Goa Trip 2020

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2020 was a horrible year for all of us. My friend was telling me to go to Goa with him in December. He has never been there. I was in two minds whether to go to Goa or not in 2020 because of this stupid Chinese communist virus. I really hate communists. Anyways my mother told me not to go to Goa because she thought that I could be infected with this corona virus on this trip. You know how bengali mothers are. Then one day in office I ate chicken biryani for my lunch at a roadside food-stall, the price was only hundred bucks and after lunch I was smoking a cigarette and was standing near a parked car. The driver was sitting inside the car and the car-stereo was playing Lucky Ali's songs. Suddenly a thought entered my mind to go to Goa. I don't know why and how but I suddenly felt a massive compulsion to go to Goa. So I immediately called my friend and he instantly agreed to go to Goa with me. The next day we booked our flight tickets and made our hotel reservations. 

On 25th December 2020, I woke up at 4 a.m. By 6 a.m. I left my house, took an Uber and went to the airport. After some time my friend came to the airport. After going through all the procedures and checks we had a lovely breakfast at the airport priority lounge restaurant. My friend has a special card for that. Inside the aeroplane I unfortunately had to sit on the middle seat therefore I had to wear a white cloak. We were also given those plastic transparent face-shields. The air hostesses were very pretty. I talked to one of them and found out her full name. She was wearing a mask but her eyes were really beautiful. My plan was to land in Goa and search for her name on Facebook. The flight duration was something like two and a half hours. I went to the aeroplane toilet twice, not because I had to pee or anything, but because I love to press the flush of the commode and I also love the sound of the flush. A good looking woman sat next to me so I indulged in some small talk with her throughout the journey. She seemed to enjoy my company too. 

We landed in Goa around 12:30 p.m. From the Goan airport me and my friend took a cab and went to Hotel Arpora Central which was near the Baga beach. There we checked in and had a shower and then went to Baga beach. We had our lunch at the beach. Throughout the day we stayed at the beach and drank beer. There were so many restaurants and shacks on the beach. It was full of people. But the majority of the people on the beach were Indians. There were very few foreigners around the beach. It was hot but sometimes a lovely breeze was blowing too. Around late evening we went to a place which was having a Christmas party. The place was full of people dancing to the tunes of a DJ. The dance floor was too crowded even in these corona times. We also danced for sometime. A lot of beautiful girls were there on the dance floor. Around 9 p.m. we had dinner at one of the restaurants on the beach. After dinner we went to Club Tito's which is a very famous nightclub in Goa. From there we went back to our hotel and went to sleep. 

The next morning, that is 26th December, after breakfast we first rented a car for the next few days. In this car we went to the Aguada Fort. My friend drove the car. We navigated through the Goan roads with the help of Google Maps. It was very crowded at Aguada Fort. From there we went to Sinquerim beach which was nearby. There at the beach we had some food and beer. We spent the whole afternoon on the beach just lazing around. From there we went to Parra around 4 p.m. It is a road filled with coconut trees on both sides. It is a very beautiful place and a lot of young people were there clicking selfies. The cycling scene in the film "Dear Zindagi" was shot here. The sun was setting in the distant horizon. The ambience at Parra was very charming. From Parra we went to Curlies at Anjuna beach. It was very crowded. We had our dinner at Anjuna beach and then we came back to our hotel and went to sleep. 

The next morning, that is 27th December, after breakfast we first went to Anjuna beach. It was not so crowded in the morning. From there we went to Vagator beach and had our lunch there. This beach was totally crowded mainly with Indian tourists. We met a few Punjabi guys who were also from Calcutta. They were playing good music in their portable radio. From Vagator we went to the Chapora Fort where the film "Dil Chahta Hai" was shot. It took us some time to reach Chapora Fort because we got somewhat lost on the road. From Chapora Fort we drove all the way to Panjim and went to the Deltin Jaqk Casino. We had dinner and drinks at the Casino. We also gambled a bit. After midnight we left the Casino and came back to our hotel and went to sleep. 

The next morning, that is 28th December, after breakfast we drove to Arambol which is in north Goa. There we checked into the Love Temple resort. It was a very special and spiritual place. They do not allow alcohol or drugs inside the resort. A lot of foreigners were there staying in this resort. Some of them were meditating. We had lunch at the resort. After lunch we took some rest in the room. Then around 4 p.m. we went to the Arambol beach which was just nearby and stayed there till night. There were a lot of foreigners at the beach. Some of them were playing music with the Indians. Some of them were meditating on the beach. Some of them were just dancing on the beach. Some of them were doing yoga. I met a few foreigners and we talked about spiritual stuff. I told them that I am a follower of Osho. They knew about Osho and had read his books and had listened to his speeches on Youtube. We talked about things like calming one's mind and witnessing one's continuous chain of thoughts and how to go within oneself. Anyways we had our dinner at the resort and then went to sleep around midnight.

The next morning, that is 29th December, after breakfast we drove to Palolem which is in south Goa. The drive was for around three and a half hours from Arambol to Palolem. We really enjoyed this long drive. But on the way we first went to the Cabo De Rama Fort. We had our lunch at a restaurant which was just near the Fort. It was a very old Fort and the view from the top of the Fort was amazing. From there we went to Palolem and checked in at the Kings Villa resort. Around late evening we went to the Palolem beach. This beach was also full of people. Mostly the tourists were Indians here but some foreigners were there too. A young boy was showing some tricks with fire on the beach. I video recorded his tricks on my phone and later gave him a tip. It seemed quite risky to play with fire and perform those tricks. Later we went to a restaurant called Art's Cafe. There while having drinks and dinner we saw a live performance. The name of the singer was Bob Bluesman. He was an amazing singer and he also played his guitar beautifully. I recorded his act on my phone. Later after the performance he came to our table and talked to us. He asked me to kindly whatsapp him the videos. I took his number and told him that I would certainly forward him those videos of his performance once I reach Calcutta. After dinner we strolled on the beach for some time. It was a full moon night. The moon looked magnificent and ethereal. Then after some time we went back to our hotel and went to sleep.

The next morning, that is 30th December, after breakfast we went to the beach again. Before going to the beach I went to a saloon and had a shave. On the beach we went for a motor boat ride and went to the Butterfly Island. The boatman also took us deep into the waters to show us some dolphins. Unfortunately we could spot only one dolphin and that also for a few seconds. The boat ride was fun and we enjoyed it a lot. Anyways we had our lunch at Palolem beach and after lunch we checked out of our hotel. Then we drove to Panjim and checked in at Serene Waters Guest House. Last year in 2019 when I had come to Goa alone then I had stayed in this Guest House. I really love this place. There we had our dinner on the garden and then we went to sleep.

The next morning, that is 31st December, after breakfast my friend went out for some local site-seeing while I stayed back at the Guest House to take rest. I did not feel like going out that day. That night the Punjabi rapper Badshah was performing at the Big Daddy Casino and Lucky Ali was performing at Calangute beach. So we obviously decided to go to Lucky Ali's concert. We booked our tickets online at bookmyshow.com. My friend came back in the evening. At night around 9 p.m. we went to Lucky Ali's concert at the "Prince Of Tides" club at Calangute beach. I have been a fan of Lucky Ali ever since his first album "Sunoh" released in 1996. In my teenage years I loved all the music videos of Lucky Ali. I loved his film songs too especially his songs in "Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai". Anyways once we reached the "Prince Of Tides" club then we had to stand in a queue for around half an hour. Then the organizers started letting in people after thorough checks. Once we went in the first thing that we did was to have our dinner there. Before Lucky Ali began his act, there was an opening band which created fusion music. The audience did not appreciate this kind of music and started shouting and became restless. Lucky Ali started singing from around 10:30 p.m. and finished the concert with "Ek Pal Ka Jeena" from the film "Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai" at midnight. There were a lot of fireworks in the sky at the stroke of midnight. From midnight a DJ took over the stage. The whole place was overcrowded and everybody was dancing. Nobody was wearing any masks. Everybody was busy boozing and getting drunk and enjoying the beach party. The DJ music went on till 3 a.m. Me and my friend also got drunk and we also danced a lot. Made some friends there and we all danced together, you know the kind of instant best friendships which you make at the New Year bash, exchange numbers and then no one calls or keeps in touch for the rest of the following year. This party was the best New Year party that I ever went to in my life. It was so amazing to experience Lucky Ali's live performance for the first time in my life. He gave a mind blowing and heart touching performance. Around 4 a.m. we left Calangute beach and then took a cab and came back to our Guest House and went to sleep. 

The next morning, that is 1st January, we had a lazy and laid-back breakfast. The beauty of this Serene Waters Guest House is that they have a lovely garden which is just next to a huge lake. After breakfast my friend went out alone and I stayed back in the garden and enjoyed the view of the lake with sweet birds chirping all around. It was such a serene experience to spend the first morning of the new year in such tranquility. Around noon I took a shower and then went to Panjim city. There I had lunch at a restaurant and then I walked all alone through the narrow lanes and by-lanes of the old portion of Panjim. It was so beautiful to see the old houses. Some of these old houses were so nicely painted. In the evening I had coffee and cookies at a very small yet instagrammable coffee shop. Later I came back to the hotel. My friend also returned and we had our dinner together and then we went to sleep. 

The next morning, that is 2nd January, after breakfast my friend went out alone. I was feeling too lazy to go out. So after breakfast I just sat in the garden and enjoyed the view of the lake and listened to those chirping birds. Spoke to some of the other people who were staying at the Guest House. Throughout the afternoon I took rest in my room. Later in the evening I again had coffee sitting in the garden. My friend came back around late evening. Then we had dinner together and went to sleep.

The next morning, that is 3rd January, after breakfast we took a cab and went to the airport. Took some pictures and videos while going there. At the airport all the shops were closed due to this pathetic Covid-19 virus. I remember last time when I had come, there was a beautiful shop selling Mario Miranda memorabilia at the airport. Unfortunately it was closed this time. Even the priority lounge was closed. Anyways inside the aeroplane I again had the middle seat therefore I had to wear that white cloak again. This time also I went to the toilet twice. The air hostesses were very pretty. This time a man sat beside me and I did not talk to him at all. We reached Calcutta in good time. From the airport I took an Uber and came back to my house. My friend took another Uber and went to his house. Faced a lot of traffic jam while going to my house. My mother was very happy to see me again. She warned me that I should never go again for vacations in these corona times.     

If you want to see my Goa pictures and videos then here is the link :

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2333950633418207&type=3  

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Trip to Satkosia and Chilka Lake

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Recently I went for a trip to Satkosia and Chilka lake in Odisha with my friends. My mother told me not to go for this trip because of this Chinese virus which has made our lives horrible. Like typical bengali mothers, she was scared that I might get infected with Corona in this trip. But I did not listen to her. We started from Calcutta in my friend's car on a Thursday night around 9 p.m. after having dinner. The plan was to drive throughout the night and reach Satkosia Sands Resort the next morning. We had already booked our rooms there. The night journey was fun but was a bit risky too. We took around four to five halts at the highway dhabas for tea, coffee, snacks and cigarettes, and sometimes to pee also. It was an amazing journey. Around dawn the horizon looked magical. We took a break to soak in the first rays of the sun. There were lush green fields around us. The scenery was fascinating.

We reached Satkosia Sands Resort around 10 a.m. on the Friday morning. After reaching there we checked in to our rooms and then had breakfast. Then I came back to my room, had a shower and took some rest. Around 1 p.m. we had lunch. After lunch we took half an hour rest and then went for boating in the lake nearby. Saw a crocodile. He was taking his afternoon nap on the banks. As our motor boat approached near the bank of the lake, the crocodile woke up from his slumber and went straight into the water. He must have cursed us for disturbing his siesta. After boating we came back to our resort. It started raining a bit. The weather has lovely and very romantic. There were dark clouds above and a lovely breeze was blowing. Along with that there was mild rainfall. I sat on the balcony of the resort and enjoyed the moment. We were the only guests in the whole resort. Sitting in the balcony the whole place seemed ethereal.

In the evening there was a folk song and dance performance which was organized for us by the resort. While watching this performance we smoked hookah. The performance went on for an hour. We gave a five hundred rupees note to the performers as tip. They seemed really happy to receive this tip. After this we went back to the room and started boozing. I drank my favourite Old Monk Rum with Thums Up. Around 9 p.m. we had our dinner. The food was really nice.

The next morning we woke up early and went for a small jungle trek nearby and also went to the sand-bar near the lake. The place was so quiet and serene. We were the only people there. After breakfast we left the resort and drove to Chilka Lake. It is also called Chilika Lake. The journey from Satkosia to Chilka was nice. There we had booked our rooms at Rambha Panthanivas. We checked in to our rooms, had shower and then went for lunch. After lunch we took some rest. Two of my friends went to Gopalpur beach. Me and another friend stayed back in the hotel. We wanted to take rest. Around late evening the two friends returned from Gopalpur. Then we all started boozing again and around 10 p.m. we had our dinner.

The next morning we all woke up early and went for a boat ride on the Chilka Lake. It was amazing. We all really enjoyed the ride. And the best thing was that we were the only boat on the lake. It was as if we had the whole lake to ourselves. Chilka is a huge lake with small islands. The boat ride was for an hour. After the ride we came back to our hotel. Around noon we started our journey back to Calcutta. We had lunch at a hotel on the highway. While coming back also we took four to five small breaks. We reached Calcutta at night. We faced the worst traffic jam just while entering Calcutta.

Overall it was a nice trip especially in these horrible corona times. We all really needed this small vacation. I was bored with the city life. It was nice to spend some time in the lap of nature. If you want to see some pictures and videos of this trip then here is the link :

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2259488300864441&type=3    

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Swami Agnivesh

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Swami Agnivesh left this world on 11th September 2020. It was really sad to hear this news. May His soul rest in peace. I only met him once on 9th August 2010 at Lalgarh in West Mednipur. It was a Monday. There was a protest gathering against the evil Left Front Government of West Bengal. In those days the CPM led Left Front was in power in Bengal. But it was quite clear that they would be kicked out of power in the next Assembly elections. Anyways, the protest gathering at Lalgarh was attended by political personalities like Mamata Banerjee and by members of the civil society like Swami Agnivesh and Medha Patkar. But this gathering was not under any political banner. 

I still remember that day very clearly. We all organised ourselves and met at Esplanade by 8 a.m. There was a huge convoy of cars. A lot of people had gathered. There were also a lot of students from Jadavpur University and Presidency College. We left Calcutta around 9 a.m. and reached Lalgarh around 1 p.m. In the Tata Sumo in which I was travelling, there were also Joy Goswami and his wife, Pratul Mukhopadhyay and Prasun Bhowmik. Throughout the journey they discussed about everything from politics to poetry. It was really nice and enriching to be a part of that discussion. The journey to Lalgarh took almost four hours. There was an element of risk in visiting that place in Jangalmahal. 

Lalgarh at that time was under Operation Greenhunt. When our car entered Lalgarh, an officer of the paramilitary forces recorded who was inside the car in his video camera. He did the same thing for all the cars. Medha Patkar was travelling in the car which was in front of us. It was a very very very hot day. It felt as if fire was coming down on us from the sky. There was a big stage. A lot of local people had gathered to hear from Mamata Banerjee, Medha Patkar, Swami Agnivesh and others. Before going on the stage, Medha Patkar first went and talked to the local people there. She also visited a few nearby mud huts. She also spoke to the journalists. 

Once the stage meeting started, I was behind the stage. I met a lot of people whom I had known during the Singur - Nandigram movement. There were a lot of old people too. Some of them got sick due to the extreme heat. I escorted an unknown old man to our car and gave him water and also poured water on his head and asked him to take rest inside the car. It was tremendously hot that day. After everyone finished their speeches on the stage, the meeting got over. Swami Agnivesh came down from the stage and started interacting with the soldiers of the paramilitary forces. He asked them about their families and also asked them from where they came. He treated them as normal human beings and not as soldiers. I met him there and shook his hand. He had a calm and sweet smile on his face. He was dressed in saffron robes and also had a saffron turban on his head. 

Around 4 p.m. we all started leaving the place. But we got stuck on the narrow road in between the jungles for almost two hours. There was some huge traffic mismanagement and a whole convoy of cars got stuck. Finally around 6 p.m. the convoy of cars could hit the national highway. By then it was totally dark. The journey back was tiring. But by evening it was a lot cooler. It was amazing to look up in the sky and see so many stars. We do not get to see so many stars in the Calcutta skyline because of pollution. But that evening it was really mesmerizing to see a sky full of millions of stars. Our beautiful planet Earth is so tiny when compared to the vastness of the Universe and still we stupid human beings have made this place a living hell for everybody. Finally I reached home around 10 p.m. I took a shower, had my dinner and went straight to sleep...

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Again At Park Street

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Last Saturday, that is 20th June, I again went to Park Street. First I went to Kwality Restaurant. I don't exactly remember when was the last time I had gone to Kwality. I usually go to either Peter Cat or Mocambo in Park Street but now I am thinking that from now on I will go to the less visited restaurants in Park Street. Kwality was almost empty. After I entered a few more customers came inside. I ordered chicken biryani. The food was good but nothing extraordinary. 

Then from Kwality I went to Flurys. There I had a cup of coffee. It felt so nice to enter Flurys after so many months. Flurys was 50% full. It was nice to see customers inside Flurys. I sat near the window and looked at the passing cars and the passing people on Park Street. I really love spending time inside Flurys. Next time I will have their 'All Day Breakfast'. Haven't had that for a long time. I still remember that Flurys had reopened on the Christmas Eve in the year 2004. There was a long queue in front of Flurys that evening. Before that it was closed for quite some time due to renovations. In those days there was 'The Tea Table' also which was diagonally opposite Flurys. Everyone used to call it T3. That was also a nice place to hang out.  
   

On 22nd June, I went to Apeejay House for some official work around 4 p.m. From there I did not feel like going back to office therefore I went to Cafe 42. This new Cafe is on the balcony of Ilish Restaurant which is on the intersection of Park Street and Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road. At Cafe 42 I ordered fish kabiraji. The view from the balcony was very nice. This Cafe opens everyday at 4 p.m.   

From Cafe 42 I took a walk throughout Park Street and smoked a few cigarettes. It was sad to see that my old favourite Olypub is still closed. I am really waiting for Olypub to open again. I feel like having the beef steak and chicken-a-la-kiev at Olypub again. I have been going to Olypub for the last twenty years. I had my life's first beer in Olypub. I have so many fond memories of Olypub. Eagerly waiting for it to open again.  

After the walk, I went to Barista to have coffee. It was nice to enter Barista after so many months. I think Barista had opened in Park Street in the year 2000 or 2001. Previously it was on the other side of the road. There used to be a black Signature acoustic guitar on its wall. The price of coffee started at 50 rupees in those days. I still remember that in the year 2002, me, my first girlfriend and a friend of hers had gone to Barista and we had a lovely time there.   

After having coffee at Barista I walked till Park Circus and smoked a few more cigarettes. From Arsalan Restaurant I bought a packet of mutton biryani to have it at home. From Arsalan I took an Uber and came back home.   

On 23rd June, I again went to Apeejay House for some official work around 2 p.m. After finishing my work I decided to have lunch at Trincas. There was not even a single customer at Trincas. I was the only one there. I ordered lasagna. The food was tasty. It was sad to see Trincas totally empty. The waiter told me that the live music performances have stopped too. I am really waiting for Trincas to go back to its old form. Since the fifties, Park Street has been the party street of Calcutta with live musical bands and also cabaret shows. Then the evil communists came to power in 1977 and destroyed the party culture of Park Street. All the restaurants were forced to stop their live bands and cabaret shows. Trincas was the only place where the live music did not stop even for a single evening and they showed their middle finger to the bloody communists. But now this evil Corona has forced even the mighty Trincas to stop their live musical performances. From the evil communists to this evil Corona!      

Yesterday, that is 25th June, I again went to Apeejay House for some official work around 1 p.m. From there I went to Mocambo for lunch. I ordered the Irish Chateaubriand Beef Sizzler. It was yummilicious. It felt awesome to enter Mocambo again after so many months. It was partially crowded. The last time I had gone there, I had ordered Chicken Sizzler so this time I went for beef.  

After lunch I went to my favourite shopkeeper at Park Street and bought a packet of 'Black' cigarettes. I wanted to buy a packet of 'Gudang Garam' but it was out of stock...

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