On 25th August 2009!

Sometimes I wonder is that attachment so strong just because it was my 1^st job…

but then it must be something more special than that else why the colleague sitting beside me doesn’t talk about that of Intel (his first job).

Was it because that was when I went out of Home for the first time…but then why Ashok and Arindam (who were in Hostel since teens) is as fond of C-Dot as me.

Was it because I got the taste of Money and Independence….but then why don’t I recall WDC that often with more money and more freedom than I got in C-Dot.

I keep on thinking….

Not even Dr Abrol’s recent paper, Sam Pitroda’s interview or Silver Jubilee Committee’s plethora of nostalgic emails can explain…

So finally I give up…and accept that

Let me just keep enjoying this special feeling and bonding and memories without much whys and whats….

And while the world is celebrating C-Dot’s 25^th bday today and remembering its contribution to nation…

I decided to turn little more selfish today and saying a big Thanks to C-Dot

For its contribution to what I am today…and of course for giving me friends like you for lifelong.

Happy 25^th Bday to C-Dot.

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(re posting the mail I sent to few of the closest and dearest frnds today. Pic courtesy: cdot.com home page)

Fatak...

Ginti na karna iski Yaaro Mein..
Awara Ghumein galiyoro Mein..

Yeh chipku Hamesha Staayega
Yeh Jaayega fir Laut aayega

Khoone ke Mele Katre Hai..
Jaan ke Saare Katar Ke

ki aaya raat ka jaaya re
Fatak Fatak....(whiplash)

Sampooran Singh Kalra– aka Gulzar.

The Maestro who can transform a hackneyed Social Message to a chartbuster!

Happy 73rd Birthday!

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courtesy: khandwa...another die hard Gullu Fan.

Summer of 1986 (and the 4 Ms)

Continuing the nostalgic saga...................

Miandad:
17th April 1986.

That was the last day of the 10th board exam for the MP's first batch of 10+2 students. The past year's eventful session with Operation Blue Star and post Indira Gandhi riots, weeks long curfew, Bhopal Gas tragedy and two back to back elections were considered too much stress for the 9th grade students by Arjun Singh (then CM) and had granted a state wide general promotion. With no filtering on 9th graders for the past year so many eyes were already on this crucial board examination. And as it would prove later that was probably the worst year of MP's educational history in terms of 10th board results but as of that day I was the happiest person. Not because my board exams were finally over but the fact that finally I had earned the right to watch an "usual" cinema (and not a tax free kids one) and the very next day I was going to franchise my right along with few other colony friends. B Sai Babu Reddy was one of them. There were two choices in the list. Sultanat (with Sunny Deol/Juhi/Sridevi) at Babulal theater, or Ilzaam (introducing Govinda, Neelam) at Anand talkies. Going by the music and craze Ilzaam was the obvious winner. I still remember Bsai trying his best to postpone our movie plan in favor of watching the ongoing cricket Match at Sharjah but giving in at the end. Matinee show was its peak at Anand talkies, we were little late in entering the hall but that experience of searching for our seats in that semi dark theater..... as the big silver screen with Govinda's dance and blaring music of I am a street Dancer throwing the young audience into frenzy....Unforgettable.

Coming out of theater we were surprised to see the somberness of the city street and at the Rly. Institute (our regular meeting point in loco colony). Soon we found out that while we were immersed in silver screen's Dunia kee aisi-ki-taisi, in reality Javed Miandad did that to Chetan Sharma in the match's last ball's by hitting a sixer and winning the Australasia cup. I am not sure if Bsai was happy to miss the sad episode of India losing the finals or sad to miss that historic occasion of the world of cricket.

Moni:
20th April 1986.

When Moni (my grandma) came to our house in late 1985 she told that she is not going anywhere else from there. Generally throughout my childhood she stayed with us with occasional trips to Calcutta but because of Baba's transfer and moving from Kharsia to Raipur, waiting for the quarter etc this time she was in Calcutta for last 1 and 1/2 year or so.
And this time when I saw her...she seemed very different than what I remembered before, much silent, much weaker and not that active as she was known for. She was already sick and very weak since past few weeks when on 19th Baba decided that maybe it is the rising heat. Summer had just begun. So we went to order for a cooler. The one we liked was out of stock and would take around a week. On 20th around midnight while Baba and we three brothers were asleep in outside courtyard (Maa was with Moni in the room), Maa called us as Moni was taking deep breaths making that hissing noise. Her eyes were closed and she would not respond to anything. Maa already had seen dadu (her father) in his last moments and told us its not a good sign. Baba asked the night watchman to fetch our local doctor immediately while all five of us just sit there besides Moni who was quite senseless by then. I remember we all tried to drip water through her partly opened mouth. We never knew exactly when she passed away but but by the time doctor came in around 2AM it was late. She was 88 years old. A strong willed and very forward and open minded lady during her times, and so darling to all her grand kids. I was trying to gauge Baba more and feeling the pain but he never broke down and maintained himself thoroughly. Only time he broke down was at funeral ghaat the next afternoon. I too could not stop tears at that time. The coming few days would be hectic for all of us with lots of rituals and preparation for the shraadh ceremony. Sometimes I think maybe it is that sheer cleverness of our founder fathers who made these rules and social gatherings a must which immensely helps in forgetting the real cause behind all this and eases the transition period of mourning to normalcy. And in 15/20 days things became as usual..regular routine life, except Moni was now with us in memory and a big picture frame with a garland around her. Time does not STOP for anyone.

After many days while having dinner Baba wondered once if the cooler would have made any difference. Probably not but then there are things which stays with you forever......"what if" !

Mits:
May 1986:

Lokesh (now Zaab!), Manish (Khedu) and me cleared the first level of NCERT exams from our school and the second level was scheduled for one Sunday morning of May'86 in the capital city of Bhopal in Model school. Baba, Maa and we three brothers all went to Bhopal via Nagpur. Both the places we have relatives and some wonderful Dadas and Didis (cousins). It was a change too for all of us after Moni's death. The multiple choice exam was a total flop. I did realize that no chance to move to 3rd level to Delhi just minutes after seeing the question paper. But it was overall a great experience. The trip also included a quick luncheon visit to an address in Shaktinagar, Bhopal.

12 years later I would go to the same address again but for a very different and more permanent reason.

Maradona.
21st June 1986.

We three brothers were demanding to get a TV set since long, but there were so many reasons/excuses and it was turned down each time. But the world cup soccer of 1986 changed that for ever. Maybe it was Bong's ever-strong love affair with football, so though Baba never played soccer (I think) but he was following that with much enthusiasm that year. Finally Baba/Maa with lot of pursuance from Dida (Maa's mother who visited us then) agreed to get a TV set. With many conditions like when it will be ON, when it will be OFF, what we can see and what we can not. We three were so excited and agreed to all the conditions without any hesitation. Much of the world cup was already over by that then. Baba decided to get it on Saturday 21^st June so that we could watch the first quarterfinal. The TV set which came to our house that evening was a CROWN portable BnW. It was a cute little red box with turn-style knobs for 12 or 13 channels it had and two rabbit ear antennae. I remember watching the movie which Doordarshan played that Saturday night “Pirates of the 20^th Century” followed by the most thriller soccer match I have ever seen till date. This was the first quarter final between Brazil and France with greats of Platini, Socrates and Zico. France won (rather Brazil lost because of Zico missing the last of the penalty shootout kick). What a great historic day to purchase a TV and witness one of the classics. Unfortunately next day same time when we would eagerly wait for the Argentina-England quarter final to see that tournament's hero Maradona in action the TV simply stopped working. Just plain dead. Kicking, Praying, Voodoing nothing worked. So seeing Maradona’s Hands of God Goal in live was not in our kismet that night but based on previous night's experience we could hardly complain. The TV was replaced by another similar set the very next day and would stay at our home without any issues for two more FIFA world cup seasons.

To be continued......

Fax and me...

Last night I faxed quite a few pages from home using my very own "new" Fax machine. It might sound very strange, but yes I did finally aquire this equipment. With scanners, windows fax and first and foremost when using Fax from Work is considered a standard perk worldwide, I doubt now a days anyone would even think to purchase a "stand alone" Fax, but I did.

Couple of weeks back I had to fax few pages urgently to our agent. I told him that I can send him the scanned copy but he was keen on fax only. So at 9 in the night I had to rush to local Fedex Kinko's store. And I could not believe it.....sending 14 pages locally cost me around $20. Exorbitant! Is it because demand is low? I cant justify it ever as local telephone calls are free, so I was paying literally for using their machine. The store manager accepted the fact but also mentioned that now a days hardly any one use this mode of communication. Anyways very next day while browsing thru Fry's I got hold of a brand new Canon Fax (on clearnace ofcourse) and price I paid was exactly $20! I am sure the cartridge itself would cost more than the machine's price. All pricing logic fail here!

Reminds me of 16/17 years back...1992/93. I was eagerly waiting for my appointment letter from HR of C-DoT. On my last visit to NewDelhi, the HR secretary gave me enough clue that my name appears on the list but with nothing else in hand I was desperate to get that appointment letter. And when the promised day passed by with postman giving an apologetic look I decided to call the HR office. Those days the STD charges were at its peak, I think for Raipur-Delhi during office time would cost me 30 or 40 Rs per minute. Me absolutely "bekar" could not think of requesting this amount from home just to check have they sent the apptmt letter or not.

And then came FAX again...Fax to the rescue. The neighborhood STD/PCO/FAX guy asked me why don't I use Fax. Sending a half page would cost only Rs 20, you can put more words than you can speak probably and you have the mental piece of knowing it is already at HR desk! Better than the courier or speed post. Over the next few weeks while entire country was virtually shut down post Babri Masjid and C-DoT HR working at its slowest pace for valid reason...Fax was only method of communication for me.... The same Fax which is now considered extinct.

I feel proud of my new Fax machine and will keep it at my desk for as long as I can.

Summer of 1989.

It was a special summer indeed. Many events...and some of them deep enough to leave a permanent mark in memory with exact location, date and time as it took place. Now as I start writing about that time frame of my life, events after events have just started folding out in front of me waiting to be picked and placed in here as well. Another way to make them timeless I guess. Let me start from the beginning.

This was the summer when I had just finished my second semester of engineering, there was a month long vacation and after that based on results my engineering branch would be decided.
And then came LaluDa..suddenly...one fine morning he was there in his usual attire of tee-shirt , and a big backpack. Lalu Da is my cousin..but ask anyone in our family and they will tell me he is my childhood Guru. The ever smiling one, humorous to the core and a look alike of Kamal Hasan in his early days...who taught me many things even before my friends got that opportunity..he is my one of the most fav cousin. While growing up I am sure all of us have some cousin maybe few years older but who is your idol, a confidante and at the same time a great friend. Lalu da was on a month and half long North-India darshan trip which was "granted" to him from Pishey (his dad) because of his excellent performance on their only sister (Chaiti Di's marriage) couple of months back. His trip included Raipur-Nagpur-Bhopal-Agra-Delhi-Sahibabad-Hardwar and back on the same route. Thanks to our large family tree other than Agra and Hardwar it was also going to serve him the opportunity to meet the elders and other members of our clan!

With me waiting for my results and no classes, Lalu Da requested my parents if I could also join him on this long trip. Lalu da was Baba's favorite too or may be it was that special Mama-Bhanja thing.....and also to make their elder son little more smarter my parents agreed. It would be my first trip without them....and with Lalu da along...I cant describe how excited I was about it.

Baba took out a PTO (basically a concession Train ticket, where one pays only 1/3rd of the fare, a popular incentive from the world's largest employer) for me and I got a new pair of jeans (my first) and then I started my roller coaster ride of "Firsts" of many things one after another in my life!

The first one in Nagpur would be, thanks to another great cousins Montu Da and Papa da, my first 750ml of Kingfisher in a dimly light bar. Suddenly I had turned a fully grown adult I would think. Lots of wandering and roaming in and around nice places of Nagpur in Papa Da's luna. My first devouring of an English Novel, Mario Puzo's Godfather and getting addicted to that since then. Unfortunately it would be followed by Harold Robins, Irving Wallace, James Hadley, Ian Fleming and likes....before I would turn into some serious reading which one can mention proudly!

On the way from Nagpur to Bhopal..me and lalu da passing some special comments in bangla about our co-passenger thinking we are too smart....and then while she was getting down telling us to enjoy our trip and vacation...in pure and chaste bangla. That was a close shave.

Realizing in Agra that we are running short of Money and cutting short the stay and moving to Delhi few days before scheduled. Having a wonderful time at Delhi and Hardwar...and then
I came to know about a new term in my life "Preponement". Till then I used to know Postpone but never realized there can be a word like Prepone. And years later I would realize that it was OK for me to not know about it :-) "Preponement"

It happened so that because of our budgetary reasons we decided to return back to Raipur one week before scheduled. So I along with Laluda went to that famous New Delhi Reservation Center and canceled my PTO and tried to book my ticket one week before. And then came the biggest shock of the whole trip when resv. clerk said you cant cancel and reuse PTO for a new booking. You have to do a new full price reservation now. You should have PREPONED your reservation and that would have cost no money! I had no idea where the extra money would come from...and believe me just as if by God's blessing another miracle happened. Luci Di (another great sis) met us on the same day in Delhi (she was on a training there) and it was her sheer generosity she helped me out in that troubled time without me even asking her...and this all happened without anyone knowing...and without any embarrassment.

On the way back it was no less fun with stopovers at Bhopal and Nagpur. Finally on the rainy afternoon of 5th August we arrived at Raipur..exactly before one week. No cell-phone then so baba-maa had no idea and we surprised all by turning in one week ahead. Finally the trip would end in most saddest manner possible that I still remember the day....5th August of 1989.

In the evening that same day while having tea and sharing our trip stories, two policemen came inquiring our address. Baba talked with them, they came to inform about a road accident and the driver had our address in his pocket. I can never forget that moment and even right now I am getting the shivers. They didn't tell us who it is and what happened but just asked Baba to accompany them to the police station. Within hours we came to know it was Gautam Da who met a fatal accident that same rainy afternoon on his way to office..... As I was waiting with others in the morgue on that night I think all the excitement of the Summer of 89 just vanished in a second, and thinking about how crude the life can be. After exactly twenty years I am thinking of that excited summer once again and that terrible night and Gautam Da's bearded and smiling face.