A Humorous Tale to Tell at SAIL

We were at the RMH (Raw Material Handling) Plant of SAIL, Bokaro looking at the machines which comprised of Stacker and Reclaimer. Together with three of us were three more College Students and Attendant cum Technician Trainees (ATT) who were about to get their posting on 21^st of December as our conversation with them made me know about this. They had an ITI degree which in this part of India is easily confused with an IIT degree. So, here we were blending with the guys who seemed to be much elder to us as suggested by their thin lines of hair on their forehead just like Stacker and Reclaimer blends the raw material coming from different parts of the world.

One of the elderly guy from the ATT group (he seemed to be the eldest in the whole lot) took pride in announcing that he’s posting is due on 21^st of December. He furthered went on mentioning that he has already got his quarter allotted and full medical insurance has been granted to him and his family. He then showed us his Green T-shirt which had SAIL written on its pocket by slightly taking off his jacket so that his pockets are visible and didn't forget pointing that, this too has been given for free by SAIL.

To this +Abhimanyu Mawatwal , asked, “Bhaiya, Gas (Cooking Gas) wagera bhi SAIL deti hai aapko ?”  with a cunning smile which he never forgets to put on whenever he asks such type of questions.

The elderly guy replied, “Sasur se uski beti maangne jaoge tab kya yeh bhi bologe ki Bacha paida kr k do. Bacha toh khud hi paida kroge na.”

I went on laughing so hard that I could have got ill by inhaling all the iron ore and coal dust which were the primary constituents of the breathing air in that place. :D

Travel Diary: Gangtok

Gangtok has been on my mind ever since, I had my first trip to Shillong but since, visiting there required at least four days of holidays at a stretch we never really came up with anything substantial in between the semester. This Durga Puja however, gave us an opportunity to consider going there. 

Aerial View of the City from the Ropeway

Overall, Gangtok is a beautiful place but before I dive into all the details and my opinions about the place, I'd first like to give a short travel go through






Day 0, Thrusday, 10th October: 
We boarded the Train to New Jalpaiguri.

Day 1, Friday, 11th October:
Reached New Jalpaiguri and left for Gangtok.
Local Sight Seeing (Flower Garden/ M.G Marg/Shopping/ Ropeway/Viewpoint/Monastery)

Day 2, Saturday, 12th October:
From Gangtok to Lachung

Day 3, Sunday, 13th October:
Yamthang Valley and Zero Point.
Back to Gangtok.

Day 4, Monday, 14th October:
Changu Lake and Babaji ka Mandir.
Back to NJP Railway Station

Day 5, Tuesday, 15th October:
Back to Guwahati.

As we started with our journey we split ourselves in a group of six and seven people as not all of us could be accommodated in one vehicle.

From NJP we went to the West Bengal Border, and soon after that we reached the place called Malli. Malli is a place famous for it’s Beer Brewery HIT which is owned by Danny Denzongpa. It is situated by the banks of river Teesta which in itself is something worth watching as it flows turbulently making a splash on the rocks and overtime making them smooth and shiny. Also, situated by the banks of the river is Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology (SMIT) in a place called Majhira. There is only one road connecting NJP to Gangtok and that too is rough in patches. In total, typically the time taken to reach Gangtok from NJP is somewhere about five to six hours. This journey can be completed without taking halt in the middle but since, we were all famished, we decided to take one stop were we brushed our teeth and had our first meal of the day.

 Local Sightseeing

Flower Garden was a place where we had many pictures clicked. It was an indoor garden kind of place and since October is not a blooming season, we didn't find many varieties of flower there but the greenness all around made the place very attractive.

And I forgot the name of this plant

About to Bloom

The Carnivores Plant

Ropeway Ride – This was my second ropeway ride, the first being when I was perhaps 5 or 6 years old and I was in my Grandfather’s lap. You get to see the entire city with this ride. On one side you find the ever expanding city where buildings are being built at a rampant speed and on the other side is the scenic beauty with the hills and vegetation covering the hills entirely. A must have experience in Gangtok.

The Sikkim Legislative Assembly Building as seen from Ropeway

The Butter (Fly) Over

A distant hill as seen from the Ropeway

Viewpoints: Once getting into a Ropeway Ride, the viewpoints didn’t seem to offer anything substantial. The good thing was I was able to take close up pictures of flag shaped sermon tied from one end to other. Also, we had the only complete group photograph here.

Museum: By the time we reached Museum, it was already closed. Tough Luck there.

An idol outside the Museum

Museum from Outside

Monastery: The monastery wasn’t very grand in terms of art and architecture but then that’s not the real purpose of building the monastery or temples or mosques. The real reason is to restore faith at odd times, which I found very much there with devotees paying respect by circling around the stupa shaped structure and circling the bells. Also, a lot of Diyas were prepared for some evening ceremony during my time of visit.

M. G Marg – Named after the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi, this road is India’s answer to Amsterdam. With all kind of shops on both the sides, the road is limited to only people walking on foot, smoking free, tobacoo free, liiter free and spit free zone, the entire road is a major tourist attraction. Infact the whole of Sikkim is smoking free and litter free area. By smoking free, I do not mean complete prohibition but public prohibition.

The Panoramic View of M.G Marg

This is a much needed stand from the Government because Sikkim, throughout the year is a tourist place where people flock in all the seasons, hence, keeping a regulation on these things is very necessary.

Gangtok in olden days was the primary stop for the Indo-Chinese and Indo-Tibetian traders. Therefore, it has been a tourist place and a traveler's abode from a very early time. Unlike, Darjeeling, water supply is not a very problem here with Teesta being the primary source of water in all of Sikkim.

Lachung, Yumthang Valley and Zero Point

At higher altitudes, food is a major problem as we traveled to Lachung and other places which are far from Gangtok and are at significantly higher altitudes. The road leading to Lachung is very difficult to negotiate. They are severely damaged at places with negligible and no repairing done after the recent earthquakes which took place two years back. The area that I’m talking about is North Sikkim which faced the worst effect of earthquakes. I've been to hilly places a lot but this was the first time I got to see naked hills. The earthquake resulted into many landslides in this area and hills are covered with vegetation in patches which makes them look naked.

The Naked Hills

From Lachung we reached Yumthang Valley and thereafter by giving additional charges we reached the Zero Point which is the Line of Action. On the way we encountered many abandoned bunkers. At Zero Point, I had my first encounter with snow, with the season’s first snowfall. It was raining in Yumthang Valley but it was snowing at Zero Point. Zero Point is about 15,000 ft above sea level and almost 5000 ft above than the Yumthang Valley.

Sunset on the way to Lachung

A Small Market area in the Yumthang Valley. We had our morning breakfast here (Bread and Jam). Also, there were jackets and warm clothes available on rent to ease the journey further ahead. 

Zero Point, where I had my first tryst with Snowfall. Picture Perfect Destination. The packaged food items started bursting on their own as we reached this height. It was amazing to witness that. Beyond the hill is Tibet.

Changu Lake and Babaji ka Mandir

The next day we went to East Sikkim where we saw the Changu lake and went to Babaji ka mandir. The roads once again are in very bad condition throughout. On the way from Changu Lake to Babaji Mandir, we encountered heavy snowfall which was absolute delight.

To find a vast stretch of Lake at a height of about 12,000 ft above sea level is an amazement in itself. It was raining when we arrived here which made the weather very cold at that time.

Babaji ka Mandir is the perhaps the only temple where it wasn't required for us to open our footwears outside the the temple premises. It was freezing the time we reached here. It is situated at a height of 13,000 ft. This temple is of great spritual importance. Sikkim was an independent state before the Indo-China war. It was perhaps, 1959, when China was about to attack Sikkim. The then king of the province seeked help from India. Babaji died during Patrolling but it is said that he came in the dreams of the soldiers and told about the whereabouts of Chinese.

We missed going to Nathula Pass, the Indo-China Border as it was Monday. The border is closed on Monday and Tuesday for tourists as trade activities occur through the border on those days. One has to travel 4 kms. uphill from the place we were in order to reach there.

In the Snowfall, I became a child once again

Local Cuisine

It was one of the few things that I missed in this trip.  The famous cuisine is Thapa or Thopa ( I don't know the exact pronunciation). All the North Indian cuisine is easily available and the food is not a problem at all in Gangtok. It is only at higher altitude that the food becomes scarce.

Animals

Yaks roaming around freely like any other cattle was something that I saw for the first time.












Near Changu Lake you can even have yourself photographed sitting on a Yak. They charge Rs. 50 for taking photographs and they also offer Yak ride which obviously costs more.

The Dog with lots of fur on his body

Waterfalls

 Apart from these two waterfalls shown in the picture, there are many other falls in Sikkim. On the second day it started raining and after that, all the hills seemed to have a fall of it's own.


Dragons and Sikkim

 Like many Buddhist states, Sikkim too is very much influenced with the Dragon Arts which can be found in many places.



The Cutie Pies of Sikkim

Kids here are super cute. Here is a small glimpse of that:

We visited Gangtok during the Durga Puja but there wasn't much pomp and show associated with the festival. Although, there were few pandals and decoration in the city but that was I think mostly because of the West Bengal influence.

Apart from the few hardships that comes with travelling, the trip was very nice. Sikkim has many things to offer to tourists and the whole city is built like that. With varying option of accommodation and rides to variety in cuisines, Sikkim understands tourists very well. We were thirteen people all together and all the total cost including everything was something around Rs. 5000 per head. Money Well Spent !

A Decoration outside the Shop saying
"Celebrating Sikkim"

Like most of our trip this too was more about being on the road and less about reaching destination. Travelling is a miniature model of life itself where we spend most of our time chasing things and when we achieve the thing which we were once chasing, we start chasing for something else. 

That's why one should focus more on making the journey beautiful rather than planning for things on what to do once they get there.


And my journey was beautiful because of the people I had around myself.

Clay from the Forbidden Land

I was in +Narendra Kumar 's room talking to him about some random stuffs when we found people wishing “Happy Navratri” to each other. After sharing a few nostalgic incidents about our times in our hometowns, we finally stuck at one particular thing; the thing which I’m sure will allow people to recollect the movie Devdas when Paro asks Chandramukhi for soil in order to start preparations for Durga Puja.

An age old practice is to collect the punya mati (blessed soil) from outside the nishiddha pallis (forbidden territories) of Calcutta to be used amongst other things to make the idol of Devi Durga by the now-famous artisans from Kumartuli (the potters town in Kolkata). It is now a ritual and the practitioners feel that this is a vital ingredient in the clay to be used in the idol making, without which, one cannot proceed.

“It is an integral ingredient of the holy mix, which also includes mud from the banks of the Ganga, cow dung and cow urine”. The elderly pujaris personally go to Sonagachi, Calcutta’s biggest red light area, “on an auspicious day” about a month before the onset of the festive season, around the time when potters begin to start work on idols, to collect what they call “virtuous dust from the doorstep of beshhas (prostitutes)”

Sonagachi when translated to English means Golden Tree, so naturally the soil which nourishes the Golden Tree must be of the purest form.

The method of soil collection is even more dramatic: “The most auspicious method of collection is to beg it from a prostitute and have her hand it to you as a gift or blessing. If it is taken from the ground, the pujari must know the correct way of doing it, including knowing which mantras to chant and how to position the fingers in a yogic mudra while scooping up the soil.”

Once brought, this dry mud is mixed with other types of mud like ‘poli’ (from the Ganges bank). The mixture is then wet and left for two days. After that, they use it in the idol.

So what could be the reason behind this practice of collecting mud from the doorstep of a sex-worker?

The most prominent reason cited is that when a man enters these dens of vice, he leaves his virtues outside the doorstep, making the soil virtuous. When the man comes out of the house, he has left all his vices at the house of the sex-worker. Another reason given is that this is to ‘purge’ the sex-workers of their sins! This sounds quite ironic as it is well known that no woman in the area is there out of choice and no man is there out of force. So to use this reason is quite unfair to the already wronged women of the area.

But then, let us look at the same practice differently. This practice could have been initiated by some, to include the otherwise ostracised members of the society. It could also have been a way to honour the erstwhile courtesans who were proficient in different form of arts. Or could it be that people of all religions and communities come to a brothel and involving the soil from there in the ritual could just be a fitting tribute to the all-encompassing nature of the Mother?

So does the practice have a religious reason or does it have a social relevance? Has the ritual made any difference to the way a layman looks at them? What kind of ‘elevation of status’ (if any) is it when they are so important for a day, but whores for the rest of the year? If worship of Durga is of stree-shakti (feminine power), then why is this practice so demeaning to a set of the womenfolk who seem to be so integral to the ritual? Unfortunately, all I can say is that the practice is still on; the sex-workers are in as squalid condition as they were but definitely the ritual has lost its social relevance, if it had any.

The way these females celebrate Puja in their land is a bit different. Together, the women conduct and participate in all the rituals associated with the 'puja'. Take 'Sindoor khela', an integral part of the 'puja' rituals. Traditionally, on the last day of the 'pujas' - 'Dashami' or the tenth day - married women anoint the Goddess with vermilion and then each other, praying for the long life of their spouses. The women of Sonagachi, too, follow this ritual. But with a difference.

Excerpt from an Interview

"We can never be married in the conventional sense," reveals Mosumi Chaki, 30, a mother of two living in Sonagachi. "But we bear children. We are mothers, like the Goddess. So we apply 'sindoor' (vermilion) on Mother and pray for the well-being of our children as we bid adieu to her. The Goddess allows us to bend the rituals because she is a woman herself. After all, she too has broken many social norms. As Kali, she stepped on the chest of her husband, Lord Shiva. The Goddess Durga stands for justice." She adds, "It's this belief and this faith that gives us the right to worship her in our own way."

 

A photo which I clicked last year.
Location: One of the Pandals in Amingaon, North Gauhati

References:

http://utkarshspeak.blogspot.in/2010/10/clay-for-durga-idols.html

http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/ranchi/courtesans-contribution-to-ma-durga-continues.html

http://theviewspaper.net/the-story-of-durga-idol-making/

http://creative.sulekha.com/durga-puja-and-prostitution_442666_blog

http://www.bengalspider.com/resources/4371-Soil-from-prostitutes-making-idol-Maa-Durga.aspx

In Conversation with the Real Heroes

When I went to home this summer, I got an opportunity to meet Amrit Bhaiya, the eldest son of my Mom’s friend. He is on the post of Lieutenant and is currently posted in Lucknow. I have always been fascinated by Army people. They are such a great source of inspiration.
I had small chat with him and he showed me his Convocation pics, he was the Academy topper, then few videos of NDA Ball. Few of the videos in which he was being ragged by his seniors.
It was great to meet him

After that, when I was returning back to Guwahati this summer, I met few more Army officers in my railway compartment. They were not sitting beside me. We met only for a while during the whole journey but that small conversation was both an eye opener as well as good learning experience.

Here are few of the questions that I asked.


Q: Does someone skips Morning PT?
A: There is no reason why one should miss morning PT classes. When one can’t wake up and voluntarily go for Morning PT, how can he be expected to defend people in war situation?


Q: I've heard that army doesn't provide much benefit to family of the officers.
A: Parents, Wife and Children. These are the only family we know. These people are treated with utmost respect. Now if you’re talking about extended relatives, then, in that case, it’s like we do not know them.


Q: Can you help out some normal people. Are you allowed to do so?
A: Insaaniyat k naate toh aap help kr hi skte ho. (You can always help on humanitarian ground). We work on national front not on internal matters. We are not trained to fight Naxals or Ulfa. These are our people. We are here to protect our people. Our role and the role of Police are quite different. 


Q: Do you keep weapons?
A: We carry weapons only when we are on Operation. We just don’t casually carry weapons or roam around flashing it. Plus, losing your weapon is a thing of utmost shame. When you can’t take care of your weapons, your only trusted friend in battle, how can people entrust their lives on you. We need to submit it before we come for holidays.


Q: When are your holidays?
Officers get 60 -70 days holidays in a year where as others get 90 days holidays.


Q: What if you take extra holidays other than the predefined ones?
A: We are paid on a daily basis and we have to pay back the money for extra holidays when we resign or retire. The amount that we are ought to return is according to the amount of the day of the retirement. So, in case a higher pay commission has been implemented in between your job, the money you've to return is higher than what you had been given.  Something similar happens during the training period also, when a cadet drops out from the academy, he has to pay back the money for the days he stayed there which is roughly about 1500-1600 INR /day (during the training).


Q: Students like us welcome the College life wholeheartedly. We have plans ki College mein jakar ye krenge, wo krnege. Your life seems to be very different. How it is like to get transformed into a Man from a Boy at the Academy?
A: Our way of life is different. The sooner you accept it, the better it would be. Since, you’re talking about this whole transformation thing, see, you’re transformed from Boy to a Man once in your life. No matter how you get transformed, you’re not going to get another chance. What I’m trying to say is that you can’t compare things. People outside the academy have different lives and we have different lives. We don’t whine about the benefits and joys that people outside the walls are enjoying. We are happy in ourselves. This is our bread and butter. Aur aisa nahi hai ki we don’t enjoy our life. We have different notion of enjoyment. But yes, when it comes to training, we are very serious, unlike normal college students who don’t pay attention to their courses. It is because, when we make mistakes, lives of others are at stake. This is why we are very serious towards our work. 

You don’t need to dishearten yourself thinking that you’re not doing anything and it is only the people in the army who are serving the nation. 
No!
May be you as an Engineer or a Research Scholar can serve our nation in a much better way, may be in a way that I can never be. We are able to merge our identity with our nation easily because of the nature of our profession. You too can do the same and make the Nation proud.


Jai Hind !!

Created by putting in a White Sheet between two Files

My Most Sensual Click till Date [Behind the Scene]

Click on it for better viewing experience

Is it my Hostel Room ?
Yes !

And all only Boys are supposed to be here?
Yes !

Then how do you have a Bra in this picture.

These are the first few questions that I've been asked once I uploaded this picture.

Here's the complete story:

I was part of  the NSS team who were responsible for Cloth Distribution Drive that we organised during January '12. After reaching our destination, one of my friend [perhaps, I shouldn't name him] found out a packet of women brassier in the whole heap of clothes that we collected and sneaked it in my bag.

And this is how this Bra landed in my room. 

After that one morning in the month of February '12 [The Valentine's Month], I got inspired to click a photograph and this was the result.

Love's Secret [Darjeeling]

Click on the picture for better viewing experience

I visited Darjeeling during January '13, where I had a chance to go to Rock Gardens. Along with rough terrain (as the name suggests) and waterfalls the place was very romantic. No wonder the couple in the picture above decided to visit this place too.

I clicked this without letting them know about it and once I got the click, I showed them. They were overjoyed after seeing this and asked me to give them a copy of it.

Love was in the Air.

Then one day, very recently, I came across a poem by William Blake. I thought this could go along with this photograph and then I came up with what you see above.

Love's Secret

Never seek to tell thy love, 

Love that never told can be;

For the gentle wind does move

Silently, invisibly.

I told my love, I told my love,

I told her all my heart;

Trembling, cold, in ghastly fears,

Ah! she did depart!

Soon as she was gone from me,

A traveler came by,

Silently, invisibly 

He took her with a sigh.

Letter to a Sister from her Brother at the starting of her College.

I started writing this letter to Diksha on 16th of July and it took two days for me to complete it. And then I thought this might go to my Blog Post as few of my friends might need it for their brothers and sisters who are yet to join College. But at the same time because of the personal nature of this letter, I thought not to post it. So, here I was caught in the middle. At last I decided to ask from Diksha herself, as she now owns that letter.

Her reply was, "You can post it on blogpost bhaiya... You have written this letter...u can post"

Dear Diksha,

Congratulations, you’re a college student now.

From a School going Girl to a College going Lady, the journey must be enjoyable, fun, at times sad but overall a great learning experience. For you this shift would have been drastic but not as drastic as it is to half of the students as the current education system allows us to drop a year after Class 12th [respectfully]. Earlier, and this is even before my time, when students used to be in College right after Class 10th  and even before that, it is during the time of my Dadaji, College used to start after Class 11th.  You see we have always been a part of huge experiments but that doesn't make us “Lab Rats”. It’s not like we are programmed to do something in particular, rather we are the creator of our own destiny and we can pursue whatever our desire is.

The reason why I’m telling you all of this is because, all groomed and qualified, you’re going to be admitted in an Engineering College now but this shouldn't restrict you to one particular field. Let’s say, your branch is Computer Science, this doesn't mean that you can’t explore machines, automobiles, electric circuits, architectures or things like Photography, Literature, Paintings, Travelling etc. Having been admitted to an Engineering College doesn't mean that you must now be programmed to do a particular thing and if you fail at that, you’re a terrible human being unable to perform the tasks that are appointed to you. 

NO!

You have opportunities in your hand up for grabs. Graduating from a subject gives you a very good overview of that subject, it doesn’t make you an expert, even if you pursue it from IIT to MIT. And you still have chances to explore other disciplines. There are many inter-disciplinary thing (combining two stereotypical subjects and forming a new one) that you can do. That’s why always welcome things with an open heart and open hands. Embrace the experiences that you’ll get showered with and spend your time doing what you Love. 
“Doing what you Love”

This a tricky thing. Most of us don’t what we Love. Till Class 12th, it is basically Physics, Chemistry and Maths. Now these are very broad subjects, very broad. And now when you step up into the next level, you encounter extreme diversification. There are subcategories in every major and minor discipline that will leave you aghast as what will be good for me. Science, in order to understand nature as employed a “Divide and Rule Policy”, which as a result resulted in such diversification that you see around yourself or you will be seeing around yourself very soon but Understand this, All of it is Superficial and are there just to make our work simpler. No one knows everything, hence there is no shame in Questioning. 
Start Questioning.

Do not follow anything blindly because once you start doing so, it will become your habit. The problem is not the divided rule that Science follows, the problem is the way people try to shrug off their work by referring things to other Departments.
“Ye mera kaam nahi hai. My research topic and interest doesn't coincide with this one. Please refer your queries to the following person”

Even the intellectuals say it and that too without looking at the queries. However, this shouldn't dishearten your questioning spirit, because for every fifty people like this, you’ll get one enthusiastic person who’ll love to answer your question. The world is Fucked UP place, no one denies that, but when you look at it with a whole new perspective, you’ll find it beautiful at times and it is for those moments only that we live.

Life is a Gift. You do not own this place rather you've rented this place. Make sure that the Landlords sitting high above the sky feels proud to hire you.

Apart from all this Academia and your Professional journey, there is one more thing that is now added to your shoulders and that is, you’re now an adult, a responsible citizen of India. 
Act like One

It is now one of your duty to stay alert, know about things that are going on outside and to go against any wrong doing. If you’re not active and alert at this stage of life, then your rest of life wouldn't change much until and unless something happens out of nowhere. In no way, I’m trying to force you to take up Politics and be a part of rally and other such juvenile things that people of our age do, but try to solve things at your own personal level. Being a College Student now you’re more educated than 60% of India’s population.
Be Vigilant and know your Rights.

These are really difficult things that I’m asking you to do. One of the most difficult thing in the world is to “Do what you Like”. Strange, isn’t it?

But that’s how things are right now. My advice to you is that you follow your heart. Be specific and serious towards your goal but never miss out on your hobbies. Better would be if you could convert your work into your hobby.

Do things that pleases you. College is a wonderful time to explore new opportunities. Dance, Drama, Singing, Technical Clubs. Be a part of them and enjoy because the most important thing in Life is that when you go to Bed at night, you’re Happy. When you wash your face and brush your teeth before going to bed, make sure that you’re able to see all the 32 whites on your face. 
In my short span of two years, I've done a lot of things. Most of them are already on Facebook  You know how much I love travelling, photography and writing. I did it all and I wish to do all of it in future too. 

 You see, 
College is Fun. You should enjoy it. But at the same time, it can be difficult to balance personal, professional and all the fun part of Life. There will be times, when you’ll get disheartened, disappointed and will feel Useless.

I've experienced all these things a lot and I've came out with a Solution. Try this when you feel down.
Wipe your Tears, Take a Bath, Dry Yourself, Sit on your knees and face to your favorite wall or the favorite side of the room, Fold your Hands and Pray to God. Keep a mental picture of your Mom, Dad, and your brother and continue praying. 
This technique as I've found out has magical strength to it and has worked for me quite well.

Mummy Papa se regular baat krte rehna. They are the one who love you the most.

Keep one thing in mind, always, that I’m just a call away.
Stay Happy and Stay Blessed,

Yours,