apadartha4 book

8/6/2019 Apadartha4 Book

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A-LONEMonoranjan Goswami

I dwelled in City,In a rich Country.Very busy we were,No times to spare.

I was fairly Rich,All within reach,

Home, cash and car,

Had no one to care.

Was slowly dying,I was even crying.None came to careOr ask to enquire.

You found me dead,After eight days.



-

Why Should I?

Dwaipayan Mukherjee

Why should I try to right all wrong,

And in the process lose my song?

What hope would make me sow new seeds?

If I beget but dirty weeds?

Why should I lose my soul and pray,

If I were never led astray?

What grief could haunt me night and day,

If happiness weren't here to stay?

Why should I hold out light through storm,

If all I've seen is a shadowy form?

What love could blossom in my mind,

If treachery's all I'd ever find?

Why should I chain the beast in me,

If dark thoughts in my veins run free?

What glee on earth I stand to gain,

In swallowing my desires with pain?

Why should I accept death for life,

If morbid truth cuts like a knife?



-

What tormentor can make me yield?

If I never cared for a shield?

A Vagabond’s Tale

Dwaipayan Mukherjee

I care not if the world turns round,

I fear not if I’m never found,

I fret not for the peaks unclimbed,

I leave no traveler’s trail behind.

No maiden’s love do I ever miss,

No chieftain’s feet do I ever kiss,

No chains shackle me to any place,

Nor crave do I for Almighty’s grace.

What leads me on I can’t tell,

I know not if my soul is fell,

My body’s willing and so am I,

Given a chance I’d probably fly.

Embarked have I on an endless trip,

My life was never in my grip,

But grudge not I for living this way,

An hour this life’s worth many a day



-

WOMEN

SUDIPA DAS

Women is a wife for a moment, but a mother for ever,

She expresses her desires for a moment, but keeps them unfulfilled for ever.

She can seek rest for a moment, but cannot have it for ever,

She can desire a thing for a moment, but can possess it never.

She can cry it secret, but in front of men never,

She can render obedience always, but deserves it never.

She teaches to love and share love everywhere,

She teaches to sacrifice and compromise anywhere.

She is supposed to have the money, but not to possess it long,

She is expected to remain in the kitchen and not out of it too long.

She going out of a woman is for a man an absurd idea,

She critically analyze this view as a critic who faces the media,

She is expected to chuckle for a moment, but to laugh never,

She is expected to render obedience, but never act as a power wielder.

She seeks freedom, but can seldom find,

She is dominated by the word “He”, whose actions even mind dares not find.

But, she can come out of this, and find a new place for her own,

Through her attainment of a position, by the economic sufficiency of her own.



-

Those Two eyesTufan Kr Mukhopadhyay

So deep, bottomless

Those two mysterious eyes

Took away myself to an unknown world,

Left myself on a journey

of unknown destiny.

So freak, so careful

Those two sparking eyes

Baffled me with endless confusionLeft myself in a situation

of unknown elation.

So unsteady, so amiable

Those two puerile eyes

Turned me into fossil suddenly

Left myself drowning

in the eddy slowly.

So lovely, so comfortable

Those two beautiful eyes

Took away all of my agony

Left myself in an oasis

with endless serenity.



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Its winter within

Wreetojyoti Ray

The cold breeze of late NovemberThe old dusty road deserted... Disgrace

With the beggar begging groundsConcealed excruciation behind every face

The winter reminds the morns of summer..Torn pages of hope rots and weeps, you can’t even hear

Smiles like creams plastered all over youSoporific memories make fun of your fear …

The sky never answers the “why me?”Despoiled puerility searches for you at last

The new born, in your womb still hopes, dreams

But to you, chocolate tastes like lust …

Neither the rain likes me ..

Wreetojyoti Ray

Drenched crows, the abnormally self coiffed mango tree

Waters splayed through the window shed, then the glassestill it reaches my lugubrious thoughtsI don’t like the rain, neither the rain likes meMy maneuver to extirpate the past, the rain

spoils it all.. all fuggy again.The captured kite beguiled by the branches

died as thousand drops pierced through it's body.The rain reminds me of all the unanswered repliesthat should have at least countered a "hello".

They never got in.I dont like the rain, neither the rain likes me.



-

Still when it rains, when the sky fades,the water Permeated branches turns darker and darkerthe procession of the raindrops advance down the shed

grills, glasses

my eyes faces the sky and whispers"I waste less tears than you do"…

I dont like the rain, neither she likes me…

One evening

Wreetojyoti Ray

Life passes by and we too..With our regular days and nights...and the worldPeople have dreams..

Dreams are there to dieStill we kill so many dreamsGiving birth to them everyday..

The mundane Kolkata doesn’t know how to changeWe never taught her to changeAnd now she is all alone..

And so are we.Every cigarette piece

Have a lot of dying feelings behind themYet they are speechless..

We have failed to keep those two within us alive..One who loved and the one who cared

and still now all of us wander each and every dayin search of them and ..

So one evening brings us close..

one evening brings us the pictureThat we have seen so many light-years back

One evening brings us close .One evening brings us the nights and the daysAnd this way life passes by and we too…



-

Rabindra-Sangeet Translations

Wreetojyoti Ray

Where the night merge into the horizon of the day (ratri ese jethaymeshe)

Where the night merge into the horizon of the day

We meet there at the source of that enchanted beauty,

Out there the white and the black have lost their identities into the light and the

dark

out there the waves travel from one land to the other in an endless loop

Within the arms of the calm blue silence there rises a somber voice afarAnd suddenly the sky unveils a golden aura of the magic hour.

I try so hard to look at your face but alas ! Its never clear to my heart's

content..

You are now within my dreams and my dreams make me cry…

It was evening when the clouds enshrouded the stars (gadhuli gagonemeghe)

It was evening when the clouds enshrouded the stars behind their shadows..

All I had to tell you, I said it all..

May be You never listened to them, that's why you could bid me farewell so

easily...

The sky out then was so dark with rains blurring my vision...

Your eyes never faced mine when I looked into your'sAnd the darkness covered the silent pains

Can we ever get back this amorous evening? ever? .. No

Alas ! its over .. its over for the rest of our life ..



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-

Oh, Bride!

Aniruddha Sen

There they are adorning Tannu in her spectacular bridal attire. Here I’m eagerly

waiting to have a look, once she is through.

I can espy her unnoticed. But that’s in poor taste. I’ve waited patiently for months and

may as well bide another hour.

The small hall is bustling with the perspiring invitees. The air conditioner is roaring, but I

can hardly feel if it’s cooling. Those beautiful butterflies – her pals – are offering

refreshments and drinks, but I unfortunately can’t be game.

So I wait amid festivity and reminisce the happy past – right from the unforgettable

moment we first met.

It was the day I joined my new company. During recess I was strolling across the corridor.

While turning corner, we collided head-on. With the bump I sensed a pleasant softness

near my chest. While bashfully groping for an apology I heard in a sing-song voice, “I’m

saw–ree!”

As I still mumbled, she introduced, “I’m Tanima, a junior executive.”

“And I’m Arnab – have just joined as the system manager.”

“I see – you’re the computer wizard the company has roped in after prolonged

negotiations!” She glanced admiringly and added, “I think I’ll need to interact with you

baa–dly!”

Well, we had interactions – initially in the office, next in the cafeterias and ultimately in

every conceivable spot in and outdoor, on zillions of intimate occasions.

The very next day she had probed, “I heard you’ve changed jobs four times before. But

you look so young!”

“So I am – but I’m a rolling stone, switching job every year.”

Dismayed, she said, “And that goes for this job, too?”

I smiled evasively.

“Or do you plan to emigrate?” She inquired.

“I’m open, but have no obsession. What’s the hurry – while thing are going on fine?”



-

And things did go fine – for over a year and in Tannu’s inviting company. In weekdays we

were completely preoccupied in grinding work schedules. But the weekends were all ours.

I was a paying guest and she a ladies’ hostel inmate. So we usually dated outside the city.

Often it was a beach resort like Digha, but occasionally on a rare long weekend we would

venture out to some scenic beauty like Mirik hill. While traveling nearby, I would drive inmy Santro and would go on top gear, given half a chance. Shivering in excitement, she

would protest, “Please, please – not so fast!”

Pointing to the clutch-gears with a confident smile I would assure, “Don’t worry, dear –

they’re my pals.” I introduced them to her. However, her nervous touch would seldom

extricate anything beyond fifty.

I was ever a bohemian. She was rather circumspect, but had no hesitation in baring herself

to me in every sense of the book. What made Tannu irresistible was her spontaneous

exuberance. She could brighten up at any trivia, attracting my eyes on her radiating

countenance like magnet.

I still remember a cozy morning on a sea beach. While strolling along with me, Tannu

picked up a colorful sea-shell and was immediately in ecstasy. “Look at that wonderful

pink shade against the blue background!” She erupted, while gently pressing her bubbling

self against me. Next she uttered a muffled cry, “Oh no – not now!” as she felt the

hardness of my arousing emotion. Entangling her intimately I whispered, “Can you guess

what turns me on immediately? It’s the sparkles of joy in your eyes! It just drives me

mad!”

But finally the traditional woman in Tannu surfaced – she wanted a home!

“Please do something, Arnab!” She pleaded, “These tiring weekend trips are completely

draining me off. Please realize I’m no more thaa–t young!”

Glancing amorously at her I said, “I see, I see – my babe of twenty-five odd springs is

finally coming to age! She now needs home, husband and possibly children.”

“I’m serious, Arnab!” She exasperated.

“Fair enough”, I said, “Just that your guy is a rolling stone.”

“I hope I can stall it!” She sighed and said, “Or possibly I’m doomed to roll along

forever.”

It kicked off our ‘mission home’. After some shattered pipedreams, we were wise enough

to target an under-construction apartment building in the city fringe. Open in the South, it

had a clear view of the lush green on far horizon. The landscape simply overwhelmed

Tannu.

The price was beyond our budget. “But we routinely arrange for bank loans”, assured the

agent, “You pay a down payment now and the rest in easy installments. In a few monthsthe apartment will be ready for you to take possession.”



-

Tannu looked expectantly at me. Shaking hesitations I said, “Well, I dwell on present and

at best a few years beyond. Getting tied with a fifteen year loan agreement –”

After some loaded silence Tannu said, “Fine – you make the down payment and I’ll pay

the installments.”

“But”, the agent warned, “I guess madam’s loan eligibility is less. The down payment

therefore has to be higher.”

“Be specific”, I demanded.

He examined her pay details, made some swift computations and handed me out a figure.

It caused some concern. I earned well, but spent well too and the down payment would

wipe my savings clean.

True, I had no other obligations. For years I was virtually cut off from my family.

However my father was trying to marry off my sister and I wished to join efforts.

But just awhile ago I observed a delicate aura of delight around Tannu. I pictured her

sitting on our balcony with the restless locks flying in air and the eyes reflecting lustrous

green.

Wait a year more, sis! Arnab, if alive, will earn enough for your stately wedding.

Sensing my hesitation the agent offered, “Well, you may make the down payment in a

few weeks. But better book the apartment now with a token advance, before someone else

does.”

“Never mind”, I said and rather surprised him by signing the full down payment check.

“The title deed is to be registered before obtaining the bank loan.” I informed Tannu.

“In your name, I suppose?” She hesitantly inquired.

“Silly girl – it’s your loan mortgage, so you must be the owner.”

Visibly relieved, she asked, “Fine, then do we go for a joint?”

“That too invites complications. Our banks are overeager to extend loans to the spouses,

but look at the friendly duos like us with suspicion. They believe those people in sin would

split and litigate – as if marriage is the eternal glue!”

“Are you then suggesting we register our marriage now?” She sounded uncertain.

Looking straight into her eyes I said, “What for? Let the apartment be yours. You’re no

stranger to me – don’t I know you for eons?”

It nearly silenced Tannu for awhile. “Oh Arnab, oh Arnab– thanks!” She just murmured.



-

Next day I saw a beaming Tannu walking out of the chamber of our big boss Nitish.

“I got my loan papers signed and pestered him for my raise too in the bargain. Don’t I

need that badly for the loan repayment?” She said and then joyously exclaimed, “Now I

think I’ll woo him persistently.”

“Best of luck– now that our evergreen boss is a divorcee.” I said tongue-in-cheek.

“Aa–rnab!” Oh – that seductive gaze again! I almost forgot we were still in the office.

Our apartment was nearly ready. “Oh, I can’t wait to get the possession!” Tannu excitedly

said, “The moment that happens I’ll pack my bags and say bye to my wretched hostel

without wasting a day.”

“And poor me –”, I feigned heartbroken.

“Wait like a goody-goody boy till the wedding.” She told patronizingly, “Please rememberI’m after all a girr–l! Once beyond the city limits, we were unknown faces. But here –”

“Here you raise children and socialize with the neighbors. Yours truly understands and

waits.” I smiled. And then I suddenly realized – thanks to our mission home, we couldn’t

have our weekend trips for quite some time.

“But the wedding can be arranged soon.” She tried to comfort me, “Well, thanks to our

finance, it has to be a brief affair. A small party with the close ones and some essential

rituals are all that I have in mind.”

“Fine”, I said, “But please grant me a wish – wear the traditional dress that day. Tannu in

the bridal attire is the fancy that sweetens my dreams in night after lonely nights!”

“That’s something – after living in sin for ages and seeing your naughty girl in every

possible attire or otherwise!” She gestured attractively.

“We’re no sinners at heart, Tannu.” Suddenly I got emotional, “We just put on that facade

to safeguard ourselves from the noxious world outside. Occasionally the Halloween mask

develops cracks and the innocent face shows up – as in a blissful evening your pure,

untainted soul will gracefully shine from within the auspicious bridal attire. I’m on wait.”

Well, it’s that blissful evening. My wait is finally over. “The priest is here, now bring the

bride”, I hear the uproar.

There comes Tannu. Oh Lord – it’s my sweetest dream incarnated! That delicately

charming face, the kind, innocent eyes and the soft, loving breasts stir the baby in me to

fall on her comforting lap.

“Now, the groom”, the hall erupts again and Nitish is ushered beside Tannu. My bemused

eyes are still for her unwavering adulation.



-

But just a question, dear – is Nitish a true match for you? Believe me, I’m not jealous.

Recall our intimate moments and you know well what excites me most is your pleasure.

I’m ecstatic if you are.

If I’m skeptical, it’s due to the insights I’ve recently gained through the painful

transformations I had to go through. I can now see the truth unfailingly – even if it’s

uncomfortable! Say, on that fateful evening I was blissfully unaware why my friendly

clutch-gear-brakes suddenly ditched me. But now unfortunately I know better – remember,

who alone had the duplicate of my car key?

Well, I don’t grudge. Be happy. I pined to see you a bride. My desire being fully satiated,

it’s time to bid adieu.

The doorway is crowded with your boisterously celebrating friends. But I need door no

more. The wind from your seventh floor balcony is calling – bye!

FIRST TIME MOTHERHOOD

Munmun Maitra

Motherhood is the essence of every woman. It begins at the onset of a life within andis manifested when we get to hold our fruit of love being nourished and nurtured within usfor 9 long months.

My experience as a first time mom is quite overwhelming. When I got pregnant, myhusband and I were thousands of miles away from our family. So, I was a bit scared. Butbeing under a good prenatal care and in the best hands of my husband, I overcame all fears.Finally, completing a full cycle mixed with anticipation and apprehension, when she was

being put on me I felt a heavenly peace.At that time, I knew from now on my life is going to change.

The moment when we welcomed our baby girl I bonded with her right away. Even

though having no prior experience of child handling, somehow, I felt the needs for her. That’s

the motherly instincts, I suppose. Time went by and our daughter journeyed through the

stages of crying to make her demands till now, where my kiddo and I act out signs and

signals to converse making life easier and fun filled. She may not be able to articulate, but her

gestures speak a thousand words. Her best intimation was stretching her arms towards me,

babbling mama, to embrace her and love her. And the most amazing thing is her ingenuous

smile, which surely makes my day. Everyday we play and laugh together and I’ve the bestmoments of my life. She completes me in every aspect.



-

Nonetheless, whenever I set eyes on her I find it incredible to see how once a little

pulse inside me is now a heartbeat getting stronger everyday. I know I can go on and on

about my little girl, but there has to be an end; before signing off I must admit there’s nothing

like to be a mom, more so ‘the first time’.

BLESSING OR CURSE?

Munmun Maitra

Writing is, as I believe, the greatest gift of all. The ability gives a person the chance to

articulate his thoughts and feelings. In a way, it gives an edge over others. As for me, writing

has always been my fervor since I was in middle school. Every year I loved to put up my

writings on wall magazines and before I graduated I had curved a niche among other girls.May be, at that time, I had developed the notion of taking up writing as my career. I thought

how cool a job could be! There would be no such hard work; I would be working on my own

relaxed time and at my own free will. Eventually, I would have money, fame and everything

else in just snap of fingers. However, I was not so appreciated by my father. He was of

opinion that my notion was my utopian idea. He said that writing is definitely a good

profession but not a good choice of vocation for me. It does require much of a challenging

attitude not to mention real brainwork. This job requires ultimate satisfaction of the readers or

else I won’t earn a dime. He believed that writing does bring riches and eminence in due

course, but that can cost a lifetime with a bit of frustration at times. He being so realistic, Ioffered to change my choice of career. Nonetheless, I was always been encouraged to refine

my skills and to bag the power of the art of writing.

Now, sitting at this point of time, I’m happy to have listened to my dad and kept

writing as my all time favorite hobby as I’m satisfied to have a full time job of taking care of

my loving family, well of course still working on my passion.



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The God between Six Sticks

Tufan Kr Mukhopadhyay

To see a man named GOD, glaring with a crown made of 18000 ODI runs and 99international tons is really a great moment. When I saw him at the IIT CHEMPLAST cricketground just few days ago, I felt myself as a lucky person and I was inspired to writesomething about the man of glory as tribute. When I was in primary school at standard II, Icame to know about a game called ‘CRICKET’. I saw people going crazy discussing aboutthis game in every corner of the country, around every tea table, at every park bench. I heardconversations like “…Awesome what a piece of game was that yesterday….and the manKapil Dev was just magnificent with the ball”. Time has passed away, cricket has acquired anew picture, lot of craze has been effused from this country regarding cricket. But, the onlyone thing is still remained the same. In my schooldays I used to hear “…Oh!!! fabulous…thelittle 18 years old boy is just excellent in the track”; and now also I use to hear the same thingwith a small change from ‘LITTLE BOY’ to ’LITTLE MASTER’. Yes, the name is Sachin

Ramesh Tendulkar. Still he remained as a crowned emperor in the province of cricket andhe will.

He started his journey at age of sixteen when he was a schoolboy. At that time nobody knewthat he will be the boss of international cricket. Many people came to chase him, buteverybody failed to reach the summit. This 5 feet 5 inch long man has proved that height doesnot matter by creating a second EVEREST in India. He has sculptured the cricket in his ownfashionable way, made his own dictionary of the cricket language. He is still proving himself

by fighting relentlessly and telling the damn critics to just shut up…it is only the beginning.He has invented ways of knocking perfectly each and every ball. His knocks to the fence lineare like the adroit touch of paint brush by Van Gogh Vincent.

The man inside the blue armor, whom people use to call GOD and indeed he is, has protectedteam India up to the sunset of his career with his omnipotent heroism. Lot of fighters came,teased him, tried to perish him, tried to smash him. But, the willow between the two handshas told to all of them “sssshhh…boss is playing, better to stay quiet, the man here standing ishaving a very efficient set of skills, skills acquired through a twenty years long career, skillsthose have made him a nightmare to the world’s best bowlers; so be quiet and watch”.

Without reaching the ultimate satisfaction of being named as global champion, it is a defeatfor aGladiator. But, when each and every breadth from whole the country is praying for the one, itis not a dream anymore. Yes! Not only he, but every Indian will remember those nocturnalseconds of 2nd April, 2011 forever when the man of incredibility was honored in a perfectway by team India in his home ground. The picture of the gladiator kissing his ultimatesouvenir will remain in every Indian heart forever. He has made the time frozen for fewseconds, which he dreamt in every blink of his eyes throughout his career. He has given useverything, entertained us and he has made ourselves to feel proud to be an Indian. In turn atthe eve of his cricket career the only thing we can give him is a big congratulation from thebottom of our heart and a warm wish to make the moment more heavenly by completing his

100th international century. Not only to the Indian cricket, but to all of the Indians he is anational hero.



-

The Ungrateful Boy

Bhaskar Chowdhury

“I told you…you just go back…you’re simply wasting your time and mine…get

away from here… I’ve to close the gate” shouted Shambhu in a very high-pitched tone.

That was enough to spoil Mr. Chatterjee’s sweet noon-nap. He woke up annoyed, got downfromhis bed and peeped through the bed-room window to find out the reason behind thisunprecedented noise.Downstairs, in front of the main gate three people were standing. One he knew…Shambhu,his20 years’ faithful servant. The other two he had never seen. A woman in her 30’s and a 9-10

years’ old boy. The woman was crying with folded hands and Shambhu was in hurry to closethe gate.“Hey, what the hell is going on there? I must come downstairs and introspect”, murmuredMr.Chatterjee.

“Babu, only you can save my child…”, the woman came forth crying towards him when shesawMr. Chatterjee. The boy, seemingly shy, was clinging to her mother and watching the wholedrama with big, round eyes.“I’m counting my last days, babu…but my only worry is this boy…you please give him

shelter, babu… that will be my last comfort before I die…”, the woman sighed deeply aftercompleting her sentence.“Why…what happened with you?” Chatterjee expressed his surprise.“Babu, my name is Fatema…I lost my husband in an accident 5 years before…I was makinga living by working as a maid at others’ houses…the sole objective of my living was thisboy…Sultan...my only child. But babu, fortune played badly with me…I became the victimof that deadly disease and slowly I‘ve reached the last stage of it…but I simply get horrifiedthinking this boy’s condition after my death. He will grow up to add another rubbish in thiscruel society… babu, only you can save my son…”There was something in her eyes, so truthful, so real, that Mr. Chatterjee received the callfrom his within. He nodded his head in approval.“Well, Fatema…I’m taking your son…I was searching for someone who will look after Dinu,my grandson. Sultan can do the job…”Fatema’s eyes were filled with tears. In this materialistic world, these tear-drops hardly haveany value. But Mr. Chatterjee suddenly felt some divine pleasure within.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *January, 1946.Calcutta. Anyone could hear the returning bells of the British rule over India.Talks were going on in the highest level of authority to give India and Pakistan their long-desired dominion status. But during that apparent relaxed time, also people were much moretroubled rather than being happy. The horrible demon of communal mistrust loomed large

over the fortune-sky of the undivided India. Hindus and Muslims, two inseparable body-partsof age-old Indian heritage and culture started to lose belief in each other. Everywhere there



-

was the poisonous air of suspicion, hatred and mean conspiracy. Mr. Radharaman Chatterjee,a retired judge of Calcutta High Court was the head of a highly educated Bengali HinduBrahmin family. His decision in favor of the inclusion of Sultan, aMuslim boy, into his family was opposed to some extent by the other family-members. Butnobody could go against Chatterjee’s scholastic dominance and judgmental authority. Sultan

got shelter in the family and got the job of taking care of Dinu, Mr. Chatterjee’s two years’old grandson…the smallest and sweetest member of the Chatterjee family.Sultan took only one day to come out of his initial uneasiness and exactly one week tobecomeeveryone’s ‘Satu’ from ‘Sultan’.“Satu…bring the milk-pot for Dinu…it’s his eating time…”“Satu…Barababu is calling you upstairs…”“Satu…Dinu is crying…take him for a walk in the garden…”The other family-members also came out of the cave of their mistrust and suspicion regardingSultan. Within a fortnight, Satu became the busiest member of the Chatterjee family.But Satu’s favorite companion in that house was Mr. Radharaman Chatterjee, himself. Satu

used to come to Mr. Chatterjee’s study in his free-time. He used to wait eagerly outside theroom for his Barababu’s call.“Satu, come in…today I’ll tell you the story of Helen Keller. How inspite of being a deaf anddumb girl she overcame the barriers of senses.”He used to hastily jump into inside the room and used to sit on the floor in front of Chatterjee’swooden chair.It was heavenly to see the friendship of two persons of unparallel ages.Mr. Chatterjee used to tell him stories of Anne Frank, Mahatma Gandhi, Florence Nitingaleandabout world’s greatest men and women. Satu, with his round-big-eyes used to travel theworldthrough Chatterjee’s words.That retired judge was an ardent fan of the poet W.B.Yeats. Satu, not understanding themeaningof the words, used to get thrilled when Chatterjee used to recite from his favorite “All Souls’Night” in a resounding voice,“His element is so fine…Being sharpened by his death.”Satu was always wearing a bangle made of brass on his right hand. It was his dead father’slast memoir. Mr. Chatterjee used to say him,” Satu…this bangle will always remind you of

yourparents’ dreams around you…they always wanted to make you a good human being… neverforget the values…”Mr. Chatterjee’s words were the God’s verse for him.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

December, 1946. Calcutta turned unrest. Communal riots broke out in its most disgracefulavatar.People were indiscriminately killing others just because they belonged to differentcommunity.

Humanity was at his lowest pediment. The friends became overnight foes. Calcutta’s soil waswet with brothers’ blood. Everywhere there was the utter mistrust and suspicion.



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Mr. Chatterjee’s family also came with loud protest against Satu’s staying in that family. Thereason is the same …Satu, after all, is a Muslim…so it would take only moments for him toget influenced and become loyal to his community first…sacrificing his gratefulness to thisChatterjee family.Mr. Chatterjee’s daughter-in-law came up with the loudest protest that if Satu continued to

stay in this house, there would be no other way for her except moving out of the house withher son, Dinu. Everyone was demanding that it would be dangerous if Satu would stay therein this crucial period of utter mistrust and hatred between the two communities.Mr Chatterjee found himself helpless. After all he had to consider his family’s security.He called up Satu, kissed his forehead affectionately and confessed the truth with weteyes.”Satu…please forgive me, my son…my hands are bound this time…I cannot give youshelter anymore…you have to leave this house…”Mr Chatterjee gave him some money, some garments and when he was about to leave, he toldhim, ”Satu…don’t forget the values I taught you…look at the bangle of your hand…you haveto realize your parents’ dreams…of becoming a good human being…”Satu stood for a moment…nodded his head and slowly went away.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

16th December, 1946. One of the dark days Calcutta has ever seen. Mass riot broke out onCalcutta’s open streets. Everywhere people were killing each other as if the hell came downdirectly on Earth. People were moving out of their houses in Calcutta to get themselvesrelocatedto safer place.Mr. Chatterjee’s family was about to reach the railway station. All on a sudden… the dangercame directly in front of them. A wild gang of armed Muslim boys blocked the way of theircar…made them stop…snatched away little Dinu from his mother’s lap.“We’ll cut this child into pieces and get them spread in front of your holy temple! You’ll seehow we can take revenge, bloody Hindus…!!!”The air was heavy with heart-breaking cries from Chatterjee family.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Next day morning. Chatterjee family got their life back. Dinu was miraculously rescued alivefrom the nearby Shiva temple. But the heartening news came to the family that Satu was seenwith that wild Muslim gang.“Ungrateful…bloody insect of the hell!!! …how did I mistake recognizing him…this was his

conspiracy to take a revenge on us…Oh God…You rooted out my all believes towardshumanity, Satu…how could you…how could you do it?”, the grudge came out from adejected Mr. Chatterjee. The whole family left Calcutta that evening only and moved toPatna, their ancestral house.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

August, 1947.The subcontinent’s scenario was much calm and quiet. Pakistan and India –twonew dominions were born on 14th and 15th August as the last British troop left India. Peoplestarted to come back to their houses in Calcutta again.Mr Chatterjee returned to Calcutta after nine months but with Shambhu only. He wanted to

reconstruct his favorite house here once again. He got shocked to find his once-beautiful,much adorned two-storied palace now standing with a deserted, haunted look.



-

But while they were approaching to the back-side of their house, they found a thick crowdarounda place near the Shiva temple. Mr. Chatterjee got curious. He said to Shambhu, ”What thepeopleare doing near that broken Shiva temple? Just go and check …” Shambhu went to the crowd.

“Babu…nothing…The Govt. is reconstructing that old Shiva temple…so, some diggingworkswere going on there…just today morning they’ve found a full human skeleton there…may be of a boy of around 10-11 years’ old…leave it, Babu…may be any of the riot’s victimswere buried there…” Shambhu came back and informed Mr. Chatterjee.“What…what did u tell…a human skeleton…of a boy of 10-11 years…Shambhu, take methereplease…I have to see the skeleton…”, Mr. Chatterjee ,suddenly became impatient to the uttersurprise of Shambhu.When they came to the spot, the striking sight, which broke Mr. Chatterjee completely, was abrass bangle on that skeleton’s right hand.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Mr. Chatterjee’s voice was choked when he came to know what actually happened in thatcursednight. That wild gang of Muslim boys were about to kill that two years’ old innocent child.But allon a sudden came there a nine-ten year old boy running…pounded on them like a wildanimal… snatched the child from them and ran unstopped with all his power. The Muslimboys, raged chased him like the hunting wolf. But Satu was able to hide himself inside theShiva temple without their notice. He kept the child there, closed the temple-doors fromoutside and moved away from there. Those Muslim boys did not find the child, but theycaught Satu, killed the ‘ungrateful’ Muslim boy and buried him there itself.Tears trickled down Mr. Chatterjee’s cheek. Suddenly he broke down completely in front of Satu’s skeleton crying,” I knew…I knew…you would not forget my words…you proved my

judgement to be correct by sacrificing your own life…forgive me, my son…you reestablishedmy faith and belief in humanity once again…”Unknowingly he started to murmur his favorite Yeats’ lines…“His element was so fine…Being sharpened by his death.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

[This story is based upon 1946-47 Communal riot in Calcutta, India and was nominated intheCommonwealth Short story Competition, 2005 organized by Commonwealth BroadcastAssociation, UK]



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DEMYSTIFYING NATURE

Arko Roy

Hope you had a great time shooting in the last winter and possess some “good" nature

photographs. Arming yourself with long telephoto lenses, high - end digital SLR's, binoculars

you visited bird sanctuaries, national parks and what not, just to have a feel of nature yourself

- it's vast diversities in flora and fauna, it's astounding beauty. You couldn’t wait but clicked

and say “Wow!".And there lies the secrecy of Mother Nature, be close to Her and you are

filled with joy. That's the significant part of shooting Nature.

But, did you actually look carefully into the subtleties of Nature? Did you find the natural

patterns striking?

Did you choose to relate mathematical principles behind any natural phenomenon that takes

place at the microscopic and sub microscopic levels? If not, let me introduce to the beauty of

nature as revealed by mathematics and the beauty of mathematics as revealed in nature". Be it

leaves, trees, spider webs, bubbles, waves, clouds, rainbows or anything that draws a

photographer's attention, follows certain mathematical sequence in some form or the other.

The arrangement of leaves, petals, florets are intrinsically associated with spiral pattern. Mud

cracks and patterns in the bark of trees exhibits fascinating geometric properties. A visit to a

wildlife area reminds us of the tigers & zebras which have striped patterns. The mechanism

underlying these observed pattern can really be explained by mathematical modeling. Just a

mere idea of basic arithmetic, geometry, trigonometry and with a bit of knowledge of solving

differential equations explains them all.

Let us now look closely from a mathematician's perspective at the repetitive arrangement of

leaves on a

stem, which for their abstract show off, often draws you nearer to it. This distribution,

technically known as

phyllotaxis is closely related to a popular series called Fibonacci Series 1; 1; 2; 3; 5; 8; 13;21:: and the golden ratio. This also applies to the number of power petals. For example, lilies

have 3 petals, buttercups 5, delphiniums 8, marigolds 13, asters 21, and daisies 34, 55 or 89.

Though this is a natural tendency, exceptions prevail. In a large sunflower head, the seeds are

arranged in two families of spirals, perhaps 34 winding clockwise and 55 counterclockwise or

(55, 89) in the same order or even (89,144). Even the arrangement of spirals follows a certain

angle (obtained from the Fibonacci numbers) at which seeds pack together without gaps. This

angle, known as divergence angle is equal to 137.5º. It turns out that if the divergence angle

is less than 137:5˚, gaps appear in the seed head, and only one family of spirals is seen. Gaps

appear again if the divergence angle is more than 137:5˚. This most efficient packing makesfor a solid and robust seed head. Even the leaves need a place in the sun and this is best



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achieved with the golden or divergence angle. Theodore Cook rightly said, “the fact that

plants express their leaf arrangement in terms of Fibonacci numbers, so frequently that it

passes for the normal case, is the proof that they are aiming at the utilization of the Fibonacci

angle which will give minimum superposition and maximum exposure to their assimilating

members."

A close watch at the mud cracks reminds us of the school days when we were taught

properties of polygons. Interesting mathematical analysis of these crack patterns can be

carried out, one of which is based on the “principle of least work". The region enclosed by

the cracks can be thought of a n-sided closed polygon, though it does not necessarily

“explain" the observations to the satisfaction of everyone. Invoking the above mentioned

principle, it turns out that the area enclosed by the mud cracks is the largest possible area that

can be formed by the n sides ai of a given plane polygon. It can be proved that this occurs

when the polygon is inscribed in a circle. Thus, considering an irregular n - sided polygon

inscribed in a circle of radius r , with each side ai, subtending an angle 2at the centre O of

the circle, it can be shown

P = = 2 sin

where, P is the perimeter of the polygon, &

= or sin( /2)

= π

So, armed with these results you can now go out into the dried mud - world and examine the

cracks very

carefully.

This relationship of mathematics with nature is even evident when it comes to explaining

why leopards have spots, tigers have stripes and so on. Mathematical models involving

diffusion of chemicals and their reactions in terms of reaction - diffusion equations sets the

basis for the answer.

The list continues and you can actually relate any object in Nature to mathematical models.

But, the question here is-Does mathematics is really the language of Nature??

Happy shooting!!



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Prof. Meghnad Saha

Priyanka Maity

Prof. Meghnad Saha was one of the eminent physicist of India, and one of the

pioneering scientists of the golden era of Physics in India. Saha is associated with his path

breaking work on theory on thermal ionization that explained the conditions prevailing in

solar atmosphere. Meghnad Saha was born on 6th October 1893 in a village named Seoratali,

which is 40 km from Dhaka – the capital of Bangladesh. Back in 1893 Dhaka was a part of

province of Bengal, in undivided British India. Saha was the fifth child of Bhubaneswari

Debi and Jagannath Saha, who had five sons and three daughters. His father was a

shopkeeper in village of Seoratali.

Education and Career

Meghnad Saha’s first stint with official education began whenhe was admitted to primary school in Seoratali. Soon his

teachers recognized his exceptional brilliance and advised his

father to shift him to an English medium school in adjacent

village. However, his father wanted young Saha to assist him in

shopkeeping. But repeated persistence of Saha's teachers and

his elder brother Jayanta, ultimately convinced his father to admit him to an English medium

school. Thereafter Meghnad Saha went to attend an english medium school in neighboring

village. A kind hearted medical practitioner, Mr. Anantha Kumar Das, took care of the

lodging and boarding charges of young Meghnad.

In 1905, Meghnad Saha joined the government collegiate school to prepare for entrance in

college. There he received a free studentship and a stipend as well. However, Saha was

dismissed from school for participating in a student boycott organized against the arrival of

Governor of Bengal. He moved to Kishori Lal Jubilee high school, where again he received a

free studentship and a stipend. Saha passed the collegiate entrance exam in 1909 standing

first from East Bengal region. He spent two years studying intermediate in Intermediate

Dhaka college, where along with his studies he took German lessons. Later in life, the

knowledge of German language helped him to get track of various research work published in

German. Saha moved to Kolkata in 1911 and joined Presidency College to study B.Sc. inapplied Mathematics. S. N. Bose and P. C. Mahalanobis were his classmates in Presidency

College. Saha stood 2nd in both B. Sc. and M. Sc. examinations, whereas the first rank was

secured by S.N. Bose. Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee offered lectureship to Saha and Bose in

University of Calcutta. Later both of them shifted to department of Physics.

Saha taught hydrostatics, spectroscopy, thermodynamics etc. to his postgraduate classes. Saha

carried out research simultaneously. He also collaborated with S. N. Bose in one of the

papers. Saha's first paper was published in 1917 on the topic of 'Maxwell Stresses' in

Philosophical Magazine. He was awarded D.Sc. degree by University of Calcutta for his

work on the topic of electromagnetic radiation and radiation pressure. He was awarded



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Premchand Roychand scholarship for his thesis ' Havard classification of stellar spectra '. In

1920 Saha communicated the celebrated paper ' On the ionisation of solar chromosphere ',

which was opened new windows for understanding stellar spectra and made him famous

overnight.

Saha’s thermal ionization formulae and explanation of stellar spectra

By the end of nineteenth century, with the advent of high resolution telescopes, scientists

started accumulating and analyzing huge amount of data obtained from stellar spectra. Last

few years of nineteenth century and first years of twentieth decade showed a lot of work in

the field of stellar data analysis. Lockyer in particular did a detailed analysis of solar spectra

which showed the following anomaly:

• The solar spectra showed presence of H- and K- line, which were due to Calcium, upto a height of almost 14,000 km in solar atmosphere. However, presence of some

lighter elements like Hydrogen was only detected up to a height of 8,000 km in the

solar atmosphere. The puzzling fact resides in the conclusion that whether the heavier

molecule is defying to obey the role of gravity and can move much upwards than the

lighter ones.

• Moreover, it was concluded that many elements found on earth, like Rubidum(Rb)

and Cesium(Cs) , were found to be absent in solar atmosphere.

Eddington pointed out that at higher temperatures, electrons will be knocked out of atomsand most of the atoms present in higher temperature field will be ionized. But no

mechanism for this ionization was provided. John Eggert, from Berlin who was working

under Prof. Nerst, tried to provide an explanation of this ionization mechanism using

reaction isochore but he used hypothetical ionization energies for elements. Saha came

across the paper by Eggert and immediately knew the solutions to the above anomaly. He

obtained the ionization energies of different elements from spectral data and experiments

on ionization potential and put forward the celebrated Saha ionization formulae.

Saha started with the example of Calcium atom and assumed it to undergo ionization

according to the following mechanism:

U eCaCa −+↔ −+ ,

where U is the ionization energy of one gram of atom of Calcium. The ionization formula

reads as follows:

5.6log5.2517.41

log 102

2

10 −+=

−T

T

U P

x

x…

(1)



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Here x represents the fraction of ionized atoms, and T and P are the temperature and

pressure prevailing in solar atmosphere at a particular height. Considering, the mean

temperature (T = 7500°K) and pressure (P = 1 atmosphere) at a particular height in

photosphere, one obtains according to eqn. (1) that almost 0.34 or 34% of Calcium atoms

present in the photosphere to be ionized. However, if we take the case of slightly higherlevel (assuming mean T = 6000°K and P = 10-4 atmospheres), almost 95% of the atoms

were found to be ionized according to eqn. (1). This explains strong g lines from normal

Calcium at lower levels and higher H and K lines due to Ca+ from higher atmospheric

levels in solar spectra.

Solution to the anomalies:

• Saha’s formula also explains the absence of elements like Rubidium and Cesium

from the solar atmosphere. Both Rubidium (Rb) and Cesium (Cs) have a low

ionization potential of 4.155 eV and 3.873 eV respectively. According to eqn. (1),

both the abovementioned elements would be in completely ionized form in the

chromospheres region and that is why spectra associated with neutral Rb or Cs

atoms were not obtained in either Fraunhoffer or splash spectrum of sun. Saha

suggested looking at the spectra from sunspots, which refer to area of relatively

lower temperature, and where Rb and Cs are not expected to be completely

ionized. Later, traces neutral atoms of Rb and Cs were indeed detected from

spectra of sunspots.

• Saha explained the existence of Ca at higher levels as compared to lighter

elements like H using the concept of selective radiation pressure. Existence of radiation pressure comes from Maxwell’s equation of electromagnetic theory and

has been established by experiments as well. When a quantum of light of energy

h ν and energy h ν /c interacts with a molecule of mass M, it can transfer its total

momentum to the molecule of mass M. The molecule in return can travel with

velocity h ν /Mc. Although the velocity h ν /Mc is rather small, the actual velocity of

molecule depends on the light quanta absorbed by the molecule per second. Thus,

the molecule can travel with this velocity far away from chromosphere. A

molecule can only absorbed a light quantum, whose frequency matches with the

frequency of allowed transitions corresponding to the molecule. Hence, the term

selective radiation pressure is coined. Ca is found at a higher height than H since

the selective radiation pressure of the former is more than that of the latter.

Thus, Meghnad Saha was able to explain all the anomalous behavior obtained from solar

spectra and understood the physics underlying in the solar atmosphere. Later Saha’s theory

was expanded to several stellar spectra.

In 1923 Saha moved to Allahabad as the head of department of Physics of Allahabad

University, where he set up apparatus and obtained experimental data corresponding to

thermal ionization. In 1930 he founded the UP academy of sciences. Saha was appointed the

president of Indian science congress in 1934. Saha returned to Calcutta University as Palit



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professor of Physics in 1938. Saha founded the Institute of nuclear Physics on April 1948.

Saha died due to a heart attack in 1953. Amongst the many contributions to the society only

few are mentioned above. His contributions and devotion towards our country is immense

and cannot be mentioned completely within the boundaries of this article.

References:

1. G. Venkatraman, Saha and His Formula, University Press (1997).

2. S. Chatterjee, Indian Journal of History of Science, 29(1) (1994).

3. D. S. Kothari, Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society, 5 (1959).



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KOLKATA: ENIGMA IS THY NAME

Partha Pratim Majumder

There are two types of people connected with this city.

One, citizens: living with typical pain and pleasure; creating crowd, looking for opportunities,

enjoying Durgapuja every year, cursing on every strike being at home, adding to the garbage and

waste at the broken pavements, book fair , maidaan. And after all such jamboree, they say, this cityis worth living.

Two, visitors: through the sliding doors of airport and railway station

with hefty luggage & mineral water, who come in the city with a

certain objective/s, roam around the tourist spots like Victoria

Memorial, Vidyasagar Setu, Kalimandir, Mother’s House i.e

Missionaries of Charity, South City Mall etc. munching rossogollas,

biryani or phuchkas while carrying on in mind the comparative study

amongst few metros they are associated with to find out where

Kolkata goes wrong and why in terms some aggressive names of the

world attached to the speed, lifestyle and extravaganza of New York, London, Tokyo, Singapore, in

India Mumbai, Delhi or Bangalore.

Finally most of them, like my Marathi friend from Mumbai after

seeing Dhakuria Lake, put up the remark, “The city is worth living”.

So, the argument does not continue.. in fact, it does not exist.

Then, why the enigma? Or the paradox?

BECAUSE ….

Because, it is the “Chance directed- chance erected city “as

identified none other than Rudyard Kipling.

Because, the large canvas of faces belonging to the city is Kolkata…. the old aroma of English rule

after so much of decay and decadence, it is still reminiscent in our mind of erstwhile Calcutta.

Durgapuja:

A Tramcar at Maidan



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Because, the trams are still plying at a snail speed ignoring a Volvo AC Bus, which has created sign

of worries in the forehead of so many taxi

drivers, particularly in the route from airport

to the city.

Because, you see a film at a cost of Rs. 500/-

for a show at multiplex as some one enters a

warehouse shaped old cinema hall to see the

same film at a cost of Rs. 40/-

A city is based on a large canvas it has to have

large restaurants like Sonar Gaon at Hotel Taj

Bengal, whereas a small food joint like Kasturi

finds customers rubbing shoulders for a sumptuous lunch, a bangla thali.

It has to have a large festival too. Durgapuja in October is the one. All such happening issues spoilyou to say, yes, it is worth living.

GOING

Netaji Subhas Bose International Airport, Howrah Station & Sealdah Station are the gateways.

STAYING

There is no dearth of hotels. They are plenty. From 5 star to shoe string budget. People at large put

tag on Kolkata as less costly city. You may not expect a hole in your pocket the way you may have

experienced in other city.

The enjoyable time is from Nov. – February, when the heat is no, no but chill is no, no too. You can

see a cricket match at Eden Gardens or a night full of classical music ringing around Dover Lane.

Then only, Kolkattans walk down the memory lane holding the hands of their ancestors, all the

babus and bibis.

MUST SEE PLACES

• Kali Temple, Dakshineswar

• Kali Temple, Kalighat.• Belur Math, Belur

• Missionaries of Charity

• Victoria Memorial

• Science City

• Vidyasagar Setu

• Thakur Bari, Jorasanko

• Mohan Bagan Club

• Eden Gardens

• Floatel

Rossogolla: A heavenly delicacy

Victoria Memorial



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Traveling in Norway

Mahesh Kumar Sha

Norway, the land of mid night sun, also the land of the Vikings, is a beautiful country

with a lot of scrub covered lands and islands, snow covered peaks, and the fjords which are

the symbols of the country. The country has a very different landscape, covering a large

natural frontier untouched from man, in winter the shimmering aurora borealis (northern

lights) and in the summer the midnight sun makes the country a tourist attraction. The

name Norway (in Norwegian, Norge or Noreg) is derived from Norvegr, meaning “the way to

the north.” Norway is also a land of tradition, with rustic stave churches and its folk dances.Oslo is the capital city of Norway. Being a center of the North Sea oil empire, Oslo is one of

the world’s costliest cities.

I flew from Memmingen airport (Munich - west) to Oslo. Since Norway is a part of the

Schengen countries I did not needed an extra visa. I bought the flight ticket quite early and

hence got it at a very cheap price for 26 € two ways. It is a two hour flight to Oslo. The

airlines company Ryanair provides cheap price tickets but sometimes the airport can be

quite far from the city center. I landed at Rygge airport which is about 60 km south of Oslo.

At the airport I withdrew some Norwegian Krone (NOK) from the atm machine. There is ashuttle bus going from the airport to Rygge train station. This station is very small and has

only one ticket machine. The change time from bus to the train at the station was too short

and I could not buy the ticket before boarding the train. But I could buy the student discount

ticket (108 NOK) inside the train from the ticket collector without paying a fine. Buying

tickets inside the train is quite normal in Norway. It

was an hour train ride to Oslo. The tourist information

office is just outside the train station, so that was the

first thing to be visited. I bought an Oslo pass for two

days which costed 272 NOK with the studentdiscount. With the Oslo pass traveling in the public

transport was free, the museum entries were free,

some of the boat rides were free, and one could also

get discounts on shopping and at restaurants. So it is

definitely worth buying the Oslo pass.

Once I had the pass and the maps from the tourist

information center, the next destination was to find

my hotel. I went with some friends and so booked anapartment hotel. The apartment was a bit expensive,



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a double room costed around 900 NOK for one night, but the apartment had full kitchen,

and other stuffs which one could need during the stay. As Oslo is so expensive we decided

to cook our meals ourselves and not spend so much money on restaurant meals. I reached

the apartment hotel, checked in, unpacked stuff and then headed to the local supermarket

to buy food to cook. We bought food for the next two days at once. It costed something like400 NOK for each person. After having a nice self cooked meal for lunch we went for

sightseeing for the rest of the day.

My first destination was to the Viking Ship Museum (Vikingskipshuset). The museum has

three Viking ships for display and some other collection stuffs which were used by the

Vikings. The structure of the ship is very special and it shows how talented they were to

make such kind of ships. After that I went to the Vigeland sculpture park (Vigelandsparken),

this park has over 200 sculptures made of bronze, granite, and cast iron, the sculptures are

from naked man, women and kids. The sculptures were made very detailed showing all theparts of the body. The garden area was very nice and a lot of people were making barbeque

in the park. It was 11 pm already and still I could see the sun. That was the last touristic

place I visited on that day.

The next day I went to Sognsvann with a metro, this place has a beautiful lake just 5 min

walk from the train station. The water was still cold therefore nobody was swimming in the

lake. From that lake I made a hiking trip to Frognerseteren. It was a very nice hike for 6

hours, mostly through the forest but also sometime through unpaved roads. From

Frognerseteren I took a metro to go to Holmenkollen. In Holmenkollen there is the famous

Ski jump arena where they held the World Ski Championships this year. The Ski jump arena

is the most modern arena in the world. From the top one can have a wonderful view of Oslo

and its surroundings. I then took the metro and went down to the apartment and had lunch.

After having the lunch I went to see the Munch museum. Edward Munch is a world famous

artist and most of his paintings are on display in this museum. One of the most famous of

the paintings called “the scream” is also on display. My next destination was to the King’s

palace; the palace

looks very ordinary and

is not very highly

decorated. The king of

Norway is a very down

to earth person. After

that I visited the

University building and

then went to the

harbor area to stroll

around. The Rathaus

and the Nobel peacecenter are just next to the harbor. The street next to the harbor is one of the main shopping



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streets with a lot of restaurant. It was Sunday and so the streets were crowded with people.

Oslo has an ice bar, where the whole bar is maintained at -5 °C, we wanted to go to this bar

but unfortunately it closes early on Sunday, and we could not enter the bar. So I went to see

the old Opera house, which is a fantastic building made with Italian marbles standing right

at the harbor. They are constructing a new Opera house which will be finished in the comingyears. It was midnight and finally it started to become dark, and I could take some night

photos of the city. After spending an hour at the harbor I went back to the apartment.

Next day I made a boat trip to islands in the fjord. It was a two hour boat trip and costed 209

NOK. During the boat trip one could see the single storied Norwegian house, the bathing

rooms over the fjord, wild nature in some of the islands. Some of the islands are not so

populated and so it is quite calm. During the boat trip the weather became bad and it

started to rain. But the rain stopped later on. On the way back to Oslo with the boat, we

made a stop in Bygdoynes Island and visited the Kon Tiki museum and the Fram museum. Inthe Fram museum the original Fram ship which was used by the expeditors to go to both

North Pole and to the South Pole is on display. It was even allowed to enter the ship and go

inside it to have a look into the different rooms, the kitchen and the engine room of the

ship. In the Kon Tiki museum they have the Kon Tiki ship on display. It was quite fascinating

to see all these old ships which were build long time back to travel around the world. After

the museum visit I went for a little shopping and then took the train for going to Fredrikstad,

a small town 100 km south of Oslo. On the way I made a stop in Ski, and visited the

surrounding of the station and a shopping mall in Ski.

Fredrikstad is quite close to the border of Sweden. The old town of Fredrikstad is the most

beautiful part of the city. There is a boat (10 NOK) which takes people to the old town. This

boat runs until midnight. There are a lot of tanks on display in the old part of the town. My

return flight was very early next day and so after having a dinner in a restaurant, I went to

bed at 12 pm.

Next day I took a bus from Fredrikstad to Rygge airport, then checked in at the airport and

did some tax free shopping. The flight was on time and I reached Germany safely.

Norway has many more interesting places like Bergen, Tromsø, and North Cape etc... which Iwould like to visit when I am again in Norway. I liked the country and the people, all of them

could speak English quite well, and the people were very friendly.



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Blind Race – Meeta Mitra



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Pachmarhi

Samar Layek

“Pachmarhi” also known as "Queen of Satpura" is a hill station situated at a height of 1000 m

in a valley of the Satpura Range in Hoshangabad district in the state of Madhya Pradesh in

central India. It is one of the well known tourist place in central India because of the natural

beauties. There are many falls like Bee Fall, Apsara Fall, Duchess Fall, Big Fall ( Rajat

Prapat) etc.

Bee Fall



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Sunset point at “Pachmarhi”



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Photography by Arko Roy

…When It was over

It’s Sunday



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Manage the Triagle

Photography by Rajesh Bhandari



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Photography by Md.Mahbabul Karim

21 Feb Internationa Mother Language Day

Enjoying 16 December Holding Father Hand



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Dhaka International Trade Fair

Photography by Sara Basu

...



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Photography by Mahesh Kumar Sha

Cologne_cathedral

Karlsruhe_palace



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Photography by Prajjol Das



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Photography by Sharbajayaa Mukhopadhyay

Nature 1

Nature 2



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Photography by Shiladitya Pujari

Flower

Valley



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The Father



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The mountain range.



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A Wreetoyoti Roy Collection



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Partha Pratim Majumder: The writer of this story is a regular columnist of The Statesman &

the Times of India. He served for different prestigious posts in diversified sectors like the Dy.Registrar of IISWBM, Business Development head of IBM, Ex- Head in Camellia Group, IT ProjectHead of WEBEL, Business Head of GST Ltd. He is a member of “Sub-Committee in Edu. & SkillDev.” in CII (E.R). At present he is a Sr. Advisor in SEACOM group.

Sutopa Roy: I am pursuing PhD in Theoretical Physics at Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced

Scientific Research, Bangalore. My hobbies include painting, dancing, listening to music, web-pagemaking etc.



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Mahesh Kumar Sha: I am a research student working in the field of Physics. My hobbies are

traveling, biking, watching movies, listening to music, and a little bit of photography.

Wreetojyoti Ray: The photographer is a student of computer science. Apart from his academic

pursuits, the he is an avid lover of books and music. He is also deeply involved in photography andhas a flair for creative writing as well.

Anjan Nath: Born in Dibrugarh, Assam. After completing his studies from Jadavpur University he

joined Defence Research & Development Laboratory. During his retirement he was promoted toAssociate Director of Aeronautical Development Establishment under the Defence R&D Organisationat Bangalore. He has taken up writing as his retired life hobby. “His short stories were published in“Shuktara”, “Unish-Kuri” and “Sanket” magazines of Kolkata; “Sentinel”, “Sanbad Lahari” and“Jugashankha” newspapers of Assam; He has also published in the online magazine “Palki”.

Shiladitya Pujari: During his long teaching profession he served in different colleges like

Bankura Unnayani Institute of Engineering, Dr B C Roy Engineering College, Durgapur , RajivGandhi University in Arunachal Pradesh and currently he is a faculty at University Institute of Technology UIT, Burdwan University. Mr. Pujari has keen interest in Photography, Wild Life,Trekking and Tribal Community of India. He has been working in the field of Photography since2001. He is a former member of Jadavpur University Photographic Club (JUPC). He was the foundermember and Secretary of a grass root level NGO named Nuhorizon Nature Lovers' Association(NNLA).

Sudipa Das: Sudipa has done her graduation and masters in English literature. Currently she is a

teacher in Techno India school. Along with teaching, she also spends time in reading books and

contributing to literary work.

Tushar Roy: This is Tushar Roy from Madhyamgram, Kolkata. I am 2010 B.Tech passed out from

Techno India Saltlake. Currently I am working with Accenture as an Associate Software Engineer.Painting is my hobby, passion anything you can say. Even in my office whenever I feel bored I startdrawing with a marker on my desk...that's all about me and my passion "painting".

Tufan Kumar Mukhopadhay: He was a project scholar now after finishing M.Sc from IITM.

Iman Debnath: Currently he is class 12th student at KOLKATA. Apart from studying he likes

creative painting. He is the youngest participant in A-Padartha till now.

Meeta Mitra: She participated in various group exhibitions in Kolkata. To name a few she won

awards for painting from Indian Society of Oriental Art at Annual Exhibition held at Academy of Fine

Arts 2010, 1st prize in Rotaract Camlin Fine Arts Contest Senior Group. She received “STANDARD

OF EXCELLENCE” Prize in Govt. of Maharashtra Drawing Exam. CERTIFICATE OF

PARTICIPATION for painting selected at annual exhibition of Academy of Fine Arts 2010. Painting

selected for “Charukala” annual exhibition 2011.



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