Aum, Amen and Amin- Think About It!

I should be completing my dissertation but I have been forced to drag on to something else after reading the book… The Krishna Keys… Well, as a matter of fact I have not yet completed it, but what I liked is the fact that somebody is actually touching the roots of Indian History and by which I mean the famous line of Dayananda Saraswati, “Back to Vedas”, to write something hard core. I am here not to write a review but to share about a theory that I have learned back in my post graduate history classes. But unfortunately, I do not remember the propagator’s name, it can be Vico or I may be wrong. 

He states that when two civilizations develop at same point of time, they share some common ideas. They exchange thoughts, stories and even cultures. This is the very reason that gave rise to stories or folk tales that share common baselines. It can be an inspiration or mere description of events that has been witnessed by both of these civilizations. 

 Now, here is my point. If I follow this theory then can we say Hinduism, Christianity and Islam are contemporaries of one another?  I do not wish to hurt the religious sentiments of anyone. But have you ever given a deep thought to these three words….. ‘Aum’, ‘Amen’ and ‘Amin’? Don’t you feel that they sound on common note? 

Aum is the symbol for Hinduism, Amen for the Christianity and Amin for Islam.

Which is the oldest religion on this earth? A question that swells up a lot of discussions and debates! But if I say these three religions developed at the same point of time and they shared some common ideas and at times customs as well. 

Am I exaggerating? 

Think about it!

Ekta bekar sokal………

Sokal ta j roj kano hoi bujte parena chai. Echeo korena uthte, abar besikhon dhore suye thaka jaina bichanai. Age age tao 10tai ghum bhangto, kichui korar thake na uthe tai mukh dhuye breakfast khete khete 11ta, tarpor ektu tv r kochkochi ,ei korte korte 12 ta..Bas dupur..chan ,khawa,ghum. But why the hell nowadays, I wake up at 7:30,god knows. Sokal ta r o boro hoye gelo,birokto lege jai. Tai bar bar nijeke bojhai...” r e ekhon anondo kore ne tarpor jei basto hoye jabi ei time ta bar bar chaibi re pagli”. Kintu jokhn e mone pore last 9 mas dhore cholche ei bekarotto tokhn motka ta r o gorom hoye jai. Tobe bhaggis internet ta chilo , nijeke prithivir modhe “only bekar” bhabar chap ta ektu jano kome, purota na holeo. Ei virtual world ta j support dai eta kintu bolai bahullo. Samna samni bondhuder na dekheo j eto bhalo bondhutto hote pare seta kokhono se bhabeni. Tobe hain kichu ochena der chena hoye gache besh bhalo kore. Dekhao hoyeche tader sathe , ekta group o toiri hoyeche, tader sathe phoneo kotha hoi. Sob e holo but erom bhabe r koto din.

Jai hok,  uthechi jokhn kichu to kortei  hobe, breakfast diyei sari. Khabar ta ajkal besh attractive bapar hoye dariyeche. Roj notun ki khawa jai r mota howa jai etai notun lokho hoye dariyeche. Aj deklam ma toast baniyechi, khub easily mukh ta  benke gelo. Nah tai khai..plate ta niye bose  kagoj gulo olotpalot korlam.  Kichui nai sei Quadaffi  and Libiya issue,, desh gulo te eto tel kano j thake. ektu ase pase channel kore dik tahole oi boro jethura jokhn tokhn nak golate parbena, oder obostha ta onek ta nei kaj to khoii bhaj type. Tarpor soja Kolkata times er page, re boli bhaggo tao to dekhte hobe kin a! Saradin kotota bore katbe seta to jante hobe.  So this man, I mean, the astrologer predicts that I’ll get an appraisal today. Hahahaha .. eibare ami pore jabo haste haste, jak kichu to entertainment holo.  Ghorer ghorita dhong dhong kore 9 ta bollo. Well have to plan, barandai dariye ektu gachpala deklam. Notun bari mane thik notun na, promoting hoyeche, tai ager moto oto gach nei barir pichone dik tai.  Tobe ja ache tatei sontusto hote badho. 

Gacher kotha jokhon bolchi tokhn ektu pakhider kothao bola uchit..Tobe pakhi bolte oi ekti matro prani kolkatai bazaar pawa jai, seti holo kak. Ami sei onek bochor dhore observe korechilam ekta kana kak r ekta khora kak couple chilo, prottek bar amder kathal gache tara basa badhto. Tai eibar jokhn notun barite elam tader khujbar chesta korlam , jodio pelam na dekhte. Notun basatai hoito tader bonsodhor ra dim diyeche.  Tader mukhe ki mil ache??………..Nah.. eibare ektu barabari hoye jache!!

Kota bajlo re bhai…aribass adha ghonta katiye diyechi.............

A wish came true….

I always wanted to go there on rainy day, when the clouds hide the bright sun and the rays try to protrude out, whisking a smile saying, “I can still glow..Yeah!!” Today, finally I made it with my ever adventurous friend, Satabdi, a friend with whom I can do anything crazy. We planned to take the Metro but then our craziness showed its head. Thus, we took the local train better known as Chakra Rail and started our journey towards Millennium Park..

The man at the ticket counter was reading the local newspaper. He gave us a distasteful look that clearly says, “Why the hell are you buying tickets? Ah! New riders of course!” Both of us were puzzled, all we know is how to travel by Metro but local train is always big “No “for us. But we need to try out something new, so both of us triggered all the question at the counter and every time with an irritated look, he replied. However, we were not satisfied and the moment we reached the platform, we again started shooting question to a worker, referring him as “Dada” (Brother). He entertained us with all the answers with a smiling face (of course, 2 beautiful ladies are approaching na!). Then I suddenly realized it was wrong to call the man at the counter as “Kaku” (Uncle), though he looked as one which might have offended him. Dam! Old habits die hard!! Haha.

The train arrived at Patipukur Station in 3:30 pm and we were told that the 6th station would be BBD Bag, our stop for the day. It was a wonderful journey going through those areas where one usually takes a bus or a taxi in Kolkata. But today, we are doing it in a different manner and enjoying the view of holy Ganga all the way to our stop. There were very few co-passengers and some of them have occupied the whole seat and were taking their ‘on rail’ afternoon nap. We were busy giggling and talking, god knows what sort of gibberish.

At last, we got down at BBD Bag, happily entering the Millennium Park. The ticket costs only 5 bucks, giving you a marvelous view of Howrah Bridge on one hand and Vidyasagar Setu on the other end, standing for ages above the Ganges.

 We walked the whole way, clicking pictures and cherishing the beauty of Ganga. Well you cannot ignore the love birds at every corner. At some point of time, we look odd.  We laughed and said loudly, “Come on! We are straight yaar!”

I thought of hanging out at Scoop, the famous ice cream parlor beside Ganga at Princep Ghat. But it was pretty crowded, so we decided to look around and make our way to Esplanade. After waiting for a while with a panic-stricken mind, at last we got on a bus and reached to the end of our sweet Saturday evening. Chuckling and munching an ice cream, we reached Esplanade Metro and returned home.

 

I have been to the Ghats in Kolkata but no matter how many times I visit the place, the freshness rejuvenates the soul. It is hard to find an open space as the concrete world conquered the casual life, making the existence more mechanical and complex. You fail to keep promises, lose people whom you love and in the end everything depresses you. But it is up to you to mend it. 

It takes a minute to gain but a second to lose. But you need to stay happy. Grab the closest thing and believe me, the amount of joy it can give you is immeasurable. The silent repels and the air reminds me of some unfulfilled wishes. But it acted as a balm, encouraging me to try out again and spread wider wings and fly high.

Hey, you there!!

Hey, you there!!

It’s been years, but I still miss my grandmother and I will always miss her till the end. I don’t know how to start and what to write because the emptiness is irreplaceable. 

Something happened today that reminds me of her. Let me share it with you all. 

There was a meeting in our flat, attended by all the members of our apartment. One of the members was accompanied by her little daughter, who otherwise would have been left alone.While the mother was busy in the meeting, I tried my best to keep the girl engaged with games and cartoons.

I was closely watching everything the girl was doing and so was my mother. We both found an unusual behavior, which was indeed sensitive. After every few minutes, the kid was peeping through the curtain to check, whether her mother was still in our living room. My mother suddenly asked her, “What do you do when your mom is at work and not with you?” The kid replied, “When I miss her too much I give her a call.” 

This took me back to my childhood, when I used to have some priceless moments with my Grandma.

I remember, my grandmother peeping through all the rooms. It was funny to me then! But gradually I realized, she only wanted to check whether we were in the house or not. It’s not that she wanted to talk, but to see whether those people whom she called ‘the close ones’ is at home. In case she finds no one, she used to call out, “Riti, you there?” I was a very naughty kid. I silently watch my grandmother moving away. But then the way she used to turn away, always make me sad. So, I used to jump and appear in front of her out of nowhere, which was irritating to my Grandma and she complained, “toke daklam sara dilina!” (Why don’t you reply?) Stupid me, I trod away smiling and jumping. 

But today I do realize no matter how busy we are; there would always be a need for someone; for whom you want to peep through the curtains or check every room of your house and shout “You there?” and then see a face appearing with a smile.

Berlin- Day 1

Something is really forcing me to write this part, last week it was a Deutsch movie and today it was Don2. So I am here to narrate my Berlin tour of May 2011. 

This time it was three of us (Mom, Sister and me) taking the train from Melsungan reached Berlin at 5 in the evening. Calling 5 p.m. evening would be an insult because the sun never sets before 11 p.m., so I better call it afternoon. Stepping down in the Berlin Hauptbahnhof (Central station) was really exciting. I was eagerly waiting to see Sigi (aunt) and Hans (uncle). We haven’t met for 5 years. How are they doing? How do they look in their own country? And several other questions were hovering through my mind.

cheers to the night with my German family

Then I saw her, a tall beautiful lady looking for us and I hugged her from the back. She gave a big smile and she said, “Riti!! You are in Berlin now! Welcome”. I found my uncle in the Volkswagen, waiting for us and greeted in his typical Anglo-German words. We spent 3 days in Berlin and 2 days in a place known as Fehmarn, by the side of the Baltic Sea.  There was so much to happen and I could not hold myself. Yes, I was DAMM EXCITED!!!! 

It will be stupid enough to call the city clean as they all are. But when you can compare each and every picture in your Grandma’s album, what you can say is amazing. The buildings with smart structures and every veranda has been decorated with flowers. We went to an Italian restaurant for pizza and unfortunately I had to eat one huge pizza all by myself. My sister kept on smiling looking at my terrible condition. Finally, we reached at Sigi’s house. We were really tired and hit the bed leaving the house trip for the next day. 

If...

Sometimes you get things in your hand. You want it, but then you try to push it away. The best part is that even you get things according to your requirements, you push it away. And then you think over it, why? How could I? You get no answers but a silence and broken thought and memories that you do not like to remember but it keeps on poking you.

People get butterflies in their stomach as for me I get punches, as if been kicked hard. Things soothes down no doubt but, how long? Then the most crucial word comes “If”. Your present being compared to your past and your dreams keep on telling you, “If you have done that, this wouldn’t have been the result.”

'Hell', you shout or may be you cry in the darkness.  “If” haunts you and by the end of the night you go deep down to sleep. Its morning again and you are fresh with new zeal. But whatever you do, “If” never leaves you.

Introducing Berlin

It’s been a month since I updated about my trip to Germany. I was talking about castles in Denmark but then suddenly a movie that I saw yesterday shifted my focus to jump over the castle part and take my friends to the days I spend in Berlin. But I promise to elaborate my wondrous experiences with castles very soon.

Mukherjee family has an old connection with Berlin, since the day my uncle got married to a German lady, back in 1960’s. I haven’t seen him because he passed away much before my birth but we still are in touch with my aunt, though she has remarried. In spite of a woman belonging to the era of mid 19th century, my grandmother was a very strong lady. I must say she was modern enough to accept her daughter-in-law’s second marriage and even accepting my step uncle in her son’s place, especially at her age of 86 years.

As a kid, I used to go through all the pictures in my grandmother’s album of Berlin and fantasize my dream to visit the distant land. Moreover, being a student of history, the amount of knowledge that I have gathered studying about Germany was much more than any other countries in the world. So when I landed in Germany, a smile was on my face thinking, “At last I am here to know you better”. 

Germany, a land that had reached the zenith of power, with time grovels in the dust of devastation. It is a country that has witnessed the merciless dictator to rise and fall, at the same time bears the pain of the Wall that separated them from their loved ones. Berlin is one of the places in the world that still holds the evidences how inhuman, we, the human can be. It warns us not to repeat the same mistake that have taken away millions of innocent lives.
 

In other words, my trip to Berlin was like the pages in history book which was coming alive in front of my eyes.