A cat has nine lives, I have many more – 4

This happened in 1979. It was Mahalaya – a day when people pay respect to their parents who are no longer with them. It would be a first time for me because I had lost my father the previous year. Therefore, I decided to drive on my scooter to Ram Kund in Nashik. This place is on the River Godavari and considered a holy place. On days like this, there are innumerable priests available to perform the rituals. One of my friends wanted to accompany me. He, like me, had also lost his father the previous year. We decided to leave our township by 6am, drive down to Ram Kund, carry out the tarpan and be back by 6.45 am. That way we could return in time to attend our duties at 7am.

At such an early hour of the day, the traffic on the highway was less. It was the Mumbai-Delhi National Highway No 3 – and it had only two lanes. Today, it is an 8-lane highway. Anyway, we reached the holy spot, did the tarpan and began our journey back. It was the start of another day and traffic had increased on the road. I was driving the scooter and as I approached our township, I saw a truck ahead of me. It was moving at a slow speed and I wanted to overtake it. As I edged out towards the right, I saw another truck coming from the opposite direction. Instinctively, I tried to squeeze into the space between the two trucks – and succeeded. Of course, the drivers let out expletives and I did not wait to hear them out. I had to hurry because the time was nearly 7am! I added this incident into the category of other similar near-death incidents in my life.


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Durga Puja in Nashik

Durga Puja is a festival of Bengalis and, wherever they have settled, they have joined together to have their own pujas. Every Bengali longs to be in his home town to celebrate but, the employment and education of their children does not allow them such liberties – the only practical solution is to shift the venue. Therefore, we find them in Delhi, in Mumbai and also in Nashik. And, the celebrations can, at times, be on a grander scale than those back home in Kolkata because while in Delhi, the Bengalis are mostly linked to central government agencies, in Mumbai it is all about the stars of the silver screen.

The situation in Nashik was a bit different. Bengalis had arrived in Nashik along with some prestigious central government institutions like the Government of India Press, the Currency Note Press and the India Security Press. The venues were quite near each other and the employees stayed in quarters. It was but natural that they one day decided to have their own Durga Puja.
Later, another major engineering unit came up in Nashik – it was the aircraft manufacturing factory located nearly 20-Km away from the city. Here also there were Bengalis who had come from vastly different backgrounds. Some came from Indian Air Force, others from the Indian Navy and also from other divisions of HAL. And, there were fresh engineering graduates who joined as Management Trainees. In the initial stages, these Bengalis tried to adjust with the existing lot but that was not a practical solution. Hence, another Durga Puja began.
And, with the passage of time and with more induction of Bengalis in organizations like MICO, VIP, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Victor Gaskets etcetera the celebrations began to fan out. Each new group had their own justifiable reasons and today the numbers of pujas can be seen when the idols come for immersion in the Godavari.
The message is ‘live and let live’. (to be continued …) (Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)
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Papad – a truly Indian food item from Kashmir to Kanyakumari

If anyone was asked to name the truly Indian food item loved from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, the answer would invariably be ‘papad’ – a product that is truly Indian in nature. Papad (or papadum) as described in Wikipedia is ‘a thin, crisp disc-shaped Indian and Pakistani food typically based on a seasoned dough made from black gram, fried or cooked with dry heat’.
Papads are usually taken in either baked condition or fried – both taste divine. In olden days, the fried papads were an integral part of village fairs. The shopkeepers would keep frying the papads while his customers, the young and old alike, waited to grab their papad bhjaja and munch it as they moved from one stall to another.
In order to make papad, different ingredients and methods are used and, the most popular one uses urad dal or blackgram. Its flour is mixed with spices like black pepper, salt and kneaded into a dough – this dough is then made into tiny roundels, flattened and dried in the sun. Once fully dry, they are stored in airtight containers for future use.

There are other types of papad that are made from sabudana, and potato, and, of course, the masala papad where dried spices like red chilli are added. Papad making is a sort of cottage industry and, in the place where I live in Nashik, the women of the locality get together and pool their labor resources to prepare the annual requirement. And, believe it or not, they make much more than their normal requirement. The excess they sell off to others. Some of them, who have good contacts, make good money out of their abilities.
Incidentally, in Gujarat, women have taken up this papad manufacture in a big way through cooperatives and are now owners of a multimillion dollar enterprise with their products being exported. (to be continued …)
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Modern day fad - vegetables cut and packaged, ready to cook

It is said that necessity is the mother of invention and, therefore, it has come to pass that today we can get vegetables cut, packed and ready to cook. These are available off the shelf and have come as a boon to those who do not want to be bothered about the dull routine of peeling and cutting the vegetables for cooking.
I first saw it in a number of shopping outlets in Bangalore – the packets were nicely stacked on air-conditioned shelves and the customers were young couples, most of them being from the IT industry. They had just started getting used to a family life and, probably, were not that confident about the process of getting the veggies into proper shape. Moreover, such peeling and cutting required necessary cutting equipment apart from some sort of expertise.

Well – if these were readily available off the shelf, why should worry about cutting equipment and expertise. As to the cooking, there are any number of websites that can provide step by step guidance on preparing the most typical of mouthwatering dishes.
Later, I saw such ready-made packets of cut vegetables in shopping outlets in Nashik as well as in Pune – obviously, the fad has caught on.
When I last visited Kolkata, I found such cut vegetables sold in the markets. In some shops, the shopkeeper will peel and cut the vegetable that you have purchased. As they do for the fish – they descale and cut the fish because the modern day nuclear families do not have any elder women in the house to undertake such dull, boring chores like those of yore who used to be entrusted with these activities.
And, in Nashik, I have seen fruits being sold cut and packaged during festivals like Ganesh Puja and Divali. It is customary to offer at least five different types of fruits to the Gods. But, due to the high cost, a solution has been found. Packets containing one piece of each fruit is sold. For those who cannot afford full fruits, the solution is to offer cut pieces like one pod of an orange, one slice of guava, one grape etcetera – the cost is much less!! (to be continued …)
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Bengalis love fish – it is immaterial whether the fish are tiny kucho chingri or huge rohu or katla meant for marriage celebrations. The fact is that the menu of Bengalis are incomplete unless there is at least one item related to fish in it. Given the scarcity of this all important food item and sky rocketing price of whatever is available, Bengalis have to not just innovate but also go in for economy measures to the extent possible.
Of course, when one hears about Ilish festivals and when the cooking reality shows on TV make it a point to showcase different preparations of this wonder fish called Ilish, one wonders how many Bengalis can really afford to go in for such luxurious food items – it was rumored that Ilish from Bangladesh was selling for up to Rs 1500 per Kg and the fish on show weighed at least 2-Kg which translates into Rs 3000 for one fish!!

Obviously, there are Bengalis who can afford such luxuries and that the cry about unemployment and poor Bengalis are far removed from reality.
I stay in Nashik and there are fish but, not the wide variety that is available in Bengal. I get rui, katla, pabda, tangra and, of course, prawns that come from the Arabian Sea. Of late, lobsters are also seen – these are being cultivated locally in the Gangapur Dam that supplies water to the city. Ilish does come once in a while but these are again the Arabian Sea variety and size is never more than one Kg. Hence, the taste of Ilish of Bengal never comes through.
However, in Bangalore or in Pune, the varieties of fish are much more and, in fact, the fishmongers arrange to airlift the fish directly from Kolkata – the fish are fresh but the cost is more due to the air freight charges.
One thing I have noticed – nowadays, the fishmongers have a system to descale and cut the fish to size as per your requirements. The reason is that the housewives of today do not know just how to go about this work. They just store the fish in separate packets and put in the freezer – to be removed and cooked on as and when required basis. (to be continued …)
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Onion brings smiles instead of tears to many faces

Onion is an indispensable vegetable in kitchens all over the world and it is customary to link it with tears because, concealed beneath the layers of goodness of the tuber lies an invisible force that will variably force tears out of your eyes.
But, a situation has now come in India where the very sight on this vegetable brings smiles on the faces of one and all because it is gradually vanishing from sight and only a selected few can actually bring home the elusive onion. Yes – once again the price of onions has gone sky high and the women of the house are hard pressed to locate an alternative. Of course, there is no alternative as such and people have to modify their food habits to get accustomed to meals sans onion. It has really happened to me on an earlier occasion, a hotel gave me slices of muli instead of onions as salad.

We ourselves are to blame for the sudden disappearance of onions from the markets and their skyrocketing prices. I have been in Nashik for nearly half a century and this is the place where onions are grown for the whole of India. Nashik is on everybody’s lips whenever onions come up for discussion. I remember in 1960-70, a small basket of onions containing around two kilograms would be costing hardly 10 or 15 paise!! Today, in Nashik, onion is sold for Rs 20 to Rs 25 per kilogram.
This has not happened all of a sudden.
The first culprit is loss of agricultural land which have been converted to residential category and sold off to builders who have constructed housing estates. People have to first find a place to live, then only can they worry about onions. Obviously, onions have taken a severe beating.
The second culprit is the vagaries of nature that bring unseasonal rains. When this happens at the time of drying of the onions after they are dug out of the ground and left out in the open this means huge loss for the farmers. They are caught unawares and curse their fate. And – we ourselves are responsible for these unseasonal rains. The reason is loss of ecological balance due to deforestation and urbanization. (to be continued ..)

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The power of tulsi leaves – it keeps at bay the pacemaker

The clinic sent their assistant to install the Holter Monitor on my wife and informed that she could carry on her normal activities and he would come next day to remove the equipment – the report would be given subsequently. This Holter monitor was a new concept in cardiac therapy – it recorded the condition and functioning of the heart on a continuous basis for 24 hours and helped the cardiologist to take a decision. In this case, the decision was ‘install a pacemaker’.

However, my wife was not willing to undergo the procedure right then in Kolkata – she wanted to return to Nashik and discuss the pros and cons with my son and with the doctors who treated her regularly. The doctors in Kolkata reluctantly agreed to let us go but, there were problems of another kind in store for us. And, that was to arrange return rail reservations. I made four trips on four successive days to the city booking office of the railways and did not succeed to get Tatkal tickets. There used to be a separate queue for senior citizens and women but, invariably, by the time I reached the counter, there was no vacancy!
Ultimately, I had to request a distant relative to arrange tickets. He was an employee of the railways and had necessary contacts and he arranged Tatkal tickets by the Howrah-Pune Duronto Express.
We reached Pune and from there our son drove us down to Nashik where we discussed the line of action based on the test results of Kolkata. My wife underwent another Holter monitoring and the hospital recommended ‘install pacemaker’.
Incidentally, the hospital had a huge display board at the entrance that read – ‘Pacemaker available on EMI basis’.
It was then that I decided to carry out the tulsi experiment on my wife. We decided to go for a walk in the morning for an hour or so and, on return, take the tulsi medication. I also began to maintain a record of the BP and Heart beat on a daily basis. And, gradually, the heart beat began to pick up.
I had succeeded in keeping at bay the pacemaker, thanks to tulsi leaves. (to be continued …),br>
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Marriages are made in Heaven

It was a big relief when my son announced his decision and, when we wanted to know why he had not confided in us earlier, he just grinned and said ‘marriages are made in heaven’. We realized that he had grown up and we have to respect his decision.
Once the first part was over, we had to make a trip to Kolkata to meet the would-be daughter-in-law’s family members. Yes, she was from Kolkata and was from a small family. It was a match that was a sort of made-for-each-other affair. The date had to be finalized and the invitation cards had to be selected, printed and distributed.

The selection of the cards was another confusing affair. My wife and I went to College Street where there are rows and rows of outlets who specialize in invitation cards of all types. We could have selected it straight away but, for the sake of maintaining decorum, we brought back a couple of samples and returned back the next day to place the firm order.
There had to be two sets of cards – in Bengali for relatives and friends in Kolkata and in English for those back in Nashik. We also had to have two sets of reception – one in Kolkata, the other in Nashik. And, for the reception in Nashik, there would be a few selected invitees from both sides. Their railway reservations had to be made. The date settled upon was in July – monsoon season.
And, we had to do the marketing disregarding the rains and flooded streets. It was all very exciting and, when the event was finally completed and when we all boarded the Geetanjali Express to return to Nashik, we all heaved a sigh of relief.
Out five year plan had successfully ended. (to be continued …)
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The search spreads out from Nashik to other cities

When Bengalis reside in West Bengal, it is convenient for them to pursue alliances that would finally get two pair of hands joined together in a holy and everlasting alliance called matrimony. This is probably because distance is not a deterrent.
Weather permitting, the interactions between the two parties can be arranged conveniently on weekends. Relatives and friends can and usually do accompany. In fact they readily agree because of the possibility of being a part of the decision making process. An added attraction is of getting to taste some varieties of sweets – that is a must for all Bengali functions. A variety of sweets arranged on a plate is a must. It is immaterial whether an alliance gets finalized or not, but a plate of delicious sweets is a must.

Anyway, we resided in Nashik and, in order to move to Mumbai or Bangalore or Kolkata in order to check out a prospective bride meant a lot of advance planning, especially for railway reservations and leave.
Therefore, based on responses that we received, my wife and I had to go around the country to try and create an opportunity to meet the families and get to know them better. This is a major problem of today. Most of the families are nuclear families and live far away from close relatives – therefore on occasions like marriage, one has to move on one’s own steam rather than depend on the propulsion of others.
And, that is what we did.
The process was, naturally, a time consuming affair and, believe it or not, it added up to nearly 5-years from the day we had begun our hunt till we managed to capture the treasure. And, the best part of it was that the treasure had been unearthed by my son himself - thanks to a matrimonial website. (to be continued …)
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The matrimonial ad was the first step of a 5-year-plan

Since I stayed in Nasik and since there was no provision to insert any ad in the Times of India in Nashik, I had to make a trip to Mumbai. It was a one-day affair. I went by the Panchavati Express. It left Nashik Road station at 7.30am and reached Mumbai at 11.30am. My work was only at the office of the newspaper and, once I completed the formalities, I came out and went to the Mumbai Central bus stop. There I had a light lunch and took a bus back home.

The first batch of responses arrived within the fortnight. The ad was under a Box Number to maintain confidentiality and the address I had given was that of my office. The replies had been dispatched from Mumbai through courier.
Then came the weeding out process. It was a time consuming matter and the final decision needed to be one that had the approval of all three of us – my wife, my son and myself. First I wrote down my preferences on a sheet of paper and then asked my wife to note down hers. Then we gave the bunch to my junior for indicating his.
Well - there was hardly any common factor in our thoughts.
By the time we finished with the first batch of responses, there arrived the next batch. And, there followed a similar exercise. Still no consensus.
The third batch came but, only a few.
We sat down once again, took stock of the situation and decided to send out a few replies and that is how our 5-year plan took off – it was: operation ‘bride hunting’. (to be continued …)
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Official picnic in Delhi Liaison Office with Russian delegations

As I have mentioned earlier, my Bengali boss had done me a world of good by transferring me. I was initially depressed but realized that whatever happens is always for the good. That is why I was given charge of a new department and asked set it up from scratch. I defined the norms of work here and others followed. That helped to boost my confidence no end and, with the passage of time, I understood that when decisions are to be taken, they must be taken without bothering about the consequences.

Anyway, the nature of my work with regard to Russians was completely different as compared to my earlier interactions. I was a part of the Indian delegation and formed the working level. The bosses went to Russia in June and our meetings with the Russians would be annual affairs held in the month of December at our Liaison Office at Hauz Khas.
These meetings would be a sort of official picnic. Our team from Nashik would put up in our Guest House which was located in the Khel Gaon or the Asian Games village. After breakfast in the Guest House, we would walk down to the Liaison Office in Hauz Khas. Once the Russian working team arrived, we would begin to compare notes, resolve discrepancies point by point, discuss any new pints that might have cropped up since the last meeting. At times, we would have to send fax to our people in Nashik to obtain clarifications.
The working level teams would carry out the exercises for about 10 days after which the senior officers of both the Indian and Russian sides would meet to ensure that everyone spoke in the same frequency.
The end result of these meetings was the Inter-Governmental agreements that would be signed by the ministries – and, from being a non-entity, I had suddenly entered the domain of decision makers. It was a good feeling. (to be continued …)

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Naba Nalanda spreads its wings after Kolkata Boi Mela

After the success of our participation in the 1992 Kolkata Boi Mela, we wanted to spread our wings and tap the untapped potentials of probasi Bengalis – probasi or those who live outside West Bengal.
Once upon a time probasi meant those who live out of India. That meaning has changed over a period of time because plenty of Bengalis have had to leave their homeland in search of jobs and sacrifice the addas in the tea shops of the localities. They have settled in other corners of the country. And, not only the Bengali men but Bengali women also who have got married and moved out of Bengal.
Anyway, to make a beginning, I selected Bangalore as first base to tackle.
The reason of selecting Bangalore was twofold – firstly, it was where our Corporate Office was located and where I would have to go once in a while to undergo training programs. And, secondly, I had taken a decision to visit Lord Balaji at his abode in Tirupati. I had gone once when I was on training in the HAL Staff College and had fallen in love with not just the Lord himself but the temple and the journey.

Incidentally, I had taken a tourist package – the cost in those days was Rs 30 only. The luxury bus would leave Bangalore at 9pm, travel all through the night and land in a hotel in Tirupati early morning 4am. In the hotel, the visitors would be put up for half an hour to freshen up, have a bath etcetera.
Since I was alone, I had to share the room with an aged gentleman. We got to talking and I learnt that he stayed in the United States but would come down every year to pay his respects to Lord Balaji.
That set me thinking. If an old man could come all the way from the US to meet the Lord, why can’t I from Nashik? Therefore, I took a mental pledge to undertake the journey for 12-years, without break.
During one of these journeys, I looked around for a Bengali Association of sorts in Bangalore, the Garden City. It was not too difficult a task and, I came in contact with a lady who agreed to become our rep in Bangalore. (to be continued …)

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Encouraged by the success of the first issue of Naba Nalanda and the feedback we received through the feedback forms, we took a couple of important steps to boost our presence. One of these was to identify individuals in areas like Bangalore, Bhilai, Raipur, Pune and Jabalpur and request them to be our local representatives. We were fortunate to induct such persons into our fold.
Another project we undertook was to print a collection of short stories. Since we wanted to make a start, we decided to feature our own short stories in the first volume. We named it ‘Papri’ (Petals) and the book, with five stories, ran into around 100 pages.

In the case of books, data entry was smoother as compared to the magazine. There was no question of inserting ads or images or change the layout to accommodate poems.
However, once the data entry was completed, the next problem was funds – the revenue we generated through ads and from subscription of members went towards printing of the magazine. That was a continuous and repetitive process. Therefore, in order to finance the books, we decided to contribute our own funds.
Our publisher friend agreed to get the paper through his sources, the printing of the pages would be by photo offset method and the covers would be printed by screen printing.
By the time our first book ‘Papri’ was ready, our magazine was already into its 3rd issue. It was late 1991 and, we suddenly decided to participate in the Kolkata Book Fair. So, we wrote to the Publishers and Booksellers Guild for the necessary forms.
And, took up data entry on topmost priority of our second book ‘Barood’ (Explosive) to get it published before the Book Fair to be held in January 1992. It would be a collection of crime stories.
We were confident of getting a stall allotted to us because we would be showcasing magazines and books printed outside West Bengal to the Bengalis of Kolkata who love anything out of the ordinary. (to be continued …)

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The first issue of Naba Nalanda leaves Nashik by post

It was in 1991 that the first issue of our Bengali magazine Naba Nalanda was dispatched by post to a couple of hundred addresses in various parts of India – these were complimentary copies and we were certain that this novel attempt of ours would pay dividends.
We had managed to obtain some ads to cover various elements of cost but, still, we had to invest our labor and time. It was a combined challenge because we had to not only go ad hunting but also sit at the computer to do data entry of the matter that would go into the issues.

In order to do this, we had to get acquainted with the Bengali keyboard and learn various DTP procedures regarding layout of pages, insertion of texts and images.
There were three of us in the project and while two of us were employed in HAL and stayed in township, our third friend ran his own publishing business and stayed in Nashik – his setup was nothing very hi-fi but it was useful for minor works like data entry of address labels, printing of leaflets, printing pocket calendar etcetera.
As to data entry of magazines, our drug-addict friend had, by then, become an asset for us. He would sandwich our work in between his own regular work. Of course, he would pack up by 6pm and at that time, we would take over. The understanding with the ad agency was that we would do our work from 6pm to 9pm on weekdays. On Sundays we would use his facilities based on our convenience.
Obviously, time for us was at a premium because our day began at 6am and, by the time we returned home, it was around 10pm. We would go to Nashik for data entry – it was a distance of 30-Km up and down daily. And, on Sundays, if we did not go ad hunting, we would sit at the computer for half the day. My friend and I had divided the work – if he went in the morning, I would go in the evening. (to be continued …)

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Printing Bengali magazine and books from Nashik

The procurement of the four-language DTP software by the ad agency took a few months and, we had already decided to go ahead with the printing of Bengali magazines and books from Nashik. We wanted the magazine to be registered with the Registrar of Newspapers so we could collect ads for the same.
Since one of our friends was into the printing business, he gave us estimates of the amount of funds we would require to print the magazines. We wanted to print four issues every year to start with and the print order would be a few hundreds. We also had to have a base of subscribers and, hence, we drew a list of Bengalis from all over India. Our sources were the matrimonial ads that appeared on Sundays in Bengali newspapers. Other source were telephone directories of Bangalore, Mumbai and Pune from where we selected Bengali names.

We knew that we would have to invest to get the first couple of issues printed and circulate them. In order to build our subscriber base, we decided to dispatch complimentary copies by Book Post and hoped that the recipients would reciprocate our gesture by becoming members.
Therefore, with all our activities set in motion, we had to go around to collect ads.
The printing of Bengali magazine from Nashik was a totally new and revolutionary concept and, we decided to approach Bengali industrialists. They encouraged us and, through them, we got introductions to some non-Bengali well-wishers who were owners of hotels.
And, this exercise was time consuming.
We would program it for Sundays. My friend and I stayed in township and we would go by scooter to the industrial area in Nashik which was nearly 25-Km away from township to collect the ads and the cheques. We would leave in the morning after breakfast, have lunch in some wayside hotel and return home by evening. (to be continued …)

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Reforming a drug addict

It was in 1990 that a number of things happened that changed my course of my life.
On top of the list was denial of promotion. The promotion took place once a year and, when my turn came, I was left on the sidelines – the reason given by my boss was that the promotion was given to another senior officer who was on the verge of retirement. The promotion would mean that he would call it a day with a little more money.
I did not grumble because the gentleman was a very senior person and, also knowledgeable – hence, he was a deserving candidate.
However, when next year I was once again sidetracked, the reason given was that the officer who got promoted was my senior in the department. Hence, I should not grumble.
And, at this time, I suddenly got the information that a close relative of mine had fallen into the trap of drug dealers and had become a drug addict. His mother and brother were worried. They had put him into a rehab center but, once he came out, he again went back to his old ways.

Therefore, when I went to Kolkata on leave, they implored me to take the errant young man with me to Nashik. The general understanding in the family was that a change of scenario might help him to mend his ways.
I agreed and when I returned back to Nashik, he and his mother accompanied me and my family. And – during the long 28-hour journey, I had to keep a watch continuously whenever the train halted at a station to see that he did not give us the slip.
After he came into my family, I was wondering how to keep him engaged and, as a first step, I got him enrolled into a typewriting institute so that he could at least learn a new trade and would stand a better chance of getting some sort of employment.
Then I discussed his position with a friend of mine who also happened to be a writer of sorts and he agreed to get him an employed. It so happened that language software was entering the market at the time and one publishing house wanted to buy a package of four language software. The owner had decided on Hindi, Guajarati and Marathi and my friend requested him to add Bengali also. (to be continued …...)

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Nashik gets its first printed Bengali magazine

A beginning had certainly been made but a desire to see their names printed in magazines had been worrying all the new found talents. Therefore, when one of them went to Kolkata for vacations, he took special interest to locate a printing press who agreed to get the magazines printed.
His requirements were not very many – he wanted the complete matter to be dispatched to him by post or sent across through someone who would come down for vacations. In those days, courier service had not really taken off and one had to rely on the Post and Telegraph department. The press owner agreed to do the type setting, layout, proof reading and finally print, bind and send back the complete magazines to us in Nashik.

As can be understood, there were many uncertainties in the project – there would be a need to have a rigorous follow-up and that could happen only via letters or the telephone. Since mobile phones were unheard of in those days, the next best option was to go in for STD calls after 11pm – to get the advantage of low tariffs. And, with the lines busy eve at that late hour, one had to wait to get the connection.
Anyway, there did come a day when the first printed copy of ‘Nalanda’ arrived by post from Kolkata to Nashik. It was a day for celebrations.(to be continued …)

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Creating a Bengali magazine in Nashik

As I have mentioned earlier, there were a few Bengalis who could write – maybe their creations would never have got any award but, they knew their limitations and restricted their literary pursuits to penning a poem once in a while or a write a short story or travelogue.
Those were the days when mobile phones had not invaded out lives and e-mail and SMSes were unknown – therefore, people had to write at least the letters to their families back home. Therefore, they did have the knack of penning their thoughts in the form of sentences. And, when peppered with a few quotes or two liners from Tagore, the end products could pass off as original literary creations.

A handful of writers would assemble once a month for a literary session where the participants would read out their poems or stories and others would applaud them and offer their criticisms. These monthly get-togethers would be held on someone’s roof subject to weather conditions. These were occasions to encourage would-be writers to emerge into the open.
In one such gathering, a proposal was put up to create a magazine of our own – to begin with, it would be cyclostyled and the periodicity would be three-monthly because writing on stencils which had to be cyclostyled was a long drawn process. Moreover, writing on a stencil was the work of an expert and such experts were not very many.
Anyway, putting aside all fears, our Bengali magazine from Nashik finally saw the light of day – it was named ‘Nalanda’ and it contained a number of poems, a couple of short stories and a couple of essays. Obviously, the number of poems was more because these occupy less space and more poets can be accommodated. The more the participation, the better would be the reach of the magazine. to be continued …)

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Contract bridge is a good option on Sundays

Addiction to cards has been labeled as an evil and, in Bengali, there is a saying ‘tash, dabah, pasha, shakal karma nasha’ – this means the three vices that affect one’s normal working are cards, chess and the game of dice a-la Shakuni mama in the Mahabharata.
I had not become an addict as such but loved a game of bridge.
I began with auction bridge – that also due to circumstances. I had lost my father and so had a close friend of mine. One evening, as I was sitting with him, his brother-in-law came along. He invited me to a game of auction bridge and when I explained that I did not know how to play it, he brought out a pack of cards and explained.

Then we sat down to a game. It needed a foursome, so my friend’s wife teamed up with her brother and I and my friend got together. That was the beginning. My friend is now settled in Kolkata as is his brother-in-law.
Anyway, later, I switched over to contract bridge and would have regular sessions on Sunday afternoons in my quarter. In those days, mobile phones were unheard of and we would fix the schedule while marketing.
One fine day my friends invited me to accompany them to a night session of contract bridge. It used to be held in the Mitra Vihar club on Saturday nights and would begin after dinner at 10pm. The games went on till early hours of Sunday. Since it was duplicate bridge, it offered a level playing field to all and no one could grumble about bad break of cards or complain of any hanky-panky tricks.
I had, in the meantime, linked up with a regular partner and had devised a bidding system of our own. We wrote the details on a sheet of paper and would leave it on the table for our opponents to refer in case of doubt. Those who played by the standard bidding systems of Goran or Precision, just made a mention of that during the play. But, me and my friend devised out own system – hence had to table it as per tradition.
After gaining experience at Mitra Vihar and then at other venues like the State Bank club in Nashik, we decided to participate in the state level championship. Our HAL Recreation Club was kind enough to sponsor two teams and, it was an experience that I can never forget. (to be continued …)

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Sunday afternoons meant Contract Bridge in Officers Club

There was a time in Nashik when there were several individuals who had a common interest in playing contract bridge. They belonged to not only HAL but hailed from related Government agencies associated with HAL. A few of them were diehard bridge players and they took the initiative to launch the Sunday afternoon versions. There are various games of cards from Patience, played by loners, to teen-patti which is nothing but gambling to bridge where the players are tested to their limits.

In bridge also there are two types – the auction bridge and the contract bridge. Both versions of bridge involve four players and a deck of 52-cards but, contract bridge is more sophisticated. Even its scorecard. The chart where the score is maintained ensures equal vulnerability for both the teams.
Anyway, the Sunday afternoons transformed into four to five hours of brain racking exercises to fulfil the contracts of 3-No Trumps, or a Low Slam or a Grand Slam (yes, GS had been contracted and successfully met!)
The game kept every player mentally alert and on tenterhooks. The players included senior managers like the GM, AGMs, and DGMs as well many of their subordinates. On these occasions, all of them sipped tea from paper cups, munched biscuits and, at the end of the session, distributed prizes.
There would be bonhomie all around and, even though there would be arguments between partners and heated exchanges to justify a particular move, the players would come together again the next week. (to be continued…)

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Nashik, a tourist center with links to the Mahabharata

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