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My Dear Blog,
Today I woke up around noon. I actually woke up around 8 a.m. but then again went back to sleep. Did not feel like leaving my comfortable bed. I just love my bed to the power of infinity. And my bed is the only thing in this Universe which also loves me back to the power of infinity!
Throughout the day I just binge-watched The Big Bang Theory on Zee Cafe. I just love this show. I just love all the characters in this sitcom. Sheldon Cooper is my most favourite character. Without him this show is nothing. Leonard Hofstadter is your average American guy. Howard Wolowitz is your stereotypical Jew. Raj Koothrappali is your typical shy Indian "virgin". Penny used to be damn sexy and smoking hot in the initial seasons but nowadays I don't find her attractive anymore. I find Bernadette Rostenkowski to be really irritating and I really hate her nagging voice. I really like Amy Farrah Fowler. I really feel sorry for Stuart David Bloom. I like the character of Arthur Jeffries a.k.a. Professor Proton whenever he appears on the show. Priya Koothrappali is also kinda cute and sexy in her own way. Leslie Winkle is also kinda cute in her own way. Emily Sweeney is okay. Barry Kripke is funny. Beverly Hofstadter is really cold in her nature and I don't like that kind of mothers. Lucy is also kinda cute and I like her very much. I also feel sorry for her because she gets those anxiety attacks. Mary Cooper is likeable. Mrs. Wolowitz is special in her own way and makes her presence felt by her absence on the screen!
Today in the evening I was supposed to meet someone at Lake Road CCD but I just felt too lazy to leave my loving bed and therefore cancelled our date. I was actually too depressed from yesterday's events at RCTC. Did not feel like doing anything. Had an early dinner and went to sleep...
Good Night,
With Love, Kisses, Moonbeams and Rainbows,
Raj Gaurav Debnath
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My Dear Blog,
Today morning I did not go to Office and instead went to RCTC. The Calcutta Races started from 1 p.m. and the Mumbai Races started from 4:40 p.m. I had a lovely day at RCTC.
Paratroopers of the Akash-Ganga Sky-Diving Team of the Indian Air Force displayed their skills in between the Indian Air Force Cup (3rd Race) and the Eastern Air Command Cup (4th Race). After all the bravehearts had descended on the ground safely, I went and met them all and chatted with them. Also clicked some pics with them too. It was so nice to talk to our bravehearts. A big Salute to the Armed Forces of India. Jai Hind! Bharat Maata Ki Jai! Vande Mataram!
Today in the Calcutta Races, I narrowly missed the fourteen thousand and twenty-five thousand Tanalas by just one leg. In the Mumbai Races I narrowly missed the fifty-three thousand Tanala again by just one leg. Really felt very sad and depressed after that. Also was very angry with my bad luck. Felt like thrashing right, left and centre whoever came in front of me at that moment.
Today throughout the day I ate a chicken roll, fish fingers, chicken kebabs and drank a can of chilled beer and also unlimited cups of cold coffee. I won some minor payments in the range of three-four thousands, but I was not happy with those.
The Mumbai Races ended around 8 p.m. I really love night Races. A cool breeze was flowing around late evening. The illuminated Victoria Memorial looked majestic on the Calcutta skyline. The upcoming multi-storey "The 42" also looked good. It also looked like a giant space Dildo! Anyways I came back home around 9 p.m., had my dinner, uploaded today's pics on Facebook and straightaway went to sleep...
Good Night,
With Love, Kisses, Moonbeams and Rainbows,
Raj Gaurav Debnath
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My Dear Blog,
Today morning I woke up and started watching Rangoli on Doordarshan in half-sleepy eyes. Loved watching the song "Yeh Zindagi Usiki Hai" from the 1953 film Anarkali. Loved these lines:
Dhadak Raha Hai Dil Toh Kya
Yeh Dil Ke Dhadkanein Naa Geen
Phir Kahaan Yeh Fursaatein
Phir Kahaan Yeh Raat Deen...
After Rangoli, I started watching the India-Bangladesh Test Match. It is such a strange thing that only this year Bangladesh was allowed to come to India to play a Test Match after acquiring Test status way back in the year 2000. They took seventeen years to cross the border and come here to play a Test. This is simply ridiculous. Strange are the ways of ICC and BCCI! First of all, when Bangladesh was given the Test status, the whole thing was shrouded in controversy and mystery. Whether they truly deserved it or not at that time is still questionable even to this day. Anyways, once you are generous enough to give Test status to a nation, then ICC must help that nation by making it play more Test matches against stronger teams, not keeping in mind the economic viability and sell-ability of those matches. But I guess, BCCI, under the previous management, was only interested in money and not about the overall development and globalisation of Cricket.
I got really angry at Virat Kohli because he did not impose the follow-on. There is an unique kind of heavenly pleasure in enforcing the follow-on. There is an unique kind of heavenly pleasure in giving an innings-defeat to your opponent. Really felt sad because Virat Kohli did not have the balls to impose the follow-on against a weak team like Bangladesh, that too on his own country.
Anyways, around 3 p.m. I went to Jadavpur 8B to meet the one and only Moushumi Bhowmik. I bought her latest album "Songs From 26H" from her. She has just released this album only yesterday after a gap of almost fifteen years. And she was also kind enough to give me her autograph. Came back home around 4 p.m.
Yesterday I did not know about this Album launch. Only came to know about it today morning. If I had known about it yesterday then I would have certainly gone to Jadavpur University to attend the launch. Really felt angry and depressed over my bad luck. So much bullshit comes up daily on my FB feed and this important piece of information somehow did not show up there. I really cursed my luck very badly. I met Moushumi Bhowmik at this year's Baul Fakir Utsav and there she told me that she would soon launch her latest Album after fifteen years. I was really looking forward to the launch. But I guess, attending the launch-event was not there in my destiny!
From 4:30 p.m. I started watching the football derby between Mohun Bagan and East Bengal. The match ended in a dull goalless draw. I was really disappointed by this result. I really wanted Mohun Bagan to win today. But, I guess, sometimes in life, no matter how badly you want to win, you just simply have to settle for a draw!
Anyways, after the match I went to meet a friend at our Lake Gardens CCD. Had a lovely adda with her. Came back home, had my dinner, switched off my mobile phone, logged off from Facebook and started listening to Moushumi di's album on a continuous loop. The songs are really unique in their own way. The lyrics are heart-touching. The music is hauntingly beautiful. I am truly, madly, deeply, hopelessly and helplessly in love with her golden voice. I love most of her songs. Only a few days back I was listening to her song "Ekhon Kichui Ojaana Nei" from her album "Amar Kichu Kotha Chhilo". Loved the lines:
Aamra Ekhon Jeney Gechhi
Kotha Bolaar Dhoron-Dhaaron
Kon Gachhey Kon Shaar Lagaabo
Kon Foshol Ta Tolaa Baaron...
In her latest album, I really love the songs "Tori Jonnyo", "Pakhir Danay Urey" and "Majhi". In the song "Majhi", I really love the lines:
Maya Chhara Aar Toh Kichui Nai
Bhasa Doba Sob Ekakar
Bandha Porey Jai...
Profound Lines! I have made these lines my Whatsapp Status Message. This song is prefaced with an old folk song credited to Idong Shah of Sylhet. The Oud played by Satyaki Banerjee is simply mesmerizing. In the song "Tori Jonnyo", I really love these lines:
Tokei Dichhi Jolchhopchhop Bheja Juto
School-ey Naa Jabar Amar Purono Sei Chhuto
Amar Golpo-boiyer Molat-Pata Khuley
Tori Jonnyo Shobdo-Gondho Rakhi Tuley...
In the song "Pakhir Danay Urey", I really love these lines:
Tomar Konthhey Baajey
Aamar Bisaadsur
Kakey Feley Eshey Aami
Jabo Bolo Koto Dur...
The first Track of this Album is "Jibon Jokhon Shukaye Jai" written by Rabindranath Tagore and the seventh Track is "Probhatey Jarey" written by Atulprasad Sen. This Track holds clips from a listener's recording made by Abhijit Das on his mobile phone of a broadcast on All India Radio, Guwahati on 24th February 2016. It has a clip of the late Bela Choudhury of Shillong singing a tarana in Raag Bageshri. This was a replay of an old AIR recording, the date of which is unknown. I got this information from the accompanying booklet which comes with the Album.
I however did not like the inclusion of the above two Tracks in the Album. Instead of these two songs, I would have personally preferred two of her own original compositions in this Album. Anyways, I kept on listening to this Album on a continuous loop till around 2 a.m. and then I went to sleep...
Good Night,
With Love, Kisses, Moonbeams and Rainbows,
Raj Gaurav Debnath
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My Dear Blog,
Happy Promise Day. I still have tremendous faith in Pinky Promises. Whoever has entered into Pinky Promises with me, I would kindly request You not to break those Promises.
Yesterday was Happy Teddy Day. Here is a slice of my Whatsapp conversations with a friend of mine:
7th February 2017
Me : Happy Rose Day...
She : I don't want a Soft Copy... I want a Hard Copy...
9th February 2017
Me : Happy Chocolate Day...
She : I don't want a Soft Copy... I want a Hard Copy...
10th February 2017
Me : Happy Teddy Day...
She : I don't want a Soft Copy... I want a Hard Copy...
Me : On 13th February when I am going to wish you "Happy Kiss Day" in the morning, then will you again give me the same answer?
She : Awwwwwwwwwww... Muuuuuaaaaahhhhh...
Today morning I did not go to Office. I went to Royal Calcutta Turf Club around 11 a.m. Today there were ten races and the main attraction was the Queen Elizabeth Cup.
I had a lovely day at the races. Though today I lost a lot of money but still it was fun betting against the odds. Won a big amount on the sixth race but then again lost that money in subsequent races.
Met a very beautiful Irish girl at one of the betting counters on the ground floor. She was wearing a lovely dress and also had a lovely hat on her head. She was really very beautiful. I instantly showed off my knowledge about James Joyce and also about the pubs of Dublin. She was really impressed by my knowledge about Dublin.
Came back home around 7 p.m. A friend came over to my place to have dinner with me. Had a lovely quarrel with her regarding tomorrow's football derby. She is a hardcore East Bengal supporter whereas I am a hardcore Mohun Bagan supporter. While having dinner we watched the derby-addas on various bengali news channels. If we lose tomorrow's derby then I am surely going to block her on Whatsapp for atleast the next seven days...
Good Night,
With Love, Kisses, Moonbeams and Rainbows,
Raj Gaurav Debnath
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My Dear Blog,
Today morning I woke up late. Missed watching Rangoli on Doordarshan. Took a shower, had my lunch and then around 1 p.m. I went to the Book Fair. Spent the entire day at Milan Mela Prangan. Today was the last day of the Book Fair. I was a bit sad and it felt like Doshomi on Durga Puja!
Met up with many friends. Had a great day at the Book Fair. Visited many book stalls. Went to the Amar Chitra Katha stall. They were selling the entire collection of Amar Chitra Katha comics for around rupees thirteen thousand only, after discount. They were also accepting card. I was not carrying so much money but I had my SBI Debit Card with me. In my heart I really wanted to buy it. Since childhood I always wanted to possess the entire collection of Amar Chitra Katha. But my head forcibly told my stupid heart that it would not be a wise decision to spend so much money on comics!
In the evening I again had an awesome adda at the Little Magazine Pavilion with my friends. One friend came with his new wife. Another friend came with his second wife. Another friend came with her second husband. Another friend came with her live-in partner. Another friend in our group was standing there on the verge of divorce! This year I really want to get married. Hopefully I will visit next year's Book Fair with my wife!
Just beside Dey's book stall, I saw the great bengali writer Mani Shankar Mukherjee sitting there in the open air and signing his books for his fans. I went up to him and told my friend to click my picture with him. Just then I saw a Facebook friend of mine for the first time in the real world. She instantly smiled at me and I also involuntarily smiled back. She was there with her group of friends and I was there with my group. Though we did not talk to each other but our smiles meant a lot to each other.
Around late evening I met my good old friend Durga Shankar Roy. Durga da is a lovely human being. He is also an amazing poet. I really love his poems. I respect him a lot because he is not a sell-out and has not scratched anyone's balls to get ahead in life. Every year on the last day of the Book Fair, he comes wearing a brand new white panjabi. He carries sketch pens with him. He makes his friends write some lines on his white panjabi and sign their names. The lines could be anything from political comments to poetry lines. He has been doing this for almost the last ten years. This year I again wrote on his panjabi. I wrote the following four lines from my own poem:
Aaj Raatey Ki Tumi Tomar Swamir Songi?
Nogno Bichhanay Ki Tumi Lojjaboti Lota?
Jehaad Dakchhey Shorir Je Amar Jongi;
Tobu Chokh Bujey Ki Bhabchho Aamari Kotha?
At exactly 9 p.m. the famous gong reverberated nine times throughout the Book Fair ground. Everybody present inside the Milan Mela Prangan started clapping instantaneously. It was an awesome audio-visual spectacle. This thunderous clapping signals the end of the Book Fair and the wait begins for next year. I left the ground at around 9:45 p.m. and came back home...
Good Night,
With Love, Kisses, Moonbeams and Rainbows,
Raj Gaurav Debnath
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My Dear Blog,
Today morning I first went to Office. From there around 2 p.m. I went to the Book Fair. The first thing that I did there was to enter the Food Court and eat chicken biriyani from Alibaba. Ofcourse, I asked for the leg-piece! By now you all know that whenever I eat chicken biriyani, I always ask for the leg-piece. I have a fascination for long yummy legs both in chicken and in women!
After eating biriyani, I drank Thums Up from another stall. Met up with my friends. Started roaming throughout the fair ground. Visited many book stalls. It was really hot and suffocating inside the book stalls. Outside the stalls a nice cool breeze was blowing. Kabir Suman's songs were playing in the loudspeakers. It was so nice to hear those songs.
Clicked a lot of pictures. Met up with more friends. After some time we again went to the Food Court because my friend's son wanted to have Candy Floss and she wanted to have Fuchhka. My friend's son and his friend started eating Candy Floss. Looking at the two little boys, I also felt like having one. Therefore I immediately bought one for myself. Clicked a few pictures with the Candy Floss in my hand. I have five weaknesses in my life - Women, Horses, Biriyani, Chocolates and Candy Flosses!
This year there are a lot of stalls dedicated to spiritualism, ranging from Osho to Falun Dafa. I also went inside most of them partly in search of inner peace and partly because the stall-girls were quite pretty! I met a lovely cute Vietnamese girl at the Falun Dafa stall. Had a nice little chat with her. Showed off my knowledge about Vietnam. She was really amazed because I know so much about her country. I told her that the greatest irony in this Universe is that the American Consulate in Calcutta lies on the Ho Chi Minh Sarani! She laughed and laughed and laughed on this little piece of information. I also told her that a few years back at the Calcutta Book Fair, the American stall and the Vietnam stall were erected side by side. This is possible only in Calcutta!
In the evening I had a lovely adda with my friends at the Little Magazine Pavilion. Young boys and girls and older men and women of all political colours, from extreme right to extreme left, were hanging out at the Little Magazine Pavilion. Felt sad after looking at the faces of the hardcore ex-Naxalites who have seen the transformation of the times from "Chin-er Chairman Aamader Chairman" to "Chin-er Chowmein Aamader Chowmein"!
I left the Book Fair around 9 p.m. My initial plan was to go to Some Place Else. But then I felt really tired and therefore came back home, had my dinner and straightaway went to sleep...
Good Night,
With Love, Kisses, Moonbeams and Rainbows,
Raj Gaurav Debnath
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During my childhood days, Saraswati Puja was the second most happiest day of the year because on that day I did not have to open my books and study. The first most happiest day of the year used to be my birthday. We Bongs consider it to be a sin to study on the day of Saraswati Puja.
During my childhood days, we used to celebrate Saraswati Puja at our house. On the previous night we used to go to Jadavpur to buy a Saraswati idol. Only after rejecting almost a dozen idols, my father used to finally select the perfect one. We used to decorate the room where the Puja was to take place with ribbons and with rings made out of colourful crepe paper. In the above picture you can see me and my brother during Saraswati Puja at our house years back.
On the morning of Saraswati Puja, our books used to be kept at the feet of Maa Saraswati. There was no need to study and do any homework. The priest used to come on time to perform the Puja. We also used to have the ritual of haatey-khori on this day. Once the Puja started, we had to sit quietly. I used to wait eagerly for the Puja to get over as quickly as possible because I badly wanted to eat those delicious and yummilicious sweets. Right from my childhood days till now I have a fascination for sweets. I really have a massive sweet tooth. These days however we do not organize Saraswati Puja at our house anymore. Maybe if I get married and have a child then I will once again start celebrating Saraswati Puja at our house.
Saraswati Puja is actually Bong's original Valentine's Day. On this day young girls dressed mostly in yellow sarees and green blouses, with flowers tucked in their hair, go to their respective schools/colleges to participate in the Puja and offer pushpanjali. From there they meet up with their boyfriends or would-be boyfriends or friends-with-benefits or future-husbands and go to parks, malls, cinema halls, restaurants and other places to hang out together. They also make it a point to visit their respective singing or dancing or painting classes at some point on this day. On this day youngsters enjoy complete freedom. They are totally free to roam around with their friends. Parents and Society do not impose restrictions on youngsters on this day. In Bengal, we Bongs are lucky to have two Valentine's Days - 14th February and Saraswati Puja!
I once went to Bagbazar Multi Purpose School to meet up with a girl on Saraswati Puja. From there we came to Park Street for lunch and then went to Eliot Park and we roamed throughout the park hand in hand. I was wearing a panjabi and she was obviously wearing a saree.
Another time on Saraswati Puja I went to meet up with another girl in front of Menoka Cinema and from there we went to Rabindra Sarobar Lake and roamed throughout the area hand in hand and then I brought her to my home at Lake Gardens and smooched her badly like there was no tomorrow!
Another time on Saraswati Puja I went to meet another girl at Golpark to see the Saraswati Puja in her building. From there we also went to see the Puja at Ekdalia. Then we both went to the Calcutta Book Fair and spent the whole day there.
The Calcutta Book Fair traditionally starts on the last Wednesday of January and ends on the second Sunday of February. The chill is still in the air and the weather is pleasant and romantic. Usually the Bengali Valentine's Day (Saraswati Puja) falls during the Book Fair. Its so nice to see young couples roaming hand in hand throughout the fair ground. Boys wearing kurtas and jeans. Girls wearing yellow sarees with green blouses and with flowers tucked in their hair. The smell of love is in the air. These days however more than the smell of love, the smell of Kamasutra deodorant is stronger!
Last year as I was gallivanting at the Book Fair, I saw people around me with eyes full of yesterdays. Even my own eyes were full of the jpeg, png and gif images of yesterdays. As I saw couples walking hand in hand, I remembered past Book Fairs where I used to do the same thing with my girlfriends. Being in love is the greatest feeling on earth. Last year I was remembering the 2005 Book Fair. That year I also used to roam in the Maidan Book Fair hand in hand with my then girlfriend. We were madly in love with each other and our bodies were virtually inseparable most of the time. She was five years older than me and I was then in first year of College at St. Xavier's. That year France was the Theme Country. The French had constructed a replica of the Glass-Pyramid from the Louvre Museum. I really liked it. It looked beautiful from the outside but inside the Pyramid it was suffocating. The same thing is true about my relationships with women. From the outside everything seems beautiful and lovey-dovey, but after a certain point of time from the inside I generally start feeling suffocated!
Anyways Saraswati Puja is a great festival for children and teenagers. Nobody forces the children to study on this day and that makes them very happy. The teenagers get their first sweet taste of freedom on this day and that makes them very happy too.
Clubs in every locality celebrate Saraswati Puja. Most families in that locality take part in this Club Puja. The prasad comprising of khichudi, labda, sweets and other items are a big attraction. Sit and Draw competitions are organised for children of that locality. In the evening musical concerts are arranged where the local talent could be put on display.
Today on Saraswati Puja I went to the Book Fair. I reached there around 2 p.m. and stayed there till around 8 p.m. I met most of my friends there. Had a great adda with them. Bought Kabir Suman's latest book 'Sumanami' from Saptarshi Publishers. Also took the subscription of Hangla Magazine for two years for just 1800 bucks. They also gave me a standing-fan as a gift. It was a great deal. I really loved this deal. Today I also accidentally bumped into quite a few girls at the Book Fair who are there in my Facebook friend list. It was so nice to meet them face to face for the first time. Had a nice chat with them. In the afternoon Kabir Suman's songs were playing in the loudspeakers throughout the ground. It was so nice to hear those songs as I was roaming throughout the Milan Mela Prangan. I also had a great time at the Little Magazine Pavilion. Saw one of my ex-girlfriends there. Our eyes met a few times but we did not talk to each other. I felt like going over to her and felt like talking to her but my stupid damn ego stopped me in my steps...
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