MHA (2003-2005) Batch - Memories

Well, here we go again!

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present the MHA 2003-2005 Batch, the irresistable bunch. Thanks to Shashwat's and Hemlata's cell phones, these memories were framed forever. The quality of the images may not be high class but our class was surely high on life then...and hopefully now too.

Those 2 years at TISS were special years. For most of us, along those 2 years we found new friendship, new bonding, new opponents, new ideas, new barriers, new shortcuts, new competition......and for 'Mommie', new cosmetics!

Our lives also witnessed a lot of change, some good and some not so good. But life in those 2 years was worth it. I'm sure, each one of us, at some point or the other, have carried that all knowing SMILE when memories of the times at TISS flashed in our minds. But people, whatever it is, if there is a smile upon your face, then life is good! Oh Yeah!

Those exam blues, those countless pranks, those endless last-minute-studying nights, those chilling times....the list will never end. But in all that we have gone through, the expereinces have certainly enriched our lives. When I see these images, I reminisce, I smile...I know a part of my life was lived well.

Many of us are now in different locations and situations. The job market is now shaping our professional lives and we have to survive, we have to strive. More importantly, we must stay connected and re-connect with old links. Its an unending cycle....but people, there must be fun too! And our batch needs no introduction to fun...cos we defined fun in TISS, didn't we?

However, all good things must come to an end right? NO! We better make it good and we better make it stay people. British Airways, in one of its advertisements gave this line - "When was the last time, you did something for the first time?". So for us there must never be any room for complacency...cos we ROCK people!!

Mezcal's Jazz

It was late afternoon yesterday (25th April 2006) when Amit, my 'Bong Brother' called and informed me about a Jazz concert at the India International centre (IIC) Rose Garden to be held at 7 pm the same day. I, as usual, excitedly affirmed my presence at the event.

I arrived 20 minutes early for the show. The stage was set and the seats were gradually occupied. Amit arrived just as the show was geting started. The Jazz concert was actually a fusion of Classical Indian Music + European Jazz. The Classical team were Bikram Ghosh, Tabla maestro, Sunando Mukherjee, Sarod maestro and Parthasarathy Desikan, the vocalist. The Jazz team were 4 members of the French Jazz band, Mezcal!

The musicians were masters in their skill. At first the sound of the tablas and the saxophone didn't quite mix in my ears. Slowly as the rhythms began to emerge and merge, did I realise that it was indeed amazing.

Each musician displayed their talent to the applause of the people. Bikram was incredible at the tablas. He surely seemed to be the limelight of the evening. Nevertheless it was the superb combined music of the fusion that just swept through the place like a wave. Desikan's voice too blended well with the sounds.

It was 9:20 pm when the show ended and we were totally mesmerised by the music. Strains of it were still floating in our ears as we walked out of the Rose garden.

Puri Diary

Puri re-visited!! I took an annual leave from work, I took my bag...and took the Delhi-Kolkata flight on 9th April 2006. Then another 12-hour bus journey from Kolkata to Puri....and I was there, at last.

It was a planned trip. Planned by my brother - to celebrate our sister's birthday. It was 17 years ago when we first visited Puri, Orissa. It was a family holiday then. The beach near the town was much cleaner then...Now, it has become very dirty and the smell of fish and prawns lingered in the air.

We stayed at Toshali Sands, a resort, which is a member of the Resort Condominiums International (RCI). The RCI pioneered the concept of exchange vacations since 1974. Today, RCI has more than three million members worldwide, who enjoy dream vacations at RCI's 3,700 affiliated resorts. These timeshare owners and resorts are a unique community of travel enthusiasts with the common bond of a lifetime commitment to quality vacations through timeshare. Toshali also has a sister resort in Shimla.

First day we visited the private beach near the resort and I was overwhelmed. Sadly this beach was also dirty, though not as much as the stretch we saw near the town. The rest of the days were spent in travelling around Puri and Bhubaneshwar, the capital of Orissa and a lot of swimming in the resort pool. We visited the famous Sun Temple at Konark, definitely the most notable marvel of Orissan art, which was built in 1250 AD during the reign of the Eastern ganga King, Narasimhadeva. The structure was designed in the form of a chariot drawn by 7 horses on 12 pairs of exquisitely carved wheels. The walls of the temple contain many animal, floral and geometrical and sensuously carved human forms in a variety of gestures and rhythmic actions.

Another place we visited was the Chilka Lake, the largest salt water lake in the country and located to the South West of Puri. We arranged for a boat ride which was to take us to a location where we could see the famous Chilka dolphins and then to the spot where the Bay of Bengal meets the lake. The sky was overcast and the air was heavy with moisture.

There were many fishing boats, almost all of them coloured in blue, as majority of the people living near the lake earn their livelihood from fishing. The boat ride took 3 and a half hours. We spotted the dolphins and walked on the beach washed by the waters of the Bay of Bengal. It was so clean. One could just walk on for hours and not feel tired. It was as if there was a spell that captivates one's senses.

I returned to Delhi on 17th April after a truly wonderful time at Puri, and I just could not wait to upload the pics and start writing this piece. I must confess that before the trip, I was doubting whether we made the right choice of choosing to visit Puri, as I thought the temperature would be too hot to handle. Fortunately I was wrong. Puri does gives the traveller an unexpected comfortable welcome. It was a trip well made.