This weekend is Durga Puja. This is a festival celebrated in many different parts of the world, but primarily it is a Hindu festival and most prominent 'Utsav' in West Bengal, India. It is widely celebrated in the rest of the sub-continent and some places as "Navratri," other areas as "Dasera" and its infinite permutations. It is acclaimed internationally as well, wherever Bengalis are, and overseas Bengali's from both Bengals mingle together irrespective of their religion. As expat people mostly try and find a reason to celebrate, that's all. 😊
I am not an ideal person to write about this festival, not only because I am an atheist (but deeply spiritual), but also growing up, I took this time to escape the city as fast as I can. Simply because this was holidays, and the only thing I wanted to do as a young adult is to travel. So during this time, as a young adult and beyond, you would likely find me not in Kolkata, but in Sikkim, Nepal, Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh, Bhutan, Kashmir, Uttarakhand….. do you see a pattern? Yeah, mostly along the Himalayas. I used to joke, when 'Ma' (mother goddess Durga) comes visits us in 'Samatol' (plains), I go visit her home (as she technically lives in the mountains). On the 20 Durga Pujas that I have living memories of (Age 5 to 24), I have spent only 2 in Kolkata. When I was little, my parents used to take us to travel. After I was 16, I started to go with friends and later by myself mostly.
This time of the year is marked by a distant season change in most parts of the subcontinent. Therefore, the 'mood' probably hit you across the sub-continent, irrespective of faith and religion. I didn't have any digital camera during all these trips, which is a pity because, after many moves, most of those analog prints are either destroyed or lost. You see, too many youngsters reading this, it is demanding of you to imagine a world without a phone and a digital camera associated with the phone. So I won't be able to share an early morning sunrise with you when I was alone at Nandanban, in Garhwal, above Gurmukh, the source of that River that you may call Ganga, or Padma, or Yamuna, depending on where you are. Since it was way above the River's mouth, there was nothing but darkness and silence in that early dawn…
"Everything has its wonders, even darkness, and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content. "Helen Keller
I thought about Helen Keller that morning, too, I remember. My grandma was blind, you see, for about half of her life, so she had a big circle of blind friends around (they like to stick together). So, growing up, Helen Keller was the regular staple reading for me.
As I grew up and left far away from Nandanban, I have no way to see Mt. Shivling or Mt. Sudarshan above Gangotri Glacier, but that silence and that pre-drawn darkness stayed with me. And the light, as it hit the top of the mountains as if they are on fire…. That sight stayed with me. It was October the 25th, and yes, I double-checked the date from my travel journal, which I used to keep back in the days. To me, that was my 'Utsav.'
Two days ago, I stayed up late to watch El Classico. Admitted that this doesn't have that glamour of the past decade anymore. But to those of us who grew up watching these two teams at their absolute best fight it out for glory, and then carry on the fight and trash talk the next day during that 10 minutes break between physics practicals and English literature classes... El Clasico still holds a place somewhere deep down inside...
Maybe not for the glamour, but for the mere nostalgia.
The El Classico is just an analogy here. The reason I bring this up is to compare. Two days ago, Barcelona lost, and back in my teen years, my fingers would be breaking my keyboard writing long, pretty aggressive comments on Facebook. Don't get me wrong, I was neither a sore loser nor was I an arrogant gloater. But all it took was someone to trigger me to unleash the wrath of "CAPS LOCK" on the walls of Facebook. So maybe I was a sore loser, perhaps I was just better at hiding my emotions (I've been called a stone-hearted A-Hole on multiple occasions. There's no truth to it, but I see why I have been called such..)
But a few words of disappointment on Discord is all that the world got out of me; Facebook didn't even get a Login. As we grow up, we need to learn to accept defeat. I'm not sure whether it's sad that I have lost that passion, that fire or is it fair that I have matured and shifted my focus and energy on more important things than just a game of football(!!). Again, the el Classico is just an analogy here.
I know it's much easier to find something/someone to put the blame on. But it is not until we can admit we are at fault that we can genuinely accept defeat. There is no shame in accepting a defeat. In fact, I have come to realize that this is the stepping stone of finally moving on, letting go of grudges that were weighing down heavily on the mind.
Things change. Sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. But Things change, and I guess that's about the only thing that will never change.
And memories of the days gone by. They don't change. Sometimes they fade, sometimes our perception of memory changes. But the memories don't. And it's never just a game of football.
I love this particular scene from Capra's take on the political system. This is when the casual, fun, easygoing vibe turns to seriousness in the film while still maintaining the visual comedy.
From the beginning, the young, newly appointed senator Smith was treated as a chocolate boy full of passion. Everyone winked and laughed behind his back. Some made fun of his strong sense of nationalism. He went to Washington to change the corrupt system. You know, changing the system from within. Huh, as if that ever works! In real life, people don't care about idealism. This is the subtext. Capra made a gripping comedy out of it.
When he tries to do something meaningful, Everything goes haywire. His life, political career, social image - all are about to collapse miserably; he still wants to keep fighting, still wants to show that he's right — only to make himself more of a laughingstock.
The visual comedy here is the combination of Smith's body language and everyone else's irritation.
The whole thing left a strong impression on me as I liked that Capra didn't bother to portray a one-man revolution. Preferably the system broke himself completely, utterly. The whole thing depended on the mercy and goodwill of one single man. While that doubles down on the dramatic effect but the system hardly gets any praise for that.
Any young soul who wants to make an impression on the system with his/her moral will should see this film.
Floating above the pool of existence, what can a man think about? His own presence perhaps, maybe mythology, spirituality, and the truth of reality, an object or maybe a number? Number seven? Seven chakras, Seven layers of heaven and hell, or the seven deadly sins?
As Dante Alighieri wrote;
Through me, you go into a city of weeping;
Through me, you go into eternal pain;
Through me, you go amongst the lost people.
And for that, I am Dante, the prince of inferno, and seven is my own design. -Head Clerk
Too philosophical? How about our existence through analytics?
The age of this planet that we call home is about 4.5 Billion years. Humans existed for the last 60-100 thousand years or so. The Human "Civilization" is only perhaps 10 thousand years old, and that is pushing it. That is only 0.00000000022% of the total time this planet been around. However, we sometimes act in a way that we are in complete control of our destiny and the earth. Nothing can be further from the truth. A fact always to be remembered is, We are not in control of this planet, this planet controls us. - Editor
How about a story then? Human Existence in another seven sentences?
As I was driving back tonight after dropping my sister and my nieces off at their place, the headlights broke down. Winter usually arrives quicker in that area, and a cool breeze pierced the darkness that my headlights were supposed to. All the shops were shut, and there was still a long way to home. Earlier today, I received a call from a friend I thought I would never hear from again. 15 years ago, this friend was someone I never imagined I'd have passed a day without. I stepped out of the car and allowed the solitude to wash over me. It was one mistake, that's all it took for me to lose all the things I never thought I could live without, and yet, life goes on. –Daktar
In the pool of existence, three men think about one thing, yet they are free, but here I am, the narrator, a slave of reality, bound to narrate for eternity.
I was coming back to my home after a hard day at my shop. It was probably around 8–9 pm! At this time of the night in the village, it can be considered close to midnight. As compared to the people of the city, the village people tend to sleep early and wake up early. I have a small shop in the local market, and since it was market/bazaar day of the week, it took me a little longer than usual to close my shop and get back home. For those of you, who are not aware of the market/bazaar day, it is a day when the market gets lively compared to other days of the week. People, vendors, shops get to do extra business due to this day. While I was happy as the sales went high in my shop compared to the other days.
Luckily, today's moon was glowing at its peak, and I could see the road very clearly than usual. As I was closing the distance and getting near my house, I had to cross a small alley between two small hills. This side of the village is still not restored or never got any chance of improvement. So we, the local people, made a small alley in between two small hills. I heard from people, mysterious things happen on this particular road. Although I never had to face any difficult situations in the past. But for some reason, today, those thoughts started to peek into my mind. Under normal circumstances, these thoughts rarely come to my mind. Over the years, I have crossed this road more than a thousand times, but I never felt that sensation within my spine that I am feeling today. As if someone was watching me with a very keen eye.
That sudden fear started to embrace me! Even my breath began to feel like someone else's. The footsteps of mine over the dead leafs making noises were baffling to my ears. By going through all these emotions and accumulating enough courage, I started to go deep into the alley instead of stopping. I am sure I almost crossed half of the road in that alley, but suddenly I heard a second pair of footsteps. I stopped for a second or few, and suddenly that unknown fear started to rise again. I thought I heard stuff, but even after I stopped walking, I still listened to that pair of footsteps. My curiosity may be out of fear or something else; I thought of following that sound. I did that, and after taking a few steps forward, I saw the back of a woman with a standard height and very long hair walking in front of me.
I should have been afraid or even more, I should have screamed or do something unexpected, but the first thing I did was I tried calling out that lady. As at that moment, my initial thought was that she might be someone I knew (the village is small), and we are a handful of people around here. Even after all these callings, I was not getting any sort of reply. This made me even more curious, and I started to increase my walking pace and tried to catch up with her. But I felt like even after me increasing my walking speed, I could not catch up to her. This made me even more furious (male ego heh), and I tried even more, but still, I could not close the gap. I am not sure how many times I tried that, but these dilemmas really strike me hard. I was so into this chase that Everything else faded in front of me.
Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder. As I turned to see who it was, I noticed an uncle who was also coming back from the Bazar. Soon, I discovered myself deep into the jungle, where nobody really goes. I immediately fell down on my knees and thought about what just happened. After regaining my consciousness, we got out from there as soon as possible, and I noticed we were quite deep into the jungle.
As soon as we got on the main road, I asked my uncle how I got there? Did he see any women out there? He seemed surprised by my question and said he was also coming back from the bazaar, and he noticed me going towards the home. So he tried calling out my name, thinking that we both would walk home together. But he said I was not replying to those calls, and at some point, I was walking to the other side of the house. He got suspicious and followed me from there, and finally, he caught up with me and the rest you know, what happened. He also replied there was nobody except me all through this time.
Now my question is, who was that lady with long hair? How did I go deep into the jungle without even realizing what happened to me? What if my uncle was not there to get my back? Was it my imagination? The reality would have been different today. This was one of the stories which I will remember all through my life. After that incident, I always tried to avoid going through the road, especially at night!
Whenever you feel weighed down by circumstances or situations that seem beyond your control, or you are overwhelmed by emotions and feelings that suck the happiness out of you, do not give up.
What should you do in such situations, then?
Get up suddenly from wherever you were at that moment and walk a few steps forward and tell yourself that you are meant for more incredible things that are yet to happen. Maybe tomorrow or later, but that will happen for sure, and that will give you the hope that you have lost.
Many people are now facing the above-described situation, especially during this COVID era. If you are alright and are cool as a cucumber, then it's great but make sure to help others who are struggling to be happy and normal just like you.
Physical ill-health can be diagnosed quickly, but it is tough to determine if a person is truly healthy in mind. It is not just about depression. When one reads news of people raping and molesting small children, we wonder where society went wrong.
It is time to make sure people are given proper guidance and care to not resort to crime and sin. It is also time to be wary and on guard and make sure the criminals do not go unpunished.
Covid is a wake-up call. The human has been given a chance to make amends.
Stop destroying the environment and start building a better and more positive future for the next generation.
আমরা প্রায়ই ভালোলাগা এবং ভালোবাসার এই দুটো জিনিসের মধ্যে পার্থক্য খুজে পায়না,মনে হয় দুটো একই।পার্থক্য রয়েছে তবে অতি সূক্ষ।সেই সুক্ষ কুণ্ডলীযুক্ত সুতোর পাকগুলো খুজে আলাদাভাবে দেখে নেওয়া অতি জরুরি। কিছু কিছু ক্ষেএে সম্পর্কগুলো সেই ভালোলাগা দিয়ে শুরু হয় এবং ধীরে ধীরে ভালোবাসা দিয়ে পরিপূর্ণতা লাভ করে।এটাইতো আমাদের সবার কাম্য। হ্যা, আমাদের মাঝেও ভালোলাগার চারাগাছটি সময়ের সাথে সাথে ভালোবাসায় রুপান্তরিত হয়েছিল।
সময় যেখানে থমকে যেতো আমাদের কাছে এসে।সে ছিল যেন হুমায়ূন আহমেদের কোনো এক ভালোবাসার গল্পের ন্যায় মধুর।
মনে আছে কি দুজনের সেই পথ চলাগুলো? সমাজের আড়চোখ কে তোয়াক্কা না করে চলছি আমরা একসাথে।তখন যে একে অপরের ভালো-মন্দ, আচার-ব্যবহার,আত্মসম্মানবোধ সবকিছুরই ছিল এক আকাশচুম্বী সম্মান। আজ সেখানে ঘৃণার স্তুপ জমা হয়েছে।প্রিয় রঙ থেকে শুরু করে খাবারের ঝালের মাএাটি পর্যন্ত যেখানে মিল ছিল আজ সেখানে পাহাড়সম পরিমাণ অভিযোগ,মতের অমিল।
আমারতো আজও মনে হচ্ছে এইতো সেদিন রিকশায় তুমি ছিলে আমার পাশে,হাতে হাত রেখে প্রতিজ্ঞা নিয়েছিল আমরণ পাশে থাকবে বলে। হয়তো কেউ একজন সত্যিই বলেছিল,প্রতিজ্ঞাগুলো করাই হয় ভেঙে ফেলার জন্য।কিন্তু আজও আমি তোমায় খুজে চলি অন্যের মাঝে এক তুমির প্রতিচ্ছবি হিসেবে। হাজারো অভিমানের সমাপ্তি ঘটিয়ে এগিয়ে গিয়েছি আমরা, ভুলে গেছো প্রিয়?
তবে শেষ অভিমানটা কেনই বা এত বিষাদময় হতে হলো। কিছু কথার অমিল,কিছু অপূর্ণ আবদার আর কিছু ভুল বোঝাবুঝি, তাই বলে এত বড় পরিণাম? শত মিষ্টি মধুর স্মৃতির এই বুঝি করুন পরিনতি হলো। আগের অভিমানগুলোর মতো করে কি আসবে না আর তুমি ফিরে? তবে এটাই কি ছিল আমাদের অন্তিম অভিমান।
This here is our piece de resistance. To promote engagement and a little self-branding, we have come up with an initiative that we simply called Featured. And we are very excited about this portion of the magazine.
Every week, one talented author will have the opportunity to contribute a piece for the magazine while showcasing one of their best posts. The willing writers will have a chance to add a few words about any topic they choose and be a 25% beneficiary of the magazine.
The first step is, you have to decide whether you want to get featured or not. Once you've made up your mind, you have to apply by submitting one of your articles from last week. We have a wiggle room for quality content if they are older than seven days. Choose the piece you deem to be your best work for the week, as this will play a significant role in you getting featured or not.
There will be a two-day period to submit your application. It must be submitted by dropping a link to your post in the #Featured-Magazine channel on the BDCommunity Discord Server. One author will be chosen randomly from all the submissions. The featured author for the week will be announced during the weekly voice meeting. They will then have two days for writing a piece and submit.
The author who gets featured in the weekly magazine will be set as a 25% beneficiary, meaning 25% of the magazine's liquid payout will go to the featured author.
Do not forget to join our next weekly hangout at Friday 10 pm GMT +6
