27 January 2015

Reconnecting after 1976 ….

First of all, I am back to Kolkata airport with good phone and internet connection! Need to start writing my travelogs…. Starting with a phenomenal get together last afternoon. I will tell you how exciting it was. Being an absolute stickler for time (even in Kolkata, I managed to show up for the get together on the dot at 12:30 pm – although I needed all the luck in Kolkata), I had scheduled two hours for this get together. I had figured we would run out of stories from 1973-1976 in that time. Well, we went over our schedule by another couple of hours and even then we were literally kicked out by the janitor who needed to clean the restaurant before his shift got over 🙂

This one was a great one for me personally. I had these friends I had made in first grade (and one of them in pre-kindergarten) and over the last few years, I had found out their whereabouts and was in touch with them individually. But never managed to meet them (save a few). Finally, as luck would have it, seven of us got together under the same roof!! The last time that happened was literally 39 years back 🙂

Unfortunately, a few more could not make it (it was Republic Day in India and they had office and school duties). And tellingly, none of the girls made it. As somebody mentioned “Saala, sedino lengi merey gelo, aaj-o lengi merey dilo” 🙂 For personal safety I am neither going to translate that nor divulge who said it 🙂 Are you listening, Ajanta, Aditi and Suparna? 🙂

I always thought I remember incidents from the past more than others. These guys beat me hands down. Specially Mrinal’s ability to remember as well as tell stories was mind blowing. Ah! those stories of gulmohar tree and Atish’s coveted tiffin of “lobongolotika”s !!!

Since Facebook is awash with pictures of people reconnecting with their old school friends over lunch or dinner at fancy restaurants, we figured we should instead, stay close to our roots. We re-enacted what might have been if we all stayed together and studied in the same college together. We gathered on the street and the ones who smoke bought cigarettes from the street guy and lit them up. We, the non-smokers, did some secondary smoking and mostly talked and laughed above the din of the honking and screeching of Kolkata traffic 🙂 [To be sure, we also ate lunch together in a fancy restaurant but that is not what bonded us 🙂 ]

Atish, Arghya, Sanjay, Soumen, Sujit, you have to make it to the next Kolkata get together!! And for the ones who did make it…. I was barely six years old when I took a few steps of my life together with you (and I was four years when I did the same with Arindam Dasgupta) and I was able to do the same yesterday again. It is a great life I lead and thanks for making it so….It was absolutely marvelous to see those red-shorts-white-shirt tiny tots have succeeded so much in their lives!!!

We will meet again… As the old shayar goes…

“Musafir hain hum bhi, musafir ho tum bhi
Kisi mod pe phir mulaqat hogi… ” !!

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Category: Intersection Points, Vacations | 9 Comments on Reconnecting after 1976 ….
25 January 2015

Oh! What a yarn of lies we weave!!

We checked out of the resort and were heading towards my brother’s home in Kolkata. A few minutes into the journey, I just floated the hypothetical “How about we head back to our parents in Kalyani?”. Of course, there were always those initial “Would be great, but what about…..?”. Ultimately, the surprise element of the adventure was enough that we decided we will change course. The price to be paid was that we would have to wake up very early and head back to Kolkata at a God forsaken time tomorrow morning.

The journey was a tad tedious what with my brother getting caught driving without a license (he left it at the resort, the cop was nice enough to let him go after talking to the resort) and getting caught in a tight jam due to construction. After about four hours we finally had covered 100 km (60 miles).

Of course, there was complete mayhem once we all walked in our parents’ house. Remember, they were under the impression they were going to see me in another three to four months when I left home a few days back. Then the two nephews confounded their whole confusion by trying to pull their own stunts of surprises. With all the commotion, my sister and niece came up from downstairs and promptly added to the confusion.

You can see in this picture my elder nephew holding court and has convinced half the crowd that we are leaving in about another hour’s time. Of course, slowly but surely he is getting caught in his own lies. But the best was when my mom demanded to know why do we have to leave tonight (which is untrue, by the way) and before my sister in law could explain that she had duties in her school tomorrow for India’s Republic Day ceremony (which is the truth, by the way), my brother added for good measure “Kaal Obama aaschhen” (Tomorrow Obama will be coming).

My father who is hard of hearing raised his voice “Kaal tor Baba Ma aaschhen???” (meaning Your inlaws are coming in tomorrow?) 🙂

Right now, there is absolute chaos and total confusion. At this rate, even I might forget what are our real plans are 🙂

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25 January 2015

The gang of 23!!

And those are the 23 cousins and their families (including the two in the inset who had to leave early and myself as the photographer) that got together for a couple of days. This has never happened before ever and I don’t think we can pull this off again ever but it was certainly great to see all those relatives of mine for a few days all under the same roof. Learnt a lot about my extended family from mom’s side.

Statistically, the youngest and the eldest ones were separated by about half a century!!!
Also, we had 1 doctor, 5 teachers, 6 in other services and 5 homemakers.
Further, if you discount me, everybody lives within 100 miles of each other or less! The one exception point (me) is about 10,000 miles away!!!

And that completes my third goal for this trip!!

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Category: Family in India, Vacations | 3 Comments on The gang of 23!!
25 January 2015

I know it is rude to disconnect when the party you are calling picks up the phone…

But I had a dang good excuse today.
By the way, I am starting to believe that maybe it is true that these things happen to me only!! Else, how do you explain this intersection point?

If you recollect, my third goal was to get all the cousins from my mom’s side and their families together for a couple of days for the first time ever. My brother and I had chosen a small resort deep in South 24 Parganas. It is not the most popular place but gave us the quietness and the facilities and more importantly a dozen good rooms that we were looking for.

This morning, after putting in a run with my brother and then some outdoor activities with all my cousins – some of whom I met for the first time – and then playing in the pool with all the nephews and nieces, I was pretty exhausted. Add to that a heaving Indian meal and I was ready to hit the sack. Figured I would take in a little more sun and so settled down in a chaise lounge chair near a corner of the pool.

I must have kept my eyes shut for five minutes and then opened them for a moment to move over to lay on my side. In that moment, I thought I saw a gentleman walk in front of me with a camera in his hand. I had my eyes closed for another couple of seconds when it occurred to me – “Wait a minute! Could it be who I think it is?”. What is the chance that I would come from US to a far out small resort ways away from any city and run into my schoolmate from 5th-10th grade?

I got up, look towards him but I could only see his back. He was trying to take pictures of this lady – who I presumed to be his wife. I was wondering what to do. It would be awkward to walk up to him to check his face and then maybe ask if he went to school together with me. It is then that I remembered that I still had that friend’s phone number. So, I fished out my phone from the pocket and dialed his India mobile number and waited with bated breath.

I could see him taking quite a few snapshots of the lady and then he put his hand in his shirt pocket and pulled out his mobile. That was all I needed. I disconnected the phone and went up to him and asked “Suman? Chintey paarchis?” (Suman? Recognize me?). We both had that “What the hell are you doing here?” look!!!

That was indeed one heck of a coincidence. Turned out that other than his wife, his son and his mom was there too. We walked to where they were and I chatted with them for some time and got one of his office friends (they were there for a office party) to take a few pictures of us!

As I said, maybe it is true that these things happen just to me. But I am glad they do. I would take that any day so as to run into Suman, his wife Suparna, his son Sayan and his mom!!!

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22 January 2015

How a phone call went last evening….

Me: “Maasi, Apni amakey chinben na. Amar naam Rajib Roy”. (Ma’m you don’t know me. My name is Rajib Roy)
She: “Rajib Roy-ta ke bolun to”? (Who is this Rajib Roy?)
Me: “Ami Atlanta-tey thaaki. Apnar meye Sanghamitra-tar bondhu” (I live in Atlanta and am a friend of your daughter)
She (in a very loud voice): “Sei Facebook-e mojar mojat golpo lekhe – sei Rajib Roy?” (The same Rajib Roy that writes funny stories in Facebook?)
Me (somewhat taken aback that she knew what is Facebook, let alone that I write there): “Ei morechhey! Mojar mojar kina jaanina tobey haabi jaabi likhi Facebook-e” (Not sure ma’m if they are funny, but I certainly write a lot of random stuff in Facebook”
She: “Na na tomar onek golpo sunechhi meyer kaachhey……..” (I have heard about your from my daughter……)

In 2007, I was busy sorting out a ticket related issue with the Delta gate agent at Sao Paolo airport when a young lady walked up to me and asked me “Are you Rajib Roy?”. She certainly looked Indian. My memory had no recollection of her. As I was stumbling trying to figure out where I had met her, she let me know that we have never met. That made it even more intriguing. In any case, I eventually reconstructed what had happened – She had met Sharmila at a party that I had not attended in the recent past and got to know that I was going to be traveling from Sao Paolo on the same day (there is only one Delta flight every night) as was she after our business work there. She saw me with the gate agent, saw no Indian around and took her chances!!! Looking back, I could have turned the tables of surprise on her by screaming “Que Pasa?” 🙂

A month back Sanghamitra (if my terrible memory serves me right, I have met her a couple of times subsequently) had an intriguing – and certainly a first time for me – request. She asked if I would mind taking some time during my next India trip and visit her mom. I am not exactly used to that. Nobody – at least knowingly – asks me to meet their parents (I know one exception, but I will skip that since it is a hilarious story and is bound to put a certain someone in bad light 🙂 ). Certainly there was a time when all the moms went out of their ways so I could not meet their daughters 🙂

Turns out her mom has had two heart attacks and has lost the ability to support herself. (Her husband is no more). My friend and her brother had no choice but to move her to a old age home. (something like assisted living in USA). Being an intensely independent person, she is having a very tough time adapting to a life of old age homes – even a very good one. I can only imagine how a physical debilitation followed by a mental perception of forced taking away of independence in a matter of moments can crush the will of any person. Certainly, it would be to me.

But what good would a visit from a stranger do? Sanghamitra explained that she is aligned with my “thoughts on life and feelings for the elderly” (her words, not mine). And that she felt me spending some time with her mom will cheer her up even if momentarily. First off, she has sized me up very wrong. I need to refer her to all those moms who did not want their daughters to meet me 🙂 But, certainly I am not above sharing my most precious and constrained resource – my time left in this beautiful world – with somebody else’s who might be even more constrained and therefore that much more precious to them.

I will make an attempt to make a detour and visit her today on my way to the resort where I am getting all my cousins from mom’s side gather for a couple of days to meet each other after a very long time… if not ever…

Stay tuned..
And I just realized something – Hey! Maybe my Facebook writings are not that “haabi jaabi” after all 🙂

Category: Vacations | 15 Comments on How a phone call went last evening….