No escape

No escape for you....no escape. I will mourn for your exodus, but I cannot let you go. You will stay forever in my heart. I always thought of your voice as melted smoothness, and the baritone was like God's voice, and it has always given me nothing but peace. For you, Jagjit Singh:


 

JAGJIT SINGH
(8 February 1941 – 10 October 2011)

একা, বড্ড একা যখন-

সেই আঁধারেও তুমি কিন্তু সঙ্গে ছিলে,

তোমার জন্য অনেক ব্যাথা

মিলিয়ে গেছে আস্তে ধীরে |

রেশম তোমার রইলো রাখা

রোজই কত মন তো পোড়ে,

তোমায় নিয়ে সারাজীবন হাঁটবে যারা-

আমিও আছি সেই মিছিলে |

Usually, I don't pray....but tonight I will. I will pray for your wife Chitra. I will pray so that she may find within the strength to take the second bolt of lightning on her life. First, she lost her son; and now, you. I cannot think of a single word to say to her.  I will pray for her.


Rest in peace, Ghazal King.

New Song...again?

Ok. Another bengali song. This is not a new song as per production date is concerned. But it is new anyway for this blog. Its a little comedic which I have rarely tried before. This is truly but unbelievably inspired by George Michael's 'Faith'. So, here goes:

পোষা

তোমার চোখের তারায় তারায় আমার আকাশ যায় ভরে -

তা বলে কী থাকতে হবে সারাটা ক্ষণ হাত ধরে ?

তোমায় ছুঁয়ে নাহয় আমার আঁধার বুকে ঝাড়বাতি -

তা বলে কী তোমার জন্য উঠবো জেগে মাঝরাতে ?

তুমি আমার মনের মানুষ, তবুও বলি, কোরোনাকো গোঁসা -

আমি নইতো তোমার খাঁচার পাখী, নাড়বোনা ল্যাজ, হয়ে তোমার পোষা |

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তোমার কাছে হৃদয় জমা, রেখেই দেবো সুদছাড়া

তুমি শুধু দাও ছেড়ে দাও, মিষ্টি মধুর ভ্যান্তারা ।

মনের বাঁধন কাঁচা সুতো, এই কথাটি নাও বুঝে -

তোমার শিখাই রাখবো জ্বেলে, পাঁজর ঘরের পিলসুজে-

কোথাও তুমি দেখেছো কী, আঙুর ফলে, ছাড়াচ্ছে কেউ খোসা ?

তোমার কাছেই, থাকবো পাশে, তবুও হয়ে থাকবোনাতো পোষা।

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রাগ কোরোনা, জট পড়েছে,

আজব গজব চরিত্রেরই গিঁটে

চামড়া আমার বড্ড নরম,

বাঁধন দিলেই, যায় পড়ে কালশিটে।

আমায় যদি চাও পেতে চাও, আমাকে দাও ছুটি

দেখবে কেমন আসবো আমি, ফেরত গুটি গুটি।

(আমায়) ভালোবেসে দাও করে দাও,

ছোত্ত খোকা, বুড়ো আঙুল চোষা -

আমার মতিগতি দাও গুলিয়ে

থাকবো হয়ে শুধু তোমার পোষা ।

- শৌভিক

১০ এপ্রিল ২০১১

The Nobel Prize in Physics

I have always considered myself as mediocre. I can manage in the world generally, but when it comes to complex things, I may take a minute or two to grasp. I am very interested in physics, and I want to know more and more. Mainly two subjects attract me the best: time travel and teleportation. I am eagerly waiting for the news of discovering a FTL particle to emerge from CERN, Gran Sasso Laboratory or anywhere else. So when I got the news of 2011 Nobel prize for Physics announcement, I wanted to know what it was given for this year. The reason has something to do with expansion of universe, which in my opinion (worth a shilling !) has something to do with my fav subjects. This is not something like inventing a two-dim material. So the I was curious, what are the reasons in this millennium, for which a person would get Nobel Prize? So I made a list from this page which gives me all the Physics Nobel Laureates of this millennium, and the reason they were awarded the most prestigious award in the world. So I wanted to share.  I would also like to share a funny comment made by Physicist Jim Al-Khalili of the University of Surrey, when he was asked for a reaction regarding the stunning announcement of having clocked elementary particles called neutrinos travelling Faster Than Light.

Reactions to this tricky time-of-flight experiment have been mixed. Words like “flabbergasted” and “extraordinary” are circulating, but often with a strong note of caution. Physicist Jim Al-Khalili of the University of Surrey was so convinced the finding is the result of measurement error, he told the BBC’s Jason Palmer that “if the CERN experiment proves to be correct and neutrinos have broken the speed of light, I will eat my boxer shorts on live TV."

WordArt?

I was reading "Songbad Protidin" on Sunday 9/11. They provide a magazine with the main newspaper. There I read Joy Goswami's feature, where he has quoted from other poet's works, and tried to understand them also. Two of them I would like to paste here, because I also liked them:

মা-কে

শৌভিক দে

এমন গোধূলি শেষে, তুমি এসে

টিপ খুলে জানলায় রাখো

তারা ফোটে

পুকুরে রূপোর কাঁসি, ভাঙা হাসি

কেঁপে কেঁপে ওঠে

ঝালং

সুদীপ্ত মাজি

অসম্ভব ঢালু পথ। নীচে খাদ। শীর্ষ থেকে নীচের সিনারি

দেখব, ঝুঁকে তাকাতেই সাম্পান আঁকড়ে ধরল দুই হাত দিয়ে...

সুন্দরের সমাধিতে একটি ফুল হয়ে ঝরা হলনা আমার

দেখলাম-আমার স্ত্রীও ক্যামেরায় মগ্ন আর বাকরূদ্ধ, ভীষণ নির্জন

ঘরে ফেরবার পথে, অসম্ভব জ্যোৎস্নায় ধুয়ে যাওয়া পথঘাট দেখে

বাসের জানলা থেকে কৌতুহলে তাকিয়ে চমকাইঃ

চাঁদ আজ আকাশে নেই, আলো দিতে দিতে

আমার কোলেই, একা, নিশ্চিন্তে জড়োসড়ো ঘুমিয়ে পড়েছে...

I don't understand modern poetry very well. But lately I have started feeling that, if the feeling is of sanctity and peace after you finish reading a poetry, it has to be something that touched you. I read some of Sankha Ghose and Joy Goswami, and loved the way they use the words to bring out the deepest feelings in our hearts, a feeling you have always known, but never thought that what would you compare it with. I don't have examples to give you right now, my mood in the office is totally different. Maybe that would be the topic of my next post, my fav quotes from these two magnificent poets. I visited this forum, and really liked the idea of a Bengali forum only for poetry. maybe people like me, who want to understand poetry, would benefit from this.

First time lucky

Do you know, my friends have e-patted my back for the last post?. I am flattered, and overwhelmed. One of them is from Chennai, currently in Bangalore. he does not understand bangla, so he praised the prose. Thanks to you all. BTW, this is the link to my blog. I am giving it here, so Please don't mind.

Anyway, everybody knows that to rhyme is not a crime, if you are doing it at the right time. I am not someone prime, but I know a little lime in this mundane life is surely sublime, and it does not cost you a dime. Hey, its just rhyme!

I am always blaming myself for not reading much of English literature. All I read is Jeffrey Archer short stories, Erle Stanley Gardner courtroom mysteries, Lee Child action packed thrillers, Dan Brown, even I tried one Mills and Boon (M&B). It was a little too good and mushy, you know.

What I am trying to say is,  when will I start liking English literature? I tried Guy de Maupassant, did not like it, Jerome K Jerome is hilarious but too predictable. Only thing I read and can be called literature is The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. And I liked it too.

Even with this little knowledge, I can see that its not easy for me to read something because its famous. I gotta like it. So I am taking up a mission. I am going to read every synopsis of every book which was wriiten by the winners of nobel, man booker and pulitzer. If I like any of them, I am going to read it. Enough with this thriller trash!

But there is a problem, I am lazy and I like to read, parallel. If I want to have the pleasure of reading, I will loose the pleasure of leisure, being a lazy. I have to look for the books, because they are not very easily available. If I go with my nature, then I will be deprived of the other pleasure, reading.

On that note, my first task on this mission is to finish the Famous book Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. I got it here.The famous phrase 'catch-22' has emerged from this novel itself. In Heller's own words:

There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he were sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle.

I am also looking at the Modern Library's 100 Best Novels, and Time magazine's All time 100 Novels, even after the prized authors' works. Once this mission is complete, I can stop reading literary trash and go back to original trash!

And now, again, I am putting up one more of my songs. Its about the moment she said Yes! (too much M&B?).

 

আমি ভাবতাম কথারা আমার বন্ধু,

দুচোখে যখন তাকালে গোলাপি শরমে-

শব্দেরা সব হাসছিলো দূরে দাঁড়িয়ে

স্তব্ধতা শুধু বেড়ে উঠছিলো চরমে ||

বুকের উঠোনে রোদে রিমঝিম বৃষ্টি-

শিউলিরা ঝরে ঝরে পড়ে টাপ্‌ টুপ্‌ টাপ্‌

কথাগুলো শুধু বড্ড যে বাগী বেহায়া-

তবু কইলো না কিছু, রয়ে গেল চুপচাপ ||

তুমি তো ভাবছো এ কেমন বোকা কবি যে,

এই মধুক্ষণ কত প্রতীক্ষা পেরিয়ে-

চুপ করে কেন বাক্যবাগীশ বন্ধু?

মনের কথাটা আসছেনা কেন বেরিয়ে ||

আমি তো বলেছি যতটুকু ছিলো বলবার,

তাই সে এখনো আমাকে রয়েছে জড়িয়ে-

সব কথা, সব শব্দেরা নিঃশব্দে-

ঠোঁট থেকে ঠোঁটে আলগোছে গেছে ছড়িয়ে ||

Keep me posted about my post. I am afraid that for you, I am losing my laziness !

I am lazy

So, I am lazy.... that should be a known fact by now....after almost 5 years, I am writing my next post. This should be reason enough to start believing in my laziness.

I am now in Chennai. I am originally from Kolkata, West Bengal, but for my job, I am staying in Chennai from July 2010. Yet to feel the infamous Chennai heat in its its full glare. Actually very soon, I am going to my hometown, and as I am hearing, its chilly nowadays in Kolkata.

Anyways, what can I say about Chennai? people are good with me (almost I should say), and so far everything is ok. I live very near the sea, but so far, only twice I have been to the beach. I am lazy, I told you.

I know my blog is not going to be very interesting, but I don't care. I think, and I read a lot. So, whenever I feel like writing, I will either write a blog post, or like before, will be writing bengali songs. And send them to jhonku.

Right now, my friend jhonku is trying to get a chance to show his talents in bengali entertainment industry. He can sing, and he is also a composer. We were together in a band for a long time. Even when I am in Chennai now, I sometimes send him some lyrics. But he has a problem. If he does not like the lyrics in the first look, he cannot do the tune. I am sure that some of the lyrics I have written, would have been liked by some bengali composer, film or otherwise. But the problem is, in this industry, you cannot trust anybody. Somebody could take my creation and make it their own. I know him for last 16 years, so I do trust him.

Here is excerpts from a song I have written recently.....its an item song, the scene could be a mela and a female dancer, on stage, singing this one..

বোষ্টুমি

(ও) তোমার প্রেমের জ্বালা ধিকিধিকি,

এদিক ওদিক উঁকিঝুঁকি,

অবাধ্য চোখ হ্যাংলা কাঙাল,

করছে কেমন দুষ্টুমি-

তেমন করে দেখলে আমায়

হবো তোমার বোষ্টুমি ||

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যদি কোমরে দাও রূপোর বিছে, পরাও পায়ে সোনার মল

ভাসিয়ে দেবো প্রেমের ডিঙি, দুলবে ঢেউয়ে ছলাৎছল |

যদি ঠোঁটে ছোঁয়াও এক খিলি পান

সোনার কাঁকন দুই হাতে

তোমার সলতে প্রদীপ উশকে দেবো

আলতো করে মাঝরাতে ||

Welcome to my thoughts

I think a lot. Its a bad habbit. Too much of anything is bad. So I started writing blog posts. I want people to share my thoughts. Like and dislike them, love or hate them. Just cannot ignore them.