Didi draws up her latest strategy (satire)

Didi was closeted with her confidantes Moo Cool, Dee Wreck, Abhi Shake and Omit Misra – she had a map spread out on her table and was deep in thought. Her men seated in front of her munched the piping hot singaras as they sipped on the tea. It is the custom of Bengalis to entertain anyone who drops in with some eatables – that not only changes the atmosphere but also helps to improve communication and conversation.
‘What does the scenario look like?’ Didi asked nobody in particular.
‘The opposition is in total disarray,’ Moo Cool spoke.
‘There are talks about alliances,’ Didi mused. ‘How is that shaping up?’
‘It’s all a pipe dream,’ Dee Wreck said. ‘I have already mentioned that the proposed alliance is like the water melon – green skin with red stuff inside.’

‘You forgot about the black seeds,’ Abhi Shake added.
‘Omit-ji,’ Didi now looked at the wizened old man, ‘how do you assess the situation?’
‘Well – if you mean finance, another batch of your paintings would be a great idea,’ the Finance wizard said. He was a wizard probably better than the wizard of Hogwarts because he had been able to generate enough finance to meet all the sudden requirements of the supremo. How he did it is his secret.
‘I know,’ Didi agreed. ‘But, of late, I am not able to concentrate on my canvases. There has been too much disturbance.’
‘May I suggest exploiting the potentials of your pen?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Auction your books as sets. Auction invariably brings in more than the cover price because it is a game of one-upmanship. Everyone wants to outbid the other and pushes up the net worth.’
‘That’s a god idea,’ Didi was pleased.
‘You have made a name for yourself in the world of fine arts with not only your canvases but also your books,’ Omit went on. ‘They have sold off like hot samosas in the Book Fairs and are bound to make booklovers pine for more and more. The proceeds from the sales would certainly augment our resources.’
‘I think Dee Wreck can set the ball rolling,’ Moo Cool suggested. ‘He can drop a hint on the popular social networking sites and announce the idea. Get the global community interested and then launch the online auction. The dollars would pour in and it would be a first in the history of politics.’
‘I think we can go in for another round of singara and chai,’ Abhi Shake said. ‘Such brain storming sessions need regular doses of energy.’ (to be continued …)


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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Zoom off from New Delhi to Kolkata by Rajdhani Express for Kolkata Boi Mela

My first working level meeting with the Russian delegation was in January 1995.
It was a new experience as well as a bit of a problem for me because I had to also attend the Kolkata Boi Mela and the dates clashed. The Boi Mela usually took place in the last week of January and went on till first week of February and the meeting was in the 2nd week of January.

My transfer had already affected the publication of Naba Nalanda. Moreover, along with my transfer, one of my partners became a patient of diabetes – therefore, our Sunday visits to the industrial hub of Nashik to collect ads took a beating. The publication was a sort of joint enterprise and, with me unable to devote time because of my new assignment and my partner unable to extend support because of restrictions imposed on him by the doctors, we realized that Naba Nalanda would die a natural death.
In spite of that, we had booked a stall in the Boi Mela of 1995 and my partner had gone on ahead to prepare the stalls. I was supposed to meet up with him directly from Delhi after the meeting with the Russian delegation.
Therefore, I took my boss into confidence and booked a ticket to Kolkata by the Rajdhani Express. My boss cautioned me to return back to Nashik at the earliest and, also suggested that I try to stay away from the publication business since it was impractical to devote equal attention to my profession and my hobby. I had to sacrifice one.
I also knew as much and, my participation in the 1995 Kolkata Boi Mela was our last one. (to be continued …)

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1994 was a good and bad year

By the time 1994 came around, the magazine and the compilation of short stories had begun to pay dividends. The first two volumes of short stories had stories of the three of us but, the next one was a selection of stories contributed by other writers of little magazines of Bengal. They had submitted their stories in our stall at the Kolkata Book Fair in 1993.

Yes, we had attended the Kolkata Book Fair in 1992 and 1993 but could not do so in 1994 because it was a year when I ran into trouble in my professional life. It was directly related to my boss. He was a Bengali but his wife was a non-Bengali who loved to try out her hand at writing in Bengali.
It was OK so long as her literary exploits were restricted to the local get-togethers where the audience loved to applaud her efforts but, when it came to writing for a magazine that was going places, we had to take care to ensure that the quality of the writings did not deteriorate. Obviously, someone would have to sit with the handwritten manuscript, decode the squiggles to make sense and then get it into the magazine.
Unfortunately, none of us had that much time at our disposal and the result was that her stories continued to lie in waiting and, she did not like that.
And, my boss, God bless him, decided that I was not fit for promotion.
Why he took such a decision is not nown but, he graded me as ‘below average’ in the Annual Confidential Report and I was transferred out to another department.
The worst part is that I came to know about my ‘below average’ rating only after joining the new department. As per rules, any officer who is assessed as ‘below average’ is not eligible for promotion for 3-years. I had already lost 6-years waiting for my promotion and this ‘below average’ rating meant I would have to wait for some more time. It was akin to hitting below the belt.
Well – I took it in my stride as I have always taken the good with the bad. And, in the new department, I came across a totally new set of bosses who helped me to change my outlook on life. I realized that there are always some good men among a whole lot of bad ones. (to be continued …)

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Relation with my bosses sour and I lose interest in my job

It was in 1992 that we attended the Kolkata Book Fair. It was a sort of honor for us because we had managed to get a tiny 100sq foot of space allotted in our name – this was in spite of many reputed publishers of Bengal not getting allotment. The plus point in our favor was that we would be showcasing books and magazines printed in Bengali from Maharashtra. In those days, it was a novelty. Bengalis were used to little magazines and, most of them would be accommodated in a separate enclosure reserved exclusively for them.

The Fair was scheduled towards end of January and, accordingly, the three of us packed the books and magazines along with promotion leaflets for distribution at the fairgrounds. The duration of the fair was nearly a fortnight and we booked our train reservations accordingly.
Obviously, I would have to apply for leave of about three weeks and, my bosses did not want me to be away at that time of the year for such a long duration. Especially my Bengali boss who knew the reason of my going to Kolkata. That hurt. I realized that the time had come when I would have to take some harsh and unpleasant decisions.
Anyway, once in Kolkata, we got busy in arranging for setting up our stall – we had been given only the 10-foot by 10-foot space and had to arrange for its covering, decorations, lighting. My friends had local contacts and they struggled throughout the night. They disregarded the bitter cold of the Maidan, which was the venue where over 500 book stalls would be in business for the fortnight, to create our stall.
And, once the fairgrounds opened up, we felt on top of the world. Word soon got around about our innovative measures and every day, there was a regular stream of visitors and well-wishers. Some of them bought our books, others subscribed to our magazine while others submitted their short stories and poems for inclusion in our magazine. (to be continued …)

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‘Papri’ and ‘Barood’ - collection of Bengali short stories published from Nashik

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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Nashik Kumbhmela 2015 – a once in 12-years pilgrimage

Trip to Nashik should take in Shirdi and the Ajanta and Ellora caves

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