in my life …

He was a very good friend of mine. We both shared a lot of interests. Therefore when, one day, we talked about beginning an English magazine for the Youth, we were on common turf. At that time my wife had gone to her mother’s place and he was a bachelor. His father stayed with him but did not interfere in the activities of his son. Hence, we would spend hours discussing, preparing layouts, debating on what material would be suitable. It should be mentioned here that he had an exceptional ability to analyze anything. Naturally, he was in the Quality control department while I was in the production lines. By default, we seldom saw eye to eye in the work place. Still we discussed our project at length – in between working breaks as also outside office hours.

I still remember an occasion when I landed up in his place. It was a Saturday; he was humming an English tune as he cleaned a bowl of rice of foreign matter and took a sip from a large glass that stood by his side. His father was in the inner room with a book – he loved reading.
My friend welcomed and offered me a drink. It was orange in color and had the distinct taste of orange juice. Only, it was country liquor. Hesitatingly, I took a tiny sip and began discussing our proposed magazine. We planned to visit the college and approach the Principal to let us have a chat with the students on the subject – we wanted to involve them in our decision so that they could get an incentive to associate with us. I never noticed when my glass had become empty.
The night was not young any longer. I stood up and after a few steps, felt that I was walking on air! My feet kept searching for firmness under the soles!! My rooms were round the corner and, I do not know how I climbed down the staircase. When I woke next morning, I found that I had not even bolted the door – I was lying in a heap on the floor.
This friend of mine met with a terrible end. He was from Andhra and the group went for the annual picnic to celebrate Sankranti. He was in charge of the record player. As usual, he had his glass of drink with him. When all the members were busy, he suddenly realized that the record had stopped playing. He walked over to put on a new record and, at that very moment, there was a sudden gust of wind. The force was such that it broke the branch of the tree and it fell on him. He was crushed under it.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

Barack Obama enters the league of top US Presidents with ranking of 12

Public tours of the White House will begin again from March 7

Explosion in French nuclear power plant in a non-nuclear zone


Didi caught in the whirlpool of industries (satire)

Moody’s love hate relationship with the raincoat (satire)

The curse of social media – cold blooded murders committed


Mumbai will get to see Justin Bieber in action on May 10

Kangana Ranaut is 'fearless Julia' in Rangoon

Shakti Kapoor holds his audience spellbound in the Khandagiri Yatra


ISIS carries out car bombing in Baghdad - kills at least 55

Suicide bomb attack kills at least 72 in a Sufi shrine in Pakistan

Mayor of London worried about ISIS attacks on the city

We played contract bridge together

Here is the fourth unforgettable character in my life …

He was my partner in contract bridge and we played contract bridge together. We had developed our very own bidding system that we tabled in one of the National championships held in Nashik in 1981. We were no match for veterans who had come from Mumbai, Pune, Sholapur and distant locations but it was an experience that we cherish even today.

My bridge partner and I had an understanding – that is important in these games. One must have the minimum number of accumulated points based on the cards he held and depending on the vulnerability he had to take decisions that could tilt the balance in his favor. Bidding was one part of the game; the actual play was the other. Sometimes I would be over enthusiastic and bid for a game that could never be made – my partner would blow his top if the game was played in the confines of my or of his drawing room.
But, in public when we played in our Officers’ Association or in other forums, he would stare at me as if he could burn me to ashes. Since I was weak at hand play, I would invariably try to settle for game in the suit he bid – but, when I had to open the bidding and when the game came to my hand, I dreaded the consequences. In spite of these drawbacks, we did manage to bag a few awards.
Today he is a retired person like me. He has two sons – both settled abroad. My friend and I stay in different parts of the city and meet only when there is an invitation to marriage. The clubs like Mitra Vihar, where we once played, have acquired a modern look; the Meher hotel has been demolished and a huge shopping center has come up in its place. Our bridge days are over but not forgotten.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

Barack Obama enters the league of top US Presidents with ranking of 12

Public tours of the White House will begin again from March 7

Explosion in French nuclear power plant in a non-nuclear zone


Didi caught in the whirlpool of industries (satire)

Moody’s love hate relationship with the raincoat (satire)

The curse of social media – cold blooded murders committed


Mumbai will get to see Justin Bieber in action on May 10

Kangana Ranaut is 'fearless Julia' in Rangoon

Shakti Kapoor holds his audience spellbound in the Khandagiri Yatra


ISIS carries out car bombing in Baghdad - kills at least 55

Suicide bomb attack kills at least 72 in a Sufi shrine in Pakistan

Mayor of London worried about ISIS attacks on the city