হরি কীর্তন

ডুবু ডুবু কয়ে নাও

বহ এ বিষম বাও 

(chorus ডুবু ডুবু কয়ে নাও

বহ এ বিষম বাও )

দেখে হাসে গোরা বন-মালি ...মালি 

দেখে হাসে গোরা বন-মালি ...

আরে

ভুবন মোহন নাইয়া 

দেখি আমি...বশ হইয়া 

(chorus ভুবন মোহন নাইয়া 

দেখি আমি...বশ হইয়া )

যুবতী ভুলিল লাখে লাখে ...লাখে

যুবতী ভুলিল লাখে লাখে

কেহ করে উথারল

ঘন ঘন হরি বল.

(chorus কেহ করে উথারল

ঘন ঘন হরি বল)

দুকূল নদিয়ার লোকে দেখে...দেখে

দুকূল নদিয়ার লোকে দেখে

আরে

কহে দিন রামানন্দে

এ হেন আনন্দ স্তনদে 

(chorus আরে

কহে দিন রামানন্দে)

বঞ্চিত রহিনু আমি একা...একা

বঞ্চিত রহিনু আমি একা

আরে 

আমি অধম রইলাম পড়ে 

আর সকলে চলে গেল 

আমি অধম রইলাম পড়ে 

আর সকলে চলে গেল 

আমি অধম রইলাম পড়ে 

আর সকলে চলে গেল 

সবাই হরি হরি হরি-বলো

আর সকলে চলেই গেল 

সবাই হরি হরি হরি-বলো 

হরি বোল... হরি বোল... 

হরি বোল.... হরি বোল....

হরি বোল... হরি বোল... 

হরি বোল.... হরি বোল....

Writing

Writing came naturally to me. Once upon a time.

I will switch on the laptop, open up a word document and start typing. Story ideas were constantly coming up in my mind. Converting them into a written story is all it took. And it was easy. As easy as drinking water.

Then I stopped writing for some time. The reason being that suddenly I felt I have nothing more or substantial to write. That youthful dream of writing my book, getting fame as a published author, people recognizing me as ' the guy who wrote that book' - everything suddenly went away.

Well not suddenly. When I was writing fluidly it felt as if I am on top of a giant balloon. The pinnacle of success seemed easily reachable. Getting published seemed easy, especially given the level of stuff that gets published nowadays. Yes, I was snobbish. I still am.

But somewhere down the line, the balloon got a small puncture. Maybe because I joined a job. Or maybe because I got busy living life and not just writing about it. Maybe I got disheartened seeing the stuff that becomes popular. Maybe I started thinking about writing something which has not been attempted till now. Earlier I could write on societal issues. But now I want to write something fresh. Even if it is societal it needs to be something that has not been attempted before. Maybe I tried too little and gave up too early. Maybe I looked too deep too soon. 

Whatever it is. 

Story ideas still came to mind. Whenever I watched a movie, or read a story or watched a series or discussed something with Vaishali (my wife) I keep getting some flashes of ideas. Ideas which I think can be converted as a story. But when I try writing I just can't pull myself up to bring that idea into any kind of conclusion. It is majorly because of two things : 

I want to write something fresh: Most of the times the ideas seem inspired. Either from a movie/series or a story that I have read. Once I get that feeling I can no longer continue with it. 

I do not know the purpose of writing anymore: Earlier I used to write thinking that one day I will be published. People will read my work. But over the years that 'balloon' has deflated slowly. Now if I think about investing some time in it I worry about why I am writing this. What's the point of this ?? What's the point of life !!!! 

And lastly I feel I am not good enough: What I write or try to write may not be relevant to anyone anymore. So why bother. And watching a series or reading something feels way better.  

I was tied up with work. Now I have some free time. I want to write at this time. But I think I am unable to write anything which I will like. So I wrote about not being able to write. 

Meta, much ?? !!!

तो बस... ख़तम

पिछले शुक्रवार को मैं मर गया. हाँ. 

अरे इसमें घबराने वाली बात नहीं है. सो रहा था. लगभग पौ फटते समय दिल ने कहा अब तो मैं थक  गया. अब बस. 

तो बस...ख़तम. 

एक तरह से अच्छा ही हुआ कि सोते सोते चला गया. न खुद परेशान हुआ ना किसी और को परेशान किया. 
लेकिन इंसान के चले जाने के बाद जो नीचे रह गए उनको तो परेशानी होती ही है. 

सो मेरेको नहीं. मेरे घरवालों को हुई. 

बेटे को ऑफिस छोड़ना पड़ा. शुरूआती दुःख के बाद उसका झल्लाना स्वाभाविक ही माना जाना चाहिए. कहाँ से ये लोड आ गया. वैसे ही काम का इतना प्रेशर था. अब अंतिम संस्कार, मुंडन, श्राद्ध. दुनिया भर का काम. काश एक ऐसा service provider होता, Make My Antim Sanskaar टाइप्स. उसमें बूकंग करके खुद ही सब निपटाकर जाता. लेकिन ऐसी कोई सुविधा नहीं है. जो युवा नीचे रह गए उनके लिए एक सही बिज़नस आईडिया देते हुए जा रहा हूँ.
नहीं मुझे कोई stakes नहीं चाहिए कंपनी में. 

पड़ोसी भी थोड़े विरक्त हुए. ये सरकारी नौकरी वाले शुक्रवार को ही चले जाते हैं क्या ?? जब जिंदा थे तब शुक्रवार की छुट्टी लेकर weekend लम्बी कर लेते थे, और जब जाना हुआ तो उसमे भी friday. अब अर्थी को कन्धा देना पड़ेगा. दिवंगत के परिवार को दिलासा देना, हौंसला बंधाना इत्यादि एवं इत्यादि. और देखा जाए तो पड़ोसी मेरेसे उतना ज्यादा प्रेम करते भी नहीं थे. आते जाते नमस्कार, कैसे हैं ?जिंदा हैं. बस इतना ही. लेकिन लोक लज्जा भी कोई चीज़ है. इसलिए मेरे जाने पर पड़ोसी शोक प्रकट करने आयेंगे. 
तो आयें. 

काम वाली बाई भी झुंझलाई. अब जो लोग हौंसला बढाने आयेंगे उनको चाय पानी बिस्कुट वगेरह तो देना ही पड़ेगा. बर्तन बढ़ेंगे. शाम तक घर रिश्तेदारों से भर जायेगा. उनके बर्तन अलग. और भी कई सारे घर करने होते हैं उसको. भक्क यार. ये बुड्ढा भी एक दिन रुक कर नहीं मर सकता था क्या ??? शनिवार  और रविवार को एक घर कम करना पढ़ता है उसको, क्युकी उस घर के भैया  weekend में अपने गाँव चले जाते हैं. 
खैर.

मेरे जाने का सबसे ज्यादा दुख शायद बिल्डिंग के नीचे घूमने वाले आवारा कुत्तों को हुआ. उनको रोज़ रोटी खिलाना वाला इंसान चला गया था. सब एक जुट होकर भौऊऊऊऊऊ की आवाज़ निकाल रहे थे. शायद मेरे जाने के दुःख में.

वो आवाज़ सुनकर मेरी नींद टूटी.
सुबह हो गयी थी. शुक्रवार का दिन था. ऑफिस जाना था. संसार से मुक्ति मिलने में अभी टाइम था.

अगला दिन weekend है सोचकर खुश होता हुआ मैं बिस्तर से उठा.

आग

बात ये नहीं थी की मंदिर में आग क्यों लगायी. बात ये थी की मंदिर में आग तो लगायी थी. अब मंदिर में लगी आग पूरे शहर में फैलेगी ये तो जग जाहिर ही हुआ ना ?

लेकिन उस समय उसको ये कहाँ पता था. उस समय तो वो अपने दुःख के अन्धकार में अंधे की तरह भटक रहा था. शरीर नहीं, शरीर तो एक ही जगह बैठा हुआ था और एक टक फर्श पर नज़र जमाये हुए था. मन भटक रहा था उसका. अपने परिवार के साथ बिताया हुआ एक-एक पल याद आ रहा थे, और पता नहीं क्यों सभी में वो सब लोग खुश थे. उनके चेहरे की मुस्कान उसके दुःख के अन्धकार को और भी घना कर रही थी.

सफ़ेद चादर में लिपटी दो लाशें घर के सामने अहाते में रखी हुई थीं. घर में रिश्तेदार, दोस्त, पड़ोसी, शुभ चिन्तक सभी आ जा रहे थे. कई लोग उसके पास आकर उसे सांत्वना भी दे रहे थे. वो बस हाँ में सर हिला रहा था. बिना नज़र उठाये. सुनाई कुछ भी नहीं दे रहा था फिर भी लौकिकता कर रहा था. अभी तो अंतिम संस्कार भी करना था. पूरी ज़िन्दगी वो और उसका परिवार भगवान् को मानता आया था, लेकिन फिर भी आज ये हुआ कि वो रह गया और उसकी पत्नी और उनकी छोटी बच्ची दोनों चले गए. धर्म, समाज, लौकिकता, भगवान् सबके प्रति use मन में एक तीव्र गुस्सा उबल रहा था.

दुःख के अन्धकार में कहीं दूर से उसे एक आग की झलक दिखाई दे रही थी.

रात होते होते, दाह कार्य हो जाने के बाद जब घर खाली हो गया था, वो आग और नज़दीक आ गया था और उबलता लावा बन चुका था. पहले उसने अपने घर का मंदिर जलाया, फिर हाथ में जलता हुआ कपडा लेकर बदहवास घर से निकला और गली के बाहर वाले मंदिर की तरफ बड़ा.

अगले दिन पूरा शहर जल रहा था. मंदिर जला तो लोगों के धर्म पर आंच आई. उन्होंने मस्जिद को आग लगाना चाहा. हाथापाई हुई. दूकान जले, गाड़ियां जलीं. लोग घयाल हुए. मरे. कर्फ्यू लगा.

वो अभी भी दीवार से टिका अपने घर में बैठा हुआ था और एक टक फर्श को देख रहा था. उसे पता नहीं था 20 नींद की गोलियां कितनी देर में अपना काम करती हैं. उसके हाथ में अभी भी वो अध् जला कपड़ा और जेब में माचिस का पैकेट था. वो उसे लेकर ही ऊपर जाना चाहता था. शायद पूछना चाहता था भगवान् से ऐसा क्यूँ किया. अगर ठीक जवाब नहीं मिला तो शायद........

लगभग 10 मिनट बाद वो लुढ़क कर फर्श पर गिर गया.

Reset

The sun had set a while ago. The watch on the dashboard was showing 1853. As Judy came out of the gas station and put her caravan back on the highway, she felt at ease with the world. She took a bite out of the burger she has purchased at the gas station and put on the radio.

So go on..Go on..

Come on leave me breathless..

Taunt me..Tease me…

She was humming along THE COORS and was almost through with her burger when she saw some blinking lights in the distance. It was difficult to make out what it was, but given the fact that it was a highway, a faulty car was the only logical guess.

"Probably another car with a punctured tyre" she said to herself, as she slowed her caravan while approaching the scene.

A man was standing by the side of the car and was signalling her to stop. He had put on a bright green coloured shirt and blue jeans. The sleeves were folded. Judy stopped her caravan behind the car and got down. She had to stretch her back to the sides before finding full sensation in her legs. Driving for long periods of time in a caravan filled with chemicals can do strange things to the body.

“Good evening madam.” The man greeted Judy, in a rather cheerful voice. As if he was hosting a game show and welcoming guests in his show.

Judy nodded. “What’s the problem with the car?”, though looking at the tyres, the problem was clear to her.

“I don’t know madam. It was running perfectly fine then suddenly the tyres burst one by one” the man said in a sheepish tone, but he was smiling broadly. As if the bursting of tyres was a pretty amusing thing. He wiped his head with the folded sleeve of his shirt.

“I can see that. I am sure you don’t have 4 spare tyres.” Judy said while looking at the back tyre.

“Of course not madam. I am just an insurance agent not a tyre owner.  Who carries 4 spare tyres anyways madam?” the man burst out into a laugh. His laugh was weird. It was irregular and interspersed with snorts.  What was even weird was his laughter at punctured tyre.

“So, how can I help you Mr….”

“Gupta. Buddhadeb Gupta” he extended his hand with the utmost courtesy. Judy shook it.

“So Mr. Gupta, how can I help you? I have a satellite phone if you want to make a call.”

“Actually madam, I don’t have anybody whom I can call. I was hoping you can give me a lift to the nearest gas station” Mr. Gupta spoke in a very polite way but his eyes were fixed on Judy. It was unsettling for Judy and she was avoiding making eye contact with him

“If it is not too much of a trouble” he added, looking at Judy over his spectacles, sporting a big smile.

“Actually…” Judy hesitated “I am carrying chemicals in the caravan. You may find it inconvenient”

“No no madam.” Mr. Gupta said forcefully “Chemicals won’t bother me. Real inconvenience would be to spend the whole night here in the middle of nowhere hoping to get help from somebody. Please let me get my bag”.

Before Judy could protest he took out a medium sized cuboidal black leather bag from the front seat of his car and locked the car’s door.

“Shall we?” he asked with a big smile, and without waiting for Judy’s answer opened the door of the caravan and got inside.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

“Madam. Why you are so serious? I know I kind of forced you to give me lift, but I am an insurance agent you see. I make a living out of convincing people.” Mr. Gupta laughed. That weird laugh interspersed with snorts.

Judy was focussing on the road ahead. The highway spread out for miles ahead but only few metres in front of the caravan were illuminated by the headlights.

“Madam. See I am sorry. But we cannot travel like this. You will have to forgive me and say something.” Mr. Gupta looked at Judy intently.

Judy glanced at him uneasily “It is okay. I am just not feeling that well.” she replied curtly.

“Oh. Maybe we will put on some music.” Mr. Gupta put on the radio.

With your feet on the air and your head on the ground

Try this trick and spin it….yeah

“Oh ! That end credit song from Fight Club. !! I love this song…” Mr. Gupta said to himself. “Now is the best part… Where is my mind… where is my mind…whhheere is myyy mind” Mr. Gupta was enjoying himself and singing along the song.

Judy was focussing on the road and driving as fast and as carefully as possible. She wanted to get to the next gas station quickly.

The song was discontinued in between for an announcement.

Commuters of the National Highway 24 is hereby informed that in recent days a new form of robbery is taking place. Gangs are taking lifts and…..

Mr. Gupta switched off the radio. Judy glanced a look at him.

“You don’t need to hear those stories madam. You need to concentrate on the road.” Mr. Gupta said to Judy with a serious face. His smile was gone.

Judy didn’t say anything.

Suddenly he grasped Judy’s shoulder. She gasped and stopped the caravan to the side of the road.

“Madam. You will have to stop here for some time.” Mr. Gupta was looking at her with a very serious face.

“Bu..But. The gas station is still quite far away” Judy stuttered.

Mr. Gupta was looking at her intently. Suddenly he broke out into laughter. Interspersed with snorts.

“Look… Look at your face madam….” He gasped for breath amidst his laugh “You look so …so scared. That is why you should not listen to crime news madam. You start thinking everyone is a criminal. You have to stop here for some time because I gotta take a leak”.

He opened the door and got down. Judy looked at the black leather bag. Just below the handle was a white colored sticker which had the name Arihant Verma. Judy was looking at the bag when suddenly Mr. Gupta stuck out his neck from the driver’s side.

“What are you thinking madam?” he asked in the most polite voice possible.

Judy almost let out a shriek.

“I know what you are thinking. Why Mr. Gupta is carrying a bag with Mr. Verma’s sticker on it. Right? I will tell you, let me get back.” He came around the caravan from the front side and got in.

He started warmly “You see. I am not an insurance agent. I lied” he stopped to check out Judy’s reaction. She was surprised and a bit scared too.

“Actually I’m a chemist and a biologist. Mr. rather Doctor Verma is my real name. I am working on developing a drug which will enable a person to envision the future. Please drive madam.”

He picked up the bag and kept it on his lap.

“You must be thinking that I am saying rubbish. No one can see the future. But you see our brain is a wonderful machine. It can create endless scenarios in no time at all. Just think about snowy mountains and the mind will take you there. The future is a composite of past happenings and probabilities of future events. So by creating a set of future scenarios and picking the most probable scenario out of it, we can predict the future. You are getting what I am saying?” Dr. Verma wanted to make sure that Judy was following what he was saying.

“But how can we predict the future when everything is uncertain? And what does a chemist has to do with it” Judy asked while not looking at him.

“Good question madam. As a chemist I am developing a drug which will enhance the simulation capability of the brain. It is all in the synapses. You just need to charge ém up a bit. And as far as the uncertainty part goes, I am working on it.” Dr. Verma again smiled broadly.

“I see” Judy replied shortly.

“You did not ask what I am doing to account for the uncertainty, madam.” Dr. Verma said very endearingly to Judy. 

“Ok. Tell me, what are you doing?”

“We are studying the brain activity when it is undergoing shock. The way it reacts and re programs itself in response to shock, is the key to get around the uncertainties and to be able to find that scenario which is most probable. The scenario which will have the uncertainties but will still be least shocking.” Dr. Verma finished and waited for Judy’s response.

“But how are you doing it?” Judy could not curb her curiosity.

“Doing what?”

“Studying brain’s response to shock”

He smiled broadly in response and stroked his leather bag.

“I was experiments on rats. But a human’s brain is far more complex than a rat’s.” Dr. Vupta said in a calm voice.

Judy’s heart beat was increasingly getting faster. 

“I want human trials. But I won’t get permission for that. Meanwhile BATES CHEMICALS are looking for the formulae. So I am improvising and tonight I just got lucky. You will be my second human specimen”. Dr. Verma opened the bag with the soft sound of a click.

Judy was trying to look but Dr. Verma stuck a revolver at Judy’s ribs and retorted “Please concentrate on the road. If only my wife would have concentrated on the road, she and my infant son would not have died. If I could have known that her car will be hit by a truck that day, I won’t have let her go out.”

Dr. Verma was babbling and fiddling in the bag at the same time. But since his right hand was busy putting the gun to Judy’s side it was taking him longer than usual.

The satellite phone was lying by Judy’s side. She tried dialling an emergency number.

“Ok. So now I am going to give you an injection, which will put you to sleep and also speed up your brain’s activity. You may experience temporary memory loss. Your brain will reset itself to the last wake up point.  So many uncertainties have put your brain into shock but you are still driving pretty nicely for a woman, so I will be able to study your brain’s responses. Now if you co-operate I may let you go once I am done with my data acquisition. Now slow down and put the caravan to a side”.  Dr. Verma prodded Judy with his revolver.

A smile spread across Judy’s face.

Mr. Gupta was surprised but he didn’t show it “I said park the van to the side of the road”

Judy was laughing out now. “Tell me Dr. Verma, do you really think that you got lucky tonight when I gave you a lift?”

Dr. Verma could not understand anything. Judy continued, “Tell me, while bursting, your front tires went off first then the rear tyres. Isn’t it?” 

“Yes. How did you know?” He was gettgin more and more surprised now.

Judy smirked, as she felt the gun lowering from her rib cage.

“At that gas station, when you went inside the store, I taped ampules containing Hydrofluoric Acid to your tires. It ate away the rubber gradually, until they burst.” Judy laughed.

“But… But…” Dr. Verma was at a loss to say anything.

“You really thought BATES CHEMICALS will let you out of our sight? We have been following you since 7 months now. A team is on its way to meet us. If you co-operate we will take it easy. You can work for us. Otherwise, as you said, we need human specimen.” Judy laughed.

Dr. Verma was at a loss to say anything.

A stream of light could be seen coming from far away. Gradually it diverged into two. It went on and off once.

“They are here”. Judy mumbled she signalled back. “Aren’t you gonna be a good boy Dr. Verma? Put away that toy gun” Judy mocked him.

He was sitting with his head bowed. He threw the fake gun out the window.

The stream of lights were getting closer.

“You guys could have taken me out at the gas station. Why didn’t you?” he asked slowly.

“We has to be sure that you were carrying this bag” Judy pointed to the black cuboidal bag kept on his lap.

Suddenly Dr. Verma lunged at Judy with the injection. Judy stopped him with her left hand while trying to control the caravan with her right hand, at the same time she applied the brakes at full force. The tires screeched.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

The team from BATES CHEMICALS saw Judy’s truck wobbling, then suddenly it swerved and toppled. Then it rolled like a cylinder and skidded to a halt on the highway.

They sped up and rescued Judy. An injection was sticking out her neck.  Dr. Verma’s body was crushed beyond recognition or saving. They took a comatose Judy and the black cuboidal box. Got into their van and sped away.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

BATES CHEMICALS…A laughter interspersed with snorts…envisioning future… Injection… Temporary memory loss….Madam…Reset to conscious location… SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEECHHHHHHHH….

Judy woke up with a start. She had fallen asleep in her caravan and had a very weird dream about the target she was following.

Must not fall asleep while following a high priority target. Judy scolded herself. Just then she saw Dr. Verma’s car getting in the gas station. She waited till he got into the store and took out HF ampules. Her mission statement was clear.

After about 15 minutes Dr. Verma left the gas station in his car. As per Judy’s calculation it will take at least 15-20 minutes for the ampules to break and eat away the rubber. She went had time.

She went inside to get a burger.

The sun had set a while ago. The watch on the dashboard was showing 1853. As Judy came out of the gas station and put her caravan back on the highway, she felt at ease with the world. She took and bite out of the burger and put on the radio.

So go on..Go on..

Come on leave me breathless..

Taunt me..Tease me…

She was humming along THE COORS and was almost through with her burger when she saw some blinking lights in the distance. A smile spread across her face.

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

When I finished the story and looked at my little cousin he looked totally confused.

“So what the hell happened?” he was exasperated.

“Hey watch your language. What do you mean what the hell happened. Isn’t it clear?” I sort of teased him.

“I didn’t understand. It was non-linear and after the toppling of truck I just lost it.” he was frustrated. It was kind of funny for me. I want him to exercise his mind.

“Okay, so let me simplify. Dr. Verma is making a drug which can enable a person to see the future. BATES CHEMICALS are after the formulae. They have put Judy on Dr. Verma’s tail. Clear till now?”

“Yes”.

“So Judy, in conjunction with BATES CHEMICALS have planned to abduct Dr. Verma, so she puts HF acid ampules on his tyres. Dr. Verma is stranded when he sees Judy approaching in her caravan. He is jubilant because he thinks he got another human specimen for his experimentation. But then Judy reveals that she is from BATES CHEMICALS and a team is coming to get them. Now Dr. Verma will be held captive. Ok till now?”

“Yes. Yes. Don’t treat me like one of your students.” He was getting irritated.

I laughed.

“So in anger Dr. verma tries to stab Judy with the injection. In the fight the caravan topples and Dr. Verma is dead. But he stuck the injection to Judy. You got it till here right?”

“Yeah.”

“Now remember what Dr. Verma said about the injection. It induces temporary memory loss and the brain resets itself to the last wake up point. For Judy that was when she got up from sleep at the gas station. Due to the injection she has envisioned the future in her dream and will now live it again without having any memory of it. Temporary memory loss.”

“You mean she is in kind of a loop now.”?” He asked thoughtfully.

“Exactly. A time loop. But in her head. You see in reality Judy is in coma after the truck has toppled so this whole story is happening inside her head and will continue till she wakes up from coma.” I concluded hoping he got it.

“But, this story. Was it the first iteration or one of the loops?” He was still not satisfied.

“That, brother mine, is a good question. I leave it to you” I said with a smile. All such stories had an element which remains open for the readers to interpret. I was glad that he finally realised it.

“It is kind of complicated. Why couldn’t you tell me simpler stories on dog” he teased me.

“You grow up first. I have so many movies to show you. Triangle, Time Crimes, Predestination, Coherence, Looper, Identity, Existenz, The Butterfly Effect…”

“Why can’t you show them to me now?”

“Because they are not for 5^th graders who needs to be told a story before he can sleep. And when you can’t understand a simple story like this one, you sure won’t be able to understand the story of Time Crimes, Predestination, Existenz etc..”

“Maybe they are made by better story tellers than you?” he said matter-of-factly.

“Why aren’t you asleep yet?”

The non-winners.

Behind every success story there are countless other stories of failure. 

Before the first successful climb of everest there were many, MANY, failed attempts. No one remembers those names. Does it mean their hard work was waste. They must have got up early every day of their lives to start their exercise routine. They must have controlled so many urges to adhere to their strict diet. They must have made sacrifices to pursue their goal of scaling everest. But they couldn't. 

For every Kohli there must be countless others who are still grinding it out in torn nets and worn out pitches. For every Arijit, there must be thousand others who are singing in chorus, still trying for the break. Preserving their voice with the utmost care hoping they will get their due some day. For every 10th, 12th and JEE topper there are literally million others who did not crack the exams. Granted not all of them worked equally hard, but still there exists a group whose hard work parallels, if not exceeds, the hard work of the topper or those who cracked it. But no one talks about them. Worse, they are labelled as losers.

While the world is congratulating the recently selected officers of administration, spare a thought for those who did not make it. They must have put the hard work and the hard hours too. 

While the toppers are being interviewed imagine the phone call made by an unsuccessful aspirant to his father. How hard it must be for him to say that he did not make it. Think about those who are doing it for 2-3 years now. 

It is scary to think how the effrts made through years is juged in just few hours. If you made it, congrats YOU WIN. If not, then YOU LOSE. It is just not fair. It is not fair to the asprants, not fair to their family, not fair to the long nights toiling over books. It is JUST.NOT. FAIR. 

But then that's how it is. 

No I have never appeared for services. I never topped 10th or 12th. Yes, I dropped after 12th hoping to crack JEE but I couldn't. But I did work hard and my thoughts go out to my friends who worked hard but couldn't make it. 

I know it is tough and I hope you get all the success you deserve. 

Guwahati Trip : A memoir.

Every good story starts with a simple premise. Then it develops into a tricky middle act followed by a last minute twist ending which leaves the audience/readers with a sense of bewilderment. This particular story (rather a travel memoir) is not EXACTLY a great story but it has most of the afore-mentioned elements. This article details the events that happened in the 6 day trip to Guwahati.

Chapter 1: The Beginning 

It all started with a simple premise. We submitted our papers for consideration in AIMTDR 2014. It is a conference of repute, specifically targeted towards production engineering. It is organised once in 2 years and receive a large number of papers from all the major colleges and universities of our country. We were lucky that all of us had some results which we could send and that all our papers got accepted for the conference.

It may be a good time to define ‘WE’. We means the members of Metrology Lab (WS 111, Central Workshop, IIT Delhi). Manoj Sir, Dinesh Sir, Chetan, Anil and Yours truly.

Once our papers were accepted we made plans for the visit to Guwahati (IIT Guwahati was hosting this year’s AIMTDR). Our professors Dr. S. Ghosh and Prof. P V Rao agreed to go with us to the conference. It was Ghosh sir’s idea that since we will be in Guwahati for the conference we should visit the nearby places, namely the Kaziranga Park (famous for Rhinoceros), Shillong (famous for beautiful waterfalls) etc. Manoj sir had a friend at Tezpur University so he proposed that we can visit Tezpur University en route to Kaziranga because according to him the campus is absolutely beautiful (as it later turned out, he was not exaggerating). But the future was 3 months away and we needed to make arrangements.
We booked tickets and that was the easiest part (or so we thought, but more on that later!!). Main logistical issues were planning the itinerary, arranging guest houses for the stay of our professors, booking a car for the road travel so on and so forth. Manoj sir did his M.Tech from IIT Guwahati so booking guest house over there was not a big issue for him. As far as we were concerned, we would be given accommodation in hostels by the conference organisers. Manoj sir had a friend at Tezpur University who assured that he will book rooms for professors at Tezpur Guest House and he will arrange our (us students) stay at a hostel. The last frontier was the trip to Shillong. Again Manoj sir stepped in and contacted someone at NEHU and arranged for guest house in which our professors will stay and we will book hotel rooms for our stay. The final itinerary was like this:

1. 11th Dec. Arrival to Guwahati

2. 12th Dec. Attending the Conference

3. 13th Dec. Departure for Tezpur (Stay at night in Tezpur)

4. 14th Dec. Back to Guwahati after Kaziranga Visit

5. 15th Dec. Departure for Shillong and Stay at night.

6. 16th Dec. Back to Guwahati Airport

All of it was done by Manoj sir. In this whole story you will find Manoj sir appearing at every time of need and resolving the matter. The trip and the story would not have been complete without him.

Ghosh sir had to cancel his trip because of some problem and in the end the team was reduced to : Rao sir, Rao sir’s wife (henceforth referred to as Ma’am), Manoj Sir, Manoj sir’s wife (henceforth referred to as bhabhiji) Dinesh Sir, Chetan, Anil and Yours truly. It was still a big team and the packed itinerary meant that a lot of things must fall in place for the trip to be a complete success for all of us. It was tricky, to say the least but it was doable. Or so we thought.

Chapter 2: Twist came early

In the opening paragraph (or abstract if you prefer) I said that a great story has a last minute twist, but in this story the twist came early! On 4^th December (7 days before our scheduled departure) Manoj sir received a message from Spicejet that his flight to Guwahati is cancelled due to operational reasons. As I have already mentioned Manoj sir wasthe most crucial part of our travel because he had all the contacts and the knowledge of the area and most importantly he had the best people skill amongst all of us. If Manoj sir’s trip is cancelled, there was a very high chance that the complete trip will go haywire. Also Anil booked his ticket in the same flight as Maonj sir (but after few days) and he got the cancellation message as well. at one point of time Manoj Sir and Anil both thought of cancelling their trip but the departure was still 7 days away. We had time to make alternative arrangements. Manoj sir applied for tatkal ticket and by god’s grace he got 3 confirmed tickets too. (Two for himself and bhabhiji and one for Anil). 

But there was another twist, two days before departure (on 9^th December) Manoj sir got the message from Spicejet that his ticket is reinstated and as of now he scheduled for departure. It was good news, but the twist was that Anil’s ticket was not reinstated. They called him and said it is not possible to accommodate you in any of the flights, do you want full refund. Anil said yes and the promptly closed his ticket. It meant Anil will have to travel in train. At one point of time he decided to go to Spicejet’s office in Gurgaon to request them to accommodate him somehow but he realised it was a fool’s errand. . Before that day the longest journey which Anil had done was 6 hours (from Delhi to Dehradun in bus), but right now he was looking at a scheduled travel time of around 31 hours in train. So all of us were set for our journey to Guwahati on the next day.

But wait, there’s one more twist left. The night before our departure (10^th December) Manoj sir got a call from Spicejet telling him that now they can’t accommodate him, and he should go for refund. But Manoj sir held his nerve and his ground and told that I don’t know what you will do but I won’t give away my seat. I have a message confirmation and it imperative for me that I reach Guwahati tomorrow itself. Actually it is an elaborate scam by the airline to tell passengers that they can’t accommodate him so that they can sell the vacated seat at exorbitantly high prices to the last minute travellers. 

But after we checked in at the IndiGo counter (Dinesh Sir, Chetan and myself were travelling through IndiGo for our onward journey), we checked at Spicejet counter and they told that all the seats are confirmed. We conveyed the same to Manoj sir and he arrived at time in the airport to board the flight. Rao sir had already checked in at Air India. Anil had boarded his train which was already 3 hours late. But even with all the early twists, all of us were en route to Guwahati.

Chapter 3: Guwahati Campus… You Beauty!

There was still sometime before checking in. Chetan was feeling hungry so he decided to get something from the shop inside the airport. He purchased a packet of chips for 50 rupees, which will normally cost 10 rupees at max. During the security check in there was one minor incident wherein something dangerous was found in Chetan’s handbag. It was a nail cutter! The soldiers of CISF returned it back only after making sure it is not a weapon of hijacking or mass destruction!

The travel through the plane was uneventful for me to say the least. Dinesh sir and Chetan got adjacent seats and I got a seat in some other part of the plane. Dinesh sir got an aisle seat but a person was already sitting at that place when we boarded the plane. This was his first time and Chetan convinced him that he is sitting at the right place and thus Dinesh sir got the window seat!

We reached Guwahati at the scheduled time a tip of hat for the on-time services of IndiGo. We booked a taxi for IIT Guwahati and asked the driver to stop somewhere in between so that we can have our lunch. We were starving since morning. The restaurant where we stopped for dining was very slow. In fact slow service at eateries were a recurrent theme in our whole journey. They took 25 minutes to even start plating the order. It took us around 45 minutes to finish the meal and start onwards towards IIT Guwahati. We crossed a bridge en route to IIT Guwahati. We found out later that this bridge is the connecting link between rest of India and the whole north east and is a prime target for terrorist attacks. The security was tight and there was traffic jam too. But the road had scenic beauty. Small hills adjacent to the road, lush green village in distance, awesome statue etc. We reached IIT Guwahati campus after around 20 minutes. 

The bridge.

Road to IIT Guwahati 1

Road to IIT Guwahati 2

Road to IIT Guwahati 3

The road to Guwahati was nothing in comparison to the IIT Guwahati campus. It was lush green. Impeccably clean. Picturesque. And awesome. I mean really, really awesome. When we reached the campus it was almost dusk. So the beauty was a bit lost. But even in the dying light the campus seemed awesome. Alas at that moment I could not take pictures to justify this statement, because the camera was not very good to be able to take pictures in less lighting. But later I took the pictures, lots of pictures. !

We went to our allotted hostel UMIAM. We got 3 separate rooms for each of us and booked one room for Anil who was supposed to join us next day at 1100 hours (but his train got late…very late). 

One we kept our luggage in the room we decided to roam around a bit. We went outside the gate hoping to go to the Brahmaputra River which flows nearby to the campus. But it was still around 1 kilometer away from the gate and in the dying light of a new city we decided it will be unwise to take the risk, and in any case nothing will be seen in this light so headed back.

On our way back we saw a golgappe wala and had delicious golgappe from him. He turned out to be from Delhi and chatted a lot with us. !! Once we were back we decided to register for the conference. By the time we completed the formalities Manoj sir was also free. He came and joined us in our hostel. He was staying in a colleague’s room. We chatted and discussed for a while. Then we had dinner and went off to sleep. We had our presentations the next day. In fact everyone except me and Anil had presentations the next day. But we expected it to get pre-poned. But at that moment it was uncertain and Anil was around 1500 kilmeters away. Sleep came swiftly under the warm balnkets.

Chapter 4 : Day 1- AIMTDR
1

As per the plan Manoj sir reached the hostel at 0830 hours and we started for the conference venue. All of us started together towards the auditorium where the welcome address was supposed to take place. Manoj sir took us there from the other side of the campus, showing us the different departments, lecture halls where he used to attend classes, his department etc.

From left to right : Dinesh sir, Chetan, Manoj Sir

When we reached the conference venue Prof. U S Dixit was delivering the welcome address. 

Prof U S Dixit giving the welcome address

It was followed by address from other professors including Prof. Amitabh Ghosh, Prof. A K Chatterjee and other eminent professors. It was followed by snacks.

I talked with Rao sir regarding preponement of my presentation so that I can join them on the trip to Tzepur and subsequently to Kaziranga. It was decided that I will give my presentation at the end of a session which Prof Rao was chairing. Anil was supposed to do the same but he was still around 750 kilometres away. The train got further delayed due to heavy fog covering in the U. P region.

The arrangement for the snacks was nicely done. There was no line, the snakcs were already arranged in a plate the delegates were supposed to just go and pick up the plates, that’s all. It was tasty too. After that we went in front of the security office to pose for a group picture.

After that Dinesh sir went back to attend the conference, while Manoj sir, Chetan and I went to download a presentation which one of our lab mates (Bikash) had sent to Chetan. He was not able to attend the conference hence Chetan was supposed to prepare and present the on his behalf.

photo 1-1

photo 1-2

Manoj sir knew someone at Mechanical Workshop. So we went there. It was very nice. It looked like a workshop for assembling an aircraft !

Chetan stayed back at the workshop to work on the presentation. I accompanied Manoj sir for booking the vehicle for the road travel.

On the route I got to experience the beauty of the campus. And took numerous photos. What impressed me most was the cleanliness of the campus and the mountains in the background. In most of the pictures my camera couldn't capture the beauty of the background but that didn't deter me from taking pictures !!

Django Unchained!!

After taking the details of the vehicle we walked till the main entrance of IITG ( it was nearby). 

Yours Truly 

 The security guard was sporting enough to take a picture for us. 

Then we walked back till the conference venue. 

It was time for lunch and my presentation was scheduled in the session after that. But before the session started we had some free time and I took the liberty to take some more photos. 

Dinesh sir and Chetan had their presentation at the auditorium, while I had my session in a separate hall. Manoj sir had poster presentation at the end of our sessions, so we parted ways. The presentation went well, actually the session was for metal forming and my paper was on gold nanoparticles which are completely different so there was not much cross questioning.

 Dinesh sir and Chetan finished their presentation early so they went with Manoj sir for finalising the vehicle and making the payment. By the time I finished my presentation it was already dark. I decided to take a walk around the lake. It was serene and beautiful. The glittering lights shone in the still water of the lake.

 It was not very cold but that perfect temperature between warm and cold which made the walk even more pleasant. By the time I completed my walk and collected the certificate Chetan and Dinesh sir were back. We attended the cultural programme which was mind blowing, but I could not tak any decent picture because my camera quality was not that good. 

After the cultural programme we had our dinner and by the time we finished Anil reached the venue!! After a journey of close to 44 hours, we reached at last. Due to the delay in his journey his trip to Tezpur got cancelled and he was supposed to stay back and deliver his presentation.

All of us stated walking back towards the hostel. We convinced Manoj sir to show us the way and dragged him along. At one place I saw fog hovering over a water body and decided to take a picture of it. Ince my camera quality as not good I asked Chetan for his camera.
Lo  and behold, his camera was missing. !

He searched all over his bag, checked his pockets, but to no avail. We hurried back to the security control room and asked them to open the auditorium. We suspected that Chetan could have dropped his camera there during the cultural performance. But the gate was locked and the keys were with a person who stayed outsid the campus. We collected his phone number and called him up. He asked us the colour and make of the camera which was lost. And later confirmed that a camera was found in the auditorium, but we can collect it only in the morning. We heaved a sigh of relief and headed back towards hostel. Next day we were supposed to start for Tezpur it was long journey by road and we badly needed the rest. Sleep came in no time.

Chapter 5: Day 2 -Tezpur

Next day I got up early. I wanted to go a temple before starting the journey. We were supposed to start at around 9. I left my room at quarter to 8 in search of a temple. the hostels and the buildings looked mysterious in the fog.

The security guard told about a temple which was nearby if I took an auto. I decided to do that. That temple turned out to be 5 kilometres away.! Many times during the onward journey I felt like turning back fearing that I may not make it back in time but I continued. Once I reached I found that the temple was glorious. I felt it was worth the risk which I took. After prayers I hurried back to campus. Took breakfast and got on the car with Chetan and Anil ( he was accompanying us till the auditorium). Once we reached there Chetan went to collect his camera. Early morning mist over the lake looked absolutely beautiful. 

 Anil

Meanwhile, Manoj sir called and asked us to pick him up, by the time Chetan collects his camera. So we went there. There were so many lakes in the campus and each one exceeded the other in their beauty.

Dinesh sir was travelling in a separate car with Rao sir and madam. They left ahead of us. It took us around 15 more minutes to start from IIT Guwahati. The way to Tezpur was devoid of mountains but it was picturesque to say the least. 

 There were fields extending till the horizon

The road was paved by trees on both sides. 

It took quite a long time to reach Tezpur university.

Main entrance

It exceeded IIT Guwahati campus in its beauty.  

 The guest house

The hostel where we stayed

Dr. Sachin Singh helped a lot in arranging the stay for professors in guest house and our stay in the hostel. He even 'ferried' us between hostel and guest house a number of times. He also suggested that we can go to a park in Tezpur city. It is beautiful and is a popular tourist attraction. We obliged and were not disappointed. It was indeed beautiful.

Ghat : Humka aur kuch na chahi humka ghat pe photo chahi !!

Bhabhiji and Aami 

From left to Right : Dr. Sachin Singh, Chetan, Manoj sir, Bhabhiji, Aami, Rao Sir, Madam, Yours Truly, Dinesh sir

Sculpture depicting the Hari-Har battle. Brahma ji trying to stop Har and Hari from fighting. 

 I thought pictures won’t do justice to the beauty of the place, so I took a video. 

A bridge to the far left side, vast Brahmaputra river in front, setting sun on the right and city in the back. The view was ultimate. One can sit there forever. . But since that was not practical we came down. 

On our way back to the Tezpur University campus we visited a temple. By the time we got back to the campus it was pretty dark, although it was barely 1730 that time! I was eager to sit on the benches in front of the lake.

It was an awesome experience too. The grass was wet from the dew. Occassionally a splashing sound of frogs jumping into the water can be heard. It was dark, but silhouettes of trees and houses on the other side of the lake could be seen. Beyond the silhouettes the twinkling stars can be seen in the clear night sky.

After sometime our group came out from the guest house and we went for coffee in the cafeteria. It was impeccably clean. The service was a bit late ( as usual) but it appeared straightaway that the cafeteria is well maintained. The taste was not that good, but it was still delicious in that hungry state. ! Chetan and I went with Dr. Sachin till the main market inside the campus to withdraw some money from ATM. He told us about the life and politics in an university. How, at an young age we prefer solitude and places like Tezpur which has so much natural beauty. And how after marriage the priorities gets re-aligned. When you are alone you can be anywhere but with family you need to socialise in functions and staying in far off places like Tezpur (~200 km from Guwahati airport) makes it really difficult. There was solid wisdom in his words.

After finishing the snacks and coffee we walked back till the guest house. Then Dr. Sachin dropped us back to our hostel. As per the usual practice I transferred the pictures from my camera and Chetan’s camera o Dinesh sir’s computer and put my camera in charging. We had early dinner and went off to sleep.

Chapter 6: Day 3 – Kaziranga and Guwahati

The plan was to start at 0430 from the guest house for Kaziranga. Manoj sir had to make a number of calls to arrange the elephant safari and the jeep safari for our group. At one point of time it seemed that nothing will work out. But he tried incessantly and ultimately we booked the safari for the complete group. So it was imperative that we show up there on time. But somehow I could not sleep that night. ! All I wanted to do was to go by that lake and sit on the bench. The whole night. Also the guys in the hostel were making a lot of noise. Amidst the interruptions I managed to catch maybe 30 minutes of sleep in the whole night. I woke up at 0250 but then fell asleep till Dinesh Sir woke me up at 0330.

Today was going to be the most interesting day of our trip.The idea was that we will get ready by 0415 and Dr. Sachin will pick us up from the hostel, but we got ready earlier than that and decided to walk till guest house. It was distance of around 1.5 kms. It was practically night that time. Street lights were on and the buildings shone in the distance. I tried taking pictures but as usual the beauty was far greater than the capability of the lens. It was the point when I started realising the futility of trying to take pictures. It was a vain attempt. I was better off just enjoying the view and recording it in my mind for future playback !

When we reached the guest house neither Manoj sir nor Rao sir not even the drivers were out. They all came in one by one and we departed from Tezpur University as per our plan after profusely thanking Dr. Sachin for all his help and time.

The journey from Tezpur to Kaziranga was nice. The sky was clearing little by little. Bhojpri songs were playing in the music system in the car.! From the plains of Tezpur we were gradually progressing towards the hilly terrain of Kaziranga. The scenery changed slowly.

We reached Kaziranga well ahead of our schedule. the clouds in the sky against the rising sun gave an awesome view.

There was a replica of a rhino just outside the range. We took numerous pictures with it. !! 

There were many goats there too. 

When Dinesh tried feeding them biscuits one of the baby goat stood up on his hind legs like a well-trained dog! 

The range was separated from the outside by a river. 

 An elevated platform was there for boarding the elephants. Rao sir, Madam and Chetan got on one elephant. Dinesh sir, Manoj sir, Bhabhiji, Aami and myself got onto another elephant. It was scary for the fr=first few minutes when the elephant got down form the elevated platform. But after that the ride was pretty pleasant.  

The mahaout told us about the upkeep of the elephant. We saw rhinos from quite near. Well some of the pictures are taken in zoom so the objects may appear closer than in reality!!

He told us about one time when a tiger tried to attack and how the mahout hit the tiger on his head with an ankush ( a metallic handle) to send it running back in the forest. It was good to hear but definitely not a fun story to experience. We came back from the elephant safari and alighted the elephant. 

Then we got ready for the jeep safari. In this all of us were together in the same jeep.

It was not half as exciting as the elephant safari because there was not much to be seen. But still we saw elephants, bison, deer and rhinos again in the jeep. The scenery was again brilliant.

At one point the jungle with all its old trees and vines resembled like a lost jungle of Sumatra or inca!! But the low point of jeep safari was the dust. The jeep ahead of us was unsettling the dust on the road and all of it was coming on to us. We thought of staying back a little and let the jeep go ahead of us but in that jeep there was a guard and we cannot roam around with a guard in these part of jungle. So we decided to play it safe and let the dust fall upon us.

At the end of the safari the driver took us to a viewing spot. It was similar to the spot where we went yesterday, only much more beautiful.

After that we started our journey towards Guwahati. We stopped only once for lunch at Brahmaputra hotel. The service was late (as usual) but the food tasted good in that hungry state (as usual!!).

We reached Guwahati by around 1700 hrs ahead of the other car in which Rao sir, Madam and Dinesh sir were travelling. I got the time to see the guest house and the lake closely this time.

When Dinesh sir arrived, we decided to go to the view point, up in the hill. Manoj sir told whole of the campus and the Brahmaputra river can be seen from up there. We called Anil too. Poor guy was missing out on everything in this trip till now. Manoj sir called Bhabhiji as well.

The trek upwards was nice but the view from the top was not that nice as was promised. The light was dying too. But still it was quite serene out there. 

 Another car was there in which a bunch of tourists had come to see the view. Only I and Anil were left from our group rest had started moving downwards. Ghosh sir had warned us not to be there in night time as we may encounter some wild animals so we were hurrying back. On our way back Anil started playing “dilli wali girlfriend” on his mobile. We did not encounter any wild animal, and all credit is due to that unbearable song. Humans can't tolerate it, how can wild animals!!

From that view point we returned back to our hostel. The plan was to leave for Shillong early morning. Dinesh sir, Rao sir and madam will start ahead of us, while Manoj sir, bhabhiji, Chetan, Anil and myself will first go to Kaamakhya maata temple and then we will start for Shillong. But the plan was re-modelled. Nevertheless went to sleep thinking that we are going to Shillong.

Chapter 7: Day 4 - Guwahati

I got up in time to get ready. We were supposed to leave for Kaamaakhya maata at 5 from the college. But I found that Dinesh sir was already awake and he just received a call from Rao sir. Madam was not feeling well and it was not possible for her to make the trip to Shillong. The roads are more curvy and the journey maybe harder. So the trip to Shillong was cancelled and we decided to stay back and explore Guwahati. Anil missed out on Tezpur trip and he missed out on Shillong trip too. But the visit to Guwahti was worth it.

First up we went straight to Kaamkahya maata (a little behind the schedule because we had ample time now). It is situated around 15 kilometers form campus (maybe a bit more). We had to park our car outside then walk some distance to get in the actual temple. It was a good experience spiritually but in some aspects it was not such a nice experience. But that will be a separate post.

Once we completed our darshan we headed downwards. We had our breakfast/lunch in a hotel in Guwahati market. During last day’s jeep safari I had contracted cold and I was not feeling very well. So I did what I always do in such situation. I gorged up on roti and paneer (butter masala). Then we returned back to campus. For a brief rest.

 After that we went to the bank of Brahmaputra river flowing by the IIT Guwahati campus. The bank was not as clean as I was expecting, but still, to see a vast flowing river with Guwahati city in the other side, mountains, the hill on which the Kaamakhya Maata temple was situated in a clear day; it felt really nice. 

Also there were 2 cute pups there. But somehow they were afraid of me. And it broke my heart.

This was a recurrent theme with the dogs in Guwahati. They were somehow scared to come near. One particular dog followed me around the IIT G campus on the day of conference but every time I tried petting his head or rub his belly, he used to step back. And when I started walking he again would follow me around.

Anyways we went a little ahead to the point where people were getting onto ferries which them between this side and the Guwahati city. It was kind of a beach so we sat down for a while. The sun was not that hard right now. The sand was cool. A mild breeze could be felt. A fisherman was trying to use his contraption to catch fishes (with no success). We sat there for around half an hour.

Next, the plan was to go to Guwahati city. Bhabhiji and Aami joined us with 2 other ladies for our trip to Guwahati. The ladies lived in the same building where Manoj sir was staying temporarily. First we tried to get to Guwahati by the road, but there was a BIG traffic jam which extended for around 5 kilometers. We took the next possible U turn and returned back to the Brahmaputra River ghat. 

This time not to just look at the ferries but actually board them to reach Guwahati city on the other side. It was a pleasant ride. The ripples of the water which approached the moving ferry and then changed its direction and velocity upon encountering the streamline created by the ferry which cut across the water surface was a sight to behold. My mind went back to the wave equation and all those analogies of waves which are used to describe the wave propagation in physics. It was beautiful. The way the waves inter mixed on the peaceful surface. The sun was setting. We were sitting in the ‘basement’ of the ferry. On top two wheelers were parked. On the far horizon we could see a small island where a famous temple was located. I was sitting inside with Dinesh sir. Manoj sir, bhabhiji, Aami and the other 2 ladies were sitting inside too. Chetan and Anil were standing outside. After some time I came out to see the view. I should have come out earlier! It was such a beautiful sight. 

Me and Mondal Da (our driver)

Once we reached Guwahati we parted ways with the ladies. The ladies headed to the fancy market, while we decieded to go to a handicraft showroom. In his excitement, Anil boarded a bus ahead of us and as soon as he boarded it the bus moved ahead. Anil knew nothing about the city so we shouted for the bus to stop. It stopped around 5 meters away !! from there we walked to the handicraft shop. 

 The handicraft shop.

The shop was good. Lots of variety and good items. Everyone purchased a lot of things. Shawls, fancy items, pen stands, bed sheets etc. I got adventurous and purchased a flute! And before you judge let me tell you I learnt to play a tune within the next 15 hours! Through hit and trial and that’s saying something. The items were cheap too , because roughly 22 hours later we were gonna need money. Lots of money. But that was still in future. At this moment we were just delighted to be in this wonderful place.

Once we were done with the shopping, we headed outside and had golgappas. We are pretty sure that the guy selling the golgappas counted them wrongly and over charged us but are never aggressive (22 hours later I got aggressive, but that’s in future!).
We were headed to fancy baazar. In the way we had pakoras. 

Fancy baazar

We joined the ladies’ group at the ghat and headed back. This time were in a big boat which I mistook for a waiting room until it started moving!!

 I like this pic even though it is out-of-focus

We reached campus within half an hour. Settled the payment and headed back to hostel. Now we just had to chill till the time of our flight.

Chapter 8: Twist and TWIST

Every good story starts with a simple premise. Then it develops into a tricky middle act followed by a last minute twist ending which leaves the audience/readers with a sense of bewilderment.

Before I embark on this final chapter of our trip, let me bring your attention to 2 things. The chapter title Twist and TWIST. It signifies minor and major twists. Because as is the trend, whenever twists came, it didn’t came alone. And secondly if you were watching closely (tip of hat to Nolan for THE PRESTIGE), you could have seen that I have been ending each chapter at the point where I went to sleep. But not the last one. Because something happened before going to sleep that night. We got the minor twist.

So you may remember that Anil got a call from Spicejet the day before his departure saying that his flight is cancelled and he can go for full refund. Anil said yes. But the problem was, Anil had booked both the onward and the return journey in the same airline (Spicejet) and the PNR number was same for both the onward and the return journey..

When the call came, Anil thought he was asking for refund for the onward journey. But the representative at the other end cancelled both the onward and the return tickets. So when Anil checked his PNR status it showed cancelled.

It came as a major shock for Anil. All the trains were booked for the next 2 days. Even with the train ticket he was looking at another 44 hour of train journey. He called up the customer care, they picked up after 15 minutes and stated their helplessness in helping him in any manner. Anil got charged up and was about to start an argument when his balance ran out. He was in distress.

At this point I came in. I called up the customer care. It took 20 minutes to cnnect. Another 20 minutes for the executive to understand the situation and the fact that Anil had to get back to delhi ( I was posing as Anil and doing the talking). At last the guy realised what we were trying to tell him and he confirmed Anil’s ticket.

We all heaved a sigh of relief (Anil heaved the longest sigh of relief) and went for dinner.

Next morning was a peaceful one. We had no places to visit or to hurry. I got up and packed my things. Then tried playing the flute and after around one hour of hit and trial I finally managed to build up a tune. A popular tune. !

We had our lunch and headed towards airport. IIT Guwahati had arranged for our transport (because we were with Rao sir). It was a bit congested for the 4 of us but we managed till the airport and thankfully there was no traffic jam on the way.

We reached airport and helped Rao sir and madam to check their luggage through security checking and entered the waiting lounge.

There was still around 4 hours before the scheduled departure of our flight. We were just whiling away time. Dinesh sir spotted a book store and asked me if I will come with him to that shop. I accompanied him. He purchased English translation of Gitanjali while I purchased a collection of short stories by O. Henry. It was sort of fan indication of the things to come, because O. Henry was a master of last line twists.

We decided that we can check-in our luggage and get our boarding pass, after that we can simply relax till it is the time of boarding. We went to the Spicejet counter to ask whether they will give the boarding passes for our flight. They told they will start it after sometime. We waited for 15 minutes and then again I went to the counter to ask.

Brace yourselves, for what happened next.

The lady at the counter told “Sorry sir, the flight is cancelled. You can go for full refund”.

WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL.

Anger, frustration, helplessness dawned upon me simultaneously. What followed was 40 minutes of intense shouting at the Spicejet counter with the conversations going round and round. (You can read the gory details in my last blog. Be advised that te language maybe a bit graphic, it was written in a state of extreme anger).
There were other passengers too. Apparently they cancelled a lot of flights that day. Dinesh sir was put in-charge of the luggage. I was trying to convince them to re-schedule the flight by screaming at them. Anil and Chetan joined me for sometime, later they wised up and started looking for some other alternative.

They found out that 4 seats are available in an Air India flight which was scheduled to leave within 45 minutes. Ticket cost is 15K per head, but they want only cash. I did not have that much money in my ATM. So Chetan and Anil arranged the money. The lady at the counter was pressurising us to pay quicly otherwise the seat maybe given to someone else, so we took out the money and gave it to them simultaneously. First Dinesh sir took out 15K, I handed it over to the lady. By the time she counted it, the next batch of 15K arrived. Thankfully the ATM was nearby and there was not much rush.

Ultimately we got the seats. Checked-in. We were on the same flight as Rao sir.! We told him about what happened. We decided ot boo Air India (exclusively) for future travel.

The journey back was nice. They gave snacks (unfortunately, it was not unlimited). We reached in time. Got a cab and reached home.

Thus concluded our eventful trip to Assam. 

Special mentions :

• We acknowledge the help extended by Dr. Sachin Singh at Tezpur University. He gave us time and helped us in every way possible. Thank you so much sir.
• A special mention of the warden at the Tezpur hostel. He mistakenly overcharged us by 300 rupees (he made a calculation error). But he woke us up in the night (because we were leaving early morning the next day) to give us back the 300 rupees. We could have kept it without us knowing anything, but he chose not to. Respect.
• Special mention of the security guards and the in-charge of IITG auditorium who found, retained and returned Chetan’s cam. They could have easily kept it for themselves but they chose not to. Respect.
• Thank you Mondal da (our driver) for making me an addict of Bhojpuri songs!
• Thanks to Prfo.Dixit and Dr. Ravishanker for the hospitality extended.