#TheTimeSpent

There were handful of people with whom I have shared all insecurities and ugliness of my adulthood,

Yet there was not a pinch of judgment, whenever they found out…
The conversation on the terrace with wind accompanying us, and the envied Sun, setting at our back wondering when would the sun of our friendship set;

It didn't. It hasn't...well I guess, not yet!...

The long calls, when the first time I was away from home, to keep me encouraged,

All the laughters that we shared made me a little less estranged…

The park bench, the steaming cup of tea, the first of many long drives, and the shopping spree,

There were more in those moments than we realized it among all the excitement and glee…

Cooking together, and eating it anyway,

Because we were our biggest critics but made sure the world knows that our love for each other were not to sway…

Arguing about all the little things, yet at the end of the day, we were each others’ feel good kit,

The discussions about life, the frustration of not having one, we didn't realize we were living it…

Who cared about dating when the first drunken texts were always in the group to share,

And then life happened, it’s not always fair…

Moments of those memories, were captured and today adorning my shelf,

Those were the people with whom I could be myself…

=====================================

And then there were people who taught me how to live,

..when you said,"When no one is around it’s the self you have to believe."

Handling my tantrums in the middle of the night,

Breaking out in laughter in the middle of a fight.

Searching for a midnight snack in someone else' room was our only passion,

And then there was cracking of jokes in a supposedly study session.

Pulling an all-nighter just to watch, already seen movies, but we didn’t mind,

And then there was the incident of our real life action sequence while trying to make it on time so that we weren’t fined.

From cutting my first ever birthday cake to having the first surprise party of my life,

Without you not one day I would have sufficed.

=====================================

Drenching in the monsoon, and taking trips into the greenery, that was a time when I actually found myself lost in the scenery.

The complexity of life when hit hard and grounded me low,

You were there to teach me to care about the world less as time will go.

“Choose your fights and stick to it, because no one will fight it for you”, you said,

You taught me more than the any syllabus could ever have.

 The nature walks, the tear and smile,

The sessions, in the open canteen, are the reasons that I could walk today an extra mile.

======================================

All the roads that we walked..

All the tea that we sipped..

All the air that we breathed..

All the trouble that we leaped..

All the song that we sang..

All the dreams that we seen..

All the promises that we made..

Will be fulfilled….

Friendship is a small word for a relation so strong..

Thank you for choosing me and I apologize for anything that I did wrong..

Distance never mattered, neither will it today,

Some parting are not real but for good they say.

If ever possible I will choose you, in every life, every time in a row,

You may know nothing but my life became a bit easier For you and you already know.

#withYou_always
#ForTheOneAndAll

#StayBlessed

Dreamcatcher

Nature is a profound teacher. 

Dream catchers of twigs, sinew, and feathers have been woven since ancient times by Ojibwa people. They were woven by the grandfathers and grandmothers for newborn children and hung above the cradle-board to give the infants peaceful, beautiful dreams.

It is said that he night air is filled with dreams. Good dreams are clear and know the way to the dreamer, descending through the feathers.

The slightest movement of the feathers indicated the passage of yet another beautiful dream. 

Bad dreams, however, are confused and confusing. They cannot find their way through the web and are trapped there until the sun rises and evaporates them like the morning dew.

                                       ===================================

My latest obsession with dreamcatchers or rather with dreams is for the simple reason that I can not sleep..at least not a peaceful one for the last few months or so..
It might be the amalgamation of my work stress, coping with something new, or some sub-conscious affair..I don't know..

But for the last few days, I have read every book, every article that has been written on dreams and yet did not find any explanation of any sorts. It has just been pointed out that the dreams are the result of too much of brain activity but what initiate that is still a mystery!
Some say that dreams are the dormant desires of our heart..
Some say it shows the future (it's not very pleasant if that's the case I must say).

Some article says that it is the portal to some other world that exists parallel to us.

The third explanation of the parallel universe theory has been found in many articles, but science could not prove its real existence for obvious reasons.

I am neither an atheist nor a staunch believer..I have always been infamous for being grey..because I believe that too much of anything is bad! ( and I have been proven right too many times to stop beveling in that theory)

So, in my quest for the reasons of a disturbed sleep, I came across this dream catcher. It is not that I want all of them to go away, but at times it is really tiring to wake up in a trans wondering where I am..

I have not yet acquired one but saw many available online.

This article is for all of you who feels exhausted even after sleeping.

We all have demons of our own, some we like to keep, some we don't. Whatever the case may be, there is no harm in trying one such. 

It is said that the dreamcatcher enables you to have a goodnight sleep and keeps the bad dreams away from you which interrupts in your REM cycle ( Rapid Eye Movement cycle or the phase of dreaming). 

Lack of sleep can be as bad as being fatal to one, so I wish all of you out there to have a goodnight sleep, always!

#StayBlessed

DiaryOfA_NotSoYoungGirl

There's a difference between taking life as it comes to you and living it. 

It's different when you plan one day at a time and when you plan life as you want it to be. 

The former is a necessity while the latter is a luxury.

The former is for the ones who are the rules, the latter for those who are the exceptions to those rules. 

No matter how hard you try, there will remain unfinished businesses..

..So choose your standing and try to have closure for everything you stand for....

.....Don't reach out for the things you left unfinished.

There's a good chance that you left those for a reason.

...You left those because they could have destroyed you (both mentally and emotionally). 

Happy endings depend on where you choose to end your story...

.....so leave it or live it...

I have always been a control freak. A creature of habit when it comes to my life, which includes people I love. I have lost many. Still I'm breathing. May be there's a reason. 

I'm no exception. Never was. I'm the rule. The crowd. The Ordinary! 

It took me a lot of therapy to come to this realization that there are certain things which I can't control when it comes to life. 

I have my own coping mechanism, but I'm still a work in progress. It's a lesser known fact; nonetheless, it's a fact. 

Be your own savior. It's life. No knight in shining armor is going to come to help you unless you help yourself. 

Talk..

Write..

Create something of your own..

If you have chosen to live one day at a time, so be it..

...Survive. Sometimes that's enough!

#LifeAsWeKnowIt

#StayBlessed

The Look!

||..The one which simultaneously, wonders about how a stranger can figure out the inside track,
and realizes that from this day onward everyone will be looked at; differently....||

#EyesSayItAll
#LookSoFamiliar
#StayBlessed!

BestFriendForever

For the last two weeks, I have been thinking about it, but failed each time when I tried to transform them into words. It seldom happens and believe me it is very frustrating when you cannot put your feelings into words (a writer’s frustration of sorts).

In a world of temporary feelings and permanent regrets; a world where picture changes like a slideshow in our minds; where livings are forgotten easily because we are the human race (pun intended),  I have always admired their friendship. A love so pure, a pain so genuine, that every time I see her display picture in a social media, I find myself yet again on that fateful night when the tragedy occurred.

                    ----------------------------------------------------------

In the year 2007, it was Soumita di who was the first senior to tell me that I had been selected for Miss Fresher (having no idea how or why).
Having heard stories of hostel life, and ragging, the first month of my first year of graduation was spent in fear of the seniors; so for me to be selected in an event which needed a bit of feminine quality astounded me pleasantly; I have always been far from being a female (behaviorally speaking), let alone having a feminine quality, so much so that I had to borrow a nice attire from my roommate to go up to the stage.

Having said so, the first moment when I felt at ease in a strange environment, among strange people was when one senior came up to me and with her super soothing smile said that I was selected, I was too dumbstruck to ask any follow up questions, but that tap on my head and a smile which reached her eyes made me realize that everything will be fine henceforth.

We interacted many times throughout my first year in events like Janmasthami (birth anniversary of Lord Krishna) and the very popular university fest called Spandan; but sadly not much in my second year, because of the separate hostels and also because they were busy, that being their final year of graduation. Though we had different specialized subjects, it never made her forget me as she always used to wave and smile at me anytime when we crossed paths in the college corridors.

Time flew past. And one day in the year 2009, in my final year of graduation, I heard the news that she was ill..very ill..and was admitted to the university hospital (as she was pursuing her post-graduation degree from the same university itself).

My roommate and I with few of our other batch-mates rushed to visit her, only to find her in an unspeakable condition. I could still visualize the room of SSL (Sir Sundar Lal hospital) where she was semi conscious may be, thumping her right leg at intervals and was restless, as if, was in a hurry to leave it all. I was shivering at the sight thinking how can something like this have happened?!?!
The jolly and ever chattering Soumita di was silent and was in pain. I remember coming out of the room with mixture of inexplicable feelings.

After a month or so, most of the girls in my hostel went home for the study leave as our final examinations were approaching, including my roommate. Very few of us used to stay back during that leave, that year being no exception.
It was severely cold outside, a night of January 2010, when someone knocked on my door; a girl from my specialization class, she opened the door and just nodded her head saying, “Did you hear about Soumita di……..?!!!”….and nothing else…
…..she closed the door and went away… It was more the news and less the wind blowing outside that made me cold and still… I do not know how long was I sitting on at the edge of my bed; stunned!

I could think of nothing except the time I first met her and the last time I saw her. The contradictory picture of two incidents hurricaned my mind all throughout the night.

                  -----------------------------------------------------------

It was a time of no prominent social media, at least not prominent enough to be easily accessed, but years later I saw her picture on a popular social media site. 

Banjot di, who was one of her best friends and was sadly not present there when the tragedy occurred, made her display picture in a way where both of them appear.

Every year till this one she has wished Soumita di on her birthday and mourned on her death anniversary through her writing. She pens down wonderfully, all her love and pain, for her deceased friend in a way that makes her alive for some time. 

Today Banjot di is an established person making a difference in work she does, but never has she forgotten to express her love for, possibly, her only best friend.

It has been quite some time that this year Banjot di celebrated Soumita di’s birthday with some of the school children who are may be less fortunate and gave the phrase “BestFriendForever” a different and divine meaning.

Yet again a mixture of inexplicable feelings engrossed me but this time it had a positive vibe and I found myself tearing up in front of a computer screen.

Not many who are alive receive such love and admiration.

Banjot di, I have never had a chance to talk to you one on one; nevertheless I will take this opportunity to let you know that I am proud of you and not everyone can do what you have done. May be it is a small thing for you but Soumita di is lucky to have a friend like you. Wherever she is, I know a part of her is left with you.

Thank you for making the world a better place and keeping an endangered relation like friendship alive in this uncertain world.

Some feelings do not require names, I am experiencing one of such.
...sometimes it is more than enough to know that people exist who know that love is timeless..
If both of you ever read this, I just want to let you know that I consider myself luckiest to have known you people in my lifetime...

#A_Dedication

#StayBlessed

#RestInPeaceWhereverYouAre

||Image courtesy: Facebook||

#Weekend_With_HBFF

|| #HBFF or the Hyderabad Bengali Film Festival that was held from 30th June to 2nd July this year, celebrated the world of cinema and the exchange of culture through the silver screen.

The film festival was started by a community called Bengalis In Hyderabad (BIH).
The members of team #HBFF who resides in the city of Hyderabad, which is so far away from the city of the bengali cinemas, Kolkata, simply ignored the geographical boundaries when it came to host and uphold the rich culture of the Bengal and Bengalis in front of the country.

It is India's first and world's third such Film Festival that celebrates Regional Cinema.

In its 4th year HBFF witnessed an overwhelming response from both the film makers and the viewers respectively.
India being a multilingual country, team HBFF introduced 2 critically acclaimed and award winning Telugu(which is the mother tongue of Telangana) movies, as guest language films, from this year onward.
This year the film festival featured 7 Bengali movies, 2 Telugu movies, and one documentary about Satyajit Ray's detective character Feluda, in the occasion of the character turning 50 this year.

A bunch of hard working individuals, commendably and smoothly organized the said event for the fourth time in a row which itself is a wonder considering that every one of them has a regular primary job in complete different fields.

I came to know about BIH through a social medium. With my utter astonishment, within a few days I got a  call from one of the founding member of BIH for joining their organizing team for this colossal event, even though I missed the first meeting.
I had never done anything like this before in my life, but that did not seem to be of any concern to them. I am and will always be grateful for giving me this opportunity and letting me in on this project.

From day one of the team meeting till the last day of the presentation ceremony, I met people who are not only friendly but knew how to make an outsider at ease.
More importantly, no one ever thought twice before entrusting me with any responsibility, smaller or bigger! which amazingly increased my confidence.

Each and every team did their job not because they were assigned to it but they loved doing them.
It was an amazing feeling considering I knew nothing of managing an event or for that matter anything remotely related to it.

Now coming to my ulterior motive, you know because everyone is selfish, I wanted to be a part of team HBFF not only because I was new to the city and practically knew no one else but also because as a movie lover I was excited to watch some of the wonderful movies, which I missed, being outside of Bengal for quite sometime.

Although I could not watch everyone of it, yet I managed to watch quite few of them.

Life, like people, runs on grey scale. There is no one who is all good or all bad. In life also, we face situations, events which brings out the grey version of people. There is shadow just opposite to light, in the same way, if we accept the good in people or things, we ought to accept the bad as well.
All the movies , which are selected this time, has this factor in common. Be it any character or story or the whole movie itself.
Nothing in life is black and white. If you found something which is; it is either not real or you are in denial.

At the end of the wonderful three days journey, I came back with not only memories of good cinemas, but the satisfaction of knowing good people which includes all the actors, directors and technicians of all the above movies. From watching them on screen to interacting with them, it was once in a lifetime experience as some of them are National award winners while others are PadmaShree awardee.

After an amazing weekend, sitting alone in my room seems a little less scary...because in this strange city, now there are people and faces which are a little less strange to me...||

Following are the movies which are shown and their gist.

Bengali features included:

Tope (The Bait):

It was the inaugural film. Tope is directed by the ace filmmaker & poet Shri BuddhadebDasgupta. An adaptation of Narayan Gangopadhyay’s renowned short story, “Tope” is an engrossing celluloid narrative which depicts the desperate struggle of fading royalty to once again rise to prominence. 

Bishorjon:

A timeless tale of forbidden love which seeks to rise above all adversities. A Muslim man (Abir) washes up on the Bangladesh side of the Ichhamati and is rescued by a Hindu widow (Jaya), and her watchful suitor (Kuashik).
The story revolves around the characters showing that how their present scenarios are the result of their past which ultimately helped their escape into the future. The film won the National Award in 2017, as the Best Feature Film in Bengali.

Asamapto: (Incomplete)

Filmmaker Suman Mukhopadhyay’s “Asamapto” is an adaptation of ace litterateur ShirshenduMukhopadhyay’s “AschorjoBhromon”. The film adopts a multi-dimensional approach to the nuances of relationships and asks various questions on what makes an union tick. Love is multi dimensional and without a definition.
Sometimes the closure of anything incomplete is in its incompleteness itself.

Abby Sen:

“Abby Sen” delves into the realm of sci-fi which becomes instrumental in showcasing the film’s take on the concepts of success, competition, acceptability and a struggle to find recognition with revolutionary ideas. No matter how misfit we are, each and everyone of us has been given a particular time to complete our chores in life.

Peace Haven:

Three men, in their seventies, observe one of their friends being cremated before his son could arrive from abroad to perform the last rites of his father. Troubled by the idea that they’ll meet the same fate as there’s no mortuary which could preserve their remains long enough for their children to arrive from afar, the three friends set out to build a mortuary by themselves.
Death being the protagonist, one also realizes that there is a no prominent line between life and death. In a world of rat race, the realization that we are living only comes  when death knocks at the door for us.

Bibaho Diaries:

The movie deals with subtleties of urban life and its manifold dimensions.
Ritwick Chakraborty works hard to hold a struggling theater group together in his dream of becoming the modern UtpalDutt.
Sohini Sarkar plays his wife, as the couple bickers about their differences and finds joy and comfort in things they love, the viewers come to realize that as far as modern marriages are concern, it can never be a smooth ride of black and white.

BombaiyerBombete:

It starts when the film adaptation of Jatayu’s novel is being made in Bombay, the film takes us on a thrilling ride as Feluda and team chase down hardened criminals.

Feluda: 50 Years of Ray’s Detective: (documentary)

This 111 minute-long film, directed by Sagnik Chatterjee, will be the first Indian documentary that will pay a tribute to a fictional detective character created by Satyajit Ray over 50 years ago. This film is an effort to ensure that the legacy of Feluda is preserved for eternity.

In Telugu features, there were two movies:

PelliChoopulu (Matchmaking):

A reflection of modern society which often looks down upon dreams and creativity, this romantic comedy depicts a heartwarming tale of two young people finding each other and also their true calling in life in the process. Winner of 2 National Award in 2017.

NaaBangaruThalli (My Dearest Daughter):

A hard-hitting story that is provoking, shocking, yet, tender. Written and directed by Rajesh Touchriver, the film was co-produced by M.S Rajesh and Dr. Sunitha Krishnan, who is an internationally renowned anti-trafficking crusader. Through the traumatic trials of a family for which the world suddenly turns upside down one day, “NaaBangaruTalli” exposes the sex trafficking industry and seeks to open our eyes to it. It also questions a lot of social values and points at the opportunistic predators who hide themselves behind facades of honesty. This film own many national and international awards including the Rajatkamal and Best Background Score in 2014.
More importantly, every aspect in this movie was the exact reflection how it had happened in real life.
I had the good fortune to watch this movie, and personally speaking there are very few movies which give me goosebumps, this has been included in that rare lot.

#HBFF2017
#GratitudeToAll

#StayBlessed

#TillNextTime

~with director Buddhadeb Dasgupta and Sohini Dasgupta, Hall Management Team (screen 2)

#TeamHBFF2017