Jahid Akhtar's Blog, page 3

The Arrival

Recently our little princess, Jia turned four. I frequently write about her on Facebook, usually some funny incidents. I love to post her pictures. It's simply amazing getting older with her. Last night I created a little space of her on this blog. Now, I will also be posting about her here as well. You can read more by clicking the link 'Jia' at the top. I think once Jia grows up she would love to read about her in the internet.


The night of 11 December 2011 was different. After dinner my wife Anjali did a little bit of packing. I felt like we were going for some outing. I also had a week off starting from the next day. Anjali and my mother were standing outside the main door. I was just going around the house, double checked the lights/fans/windows and also the taps, ensuring that they are off and not running. I then locked the door and we walked down the stairs together. We got into the car. I turned the key in the ignition and drove off.

Soon we arrived at a familiar place. It was the Apollo Hospital. Anjali used to work there for the last couple of years. I also had been visiting the place for the last several months. Anjali knew almost every employee out there, the doctors, nurses, admin and the operation guys. We went to a room which was booked for us. One senior lady doctor visited us. She had a charming smile on her face. She told us that they would take Anjali inside the operation theater at 2 in the night. It seemed the doctors were going to inject her some medicines to induce pain, as according to them the expected due date has already passed three days. The pain inducing thought gave me goose bumps of fear. In the meanwhile Anjali took me to their security department. She arranged for an employee parking sticker.

Once they took Anjali inside, it was full tension for the next 6-7 hours. And then in the morning the doctor called me in. They said I can watch it live. It was frightening to see blood and all. But it was also wonderful at the same time to witness our little angel,  experience her entrance into the world, live. A little later, the doctor asked me to hold her. She was so tiny and beautiful. I was speechless. I was simply looking at her. Such happiness cannot be expressed in words. I then looked at my wife. She seemed to be fine, happy and smiling.
                         Wish You All a Very Happy and Prosperous New Year!!


Grab a copy of my debut book Story of Tublu from Amazon or Flipkart. It is a Contemporary Fiction novel, published by LiFi Publications Pvt Ltd. The book has its share of drama, that entertains; humor, that makes one reminisce; love, friendship and emotions that defines the amazing journey that is, life.  

I Wish You a Merry Christmas

I was into my first job. I joined as fresher in a software company. I was in a project with Latin American client, an international Bank. I regularly used to interact with David, a Latino guy, mostly through emails and sometimes on call. Christmas was about to come, and I wished him "Happy Christmas" in a trailing mail, where my manager was also marked. My manager was not happy with something, and took me to a conference room. He lectured me about wishing Christmas in private for almost 10 to 15 minutes. He told me not to wish "Happy Christmas" to clients, instead say "Merry Christmas". I always get confused with Happy and Merry. That moment I was quite depressed, David was a nice friendly man, I thought I simply upset him by wishing wrongly.

Later that day, I received a Thank You reply from David. It was not simply a thank you mail, but a little more. Then we had a few email conversation, one-to-one. I wrote to him that I should've wished "Merry Christmas" instead of "Happy Christmas". He wrote a long and friendly reply on this, which only meant that Christmas is celebration time, party time. One can wish "Happy Christmas", "Merry Christmas" or whatever, but everyone should celebrate together, party together and be happy.

Wish you all a Merry Christmas!!



Grab a copy of my debut book Story of Tublu from Amazon or Flipkart. It is a Contemporary Fiction novel, published by LiFi Publications Pvt Ltd. The book has its share of drama, that entertains; humor, that makes one reminisce; love, friendship and emotions that defines the amazing journey that is, life.

A Memorable Mutton Briyani

Biryani is a mixed rice dish usually prepared with intense and aromatic spices, rice and meat. It is a rather complex dish, not only because Briyani is little complicated to prepare, but also for the fact that many claim their briyani as the original one. Also, there is no specific recipe for it - the dish changes from place to place, people to people. In India, briyani is not just a dish, it’s a tradition, kind of a cultural expression. Historians believe that the dish could have come to India all the way from Persia via Afghanistan. Briyani is also quite popular among the vegetarians, the preparation is more or less the same, just instead of meat they mix vegetables.

After living in Bangalore for more than a decade, I can easily claim it is the land of briyani. Bangalore is a cosmopolitan city, and one can find people from each and every part of India, that too in huge numbers. Briyani has gone deep into the food culture of Bangaloreans. The situation is similar to 'Momo in Guwahati’. There’s just momos’ and monos’ everywhere in Guwahati. There, one can’t run a restaurant without serving momo. Momo is just so deep into the food culture of  the people of Guwahati, particularly youngsters, college-goers. Biryani is to Bangalore what Momo is to Guwahati. One can find almost any kind of briyani in Bangalore. Apart from the usual Chicken, Mutton, Egg and Veg briyani, one can also find varieties of Fish and Prawn briyani as well. They serve briyani in almost every restaurant in Bangalore, be it big, small or roadside restaurants. Briyani in any form is an absolute delight. Every briyani is heavy on flavor, the moment we put a spoonful inside, it fills our mouth with rice aroma.

Along with the tongue people also have emotional attachments towards the briyani of their origin. Some of the most popular briyani as far as Bangalore is concerned are recipes of Lucknow, kolkata, Kerala; but nothing can compete with the Hyderabadi briyani. It is a brand. Hyderabadi briyani also comes in different flavors - Hyderabadi Dum briyani, Boneless briyani, Chicken fried briyani and many more similar stuffs.

Okay, enough of briyani gyan, I think now I should shift gear towards one of our memorable Mutton briyani. The incident happened about seven or eight years ago. During those carefree days, on one weekend I and Anjali went out in the evening. After little bit of shopping we thought of having dinner outside. We were at Koramangala, one of the most happening place in Bangalore. We knew about a very famous briyani restaurant there, but were confused to locate it. I called one of my friends and got to know we were pretty close to the restaurant. But my friend suggested us to avoid the place, as on weekends it’s usually overcrowded.

Despite the warning we visited the restaurant. We found that the place was not just overcrowded, it was chaos. I asked the manager how much time it would take. He replied that it would take about an hour. Looking at the crowd I felt the manager was quite generous in his response. The aroma of briyani was heavy in the air. It seemed Mutton briyani was a specialty over there. We decided better we order a takeaway rather than waiting. Even the takeaway took quite a time. The moment someone handed over our parcel I was more than delighted. The polythene bag was heavy, we had ordered two plates of Mutton briyani.

We took an auto back home. It was 10 in the night. The weekend rush was bad. I was holding the briyani bag, the wait was getting desperate. We reached home. I put on relaxing, homely clothing. Switched on the TV. Anjali brought the plates and spoons from the kitchen. Happiness around, we were all set to relish the tempting Mutton briyani. I cut open a packet, put some on a plate. The pleasant smell of briyani instantly rose to my face. I dipped into the packet with two fingers, searching for Mutton pieces. I found one and took it out. But I was puzzled to find it to be a big piece of potato. I took the whole briyani out. No Mutton pieces, only giant potatoes.

I wondered they’ve wrongly given Kolkata briyani. Well, one unique thing about Kolkata briyani is that they also mix potatoes, big pieces, along with the meat. But in our case there were only potatoes, no meat. My heartbeats started to accelerate. And then I thought, they might have kept all the Mutton pieces in the other packet, together. I immediately opened the other one, only to find potatoes and potatoes, no meat at all. I and Anjali stared each other in discomfort. I thought to search for the restaurant number and call them. But that would have been stupid, I guess. Without much of an option we both ate the briyani with heavy heart. It was delicious, but we missed to bite some flesh, missed to chew on the mutton bones that night.


Grab a copy of my debut book Story of Tublu from Amazon or Flipkart. It is a Contemporary Fiction novel, published by LiFi Publications Pvt Ltd. The book has its share of drama, that entertains; humor, that makes one reminisce; love, friendship and emotions that defines the amazing journey that is, life.

A Little Moment of Pride

The Assam Tribune is one of the oldest and most reputed English daily Newspaper from Assam, India. It was founded in 4th of August 1939. First published from Guwahati, it is now published simultaneously from Guwahati and Dibrugarh. It has a huge readership in Assam and is the highest circulated English daily in the entire North-East India. I grew up reading the Assam Tribune, right from childhood - schooldays - college. I could recollect the fine morning, I checked my Engineering entrance examination results in the same Newspaper. I was pretty relieved. I've left Assam almost a decade ago to earn my bread. Like many other things back home, I also miss the Tribune, the smell of its print, refreshing. I do read it online though.

Today, when I read the book review of my debut book "Story of Tublu" published is The Assam Tribune, I was overjoyed and thrilled. I felt content, a little moment of pride.

You can read the review here .




Grab a copy of my debut book Story of Tublu from Amazon or Flipkart. It is a Contemporary Fiction novel, published by LiFi Publications Pvt Ltd. The book has its share of drama, that entertains; humor, that makes one reminisce; love, friendship and emotions that defines the amazing journey that is, life.   

Durga Puja in Bangalore

Durga Puja is an annual festival that celebrates worship of the Hindu goddess Durga. Durga Puja festival marks the victory of Goddess Durga over the evil buffalo demon Mahishasura. Thus, Durga Puja festival epitomizes the victory of Good over Evil. Durga Puja is widely celebrated across Indian, particularly in the states of Assam and West Bengal where it is a long annual holiday. Being born and brought up in Assam I can say confidently that just like the festival of Bihu, Durga puja is also secular in nature where people from all communities and walks of life participate.

In Bangalore, every year the Bengali and Assamese associations work really hard for the togetherness and warmness of Durga Puja. As far as the Assamese cultural and community welfare organizations are concerned, the Assam Association Bangalore (AAB) is quite renowned. AAB is the nodal organization which binds and unites the entire community present in Bangalore together through various social, cultural and community welfare activities and initiatives throughout the year. The association takes great pride in creating initiatives which showcases the rich, varied and proud cultural legacy and heritage of Assam and in the process create a bridge of respect, harmony and bonhomie between the people of Assam and Karnataka by drawing similarities and parallels.

Durga Puja celebration is such an extravaganza in Assam that I couldn’t avoid mentioning about it in my debut fiction novel Story of Tublu . Located for a major part in the northeast of the country, the narrative is full of anthropological details of lives of people in that part of India some of which are well-known and some less known.

An excerpt from Story of Tublu:

"Autumn has arrived and the town turned wonderful. The fragrance of jasmine and several wild blossoms drifted through the air from the rich flora all around. The weather was magnificent, and after the monsoon the tea garden looked refreshingly green and mesmeric. Maina arrived home and she looked different. She had become more beautiful and confident. In her new shoulder length haircut, she was looking more trendier than before. Tublu was delighted to see her, but he was also anxious and felt apprehensive about something.

Durga puja holidays are always the best in this part of the world. All the schools and colleges remain closed for almost a couple of weeks. The puja celebration is simply amazing. It’s a very significant socio-cultural event and people prepare puja pandals all over the town. It’s a fabulous time for everyone and particularly youngsters, to hang out with friends. People come out on the streets in the evening, wearing their best possible outfits to experience the carnival. That’s the time when young hearts usually collide, leading to some beautiful bonding."


This Autumn is going to be different. Well, I’m putting up a stall in the upcoming Durga puja fest organized by Assam Association Bangalore, where I will exhibit my debut book.

Venue:

Sir M Vishveshwaraya College Grounds Near Kemp Fort Mall,
Murugeshpalya, Old (HAL) Airport Road, Bangalore-560017

(18 - 22 October 2015)




Grab a copy of my debut book Story of Tublu from Amazon or Flipkart. It is a Contemporary Fiction novel, published by LiFi Publications Pvt Ltd. The book has its share of drama, that entertains; humor, that makes one reminisce; love, friendship and emotions that defines the amazing journey that is, life. 

Sauna Slimming Belt

It was the year of 2005. That was the time when late night television advertisements like Telebrands and all, started evolving. Such advertisements were emerging as a major marketing platform for the various innovating products. Even though such products are under wide categories, but those related to health care are truly inspiring. Those were the happy days, and our happiness gradually started accumulating in our tummies. I joined gym quite a few times, but every time somehow my association with gym was kind of casual. Well, without commitment relationships don’t last long.

One night I came across Sauna Slimming Belt advertisement on TV. The product seemed to be unique that specialized in reducing the excessive body weight without following any strict exercising and diet routine. The commercial started with "Kya Aap Motapa Se Pareshan Hai?"

A beautiful and slim lady was demonstrating how to use the Sauna belt. It was very easy to use, just had to tie it around our waist,  plug on the attached wire and adjust the heat regulator. Sauna belt could also be applied to other body parts like the abdomen or thighs, and the generated heat sweat away unwanted fat. The pretty lady on the TV promised that the magical belt would show result in the very first use itself. She even demonstrated the same, before using the sauna belt she measured her waist, and after using for 30-40 minutes she measured her waist yet again. Wow! Bingo, sauna belt is truly magical.

Both I and my wife felt that Sauna slim belt was designed just for us, people who are little concerned about getting fat, but find it difficult to workout in gym. My wife was so convinced with the sauna belt that she decided to order one. Even though I was tempted but was in double mind, to order or not to order? Well, I was quite a pessimist kind of person right from childhood. In the meanwhile my wife already ordered the Sauna Slimming Belt on the phone, with cash on delivery. Immediately we received an SMS with the intimation that the invoice was sent to out email id. I was confused, but then felt spending 3500 rupees is fine, after all we both are going to be slim very soon.

The product arrived in the next few days. The first time experience with the sauna belt was simply amazing. It was a great feeling of getting slimmer all while sitting comfortably in a chair in front of the TV. Initially I was little anxious, also scared as the heat was driven by electricity, but I adjusted the heat regulator till the point I could bear. I felt that a portion of my tummy heated tremendously, kind of painful. The heat wasn’t evenly distributed. After using for about half an hour I loosened the belt. There was some sweat, and my tummy turned kind of red. My common sense suggested that it is not going to work. I wondered heating myself up this way is stupid. I was worried that the sauna belt is likely to cause blisters in my skin.

I always had some doubt about the sauna belt, and after using it I was confirmed that Sauna slimming belt is just a scam, a ridiculous gimmick of a product that would burn our skin. I’ve used it only once but my wife tried it for few more times, and ultimately she also realized the same. Later, after a few months when we came across similar advertisements on TV and came to know that they are selling sauna belts in just 800 rupees, we were really upset.

Last week, as I was searching for something, I found our memorable Sauna Slimming Belt in the wardrobe. Whatever, it was a nice feeling, I enjoyed some nostalgia brought on by our sauna belt.



Grab a copy of my debut book Story of Tublu from Amazon or Flipkart. It is a Contemporary Fiction novel, published by LiFi Publications Pvt Ltd. The book has its share of drama, that entertains; humor, that makes one reminisce; love, friendship and emotions that defines the amazing journey that is, life. 


 

Marketing Trainee Job

Life was different after I passed out of college. Completed Engineering without a job, neither scored good enough marks, and on top of that the market was going through some kind of recession. The initial couple of weeks was fine, had a great time at home. But soon life turned boring, depressing, I was anxious about the future. My dear friend, my hostel buddy Rajat used to stay a few kms from our place. Well, my parents used to live in a rented house at Ganeshguri, a place in Guwahati. Rajat’s house was in Lal Ganesh. Quite often I and Rajat used to meet in the evening near the famous Ganesh temple, smoked a couple of cigarettes, talked about our hostel days, and also talked about our uncertain future.

Later, some of my college buddies shifted to a rented house nearby Ganesh temple. They were preparing for Gate/MBA. I visited them frequently, spent hours there. Once again life turned awesome, just like the hostel days. But my friends had some plans, they were preparing hard. I was simply aimless, without any idea what to do. Being a Computer Science graduate I thought of going to Bangalore, the IT city. But some of my very close Mechanical/Chemical buddies already moved to Delhi. They called me to come. They said Delhi is a beautiful city to live . Also, there are some Top MBA Colleges in Delhi . Rajat decided to join them and booked his ticket. I was confused. Soon, some more friends decided to go to Delhi. Most of them wanted to prepare either for Gate or for MBA. I didn’t have any such plan though, I simply wanted to find a job and work. Ultimately I also booked my ticket to Delhi.

We still had couple of months time before we left for Delhi. In the meanwhile we kept looking for opportunities in Guwahati. One day we came across a Newspaper job advertisement for freshers. It was marketing trainee job. Salary was okay, good enough for us, the fatichars. Rajat was pretty much interested for the job. He wanted to do MBA and some marketing trainee exposure could be handy for him. Rajat came to my house in the morning. In his formal wear Rajat looked professional. He also had a piece of Tie with him, but he was confused whether to wear it or not. He kept it in his pocket, said he would use it according to the situation.

There were a few more candidates, waiting for their turn. Someone called me and Rajat, asked us to go inside. The interviewer looked smart.

"So you both are from same college"

We had a little bit of chit-chat, and then the interviewer asked what we want to do in life. Rajat replied that he would like to do MBA after gaining one or two years of work experience.

"In MBA you will learn only theory, but here you will learn practical, no theory, only practical,” the interviewer guy advised us. Without wasting another minute he called one of his junior and said “you guys go with him, he is your team lead. Today entire day you learn the basic field work. We will talk once you return in the evening"

I was confused, "what is field work? Is our team lead going to take us to a factory?"

Our team lead was a very friendly guy. "Today you guys simply notice how I work, just observe everything and try to understand the complexities," he briefed us.

We entered a city bus.

"Where are we going sir?" I asked.

"Don’t worry, you will get to know everything," he replied.

We got down at a familiar place and followed our team lead. All of a sudden he knocked a door. A lady, not very friendly looking one, opened the door.

"Sister, we have some wonderful home utility products. If you like we could show you and explain"

The aunty got furious, she said something rude and closed the door in anger.

I and Rajat looked at each other. We both were confused and wondered what if we encounter some known person, some of our college mates stayed at that place. Our team lead was very professional, he knocked a few more doors, but everywhere the response was more or less the same. Finally at one house the owner purchased some of the products. “No wonder, sales is the most difficult/essential part of any business. I was quite impressed with my team lead, the way he used to speak to clients, never got frustrated if someone treated him rudely.

But neither I nor Rajat was prepared for the job yet. We decided to back off. Our team lead was upset. He took us to a nearby tea stall. He lighted a cigarette and offered us as well.

“I have many friends who have done their graduations long back; BSC, BCOM, BA, some even completed their MA and are still jobless. I’m not a graduate, but I earn well enough. Initially I was ashamed of doing door to door sales, but now I got used to it. Actually, sales job is like this only,” our team lead motivated us while slurping his tea, and then he took a gentle drag on his cigarette and exhaled.

We understood each and every word he said but we were not mentally prepared for the job. We shook hands. Our team lead wished us good luck.



"After completing high school, every candidate start searching for a good college. The search continues even after completing graduation. Well, searching good colleges has always been a difficult job. Instead of seeking for colleges here and there what if we have website which help us to find a perfect college. Yes College Dunia does the same. College Dunia is a search engine that allow us to browse various colleges in different streams. College dunia is a college searching engine where one can literally find tons of colleges within few clicks. Now we don’t need to visit colleges to get its details. You can just browse college dunia and can find every information regarding colleges, exams, results and many more."


Grab a copy of my debut book Story of Tublu from Amazon or Flipkart. It is a Contemporary Fiction novel, published by LiFi Publications Pvt Ltd. The book has its share of drama, that entertains; humor, that makes one reminisce; love, friendship and emotions that defines the amazing journey that is, life. 



 

Daily Bus Pass

          It was the beginning of year 2004 when I arrived in Bangalore for the first time to start a career, to earn my bread. That was the time when market was reviving from recession, and  Even we freshers, also started to get interview calls. Bangalore is the most wonderful city to live in India, but for someone struggling to get a job, for people with limited pocket size, the city is going to give you some hard time. Everything is expensive out here, including the basic human needs Roti, Kapda Aur Makaan(Food, clothing, and shelter). Actually, I was always confused why clothing is included in the list. Of course clothing is important, one cannot roam around naked in the street. But everyone could afford to cover their body if they don’t consider fashion as part of their life. One can wear the same piece of cloth everyday, wash it before going to sleep and then wear the same in morning. What I mean to say is clothing cannot be compared to either food or place of shelter. The other two needs are far bigger. The one more thing which can be compared to food and shelter is travel.

Travelling is a pain in cities like Bangalore, with overcrowded buses, sky high auto fares. It’s a everyday struggle for people to reach office on time. Also, travelling consumes a major part of our salary. But thanks to BMTC for giving us the option of Daily/Monthly bus pass. During our job hunt days when I and my friends had to travel from one corner of Bangalore to another for attending interviews, we used to take 25 rupees Daily Bus pass, which allowed us limitless travel throughout the day.

          Soon I started to work and just like my friends, even my pocket got sizable, and turned into a little better shape. I was among the first to get promoted from bachelorhood, might be because of some personal reasons. Enjoying a bachelor life and living a married life is a totally different game altogether; one got to be responsible for the later. My wife Anjali, also struggled to start her career in Bangalore. Even though it was challenging, we lived within tight budget, but those were happy days, very memorable. We used to live in a small house, pretty close to the place where I used to stay earlier with my friends. My earlier housemate friends continued to stay at the same old house. Staying nearby had one advantage, I never missed  the weekend parties together with my buddies. Those days I was working with HP. I remember, just a couple of months after our marriage I joined a new project where I had to work during the US working hours for few months. I used to go office by 8:30 pm, worked till 5:30 in the morning and returned home by 6:30 am. 
My wife Anjali recently completed her BAMS and joined a Hospital far away from home, as a duty Doctor.  During the weekdays Anjali and I stayed together just for a couple of hours. In the morning when I returned from office, Anjali would get ready for work. She had to travel a long way, had to change three buses. We used to have breakfast together and then she would left. Well, in the morning Anjali used to take a Daily Bus Pass. After she returned in the evening I would collect the same pass from her and used it; I also had to change two buses to reach office. Sometimes she was late, but I kept waiting for her at the nearby bus stop. As soon as she stepped down the bus, I would approach her. We both would look at each other and smile; I would her ask for the bus pass and say "Bye, see you in the morning". After I reached my destination I always used to give the same Daily Bus Pass to some needy person. I usually got someone or the other at the bus stand.

A decade later

          Bangalore has changed a lot. The auto fares during my early Bangalore days can to compared to bus fare these days. Somehow both I and Anjali lost the practice of travelling by bus. Nowadays, there are plenty of luxurious but expensive buses running around the city. This weekend I had to go a long way for some work. I thought to take a bus rather than driving alone that long. I boarded a Volvo AC bus. The conductor suggested me to take a Daily Bus Pass. The guy briefed me with his calculation that I would benefit by taking the pass. Without thinking much I purchased it in 140 rupees. The guy asked very politely for my ID proof. I tried to remember when the last time I bought a pass like that. The situation managed to evoke nostalgia.

While returning I used the same pass, but this time the conductor asked for my ID proof in a slightly rude manner. He started to argue. It took me a minute to realize that I displayed him a different ID from the one I used earlier, in order to purchase the Pass. So BMTC has become quite strict these days as far as the Daily Bus Pass is concerned.



Grab a copy of my debut book Story of Tublu from Amazon or Flipkart. It is a Contemporary Fiction novel, published by LiFi Publications Pvt Ltd. The book has its share of drama, that entertains; humor, that makes one reminisce; love, friendship and emotions that defines the amazing journey that is, life. 



 

The Onion Story

Some years back
It was a lazy Sunday afternoon. Wife was not at home. I was simply lying on my bed. I looked at my mobile phone, it was already 1 pm; I thought of preparing lunch. I opened the freeze and was delighted to see some frozen chicken. I then looked for other ingredients and spices which I'm aware of for preparing chicken. Ginger, garlic, chilies, potatoes, chicken-masala, garam-masala, jeera powder, well, everything was there. But there was a small problem though, I couldn’t find even a single piece of onion in the kitchen. I thought of buying some from the grocery store downstairs. I looked at my wallet. Oh shit, I had only one piece of note in my wallet, a ten rupees one.

I took downstairs, went to the store.

"Give me some onions, bro." I asked.

"Sorry brother, no onions," The guy smiled and I got little upset.

"Aree, give me at least a couple of pieces," I pleaded.

"Sorry, we don’t have even a single piece of onion in the store"

There was one more small shop nearby. The shopkeeper there was kind of weird, a lean and thin middle aged man. I usually try to avoid him, but then, we only had two shops in the locality. I crossed the playground and went to the shop.

"Do yo have onions?"

"Yes" I was more than delighted to hear that.

"Please give me some, I have 10 rupees with me," I asked.

"No 10 rupees, you will have purchase minimum of 15 Rs," the shopkeeper said strictly.

"Sir, I only have 10 Rs with me. Please give me some."

No luck.

"Okay then, give me of 15 rupees, I will pay you the remaining five in the evening"

Still no luck.

"At least give me a couple of pieces"

Pretty disappointed, I thought of visiting the nearby ATM. I walked for half a km and was outside the ATM, waiting. Those days ATM’s were quite limited, and on top of that we used to stay a little away from the main road. As expected, I couldn’t withdraw money from there. I’m kind of pessimistic by the way. So again I had to walk for another half a km to the next ATM. After withdrawing money I went to the nearby grocery store. I was confused not to get onion there as well. On the way back home I entered a couple of more shops, but nowhere I could find onion. Ultimately I went back to the same shop in our locality.

"Please give me a kg of onion," I asked.

"One kilo onion is of 150 rupees," the shopkeeper said sharply. It took me by surprise. Accordingly to my grocery knowledge it should have been of 30 or 40 rupees. I took half a kilo of onions and returned home.

It was a hell of a chicken I prepared that day. It was extremely delicious and I ate to my full. Later, while flipping through the TV remote I stopped at a News channel, there was some discussion going on about the soaring onion prices. Even though I was kind of relaxed after I realized it was not only me, the entire India was struggling to get their share of onions, but I also felt embarrassed about being so ignorant. I should watch News channels more frequently I thought.



I'm born and brought up in Assam. In our place, street hawkers selling ‘jhalmuri, peas, nuts, chanachur’  mixed with ‘chopped onions/chilies, spices and coriander leaves’ are very common. We grew up relishing such roadside refreshing crackers. I didn’t find  people selling such foodstuff outside Assam though, not in Bangalore at least. But I'm pretty sure it’s available all over Kolkatta. When I visit my homeland, every time I go out in the evening the "jhalmuri and other similar street refreshments keep grabbing my attention. More than the yummy factor it's nostalgia that overwhelms me.  One advantage about eating such spicy and crunchy snacks is that, one gets aware of the soaring onion prices much before the News reaches the media. Actually, in such situations, the jhalmuri/nuts sellers mix nicely chopped Muli(radish) along with the onions. The amount of Muli they mix is directly proportional to the price rice of onion. It is also a common practice that during these limited no onion days, the jhalmuri sellers would keep some finely chopped onions secretly tucked in one corner, for their special and regular customers.




Grab a copy of my debut book Story of Tublu from Amazon or Flipkart. It is a Contemporary Fiction novel, published by LiFi Publications Pvt Ltd. The book has its share of drama, that entertains; humor, that makes one reminisce; love, friendship and emotions that defines the amazing journey that is, life. 



 

Fifteen Minutes Fast

          Every morning it's the same story with us; we have to struggle a lot to make Jia ready for school. It is a tough job, particularly for my wife Anjali and our helper Rinku. Jia’s school bus usually comes by 8 am at the nearby pickup point. Quite often we have to call the bus driver and request him to wait for a couple of minutes.

It was a perfect morning, Jia was ready for school, Rinku went to drop her at the bus stop. The wall clock in the hall was displaying 8:10 am. Well, we use to keep it fifteen minutes fast. So Jia was on time and we felt it wasn’t necessary to call the driver to wait. Rinku to a little longer and returned after ten to fifteen minutes. To our surprise Jia was also with her in her school uniform. So Jia missed her bus yet again, but how come? She was on time. Anjali called the school transport authority and complained about their irregularities. I was getting ready for office. I looked at the wall clock in the hall, it was displaying 8:20 am, then I had a look at my mobile, it also displayed the same time. I was surprised, as my phone should have displayed correct time. 


           The story started about a couple of decades ago. I was in my tenth grade. Few months before the board exams my father brought me a wrist watch. My father believed that the watch would be helpful during the exams, to complete my papers on time. It was a simple yet trendy looking Titan timepiece. I started to wear wrist watch for the first time in life. I adjusted the time and kept it fifteen minutes fast. I thought it would help me to do my things timely. My friends always used to say "what's the point, dude? You already know that your watch is fifteen minutes fast, how is it going to help you? If someone change the time without your knowledge then it would work.”  Even I knew that keeping my watch fifteen minutes fast is not going to work, but then somehow it became a habit.

I used my first watch, yes the Titan one, for almost a decade and throughout its entire lifetime my watch had to resist the force by pushing time fifteen minutes ahead. I remember one incident during my hostel days. I was in first year of Engineering. Dinner was served exactly at 8:45 pm in hostel. Mr Hiranya Kumar Das, one of our seniors, who was very tidy guy; also, quite punctual with his dinner timing. He was always among the first guys to have dinner. One evening on his way to the dining hall Hiranya dropped by our room. As usual few guys were gossiping and Hiranya also participated in the conversation.

"Come guys, let’s go for dinner," asked Hiranya after a while.

"It's too early for us; wait for sometime, we will go in half an hour," one of us responded.

Hiranya couldn’t wait that long and went upstairs. But soon he returned to our room, angry, upset with the cooks. He picked up my wrist watch from the table, "shit, it’s 8:50 and still dinner is not ready," he was getting hyper.

My friends laughed in chorus and revealed to Hiranya about my fifteen minutes fast story. Hiranya was little embarrassed and he burst out his embarrassment in his typical hostel friendly manner, with some good enough motherly words.

          In the year of December 2005, my elder brother gifted me and Anjali a pair of wrist watches on the occasion of our marriage. Both were of 25 Hours brand. My Titan piece was still ticking, but I thought it was time for a change. Since then, I’m using my second watch. It’s almost a decade and my 25 Hours timepiece is working perfectly fine. The first battery lasted for three years and thereafter I had to change the batter every year.My 'fifteen minutes fast' habit got induced to Anjali as well. It wasn’t easy for me, but later, somehow I managed to overpower my age old tradition. I understood it nicely that keeping my watch fifteen minutes fast is not going to help me in any way. But Anjali got pretty much addicted to it and I think it will take a few more years for her to realize this.



          So that particular morning I dropped Jia at her school. I apologized to her teacher that Jia missed her school bus. She accepted my apology with her charming smile. I then drove to my office. Later in the afternoon I was surprised to receive a call from Jia’s school transport coordinator.

"Hello sir, Jia’s bus has already reached her destination. The driver is waiting for the last five minutes but there's no one to pick her up"

I was quite angry. I immediately called our home landline and blasted at our domestic helper, Rinku.

"It’s only 12:15, I usually go down at 12:20, wait there for ten to fifteen minutes. How would I know that the bus is going to come so early today?" clarified Rinku.


I doubted that our wall clock battery might taking its last breaths. After returning home in the evening I looked at the wall clock; it displayed time with a difference of 40-50 minutes. The battery seemed to be miserably exhausted. I went to the nearby shop to have a new one. I changed the battery of the wall clock. I adjusted the time and kept it fifteen minutes fast, as usual.


Grab a copy of my debut book Story of Tublu from Amazon or Flipkart. It is a Contemporary Fiction novel, published by LiFi Publications Pvt Ltd. The book has its share of drama, that entertains; humor, that makes one reminisce; love, friendship and emotions that defines the amazing journey that is, life.