THE BAY REVISITED: PART II

A valley of yellow greeted our eyes as we got down from the trekker. There was a row of small one-bedroom houses, all coloured yellow, except for the reception and the restaurant, which were brown. On the far side of the row, there were four two-storied guest houses with balconies in each of them. Unfortunately due to our late booking, we hadn't acquired the top rooms. But we weren't complaining. The only thing we direly required was cool shelter from the Sun.

Laying on the bed in our air-conditioned room seemed like the only option at noon. Outside I could see what seemed like blazing fire, accentuated by the colour of the resort houses. It was so bright and so hot, we all became a tad disappointed at our opportunity of going to the beach being crushed.

Somehow we made ourselves go outside and trot towards the restaurant for lunch. We were hungry no doubt. A full Bengali meal was promised and delivered and that too to our heart's content.Once we were full and nourished, I began to observe the resort with more attention.

There was a small rectangular water body situated within the confines of the houses. The body was surrounded by two rows of shrubs well maintained by the resort workers. I could hear ducks quacking without pause and assumed they were somewhere near the water but couldn't see them. A paved path lay between the water body and the houses, the reception being at the end of the path. The reception with its roof thatched with hay, was clearly the midpoint of the whole resort compound. Two rabbits were sitting in a cage there, nibbling at anything they found interesting. The children ran to the beautiful creatures and tried to touch them, squealing in delight.

We did manage to find the ducks later though

The other side of the resort compound was made to look almost like a beach. Tall trees dotted the sandy area with hammocks suspended between them. It seemed like a fun place to be, but alas, the intolerable incorrigible heat! We decided to go out when the heat had ebbed a little, and that was when we could go to the seaside.

Children on the hammocks

We crashed into our beds and didn't wake up until 4.30. The weather was a little better by then and this was enough reason for us to change in our beach clothes and rush out together through the resort gate.

Clearly, it was low tide because we had to practically walk half a kilometer before we could reach the edge of the shore. The water was warm and caressed our feet as it broke around us in the form of greenish blue waves. Being a Thursday the place was nearly deserted; there was only one other family beside us, as far as our eyes could go. It was a splendid opportunity, we realized, and spread out as wide as we could to brace the incoming waves.

Beach at the time of low tide

I need not describe the sea to anyone; it's the same as in any other beach. One thing we did sorely miss was the sunset, courtesy to the tall columns of clouds which were suddenly rushing inland. After half an hour, we could feel the level rising and water reaching further towards the beach. The low tide was ending. Still we sat, feeling the force of this vast sea on our bodies as it rushed above our shoulders  and heads, drenching us fully in salt water. The sky had turned a mixture of orange and blue with pale clouds lingering below it. Behind us, motorbikes and trekkers were moving past the seashore to their destinations and I wondered how far they would go. A hint of darkness had slowly begun to creep in and we got up reluctantly, not really eager to be pulled away in the increasing current of the sea.

Having fun at the beach

Darkness began to descend 

Night-time was basking with the silver glow of the Moon as we had our snacks and swung comfortably in the garden hammocks. A part of me wanted to swing like this forever, looking at the sky and watching the moon looking right back at me amidst the swaying tree tops. Looking for a way to mobilize our feet, we went to the seashore once again.

The sea was roaring with life and a strong gust from the sea hit us, removing all traces of the hot weather we were actually in. The Moon overlooked the long sea beach and shone down its silver glow on the crashing waves, spluttering water all around. It felt like the silver water drops were flowing out of the sea and making their way to the mysterious sky, as if sending offerings to Heaven. For a moment, we all forgot our lives and just stood there, taking it all in. That moment made me believe that magic did exist. The beauty and vastness of Nature was magical itself, functioning in tandem with our heartbeats, yet beyond our contemplation and leaving us in awe. The silver sea etched a deep place in my mind and heart and I knew for sure that I would never forget that wonderful night by the sea.

Towards the resort gate in the evening

The Moon over the treetops

THE BAY REVISITED: PART I

When you hear Mandarmoni, what do you envision? Somewhat like New Digha, but way cooler, fancier and kind of top-notch. You are not far from the mark actually. It is way cooler.

Decided just 5 days before our short trip, we weren’t sure if we could get any reservations in a bus or a seaside resort. Luckily through some old connections, we got reserved seats on an AC Volvo from Dharmatala Bus Terminal. Preparations were in full swing after that, but we still didn’t know what to expect there. Sure, I’d been to Digha, but I had no idea whether this neighbour would be any different. Plus, what with the sun raining heat waves upon us and frying us to death in Kolkata, we couldn’t imagine what the weather would be like at Mandarmoni. The seaside is supposed to be pleasant, right?

Following a tasty breakfast of luchi-ghugni at the bus terminal with family friends, we waited for the bus to arrive. The temperature had already begun to soar by 7 in the morning and we all wiped our faces in a futile attempt to keep ourselves sweat-free. The bus honked on its arrival and we climbed aboard. My first thought: Could any measure of gratitude BE ever sufficient for the cold hit of the air-conditioner on a day as hot as that? (Chandler-style)

Around 10, we got down at Chaulkhola. It is a junction village between the roads that lead to Digha and Mandarmoni, and is 14km away from the latter. The bus would continue to Digha and we would be en route to Mandarmoni on a trekker.

      

 

 

 

 

 

 We hailed a trekker from Chaulkhola

I am going to state directly: it was bloody hot out there! Without the humidity quotient, we felt like we just got out from the frying pan and went willingly into the fire. The trekker with its cool shed providing momentary relief, made its way through the village and vast farmlands (also an amusement park-under-construction), carrying 15 people in it, until we finally saw the horizon. Where land meets sea meets sky.

I thought we would stop right there, near the beach, but the trekker surprised me by turning and slowly launching itself on the yellow sand. Driving on the beach itself was something entirely new to me, not having that experience in any other beaches I’d visited (which were few to be honest). We could barely contain our excitement. After excitement, came pure joy as we banked right and directly entered the Digante Seaside Resort. I’d known we would live close to the sea, but this close?  This was amazing!

Mandarmoni boasts of a 13 km long motorable beach, probably the longest motorable beach road in India.

 

Digante Seaside Resort

Piku

Piku......motion se hi emotion

And its true to a T. As everyone has a rough idea, Bhaskor Banerjee (Amitabh Bachchan) has constipation. Piku (Deepika Padukone) is his working daughter, who takes care of his medical needs, his complaints, suggestions and erratic whims. Even after being irritated in her workplace meetings and date nights by Dad's complaints of colour and consistency of constipated stool, she puts up with him ------ how can you possibly make your big baby understand that what he's doing is irrational? He wants her to be a strong independent woman and not marry somewhere from where she couldn't take care of him during his needs. She wants him to stop whining all the time worrying unnecessarily about his health conditions (which seem normal except for the disturbed motion of the digestive tract).

Bhaskor Banerjee in many ways is a regular 70-year-old disease-riddled hypochondriac dad. His complaints and childish tantrums and weird discussions in front of other people gets to her daughter. But she remains silent; however her eyes scream in protest. After some time, her lips bend into a smile and she shakes her head, thinking about his silly notions and whimsical behaviour.

Then there is Rana, the cab company owner who drives the father-daughter duo to their hometown Kolkata. During their road trip, as Rana's twisted logic and cracky solutions begin to soften the bickering between the family members, the constipation condition starts to get better. Dad becomes better to reason with. Daughter opens up and relaxes. In many ways Rana acts as catalyst in the rebonding of emotions between them.

The famous cycling of Bhaskor shahib in the streets of Kolkata follow. He feels at home. He feels energised. He becomes happy. On returning home, he proclaims that it is his best day ever. And as you guessed it, is emotion se bhi motion juri hui hain. Best day ever equals to.....you know.

What happens in the end? I'm not going to tell that. That's for the viewers to find out. Dining table discussions of shit, road discussions of shit.....you get the general idea. Shit is everywhere. It is a very light hearted film  with a very strong delivery of unconditional love. Yes, that kind of love does exist. For inspite of many flaws, Bhaskor Banerjee is Piku's best man ever. Every person watching this piece of art will definitely identify himself or herself with it.

Another thing of mention is the flawless acting by the best of actors in this age. I'll be surprised if one of them doesn't win an award for this. Shoojit Sircar has once again delivered his level best, and we as hindi cinema fans are grateful for his filmmaking gifts. Anupam Roy wins our bong hearts with pleasant naturalistic music in The Journey Song and Bezubaan.

It's a perfect movie for a weekend watch. Missing it would be a considerable loss. Grab your family, your friends, or just grab yourself and a tub of popcorn as you laugh and say "aww" and wipe a tear away. You won't regret it.

 

My dwindling addiction to internet

Internet was one of the things that was close to magic for me. To me, magic is a form of advanced science that we don't yet understand. When I was 12 years old, I just didn't understand how I could reach the world with just logging on to a computer. Sure, computer helped me do my work and it also included games and Paint and movies and music, but to be connected to the world just a click away? Seemed surreal at the time. I have to admit, i still don't understand the technology behind WWW and LAN and WiFi, but they are no longer magic. They are facts that have become a necessity in our daily lives which we cannot live without. Our information encyclopedia is in our gadgets, bringing knowledge from around the world as we speak. We study, make our projects, read books and talk to people on the internet. In a nutshell, internet is a part of our lives. But it was not so.....10 years ago.

Just as a layman would get hooked to something he doesn't understand yet finds fascinating, I also was hooked to it. Whenever I got the chance I would sneak up to the computer table and turn the LAN connection on. However at first, my addiction was intertwined with frustration. Such slow internet connection with the google page opening up in no less than 30 seconds was enough to turn my patience into ashes. But that even made me more hooked. I opened up all the websites of my fantasies and emailed my friends, sending and receiving pictures so dear to me at the time. I didn't have to telephone or say anything to a person I know. I just emailed them and they emailed me back. Writing became my favourite hobby, or should I say typing!

That was until social networking sites came along. I came across Orkut but could not understand what it was meant for. All I knew was that my friends were there and I could chat with them. Two people talking back and forth like real talking......now that was something! By the time I got used to the ways of Orkut, I had not realised my friends were leaving that site. I heard they had moved on to a similar kind of website known as Facebook. After stalling for some time (because I loved Orkut), I joined the mega social networking. Sure, I admit I had a hard time figuring my way around because it was more complex than Orkut, but I succeeded eventually. It was a blast: once I understood it, it was the best website to connect to people.

I became more and more familiar and addicted to Facebook partly because of its amazing features, and partly because I was in a relationship for the first time. We didn't get to meet much, and so we connected out there, which was cool. He was an amazing artist, his sketches were a class in its own.....so I kept a watchful eye over his picture folders to catch the latest addition. All in all, I had a great time.....but the decline of the whole situation had just begun which I didn't realise.

Because of my constant talking and communicating over the internet, I forgot how to talk to him when I was with him. I didn't know what to say to him, through my own mouth! It was as if I was there to observe him, then I would go home and pour my heart out by typing away in Facebook. It got way out of hand, and my studies were suffering in the most crucial year of my whole life. One bad result in the exam would diminish my chances by a large margin of being something successful in life. So I controlled myself and got the hell out of the whole internet business addiction thing for good, just until my exams were over that is. I still did Facebook but for limited time for limited things. Internet ceased to be my pastime. My boyfriend did not perceive this diminished contact very well, so drifts became apparent in our relationship. This continued for almost a year. Due to my internet addiction, I was only a girlfriend on digital terms, but in real social life, I wasn't even a person he could freely talk to. Same was he for me. With time, as I broke off from the internet, we broke apart too. Funny how we broke up on the internet and never saw each other again.

That was the moment. After that time, I was no longer addicted or nearly as interested by the internet as I once was. I got good scores, made to a great college, and forgot what it was like feeling high while being online. There was a time when I could not pass three hours before checking Facebook. Now I can go on for more than three days without realising I have not checked my notifications the whole time.

My addiction has faded. My interest hasn't however, but it is significantly lower. It may have been due to my break up, or may have been due to the one year break I had from the internet. It was hard, staying away from it for most of the day, but as I put a year into that, it became easier. Maybe because the internet had become so familiar with our lives that there was nothing new left to explore. All these reasons are partly responsible for my dwindling addiction to internet. I am a fan of socially intermixing with people, and internet can never replace that. Real relationships with people are everlasting, and I prefer that to a temporary friendship in the digital world, every time you ask me!

Internet is awesome, sure, but not worth your addiction. That's my last comment.