Monsoon

"The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain." 

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Monsoon is an odd time to travel, especially when you have to travel bag and baggage. In my case, I have to literally shift my base for work almost every three years and the timing invariably coincides with monsoon.

 

We got transferred to Kolkata in June 2008 when it was peak monsoon time. I had a tough time getting used to the erratic behavior of the rain-fall in Kolkata. When indoors one would not realize when it rained and when it stopped. Happened to me many times! I also suffered because many times as clothes that were hung for drying outside got wet and I had to re-wash the same. Sometimes I was surprised to see that the front balcony, where I was standing taking in the view of the lake, was absolutely dry, while the balcony in the backside of the house was getting drenched by rain. . No, I am NOT exaggerating. Once it so happened that a mad windy storm lashed the trees and houses in the place we stayed, Kalikapur to be precise. At the same time a friend of mine who was on his way to visit me from about 10 kms from my place wished it would rain as it was so hot that day! I thought he was joking and when I told him about the stormy rain that was going on at my place. He couldn’t believe it and assumed I was joking. Only when he reached my place fighting the storm, he agreed that it was a crazy experience.

This monsoon, we have got transferred to Mumbai. Mumbai is a different experience altogether, since the day I came (May 29, 2011 to be more precise). The first few days it was terribly hot, in fact hotter than Kolkata. Yes, I had a concept that Kolkata is the hottest city in India after Chennai. But, I felt there is a city in-between, it’s Mumbai. Thankfully the house we have settled in has air-conditioning in every room. On June 2, monsoon set in, five days earlier than the expected time. I never understood how people can clock these natural phenomenons and most of all, seasons! Anyway, there was respite from the heat. Few heavy showers felt good. Though I was not venturing out much initially, apart from unavoidable work, after a couple of weeks, it got boring. I wanted to go out and find some friends. 

The monsoon was getting crazier as it developed momentum. It would rain even when it is absolutely sunny outside. Sometimes, I didn’t realize when dawn broke. It would be so dark, as if there were several hours for dawn to break. The rains are like the waves of the Arabian Sea here. It comes and it goes. Everyone carries an umbrella regardless of what the weather is. You never know when it will start pouring. Learning from others, I carry an umbrella too, all the time, whenever I go out these days. 

Let me share an interesting incident that happened with me some days back. That day, I was home alone and I ran out of hard cash. So, I had to go and withdraw some cash from a nearby ATM. The climate was pleasant and I went out on foot. Tried three ATMs, all were either out of service or had some link failure. First I went to the nearby ICICI Bank ATM of Bandra branch. It was out of service. There was another local bank ATM nearby and I went there. A girl was already punching the keys and I waited for her to leave. It was taking way too long than expected and I noticed that the girl was getting restless too. I enquired as she looked worried. I asked, if there was any problem with the machine! Before she replied, I saw the screen and it was showing “Your transaction is being processed”. I said, “Oh, it’s taking too long ha?” She said, “Yes” with a sad smile. I wondered, “What if the money comes out once you leave the machine?” She said, “Exactly! I don’t know what to do now!” While we were talking, the machine screen displayed “Transaction failed”. She thanked God and hinted me if I wanted to try. I said, “No, I don’t want to risk it.” By then, it started drizzling and I went out in search of another ATM nearby. I took out the umbrella and started walking on the pavement. Meanwhile, the girl entered a shop. Instead of walking cluelessly, I decided to ask a security guard sitting by a shop door, if there is any other ATM nearby. Thankfully he knew and guided me the way.  reached the Standard Chartered Bank ATM where a girl was already inside while two boys were waiting outside. The rain had meanwhile evolved from a drizzle to a downpour. I joined the queue. The girl inside took longer than required and to everybody’s disappointment, the ATM guard hung a board on the door where it was written “Out of service”. Dang, now what?! I asked the guard if there is any other ATM nearby. He pointed out to the SBI ATM on the opposite side of the road. When I was about to cross the road to go to the SBI ATM, that girl I met in the second ATM said “Hi!” I responded and smiled. She asked, “This one’s not working too?” I sad, “Sadly, yes.” She asked, what are you gonna do?” I pointed out the ATM across the road and said I am going there. She asked, “Can I please borrow your umbrella? I forgot mine in a shop yesterday.” I agreed to share. We both crossed the road and saw a lot of people waiting outside the ATM. Since it was impossible to stand outside with so little space and such heavy rain, we both entered the empty space inside the ATM, where one girl was already trying her luck with the machine. (I wondered why I was seeing girls in every single ATM struggling to withdraw money!) We were wondering if this one’s working. Thankfully, it was. One South Indian guy made some “hu” kind of noise and I realized he was trying to say something to me. I asked, “Is it your turn after her?” He nodded. I said, “No problem, you go, do your thing”. I waited. He called for his friend and both entered the ATM room and kept withdrawing. The door to the room from another side opened. Later we realized it was the bank’s side of the entrance. Two men, seemingly employees of the bank, entered the ATM room and said, “Money is over in the ATM and we need to refill it”. They started closing the road side door of the ATM. We were both inside the ATM already. The girl looked worried. I asked the banker if we can withdraw some money at least, as all the ATMs in the area were out of order. He asked her how much she wanted to withdraw. She said thousand. He asked me, I said I need at least two thousand. Meanwhile, the south Indian men were done with their withdrawal and I saw them taking handful of five hundred rupee notes in their hands. I doubted my luck! Still wanted to try, I asked the girl to withdraw. She could withdraw her thousand. The bankers said, "You won’t get thousand rupee notes and hundred rupee notes". I just needed some money in hand, so I said it wouldn’t matter. While I was withdrawing money, the girl was not leaving even after she was done withdrawing the money. The bankers told her to leave from the other door which was through the bank premises. She was adamant. Her argument was that she didn’t know that exit and she wouldn’t go that way. She wanted to use the door she came in from. The men said one of them will accompany her to the other exit door. She refused. I realized she was scared. So, I said, “I am done, wait. You can go with me.” She readily agreed. We both came out of the ATM through the bank premises and through a dark pathway we reached the main road. The rain stopped by then and she asked me which way I was going. After knowing her destination, we realized we had to go in two opposite directions. So we said bye to each other and left. The strange thing is, I didn’t even ask her name, neither did she! 

I found out that there are also a few positive things about monsoon in Mumbai. Apart from many tiny things, the major thrill is a drive in the Bandra Worli Sea Link when it is pouring. Oh what a wonderful experience! It is taking time for me to get used to the place and people. I know it will take some time and monsoon is the best time for me to take time out to contemplate and let the experience sink in. I am still in my buffering time.

51 more reasons...... why it's great to be a woman

While thinking of it......I realised, everyday is a Women's Day! It's a fact. .....and to add weight to my this statement, I have some more reasons (apart from the obvious ones): :)

1. Working / Earning is not mandatory.
2. We always get place to sit when using public transport.
3. We don't have to stand on the queue to get tickets.
4. We don't have to worry about the purse when we shop with men
5. We can marry rich and then not have to work
6. Men take us on all expense paid trips
7. Easy to get a ride
8. Men hold the door open for us
9. Jewels look good on us
10. We're better manipulators
11. We always end up sleeping in the bed when we fight with our other halves - you guys get the couch
12. We don't worry about receding hairline.
13. We can easily show our disappointments or disapprovals (sometimes without even saying a word!)
14. Even strangers show care if we are in trouble. Men have to manage themselves
15. We can cry in public. Men can’t
16. We don't have to worry if we lose the fight
17. Sweat is sexy on us
18. We get candies, flowers and jewellery all the time because men screw up so often
19. Women are cleaner
20. We're more flexible - physically
21. When women get upset, we don't destroy property or hurt people - we just take it out on the world in general because we can
22. It’s easy for us to make friends
23. We can do makeup anywhere
24. If we do heavy purchase we don't have to carry those things. Men are there
25. We have a higher tolerance to pain
26. Most women actually look good in short shorts – men DON'T.
27. Women who don't wear underwear are considered sexy and wild, when men do it, it's rather disgusting
28. We have mastered civilized eating - we don't embarrass our friends or make loud bodily noises in public
29. We don't have excessive amounts of body hair
30. We don't spend 45 minutes in the toilet
31. We are always smart
32. We can throw a punch at a man and not get hit in return.
33. We don't have to lie to boast ourselves better
34. Women sweat less
35. Women smell better
36. We can be late to office
37. We don't get embarrassed when buying tampons
38. We have better fashion sense
39. We're better shoppers
40. We don't have to make fools of ourselves to impress a man
41. Men don't know what our 'girl talk' is all about (and I'm not gonna tell you)
42. We don't have to drive when on a date
43. An ugly woman can use makeup and get a new hairdo to become presentable - ugly men are just ugly
44. Women look better naked
45. We know that rhythm doesn't only pertain to dancing
46. When women are short, we're petite.  When men are short, they're just short
47. There are many hands to lift us when we slip on the ground. Poor men they have to get up on their own
48. And we don't have to feel shy about falling down
49. Women's conversations generally consist of more than just "uh huh, yep, ok, then – bye"
50. Women don't need an excuse to be in a bad mood
51. The remote control is not an extension of ourselves 

To my male readers: No hard feelings guys! Just having fun with this one! :) 

International Women's Day

Today, on International Women's Day, I felt like uploading one of my articles that I wrote during my tenure in The Asian Age as a Sub-Editor. I am yet to find the article on my laptop. So, here's sharing the scanned copy of the newspaper publication. :) I sincerely hope you'd like it.

An article on International Women's Day (Click to see it large)

Medica Superspeciality Hospital

It can never be a good feeling if you or anyone of your family has to go to a hospital, particularly in an emergency. However, sometimes, you just cannot avoid it. I generally don’t like hospitals. I am sure I share this feeling with many of you reading this blog. Recently, I had to take my partner to a hospital in an emergency. I had to call for an ambulance for that and I don’t remember experiencing anything like this ever. Whenever I think of that day, I don’t know how I faced the situation and came out of it so coolly.

At the moment of my despair, I was undecided on which hospital to go to. A friend of ours suggested us to go to Medica Superspeciality Hospital which is the nearest hospital we have. So, the friend called up the emergency number and an ambulance was arranged and which reached our residence within 10 minutes. We reached the hospital and admitted my partner in the emergency room. We were made to wait outside while the doctors attended to the patient urgently.

While waiting outside, I realized one thing that the hospital didn’t feel like a hospital at all. The usual smell of disinfectant mopping solution, smell of medicine etc, none of it was there in the atmosphere. It suddenly made me feel positive and less depressed. The waiting room of the emergency unit was well organized with clean and colourful seating arrangements and a television in front of the seating area.

A nurse called me from the emergency room as the doctor wanted to talk to me. My heart skipped a beat. Well, I didn’t know what on earth….the doctor had to say! He said nothing is wrong with my partner, except that he had an acute attack of spondylosis. The doctor said that we would have to keep him in the hospital for a day or two so that they can do some tests to be sure that there was nothing wrong otherwise. I agreed.

We were transferred to a single occupancy cabin on the 6th floor that evening. Keeping him in the hospital cabin with a friend, I went home to get some clothes to change at night and some other necessary things for the night stay. Since there was no one at home, I parked the car in the hospital parking area and went upstairs to attendant to my partner.

When you enter the lobby area from the car dropping area, it is difficult to accept that it is not the lobby of a five star hotel but a lobby area of a hospital. The lobby has relaxing sofas, coffee shops and a huge reception area with artificial and real greenery landscaping the place beautifully. Here, any patient will feel at home, leave alone the feelings of the attendants. The lifts of the hospital were very clean, smooth, spacious and well maintained with a lift-man or lift-woman attending to it 24x7.

Reaching the 6th floor, I entered the cabin after crossing a long spacious corridor donned with beautiful paintings on the wall. The cabin was spacious with a beautiful large glass window overlooking the front garden of the hospital. The furnishings were in whites and off-whites with  little furniture inside the cabin. There were two beds, one for the patient and one for the attendant.  The bathroom was sparkling clean with large white fresh towels and a pack of toiletries for the patient. The hand shower was of a handy length and there were enough handles for the patient to hold on to.

The maintenance is very meticulous and strictly supervised. However, the frequent visits to the cabin by the housekeeping became annoying especially during the afternoons.

The friendly nurses, dutiful doctors, attendants and the well stocked quick servicing canteen really made our stay in the hospital less painful and more satisfying. We were released after 2 days of our stay there. I thank God for the quick recovery of my partner. While thinking of the hospital, I sincerely hope that Medica Superspeciality Hospital maintains the quality of its services and maintenance forever with no compromise whatsoever.

For more information on the hospital, click here: http://www.medicahospitals.in/index.html

Magh Bihu Bhogali

I am writing this blog with a smile on my face. I hope everyone who reads this blog feels the same joy while reliving the moments I am going to share here. I felt happiness and a great sense of belonging while celebrating Magh Bihu in Kolkata this year. Till the morning of Uruka day, the members of Sristir Ramdhenu (SR) had no plan of celebrating Magh Bihu. There were many hurdles to cross in the form of finding a place in Kolkata for bonfire, contacting all the members which meant uncountable phone calls, collecting money and so on. Since everyone is having full time jobs to attend to, it leaves them with very little time to think of anything else. However, on the evening of Uruka the Assamese spirit emerged with full vigour and the boys a.k.a. the most active members of the group decided to make Bhogali Bihu happen – no matter what.

Unlike other past events, where I participated actively, I couldn’t do the same this time, as I had to attend to some medical issue at home. However, when the boys (Bhaskar, Uddipta, Hemanta and of course Proloy) contacted me, I was free enough to take part in it. Hence, I hopped on, in the organisation of the celebration too. We were in it together and we wanted to make the best out of this team of organisers. All the social networking groups/community sites were updated, members contacted and informed. The spirit of Magh Bihu was poking the members to do something about it and everyone said YES to the proposition. We all had smiles on our faces. :) We will have Magh Bihu feast on the day of Magh Bihu (the day after Uruka). But we all know that a few hours delay hardly matters when there is so much of positivity involved.

Now, Proloy took the highest initiative by arranging for a place for bonfire and feast. It was a walled open space in the front yard of a school. Till late night of the Uruka day, we were on conference calls discussing, making lists of to dos and how to dos and so on.
Next day, the day of Bihu, Uddipta called and asked “Who would cook?” Bhaskar said (on con call) the boys can do it themselves. But I knew nobody had the experience of cooking for so many people at one go. We were 35 people and there were several items on the menu. Hence Uddipta and I decided to hire a cook. I started calling my contacts in Kolkata and luckily found a cook in such a short notice! Another hurdle crossed. Bhaskar and Uddipta went veggie shopping after consulting the cook. I offered to sponsor one of the must-haves/must eats of Magh Bihu, the Kaath alu. I also informed the boys that I would be bringing the sweets and it will be on me. I attended to home chores. Apart from phone calls, guests at home kept me busy.

Evening approached…umm…let me call it late afternoon. Proloy called me and asked if I am ready and going to the venue. He reached there before time to arrange the seating and bonfire etc. I said I’ll be there in 30 minutes. Hiranya called (he was given the charge of arranging firewood) and asked me if I can go to Panchanantala and bring the firewood in my car. Ahem, well, I know I am very accommodating, but firewood in my delicate Ford Fiesta? I suggested him to hire a cab instead. He got the point. I reached the venue and saw Proloy bickering with the cook and his helper. The cook was of the opinion that it was getting too late for the things to get ready and that might result in a very late dinner. We both made the cook understand that it wouldn’t matter and he can take his own sweet time to finish the dishes.
Uddipta and Bhaskar entered with a rickshaw-full of things. Madhurjya, a member of SR came in with his sister who was visiting Kolkata and missing home on Bihu. One by one, people started getting together and the chairs got all filled. Uddipta suddenly looked anxious and I enquired why. He asked what to do about drinking water! Hemanta suggested we buy mineral water bottles for all. But that would be expensive. I suggested we get those big 20 litre gallons of mineral water. Since I take those at home, I called up the water supplier and he said he kept two with the security guard of my apartment and I can take those. Problem solved. I went home and dumped the two 20 litre bottles of Bisleri water in the car dickey, collected the sweets and kaath alu and I was good to go for the night again.
Since many members and wanna be members knew my numbers, they started calling me to enquire about the direction of the venue. One of those calls was from Firoze Maran. The conversation went like this:

FM: Hello, are you organizing the Magh Bihu under Sristir Ramdhenu group?

Me: Yes we are and may I know who is speaking please?

FM: I am Firoze Maran and I am at Assam House now. Me and my friend thought we would celebrate Magh Bihu at the Assam House’s Magh Bihu celebration. But we are bored to death here. Can we come over to your celebration please?

Me: Of course you can. Just come over. We are at …..

FM: Okay we’ll be there.

Another call vibrated my mobile phone. Here’s the conversation:

Me: Hello, Pranjal, tell me.

P: Are you guys not celebrating Bihu at the Assam House?

Me: No, that celebration is by ASL. We are celebrating elsewhere.

P: Oh! Assuming that you are celebrating here, I reached Assam House and it is really getting lousy here. Is it too late for me to join you guys now?

Me: Nope, come over. We are celebrating at….. (I gave him the direction and the address of the venue).

I reached the venue. The bonfire was lit and that excited everyone with the real spirit of Magh Bihu bonfire. The kaath alu was put in the pile of burning wood for roasting. Now came the part when everyone had to introduce oneself to the others, so that if someone is new in the SR community, they would know who is who. This part was interesting for me too as I got to know a few new faces and their professions. Sristir Ramdhenu was getting richer with such valued new members. Once the introduction session was over, it was time for some real thing – Bihu songs and Bihu dance. Bhaskar, our community singer started singing some soulful yet melodious and peppy Bihu songs. The rest of the members got into the groove and all got up to shake that thing … you know what I mean. :)
Hiranya took charge of the kaath alu roast and served the same after peeling and cleaning those. Those were yum!

I must mention that Firoze Maran was one of the best Bihu dancers in the group of more than 35 people. Rituraj sang his favourite Bihu songs and Uddipta was encouraging him as well as Bhaskar. We all did not realize when the clock struck 11 pm. The food was ready by then and some of the children started yawning and pulling their mother’s clothes for want of some cozy place to sleep. So, we decided to serve food to the children first. Families who had to travel back far were served dinner next. The feedback on the food was absolutely positive. I was happy with the cook. All the members finished having food batch by batch. Sweets were served and during the entire time photographs were shot and video cameras were rolling. After food and a group photo session, members were leaving with a full stomach and a satisfied heart. It was past midnight and I was worrying how the girls will reach their respective homes. After arranging for car pools for some, I offered a home drops to six of them and they all hopped on my car. It was cramped with limbs going here and there to make space for everyone. I couldn’t stop laughing! Once the vehicle started to move, everyone settled down. Dropping them at their respective residences, I went home and reached home at around 1.30 am. 

I was all smiles with a satisfied mind and soul. I sms-ed the boys congratulating them on the successful event. We all slept off wearing a smile on our faces.