Hospital keeps following me – it gets me for third time in three months

I, like any other normal person, hated hospitals. The strong smell of disinfectants, the nurses going about with grim expression on their faces, the doctors who do not know how to laugh - all of these have negative effect on every one.
I was no exception but, as it turned out, I had to get admitted in the hospital for treatment of disease connected to the heart. Yes, it was hereditary and, hence, the doctors did not want to take any chance. And, to add to my bucket of woes, my GM wanted to ensure that I remained fit and effective. It was a selfish motive but, it did have its plus points because the doctors took special care for me.
However, after being in the hospital twice, I felt that my diagnosis was complete and I started on a regular dose of medicines that were meant to ensure a trouble free life. But, God willed otherwise.

It was a party in a hotel – the occasion was to meet the family of a prospective bride for my son. The contact had been through letters and they hailed from Raipur. And, the head of the family was known to one of my local friends.
All of us met in a hotel in Nashik City and, agreed to let the youngsters go out and try to discover each other’s likes and dislikes. They came back after half an hour or so and there followed a session of some hot and spicy snacks peppered with discussions in a light vein. We exchanged smiles and parted company.
But, by the time we returned home, I was once again in discomfort. And, it ended with yet another visit to the hospital and an entry into the ICU – it was the third time in less than three months. (to be continued …)
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org


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Making friends and influencing probasi Bengalis

The response we received for our magazine was fairly good - complimentary copy of each issue would be sent by post to new addresses and, new members would keep joining up. But, subscriptions alone cannot meet the financial needs. Hence, our struggle to get regular ads and tap new sources for fresh ads was an ongoing process. And, once we met the requirement for next issue, we would focus our attention to other related subjects.
Like – moving out to local places to make friends with probasi Bengalis. Our mission would be to sell our books, make members for Naba Nalanda and try to identify sources for ads.
That is how we made a trip to Ahmednagar. The journey was tough. We took a night bus and had to remain standing whole night. We reached Ahmednagar early morning and stayed there in a hotel for one day. It was another industrial city and had a reasonable sprinkling of Bengalis.
Later, during the Durga Pujas, we went to Pune. This city was large and had a large population of Bengalis. A number of Durga pujas were held but they were scattered in different corners. We had heard of the Congress Bhavan Durga Puja – it was supposed to be biggest one in Pune and Bengalis flocked to it.

Apart from Bangalore, Ahmednagar and Pune, we had arranged for reps of Naba Nalanda in Bhilai and Raipur. And, all these activities ate into the available time. My domestic life became practically nonexistent and my wife and son had to do most of the shopping and outdoor activities.
My professional life also suffered. I was not able to devote any extra time to my job and my bosses did not like that. I would go for duty at 7am, complete my shift at 3.30pm, take the 3.45pm shift bus to Nashik City to carry out data entry work and return home by the 10pm bus from the city. By the time I reached home, it would be 11pm and I would be famished. (to be continued ...)

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Nashik, a tourist center with links to the Mahabharata

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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 …)

A few more must reads -

Nashik Kumbhmela 2015 – a once in 12-years pilgrimage

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

Nashik, a tourist center with links to the epic Ramayana

Nashik, a tourist center with links to the Mahabharata

Kumbhmela 2015 in Nashik – guided tours to wineries and vineyards

Nashik transforms from a place of pilgrimage to an industrial hub

British Army wants computer whizzkids to counter the growing menace of ISIS propaganda

IPL8 – Mumbai Indians break the jinx with first win against Royal Challengers Bangalore

Pattern of death changing in India – heart and lung related diseases are top killers

Stray dogs attend funeral of Mexican woman who fed them

Health tips – lose weight without dieting

Anchovies can boost good cholesterol and reduce risk factors of the heart

Another interesting blog - Citizen Journalist

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