Deepanjan Nag's Magnum Opus

Spoke to Badri and Gurdas over phone. Refreshing.

So nice to catch up with Meeta. I called and we spoke about old times gone by. We’ll hopefully have a get-together and include all the oldies who can make it. Especially looking forward to meeting Subhrajit.

 

Never would it have occurred in my wildest dreams that a pal I had last met years ago during our ICSE would be meeting me in London one fine evening! Gurdas and I were in the same class from KG to 10…though never in the same section. The only time we shared classrooms was during computer science classes in 9th and 10th. He was mysteriously endowed with all imaginable programs in his floppy disks while the less fortunate folks like me had to made do with the demos that Gurdas and a few others would oblige us with. We sighed in awe, thanking the geeks for whatever we were allowed to see. Programs were circulated…but only amongst the privileged few. Years later. Gurdas became a regular reader and outspoken critic of my blog and even called me up a couple of times. Needless to say, reconnecting with a childhood friend felt very special. It was to his credit that I decided to buy the relatively inexpensive DELL Vostro 1000 rather than the more high-end DELL Inspiron. I sent him an MP3 CD...

I was flying…well, almost! I rediscovered Anirvan Chakravarty on FB a few days ago and managed a brief chat today. The lucky chap flies for Kingfisher and has even gone international. We have a lot of catching up to do.

Abhishek informs. It’ll make my annual visits to Jamshedpur that much more meaningful. I congratulated Subroto via SMS.

Mani managed to unearth one of Santosh’s extraneous contact numbers from the itemized landline telephone bill we receive from Airtel. The absconding culprit, as usual, said he was just about to contact us. Yeah, we’ll fall for that lie alright! He’ll probably leave for Bangalore on 22nd July.

Ever since Sam moved in, our belongings have had to be repositioned in order to make more room to the new entrant. One major casualty has been Mani, whose daily clothes have now been strategically relocated to my room. And since my room affords more privacy than others, Mani makes frequent guest appearances here to strip and don something else. He tries to make his presence doubly felt either with a very annoying and loud Bollywood hum or by verbally engaging me in a totally impertinent issue. I’ll miss all this fun.

That would have been Aaj Tak ’s punchline had they been on Santosh’s trail. Our docile roommate seems to have disappeared into thin air ever since his wedding talks (the one we were closely monitoring) failed to materialize. We’ve been trying to get in touch with him for the past few days but he’s unreachable on his number. Last time we heard, he was enquiring about rail tickets to Bangalore. He seemed very eager to return. Kidnapping grooms isn’t uncommon in Bihar. Sometimes, there is such a severe paucity of consenting bachelors (dowry and caste could be major flashpoints) that parents, desperate to get rid of their daughters, kidnap them and forcefully wed them off to their daughters. Of course, it’s very unlikely that Santosh has met this unfortunate fate. For all we know, he may be merrily wandering the rural terrain without a care in the world!

Wonderful to hear his voice after all these years. We discussed SEO and other Internet fads. We last spoke on Monday, when I had to excuse myself from the call as I was visiting a friend. Before that, we had spoken 10 years ago.

East Meets West: A Canadian in India What can I say about this gorgeous blonde except that she’s every bit as gifted in the writing department as she is in looks! And that’s just a fraction of what makes her such an incredibly wonderful person I had the good fortune of befriending during her stay in India. She’s indeed of stellar magnitude. Keep shining, babe!

She wasn’t really his wife, though the prospect loomed large over him for some time. Since Santosh is away and we didn’t have the heart to grill the poor guy over phone and incur roaming charges, we let him off with a quick quiz. The details are rather murky but here’s what we learnt. The girl’s parents had shown the photo to Santosh, which, it seems, was edited via Photoshop! We don’t know how Santosh came to know of the retouching. Anyway, they were not willing to let our guy actually see the girl in person. However, they were willing to it directly at the engagement, when he couldn’t possibly back out! How ridiculous! Santosh, rightly enough, refused the alliance. I’ll get more details on his return to Bangalore.

Santosh left for Patna today to attend a wedding and also expedite his own! The man is on a mission…and I wish its quick and happy fruition. Sam is back fom Pune and his presence resonates across all the rooms in our dwelling. There’s a minor space crunch since his bed, washing machine and chair are taking up precious space. It’s not much of a problem though. In fact, the drawing room now has a more filled-look. Sam’s entry was timed just right for Santosh who has recently lost his phone. As luck would have it, Sam had just bough a new phone before moving in and Santosh can make do with the old one for now. I’m exploiting Sam’s washing machine to the fullest. Some of my clothes are so dirty, they’ll need multiple washes. Mantu has once again settled into his role as our home manager ever since he returned from Ranchi on Tuesday. His is a presence welcomed by one and all. We’re indeed lucky for having him around. I have a carton of clothes and books to be sent to Kolkata. I’ll...

Farewell, my sister fare thee well. Wish I could write more But my pen won’t tell. Pretty apt, I must say! The first 2 lines were by Shakespeare. The remaining ones were too abstruse and I replaced them with my own. These lines go into a farewell message by Sam for his sister who leaves town soon.

Sam has shifted to our place, complete with his belongings. He’ll be in Pune next week for a training after which he’ll return. I hope to exploit his washing machine. My clothes are in bad need of a wash.

A cacophony of television blare and vociferous exuberance awoke me early yesterday. Santosh had just returned from work and was enthusiastically talking to Mani. My slug vanished in a flash as I listened hard to the import of words. I soon discovered the cause behind the unusual ebullience – marriage. Santosh’s relatives have been scouting for a bride for him and they seem to have finally found the perfect match. Everyone says she’s pretty, Santosh reminds us with annoying regularity. The girl is a science graduate and can adjust to city life – just what the doctor ordered. Our newly-in-love boy is desperate to catch a glimpse of his phantom bride-to-be, but there seems to be no means to this end. He can’t visit her place for now, there are no scanners or internet access in his village and he’s too embarrassed to ask for her photo to be couriered. I hope my roommate is pulled out of this misery soon. Sam, who now visits our place less regularly, dropped by after noon and almost imm...

Pallavi, her mom and some relatives left for their native place this week. When they return at the end of the month, it’s unlikely that I’ll get to see my little friend. The folks are expected to shift to a new place, the security deposit with the present landlord being the only hindrance. I miss Pallavi running into my room each morning and giggling me awake. Thursday was Mani’s birthday and we broke into an impromptu celebration late in the evening. To my surprise, even a birthday cake was smuggled into my room to mark the occasion, much in keeping with a tradition we had established and religiously followed until recently. I had always looked down upon this silly practice with utter disdain. The rekindling made me realize how much I missed it. I guess being occasionally silly is immensely wise. I downloaded Saheb Biwi aur Ghulam this week and relished every moment of the nearly 2.5 hrs that it took to watch. It’s still as riveting as it was 20 years ago when I saw it for the fir...

We had little reason to…and we grabbed all of it to break onto a chicken feast for dinner. Mani was away in Ranchi and Mantu seems to have forsaken Bangalore for good. Santosh and I hardly have the time to speak to each other what with his odd hours making communication nearly impossible. I suggested mutton, at which Santosh readily concurred. We walked to Monday-to-Sunday but found mutton too expensive and settled for chicken instead. I placed an order for a few photo prints en route . Switching between IPL and flicks made dinner all the more fun.

A friend of mine works at the same hospital in Cambridge where Dr. Stephen Hawking is currently recuperating. Thankfully, after a sudden scare, Hawking is well on his way to full recovery. I’m jealous of Vishal.  He actually got to see the great man.