After the Lull

Why do we stop talking?

Why, over time, friends without whom an hour seemed like a day end up being just another contact in your phone book?

Is it because we get bored of the same people? Is it because we learn everything about each other and suddenly, there is nothing left to say? As humans, is mystery what we crave the most? So much so that familiarity starts to breed contempt?

Or is it just that space is just another punctuation? A binding factor in a winding sentence? Space, until we speak again. Until the brim of our minds start to overflow with thoughts and questions and fears...and we can but hold no longer?

I am back.

:)

There are good days and bad days.

Good days in which you feel low all day for no reason at all, and bad days when all you want to do is get up and dance. Or maybe lie in bed and read a known book all over again.

Or press the phone to your ears and soak up the voice of the ones you love.

Or just curl up, with your hands tucked into your tummy, and see beautiful dreams, think warm thoughts and feel all fuzzy in the head.

Or hide your face inside your pillow and breathe deep.

Or ask Maa to come on skype. Look at her and say you have become thin Maa, you should eat properly. She smiles in surprise. It makes your day.

Or stare at the yellow walls and remind yourself of a long forgotten tune, get up in haste, and play it in you tube. And hear it all day long. Catching a glimpse of days gone by.

Or rehearse that speech you will give when you have finally, finally won the Booker.

Or spend hours looking at old photos, looking at the old you, the laughing loudly you.

Or imagine how you would look reallllly thin....but then you have to give up on the chocolate cream pastry with melting vanilla ice cream on top...and the child in you settles for the pastry..happily..

You know you have a rather lot to do, but when did what had to be done matter in the first place? Its always the things that are forbidden that bring greater joy. Its like keeping a secret. A treasure that you would have to share if they found out. So you hug it close, sing yourself a lullaby, and sleep. Deeply. Knowing that tomorrow will again be mundane, filled with meaningless, worthless things to do that must be done, of course, but for what purpose? This day will not come back soon. This day. Today.

Your own happy day when you do nothing, but do everything.

I hope my children read...

1. Aesop's Fables. Dreams are made of these.

2. Ho-Jo-Bo-Ro-Lo by Sukumar Ray. Nonsense almost always makes sense.

3. Famous Five. Man's best friend is a dog.

4. Tintin, Asterix and Obelix. Before they see the 3D movies, they better know what its about.

5. Alice In Wonderland. You never know, it might just be true.

6. Every God Damn Book by Satyajit Ray. Yes, even the bad ones. Wait, are there bad ones?

7. Malory Towers by Enid Blyton. Girls need to know that girls are not bad people.

8. Jane Eyre. Women are stronger. Period.

9. Mahabharat. So that they never ever have the guts to say India is a developing country.

10. My Experiments with Truth. All the good men have very bad habits.

11. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Why you ask? Its elementary, my dear Watson!

12. Miss Marple. Because you don't need to smoke cocaine to solve murders.

13. Pride and Prejudice. What is love? Who the hell is Aishwarya Rai?

14. Little Women. Little Men. Jo's Boys. If you want to know how to be happy when you are sad.

15. Harry Potter. Even when you know the end, it is the journey that counts.

16. A Sea of Poppies. To know what not to read. Urgh!

17. The Kite Runner. Your life is measured by the friends you make.

18. The Catcher in the Rye. Be a Rebel !!!!

19. To Kill a Mockingbird. Darr ke Aage Jeet Hai!

20. Love Story. Life is short. Really.

21. Lolita. Its time to get out the good stuff ;)

22. Great Expectations. Life sucks.

23. The Unvanquished or Aporajito. and THIS is how you deal with it.

24. Doctors. Can a girl and a guy ever just be friends?

25. A Midsummer Night's Dream. So they can say "oh I have read Shakespeare" :P

or else I am going to disown them. Simple and Clear.

Dreams

Chena Desh

Kalkei Facebook ke chorom galagali dilam. Tai jonno mone bindumatro khob nei jodio. But sottyi bolte ki, ei onnoder pechone kathi kora ta na thakle, amra nijeder niye PNPC kortam. du-chaar te to matro bondhu bandhob, tader moddhye gol bNadhle ki chorom poristhiti-r shrishti hoy, seta amra sokolei kom beshi kichuta jani. sutoraNg poro ninda, i dont know, but poro chorcha is damn good chorcha!

Ta ja bolchilam. Facebook er bhalo side o ache, bujhle. jemon ajkei hothat kore dekhlam ke ekjon, kar ekjon er photo te "like" koreche. je koreche, take ami besh pochondo kori. sutoraNg dyakha dorkar she kake pochondo kore! giye dekhi, uribbas, ki darUn photo sob. darUn mane, je hetu ami photography-r technical dik ta ekebarei bujhina, i dont know photo gulo technically bhalo photo r dol e poRe kina, but dekhe mon bhore gyalo, eituku bolte pari.

Chele ta Bangladesh er. Ami Bangladesh somporke jototuku jani, ek, Dadu-r kach theke, dui, Mala r kach theke. Jetuku sunechi, jenechi, kharap lage na. Mane, bishesh kono bhalolaga ache, tyamon o na, abar Australia v/s Bangladesh match hole ami gola fatiye Aus ke support kori, tyamon o noy....just casual bhalo laga, na bhalo laga r moddhyekhane. But ajke er photo gulo dekhe kyamon jyano bolte ichche holo, 'O moni, e to ekkebare amago dyasher moton'!

She onek photo lagiyechilo. Tader Bijoy Dibos e lal-sobuj potaka niye ullas, University Campus e meyeder pose deoa, Highway er du dhare lomba gach er ek hoye jaoa matha, gram er dhan khete jorajirno goru, ek i dhan kheter pash diye chole jaoa train, rastar moR e ghupchi cha er dokan e rikshawalla der adda, ondhokar neme poRa rail station e fol niye bosa buRo loktar ekakitwo, nodir ghat, ghat e nouko r anagona, ghat e bosa roga chele tar dubonto surjo-r dike ekmone takiye thaka....

Sob i prothom baar dekhlam. Tobu mone holo koto chena. Ek i to desh, ek i bhasha, ek i gaan, ek i kobita, ek i onubhuti. Class nine er itihas boite poRechilam bote, kintu tokhon just aar ekta saal, ekta obanchito tarikh mone rakhar birokti niye. Aajke sotyi mone holo, odorkari kandokarkhanay bhore gyache sala prithibi ta. Kono dorkar chilo na, aajke o nei, tobu, duto alada rajyo, alada rajotwo. Sadharon manush der shoshon korar duto alada protisruti. Baki sob i ek.

Ek tukRo desh...koto koshte paoa, dhuye muche sesh hoye jachhe. Dwikhondito hoye.

Puku Shona

Facebook holo 24*7 binodon. Nirmal anand. Ami ektu gomRamukho, hulo beRal type holeo, amar o , onnoder moton, at the cost of others haste besh bhaloi lage. And ei jinista, facebook er cheye better keu pare ki?kono musuem e o eto gulo sample ekotre paoa jay kina sondeho!

Ei jyamon, ekkhuni. sottyi bolte ki, dekhe ga pitti emon jole gyalo, je torighori blog likhte boslam. amar ek bandhobi, jake ami class six er pore aar dekhini, kichudin aage facebook e amake dekhe "ore tor kotodin dyakha nei re, tui kobe asbi re" bole emon kannakati jurlo, jyano amar saat jonmer bondhu. othocho believe me, nursery theke class six, ami gune bole debo kotodin or songe amar kotha hoyeche, Anyway.....tar er moddhye biye tiye sob sara. tar 'onar' aajke jommodin! tai she facebook e ghota kore update dilen. "Happy Birthday puku shona" !!!

WTF!!!

Ami jodi puchku shona hotam, golay doRi diye jonmodin kei mrityudin e convert kortam. Aha re, ei jonnoi bodh hoy chelera biye korte chay na. ei nyakami kar shoy boloto?

aro ache. ar ek bondhu. sei ek i school er. protidin i tar notun notun gyanodoy hoy. aar sei gyaan amader sathe bitoron na kore tar ghum hoy na. ajke dekhlam nah, gyaan na. tar mon kharap. of course. kichu matray "likes" ba "comments" kom poreche hoyto. ba hote pare latest photo ta te keu take aishwarya rai er sathe compare koreni! tai tar aajker kotha holo "Is it worth the tears?"

amar uttor deoar ichche holo bujhle, "Yeah, crocodile tears are kinda worth it".

Dilum na. Maa Baba-r shikkha i gol badhdacche. ei hothochchara pola paan gulo ke rastay dhore gono dholai dite hoy. ki obostha!! mane ja ta obostha!! ja ta!!

Asol raag is onno. amar life is too boring to have such updates. Hotasha e bhugchi ebaar. erokom competition e pichiye poRte kar bhallage, bolo?

Potterology

I miss him. Truly. Here's why.

'What's that? Said one of the twins suddenly, pointing at Harry's lightning scar. 'Blimey,' said the other twin. 'Are you –?' 'He is,' said the first twin. 'Aren't' you?' he added to Harry. 'What?' said Harry. 'Harry Potter,' chorused the twins. 'Oh, him,' said Harry, 'I mean, yes, I am.'

"Ron," said Hermione in a dignified voice, dipping the point of her quill into her ink pot, "you are the most insensitive wart I have ever had the misfortune to meet."

"I don’t deny it," Sirius said very quietly. "But if you knew the whole story."

"I'm not trying to be a hero, but seriously, Sirius Black can't be worse than Voldemort, can he?"

"It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that."

"Unless I'm much mistaken, he transferred some of his own powers to you the night he gave you that scar. Not something he intended to do, I'm sure....

"The truth is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution."

I wonder,' said Professor McGonagall in cold fury, turning on Professor Umbridge, 'how you expect to gain an idea of my usual teaching methods if you continue to interrupt me? You see, I do not generally permit people to talk when I am talking.'

"After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure."

"To have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever."

"Well?" said Ron finally, looking up at Harry. "How was it?" Harry considered for a moment."Wet," he said truthfully.

"The consequences of our actions are always so complicated, so diverse, that predicting the future is a very difficult business in deed ...."

"Neville, I'm really, really sorry about this." She raised her wand. "Petrificus Totalus!"

Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain.

"No good sittin' worryin' abou' it," he said. "What's comin' will come, an' we'll meet it when it does."

"It is our choices Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."

"You think the dead we loved ever truly leave us?"

"I don't want to talk about how I feel, all right?" "Harry, suffering like this proves you are still a man! This pain is part of being human --" "THEN -- I -- DON'T -- WANT -- TO -- BE -- HUMAN!" Harry roared.

Ron said, "One person can't feel all that at once, they'd explode." "Just because you've got the emotional range of a teaspoon doesn't mean we all have," said Hermione nastily, picking up her quill again.

Weasley can save anything, He never leaves a single ring, That's why Gryffindors all sing:Weasley is our King.

'Is it true that you shouted at Professor Umbridge?' 'Yes,' said Harry. 'You called her a liar?''Yes.' 'You told her He Who Must Not Be Named is back?' 'Yes.' Professor McGonagall sat down behind her desk, frowning at Harry. Then she said, 'Have a biscuit, Potter.'

It is a curious thing, Harry, but perhaps those who are best suited to power are those who have never sought it.

"I cared about you too much," said Dumbledore simply. "I cared more for your happiness than your knowing the truth, more for your peace of mind than my plan, more for your life than the lives that might be lost if the plan failed. In other words, I acted exactly as Voldemort expects we fools who love to act."

"Potter, you've got yourself a girlfriend!" drawled Malfoy. Ginny went scarlet...

"Voldemort has always underestimated the power of love Harry, you on the other hand..."

"Just because it’s taken you three years to notice, Ron, doesn’t mean no one else has spotted I’m a girl!"

Sirius shook his head and said, "If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals."

"They were bullyin' him, Hermione, 'cause he's so small!" said Hagrid. "Small?" said Hermione."Small?" "Hermione, I couldn't leave him," said Hagrid, tears now trickling down his bruised face into his beard. "See -- he's my brother!"

"What made you think he'd really stopped supporting Voldemort, Professor?" Dumbledore held Harry's gaze for a few seconds, and then said, "That, Harry, is a matter between Professor Snape and myself."

"After all this years, Snape?"......"Always!"

'"Evil" is a strong word,' said Hermione quietly.

'There are all kinds of courage,' said Dumbledore, smiling. 'It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. I therefore award ten points to Mr Neville Longbottom.'

Harry and Ron both made furious moves toward Malfoy, but Hermione got there first -- SMACK! She had slapped Malfoy across the face with all the strength she could muster.

What do we want to be Prefects for?' said George, looking revolted at the very idea. 'It'd take all the fun out of life.'

"You should write a book," Ron told Hermione as he cut up his potatoes, "translating mad things girls do so boys can understand them."

"Detention, Saturday night, my office," said Snape. "I do not take cheek from anyone, Potter . . . not even 'the Chosen One.'"

Marauder's Map to Snape: "Mr. Padfoot would like to register his astonishment that an idiot like that ever became a professor."

"Severus Snape wasn't yours," said Harry. "Snape was Dumbledores, Dumbledores from the moment you started hunting down my mother..."

"We will see each other again," he said. "You are -- truly your father’s son, Harry...."

"Books! And cleverness! There are more important things -- friendship and bravery."

"Dobby has heard of your greatness, sir, but of your goodness, Dobby never knew..."

Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?

Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean it is not real?

Take a bow Ms. Rowling. For teaching the last of us the power of love and friendship, to overlook handicaps, and to never underestimate the weak. And oh, most importantly, as wise it maybe for a girl to be intelligent, it always helps if she removes her braces ! :) :P