আমি ঢাকা

I had gotten my visa extension about two months back and the first thoughts in my head were I have to go home. To kolkata. I had asked my manager then only but finally that Friday morning my manager came up to me and said I could look to go back home end of October if I wanted. That's all I needed. I booked my tickets within the next 5 hours. The flight is apparently on a Monday and would reach on Tuesday and I would lose two working days. That will affect my utilization and then my rating. But who cares? I am going home. That's what mattered. I decided to meet up CGNC. I had been cooped up inside the house all week.I was just in one of those moods where I did not want to meet anybody and was feeling like a hermit. But the fact that I would be going home needed to be celebrated. It was around 8 in the evening when I met CGNC. I was bursting at my seams. I just blabbered whatever happened throughout the day. Any celebration needs food and that's like a CGNC and me tradition. We meet up once a couple of weeks and go and dine out and make a day/night of it. He listened to me and said you must want Indian food today and to that I told him that what I wanted that day was good bengali food and I went on to add as to why the Bangladeshi/Bangali community here have'nt opened a true-blue Bangladeshi restaurant. And then he said " Hey ! Have you been following what's happening in Bangladesh today." I had read that a Hindu priest was hacked to death the day before and I silently nodded. "Why do you thing their commandos are taking so long to take any action? Why are they not barging into the cafe?"  I realized he was talking about something else. "Cafe? What Cafe?" He replied "A bunch of terrorist have stormed some cafe in some city in Bangladesh. I can't remember the name. The ISIS have claimed responsibility."

I was only half listening to him. I was already too busy trying to find the details on my phone. Bangladesh. I could not believe it. I know politically, geographically it is a different country but I have always felt that it's not that different. I mean, everyone in my mother's side of the family converse in fluent "bangal". How many times have I heard my pishi telling me "এহ তুই  মিষ্টি  খাস না . তুইও  বাঙ্গাল তোর  মা'র  মতন ."

All kidding apart. We speak the same language, eat the same food, share the same history, are nourished by the same river. We are the same.

And then I found out. A cafe in Dhaka. Dhaka! I had always imagined it to be like a soul-sister city to Kolkata. You know how we read about "সই " in old books. Something like that. I don't know why. But I needed more information.
More information than that there were Italians and Japanese citizens trapped inside the cafe. I needed more information than, the RAB was standing right outside waiting to take action. I needed to know who were inside. Who were those people. I needed to know how many terrorists. And yes I desperately needed to know what the RAD was still waiting outside for. I needed real-time update. Sitting in the U.S we keep getting real-time updates about a Bangladesh-India cricket match. Why not about this? Why not about what is happening in Bangladesh? If this was Paris or Brussels or Orlando, then there would be updates..that would have been the only news flooding my feed.

And then I went to Bengali daily news sites. And then I got what I was looking for. I don't even know what I was looking for anymore. I learnt about Arushi. And Arushi's friend. Farhaaz Hossain. The boy who could have left and saved his own life. But chose to stay back because of his friends and was hacked to death. The boy who was just 20 and far wiser and braver and noble than any one of us could ever be. But then the boy who hacked Farhaaz to his death was like Farhaaz and yet so unlike him. Nibras Islam, Rohan Imtiaz and Meer Saameh Mubasheer. They were not older than 23 themselves. They have studied in the best schools, travelled, and have been exposed to the world. Yet, they were completely okay with dying, because they believed they would go to heaven. More scarily, they were completely okay with hacking someone who was exactly like them. to death, not shoot them, but hack them with a machete, in the name of religion. Someone they might have had common friends with. Someone they could have easily had a conversation with, or shared a cuppa joe with, in some cafe.

But instead all of them lie dead. All of their lives cut short by machetes or bullets, brutally. And all, directly or indirectly because of this arbitarary "thing" called religion.

And that brings me to the point I have found hard to shake off my system. A point which would offend a lot of people. Everyone I know, have strongly condemned and been shaken by what happened in Bangladesh. But then there are many among them who are also strongly religious. Devout Hindus, Muslims, Christians and/or Sikhs. And to them I want to ask and this is a genuine question. Not an abstract condescending one. What is the point? What is the point about having a religion?

I really don't know the answer. All I know is that it could have been me. I am just like any of them. It could have been me sitting in a cafe with my friends, when a bunch of religious fanatics might decide to storm in and hack people to death. I don't know if they would have decided to spare me if I identified as Hindu or a Bengali or not. All I know is that I would bleed too. I already am. Because at some level I might not be as brave as Farhaaz Hossain or as cruel and clueless as Nibras Islam, but I am still them. Maybe not exactly. But still. A lot like them.

Ladies Last

CM is a very simple girl or perhaps a woman who happens to be a consultant. CM has worked 5.5 years in the same project 4 years in India and 1.5 years from the client location. CM has worked very hard and shown her merit and has gotten good reviews and ratings 4 out of those 5.5 years including her very last appraisal.

Incidentally CM is the only one belonging to the XX chromosomes gene pool and works with 12 other people who are XY chromosomes.

This incident is one particular incident that happened one particular day but is quite indicative of the kind of behaviour CM, and I am sure most other women have to constantly face at work.


So on this day a very senior lead from CM's India office visits CM's client location. A meeting is obviously arranged. Most meetings like this are CM's nightmare. So the senior lead walks in to the meeting room. Let us call him GD. He sits down and he says, "This is the third team I am meeting and this is the thing with every team. 1 ' LADIES' and rest 'GENTLEMEN'. Is this your plan? But there is no gender bias here and so no Ladies First Business here. "

Everyone around the table laughs a little. CM forces resemblance of a smile.

The meeting continues with expression of gratitude but also the dire times ahead. How the (human)resources have worked hard but ofcourse need to work harder. How they should expand their horizon and no not go travelling, but find new problems in the client architecture so that they can make the clients realize how inadequate they are and then give the client the solutions themselves like the great Houdini and let them know how indispensable CM's team specifically and her company in general are. Ofcourse it ends with the future prospects of CM's company and the new projects that they have acquired. The two recent large projects acquired by CM's company are two luxury brands. One related to Women's beauty product and the other is a well know designer brand for handbags. And GD concludes with "We should find this exciting specially the Ladies right?" He looks at CM and smiles. Now CM has learnt to keep her mouth shut in situations like this. Except CM's expressions gets the better of her sometimes. To CM it obviously does not matter if her company has acquired the project of a client who sells overpriced (and overhyped) handbags or a client who sells toilet cleaners as long as it means that her company gets revenues and profits which percolates down to her. Just one sentence escapes CM's lips. "Ofcourse. Since they will be giving us LADIES free stuff."

Everyone in the room starts laughing. CM wonders if they are laughing at the sarcasm or they think that is actually funny.

Kalki - Salute

No one says it better than her

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JF0_dGYeSEk

Belated Happy New Year 2016

It is another new year. People all over the globe have celebrated absolutely nothing changing. It is not like the refugee crisis will  eradicate, or the giant chemical/automobile/oil corporations of the world will start investing more money in solving global warming. Last year it was Lahore,Paris, Baghdad, and this year it was Pathankot,Turkey, Kenya. The ISIS-s and the Boka Harems and the Pakistan militants. and the Maobadis they will all exist just like the head of nations and all of us, the normal regular people, be sacrificed as collateral damage.

A world where children are slaughtered in the name of religion, women are raped, mutilated, burned without any hesitation for sport, where men are killed because of what he eats, needs to change. There needs to be an upheaval. Every single one of us, the normal collateral expendables, need to stand against injustice and speak up, for each other and for ourselves. We cannot keep on hiding anymore behind fear, behind societal diktats. And when that change happens, when we can truly identify ourselves as decent human beings that is when we should celebrate.

My Experience in Amreeci Village : Pujo 2015

This is my first Pujo where I have not spent a single day in Kolkata. I was depressed to say the least. I was homesick to the point I could physically feel it in the pit of my stomach. I am not a religious person at all. But Pujo is so much more than just a religious festival. It is almost a tradition. It is my roots. It is nostalgia. It is my childhood and my growing up. Pujo is a part of every single person's life living in Kolkata and I am sure the rest of Bengal. It is a feeling an indescribable feel-good feeling.

ASP and VP who live in the nearby village of Parsiappany in NJ told me that there are some Pujos nearby them. Not Pujo on the Pujo day. But 5 days of Pujo crammed into one and a half days. But I thought to myself. It would still be Pujo So it was decided that I would go over to their house and go over I did last weekend.

So we got our "tickets" to the most famous Pujo that there is in New Jersey. Yes. You have to get "tickets" worth $60 per head per day to be able to even get a glimpse of Ma. If you do not have your "ticket" ( represented by a band on your hand ) the very Amreeci bouncers standing on the doorway will NOT let you enter to even get a glimpse of Ma. ( To be fair I have heard it is not the same in other pujos across the country. )

So the day comes and we put on our ethnic outfits and set about to go see Ma. I was feeling a little better because if Durga Pujo is there can Kolkata be far behind? But the Pujo itself made me feel a million times more depressed. It was not Pujo at all. There was no Pujo feeling. It was just a podium for fashion show. An annual display of the Dhakais and Jamdanis and Kanjeeverams along with the latest on P.C Chandra and Anjali Jewellers.  I am not kidding when I say that there was an actual booth for P.C Chandra jewellers along with booths for expensive saris and punjabis. In the sub zero temperature(-4 C to be exact) it was a show of backless cholis, slinky blouses, and flat abs peeking behind transparent pallus. Ma was there as a backdrop for taking pictures. I went and stood in front of the idols to just hang my head and reminiscence. In like about 2 seconds I heard, 'Young lady can you please move to the side?" because Ganesh was being dismantled. The hall had to be cleared for the concert to follow. So bye bye Bhagwan. " Asche bochor abar hobe."

The Pujor adda was there in the form of gossip (which was sort of right on track). But the adda had its own added forced accent. Why is it that people don't get that it is very easy to differentiate between a natural accent and a forced accent ? And speaking Bangla as if it will break your teeth is far FAR from appealing.

I ended up being even more depressed after going to that Pujo. The saving graces were ASP. (The moment she entered she was like "P you will not like this Pujo. This is EXACTLY like Bangalore Pujo") , the "Desh pujobarshiki", the not so yummy Fish Fry and the very yummy Shammi Kebab.

My experience in the Amreecan Village : My two recent brush with the Amreeci security.

It is summer and the season of sight seeing in this country. It is like everyone is out and about and obviously I have to be out too. Even though I am still limping around with a giant leg brace. So last weekend VP, ASP and I along with RR (one of VP's friends) decided to pay the Lady herself a visit. We had to get on the cruise from Liberty Park NJ and there was a security screening set up. After having to walk for about 20 mins from the parking lot to the security screening my leg was already giving away. In the line I kept my bag in the designated tray for me. The security guards notices my brace and this is the conversation that followed.

SG : Mam you will need to take off your braces.
Me : I cannot walk if I take them off.
SG : Please stand there mam.

Then they waited for a woman security officer to come. In the meanwhile the whole line behind me was held up. A female security officer arrives. I was wearing shorts, a cotton blouse, a scarf, glasses and sandals.

SG : Mam take off your scarf and your glasses.
Me : My glasses?
SG : Yes Mam.
Me : OK.

I take all these things off and put them in a tray.

SG : Please take off your shoes mam.
Me : I need to sit in order to take my shoes off.

At this point ASP crosses over and helps me with my shoes.

SG : Do you have a belt mam ? Is there anything in your pocket mam.
Me : No

I cross through the metal detector and the female security officer pats me down. She puts her hands as far as it would go under my shirt and under my shorts. Then she gives me a chair, asks me to sit and take my braces off so that they can screen the braces through the xray machine once again.



This time while coming back through JFK my experience with the immigration was rather amusing as well. I was already in a wheel chair when the officer started asking me a bunch of question. I am just jotting down the interesting portions of that conversation.

O : So what do you do here ?
Me : I work for IBM.
O : I can see that. What sort of work?
Me : ( At this point I am thinking, just because you have a computer in front of you does not mean you will understand anything about Middleware Administration ) I am a Middleware Web Content Developer and Administrator.
O : Where do you stay mam?
Me : I give him my address.
O : Why are you going to NJ from here if you live in PA?
Me : My friend lives there and I am going to crash at her place because of the knee and all.
O : (After a minute of silence) So where are you coming from.
Me : India
O : Did something happen to you in India ?
Me : Excuse me?
O : Are you here for treatment and recovery ?
Me : No. Something happened to me here and I went to India for treatment and recovery.
O : ( Another minute of silence and then looking at the airport staff who was helping me ) She can go now.


On this Liberty Island trip we also went to Ellis Island. Not much has changed between then and now. The Amereeci sarkaar still treats the immigrants as aliens. Not good enough for human status. But as their own documentary says, America was and still is a "Country of Immigrants." That is what sometimes makes it bearable to stay away from family and friends. And just because no matter what, we should always have that sense of humour, here is a happy. smiley picture with the Lady Liberty in the background.

The Transaero Experience : Amreeca to India

I like bargains. Always have. Always will. In Kolkata I am an expert haggler when it comes to street-side shopping. I think it is a genetic gift from my mother. My friends usually stay away from me and pretend that they do not recognize me when I am in the middle of a heated bargaining session. I once managed to get a pajama for free from a Gariahat vendor. He was so frustrated with my bargaining that he said "Ei nin. Tahole free tei niye jan"( Just take it for free.) He was obviously trying to be sarcastic. He did not realize that I would actually put the pajama in my bag and start walking. In my defence he did say it.

So while coming back from Amreeca for my 3 and a half week of breather to Kolkata I was looking for a bargain. And I landed on Transaero Airlines. It was atleast 500 bucks cheaper than its closest competitor. No one in my circle of family, or friends, or colleagues knew or even heard about it.  Before confirming my ticket I googled Transaero and Moscow airport thoroughly. I saw that it had below average rating and most of it was because of poor in-flight entertainment.

Well here is my experience flying Transaero. The good, the bad and the ugly(which was probably not the airlines fault).

Flight from JFK to Moscow
============================================

1. I, owing to my very famous right operated leg, had taken wheelchair assistance. KB was flying with me which was a big big big humoungous help. I requested for a wheelchair at the checkin counter before getting the boarding pass. We were told by many that we displayed amazing ignorance by not doing a web check in, but even then we did get seats side by side in both the flights. The staff was quite considerate about it. After waiting for about 10 minutes I got a wheelchair.
2. As KB put it, my pain was her gain. Thanks to the wheelchair we breezed through security, and the staff was nice enough to stop at a restroom for me. He wheeled me right to the gate. Just before boarding started for everyone else another wheelchair appeared and they wheeled me to the gates of the flight.
3.  The flight was clean and full. The stewards and stewardesses were very good looking. The issue was their English was a little broken. They took my crutch and stowed it away safely.
4. After the flight was in flight(I am not sure if that is a tautological error) everyone got blankets but no pillows. Now this was bizzare. I specifically asked for pillows and they explained that pillows were only for babies. That is  bad according to me. In a long 9 hour long flight you should provide pillows to your flyers.
5. The in-flight entertainment had a host of popular Hollywood movies and shows. Each seat had its own personal video screen. The catch. Everything was in Russian with no subtitles. This was not a very big issue for me because I had my own entertainment. KB.
6. The food on this flight was actually quite good. There were a big group of orthodox Jewish students flying and the flight had special Kosher meals for them.
I had an interesting conversation with the flight attendants before I got my lunch.
Pretty Flight Attendant (in broken English) : You ordered special veg mean.
Me : No
PFA : Yes you did.
Me : No
PFA : But it says you did.
Me : Ok give me the veg dish.
PFA : But we no have veg dish. We only have fish dish.

I got fish a-la-kiev with mashed potatoes which was quite tasty. They served a veg salad which had a piece of ham in it. There were two breads. My advice. Do not eat them. And a bar of chocolate.

They served a second meal. I took eggs and sausages which was again quite tasty. KB took french toast. She was not a fan.

There was tea, coffee, different kind of juices and soda but no ginger ale. I did not see any alcohol. (On a completely different note. I have decided to take Thumbs Up from Kolkata and bring back Ginger Ale from the US)
7. My seat was perfect with enough leg space even for my broken leg. KB's backrest kept on sliding back even when the button was not pressed.
8. The flight was smooth and the landing applause worthy. It was also in time.
9. As mentioned there was a bunch of pubescent Jewish boys on the flight. Even in all their orthodox finery they were indisciplined monsters. I wanted to throw them off the flight. These were a bunch of typical "badhe baapke bigde huye aulad" They would hit my leg and murmer sorry and continue to do the same. They hit KB while she was sleeping. They also decided the spot just in front of our seat was the coolest place to hangout. they were loud and unruly and their caretakers were useless. I wish the flight attendants handled the situation better and made them quieten down for the other passengers.


Flight from  Moscow to New Delhi
============================================

1. The way Moscow airport got me in the flight is what sci-fi movies are made up off. The flight was from Gate 37. The staff got me out of Gate 21. Then a ramp came down and I was put in the ramp along with my wheelchair. The ramp automatically started moving and I was inside a truck. Te truck drove straight to the plane. Then the whole truck with everyone inside lifted up. Another ramp came out till the door of the flight. It was just oh-so-cool.
2. This one was a smaller flight and was completely empty. The staff (who again really pretty Russians with broken English) were nice enough and let me take a seat in the middle where there were three seats so that I could stretch my legs. I ended up completely lying down.
3. We got the blankets but this time KB took matters into her own hands and found the stash of pillows and got us a couple.
4. The in-flight entertainment was non-existant in the form of a giant screen at the front of the flight which showed whatever the pilot fancied I guess.
5. As for food I got chicken for myself and KB got fish. The chicken with rice was rathar nice a version of Lila Majumdar's pishpash with boiled carrots. The fish was apparently quite bad. This time also there veg salad had a giant chunk of raw fish. I am not sure what else they served because I slept through that. And ofcourse there was tea, coffee, juices and sodas.
6. The flight was before time and the landing once again impeccable.
7. As soon as I landed in Delhi there was a staff with a wheelchair for me. We were at the extreme last gate and this is something I would like to mention specifically. I offered him cash, because I thought this is India and all that. He did not take it. He said "Thank You Ma'am. I was only doing my job."

When I was flying back to Kolkata from New Delhi via Indigo, both the staff was actually expecting me to pay them for pushing me in the wheelchair.

All in all I would actually recommend Transaero. Carry your own entertainment and stock up on some food. From functionality, safety, security, punctuality and cost effectiveness, it is a good choice. I will confirm my opinion after I return to the States. I have my tickets on the same flight.

P.S. - Moscow airport does not accept Dollars. It only accepts Rubles and some shops might accept Credit Cards. Best is to have some Russian currency with you. 1 Russian Ruble == 1.15 INR.