Bestmail

Animated Mailbox Opening and Closing

The best of emails sent by Bestfriends is published here

Samir

Sub : School Memory

Date : 11.2.2007

Dear DILEEP,
Murphy baby was cute chubby kid. I am an old ugly fart.
Unfortunately in our couny there is no second chance. There is a STIGMA
attached to your name and it becomes your burden. Once I had wriiten it
to you about about (pardon my language) scrawny flat chested Jolly Di. I
hated her. You took me to her to eroll me in Monimela. Untill today I
remember apparently for no reason the first thing that came out her ugly mouth was, TUMI KHOOB KHARAP CHELE. We were very young. I stood there frozen asking myself why am I here back of the school Teacher's room getting insulted in front of other teachers? I took it to heart. Just because you are my good friend( Bhalo Chele, did well in class)accompanied me? I kept asking myself WHAT DID I DO? Then I found out, ofcourse, I always ranked between 29 and 39. JAR MATHA NEI TA KE MASTER BETE KHAWALEO KICHU HAUBENA. Unfortunately in our country children are their parents old age social security. Speciaiiy the boys have to do the heavy lifting. I always wanted to be an Artist. A celebraty with a good voice. I was never interested in studies. But my parents always wanted me to an Engineer go abroad make lots of money. Well, with God's help I did fulfill some of their dreams. Enough about me. Point is Dileep, I do remember all of them. In some respect society or peers can teach better, understand their needs, values. Give them enough confidence so they can follw their own destiny. I can tell you one thing? I was afraid of them specially JOGA. Hope everybody is doing well.
Samir.

Sub : Celebrating Darkness!

Date : 22.10.2006

Dear BESt friends

WISH YOU ALL A VERY VERY HAPPY DIWALI.

Yesterday evening, just at the time when we decided to start lighting the small earthen lamps ( Pidims ) around our door and entrances, the power went off putting the city into darkness!!!

And to make the matters even more uncomfortable, it started drizzling too.

As far as I could remember,a Dark and wet Diwali I had not experienced in the last 59 years and my mind went on to suspect the disaster signals which are often sent by the nature before actual strikes.

My saner mind kept advicing me that the power failure/shut down is a man made inconvenience and also it is not at all unseasonal for North East Monsoons to be active around this time of the year.

I remembered that all thru` our schooldays, we had to answer

why Madras receives rains in winter and

why Australia enjoys Christmas in summer.

The power consumption in our country has been increasing in Geomatric proportions while the generation has lagged far far behind. Added to that, we have Politicians promissing FREE power to their constituencies and unscrupulous industrial, commercial and Social ( ? ) set ups stealing and over drawing power with the back up support of the Administrative machineries!

I remembered that India is Shining and just earlier this day, our Leading Indrustrialist

Ratan Tata had acquired the Global Steel Giant " CORUS " making History of an Indian Company acquiring an European Giant several times its own size ,making all of us Indians so PROUD.

It also surfaced in my mind that our present UPA govt. with the OUTSIDE support of Communists and Leftists had proudly declared that Power Sector was going to be their Top Priority amongst Infra Structure Management Projects and so much time had passed and no worthwhile Investments been forthcoming!!!

I remembered reading in the previous week`s news papers that the Maharashtra Govt. had decided yet again to play with the progress of the ( abondoned )ENRON ,I mean DABHOL project by raising some non-issues.

The 10,000 Mw super power project for Uttar Pradesh to be built by the Reliance Energy Group has also met with objections from Dir. Gen. of Hydro Carbons as to the rates at which Anil Bhai had contracted to draw Gas via pipelines from Big Brother Mukesh Bhai`s KG Basin Offshore Gas finds.... and this has prompted Big Brother to demand similar treatments for NTPC`s gas supply Agreement too. putting all these projects into uncertainity.

With all these authorities singing in different tunes at the same time, what happens to our Growing Demand for Power ---declared as the Nation`s Top Priority?

We along with our neighbourhoods managed to celebrate Diwali with earthen Lamps and Emergency Lamps and the young and children burst their crackers and fireworks making the darkness even darker reminding me of Michel Madhusudan`s

KSHANA PRABHAA ..PRABHAA DAAN E BAARAAYE MAATRO AANDHAAR

..................PATHIK DHAANDHITEY.

After almost three hours at around 21-00 hrs , the power did return and we learnt

that even at Jaipur, the Australia---England Champions` Trophy Cricket match was disrupted due to Power problems!!!

On this auspecious Diwali evening , the Festival of Lights, when we welcome the Goddess Laxmi into our homes to brighten up our life, this certainly was a very irritating dampenner ... but here in our country, we have always been taught to expect the worst and yet perform at our best.... and so the crackers and fire works went on and on trying to re-kindle the spirits in every one`s mind.

I rememberd Kazi Nazrul Islam`s

" Durgama Giri Kaantaar Moru, Dustar o Paaraabaar o hey.......

Longhitey hobe Raatri Nishithey, Jaatri raa Hunshiyaar"

Again wishing you all a very very happy, prosperous and enjoyable Diwaali ....

Dileep

Memories on First Sunday of September

email by Dileep dated 3.9.2006

It was the First Sunday of September 2001. Our family had planned a very busy schedule for the month. We had finalized our daughter`s wedding and needed to start our preparations, shopping and all other listed and un-listed activities to be completed before the grand ceremony to be solemnised in January 2002. Since both of us were working couples and daughter Tatum too had started working, every Sundays and holidays were extremely precious to be utilized very skillfully for optimum output. Keya and me had planned to visit Pochampalli village ( 40 km from our place ) to buy the Patola Sarees for the Namashkari gifts to be presented to all the elderly relatives of our side and Udayan`s family. The famous Patola sarees of Pochampalli have a very special status and purchased from the weavers right at their village would result in getting the best of the designs at the most unbelievably low prices. Tatum had planned to go shopping for her dress materials along with her friends too.

While Keya and Tatum were getting ready, I entered the bathroom to have my bath. I was in a very happy state of mind and was humming my favorite Dev Anand film song

Phulon ki rang se , Dil ki kalam se, tujhko likhi roz pati…… and all of a sudden, I slipped and fell with a loud thud. It took nearly 15-25 seconds for me regain my senses and realize that I had a such a big, painful and accidental fall, resulting in excruciating pains on my neck and left hip. I could hear Keya and Tatum enquiring from other side of the Bathroom door if things were alright. Realising that no one other than myself could help me in that condition, I muttered “Nothing to worry “ to keep them away. I started checking if I was ok and felt considerably relieved when I could move my toes on the left leg and consoled myself that there was perhaps no fracture though I felt as if my left hip was detached from the rest of the body. Battling the excruciating pain, I pored water over me to cleanse the soap and still lying on the Spartek tiled floor of my 7.5 X 4 sft. Bathroom, managed to pull the towel and wiped me semi dry. I discovered that my left leg was not supporting my body weight any longer and so using my two hands and right leg, I managed to navigate and kneel myself near the bath room door which was bolted at the top at a clear 5.5 ft height from the floor. How I managed to stretch all my functional limbs to unbolt the door was an exercise ( at that time ) more difficult than Tenzing`s effort in conquering Everest. Keya ,Tatum and Tatiana used all their energy to lift me to my bed and opined collectively that though very painful but I would be able to recover in 2-3 days with application of balms and pain relievers. I too believed that and comforted myself with the example of Australian captain Steve Waugh who was similarly cramped during one of the Ashes Test matches and was carried off the ground on a stretcher only to return for the next Test match and score a Century!!! But reality was very much different from our expectations… and after three painful days in the house, I was finally shifted to a nearby hospital in an ambulance where it was revealed after X-Ray that my Femur Neck had cracked into three pieces!!!!!!!!!

At the advanced age of 52+ this meant that I will never be able to walk again????? I had consolation coming from within me …. Like Dev Anand in Hum Dono , I said to myself `` Ek Taang to Hain “!!!

Next day I was shifted to a renowned Orthopedic Hospital ( NIMS ) where the Specialist Doc. told me of the two options available :

( 1 ) Use screws which may unite all the pieces and required about

100 days of complete bed rest after operation (success probability only 50% ) and if this fails, the only other alternative

( 2 ) Insert and fix a new metal ball to my femur for the ball and socket joint which too has a success chance of only 60%

He also assured me that in the remotest possibility of both these treatments failing, my leg would have to be amputed and I may have to resort to crutches for the rest of my life!!!

God answered our family’s prayers “ Allah tere Naam ,

Easwara tere Naam…

Sabko o sanmati de

Bhagawan…….

Allah tere naam….

Tatum`s wedding was celebrated at Hyderabad in April 2002 and I conducted the Kanyaadaan proceedings with a walking stick and sitting on a chair at the alter as I was not in a position to squat as per our traditions. The only thing I had to be compulsorily deprived of was the pleasure of shopping for the wedding which was in its entirety administered by my wife Keya and daughter Tatum.

Last week, while accompanying some very special guests , I succeeded in climbing on the top of famous and Historical monument Golconda Fort and could not stop remembering those frightful days when we all had lost all hopes and submitted to the almighty!!!!

“ Tomaar ee dehe Paalito snehe

Tumi dhanno dhanno hey !!!

Dileep

'Supernatural Powers' an email send by Dr. Manojit Lodh from

Wivral, U.K. on 2.9.2206

My Dear Bestfriends,
Nice to hear your heartbeats again, thank goodness you are all alive!!
Reeta's wonderful mail rekindles my interest in supernatural power.What is it which works when everything else fail ?
You are all aware of my Near death experince after drowning in Red sea in 2004. For 2 days I was in another world.But my good fortune ( or may be the supernatural power) brought me back to my family.In addition to my family, another devout muslim family from egypt and a christian family from hungary prayed day and night for 2 days. When I came round after 2 days they all were there to greet me back to this world with tears in their eyes. Just before we returned back to England we called about 30 people for a thanks giving party . At their request we all prayed together to the almighty. Next day we left Egypt with all those wonderful people whom we have never met before bidding us farewell. We still keep sending e mails to all those people and vice versa. Strangely enough I feel that was my best holiday where I realised there is only one religion and one supernatural power
Another incidence is deeply etched in my memory. When I was a Senior house officer in the department of medicine in Medical college Calcutta , I had a strange experience. One day a middle aged patient was admitted under our care with advanced Kidney failure. He was gravely ill. The blood tests and all other investigation indicated that this man's heart as well as kidney is failing. Over the next few days inspite of all our efforts his condition deteriorated rapidly. My professor said this man is now terminally ill and is unlikely live more than a week. We duly informed the relatives about the grave prognosis but they still insisted we did our best .
Next day when I arrived for my ward round I saw a tall gentleman in one piece white garment standing in front of the patientI enquired from the relatives who was this man and I was told he is the right hand man of Swami Omkarnath thakur. Our dying patient happened to be a desciple of Swami Omkarnath - who unfortunately was in Himalayas at that time and was unable to come but his immediate subordinate carried his blessings.
However inspite of the blessing , as expected our patient continued his downhill progress!His heart was very weak, there was no urine production for many days , he was hardly able to breath and was in deep coma.We all expected him to die within 2-3 days. After 2 days when I was doing my ward round I was told by the relatives that Omkarnath thakur is with our patient and wanted to spend some time alone with him. So I was not supposed to enter the cabin until Omkarnath thakur came out. There were thousands of desciples of Omkarnath were queing up to see Swamiji in the front court yard of the medical college. I waited at the door for about 10 mins but after that I became restless and inspite of all the warning I opened the door to the cabin to have a look what was going on.
Swamiji was in a trance with his eyes closed and one hand on the head of our dying patient . There was a complete silence as I stood there - an wonderful sight of concentration . I don't know how long I stood there but to my great surprise my dying patient appear to be breathing much better and opened his eyes for few seconds and looked at swamiji.
Soon Omkarnath thakur opened his eyes and gave a big smile and told me to keep and eye on this patient- " Inko jara kheyal rakhna"
Next day patient started passing volumes of urine . To our great surprise his breathing improved and heart pumping was much better within the next few days. He rapidly gained consciousness and over the next few weeks he made a remarkable recovery and was dischaged home.
Next few days I felt helpless and restless - unable to find any explanatoin of what I have witnessed . There were many restless nights --could I not go and meet this man ( Swamiji) again and ask how he performed this miracle? After much trepidation I asked the relatives of the whereabout of Omkarnath . I was told he has left for Himalayas. For a long time I thought of taking a trip to himalayas , but time and money was not in abundance those days and a poorly paid hospital doctor certainly could not afford such luxury . Moreover organised trips were non- existant those days. Few years later on a trip to Hardwar, lachmon jhola and Rishikesh Suddeny I met Omkarnath Thakur at the Rishikesh asram of Ma Andamoyee ( My whole family was also there on a special birhtday celebration of Ma anandamoyee). Swamiji had that same penetrating look, same smile and seem to recognise me instantly after all that time. I realised he was extra ordinary man with perhaps a " SUPERNATURAL POWER"
In the words of Rabindranath Tagore " there happen more things in heaven and earth, horatio , than are reported in your newspaper"
Best wishes and love to you all
Manojit

'Life seems like pure accidents' an email written by Reeta Majumdar from

Montreol, Canada on 28.8.2006

Dear Ashok,
What a great achievement!!!! Heartiest Congratulations!!!! Hope to
enjoy your compositions soon.
As I promised, I will attempt to present a sketch of a part of my life.
Circumstance veered me towards "Banking pursuit". I entered the work
force in 1972. In 1988, I received "Fellow of the Institute of Canadian
Bankers" diploma while working for Bank of Montreal, the third largest bank in Canada. As part of the Bank's Management team, I spent a good part of my working life handling "sensitive" customer complaints - trying to alleviate the customers' concerns and deciding on a case by case basis (on behalf of the Bank), whether or not a compensation was justified. The investigation of the problems brought me in touch with other financial institutions and the Federal Government of Canada. It also meant a lot of head scratching trying to formulate correspondences to the various parties involved. Mostly it was quite a rewarding learning experience, balancing family life and work with the support of my family. In 1997, I decided to take a voluntary retirement to "smell the roses". Everyone at work predicted that I would not be able to stay away from all the excitement and action for very long and would soon be back on the scene. So far I have proven them wrong. Soon after retirement, unexpectedly, I
got involved in social work. After a few years of intense activity in this area, I am taking a break and enjoying a relatively quiet and dead line free existence in some respects for the past few months, although, I have my hands full with other responsibilities like most. Looking back, the most important events in my life seem like pure accidents that led me to situations and experiences that I had never anticipated or prepared for. In retrospect, the challenges, the trials, the rewards and the invaluable lessons in life have made the journey worthwhile. There is a nagging doubt in my mind though, is life and life's events just accidents or are they part of a greater scheme of things designed by a
"Supernatural Force" or a "Supreme Being", beyond the comprehension of most of us. I feel a constant struggle within me - a restlessness to surrender to this "Unknown Power" and then, utter disillusionment. I take refuge in nature. Its serenity engulfs me. I wonder who or what is responsible for this inexplicable beauty! Will this mystery be ever resolved beyond all doubts?
Warmest regards,
Reeta

Date : 15.1.2006

From : Dileep Chatterjee

Subject : Happy Sankranti

Dear BEST friends

Yesterday was Makar Sankranti – the traditional Harvesting Festival day. This day marks the end of winter and beginning of warmer weather. Hindus celebrate this day by taking Punya Snaan in the Holy rivers Ganga/Yamuna and the Ganga Saagar Mela is a big event in W.Bengal. This festival in south India is also celebrated with KITE FLYING COMPETITIONS and the sky gets blanketed by the beautiful and multicolored Kites of different and attractive shapes and sizes. This year the special Kites from China flooded the markets and their prices ranged from Rs.20 to Rs.20,000/- !!!!!

Some kites also carried photos of famous stars pasted on them … film(Bachan,Aiswariya,Raani,Aamir,SRK) , cricket( Sachin,Laxman,Dhoni,Shoaib Akhtaar),

politics (Sonia,Rajeev,Indira,Osama) et al.

My mind went back to my childhood days in Bombay where I used to silently watch and admire the local heroes of Parel viz. Baban Prabhu,Pakya Shinde,Nana Jagtap,Langdya Baburao,Padmakar Salvi and many others who would arrive impeccably dressed at the Maidan with half a dozen kites ( each costing one anna !! ) and their Laataai filled with normal white thread ( Hanumaan Chhaap no.2 ) and freshly bought gulabi,yallow and blue Manja costing full 8 annas or even more!!!. The kites were named differently according to their color and patterns viz. Patera,Chourangee,Chandni and many more ….

The heroes of those days would make immaculate calculations and tie the Kunni in the ratios of 2:1 or 4:2 or 5:2 and all those decisions would be based on their expectations of the wind speed and many other aero dynamics factors which were beyond the scope of my 6-10 years old brain. The heroes always came with their battery of assistants who would hold the Lataai ( the most favorite job which also demanded great skill in winding and unwinding at jet speed … Lapet or Dhilum ), and few of them would be allowed ( in turns ) to take the battle/festival ready kite to a distance of 15-20 meters and holding them straight and with optimum grip to be released at the signal gestured by slight movement of the guru`s eyes/eyebrows and the kite would become airborne and taken to the desired altitudes with the effortless ease of pulls and tickles ( tichkis ). On certain occasions the guru would realize some difficulty in keeping the kite steady in the sky and so would bring the kite safely back to the ground and after making few intricate adjustments in weights on either arm of the kite with papers/threads or any other materials which qualified for this purpose, and then re- launch the kite for the greatest entertainment of the day.

After ensuring that there were no threats to the kite from any other kite-fliers or tall structures as also the steady wind pressure at those heights, the satisfied guru would at times allow his favorite assistants to hold the thread and control the kite for short durations with strictest instructions of not to do anything funny or try any tricks which may cause the kite to take any sharp turn or dip ( goath ). All the assistants would do any thing to please the guru to earn this great favor which seemed to be the ultimate achievement in life at that tender age.

Soon after the guru would like to establish his dexterity and superiority to the flying objects in the sky and would decide to go for attacking the nearest and most attractive prey…. Ofcourse only after due diligence carried out by the assistants w.r.t the operator of the enemy kite and his past records and achievements ( I always wondered at such skillfull display of memory ). The guru would decide on his strategy for the war after due considerations of wind velocity, the color and age of his Manja and their length ,the altitude and the clearance available for the encounter (so as not to hit any high rise installations) and most importantly the feed back provided by the assistants on the enemy and his past records. The major strategies to be used were either go for fast pulling ( Khechum Khech ) or releasing the threads ( dhilum ) or a mixture of both to ensure that the sharp manja could give a proper rubing on the enemy`s wares so as to cut it off ( Kachchaat ).

At that point of victory, we all would become ecstatic with joy and celebrate our victory and sing praises and invincibility of our guru.

In the event of our kite losing in the encounter, we would all blame it on the poor quality of manja available in the shops of our area and suggestions would pour in about the manja available at far off places like Mahim or Sion or even Chinch Pokli . We were informed that in an accident somewhere in Chembur or Mankhud, the extreme sharpness of the manja had resulted in one boy getting beheaded !!!.

It was also common knowledge that in order to overcome the inferior quality of the manja , many maha gurus preferred making their own by mixing glass powder with glue and color at appropriate ratio and according to tested formulae. Hanuman Chaap thread No. 4 (which was finer ) was preferred in such exclusive products and they were subjected to air-drying for specified hours to ensure proper processing which would result in cohesive bonding and ultra effectiveness.

I will end here with “ Moochhe jaawaa din guly aamaay je pichu daake”

Love and regards to all

Dileep

Date : 18.12.2005

From Nandita Ketkar

Subject : Retreat to Nargol

Dear Prodyot,

Belated Happy birthday!!!! many Happy Returns Of The Day!!!! So, what did u do the whole day? What goodies did Mita prepare for you? Please forgive me for the belated greetings. For the last 15 days I had a bad congestion in the chest. Noamount of salt water gargling, steam inhalation cud cure me .Everytime, I went out for some outdoor work, came back home again in that old terrible state. And one thing I avoid in this world is medicine. Finally, I thought of going to Nargol, my little flat by the seaside in Gujrat. And my cough cold congestion vanished completely.The weather is much much colder there.Even the afternoons are very cold. It is much colder than Pune. But the air is so so pure.The vegetables are so fresh.The local women grow the veggies in their backyard. They justspread it on bedsheets and sell. The best of the chikoos come from this belt. The chikoo orchards start from Palghar onwargds. The best ones are from Gholwad. I left for Nargol on the early morning of 14thDec.To reach there we have to take a western railway train and get down at a station called Sanjan. From Virar it takes 2 hrs. to reach sanjan. From Sanjan station, it is a 14km. rickshaw ride towards the coast. The ride is beautiful. During early monsoon, we used to see women bending down and sowing the seeds.And now we see that the crops have ben cut and high haystacks. Huge mounds of ripe tamarind. Fish lovers will love Nargol. Lots of parshay machh. The prawns are live . Sorry, I cann not recognise any other fish. Yes, I do see a lot of f-f-r-ressh bombil or bombay duck. Very cheap too Last year some friends had dropped in and they wanted to make bombil fry. We went to the wharf to buy bombil and the boatman gave us 23 huge bombils about 14 inches in length and 3 inches in width. All for just 20 rs. They made bombil fry coated wth rice flour . very delicious. I do see many other varieties of fish. But I just can't recognise them. Pomfrets are plenty too. The weather was very very enjoyable. I felt so energetic and full of stamina. Near sanjan station , there is a miraculous mango tree that shifts its position. It is called "Chalto Ambo" - the mango tree that walks. I believe a team from National Geographic had come and recorded the entire thing and in one of their episodes, had shown all about it. Every time, I get down at sanjan station, I keep thinking , I must see the" chalto ambo" this time. We have to make a slight 5 minutes detour to see the tree. It is so shameful that so far I have not seen this wonderful phenomenon.I believe, the roots keep shifting its position. May be the National Geographic website can throw light about this tree. I returned home this afternoon at 330 and when I sat down to check my mail, it was raining mails in my inbox.

Anyway, Prodyot, in English, we say, better late than never. So, Subhash myself and my two daughters here , Surabhi and Suhrida wish u very very Happy Birthday (Belated). Warmest regards and love.

Khonika

From Manojit Lodh

Subject : Imagine

Date :

Our coach arrived bang on seven. Didn't have a wink of sleep last

night. Manju said it is sign of age. I protested 'I may look old but

I have a young heart. Actually it was the excitement of meeting up with the BEST friends once again after very successful last Reunion.

Ladies and children get in first and occupied the best seats in the front rows. Isn't it strange, children who didn't know each other get on so well. As if they knew each other for years.

'Where is Atin?' blurted out Prodyot ' I warned everybody that the

coach would leave at seven thirty'.

'I will try this mobile', said Partha.

'Hello.......is that Atin? Where are you?' ........

' Bus would leave in ten minutes' Partha hung up.

Partha said he is help up in traffic.

Bombay never sleeps. Even at this early hours taxis are queing

up for traffic lights to change. Last two months have been quite hectic. Trying to keep up with emails has been difficult. Best news was

Partha ( Sherlock ) Bose has proudly announced that he has a

surprise for everybody. He wants to keep it secret. I imagine it must

be another BEST friend found. He didn't want to reveal it and

promised he will arrive before the coach leaves.

'Could it be Bijon?' I am so impatient. Apparantly Prodyot knows

about the new find but he has promised to Partha to keep it secret.

Dileep has finally mastered the art of email communication. Some

of his emails have been interesting. How does he manage to remember

funny stories of our school days? Well, it is hardly surprising

..... we always know he has a few extra brain cells. Samir always

comes up with the excuse he left school early so he missed out

on lot of fun. I really don't think so. His ghost writer Bina

confirms he often forgets to take the shopping list and ends up

with things they never wanted and then his son has to do a second

shopping trip. Why is Shyama so quiet? ' Are you alright Shyama?'

I said. 'Don't give us another fright like last year'. I was relieved

he was speaking in Bengali this time. He has a great acting ability.

He looked more cheerful in the prsence of his wife this time.

'Hello Ashish? What is the surprise item this time?'

'Wait till we get there, I would get you all dancing' Ashish replied.

Rumour has it that he has got a surprise dance number and

Banani is going to join in. Dipten and Shikha must have been to a

faculty of entertainment. Few years of Chinese and Malaysian culture

has made a very interesting couple. They promised they have some

interseting number. I can not wait for the entertainment to begin.

Amal and Gitasree arrived in Bombay about five daya back, same

time as we did. He kept his promise and brought Juthika along.

'Nice to see you Juthika. Do you think you can put a microchip in my

brain to improve my memory. Last year I kept calling your mom by

your name and I even forgot our last meeting in salt lake'.

Alaknanda and Ashok has always been such a delightful company.

They have such sartorial elegance. Their love for art and deep-

rooted love for Indian tradition has always made me feel inadequate.

May be in my retired life I would spend some time in their world.

Arrival of Atin made everybody take a great sigh of relief ! We could not

imagine without him. After all he is such a delightful company and a

great compere; brings out best in everybody. Remember last time in

Plaza Banquet how he kept everybody going till the end and by his

unique style of compereing. Coach leaves exactly at half past seven.

Soon garam Shingara and Jilebi appear. Hats off to Prodyot, Partha

and Prabir. Everybody relised even the lukewarm tea. After all who

cares? Anything is good on such occassions. Dileep stood up and welcomed everybody on board including our surprise BEST friend

( new find of Sherlock Bose ). He hasn't lost his accent and reminded

us of his rich origin of East Bengal. 'Amago Dasher Bhasha bhulbo

kemne'. I must say Dileep's smiling face and such passionate

feeling for his friends have kept everybody together. It is such a pity

that we can only get him for such a short duration. I gather this time

he is going to join us on 27th for a post Reunion possibly in Bengal

Club or in School hall. I like Dileep's style of public speaking. But

the coach journey along the roads was not the ideal platform

for making a speech. So he stopped after a little while inviting

others to say something. Prashanta tried to get up but he is very good

in balancing act and kept on tumbling as the coach speeded along the

highway to Uran. It only needed a great push from Atin to stimulate

everybody into a song 'Dhana Dhanye Pushpe Bhora..............'.

Mrs. Pherwani joined in as she promised she would do. I wished the

song never stopped. It somehow stimulates the inner core of

everybody's heart. Being away in Firingiland my passion for motherland

is growing more and more everyday. Finally we arrive in Uran in the

bunglow of Capt. Partha Das. Sorry I forgot to mention about Partha

Das an ex-student of Bangla school two years junior to us. He is the

Editor in chief of Megatimes newspaper and also owns the huge property

here in Uran with acres of land, garden, swimming pool, two big rooms,

kitchen etc. Huge lawned garden for children to run around and adults

to carry on with their Adda. We have come prepared with football,

cricket and even badminton. I have been told that there are great

young talent among the children. However the girls would like to join in.

I know my daughter Puja has had lot of practice in our back garden with

her brother. Our cook and his helper left for Uran last night with all his

gear. Prodyot and Partha did all the shopping along with our cook.

I joined them briefly after arrival from UK on 20th. Amount of food would

probably keep us going along for few days. But then fresh air of Uran

would no doubt increase everybody's apetite. So we have a great day in prospect. It is exactly 10 'O clock in the morning as we arrive. Our cook greeted us with fresh cups of coffee and tea and told us, the breakfast

was ready. Children wanted to start the games as soon as they arrived. Soon Karaishooti Kachori, Alur Dom and Misti from Damodar

Mithaiwalla arrived. It is worth coming all the way from UK for such

relishing food. Banani took charge of organising games for adults

and Juthika agreed to organise children's games. Adults wanted to play

musical chair but Amal was keen on Khokho, as he felt quiet energetic.

Dipten and Ashish came well prepared with chess and cards and Gitasri surprised everybody by taking Ludo from her bag. Prabir could not stopped giggling all the time " Just imagine Prashata playing khokho"

Prashata challenged " I assure you I will be an asset in your team

Prabir". So Swapna and Mita ( Prodyot's wife) agreed to become captain

on either side. Some of us preferred sedate actvities of card games and chess with bottles of chilled Kingfisher and Black label. " I am good in

twenty nine" Manju said. Personally I wouldn't trust Manju in card game,

as she has neen known to win by hook or by crook ( you know what I

mean ). Soon exhausted children and adults got refreshed with cold

drinks. We were well prepared with Pepsi, 7 UP, Maza. Some of us

wanted third round of tea but Prodyot reminded that lunch was ready.

Mungsho, bhat, begun bhaja, salad, aloor chop, dal, padad, amer chutney

and finally home made Payesh by Mita ( Partha'a wife ) was simply

out of this world. "How about some mishti pan" Ashish wondered.

Unfortunately he had to be contend with Pan Parag.

"Time for a siesta" Amal said and I agreed. Lovely sunshine on the green

lawn with cool afternoon breeze soon had a refreshing effect on everybody. Samir was busy arranging his music system for the start of

the entertainment session. Soon beautiful music filled our hearts with

immense joy. Subrata was very quiet but enjoyed every moment.

Atin was in full swing and came out with some fantastic leg pulling

stories. Mrs. Pherwani has immense energy and put everybody to shame

on the khokho field. Bina's golden voice reminded us of the great music of the good old days. Alaknanda and Shikha joined up and sang some rare

numbers from the past. Ashish by this time was sufficiently refreshed

to start with his entertaining talent along with Dipten. Everybody was about to collapse with laughter. Alas good time passes so quickly.

Time to go home. " Can't we stay little longer" children shouted out.

Coach driver reminded us it would take three hours to Bombay with

traffic at this time of evening. As the evening sun was setting in the west

the wonderful red hue of twilight made the whole atmosphere so

mystic. We sang all the way back but "Purano sei diner kotha...."

still ringing in our ears. At eight 'O clock at Dadar station we hugged each other to emotional good bye.

From your dreaming friend

Manojit

From Dileep Chatterjee

Subject : DURGATI NAASHINEE --- WHERE ARE U

Dated : 17.10.2005

DURGE TWAM HARO DURGATI

HARO PAPAM, HARO KLESHAM, HARO ROGAM , HARO SHOKAM , HARO KSHOVAM , HARAASHUVAM , HARO DEVI HARO PRIYE .

Dear BESt friends

The Puja Anjoli is still ringing in my ears , but I wonder if God is listening any more.

We have been witnessing the wanton devastations all thru the year and across the length and breadth of this earth…. Is it the beat of Rudra Beena ? Is it that Lord Shiva has decided enough is enough and struck again to make the earthly people realize

that its high time to go back to basics. “Do not ever try to dictate the course of nature, the nature can always retaliate and confirm its superiority.”

The shortened Puja festival with its Twenty – Twenty version was not very satisfying. The Puja and Anjoli were very time bound and for the first time we had to use Morning Alarms during the Pujas to get up and to be in time for the events.

Fortunately for us at Hyderabad , the weather was very cozy and dry all thru these festival days and the heavy rains are back again from the mid-night after the Bisarjan.

Times have changed and with it the Protimas and their styles too. The Mahishasura , whom I always adored for his great physic and strength ( in-fact all thru` I have prayed to the God to make me as healthy/and strong as the Asura ) has under gone metamorphosis to keep pace with the changing styles and fashions. The original hairy and untidy Demon has now teamed up with the Salman- Sharukh Khans and have a clean shaven cheek/arm pits and CHEST with a modern Haircut to look up-to-date.

Kartik is becoming more and more handsome while Godesses Laxmi and Saraswati have been decorated with eye lashes, long filed nails and Mehendi arts have replaced the traditional Aalta on their feet and palms.

Devi Durga have retained her grace and Majesty even today in-spite of being with such modern companions!

Reeta`s Bijoya Greetings and her observations on our web correspondences are simply superb and ur choice of words and expressions make us realize why u had been chosen to lead the Indian Community at Canada. I hope u will reconsider ur decision and serve ur association for one more term! Wish u all the best for today`s meeting .

Sarbani`s mail gave us some idea about how the celebrations of Puja festivals are organized at Chicago … by “ OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF AMERICA…”

Partho`s two lines greetings conveyed much more than its contents … we are delighted to know that he has not withdrawn and continues to be our prime mover!

Khonika`s H 2 O canal was simply out of the world. I am still thinking about the engineering wonder. Pl. keep sending such educative items to make us more complete/informed.

Prodyoth`s photos of Shivaji Park Puja brought nostalgic memories of the best part of my life. Thanx a ton Prodyoth .

Manojit`s absence from this years` get-together comes as a big shock. U have been the main driving force for our get-togethers for all these years and ur absence will certainly have a very big dampening effect. Well, all I can request is, incase there is any scope for re-scheduling ur programs, pl. try to adjust and make it here in Dec ,who knows-- Kal Ho Na Ho….

Amol, in view of the news of Manojit, I will request you to confirm ur participation to enable P1,P2,P3 to plan for the event more effectively.

Samir, we are very anxious to know about ur musical program in association with Chandra Bindu . Pl. do send us a detailed report on your New York Puja and its programs. Ur audio visual on God`s BPO venture was very entertaining.

Last week`s KBC2 ( Kaun Banega Crorepati ) baffled me with an information which is contrary to our knowledge about the Birth of Ganga. We have always known that Ganga was born at Mahadev`s Jata and Bhagirath had brought her to the earth by his Tapasya. But KBC 2 clarified that she was born out of Vishnu`s feet and is so also referred to as Vishnupadi !!!! I am unable to digest this and would request all of u to supply any material which will clear my doubt.

And finally , this is for P1,P2,and P3…don`t feel dis-heartened by the absence of some of our most valued and distinguished class mates in this December get-together. Pl. remember , Hum Hai Naa…. The show must go on….

Today is Laxmi Puja… Kojagiri Purnima . May the Godess of wealth enter and reside in all of ur homes and bring you all the happiness and comfort and peace.

Love

Dileep

From : Dileep Chatterjee

Subject: feelings of a nascent Grand Father!!!

Date: Wed, 29 Jun 2005 05:59:02 -0700 (PDT)

Dear BESt friends

It was 27th.June 1655 hrs... Keya, Anindita and me were waiting outside the OT at Shenoy Nursing Home, Secunderabad and praying for our elder daughter`s safe delivery. A male nurse came with a big smile and informed that a male child was born to our Tatum at 1641 hrs. and both were fine and could be seen after another 15-20 minutes! Oh God .... the whole world changed for each of us family members... we thanked our God and ancestors and all for the great news and were equally relieved to learn our Tatum was safe and attained the motherhood. After 15 minutes of infinite( ? ) wait, we were allowed to another chamber and lo... what a wonderful site... on a small table bed with a tube light on the top of it lay one sweet little tiny naked boy with wide eyes and throwing his tiny hands in the air and yawning and throwing his legs up to familiarise himself with this new environment and atmosphere!!! We were spell bound to see such a lovely creation and the meticulous perfection of each of its sub systems and sub assemblies.We recognised him as a miniture version of Udayan... our son in law and all three of us whispered simultaneously DINKUU... and the baby`s eyes started searching for the sound`s source till they could be focussed on us. I am not gifted with words like many of our freinds to paint the picture in a more realistic way... wish I could. Then suddenly the realisation dawned ... this small baby is a part of me... and I will continue to live in and thru` him and unto the future generations to come.!!! This is the ultimate truth of the universe and the truth of life.... U are a link in the chain and the beginning and end of the chain is unknown to all. Through Dinkuu I will hope to achieve my unfulfilled ambitions and aspirations in every field ( Admiral/MD/PM/Tendulkar/Maradona/Magic JOHNSON/ Hemanta Kumar/ Rex Harrison/Uri Gagarine/Vivekanada/????? ) and me and my aspirations will live on and on and may be achieved some where down the chain in the generations to come. I know , I am sounding very emotional and excited ... but this is the exact feeling which I have just experienced and want to share with u all. I will try to send photos of Dinku with my family shortly for u all to see and bless him. Thanx to Prodyoth for reaching the news to all of u while I was doing my hospital duties. More in my next...With love and regards to all....

Dileep

Nandita ( Khonika ) writes

Date : 9.8.2005

Sub : Zindagi bhar nahi bhoolegi woh barsaat ki shaam

Dear Friends,

Please forgive me for not completing the second half of my earlier story of how Subhash and myself got saved from the fire on the ship.I will do it soon. First it was trial by fire and now it was trial by water. God Almighty is putting me thru all kinds of trials to test my strength. Well, I am proud to say that I have been able to pass the tests with flying colours. The torrential Tuesday of July 26th began like any other normal day. The day was cloudy and bits of rain here and there. In the weather bureau's language "chutput baarish". My eldest daughter Surabhi had an off day and we made of plans of going to Crawford Market area for shopping.We took the train around 1230. Landed at VT station.Both of us love the Planet M shop at the Times Of India building.We browsed there for a while and then proceeded to Crawford Market.We did our shopping and were planning to go to the dupatta market at Nakhoda Mohalla near Mohammed Ali Road. Both of us were hungry. So we thought of grabbing a sandwich at the crawford Market corner. By the time we had finished the sandwich, it was raining moderately. It was almost 3pm. Surabhi wanted to return home. So we got into a cab and took a train at VT at 3.15pm. But till 3.40 the train did not move. So we kept thinking in our minds that it must be the usual harbour line ghotala. Generally, during the monsoon, it is the harbor line that gets affected most. Finally say around 3.40pm or so the train moved out of the VT station. The train was moving at a snail's pace, and it kept stopping in between stations too. But we never thought things cud be that serious. In monsoon season, such things are quite common. The rains did not seem so heavy, that traffic will come to a standstill. In between Subhash called up to say that since 2pm there has no power and that it is raining so so heavily, that it almost seems foggy.The visibility is very poor.He was worried about us.The journey from Vt to Bandra is just 28 minutes.It took us nearly 45 minutes to reach Bandra. After reaching Bandra , we thought of taking a rickshaw from the east side of Bandra station,since we live in Vile-Parle(east),quite close to the highway. Climbing the bridge to go to the east side of Bandra Station seemed like an uphill task. The staircase was so crowded. It tookm us nearly 20 minutes to reach the bridge. Outside the station, there were no rickshaws. Whatever rickshaws came ,just refused to go to Vile-Parle. So we thought of walking upto the highway, which is about 10 minutes walk from the station. There were better chances of getting a rickshaw at the highway..Plus there is a bus stop.And quite a few buses stop there. But here too the same story. Not a single vacant rickshaw in sight, not a single bus, not a single taxi. And we saw thousands of people walking in that rain as if they are part of some procession. We kept thinking in our mind as to what cud be the matter. Tried best to contact Subhash on our landline as well as his mobile. Total failure!!! Surabhi kept saying "ma if we start walking now, we may reach home, before it gets dark."I was flabbergasted at her idea of walking home all the way from Bandra east to our house at Parle (East). However, at that moment, that seemed to be the best alternative. So we began walking. It was pouring very heavily. The rain drops were as big as the one rupee coin. And the raindrops were falling with great force. It was as if someone is pelting stones at us from the sky. I had a rain jacket. I was fully drenched. Surabhi had an umbrella. So she too was fully wet. She closed the umbrella. By the time we reached the Santa Cruz flyover near the Reliance Energy, I was in great pain. My ankle socket had started paining. So I took off my shoes. Walking in the water requires much greater effort. I was feeling exhausted. Surabhi kept inspiring me by saying-" Ma you cud come down the ship by climbing down the rope for 60~70 feet. This is much easier. You are walking on a firm surface. You have climbed 4000 steps to see the Jain temple at Palitana. You walked 14kms. in snow in winter to see Vaishno devi. This is much easier." When we climbed down from the Santacriz flyover, the water almost at the level of our breasts. The force with which it was flowing was frightening. So many rickshaws were submerged below the flyover.The highway was full of abandoned cars. In some of the cars, the owners or their drivers were just sitting helplessly. We had to weave our way thru the cars, tempos, trucks. All of them waiting for the water to clear out so that they cud start driving. By the time we reached near the Jal Hotel turning, I had no strength left in me. In the meanwhile, some volunteers came running, and asked us " Mousi where wud u like to go?" When I told them that I have to go to the Nehru Road Petrol Pump. They showed me the thick ropes that they had put up along the way leading to our house. They advised us to hold the rope tightly. I held the rope tightly with my right hand. The force and flow of water was so strong that I cud not support myself by just holding onto the rope. So one of the volunteers held my left hand too, till the water level was just upto the ankle level. Just about 5 minutes away from my house, I felt that I will crash. So I told Surabhi to rush homeand call Subhash, so that he can support me and bring me home. It took her 15 minutes to reach home in that darkness and it took another 15 minutes for Subhash to reach the spot where I was waiting. Luckily, he had a torch in his hand. Fortunately, the water level near house was barely till ankle level. So finally, we reached HOME. Home sweet home.!!!!!! But we were worried about my second daughter, Suhrida. She works at Prabhadevi , bang opposite Siddhi Vinayak Mandir. I kept assuring Subhash that she will stay in the office or stay with a friend. Finally, at 9.30 pm or so we heard-"BABA." Oh what a relief it was. We did not have electricity for nearly 30 hours. But at places like vakola and kalina, things were really bad. Thousands of buffaloes have died and about 15,000 goats and sheep have died. At places like Malad, Jogeshwari, u cud see carcasses of buffaloes. Must go now.

Warmest regards and love.

Khonika..

Date : 13.7.2005

From: Nandita ketkar

Subject: Miraculous escape from the jaws of death!!!!

Dear friends,

It is exactly two months that Subhash and myself are back home from the Jaws of death. After I wrote that short letter captioned "Terrible News", both Subhash and myself got so entangled with matters connected with that incident,that neither of us had any time to think of anything else. Imagine, we landed home from Bahrain on Friday, May 13th( acc. to western beliefs Friday + 13th is supposed to be a deadly combination) at 5 in the morning. Six hours later, at 11.30 am Subhah had to proceed to Belapur for official enquiry. Poor guy had just 2~3 old trousers and a few old shirts at home. The shaving kit etc. were all lost in the fire. So he had to run to the hair cutting saloon to have a shave, before proceeding for official enquiry at 1330 hrs. Before I begin my graphic description of the tragic event, I must Thank Dilip sincerely, who circulated the letter to all my Bangla school classmates. Heartfelt thanx to Shomir Chatterjee , Reeta, Sharbani, Amal, Prodyot, Aloka Dey who sent us reassuring e-mails. Manojit even composed a poem describing the incident. Manojit I am all praise for your literary prowess. Every time I sat down on the computer to write about the horrible incident, I felt very traumatic. My fingers started trembling,there were shivers down my spine.And I Just could not proceed ahead. That explains the delay. May be today, I will write half the story and the rest half again next time. On Monday,9th May,we had sailed out of a port called Ras-AlKhaimah (about 90 minutes drive from Dubai), after discharging cement cargo ,which we had loaded at Porbandar. This cargo belonged to actress Juhi Chawla's husband Jay Mehta family. They have a huge cement factory called Hathi cement at Porbandar.What a palatial bungalow the Mehta family has in Porbandar. We were proceeding towards a port called Bandar Imam Khomeini in Iran. This is just 2 days run from Ras-Al-Khaimah. It was the night of 11th May,(Wednesday),or rather I should say early morning of Thursday,12th May,around 2a.m. As usual, every night around 2a.m. I wake up to go to the bathroom. I returned to the bed and was tossing and turning. Around 230 a.m or so, I heard quite a bit of commotion downstairs. I thought in my mind, that it must be the usual fights amongst the night duty watchkeepers. And I thought of ignoring it and catch up with the last part of my sleep. But the commotion seemed to be growing louder and louder, till I Clearly heard shouts of "pirates" "pirates".Subhash too woke up and opened our cabin door to go downstairs to see what the noise is about. In fact, before he opened the door, I kept cautioning him about pirates. However, as soon as he opened the door, we heard it very clearly the words"fire" "fire". Subhash ran down to confirm. And it was indeed F-I-R-E!!!!!!!! He ran back to cabin to change into boiler suit and safety shoes. I was very confused. However, I decided to keep calm and wait and watch the situation. A little later, Subhash returned to say-"it is a hopeless situation. Leaping flames have already engulfed the engine room. There is no way we can douse the fire. Run quickly and stand near the lifeboat." In all that hurry, I forgot to wear the life jacket. All that I could remember to take along was my personal hand bag, which had the ATM cards and quite a bit of cash, house keys and the address diary. The travel documents were with the Captain. Thick fumes had already started coming near the passageway of our cabin. And I thought in my mind-"If I stay here in the cabin , even for five more minutes,toxic fumes may overwhelm me, and I may faint. better run NOW." What I still feel bad is, I could not save Subhash's certificates. They were in the small suitcase. There was hardly any time to unzip the suitcase and retrieve the certificates. I was in my night clothes and in that state, we ran downstairs to the deck. The lifeboat was lowered from its stand and brought down along the rim of the ship. Already a lot of people had gathered and were getting into the boat. There are 2 lifeboats. The life boat on the other side was unapproachable due to fumes and fire. I had to climb on the rim of the ship and from there again jump a bit to get into the lifeboat.It was pitch dark everywhere. Some had the presence of mind to wear their life jackets. But most of us just ran for our lives. Then began the difficult task of lowering the life boat into the sea. Strangely enough, the lifeboat just could not be lowered. While I was sitting in the lifeboat, somebody threw down his suitcase and it straightaway landed on my left palm. My fingers got sprained. The palm started to turn blue and it started paining. Since the life boat could not be lowered, everyone decided, that it would be best to go back to the ship. So we all climbed back into the ship. In the meanwhile, someone from our ship had the presence of mind to lower a life raft in the sea. A life raft is like a rubber dinghy. Fire had already reached the upper floors. All that we could see all around was the bright orange color of the fire. It was chaos all around. To begin with, the company had supplied the ship with brand new fire extinguishers at Ras-Al-Khaimah. They were kept in the crew's dining hall. They had to be fitted in the engine room. Subhash had requested the captain several times that the fire extinguishers should be sent down the engine room immediately, so that he could have the extinguishers fitted at appropriate spots. All the time the the Sardarji Captain kept saying "-What is the hurry? Someday when my deck crew has some spare time, they will bring the fire extinguishers down to the engine room." Subhash was really disgusted with his slack attitude towards safety. The duty engineer who was on duty at the time of fire said- " As soon as I saw fire, my first instinct was to look for fire extinguishers to douse the fire. I searched for them . But did not see any." So his instinct told him to run away from fire rather wasting time in looking for fire extinguishers. I mean, he DID look for them. Who is to be blamed for the ghotala? We were all waiting on the ship, since the lifeboat just could not be lowered. Someone took the decision that all of us should go down by the rope to the life raft which was already floating on water.So everyone started climbing down from the ship on to the life raft the lby the rope. This is exactly like what the acrobats use in circus. It was left dangling from the ship and we had to climb down nearly 60 feet to get into the life raft. To me it seemed like a very very difficult task. I kept telling Subhash-"I would rather die in fire,than try to climb down by the rope and who knows, if I slip,I will fall into the sea. And you know very well that I can't swim." I think I will continue the rest of the story tomorrow. Too tired now. It is too much of a mental anguish to recollect that incident and then write about it. Bye for now.

Warmest regards.

Khonika.

Website created by Prodyot Nandy

email: pnmazumdar@yahoo.co.in