A Tour of Calcutta

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This is an imaginary story about a man and a foreigner girl. Any resemblance to any person living or dead is purely coincidental.


It was the first week of December. The weather was pleasant. Rahul went to Jadavpur University to attend a seminar which was organised by the students. It was about the rise of Hindu fundamentalism in India. It was about the rise of 'Intolerance' in India. Rahul was sitting on the aisle side inside the auditorium. The seat beside him was empty. Suddenly a foreigner girl came and sat on that seat. Throughout the seminar Rahul and that girl exchanged courteous smiles. She was taking down notes on a pad. She was listening to everything that the Speakers on that seminar were saying and noting down vital points. Rahul was also listening to the Speakers, but every now and then, he would steal a glance at that foreigner girl.

After the seminar Rahul introduced himself. She also introduced herself. Her name was Paula. She was from Warsaw and was studying International Relations at Jadavpur University. Rahul and Paula became good friends instantly. They exchanged their numbers. She was staying as a Paying Guest near Jadavpur 8B. After the seminar got over, Rahul and Paula went outside Gate No. 4 to have some tea and biscuits. Paula told him that she loved Calcutta but did not have the opportunity to explore the city so far. Rahul decided to give Paula a tour of Calcutta. Since he was working in an office, therefore he was free only on the weekends. So he told her that for the next few weekends he would be her Raju-Guide. 

On the next Saturday afternoon, Rahul and Paula met in front of Rabindra Sarobar Metro Station, opposite Bhavani Cinema. From there they took a train and went to College Street. He took her to the Indian Coffee House. They sat upstairs since the ground floor was totally jam packed. From above, Paula took some pics of the floor below through her cell phone. Rahul also took some pics from his mobile. He ordered Mutton Kabiraji for both of them and obviously Infusion. He told Paula about the importance of this Coffee House and how the intelligentsia of Bengal would flock to this place ever since it started. In his college days, Rahul had lots of friends who were studying in Presidency College, and he would hang out with them at the Coffee House on weekends. 

The Coffee House is the house of adda for students, pass-outs, poets, writers, journalists, theatre addicts, painters, sculptors, film buffs, political activists, pseudo maoists and a variety of other people. Rahul and Paula had a lovely adda there. She told him about her city. Rahul told her that he loved Polish films and Kieslowski, Wajda and Polanski were his favourite film directors. He also liked the films of Konwicki and Zanussi too. Paula wanted to see good bengali films. She has only seen Ray's Apu Trilogy. Rahul told her that he would give her the dvds of Ray, Ghatak and Sen. He has a huge collection of dvds of foreign as well as Indian films.

Rahul and Paula spent around an hour and half at the Coffee House. From there he took her to Paramount. This place is famous for its sherbats and syrups and is of paramount importance in Rahul's life. He just loves this place and its friendly owners. Paula had a Daab-Sherbat and Rahul had Mango-Mania. From Paramount they went and sat inside College Square for some time. A cool breeze was blowing. A lot of couples were romancing there. After sitting there for almost an hour, they started walking towards the Central Metro Station.

On Sunday afternoon, Rahul took Paula to Victoria Memorial. They went inside the museum. It was a wonderful place. She loved those huge old paintings and all the history related to that place. After an hour or so, they came out of the museum and started walking throughout the entire garden. Paula kept on clicking pics. Finally they were tired and they sat on a bench. A lot of lovers were there romancing all around in this beautiful winter afternoon. Many people were there with their entire families. Children running around and playing among themselves was a beautiful sight.

From Victoria Memorial they came out and ate fuchkas. She loved those mouth-watering fuchkas. They also ate Churmurs. Then Rahul hailed a horse-carriage and took Paula for a ride. She just loved this carriage ride. This was the first time for her sitting in a horse drawn carriage. Rahul and Paula did not sit side by side, instead they sat face to face. Therefore Rahul could take her pics and vice versa. After the ride, he took her to Academy of Fine Arts. A painting exhibition was going on. They went inside to see the paintings. Some of the paintings were really good. They came out and had tea, biscuits and bapuji tiffin cakes from Hari da's shop. From there they entered the Nandan Chattor. There was a long queue in front of the Nandan Ticket Counter. The place was full of people, most of them were regulars. Then he took her to Rabindra Sadan. A musical programme was going on there. They also went inside Gaganendra Shilpo Pradarshashala, which is in front of Sisir Mancha. Another painting exhibition was going on there. Then they went to the Haldiram's Restaurant at Exide Crossing to have some snacks.

Next Saturday afternoon Rahul and Paula met in front of RKM Library at Golpark. They had lunch at Grub Club. They ate mixed fried rice and manchurian chicken there. After lunch Rahul took her to Rabindra Sarobar. They entered from the Nazrul Manch side and walked till the Calcutta Rowing Club. Then they crossed the road and went towards the Menoka Cinema side of the Lake. They sat on a bench for some time as both of them were a bit tired with so much walking. After resting for some time, they went for a ride in one of those paddle boats. Then they walked to the Maharani Shop, near Deshopriyo Park, and had kachoris, singaras, jalebis and gulab jamuns.

On Sunday morning around 4 a.m. Rahul picked her up from her place in a cab and they straight went to Tollygunge Tram Depot. Rahul had pre-booked the cab. From there they boarded the first tram and went to Esplanade. Paula just loved this tram ride in this winter morning. The tram went slowly cutting through the fog and mist all around. They both sat on the window seats in the first compartment. The view outside the tram window was spellbinding, especially once it reached the Maidan area. From Esplanade they again took a cab and went to Terretti Bazar to have authentic chinese breakfast. They almost ate everything from pork momos to fish meatball soup. Rahul told her that for the last ten years he has been visiting this bazaar in winter mornings. It is a must for him. After breakfast they came to South City Mall. There they watched an English film at Inox. After the film they hanged out at StarMark and browsed through countless books. Then they had pizza at the Food Court. In the evening they had coffee at the CCD inside South City.

The next Saturday Rahul took Paula to Royal Calcutta Turf Club. This was her first time at horse racing. She just loved watching the horses race against each other. Rahul placed a few bets, but he lost. For lunch they had chicken sandwiches. They both drank beers too. In the evening from RCTC, Rahul took her to Park Street. They walked throughout the entire length and breadth of Park Street. They ate chicken rolls at Kusum's. Then they went inside Oxford Bookstore and browsed through the books. For dinner they went to Peter Cat. It was damn crowded. They had to wait for more than half an hour before they got a table. Inside the restaurant she had a Chicken Sizzler and he had Chelo Kabab. From Peter Cat they went to Some Place Else. The band Saturday Nights Blues was performing. They again had beers. They thought of going to Tantra but then decided against the idea as both of them were very tired. After spending an hour inside Some Place Else, they came out and Rahul took a cab and dropped her home.

On Sunday afternoon Rahul took Paula to Prinsep Ghat. They walked through the entire stretch. It was crowded. Then they went for a boat ride. The boat-man took the boat right below the Second Hooghly Bridge. They both screamed and there was an echo. They screamed again and there was another echo. They loved it. She loved the boat ride very much. After this they came inside the restaurant Scoop and ate some French fries. They sat upstairs near the window. They came out of the restaurant and had elaichi chai from a tea-stall. 

The next Thursday was Christmas Eve. Rahul took Paula to St. Paul's Cathedral for the Christmas Mass. They had to enter the Church by 9:30 p.m. otherwise the gates would be closed. Inside the Church there was a sense of peace and calmness. They both prayed. The Christmas Mass ended around 2 a.m. They came out of the Church building and started roaming on the Church ground. It was very cold. The place was full of believers as well as non-believers.  

On Christmas afternoon Rahul took Paula to Park Street Cemetery. It was very crowded there. After spending almost two hours inside, they came out and went to St. Xavier's College. From there they walked throughout the length and breadth of Park Street again. Now they were tired. They went to Au Bon Pain and relaxed there with hot coffee, chicken croissants and chocolate muffins. Since all other restaurants were damn crowded, Rahul took Paula to Dreamland Restaurant for dinner. They sat on the balcony and had mixed gravy noodles.  

The next day, that was Saturday, Rahul took Paula to the Indian Museum. Since she was a foreigner therefore the entry fee for her was a lot more than what Rahul had to pay for himself. They roamed throughout the Museum. She loved that Egyptian Mummy. From there he took her to New Market. She loved New Market a lot. He took her to Nahoum's and there they ate rum balls and a lot of other delicacies. New Market always has a special charm during the Christmas season. A music shop was playing Christmas carols on a loudspeaker. From New Market he brought her to The Fairlawn Hotel. They sat on the garden and ordered beers. She loved this hotel very much. Rahul loves this hotel very much. 

On Sunday, Rahul took Paula to the ISKCON Temple on Albert Road near Minto Park. They had lunch at Govinda's. It is a wonderful restaurant just beside the temple. They ate Mysore Masala Dosa. From there they went to Eden Gardens. A Ranji match was being played there. Paula was not much into sports and she did not understand Cricket. Rahul taught her a few basic ground rules about Cricket. A winter afternoon at Eden Gardens is a heavenly experience. The Stadium looked majestic. In the evening from Eden Gardens he took her to Howrah Bridge. They walked on the Bridge and went and stood at the middle section. So many people were crossing the Bridge on foot. Paula looked below at the flowing river. It was windy. The river looked magnificent. From Howrah Bridge they again came to Park Street. Rahul loves Park Street very much. This time they entered Olypub. They had beef steaks and beer. The place was choc a bloc full. Among all the Bars in Calcutta, Rahul has a soft and special corner for Olypub in his heart.

On 31st December afternoon, Rahul took Paula to the Zoo. It was damn crowded. From there they went for a walk inside National Library. Then they went to have coffee at New Alipore CCD. Then they went back home. They again met after two hours and he took her to Swabhumi for the New Year Bash. There were Egyptian belly-dancers dancing crazily and DJs from Mumbai were performing. At the stroke of midnight, Rahul and Paula hugged each other and lip-kissed. It was a nice way to usher in the New Year...


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Tujh Se Milkey Hoon Main Khoya Teri Nighaon Mein...

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This is an imaginary story about a man who falls in love with a woman. Any resemblance to any person living or dead is purely coincidental. 



It was the month of November. Rahul went to Kabir Suman's concert at Kala Mandir. The great singer was singing brilliantly. The first half of the concert was simply amazing. During interval Rahul went to Kala Mandir's balcony to have some coffee. There he saw a woman in a blue saree and immediately fell truly, madly, deeply, savagely, helplessly and hopelessly in love with her. There was an angelic radiance in her face and her beauty was simply divine. The first time he saw her, he just could not take his eyes off her beautiful face. And when she smiled, she looked ravishing. He just fell in love with her mesmerizing smile. She looked older than him but that did not stop him from falling in love with her. 

The entire balcony was very crowded. Rahul's friends came over to him and started talking to him. He could not avoid them. He had to talk to them. But even while talking to them, his eyes were actually searching for that woman in blue saree. She would suddenly magically appear and then disappear again in the crowd. The third bell rang. Everybody went back to their seats. Rahul also did so. Throughout the second half of the concert, that woman's face kept on flashing in front of his eyes. He wanted to concentrate on Kabir Suman's songs but his heart was hell bent on concentrating on that woman in blue saree. 

The concert ended. Rahul came downstairs. He saw that woman in the blue saree standing there and talking to Piyali, whom he also knew. Rahul thanked his lucky stars and immediately walked towards them. Piyali acknowledged Rahul's presence and introduced the woman in blue saree to him. Her name was Bishakha. Rahul asked her whether she was there in Facebook. She replied affirmatively. Rahul knew that he would surely find her in Piyali's friend list. 

That very night he searched for Bishakha in Piyali's friend list, found her and immediately sent her a friend request on Facebook. He also made her picture as his laptop wallpaper. She accepted it after a week. She was twelve years older than him, but it seemed to him that he has known her since their last twelve lifetimes. They started talking about Kabir Suman's concert. And about other things too. A few days later they exchanged their phone numbers. Then they started chatting on Whatsapp too. She told Rahul that she was a divorcee. Her ex-husband has married again. She has not. She was teaching in a school. And she stayed with her mother near Park Street. 

It was Christmas eve at Park Street. It was a Wednesday. Rahul was sitting alone at Au Bon Pain in the evening. Suddenly Bishakha messaged him at Whatsapp. She was there surfing through books at Oxford. She was alone too. Rahul immediately went to Oxford. From there they decided to walk together throughout the entire length and breadth of Park Street. It was very crowded. They had a wonderful conversation. She was really well-read and intelligent. Simply with the spark in her eyes, she captured his imagination. Rahul wanted to hold her hand while walking but she did not let him.  

All the restaurants were jam packed. There were serpentine queues in front of all the restaurants in Park Street. Rahul took her to Dreamland Restaurant for dinner. They luckily got an empty table there. This was Rahul's favourite restaurant. All the waiters knew him there because he has been coming to this restaurant for the last fifteen years. Rahul ordered chinese food. Bishakha loved chinese food very much. They spent an hour there chatting while eating. Her mother called her on her mobile. After the meal when the bill arrived, Bishakha insisted on paying it. Rahul wanted to pay it but Bishakha did not let him. After dinner Rahul walked with her towards her home. 

After dropping her home, Rahul came inside St. Xavier's Chapel to attend the Christmas Mass. It began around 11:30 p.m. and it ended around 2 a.m. From St. Xavier's, he went again to Au Bon Pain. It was open till 4 a.m. that night. Inside the chapel, Rahul had put his phone in silent mode. But inside Au Bon Pain, Rahul now messaged Bishakha. She replied. She was still awake. They messaged each other till 4 a.m. Then she went to sleep. Rahul came out of Au Bon Pain around 4 a.m. and hailed a cab from in front of Park Hotel and went to his home. It was very cold. He had to pay an extra hundred rupees to the cab-wallah.  

On the following Sunday, Rahul and Bishakha met at Park Street Cemetery. They went inside and stayed there for an hour and half. From there they went to have lunch at Dreamland Restaurant. From there they went to Oxford Bookstore. After surfing through some books they went upstairs to the Cha Bar and ordered tea. It was quite evident in his eyes that he liked her. She also liked him, but only as a friend, nothing more than that. He told her that he liked her not physically or sexually but intellectually. He liked the fact that she has read so many books and knew so much about literature. There was so much to learn from her. 

After tea, they again decided to walk together throughout the entire length and breadth of Park Street. Rahul again tried to hold her hand but she did not let him again. Park Street was less crowded than Christmas Eve. Rahul told her how much he loved Park Street. While walking he felt like giving her a sudden kiss on her lips in front of everybody, but then controlled himself and realized that this city was still Calcutta, not yet London. Here you can urinate in public, but not kiss. Anyways Rahul wanted to smoke a cigarette, but she did not let him do that either. After walking for an hour or so, she went back to her home. Rahul came back to his house via metro. He lied down on his bed and switched on the TV. He started surfing through the channels and finally stopped at this song :


Khud Se Anjaan Hoon Main
Khud Se Begana
Kya Dekhti Hai Tumhari Nazar 
Mujhko Batana
Do Aankhe Hai
Aankhon Mein Kya Hai
Hmmm Ek Chehra Hai
Kiska Chehra Hai
Pucho Apne Dil Se Pucho
Pucho Hawaon Se

Khoya Khoya Tha 
Duniya Ki Raho Mein
Tujh Se Milkey Hoon Main Khoya
Teri Nighaon Mein
Khoya Khoya Sa...

Kya Hua
Hua Kya Aise 
Kaisi Yeh Hulchul Hai
Badla Hua Hai
Tere Aane Se Jahaan
Kuch Na Kaho Tum
Kyun Na Kahoon Main
Kho Na Jaoon Teri Baato Ki Bahoon Mein

Khoya Khoya Tha 
Duniya Ki Raho Mein
Tujh Se Milkey Hoon Main Khoya
Teri Nighaon Mein
Khoya Khoya Sa...

Kya Ho Tum
Yeh Tum Batao Tum Ne Kya Jana Hai
Jana Ke Tum Ho
Chalo Jana Toh Sahi
Ab Toh Batao
Hmmm Yun Na Satao
Ho Na Jaye Joh Na Socha Khayalo Mein

Khoya Khoya Tha 
Duniya Ki Raho Mein
Tujh Se Milkey Hoon Main Khoya
Teri Nighaon Mein
Khoya Khoya Sa...

Rahul immediately changed his Whatsapp Status to :


Khoya Khoya Tha 
Duniya Ki Raho Mein
Tujh Se Milkey Hoon Main Khoya
Teri Nighaon Mein...


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Iss Jahaan Ki Nahin Hain Tumhari Aankhein

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This is an imaginary story about a man who meets a girl on Facebook and falls for her. Any resemblance to any person living or dead is purely coincidental. 


Rahul first saw Aankhi on Facebook and immediately fell for her eyes. He has never seen such beautiful eyes in any woman. Rahul just kept on looking at her eyes. He saved all her pics in a folder on his laptop and cropped them in such a way that only the eyes remained visible. Her eyes simply mesmerized him. He stared at her eyes for hours. He liked all her pics on Facebook and commented on them. She really had magnificent eyes. He also made her best picture as his laptop wallpaper and also his phone wallpaper.

He immediately sent her a friend request. But she didn't accept it. She kept it pending. Every day Rahul would check whether she had accepted it or not. Every day he would be disappointed. Then one day, after almost a month, she suddenly accepted his friend request. He became the happiest man in this world instantly. He immediately messaged her and thanked her for accepting his friend request. Here's how their messages went back and forth:


Hi, thanks for accepting my friend request.

Welcome.

I must tell you one thing. You really have very beautiful eyes.

Ha Ha Ha. I know that. Every boy keeps telling me this.

Hmmmmm... I can understand... You must have a lot of admirers?

Yeah... I do...

Do you have any secret admirer?

Well... No, I guess... They are all pretty straightforward. 

Well, I must tell you one more thing. The first time I saw your eyes, I immediately remembered the song - Iss Jahaan Ki Nahin Hain Tumhari Aankhein, from the film King Uncle. I went to Youtube and kept on watching that song. 

Ha Ha Ha. I loved that song when I was a child. Used to watch it in Chitrahaars. And I am a huge fan of Shah Rukh Khan. 

Ok... Have you seen 'Fan'?

Yeah... Ofcourse... I saw it on the first day itself... Have you seen it?

No, I haven't... I am not a SRK-ian. I am a Hrithik Roshan-ian... 

Ha Ha Ha... Nice one...

Do you have any Darr-type psycho secret admirer?

I hope not... Don't want one...

May be I am your psycho secret admirer...

Ha Ha Ha...


Like this, Rahul and Aankhi started chatting almost daily. She felt day by day that he was falling in love with her. They exchanged their phone numbers. Rahul would always start his day by messaging her Good Morning and end his day by messaging her Good Night. They became the best of friends. They shared almost all their secrets. Rahul told her about all his ex-girlfriends and heart-breaks and heart-aches. She told him that she never had a boyfriend though a lot of boys had proposed to her. She told him that almost every week a new boy proposes to her over Facebook or in person. 

Now Rahul wanted to meet her. He told her that he wanted to tell her something very important. She agreed. Usually Rahul meets girls at Au Bon Pain at Park Street but since Aankhi stayed near Lake Road therefore they decided to meet at Lake Road CCD. Rahul has many fond memories at this CCD. This place had opened up almost a decade back. In those days one could enjoy a hookah sitting outside. However later the hookah was banned there. Rahul has spent many lazy Saturday and Sunday afternoons and evenings there. There was a time when he knew each and every waiter there by name. In those days there also used to be a Jukebox inside. One had to buy five rupee coupons to play songs in that Jukebox. Recently the place also had a makeover. Rahul didn't like the new set-up. He preferred the old look. 

Anyways one saturday evening Rahul and Aankhi met at Lake Road CCD. On Saturdays he has an half day in Office. So from Office he came back home, took a shower again, trimmed his nose hair, put on his Old Spice scent and went to Lake Road CCD. Aankhi was already waiting for him. They ordered cappuccinos with chicken sandwiches. He showed her his phone wallpaper and she sweetly smiled at him. Rahul spoke first. Here's how their conversation went:


First of all, let me apologize for being late.

Arrey Baba, its Ok... You are only late by ten minutes. I can understand. You needed time to deck up to impress me.

Ha Ha Ha... You can read my mind...

I love your cologne. Isn't it Old Spice?

Yup...

So what is that important thing which you wanted to tell me?

Well... Ummmmmm...

Well, before you say anything, I need to tell you something. You need to know this. I am a lesbian.

What?

You heard it right... I am a confirmed lesbian...

Ahem... Are you sure?

Hundred percent... Therefore there is absolutely no chance of anything romantic blossoming between us.

Okay...

We can only remain as friends. 

Sure. But are you exclusively a lesbian or are you also bi-sexual?

No. No bisexuality for me. I hate men.

What? Really?

Well, I don't hate men that way. Its just that I don't want to get into any sexual relationships with men. 

Well we can have a platonic relationship...

I hate the word platonic. Nothing is platonic. Its all physical and sexual.

Hmmmm... Okay...

Anyways lets talk about other things...

Well, I'll be honest. I really wanted to propose to you today evening. But now I guess...

Come on Yaar... Lets just be good friends... Don't worry. I will look for a good and sweet girl for you.

Well... Thanks...

My pleasure Dear...

Hey, there is this new rooftop lounge called Whats-Up which has opened up recently at Southern Avenue. We should go there some day and hang out. And they have hookah there. I love hookah...

Sure... Sounds interesting...

I went there last week with a friend of mine. She just loved that place. Its damn cool and its really awesome... You are gonna love that joint...

Sure... Really sounds interesting...


Rahul and Aankhi continued chatting about various topics under the sun. But Rahul had already lost interest in these conversations. His eyes wandered off towards other good looking girls inside CCD. Aankhi noticed it and winked at him. She was indeed a very sweet and friendly girl. And Rahul was damn lucky to have a good friend like her. After an hour or so, they both left Lake Road CCD and they walked together towards Aankhi's house. Once she entered her house, Rahul again came back to the CCD. He sat there alone and had another cup of coffee. He put on his ear-phones and listened to the song Iss Jahaan Ki Nahin Hain Tumhari Aankhein on his mobile...

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A Chance Meeting

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This is an imaginary story about a man and his chance meeting with a woman. Any resemblance to any person living or dead is purely coincidental. 


Rahul first saw Sujata on Facebook. He liked her pics. Some of her pics were really beautiful. He made her most beautiful picture as his laptop wallpaper. He liked her posts too. She seemed very intelligent and well-read. She had a huge knowledge about the history of English Literature. Rahul always likes knowledgeable girls. He hates dumb beauties. Anyways, he sent her a friend request. She took exactly a month to accept it. Once she accepted it, Rahul and Sujata started chatting on and off. Their chats would center around the world of books mostly. 

One day Rahul asked for her phone number. She immediately gave it to him. From that day they also started chatting on Whatsapp too. He never called her, neither did she. He liked her Whatsapp Status Messages. They were really meaningful and profound. She changed her Whatsapp Statuses almost every week and Rahul liked all of them. His Whatsapp Statuses were not that meaningful and/or profound. So to compete with her, he also started updating wise and timeless quotes. He liked it when Sujata commented on his Statuses.    

Rahul wanted to meet her. But she always said no. He started asking her out for coffee at Park Street's Au Bon Pain. She always refused. Sometimes Rahul used to get offended, but he always controlled his temper because he desperately wanted to meet this well-read girl very much. She was so different from the other girls. Rahul told her that if they were destined to meet then they would certainly meet accidentally someday somewhere for sure. 

Months passed like this. Still she did not meet him. Then the miracle happened. It was a Wednesday. After Office, Rahul was going to Au Bon Pain at Park Street. As he was crossing Flurys, he suddenly saw Sujata sitting inside near the glass windows and chatting with a female friend. He immediately went inside Flurys. Sujata instantly recognized him and was pleasantly surprised. Rahul spoke first. Here's how their conversation went:


Hi, recognize me?

Yeah. Rahul.

How are you?

I am fine.

See, I had told you that if were destined to meet then we would certainly meet someday somewhere for sure.  

Yeah. Your prediction came true. By the way, this is my friend Reema. 

Hi Reema.


Reema smiled and said, "Hi". Rahul again spoke to Sujata. 


Its so nice to finally meet you in person. We have been chatting for almost six months now. I guess, today was reserved by destiny for our chance meeting.

Yeah. Would you like to join us?

No. Thanks. Flurys is not my cup of tea. I prefer Au Bon Pain. Anyways nice meeting you. Bye. Take care.

Bye...


Rahul smiled sweetly at Sujata and left Flurys and entered Au Bon Pain. Sujata was fatter in person. And a bit ugly too. She seemed prettier and slim in her Facebook pics. After seeing her, Rahul did not like her that much. Well, what can I say? Rahul is shallow. He judges people on their outer appearances and not on their inner beauties. He sat alone on the window side of Au Bon Pain and drank his mango lassi. He took out his smart-phone and started checking out his Facebook notifications. And started waiting for the next Sujata to come into his life, hopefully this time a slim and pretty one...

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Supernatural

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After death, the Soul stays back in this World for a few seconds to maybe a few centuries. No one knows for sure when a Soul will find salvation and/or rebirth. Many factors come into play here. After death the Soul can no longer interact physically with this materialistic World. It can only observe whatever is going on all around. It can travel great distances in almost no time at all. Even the Soul itself does not know how it does it. The Soul can rise to higher planes. But each Soul has its own limitations regarding these higher planes. One Soul can reach a higher plane than another Soul and no matter how hard it tries, the second Soul cannot reach the plane of that first Soul. Souls can also sometimes interact with each others. 

Only in the rarest of the rare cases, a Soul can physically interact with human beings and/or materialistic objects. Suppose Person A kills Person B. Then after death, Person B's Soul would immediately kill Person A out of revenge. And then there would be no need for the criminal justice system. Most criminal lawyers would be out of work! But this is not possible. Only in the rarest of the rare cases, Person B's Soul would be able to bring an end to Person A's life.

A Soul can interact with a living person in his/her dreams. Human beings' dreams have certain stages like the alpha and beta stages. Scientists still do not know about these various stages in a human being's dream. Till now they are only scratching the surfaces. There are even sub-stages between the main stages inside a dream. In a dream, it is possible for a living person to interact successfully with a dead person's Soul. It is also possible to even see future events. Events in the future already exist on an etheric platform. Just as the Past can influence our Present, the Future can also do the same. A person can suffer in the Present for some wrongdoing in his/her Past. Similarly a person can also suffer in the Present for some wrongdoing which he/she is going to commit in the Future. In a dream, a person can also see events from his/her past life and also the events of his/her future lives. Dreams are really very powerful. 

Here I am going to narrate a true supernatural incident which happened to me a few years back. I have had many supernatural events in my life so far, about which I am going to write in future blog posts. One afternoon I was sleeping and dreaming. In my dream I was there at the first floor of our house. From the window I saw a man was hanging in mid air and looking at our neighbour's house. He was wearing a half sleeved shirt and trousers. His age seemed like late fifties. He saw me on my window and immediately smiled at me and came inside my room. 

He sat on my bed. I went and sat in front of him in my dream. He told me that he had died that very morning in a hospital. And he told me that he was very hungry. He was speaking in a very low tone. I could feel that he was weak and tired. He told me that if I could arrange some food for him then he would not be able to eat that food physically but the fact that I had arranged that food exclusively for him would make his hunger go away. Plus he would also be able to absorb some of the energy from that food. Since he had died very recently therefore he still thought that physical food would kill his hunger. Only after some time, say a few days or months, he would realize that he no longer needed physical food, and his Soul would do just fine without it. 

Then I woke up. I was sweating all over my body. My eyes were wide open for atleast five minutes after waking up. I could not close my eyes. The dream was so real. It was dusk by then. I was damn thirsty. I got up from my bed and drank almost one litre of water. I went and told my mother about this dream. She told me that our neighbour's father had died in the morning in a hospital. I had absolutely no idea about this. I arranged for some food and went to our roof and left it there. I folded my hands and asked that Soul to eat this food. Then I came downstairs. I never told my neighbour about this. 

This was the only time when that person's Soul came in my dream. After this event, for several nights before going to sleep I thought about this Soul and wanted him to come again in my dream. But he never did. I had also prepared several questions in my head which I wanted to ask him. But unfortunately he never came again. 

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The Other Way Round

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This is an imaginary story about a girl who was in love with a man. Any resemblance to any person living or dead is purely coincidental. 

Rupsa first saw Rahul on Facebook. While surfing randomly he came across his Profile. It was love at first sight for her. She liked all his pics and loved the way Rahul had posed in those photos. She found him to be very handsome. She just fell for the look in his eyes. There was a sort of princely arrogance in his pics and she got attracted to him. She went through each and every album in Rahul's Facebook profile. She also saved most of his pics in a folder in her laptop. She made his profile picture as her laptop wallpaper. She liked most of his pics, but also checked who else was liking his pics and commenting on them. The other women who also had liked his pics, she thought of them as competitors. She immediately started hating those women very much. She just fell truly, madly, deeply, hopelessly and helplessly in love with him. 

There was an age difference of fifteen years between them. But love knows no rhyme or reason. It just blossoms unknowingly. For a few days and nights Rupsa was a regular visitor at Rahul's Facebook page. She loved all his posts. Then one day she sent Rahul a friend request. He accepted it immediately. He was happy to receive a friend request from such a pretty young girl. He went through her pics and read her details. He messaged her and she replied. Here's how their conversation went :

Hi, thanks for sending me a friend request.

Hmmmm... You are welcome. 

So you are in St. Xavier's?

Yaa...

Thats my old College. I still miss it a lot. What are you studying there?

First year, English honours.

Wow, thats great. Is Professor Mukherjee still teaching there?

Yes.

He was my favourite English Professor. 

Yaa... He is very good.

Did you go to Xavotsav this year?

Yaa... I went. Were you there?

Yes. I was. I also went to Beyond Barriers. Loved Asha Bhosle's performance. 

Yes. She is really good. Do you still go to Xavotsav every year?

Yes.

Okay...

Anyways if you are using Whatsapp then please ping me at 98XXX-XXX68.

Sure. Wait. 

Rupsa immediately pinged Rahul on Whatsapp. From that day they started chatting daily on Whatsapp. Almost every morning Rupsa started sending him Good Morning messages. His days would end with Good Night messages from her. Rupsa would always initiate the chats. Rahul realized that she liked him very much. He has wooed so many girls in his life time and now for a change it was nice that a girl was finally trying to woo him. It was a boost to his self esteem.

Rupsa was very friendly and always had a positive approach to everything. She was always full of life. She was always full of energy. And she was always in a happy mood. There was never a dull moment in her life. Falling in love with Rahul made her even happier. Love is like a cocaine. Once you taste it, you are simply hooked onto it. No one knows for sure when and where a person will fall in love. It happens when you least expect it.  

Rahul and Rupsa started chatting on various subjects under the sun. Starting from Bengal elections to Navjot Singh Siddhu's commentary at the ongoing IPL, from Game of Thrones Season Six to Shah Rukh Khan's FAN, from the missing Kalboishakhis to Vivekananda Park's fuchkas, they chatted on all topics. Rupsa would always initiate the chats and ping him first. From day one Rahul realized that she was very much into him, therefore he never pinged her first, because he knew that she would do it. He knew that he has the upper-hand in this friendship. In any relationship, the one who cares the less, pulls all the strings. 

Rupsa was a huge fan of SRK. She was also a huge fan of the bangla band Fossils. And her most favourite TV series was How I Met Your Mother. Her most favourite character was Robin Scherbatsky. She wanted to be like her. Infact Rupsa wanted to be a news presenter after graduation. She just loved Robin. After college she would hang around with her friends at the Canteen and also at the Green Benches. She showed Rahul's pics to her friends. They all liked him. She was just too much in love with him. It could also be that she was in love with the idea of falling in love. Since childhood, movies have conditioned our brains into thinking that if you are not in love then your life is worthless. 

Rupsa was already thinking about a future with Rahul. She wanted to marry him after graduation and be the mother of his children. She wanted to grow old with him. She wanted to work after marriage. She knew that Rahul would let him work after their marriage. Whenever she thought about Rahul, she involuntarily smiled. She felt nice thinking about Rahul. His thoughts gave her a good feeling. Every night she used to write her diary. All the things that she wanted to tell Rahul during the day, but couldn't for various reasons, she used to write them down in her diary. She hoped that one day after her marriage with Rahul, she would read her diary to him. No one in the world has the right to read her diary, except Rahul. 

A few boys in Rupsa's class, plus some other boys from other departments developed soft corners for her in their hearts. But she treated them as brothers, which obviously gave them a lot of pain and agony. This pain and agony also turned some of the boys into budding poets. Rupsa also wrote a few poems about her love for Rahul. She loved writing poetry. But she never was confident enough to read her poems to Rahul. She doubted that he might not like them. She told Rahul the names of all the boys who had soft corners in their hearts for her. Rahul was not even bothered. The fact that Rahul was not even bothered about her admirers made her a bit angry. She wanted Rahul to be possessive about her. She wanted him to love her back passionately.   

Rahul loved pulling Rupsa's legs. In between their chats he would suddenly start talking about other girls and then Rupsa would take some extra time to reply back. He used to speak about his women colleagues in his office. It was evident that Rupsa didn't like talking about other girls. Rahul also felt a hint of jealousy in her replies. It amused him very much. It gave him a certain kick. She was obviously possessive about him. She didn't want to share him with any one else in this world.    

Anyways, after a few weeks of chatting on Facebook and Whatsapp, they finally decided to meet. They met one Saturday evening around 5 p.m. at Au Bon Pain at Park Street. This was Rahul's favourite hangout spot. Meeting at that place was Rahul's idea. She came wearing a tight top, tight jeans, her bag dangling from her shoulder and her hair hanging loose. She wore pink lip-stick and had kajal in her eyes. She was also wearing her big glasses. Rahul asked her to remove her glasses because he told her that her eyes were very beautiful and he wanted to stare directly into them. Rupsa blushed. She immediately removed her glasses. Rahul bought cold coffee for her, mango lassi for himself, chicken croissants, chocolate muffins and Nachos chips. They had a lovely adda. Rahul liked her a lot. But she was a bit childish and immature also. She was giggling at Rahul's silly jokes and was paying extra attention to whatever he was saying. It was quite evident in her eyes that she was savagely in love with him. Rahul enjoyed all the attention that she was giving him. 

Rupsa liked Rahul's vast knowledge on films, theatre, music, politics, poetry and literature. There was so much to learn from him. While talking with him, she felt that she knew too little about various things. She wanted to read all the books that Rahul had read, wanted to hear all the songs that he had heard, wanted to watch all the movies that he had seen over the years. Rahul had a great collection of foreign films at his house. He also had a huge collection of books, especially poetry books. He promised Rupsa that he would allow her to borrow his books and dvds. 

Rahul realized that she was too young for him. Plus she was very childish and immature too. If he had wanted then he could have easily taken advantage of her. Maybe ten years back he would have taken advantage of a similar situation. But nowadays he was too wise and mature for all these temporary hanky-pankies. Moreover he didn't want to break the sweet girl's heart. Rahul realized that she was indeed a good hearted girl and he didn't want to just play with her love. 

He initially thought that it would be fun to lie to her and tell her that he was actually gay. But then decided against that idea because he thought it would be too hollywood-filmy. Rahul also realized that it was not actually love. Rupsa was just infatuated with him. She was just having a massive crush on him. Thats it. Over time this too shall pass. She will be over it one day. Rahul decided to distance himself from her slowly. He didn't want to play with her heart and her feelings. He told her directly that he only liked her as a friend and anything else blossoming between them was not possible. She immediately told him that she also liked him only as a friend and had no romantic expectations from this friendship, but deep down in her heart she was hurt badly. Rahul could feel her pain in her eyes. They left Au Bon Pain around 7 p.m. and Rahul hailed a cab and went to drop her home. They continued with their adda inside the cab also. Rahul dropped her home and took the same cab and went to his house. 

That night there was no Good Night message from her...

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