Kolkata in Curfew

Kolkata is again in problem, this time under communal fire. The AIMF (All India Minority Forum) is demanding cancellation of Visa of controversial Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen, who is now in Kolkata. The other issue was Nandigram, where huge Muslims have been killed by cadres.

Definitely some opportunist political parties are playing important role in this kind of chaos, which turned out in a riot and RAF, Army called to control it followed by overnight curfew in sensitive areas.

Taslima left Bangladesh as many Muslim extremist parties threaded to kill the female writer for her criticism of Islam and now the same kind of threats are coming in India also, though I believe that it is purely a political issue now.

I have nothing more to say about it, but what I want to restore peace in my home town. I had to wait in the long traffic jam, but fortunately I came out in time. Others waited for hours and the whole Calcutta came to standstill, as the central part was blocked by the protesters. Many cars have been burnt and police was attacked, I am happy the way CM handled the situation, but not happy with the situation.

Pic Source: ABP news paper 22Nov

Celine's Tag

Celine tagged me with some interesting questions and I loved answering them. Thanks Celine, here go my answers and a small painting in MS paint again :-)

Two names you go by (besides my given name Pijush):
1. Tony (my nickname)
2. Goba (in the blog world)
Two things you are wearing right now:
1. Dark Brown trousers (am at work)
2. White shirt with light color strips
Two longest car rides:
1. Athens to Delphi, and back (340 kms in a day)
2. Athens to Meteora, and return (850 kms in a day)

Two of your favorite things to do:
1. Traveling
2. Photography and Blogging

Two things you want very badly at the moment:
1. To get thinner and lose weight
2. To win couple of projects that I am bidding

Three animals you have or have had: (We had in our childhood)
1. Parrot
2. Chickens
3. Rabbits
Three Things you ate today:
1. Apple, Orange Juice (after dinner)
2. Rui Fish (In lunch)
3. Chilli Panir Role (yum)

Two things you are doing tomorrow:
1. Office (during the day)
2. To visit the construction of my new flat

Two favorite holidays:
1. Durga Puja and Deepavali (Undoubtedly this is dream time for most of the Indians)
2. Christmas (the favorite of many us as we have vacation and relaxed days in corporate world)

Two favorite beverages:
1. Coke (once a day)
2. Tea/Coffee (anytime)

Nandigram , The Hell

After coming back to India, not only I have enjoyed cultural festivals in Bengal, but also went through regional shock, especially in my state, West Bengal.

Yes, I am talking about the infamous Nandigram Issue. In my post on 14^th March, I condemned the stand of the State Govt and now again they have implemented their unscrupulous idea by state sponsored terrorism.

Pic Source: ABP newspaper (Homeless Destitute of Nandigram)

Who is the state govt and how they are ruling?

CMP (Communist Party) is ruling the state of West Bengal for last 3 decades. They have complete capture on the villages of WB and there is almost no opposition in many parts of the state. Though the common people of the big town and Kolkata wanted change many times, but CPM managed to win by their organizational integrity in the sub-urban and rural areas.

What is this organizational integrity?

Today in WB, every organizations of the normal life, be it the educational institutions or the employee unions, are directly controlled by communalists. Not only this, CPM has their own Cadars (armed workers), who threatens the opponents.

And now they use the Police on their own purpose. The state security forces are manipulated by the whims of CPM.

How was the industrialization and development in last 30 years?

Absolutely nothing compared to the timeframe. Lefts (CPM) were against of the Capitalism, big industrializations, computerizations etc. They always fought for the rights of farmers and labors. They locked out many jute factories in the bank of Ganges. The snatched lands from Jamindars(Landlords) and dived into the common people (that’s the reason they have strong holds in villages).

Recently Thanks to Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee who has taken many initiatives for industrialization. Many of us have respect for him and we managed to form biggest industrial hub of eastern India, especially IT hub in Kolkata.

But, time has shown that he is not perfect leader. The egotistic leader has done massacre in Nandigram issue. The holocaust, the forcefully capture of the place created an environment of uncertainty across Nandigram.

But, what is Nandigram Issue?

Let me briefly describe the issue. In a move to form Chemical Hub in the state, CPM wanted to accusation of land in Nandigram in low price. The lands are fertile and thousands of families used to survive by cultivation. Show the protested, formed their community. But, on 14^th March, CPM wanted the accusations forcibly and Police fired on the common people, killed 14 local farmers.

After that heavy protest from the common people from different part of the state has taken the govt in back foot. They decided to build the chemical hub in other location. But, the egotistic govt wanted to take the revenge and attacked the general mass by armed caders, killing many of them and took control over the whole region. The press, opposition, media, central force have been stopped by CPM caders and turmoil reigned supreme in the province.

Lastly Chief minister told "They have paid back their own coins" - which is simply not acceptable in a democratic country. I hate this type of barbarism and revenged mentality.

Now what is the reaction of common people?

Common people across India condemned the brutal stand of the lefts, TMC called stick in WB and the whole state came to standstill. The cultural people of Kolkata, including famous media person, writers protested and they have been arrested for silent protest. Some TV channel has been threaten, CPM accused TMC(opposition party), TMC asked for CM’s resignation. BJP national leaders came and demanded Presidential rule in the state, intellectuals made protests and possession in Kolkata . CRPF(National force) has entered the site and took over control of the place.

What is my stand?

I want a change in the state govt. Lefts has done nothing significant in the state, the law-n-order, communication, infrastructure, environment is not suitable for proper industrialization and healthy life. They have got fairly enough time and now somebody else should get the chance to do something. CPM has deviated from their principle and communism is a flop theory. They have done many historical blunders, jeopardized the social system and now we desperately need a change. Let the common people arise awake and vote against the threats of bullets to overcome the political topsy-turvy.

10 Dreams TAG

I haven’t post last one week as I was down by viral fever followed by hectic schedule. But now I am ok and ready to enjoy Deepavali. Its called the festival of lights, but here in Bengal we have a special religious occasion called Kali Puja.

Wish you all very happy Deepavali and Enjoy the festive occasion.

Not going into the details, I would again like to play the TAG game. This time I would like to pick other set of victims, for a brand new subject.

Subject: 10 things I want to do before I die (I listed down my top 10 desire one year back in this post).

For another reference see Ananda’s Top 10 list. (He came across this book "Unforgettable Things to do Before You Die")

This are just few dreams, so be honest and write whatever you like; you want to do irrespective of opportunities and possibilities. That’s what we had done.

I want to Tag

1) Sigma : I know you will pick it; eagerly waiting for you interesting post.

2) Cuckoo : Haha.. this is my turn now. I know how much busy you are, so not sure whether you will pick it.

3) Keshi : I read your post on 5 things you want to do if you are going to die in next 6 months, but now the span is not limited. Hope we will have something equally amusing posts.

4) Kalyan: Same for you, not sure whether you will have time in your busy schedule, still interested to know what you dream.

5) Backpakker : Your post will be obviously interesting, so tagging you.

6) Aditi : Hope you will pick this one and I think your dreams will be completely different than others.

7) Anyone who is interested, niki , indicaspecies , CHEWY , Amrita…. I know You all have nice dreams. so, share it with us. Hope you all will enjoy this Tag.

The Book Cover Tag

I have been tagged first time for something in the blogosphere by Miss Cuckoo. The subject is Book-Cover Tag.
Rule (there is only one): Go to the advanced book search on Amazon, type your first name into the Title field, and post the most interesting/amusing cover that shows up.

I tried with my first name Pijush and as expected got no match. Pijush is a typical Sanskrit/Bengali word which means nectar or ambrosia (though I am not that juicy lol).
So I had to try with my blog nick name “Goba” and got couple of them. The first one was “The Goba of the Zambezi: Sex Roles, Economics, and Change by Chet S Lancaster”, which is associated with many amusing subjects, but not interesting enough to me.
The second one was "The Goba Name in History by Ancestry.com", which sounds ambiguous but bit interesting. In the book you'll find out about where people with the Goba last name originated. Waoww.. Goba is surname of many people that I didn’t know. Isnt it amusing !!

The Editorial Review of The Goba Name in History is given below.

The Goba Name in History is a customized book offering a unique blend of fascinating facts, statistics and commentary about the Goba name. The book is just one of an entire series of family name books in the Our Name in History collection. Each book in the collection is printed on demand and is compiled from hundreds of millions of records from the world's largest online resource of family history, Ancestry.com. This particular book follows the Goba family name through history and makes the perfect gift for your family members and anyone interested in the Goba name. In the book you'll find out about where people with the Goba last name originated. You may discover the countries and ports they left behind, the ships they sailed and more. You'll get a better idea of where people sharing the Goba name settled and where they may reside today in the United States, Canada, England and other countries. You'll get all this information and much more in your Goba family name book. If your last name is not Goba, then check out our collection of nearly 300,000 family name books to find other available names in the series.

I would like to tag..

1)Amrita – I know you will pick it and come up with something very interesting
2)Ananda – In Bengali your name own a big publication, I doubt what will be in English
3)backpakker – For sure you will find many books in your blog name, but not sure about your real name.
4)Celine – and indicaspecies Both the names are interesting. Looking for the search result.
5)CHEWY – Search for something amusing and share with us.
6)David – The search will be in Title field, otherwise you are the only person in the list who will have a perfect match with the full name in the author field.
7)Niki – I am sure that your search result must be intriguing and mischievous.
Eager to see a colorful sweet book covers.

Durga Puja - A Small Recap

Finally Durga puja ended with expected grandeur and solemnity. Be it rich or poor, Hindu or non-Hindu, Bengali or non-Bengali, everyone enjoyed the festival here in Bengal. But the end of the festival has left me heavy hearted, thus not feeling to cherish these days. But still want to share some moments and shots that I have captured.

I haven’t been able to see many pandels and idols, but still have had nice time with family and friends. The best idol I have seen is the above one of Jagriti Sangha club of Garia, close to my flat. I like the fearlessness and reinvigorating face here.

Then comes the goddess of our apartment/flat. We the flat owners organize Durga puja in miniature and we spend most of the time here. Its our own puja, everything is done by us, starting from creative decorations to prepare the bhog (holly food).

The purohit (priest) are performing some rituals. This is called arati and the next one with some lamps are called Sandhi Puja, which happens between the third(Astami) and fourth(Nabami) day of the festival.

On last two days we went to Kharagpur from Kolkata and enjoyed the festival there. It was fascinating and real refreshing. I have not downloaded kgp pics yet, here go some of the pics of Garia(my locality in Kolkata).

This is one of the biggest festivals in India as well as in World (few hundred thousands pandals and idols are created and almost hundred million people are directly participate in this festival). If you are planning to come to Kolkata or Bengal, this is the right time of the year. The last day of the puja is called Dusshera, which is celebrated across all states in India.
Some of the perspectives are reflected in my cobloggers posts, so I want to mention some of them. Honorable mentions are listed below.
1) Amrita's Idol preparation post
2) Kalyan's Chants of Mahalaya Post (pre puja rituals)
3) Greatbong's sarcastic post on Pandel controversy
4) David's posts on Puja
5) Kalyan's Durga Puja post
6) Greatbong's The Magic of Maddox Square
6) Anada's Puja review

This puja where creativity wins over the rituals is wonderful occasion in many ways. The idols and pandels are only kept for four days, but for sure it leaves an ever-lasting effect to each and every viewer.
Here goes few slides of our apartment puja and of nearby locality.

Random strokes

Found few minutes from my schedule and drew these two pics in MS paint with random strokes of mouse, Can you suggest some captions ?

Updated: 24th Oct 2007
Thanks everyone. I just picked up 10 captions from your comments I liked most .

Snake Demystified - Amrita
Electric Snake Dance – Chewy
The Invisible Snake Charmer and his Pet – Celine
Lines of fate - Bagpakker

Sky is the limit – Aditi
Flying Home – Amrita
Flight of Fantasy – Celine
Flight out of Greece- Chewy
Goba-chan flying home - Niki
"Athens' Smog" or "Καπνός της Αθήνα - Volodya

The Goba Returns

You have heard of migratory birds. In winter they come to the warm wonderlands, they enjoy the charming weather. But they never forgot their roots, the fragrance of their own soil, and return after the winter. So as Goba, migrates often on request but never forgets to comeback to his motherland, the incredible India.

How it feels to leave the place where you are living for more than a year? Not really good, Goba misses many things of the wonderlands and sometime he becomes nostalgic. He misses the culture, people and specially the new friends he got here. He misses the weather, the rare natural beauties. He misses very small things like the smell of the office floor, the basketball in the workplace, the view from his window.

But how it feels to go back to hometown? Heart is thrilled and the mind is full of joy, especially when it is festival times in India. Durga puja was always the favourite occasion in Goba’s life; I guess it is same for most of the Bengalis. It takes him to the old days when small Goba used to visit at least 100 pandals during these three/four days every year. He was amazed to see the different pandels decorated with lights, coloured cloths/materials and in the middle the holly goddess “Ma Durga”. This festival is called “Durga Puja” which has a rich mythological history, mainly associated with Bengali culture though deeply influence almost all Indians (especially Dusshera occasion, the last day of the festival is celebrated across India).

And look at the coincidence, Goba is returning on the same day (17th Oct) the festival will start, the most desired festival. It takes him down the memory lane. He can recollect some memories when his family was living in a small railway quarter of Babuline in Kharagpur. There were grossly fifty small quarters and they used to organize one combined puja. A committee was formed every year for organising the festival. His father was very proactive and used to be a part of the committee. At the age of twelve he had written a poem in the souvenir of Babuline Puja Committee and his father wrote an editorial. It was a cultural bonanza, starting from forming structures to creative literature.

Thus Goba is exited and eager to go back to the home soil, close to the near and dears, friends and colleagues and of course to enjoy the festive mood.

PS: Durga puja is one of the biggest cultural festivals. It has a deep influence on the common Bengalis and Indians, they decorate their houses, buy new cloths prepare sweets, meet each other, and go out to see the idols. The crowed, the make-shift stalls, pandels, images/idols, decorations, crackers, lights, songs, and cultural programs everything makes it a perfect occasion to rejoice.

I will not be regular during next 2 weeks as I am leaving Greece for good. So little busy. Will keep posting after Durga Puja.

I have drawn the sketch in the first one in MS paint and pasted some pics captured by me 2 years back.

What I like most about Blogging.

Blogging is like friend with whom I can talk always

Goba: Hi buddy, howz life.
P1: Hello Mate, I haven't heard you long.
Goba: Ya, I haven't had much of time recently, its almost the end of my assignment and bit busy as usual.
P1: Hmm, I can understand, though I am relatively free as the project is not in peak and Easters are coming. Bit of holiday mood here.
Goba: Waoww… that's nice, so enjoying spring. Here the autumn is not that bad. Nice weather nice colors, will soon post something in my blogs. Now I am enjoying blogging. You know I have many new friends here ..
If you don’t mind can I ask you something? I need to know what do you like most about blogging.

P1: Ya I have started to be a regular blogger. You know it's a nice world. But I am very new to this World and I really don’t know what to like most, but I like the creativity of bloggers, the innovative thinking on different topics I have never thought of.

Goba: Yes that really an interesting part of the story, but I would say this is not the reason I was blogging.

P1: You are right :-) You were blogging for many different reasons, to know some of it lets call P2.

{P2 joined the conference}

P2: Waoww.. I am lucky today. What for you have remembered me?

Goba: For a simple question on blogging. I guess you have few blogs now, what do you like most in blogging.

P2: What!! Blogging!! Its just another virtual world. N+1th illusory existence of Nth replica. To me this World is virtual; we think therefore we are, same for the blogs.

P1: oh mate, not again. Believe me the veil of illusion or Maya will be torn very soon once you will have some strict deadlines to meet. But I still believe the same philosophy.

P2: Ok friends, let me answer then. I think I like it as it is easy to share my photos and travel experiences. I am in the net for free and I have a space of my own. My friends and relatives can see them and in future I can cherish the memories. I write blog for me, and some of them are wired to others like this one. But still I want to write down my thoughts here as it may help me to understand the virtual life in future. That’s what I like most in Blogging.

Goba: Yaa, I forgot you believe you are in a illusory World now. Well now I can understand your explanation. But P1, I think your choice is now quite different?

P1: Yes buddy, I am now in a new World, A world full of color and friends, some of them are very good and slowly we are forming our family, It has no color, no boundary, no religion, no status. It is simply a community where everyone is free to express their views, there thoughts, their experiences and also can reciprocate or contradict others views. This Blogging World is amazing and that what I like most.

Goba: Waoww.. I also think the same, but since I am bit more mature I will say the essence of blogging is much deeper. The thirst for innovation, the desire to come up with nice stuff always haunts me. I feel rejuvenated after reading nice posts, after encountering awesome pictures and by the constructive criticism and comments. I found the medium to fulfill my future desires. That’s what I like most. Thanks for joining me for introspection and find out the answer.

{Goba was trying to talk with himself to find out the answer asked by David, P1 is his replica 6 months back and P2 one year back}

Gandhi Jayanti - Gandhiji's Birthday

Today is 138th Birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, the father of India. In this occasion I want to share one of my digital paintings I just finished (I used only few lines to draw the face, so easy to draw a great personality, which tells how simple he was) and his 10 quotes which made me thinking many times rather influenced me in many ways.

You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.

The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong

I cannot teach you violence, as I do not myself believe in it. I can only teach you not to bow your heads before any one even at the cost of your life. I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent.

Raghupati Raghaba Raja Ram, Patito Pabana Sita Ram
Iswar Allaha Tero Nam, Sabko Sammati de Bhagoban

An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind

Hate the sin, love the sinner

Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.
You must be the change you want to see in the world

Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it

Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.

Guess the inner meaning I tried to illustrate in this painting?