another picnic another year and so shall we wait for the next picnic the next year.
so we had our picnic. Friday 19th February 2010. an interesting picnic but boring. an exciting picnic but tame. a picnic with a lot of people but no much participation. a bar open from morning but failing to rock. lot of group activities but isolated happenings. a non-stop servicing kitchen but a silent one. new faces new entrants new guests and less of old faces old guests. a lot of hoi-hullor but less of bonhomie. the day outside was hot and inside it was frigid. an exuberant picnic but less on spontaneous content. there was warmth but cloaked by responsibility implementation with precision. but on the whole we had a nice day if not a great day. unfortunately 2009 picnic was miles ahead in all parameters.
i am sure the time frames were maintained since by the time the Al-Sohar gang reached at half past ten breakfast was well on its way. can any one educate me as to why all picnics which have luchi/ puri on the menu is always generously oil-soaked.i am sure if the luchis of this picnic were dehydrated then the oil generated would have been enough to cook for the entire garrison of fauji-bhais guarding our borders. the breakfast spread was pretty impressive and all went about it as a true bangali would love to do when they see food.
the studs immediately got down to their games. beer can in one hand, cricket bat in the other and the-world-in-my-pocket grade battting skiils on their lips. yours truly was duped into umpiring a game of which he has absolutely no clue about. my umpiring decisions reminded me of exams in J.U. " hall-collections". some where down the game the score keeping went haywire and the discussions were more on if the team batting scored 78 or 36.
but boys will remain boys and the adrenalin needs to rush more so when its catalyzed by spirits. the game continued only the size of the ball changed. i still think if it was not for the dada effect we the bongs would have stayed loyal to our football. the game got on well. i am sure this match was not FIFA accredited or else the goal post width would not have started altering with such alarming regularity.the game was fun with pinaki manna creating a buffoon of himself and biplob using both his hands and legs with equal dexterity.
the kids games and the women;s brigade yap-yap-yap went on parallel. and then came the mach-bhaja. bongs show their true colors when confronted with fish and today was no different either. mach-bhaja laced with vodka and frequent discussions by the kids who in their game of treasure hunt were pestering for all sorts of things from the banal Toyota car keys and credit cards to the absurd 200 baiza notes and neem leaves. why and how we got conned by sanjoy for another round of football under the glaring sun till beats me. a small round of an audio visual quiz cave way to lunch. muri-ghonto being the special attraction.done every enthusiastically and well accepted.
then it all went to mute mode. a weekly holiday. late lunch and most of the bongo sontans wanted to get home and sleep. kallol did a painstakingly slow prize distribution and then a photo session with the sun right on our faces, the picnic ended.
but comrades where was the fun? where were the group happenings ? isolated events how ever spectacular make a picnic but not a great picnic. does one remember last year when post lunch all sat down and had great singing sessions. the picnic this year was nice and fun but a common denominator binding the entire proceedings as a single unit was missing. possibly next year we we shall re-evolve.
(the views posted by the author is his own and has no links to any feelings of any other alumni.... the writer stands by his views)
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Finally its over.....
it was 27th Nov, time around 2230 hrs, outside the Muscat International airport departure lounge, six of us just said almost together.... "finally its all over. the curtain ends here for sanskriti 2009, hopefully they will catch the flight and have a safe landing in Mumbai".
we still remember the afternoon, when Indranil'da called up almost a dozen of artists from his blackberry (while I was only wondering who would be paying the bills !!) and got quotation from almost all. In parallel Kallol had the quotation from rest of the artists, which we missed out. at the end of the day, we had a detailed worksheet with artist and their package cost..a wonderful database to share with similar aspirants.
We had Mr Anindya (chandrabindoo fame) roaming around in goa but eager to come over to muscat possibly in a return trip from Doha to Subhamita, Lopamudra and also Mr Pratik who was quite rightly concerned about the fittings of economy class chairs !
After a brief screening the fight was between 'loaps' and 'subha', by then we all had our short cuts. subha was a winner considering her background and recent performances
Days went by and we rehearsed for those 40 mins a million times, though it was cut short to 30 mins at the last moment. we started on the D-day right on time, some people must have had a look at their watch and could not believed their eyes for sure ! A program starting sharp at 1930 hrs in muscat !
The show went well. kids under the guidence of Indrani'di looked absolutely brilliant in their colored costume. Indrani'di was at her best in chadraboli. Songs also went off quite well. Presence of 14 member chorus team on stage with the support from another 48 member and their families looked quite evident and then subha took over with her breathtaking and strong voice. But the night was made with those two numbers of Tagore's, where the entire audience sung with her. It could not have been better with those 600+ voices chanting the prayer.
The Sanskriti was full of surprises for sure, starting till end it surprised many......from failure in medical test (by kolkata test centres) of artists who are traveling all over the world,......to ....alladin like solution to their visa ....to.... some excellent effort by each member to get sponsorers.....to......distribution of cards to reach every interested people in muscat ...to ....the last minute cancellation of chorus number .....to .....wonderfully encrypted opening song on someone's palm ("chotha") ....to.....the goof up during the much awaited website launch .....to....whole audience suddenly invited by Subhamita to sing along our finale song "purono sei diner katha"....we will remember Sanskriti for all such funny moments...true....ektu na charale ki aar sanskriti hai.....
The program was crisp, and it finished at 2230 hrs leaving people enough time to catch up the Thursday late night parties for sure. We took a sigh of relief, as all went off quite well. We all had our share of agony and joy and finally we celebrated sanskriti wearing our own T-shirt with logo of JU Alumni, Oman chapter with a promise to come back again year after year........
cheers,
sanjoy
we still remember the afternoon, when Indranil'da called up almost a dozen of artists from his blackberry (while I was only wondering who would be paying the bills !!) and got quotation from almost all. In parallel Kallol had the quotation from rest of the artists, which we missed out. at the end of the day, we had a detailed worksheet with artist and their package cost..a wonderful database to share with similar aspirants.
We had Mr Anindya (chandrabindoo fame) roaming around in goa but eager to come over to muscat possibly in a return trip from Doha to Subhamita, Lopamudra and also Mr Pratik who was quite rightly concerned about the fittings of economy class chairs !
After a brief screening the fight was between 'loaps' and 'subha', by then we all had our short cuts. subha was a winner considering her background and recent performances
Days went by and we rehearsed for those 40 mins a million times, though it was cut short to 30 mins at the last moment. we started on the D-day right on time, some people must have had a look at their watch and could not believed their eyes for sure ! A program starting sharp at 1930 hrs in muscat !
The show went well. kids under the guidence of Indrani'di looked absolutely brilliant in their colored costume. Indrani'di was at her best in chadraboli. Songs also went off quite well. Presence of 14 member chorus team on stage with the support from another 48 member and their families looked quite evident and then subha took over with her breathtaking and strong voice. But the night was made with those two numbers of Tagore's, where the entire audience sung with her. It could not have been better with those 600+ voices chanting the prayer.
The Sanskriti was full of surprises for sure, starting till end it surprised many......from failure in medical test (by kolkata test centres) of artists who are traveling all over the world,......to ....alladin like solution to their visa ....to.... some excellent effort by each member to get sponsorers.....to......distribution of cards to reach every interested people in muscat ...to ....the last minute cancellation of chorus number .....to .....wonderfully encrypted opening song on someone's palm ("chotha") ....to.....the goof up during the much awaited website launch .....to....whole audience suddenly invited by Subhamita to sing along our finale song "purono sei diner katha"....we will remember Sanskriti for all such funny moments...true....ektu na charale ki aar sanskriti hai.....
The program was crisp, and it finished at 2230 hrs leaving people enough time to catch up the Thursday late night parties for sure. We took a sigh of relief, as all went off quite well. We all had our share of agony and joy and finally we celebrated sanskriti wearing our own T-shirt with logo of JU Alumni, Oman chapter with a promise to come back again year after year........
cheers,
sanjoy
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Ektu na choraley aar sanskriti ki korey hoy
so finally we held our annual extravaganza Sanskriti '09 in tru style.
as i entered the Grand Hall of Al Falaj Hotel i was greeted by a place ready for a show. the stage and sound system had been set up, the ambiance created, great vinyl visuals spread across walls and seating arrangements looked neat. A block of pansy pink chairs complimented the baby blue colored plastic chairs as well... so we were all set.
people started trooping in as time progressed in all their finery. each trying to out dazzle the other. the green room was a hub activity and the kids getting decked up for their finale. Quite a few members including me were stupid enough to wear the Alumni T's. others back stabbed by wearing what they felt and the excuses were many. from the banal to the absurd. The participants could be possibly be excused as they were in a pre determined uniform but a few like shanatonu and sanjoy did get into their Alumni T's after the program. Others did not feel it important.
The show finally did start with a very well orchestrated opening song. " Alok er ei jhorna dharay dhuiyey dao.. The President gave a short but bland speech. Apart from the fact it was barely audible it also warranted some major editing and fine tunings. Jayeeta played her role to near perfection. But then came the first goof up. The Chief Guest was presented a bouquet with all our love but in total darkness. Possibly our love outshines the darkness or who ever was in charge of lights must have messed up big time.
then came a series of in-house programs. songs dances et all. after a long long time i did see an in-house program executed with such levels of finesse. the chorus sang in great co-ordinated tune. You could have actually requested them to sing again such was a resounding effect. The kids just peaked at the right moment . not a step out of place not a wrong move by any errant kid. though the gaps between the dancers in Kacher churi was a glaring eye-sore, but on the whole it deserves the highest level of salutation. in the same song when the kids fell in line for a open lotus formation the lights dimmed and by the time the lights re-energized the formation was history. a great synchronization lost to clarity by some faulty light
play.
Our website which we were tom-toming with great publicity went online officially and then by the time if could start happening on the giant screen, the curtains opened mysteriously exposing a group of musicians tuning their instruments. a clap followed signalling the website launching. This was tragic. sanjoy spent nights awake getting this in place and awaiting a grand unveiling and suddenly it was rudely cut short by the curtains which decided to part open. Sanjoy was obviously disturbed and was murmuring choicest expletives which i would refrain from posting as it would be too damn unparliamentary.
with a hall occupancy strength of nearly 1000, we had at peak almost 80% occupancy which itself is a feat and starting almost bang on time will go down in history as the impossible achieved. well you have to thank the guy whose voice over commenced the program. he did his part bang on time.
the interval followed and chaos as well.. would shubahmita take 10 more minutes or 10minutes as asked for 5 minutes ago? a lot of permutations were worked out and the 10 minute break was cut down by a few minutes.
Shubahmita took stage, and slowly within an hour people started trooping out. I am given to understand that a lot of people are going back to native land but not all. it again goes to prove that a good singer need not necessarily be a great crowd singer. i did sit for about an hour listening on and off to her soft nasal voice with high pitched spikes, and understood as to why slowly people were getting ready to be on the move. Shubahmita may be a very accomplished singer and a great voice and may be the top draw, but ashor jomatey parey nee... Songs in a good voice but that's all.
she is no legend. and she does not have the inborn inputs in her to be one. so if she is adamant on not singing any songs but hers her road show is going to end very soon. she may be a good playback singer and recording discs but that's it. in an interactive program she just cant get the crowd with her. she has to learn to lean on popular songs by legends of yest-er-years if she needs to survive in this dog-eat-bitch world.
a very plain and placid program. no foot tapping music or even no mesmerising soul stirring numbers or enchanting classical mood created. just another program in her list and some moolah in her bank account.
the brilliance of our in-house program was far far better and miles ahead. i am not demeaning Shubamita, she must be a good singer but not a program jomanor material. and in a barowari program that is what counts.
as i entered the Grand Hall of Al Falaj Hotel i was greeted by a place ready for a show. the stage and sound system had been set up, the ambiance created, great vinyl visuals spread across walls and seating arrangements looked neat. A block of pansy pink chairs complimented the baby blue colored plastic chairs as well... so we were all set.
people started trooping in as time progressed in all their finery. each trying to out dazzle the other. the green room was a hub activity and the kids getting decked up for their finale. Quite a few members including me were stupid enough to wear the Alumni T's. others back stabbed by wearing what they felt and the excuses were many. from the banal to the absurd. The participants could be possibly be excused as they were in a pre determined uniform but a few like shanatonu and sanjoy did get into their Alumni T's after the program. Others did not feel it important.
The show finally did start with a very well orchestrated opening song. " Alok er ei jhorna dharay dhuiyey dao.. The President gave a short but bland speech. Apart from the fact it was barely audible it also warranted some major editing and fine tunings. Jayeeta played her role to near perfection. But then came the first goof up. The Chief Guest was presented a bouquet with all our love but in total darkness. Possibly our love outshines the darkness or who ever was in charge of lights must have messed up big time.
then came a series of in-house programs. songs dances et all. after a long long time i did see an in-house program executed with such levels of finesse. the chorus sang in great co-ordinated tune. You could have actually requested them to sing again such was a resounding effect. The kids just peaked at the right moment . not a step out of place not a wrong move by any errant kid. though the gaps between the dancers in Kacher churi was a glaring eye-sore, but on the whole it deserves the highest level of salutation. in the same song when the kids fell in line for a open lotus formation the lights dimmed and by the time the lights re-energized the formation was history. a great synchronization lost to clarity by some faulty light
play.
Our website which we were tom-toming with great publicity went online officially and then by the time if could start happening on the giant screen, the curtains opened mysteriously exposing a group of musicians tuning their instruments. a clap followed signalling the website launching. This was tragic. sanjoy spent nights awake getting this in place and awaiting a grand unveiling and suddenly it was rudely cut short by the curtains which decided to part open. Sanjoy was obviously disturbed and was murmuring choicest expletives which i would refrain from posting as it would be too damn unparliamentary.
with a hall occupancy strength of nearly 1000, we had at peak almost 80% occupancy which itself is a feat and starting almost bang on time will go down in history as the impossible achieved. well you have to thank the guy whose voice over commenced the program. he did his part bang on time.
the interval followed and chaos as well.. would shubahmita take 10 more minutes or 10minutes as asked for 5 minutes ago? a lot of permutations were worked out and the 10 minute break was cut down by a few minutes.
Shubahmita took stage, and slowly within an hour people started trooping out. I am given to understand that a lot of people are going back to native land but not all. it again goes to prove that a good singer need not necessarily be a great crowd singer. i did sit for about an hour listening on and off to her soft nasal voice with high pitched spikes, and understood as to why slowly people were getting ready to be on the move. Shubahmita may be a very accomplished singer and a great voice and may be the top draw, but ashor jomatey parey nee... Songs in a good voice but that's all.
she is no legend. and she does not have the inborn inputs in her to be one. so if she is adamant on not singing any songs but hers her road show is going to end very soon. she may be a good playback singer and recording discs but that's it. in an interactive program she just cant get the crowd with her. she has to learn to lean on popular songs by legends of yest-er-years if she needs to survive in this dog-eat-bitch world.
a very plain and placid program. no foot tapping music or even no mesmerising soul stirring numbers or enchanting classical mood created. just another program in her list and some moolah in her bank account.
the brilliance of our in-house program was far far better and miles ahead. i am not demeaning Shubamita, she must be a good singer but not a program jomanor material. and in a barowari program that is what counts.
D-day
so today 26th november 2009 is D day.
as twilight envelops the day, we shall unveil our own festival. sanskriti '09.
the kids waking up in anticipation and a bit nervous as well.. would there be perfect synchronization ? would all the steps be in memory? would every thing be all right?
the singers waking up to endless round of steaming beverages to hone their vocal chords. today is their day and they are going to proove it.
the daneusse Indrani possibly thinking oh just another show as she walks the steps in her mind.
the support staff of different spheres waking up to tensions. what iof there is a black out ? what if the lap top crashes ? what if the light systems dont work in compatibility to the commands they are given ? what if there is a terrible traffic jam and shubhamita gets delayed to reach venue ?
women folk and quite a few of the men waking up, sitting on the daily throne, and in the solitude of the wash room wondering what best to wear for the function tonight ? would it turn heads ? would that be discussed in envy later ? are the accessories readily reachable? does anything needs to be ironed ?
a myraid of thoughts apprehensions excitement and impatience while we await the evening....
and amidts all this and as this blog gets penned Shubhamita remains in deep slumber after reaching the wrong side of the arabian sea.....
as twilight envelops the day, we shall unveil our own festival. sanskriti '09.
the kids waking up in anticipation and a bit nervous as well.. would there be perfect synchronization ? would all the steps be in memory? would every thing be all right?
the singers waking up to endless round of steaming beverages to hone their vocal chords. today is their day and they are going to proove it.
the daneusse Indrani possibly thinking oh just another show as she walks the steps in her mind.
the support staff of different spheres waking up to tensions. what iof there is a black out ? what if the lap top crashes ? what if the light systems dont work in compatibility to the commands they are given ? what if there is a terrible traffic jam and shubhamita gets delayed to reach venue ?
women folk and quite a few of the men waking up, sitting on the daily throne, and in the solitude of the wash room wondering what best to wear for the function tonight ? would it turn heads ? would that be discussed in envy later ? are the accessories readily reachable? does anything needs to be ironed ?
a myraid of thoughts apprehensions excitement and impatience while we await the evening....
and amidts all this and as this blog gets penned Shubhamita remains in deep slumber after reaching the wrong side of the arabian sea.....
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Kudos
As i write this, preparations are on for the final stage rehearsals for Sanskriti '09 of J.U. Alumni Oman.. As i was a part of the first meeting that conceptualized the program and being see it implemented through its various stages i must respect and admire the efforts of all the alumni who made it happen. It was in my personal incapacity to be in the thick of things as logistics was a critical culprit. I blame myself alone for it.. but...
Kudos to the kids that are putting up a brave front in show-casing their talents. they deserve every bit of adulation.
Kudos to the members and their spouses who have energetically spent time in fine tuning their capabilities and honing their skills for the finale slated for the 26th.
Kudos to the people who went about in the most professional and disciplined manner interfacing with the media, the visibility factors, spreading the invites amongst the junta and ensuring that all corners are taken care off.
Kudos to those members who are engaged in the actual ground logistics.. waking up at odd hours to receive our guests and ensuring that their needs are taken care off.
Kudos to the members who have extended their capacity to garner resources for financing this program. without the actual help of a few who have crossed the 4-figure mark in O-Riyals and the rest this program would have been a non-starter unless we dipped into our kitty.
Kudos to those members and their families who hosted all the rehearsals and patiently waited on the participants to make them feel at home and at ease.
Kudos to the Sanjoy and Kallol for their co-ordination and having a firm grip on he entire proceedings so that it does not spin out of control in any of the parameters.
Special Kudos to Sanjoy and his back-end support team for getting the web page designed and populated.i am sure this has been a great learning experience for him and in the process his knowledge of codes could trigger another Dan Brown thriller.
in short Kudos to all the members and their families and to all our well wishers our support structures our sponsors our local guests et all who all clapped cohesively together to make this a great encore.
J.U. Alumni Oman Rockz....... there's no second opinion on that !!!!
Kudos to the kids that are putting up a brave front in show-casing their talents. they deserve every bit of adulation.
Kudos to the members and their spouses who have energetically spent time in fine tuning their capabilities and honing their skills for the finale slated for the 26th.
Kudos to the people who went about in the most professional and disciplined manner interfacing with the media, the visibility factors, spreading the invites amongst the junta and ensuring that all corners are taken care off.
Kudos to those members who are engaged in the actual ground logistics.. waking up at odd hours to receive our guests and ensuring that their needs are taken care off.
Kudos to the members who have extended their capacity to garner resources for financing this program. without the actual help of a few who have crossed the 4-figure mark in O-Riyals and the rest this program would have been a non-starter unless we dipped into our kitty.
Kudos to those members and their families who hosted all the rehearsals and patiently waited on the participants to make them feel at home and at ease.
Kudos to the Sanjoy and Kallol for their co-ordination and having a firm grip on he entire proceedings so that it does not spin out of control in any of the parameters.
Special Kudos to Sanjoy and his back-end support team for getting the web page designed and populated.i am sure this has been a great learning experience for him and in the process his knowledge of codes could trigger another Dan Brown thriller.
in short Kudos to all the members and their families and to all our well wishers our support structures our sponsors our local guests et all who all clapped cohesively together to make this a great encore.
J.U. Alumni Oman Rockz....... there's no second opinion on that !!!!
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
it is quite amusing to note that till date i am the sole joker who keeps on scribbling his nonsensical musings in this forum. People have been invited to post in various levels of accessed formats but not a line ever emits from any one. Of course i agree that all are busy people and have the world to save rather than spend priceless time on trivia. So i seem to be the only vagabond with no destination and pre-occupation in store consuming up megabytes and aiming for gigabytes.
which takes one to a vital issue of how many of the alumnus do really read the mails that our co-coordinators do keep sending with reasonable regularity. A casual discussion across the spectrum revealed that most see the subject matter and read the first couple of lines and then deduce what could follow. i know, we bongs are very imaginative and love to deduce and then construe a world of our own. Sujoy Ghosh's directorial venture Aladdin is a great example of imagination running wild and then totally out of control.
but then we the J.U. alumnus have sailed to an alien land from our safe haven with apprehension and excitement to Sinbad land, just as the legendary explorer had carried out his seven journeys to the unknown. So we all are busy saving the world, delivering the world, and our achievements being the only beacon of light emating from the Sultanate of Oman. So where does one have time to get a bit more into such pursuits apart from an annual program.
yes we are all busy... but it does remind me of a small incident which unfolded in our house decades ago. in a casual family get-together to informally introduce my newly wedded wife to the junta there were some impromptu cultural oriented events happening. one of my uncle was reading out his recently written poems... as the program winded on, my cousins and their friends who were also present were requested if they would like to present some thing. the entire clan of my cousin and his buddies being chartered accountants commented that they were in the financial domain and hence no time for pursuing all such activities. to which my uncle replied very casually, that he being one of the senior most engineer with M.N. Dsatoor & Co: and in charge of several projects across the country finds ample time for other recreations.
and that friends is the crux of the story. its not about time and preoccupation. its about inclination interest and desire. so the next time when you say that you find no time, it would be prudent to re-alter your statement to state that you are not inclined. Because from Obama to Osama from Manmohan Singh to Manmohan Desai from Tom Cruise to Tom Alter every one finds time to indulge in what they would want to ..albeit to what ever levels possible.... so paucity of time is the most lamest of excuses. Please think some thing wiser or better still.. come and join us.....
which takes one to a vital issue of how many of the alumnus do really read the mails that our co-coordinators do keep sending with reasonable regularity. A casual discussion across the spectrum revealed that most see the subject matter and read the first couple of lines and then deduce what could follow. i know, we bongs are very imaginative and love to deduce and then construe a world of our own. Sujoy Ghosh's directorial venture Aladdin is a great example of imagination running wild and then totally out of control.
but then we the J.U. alumnus have sailed to an alien land from our safe haven with apprehension and excitement to Sinbad land, just as the legendary explorer had carried out his seven journeys to the unknown. So we all are busy saving the world, delivering the world, and our achievements being the only beacon of light emating from the Sultanate of Oman. So where does one have time to get a bit more into such pursuits apart from an annual program.
yes we are all busy... but it does remind me of a small incident which unfolded in our house decades ago. in a casual family get-together to informally introduce my newly wedded wife to the junta there were some impromptu cultural oriented events happening. one of my uncle was reading out his recently written poems... as the program winded on, my cousins and their friends who were also present were requested if they would like to present some thing. the entire clan of my cousin and his buddies being chartered accountants commented that they were in the financial domain and hence no time for pursuing all such activities. to which my uncle replied very casually, that he being one of the senior most engineer with M.N. Dsatoor & Co: and in charge of several projects across the country finds ample time for other recreations.
and that friends is the crux of the story. its not about time and preoccupation. its about inclination interest and desire. so the next time when you say that you find no time, it would be prudent to re-alter your statement to state that you are not inclined. Because from Obama to Osama from Manmohan Singh to Manmohan Desai from Tom Cruise to Tom Alter every one finds time to indulge in what they would want to ..albeit to what ever levels possible.... so paucity of time is the most lamest of excuses. Please think some thing wiser or better still.. come and join us.....
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
we are having a series of meetings as a build-up to the Sanskriti'09 and i have had the pleasure in attending a few of those. i love being in these meetings. they are hilarious the bonhomie excellent the singara acid-inducing and everything from classical issues to the banal are discussed with the same yard stick.
a serious discussion on internal logistics of the troupe some how meandered to the "mongoldeep" and the paraphernalia around it. it suddenly became of critical importance if a small centre table was required for the main dignitary. of course all said collectively. so a table was added to the list. but how can there be a table without a cover? so a table-cloth came on. but would it not look awful if a vase of flower does not adorn the table? of course !!! would fresh flowers be required or plastic would do? and while all this was being analyzed on a micro level Shubhamita and troupe is waiting at Seeb airport because the discussion veered from their logistics to the more serious issues about the table and flower. and Sanjoy desperately trying to bottom line the table arrangements with complimentary juice or cold drink.. which brought about another nerve-wracking issue. if a bottol of water needs to be kept who will get the glass? Yes let shubamita wait at the arrival lounge. we are busy with the glass indenting. and then the bomb of the discussion agenda.... the lighting of the lamp requires a source of fire and who will get the lighter? this discussion carried on for some time and i am sure the cave men took lesser time to invent fire than we took to get a lighter planned out.
Shubamita can still wait. of course there were cross-discussions as well. Amitava-da and abhijit were on a linguistic trip and debating if numero-uno was more European than numero-eins. i was personally more concerned about the ordering of the biriyani which was supposed to follow the meeting....
finally shubhamita was escorted out and managed to elevate herself from a pick-up van (recommended by me) to the cool confines of a sedan. but then taking her on a pleasure trip and offering her gastronomical delights was keenly discussed so that only the volunteer-guide adds to the food bill and not all the comrades.
a lot was discussed and a lot more was left undiscussed. like in all meetings, i was again chastised for speaking in my normal decibel and asked to whisper, as all were sitting just next to me and not in Timbuktoo.
Just a couple of pages in a 5 point agenda were discussed.... thank God !!!! or else the wait for the biriyani would be longer.........
P.S.
(1) the person in charge of the lighter was not categorically alerted to ensure that the lighter works. possibly another meeting with a single point agenda would be there for this.
(2) no one was roped in with a Plan B. if the lighter failed for some reason a match box had to be in place.
(3) the biriyani was not worth the wait. :( :( [[blame it on my Hyderabad biriyani eating habits]]
a serious discussion on internal logistics of the troupe some how meandered to the "mongoldeep" and the paraphernalia around it. it suddenly became of critical importance if a small centre table was required for the main dignitary. of course all said collectively. so a table was added to the list. but how can there be a table without a cover? so a table-cloth came on. but would it not look awful if a vase of flower does not adorn the table? of course !!! would fresh flowers be required or plastic would do? and while all this was being analyzed on a micro level Shubhamita and troupe is waiting at Seeb airport because the discussion veered from their logistics to the more serious issues about the table and flower. and Sanjoy desperately trying to bottom line the table arrangements with complimentary juice or cold drink.. which brought about another nerve-wracking issue. if a bottol of water needs to be kept who will get the glass? Yes let shubamita wait at the arrival lounge. we are busy with the glass indenting. and then the bomb of the discussion agenda.... the lighting of the lamp requires a source of fire and who will get the lighter? this discussion carried on for some time and i am sure the cave men took lesser time to invent fire than we took to get a lighter planned out.
Shubamita can still wait. of course there were cross-discussions as well. Amitava-da and abhijit were on a linguistic trip and debating if numero-uno was more European than numero-eins. i was personally more concerned about the ordering of the biriyani which was supposed to follow the meeting....
finally shubhamita was escorted out and managed to elevate herself from a pick-up van (recommended by me) to the cool confines of a sedan. but then taking her on a pleasure trip and offering her gastronomical delights was keenly discussed so that only the volunteer-guide adds to the food bill and not all the comrades.
a lot was discussed and a lot more was left undiscussed. like in all meetings, i was again chastised for speaking in my normal decibel and asked to whisper, as all were sitting just next to me and not in Timbuktoo.
Just a couple of pages in a 5 point agenda were discussed.... thank God !!!! or else the wait for the biriyani would be longer.........
P.S.
(1) the person in charge of the lighter was not categorically alerted to ensure that the lighter works. possibly another meeting with a single point agenda would be there for this.
(2) no one was roped in with a Plan B. if the lighter failed for some reason a match box had to be in place.
(3) the biriyani was not worth the wait. :( :( [[blame it on my Hyderabad biriyani eating habits]]
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