Friday, 23 February 2018

'Life is beautiful when in Kolkata' : A Photo Essay!


The Grand Howrah Bridge

I don't know where to start this post from because I wanted to write about Kolkata a long ago but somehow never managed to do it.

I had certain doubts in my mind that whether I'd be able to write about my experiences of Kolkata or not. There is a song that I really like from the movie "Kahaani", it's the title song of the movie which was sung by Shreya Ghoshal. I love the song because somewhere it connects me to Kolkata, the city of joy.

I was placed with an IT company in Bangalore and for my first assignment, I was relocated to Kolkata. I never wanted to move to Kolkata because I had my own concerns about the place; food, distance(from my hometown) and friends. It was completely a new place for me and I had no friends/relatives there. During the initial days in Kolkata, I went thru tough times because I didn't know anyone and being a vegetarian, I had some serious problems like finding good vegetarian food and a nice place to stay. No, I'm not saying that Kolkata doesn't have good food joints but the situation made me think in that way.


Also, social media wasn't that useful for bachelors as it is these days. Finding a decent place to live was a big challenge. Somehow, I couldn't find a rented flat accommodation, hence shifted to a PG near to my office. It was a triple sharing room and my roommates were living there for 3-4 months. Since the PG wasn't that good, we stayed there for a month and then planned to leave the PG and moved to a flat. Though we all three were roommates there was hardly any connection among us. We spent around 3-4 months together in the flat before I moved with some of my colleagues at the workplace in a different society. 


As soon as I shifted to a new place with new people, things actually started falling in place and Kolkata wasn't all that bad a place anymore. Well, it was never a bad place. I just made it so in my head. I had some bad experiences in the early stint and that's what made me dislike Kolkata in the first place. To be honest, I never enjoyed exploring any place more than Kolkata. I made some life long friends and enjoyed the life thoroughly. Now, If I say that I miss Kolkata then trust me, am not lying. I do miss, Kolkata! I will also admit that I spent some of the best days of my life there. I cherish those days for all the beautiful experiences that I lived to the fullest.

Here are some of the pictures that I took during my stint in Kolkata. Some long lasting memories and a tale thru pictures-


The Grandeur of Victoria Memorial and Janta-Janardan.
A day at Science City, Kolkata
When monsoon arrived...
My first Diwali away from home...
And when the Eden Gardens happened... :D
When the evening view from the balcony is so serene then just sit back and enjoy.
My first tram ride from Gariahat....
And my love for flowers is like a never ending affair...
And the dark night rises..
When Alipore Zoo welcomed us with colors of nature

And a bit of wildlife to add to the mix....

Dakshineshwar temple - a must visit place when in Kolkata
Concrete Jungle...
Time to board the Kolkata local...
Into the dusk! @ Princep Ghat
Vidyasagar Setu
When the pados waali building ka pigeon gave me an angry look :P


Those memories of pandal hopping during Durga Puja


And then there were lights, ethnicity, and celebration everywhere..


One of the best places in Kolkata- Eco Park, New Town.


It was time to say good bye to Kolkata and 2013. Christmas and New Year Celebrations at Park street, Kolkata.




                              Yes, I was there when IPL happened. Korbo Lorbo Jeetbo Re..




Saturday, 3 February 2018

The Gift of Music!


I remember it was Nitin's 16th birthday and he asked me to gift him wireless headphones. I searched everywhere for it, but couldn't find a single shop in Bhopal selling wireless headphones. It was the first time when my grandson asked me for anything and I couldn't manage to get him what he asked me for. It was in early 2000's and I had no idea about the trends and what technology was there in the market. In my time, I used to listen to transistors or cassette tapes. Maybe, that was the reason for lack of market knowledge.


Me and Nitin
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Nitin listening to music on Radha's headphones
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My grandson Nitin came to know about wireless headphones from one of my friend's grand daughter 'Radha', who visited us in Bhopal just a month before Nitin's 16th birthday. She did her graduation from USA and bought the headphones from there. Radha stayed with us for a week and as she knew Nitin had great interest in music, so she lended her headphones to Nitin. Nitin has always been a shy boy who had very few friends and most of the time he used to spend on studies. When I gifted him the wired headphone, he didn't show disappointment and accepted the gift with great happiness. Though he was happy, I knew he wanted something different and far superior and magical than what I presented him with. It wasn't a time when e-commerce sites entered into the Indian market. It was more of a time when we used to ask our friends to send us the branded products from bigger cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata etc.


Time to plan a surprise
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Years went by and many things have changed since those days. I've grown old and my Grandson is a working professional now. He plays guitar well and still have a thing for music. He is the lead guitarist of his office rock band and loves to play rock, but his real love lies in soft music. I always listen to his compositions, whenever he visits me. His music fills great joy in my unhealthy and an old little heart. His 28th birthday is just round the corner and am planning to give him a surprise. What I couldn't do 12 years ago, I want to do it now. I want to make my grandson happy by presenting him with the gift which I promised him 12 years ago but couldn't manage to. I know it's a bit late, but I want to make sure that the gift is worth the wait. Since, I'm just a normal Grand Father and doesn't possess super powers of a computer expert, I mostly refrain myself to take advice from the right person over phone or in person. And I couldn't have asked for a better person than Radha to take help from; who introduced Nitin to wireless headphones. Radha like a wonderfully kind hearted person first gave me the overview of some of the best options available in the market and then helped me with the selection.



BOSE Showroom
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Since, we wanted to choose the best wireless headphones, we didn't go in depth of the search and chose 'BOSE'. Bose being a premium brand of audio equipment, not only offers great value but also offers 'Trust' associated with its name for decades now. When Radha asked me to check the BOSE Quiet comfort 35 wireless headphones II, she suggested me to visit the Bose showroom and experience the magic of sound. Though I had no clue about the technology and specs of the product, I trusted what Radha told me and visited the nearest Bose showroom. Thereafter, what happened at the showroom can't be explained here in words as it was a musical experience, a mesmerizing one! It was beyond my imagination because I wasn't expecting it to be so unreal. How can there be no sound heard other than the music, even when I'm passing by crowded street? How can a person talk and even send and receive text messages through a headphone? Also, how can a person say 'No' to features like Bluetooth and Google Assistant? When I experienced all these features in the BOSE QC35 headphone, there was nothing left in there to contemplate more about. I bought the Silver colored BOSE Quiet comfort 35 wireless headphones II and get it packed.


Finally, I bought the BOSE headphones for Nitin
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Nitin had no idea that what surprise was in store for his 28th birthday. As soon as he blew the candles and cut the cake, I gave him what he asked me 12 years ago. Tears of joy coursed down his cheeks and he hugged me tightly and said "You remembered it Dadu!" and I hugged him back and said "How could I not!".

Big Bear Hug!
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Check Out BOSE Quiet comfort 35 wireless headphones II to know more about the new Headphones from BOSE.