Let the Flower Bloom

7/28/2019 Let the Flower Bloom

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Let the flower

bloom!!

Shubhadeep Mitra


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To my mom and dad*

and

Soumen and Sarajit

*Actually, I am in this world because of them. If I wouldnt have been born, this book wouldnt have been

written.


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Acknowledgements

Firstly, thanks to my mom, dad and classmates who performed these events in reality that had helped meto write.

Special thanks to Soumen Maity and Sarajit Das the two great supporters of creation. Thanks to Mr. Nirmalya Mukherjee for taking the excruciating pain to read the entire script and edit it. Thanks to Mr. Anwar Ali for his exclusive photographic skills where he has actually proved the fact that a

donkey can be turned into a horse.

Thanks to Maqsood Sir for designing the illustration cover for me.

Thanks to Mr. Mrityunjoy Chatterjee, Principal of NSHM Institute of Media and Communication for hissupport and encouragement.

Thanks to Krishnendu Sir, Gautam Sir and Jaydeep Sir for motivating me throughout my work. Thanks to my teachers - Rajkumar Sir, Gopal Sir, Soujanya Maam,Sheerin Maam, Jhuma Maam, Sayani

Maam, Lalima Maam, Radhika Maam, Brinda Maam and Anisha Maam for their support.

I am thankful to Shayak Ghosh, Saurav Ghosh, Nayan Ghosh, Vikash Kr. Sinha, Prashant, Shivam andSoumodip Banerjee for giving me a constant support.

Thanks to Sohani Paul, Sayan Bose, Apapbidhya, Tina, Tanaya, Santu, Paras, Sohini Pradhan, Arnab Sarkar,Sunanda, Utsav, Sucheta, Christopher, Piyasa, Neha, Nikhil (Nuku), Rudra da, Debarati, Priya Sharma, Pratik

Sharma, Pratik Jain, Debajyoti, Saikat, Milon, Debmalyo Adhya and Priyanka Singh for encouraging me.

The credit also goes to all my English teachers who have been teaching me this subject over the last fifteenyears.

Thanks to all my readers (I am thanking you guys before hand) because I know it will only be dependent onyou whether my efforts will turn into a success.


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Silent Warrior

Certain emotions of mine, they

Tend to speak louder than words.

But, to express them, Im unable,

I am a silent warrior. I fight,

I loose and I fight again-

My heavy heart, Oh! My love,

Why arent you just tearing it apart?

- Shubhadeep Mitra


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Prologue

"We don't love qualities,

we love persons;

sometimes by reason of their defects

as well as of their qualities."

Jacques MaritainBeing a boy from an orthodox Bengali family and deviating from the general concept of studying

engineering and medical studies and landing up studying a professional course like under-graduate business

administration, that too from a private institution, is indeed a curse and a great obstacle for the progress andsettlement of the boy for his future.

What will he do by studying this?

Why is he just wasting money?

He is simply nothing more than a spoiled brat.

This is what certain intellectuals keep buzzing around my ears. There is no career, according to them.

Its just that the boy is wasting time and the hard-earned money of his parents. As I listen to these words,

feel like smiling and yet sometimes, these words hurt me a lot. Sometimes it seems, a rifle has been fired

pointing towards my heart and the bullet slowly kissing the cardiac muscles and the adrenaline rushing al

across my body and pain erupting from the wound and warm blood oozing out from it as if the crimson fluid

has been really tired of staying inside me. At the same time, I am helpless because I am jobless with only one

or two tuitions with a monthly earning of around thousand bucks and students, its like shouting at a donkey

to turn it into a horse.

This is my life now and above all, the biggest mistake that I have done is that I have fallen in love with

a girl who is a year junior to me. Sometimes, I try to sound a bit philosophical and say that human beings have

a tendency to fall in love but I have risen in it. I do not know why but people generally make a joke of my

philosophies except for my girl friend off course. She supports me but everyone knows that we two are the

only people in both our families who accept our love and looks for a lovely future ahead. The truth is that I do

not consider falling in love as a mistake but around me, the same intellectuals say that its the greatest

mistake of my life. Intellectuals here strictly refer to the family members of mine and not my beloved friends

and hard-working colleagues. My friends see my love as something which must lead to marriage-the so-called

eternal bonding between a boy and a girl with the main intentions of mak ing both of them a sort of Prisonersof love.

1

I am Tintin, a boy of twenty years and after spending twelve long years in school, I finally came to

study under-graduate business administration in a reputed private institute in Kolkata. That was one and a

half years back. It was really a bad news for my family because they all wanted me to be an engineer or a

doctor but I thought it was better to break their delicate hearts and do something new which no one in my

family had done before. So, I got admitted into the institute and started doing well in my studies. I crossed

three semesters and am now in the fourth.

I go to the institute regularly and I am never late for my classes. Punctuality is always at its acme and personally feel that as an upcoming manager, I have to give prime importance to time. Actually the seeds of

punctuality were planted into my heart by our coordinator on the very first day of my college due to his long

start-of-the-term speech. The truth is I feel doing classes regularly was easier than listening to his long

speeches. All my classmates heard the speech but it failed to motivate them.

In a few cases, it seemed as if the seeds fell into a hard ground and failed to germinate as they

preferred to bunk classes and visit the shopping-malls, not to buy but to spend time with friends. Some go for

movies and others, though they are in college, will not attend the class. They sit for the entire day in the tea-

shop just opposite the college and have tea and cigarettes the entire day and chat with topics which have no

link between them. Like, they will start off with politics and suddenly compare a veteran politician to a famous

hero. Then even some of them say that there are people in their locality who plays better cricket than the little


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master Sachin Tendulkar. Its great to listen to these boys and to tell the truth, during the first two semesters,

also spent the entire breaks sipping tea and listening to the chit-chats of the crowd.

Only a handful of students did regular classes and the poor coordinator, he had to run after all the

students asking them to do classes as he felt that without doing classes, it was impossible for the students to

score good marks in the exam. He failed to realize the fact that most of them had private tuitions at home. He

preferred running after them as may be he felt that it would prove the world what a serious teacher he was

but the coordinator is helpful. He is indeed a good person and he likes me a lot. He motivated me but later on

I realized that there are no other students whom he can motivate as they have ears which fail to receive the

coordinators sound waves.From the start, I was very friendly with all. I talked with them, I sat beside them but there was one boy

called Sam who won my heart. He and I became good friends within a very short span of time. Life was good

till then as I never allowed my professional and personal life to clash. Sam was actually from a business

background and his main intention of studying this course was to join the family business to expand it. Besides

doing my classes, I was also into plenty of constructive co-curricular work which I enjoyed a lot. All my subject

teachers possessed a liking for me as they felt that this boy has a future. Now to tell the truth, everyone has a

future. I am no one exceptional. All my hard work-attending regular classes, listening to the long and boring

lectures of the professors and resisting myself from going to the ultra-modern shopping malls along with the

motivations of my coordinator made me score wonderful marks in my semester exams but then, the biggest

outcome of my success in the semester exams was that Sam and I became the best friends.

The particular reason behind this was that both of us sat behind one another during the exam. So as

everyone can understand, the exam was basically a combined effort and after all, being management

students, we must always learn to work in groups. We must learn the methods of distribution of work and

Sam and I distributed the entire syllabus between us and the portions he knew well were studied by him and

the portions I knew properly were done by me. In this way, we dominated the entire batch. Moreover, Sam

and my friendship was a balanced combination of power and brains. We participated in all the events and

were doing well in our course.

Sam thinks that I am different from others. I do not know why he thinks like that. After all, I have two

eyes, two ears, one nose and one mouth and I am sure I have only a single brain. Yet, I am different. At first, it

seemed to me as if I have a tail only visible to Sam or horns but then one fine day, when I asked him why he

thought that I am different from others, he gave a very philosophical answer that I am a creative person withideas effective enough to make an elephant dance. After all, Sam is the only person who dances to my ideas.

My family members, as I had started off with college, found it really difficult to interact with me and I

made matters easy for them because I never tried to talk. They felt that I was a defeated warrior but I was

actually a dormant volcano waiting to explode to prove my worth amidst a mass of worthless fools. The only

persons at home who support me are my parents-my mom and dad. They just keep on telling me that you

have to do something.

Now, when someone tells me that I have to do something, I find it really confusing. The range of

something starts from a beggar and in my case, may end upto a rock star. Jokes apart, yes, my parents want

me to have a lovely career in the corporate world. They love me a lot and I cannot betray them. With loads of

responsibilities and always aiming to be a good human being blended with the revengeful attitude, Tintinalways wants to be at the top. Sam wants to be with him and he wants to be with Sam. So, the solution is very

simple, both Tintin and Sam share a complimentary relationship where one cannot exist without the other and

our parents and our coordinator acts as catalysts. They do not take part in the reaction themselves but

steadies the process. In one word, these people motivate us.

2

The first semester was very good and I became a seven pointer in my institute. It was really nice and

my dad was very happy. My life was becoming somewhat boring and it was then that it changed. Every girls in

my college thought that Tintin suffers from a lady-phobia and plenty of them liked me but I just saw them as


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my friends and romance, after all, is not a one-way traffic. I wanted to do well in my studies and wait for the

appropriate girl. I wished God to write a love-story for me which no one has read before.

With the start of the second semester, Sam was madly in search of a girl friend for me and throughout

the first two semesters, he kept on saying, Bro, you must have a girl friend. What is this ? There are so many

beautiful girls around you and plenty of them have a liking for you, why dont you reciprocate?

I just smiled at him and said, Dont worry dear. Just hold on. Let the appropriate time come and

everything will happen automatically.

Sam was once again very philosophical and said that the future is made by us and we must not waste

time. According to him, not falling in love is wastage of time. Very funny as it is, I followed my own principle. Itwas easier and better and the main intention of all these were life had to run smoothly. After all, it is my life.

never preferred a rough track. After the passage of time, Sam lost hope and he started concentrating in his

studies and work.

At the middle of our second semester, we became very popular in the college as we were indeed true

to our work and tried hard to do well and above all, people could rely on us. To tell the truth, I never wanted

to be popular within the institute because I was all aware of the circumstances that would follow. Where ever

you go, there would be at least a student of your college who will recognize you amidst the crowd and stop

you to chat and once again, being a management student, I was very much aware of the importance of time

and I considered this as wastage of time. Any politics and people will want you to be on their side due to the

presence of a classical concept in their mind-If you have the famous guys on your side, all battles can be won.

At last, we were helpless as we couldnt resist ourselves from doing the extra-curricular works and

performing well in the semester exams. So we became famous and the result was as we had predicted. There

were two groups-one, who looked upto our friendship and wanted to be a part of it and the other which had

pessimists who thought it was better to criticize than to do some thing creative. The aim of their life was to

spoil our work by shouting against us and they thought, doing destructive works will turn them into heroes but

it only reflected their jealousy over us. The truth, after all, was that we really did not care. The more they

shouted, the more we encouraged them to shout. They didnt understand and kept on shouting as we kept on

doing our work.

A sort of silent warriors, as we were, Sam and I kept on with our work. When the works were done,

what I disliked the most was that these people enjoyed the fruits. Sam had a different explanation to this. He

felt that those fruits would lead to indigestion and he, thus, encouraged them to have more.We were very happy and life was really nice for both of us until one day, I came to know that Sam was

in love with a girl called Sathi. She was not in our college but then, that day; it just slipped out of his tongue.

Actually, he told me again that day, See this is the last time I am asking you, will you fall in love?

Seeing me smile, he became angry and said, I am not joking. Did you get my point?

Yes. I got it, I said. I am not joking dear. Its just that time is not yet ripe for me to fall in it. You go

ahead. Why dont you fall in it? First you do and I will follow.

He was really furious this time and frowning his face, he spoke out, Fuck! Who said I am not in love?

and then he realized what a great mistake he has done. The fact was that emperors lost their empires due to

uncontrollable rage and here it was only a little man called Sam trying to shout so as to hide the truth. In other

words, he was basically trying hard to do something next to impossible. I could not believe my ears heardabout the romance of a boy who was my friend. I had been thinking throughout that Sam and I are two fellows

who will love but would never fall in it and then to make matters worse, I said, Okay thats great! Hope you

be happy with her. Come lets go to class.

Sam was very angry on me and this time, instead of shouting at me, he became very emotional and

said, How can you say me like that? We have so much in common and we are the best friends and you have

to love someone.

It seemed to me that when your best friend is in love, you also need to do the same. So odd, isnt it?

However, who knew that God had listened to our conversation and had understood the importance of

friendship as stated by the great Sam and had already started writing a love story for me?


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Inspite of all these, I just drew a few conclusions that Sam was in love and above all, he was true

about his friendship towards me. I was very happy and amidst all the happiness, I did not realize when the

second semester came to an end and I was happy to complete the first year of my college but then, I was

waiting for the result because I had to keep upto the expectations of my dad.

3

The results, yes, they came out as they had to come out and though it disappointed plenty of

students, it did not disappoint Sam and me as we both did well. Infact, I became a seven pointer again and

above all, my dad was happy. I was happy because I made my dad happy. As a seven pointer in the class, Istood third but a group of students in my class felt that I was their sole competitor. It was so disgusting to see

them fighting a long lost battle. Even some of them spoke, Why do you study so much? They were so foolish

that they never understood that I never studied so much. I just did my regular classes and never kept anything

pending for tomorrow.

The results came out with the start of the third semester but one thing that was sad was that we did

not have our coordinators class in this semester but the good news was that he still remained ou

coordinator. As always, he came and gave his first start-of-the-term speech in his patent language called

Beng-lishthat is, a combination of Bengali and English which had similar reactions from the crowd. Half slept

and half nodded their heads and sir found it easier to concentrate harder on only two students-Sam and me to

establish his facts. Classes started off and I was back in form and started studying hard once again.

Amidst all the classes, the main excitement at the start of the third semester was the arrival of the

first years in the institute. There were so much planning being done and everyone kept on asking the teachers

the particular date when the new guys would step into the institute. Some were planning about the freshers

party to be of great fun and others felt that how would they introduce themselves to the juniors especially the

girls. Sam kept on saying, Now, where will you run? and he started praying God to send some girl with

powers special enough to attract Tintin. I knew the best I could do was to avoid him. So, I kept silent and just

smiled vaguely whenever he spoke such words. It was easier to concentrate in my studies than to go on a girl

search across the first-years. Search for romance can make a simple life complex. Moreover, the greatest

barrier to success is the fear of failure. So, I was a sort of afraid of getting rejected.

The students in our class looked upto the introductory session which, they had prior intentions of

turning into a ragging session. (Strictly, here ragging does not refer to physical assaults, but jokes which arereally non-veg enough to satisfy a guys sexual instincts or music which are pre-inserted with slangs. These are

for the boys and for the girls, there are easier topics. After all, it has to be easier for the girls or how will the

seniors attract them?) Some of them even looked up to organize the freshers welcome party because in our

time, there was no freshers welcome due to certain problems between the seniors and someone had to start.

Sam and I was the supporter of this group consisting of constructive thinkers. We were also interested

in putting up a freshers welcome and Sam was interested in finding a partner for me too. We were counting

the days and finally, the official date of the arrival of the new comers was announced. Just one week was left

and our joy knew no bounds. Then, behind every joy there has to be something sad that will follow.

The saddest part was that after three days, all the notice boards flashed a notice perfectly signed by

the campus director strictly stating that ragging is an act of criminal offence and that any student foundinvolving in it would be punishable by law. Along with the notice was attached a document from the Supreme

Court. The notice broke the delicate hearts of plenty of our students. All around the college, students started

discussing about the unexpected notice and their discussions reflected a suppressed fear. If any junior went

and complained to the authorities regarding the authentic testosterone rechargeable jokes and stuffs, they

would indeed be in trouble but then, nothing could stop them. Everything was planned and we just counted

the days.

Our soft skills in-charge called me one day to her office when only two days were left for the new guys

to arrive and asked me to do her a favour. It was more of a demand than a request. Getting a positive nod

from me, she said that you will go to each class and say the juniors how important soft skills classes are for the

management students. They must attend the classes and the teacher wanted me to give the new comers a


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demo of how fluent I am in English with all the credit going to the college for providing the students with the

soft skills classes. The truth was that everyone in a management institute tries hard to speak in English. So,

automatically, we learn the language and acquire efficiency and fluency. After all, practice makes a man

perfect.

I decided to keep silent but then, communication being incomplete without a proper feedback; I had

to give her a positive reply. I felt as if I was an advertising agent of the institute. As I was about to leave her

office, the teacher told me, Do not go alone. Take Sam along with you. Both of you can do it. All the best!

Sam laughed at me as I narrated him the entire conversation with the teacher but we knew that we had to go

to the junior classes and narrate the importance of the soft-skills classes.The biggest step towards success within the premises of the institute is Plan and Proceed. So, the

great Sam and I started planning of how to attain success in the assigned task without making a joke of

ourselves. Now only one day was left and we were very happy but at the same time, we were a bit confused of

how to put up that demo before the freshers.

The long-awaited countdown had started and we all waited anxiously for the arrival of our freshers.

Who knew that God had already heard Sam and the girl whom Tintin would love was on her way to the

institute? Well, at least I never expected this.

4

Completely wrapping ourselves in formals, as we entered college that day, all around us the posters

flashed- Welcome Freshers and lots of anxious first years were waiting at the gate and at the reception.

Some of them were alone while a few of them were standing with their parents who were equally anxious.

Some of them were trying to make new friends by forcing a Hi out of their dry throats. It seemed as if they

were about to enter a place which was more or less hell and from where there was no possibility of returning.

I noticed a few boys whose eyes were searching here and there so as to catch a quick glance of all the

pretty girls and were fighting with their hearts as to whom they would propose. As always, there were a few

idiots too, who, as usual, would first find it really difficult to cope with the college life but then would

ultimately fall prey before Darwins principle-Survival of the fittest and would at last change themselves. The

saddest part as well as the fact is that most of these boys turn bad as they have a tendency to follow the

wrong path.

Sam was standing beside me and was continuously staring at the girls and passing comments and wasderiving a great pleasure out of his work. I was thinking of running to my class so that the teachers would not

be able to find us. If they found us, I was well aware of the circumstances that would follow. They would

assign us with some boring work which would in turn spoil our mood for the entire day. I told Sam about my

intentions but he completely ignored my warnings and said, We do not g et such opportunities often. We

must utilize it.

As soon as he finished his words, I felt a tap on my back. I looked back and received one of the

greatest shocks of my life. Standing right in front of me, wearing a South-Indian silk sari and exposing a smiling

face was none other but the great dictator of our institute whom I could easily place next to the legend-Adolf

Hitler. She was none other than our soft skills in-charge standing with a parchment in her hand and looking

directly at Sam and me. Oh dear! I was searching for both of you, she said.Again with a similar tone that sounded more of a demand than a request, she said, Come on guys

Take this list and as soon as the freshers come into the class for their induction programme, get it signed by

them beside their respective names of BBA and BSCM. Give the other papers of BCA to Savy and Suchi and the

other list of Media to Rohit. Saying her words and not waiting to listen to our reply, she turned back and

headed off towards her office. Everything happened all of a sudden and before we realised the entire thing,

she was gone.

Thus, we were stuck. We had to wait at the main entrance of the hall. It was ten in the morning. The

bell rang and the freshers stepped inside the building. Several seniors were standing at the main entrance and

showed the first years the way and Sam and I along with Savy, Suchi and Rohit stood like fools holding the

parchments in our hand and seeing the names of complete strangers. The first years felt that we were


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someone really important as we were holding a list of their names and the formals added flavours to their

thoughts.

The induction programme started with a long speech by the campus director who gave equal trace on

attending regular classes, punctuality and performance. The speech was really motivating and we could

understand by the facial expression of the freshers that they were enjoying the speech and were feeling that

this is exactly what a management college should be like. The speech went on for around forty-five minutes

and the seniors present inside the hall were already half asleep but it did not affect the director. He was a man

who was mainly concerned about his goals. So, it had no effect on him. Here, his main aim was to make the

new guys well aware of the fact that they were studying in a prestigious institution and he did not care whatothers did or commented but to be true, we did not have the guts to pass comments as he spoke.

As soon as the speech got over, they were introduced to their coordinators and their subject teachers

and the best part was that none of the teachers gave lectures. They just introduced themselves making it clear

that our lectures are costly come to the class and only then can you listen to it. With this, the induction

programme came to an end but it led to the start of the pre-planned introduction session.

We could understand that all the seniors were eagerly waiting outside the room for the induction

programme to get over. As soon as it was over we quickly got the papers signed by the students and then

Rohit took the Media students to a separate room, Savy and Suchi took the BCA guys to another and in the

hall, Sam and I was left with the BBA and BSCM guys. It was more like a Divide and Rule Policy adopted by us

In terms of management, one can define it as the distribution of work to increase efficiency and productivity.

As the division was completed, all the seniors entered the hall like gallant warriors entering an arena.

Most of the first years had a tensed expression yet a few of them pretended to be as cool as a cucumber. We

asked them to sit quietly and to minimize chaos, one of the seniors called Prat shouted out over the

microphone. His voice struck like thunder and within seconds, every one became quiet. I gave a small pat on

his shoulder to encourage him.

When all were settled, everyone was asked to come one-by-one over to the microphone and

introduce themselves. Some of them spoke well while a few others were tensed. To them, it seemed public-

speaking was the most difficult task they had ever approached in their life. We enjoyed the session a lot as it

was a mixture of tension, people stammering in front of the microphone and a few girls who were so nervous

that any time, they could burst into tears.

With the end of the introduction session, once again each of them were called up and they wereasked to do as instructed by the seniors like cracking non-veg jokes, singing songs pre-inserted with slangs,

shouting out multiplication tables where the numbers were replaced by the sounds of various animals

especially those with four legs and so on. It was very enjoyable and a moment to be stored in our hard-disks

for ever.

Like this, we had a great time that day and after all this, Sam and I really forgot the stress of the boring

work assigned to us by our soft skills in-charge. Now, the main thing before us was the arrangement of a

freshers welcome party and from next day, the work started off on a full swing.

5

The third semester classes were going on well and in between, we had meetings for the arranging ofthe freshers welcome. Sam and I were actively taking part in the arrangements and were a part of the core

team members. Our seniors were also with us. Most of the meetings were in the canteen where every food

was a sort of Indianised to match the taste of the students. Work was well distributed and it included

collecting money from the students, booking of a proper air-conditioned venue, printing attractive banners,

leaflets and passes, collecting advertisements, ordering refreshments and above all, putting up a proper

cultural-programme for the new-comers. We had also planned to put up a competition for the first-years and

a modeling contest too and we had to order for attractive prizes to present the winners.

Moreover, after every event in the college there has to be a band performance. So, we were also in

search of a band that would perform for us at a standard rate. The search was on and the work was on too.

We had to miss a few classes as the meetings had to be done. There was yet another serious problem. As


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said before, our batch did not receive a freshers welcome and most of the students of our batch did not want

to participate in the event so as to protest.

They were indeed true to their thoughts but then they failed to realize that at least someone had to

start or there would never be a freshers party in our institute. Every day we went to their classes and gave

long lectures and sometimes our seniors went too. Some of them understood the fact and yet a few of them

failed to realize and thought that it was better to stick to their own concepts. Each student except the first

years had to pay fifty bucks and though plenty of students thought like us, the others refused to pay. We were

constantly searching for ways to make these people understand but then our efforts were fruitless.

We just had one thing in mind that any way the programme has to be done. So, we started collectingthe money and in the end, we were really happy as we had enough money. We had our ways to handle those

who did not pay the amount as it was decided that passes would only be given to the students who paid and

we had to make sure that no passes were leaked out. The date was finalized and our seniors and Sam booked

the Uttam Manch as the venue for the programme and then well designed passes were printed too.

Our campus-director wanted an air-conditioned hall as it was summer and it was terribly hot in

Kolkata. This hall is air-conditioned with proper seating arrangements and has been named after the veteran

actor Uttam Kumar who had once ruled the Bengali film industry with his numerous hits and his romantic

image that had mesmerized the eyes of the audience for ages. Well, at least the Government found a proper

way to pay homage to the legend!

Sam came and told me that it was great and we just need a proper sound system and lights to have

some thing well-balanced. So both of us went to the seniors and we requested them that we need a proper

sound and lights to make the show entertaining and they listened to us and Deba who was the head gave us a

positive reply.

I will look into it, he said seriously and after two days, we heard that we were indeed being provided

with a proper sound and lights and those, we will definitely enjoy a lot. There was another group who was

looking after the arrangements of the cultural programme and it consisted of Sushan, Syco, Savy and Suchi

They were busy selecting students for performing.

Let me tell you all about another classical truth that exists within the premises of an institute. If there

is a programme to be organized, one will suddenly find that everyone can dance and sing and there has to be

an audition. There are people who never sang or danced in their life before but once they hear about a

programme, they turn so enthusiastic that they all want to take part and that is next to impossible becausetime is a factor. So every time, an audition occurs and there teachers and senior students take the initiative to

select those who can really perform well. There were many students who came for the audition and as usual,

most made a joke of themselves. Our teachers and seniors smiled and laughed as they told them blankly that

they were not selected. Luckily, I got selected in the audition and I was happy.

Then another problem was that from the first years, we had to select Mr. Fresher and Miss Fresher

at the end of the freshers welcome party. For this, there had to be a competition and when it was announced

in the classes of the first-years, all wanted to participate following the classical concept I had already narrated

earlier. There had to be an audition for this too. We thus gave its responsibilities to one of the reputed loca

radio-stations who had wanted to conduct a workshop with the first-years. They were happy too and it was

decided that they would select the participants for the event. So, in this way we would remain impartial to thecrowd and none would blame the organizing committee.

The preparations were on and the biggest problem that we faced was the collection of the

advertisements but to tell the truth, we indeed got them but we wanted a bit more. The prizes for the winners

were also bought. Around two weeks and a half were left and all went well. The distribution of passes started

off and the more the funds came in, the more we turned excited. We also decided to keep security to make

the programme run smoothly and for this, Prat went and selected students whom he felt were equally as

strong as he is. After the selection was done and Prat stood with his group of muscle-men, for a fraction of a

second, it seemed to me as if I was standing in an arena from where there was no return except as a lifeless

form.


12/46

After a few days, the people from radio visited our institute and they had their own ways of selecting

the participants for Power House which was the competition for selecting the Mr. Fresher and Miss Fresher.

It was indeed interesting as they were asked to do a couple of things like singing and give a public speech on

topics which were indeed different.

Everything was done and we were ready with our arrangements. The main thing that was left was the

rehearsal. Only one week was left and we fixed up a date for the start of the rehearsal and we were also busy

making the last moment preparations like buying flowers and making the banners and posters ready for the

show. After all these, there was another problem that evolved which I had never expected.

6

If you have no power to change it,

you have no right to criticize itAs the rehearsals started off, I went for them too. I was singing a Bengali number and people started

commenting that it will never turn into a success.

Are you mad? asked a boy at the rehearsals one fine morning. It seemed to them that since most of

the audience does not understand the Bengali language, the song would become a flop. They never

understood the fact that there were also Bengali listeners. Moreover, everyone was singing in Hindi. So I

thought that I would perform in Bengali as it would at least bring about some variation. What is life if we

cannot do things differently?

Now who has the time to make these fools understand? I, thus, thought that it was better to

concentrate on my song than to listen to the comments. After all, in a way I was challenged as I had to sing in

Bengali and prove them. A person like me wants changes and I, thus, stuck to my own theory. Sam was the

only person among the students who supported me and I have already told before that the only elephant that

dances to my ideas is Sam. Jokes apart, Sam told me, Do not worry! I am telling you that only your song wil

become a hit.

Sam came upto me and said, amidst all the problems, that he saw a girl in the first years media batch

and according to him, she looked great and that she was a perfect match for me too. Listening to his words,

said rudely due to the burden of the troubles on me, What can I do? You go and see her more.

He became quiet but something more gets processed in your brains when you are silent. So that

evening, when I had completely forgotten about the entire thing and was coming down the stairs with Sam, saw a girl coming up. Sam also saw her and his excitement knew no bounds. This is the girl. This is her, he

said very excitedly.

There was no doubt that the girl was pretty but I replied to Sam, Come on, she looks more like my

sister than my girl friend. Sam was really angry and shouted out of anger, Beware dear, you will never know

when this sister will turn into your wife.

Besides this there was another problem that occurred. Sushan had a band of his own in the college

which comprised of four other boys from his class. Sushan, Sam and I, though Sam and I were junior to him,

had a good rapport. Someone felt jealous of this and went one day to Sushan and said that Tintin is

complaining to everyone that since Sushan is his senior and has a band of his own, he can do whatever he

wanted. The person also did not forget to add spice to it and said that I have also complained that it wasSushan who had given strict orders that I will only be given a chance to sing just one song.

I did not know that all these had happened until one afternoon, Sam and I were standing in the

corridor of the first floor. Sushan was passing by and I saw that he did not even look at me. I was surprised.

Where ever he met me before, he at least said hi. Sam also had no idea as to what was happening.

So I went forward and stopped him and asked, Hey Sushan, whats wrong with you?

He looked at me with rage in his eyes and simply said, You are my junior. Do not forget that. Try to

stay within your limits. I was shocked as this sort of behavior from Sushan was really not expected. After

telling these words, he marched off. We kept on wandering what was the reason behind this rudeness and

then Sam and I came to a decision that You can never force someone to talk unless he wants to talk himself.

So we gave up searching for the reasons behind Sushan misbehaving with me.


13/46

Rehearsals went on well and one day, when only five days were left for the show, one of the band

members of Sushan named Ishan came upto me and said, What have you said to Sushan?

I have no idea, I said. I was just standing with Sam and he was passing by. We asked him what was

wrong and he misbehaved with me and marched away.

Then, Raj told me the reasons which had flowed down to Sushan s eardrums as a result of which his

behaviour deviated from the general trend to turn negative towards us. So we told Raj that we do not know

who said but we havent told anyone like that. Raj smiled and nodding his head he said, I know you havent

said but its no use as Sushan wouldnt understand and is not ready to listen to any explanations.

These words really made us smile because Sam and I were in no mood to go to him and explain butwe did not want to spoil the friendship. I do not understand why people listen to things and start dancing

without analyzing the entire matter. Same was with Sushan. Someone went and told him something about me

and he did not analyze the entire matter and drew out conclusions. I was sad because of his misbehavior.

So, that evening when he was sitting in the canteen, Sam and I went to him and inspite of his furious

glances, we explained him what had happened. I have said nothing like that to anyone, I told him and after

giving plenty of other explanations and with the usage of emotional words, the ice finally melted.

Okay, he said, finally turning emotional. Lets be friends again. We were still his friends and there

was no need to tell the last few words but we kept quiet as when emotions get flooded, you must allow it to

flow or it has a tendency to turn suffocating for both the speaker and the listener. So, at last everything was

settled and we were approaching towards the end of the rehearsals. Only two days were left for the show.

So on Saturday morning, we had our final rehearsal. I never knew that the great Almighty had already

answered to Sam and that girl whom we had met on the stairs and whom Sam expected to turn into my wife

from sister, was also a participant for the Power House and was also present for the rehearsal.

7

Every participant was present for the last rehearsal on Saturday morning. All the passes had been

distributed and Sam and I were made the logistic in-charge. It was the most difficult task as we had to arrange

for every raw materials required for putting up the show. Everyone sat in a classroom and it was being headed

by Syco, Rohit, Savy, Sushan and a few other teachers.

As soon as I entered, Sam said excitedly, Hey see. That girl is here.

I smiled and Sam again cursed me by using his same old words that I just need time and I will get ananswer. I thought to myself as what would time answer me. It would just convert someone whom I do not

know and just said that she was like my sister into my wife. So great, isnt it? Not even girl friend, directly a

wife. I really felt the entire thing very funny and stupid. I had no intentions of making Sam angrier and just told

him, trying hard to change the topic that we can concentrate on our rehearsal ahead.

I went and sang my song when my turn came and got a lovely response from the crowd of students

who had been waiting anxiously for their turn to come. As I sat beside Sam, I looked at that girl. She was busy

fidgeting with her cell-phone and for a fraction of a second, I felt as if she looked like an actress from the

movie Chak De India!

It was a movie that had hit the theatres a couple of months back and was a King Khan starrer. The

movie, a super hit, was based upon the hockey world cup that the womens hockey team had won and therewas a character in the movie called Komal Chautala who portrayed the character of a player in that team

This girl looked exactly like her same hair style, same looks and off course, same height. I had seen her

before but then, it was never in such a detailed way.

Moreover, it seemed to me that she was completely enveloped in a world of her own where none was

allowed to enter. The truth was I did not know why I was looking at her and doing so much analyzing on her

but I was really helpless as my heart was controlling my mind and this is exactly the point where we have to

give up. I had to do as my heart desired. She looked at me for once and it seemed to me her mobile was out of

signal for a while. As I was turning my face away, she had a stern expression and for me, it was like God save

me!


14/46

Again, after a short period of time, she was back with her work fidgeting with the cell-phone. She

was so confident that she was not at all discussing with anyone about her song. She was least interested, it

seemed. For her, performing for the freshers party was just another day-to-day work. Well, I waited for her

turn to come as there was an internal urge that I had to listen to her performance and I was really lucky

enough that I did not have to wait long.

She was actually singing a duet with another girl from her batch. It was a Rabindra Sangeet song

composed by the noble laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore that she was singing. The song was also one of my

favourite. They were actually singing with a karaoke and the music was put on. Oh God! What a horrible

performance it was. Both the singers started off in different octaves and though she was singing in perfecttune, the girl who was her partner, started late and as a result, the whole song was out of scale.

Our English teacher was sitting there and she stopped the entire performance and asked them to start

over once again. Darling there is nothing to feel tensed. Feel comfortable, she told them. They took their

time and started off with their singing again but there was no such improvement. Actually there was no

improvement at all. Sam whispered in my ears, What a mess! Saying this, he left as if he had better things to

do in life than listen to such nonsense.

Our English teacher, at last, when she found that it was of no use, called both of them and asked them

the reasons for not being able to perform properly. The girl, whom Sam had cursed about turning directly into

my wife, stepped ahead and began explaining. She felt that if she spoke in English, the pole-strength of her

explanations would automatically increase. I felt that she was actually making a joke of herself. Our English

teacher was listening quietly to her explanations with an expressionless face and I could not resist myself

anymore and spoke out, Hey, I guess you can come down to your vernacular!

Our teacher looked at me sternly but she was well-accustomed with my comments in class and she

felt it better not to comment any more but the person to whom this comment was indicated was furious and

guess she had never been commented like this before and she got the flavour of comments that were passed

in colleges. The stern expression on her face blended with the melancholy of her disability to perform well was

indeed sad but then my heart suddenly wanted to follow a dark route and I felt it really enjoying. At least, I

could go and tell Sam that I had commented on the girl whom he felt had a future with me and I just couldnt

wait to do it.

As soon as the rehearsal was over and she was ready to leave, I tried to console her and said that the

best way to improve was to sit and listen to the song over and over again and practice with her friend. Shelooked at me and said furiously, Please mind your own business. I smiled and thought it was better to leave

than to speak to her. You can take the horse to the pond but you cannot make it drink water unless it wants to

drink on its own.

These were my last words with her and like a gallant warrior, unable to accept defeat, she marched

off. I gazed at her departure and as I was about to think something about her, Sam came and said that Deba

had called for a final meeting with the core team members and we had to hurry.

8

Rain rain, go away

come again another day.The countdown was finally over. Unfortunately, it started raining torrentially. Our programme was

supposed to start from five in the evening. Those who were a part of the organizing committee reached there

early. We were really tensed that many students would not be able to come and that the hall will not be full.

Sam and Ashu were sent to buy flowers and they kept on calling that the streets have been water-logged and

it was impossible to return.

Deba, being an MBA student felt that nothing is impossible and he kept on giving motivationa

speeches over the phone and at last, he realised that he forgot to tell them what they had been wanting to

hear for a long time. Actually, these words of Sam and Ashu were only meant for seeking permission so that

they could return to the venue in a cab. Deba was a bit late to understand and then finally, he said, I can

understand. You guys take a cab from there and return. I will pay you. Hope you are happy!


15/46

I was wearing a lovely suit that day and while I was leaving home, my mom did not forget to ask, Are

you going to marry?

We had some work in the venue like putting up of the banners and advertisements, making the lists

ready and so on. I, thus, had to open my coat and keep it in the green room. The boys green room was also

taken by the girls and we couldnt help. Somehow, we managed to get a small room beside the original boys

green room and we thought of utilizing resources. Thus, it became our green room. All the work was done but

we were waiting for the crowd.

At four, inspite of the heavy shower, students came. Barriers fail to arise when something is desired

from the core of the heart. It was really awesome to see the first years. They were very enthusiastic and it wasindeed great to see them in their colourful outfits. At the gate, Prat stood with his securityA group of Men

in Black. They checked each and everyone for their passes and it was also a rule that no one was allowed to

carry cigarettes inside the hall. The most surprising thing was that no one carried them. The teachers also

came. The great personalities Sam and Ashu also returned with the flowers. As Sam came and saw me, he

said, Stay cool. Your programme will be a great success.

At first I was standing at the gate watching Prat and his team. There was wonderful coordination

among the members. Then I went to the green room and was sitting there for some time and then, as soon as

I came out from there to see the crowd, the soft skills in-charge caught me and made a joke out of my outfit

Have you come for a management meeting? she asked. I tried hard to smile but it was of no use. As usual,

she did not wait for my answer and thus, I thought it was safer to go back to the green room and sit.

The programme started off exactly at five with the speeches of the three principals of the three

different streams and the lighting of the lamp by the chief guest. Then there was the Saraswati Bandana and

Ganesh Bandana. It was followed by the first round of the Power House. The anchors of the event did a

great job as their words encouraged the crowd and turned them more enthusiastic. They cheered a lot and it

was wonderful. Then there were other performers who danced and sang and it was going on well. The

applaud from the crowd was really huge and the participants were also enjoying their performances but

everyone was not upto the mark. The audience was really supportive and this gave the performers an

additional advantage.

To tell the truth, as I sat there for a moment, my heart took me to that girl and I asked myself where

she was. I saw my heart asking me back the same question. To tell the truth, I did not want to think about her

but I was helpless. This is the problem that occurs with the human beings when the heart controls the mindAt that moment, Savy came and told me that our English teacher was calling me. I was searching for Sam but

he was nowhere to be found.

So, I went to her alone. She was standing beside the girls green room and beside her, that girl was

standing. I was stunned and asked myself, Oh God! What is this happening? She was looking excellent in a

black salwar that she was wearing but I thought it was better to ignore her . So, I walked over to maam and

she just told me, See when you go upto the stage to perform, please smile. I do not want to see that serious

image of yours.

I just nodded and said, Maam, do not worry. Today you will see another person. From the side, that

girl kept on watching me and then, the moment I finished talking to the teacher and was about to leave, she

called me from back. I looked back to check if my ears made a mistake but no, it hadnt.There was no way to return. In these cases, when you respond to someones call , that too of a girl,

you have to stop and listen to what she says. Actually, life has really mysterious theories which lack

explanations. Its just that you have to follow them. Well, I also followed one such theory. Yes, are you calling

me? I asked.

Yes, she said.Why, cant I call you?

I replied, Off course you can.

Are you the same person who insulted me last day?

Oh! Yes it was me.

She looked a bit surprised. Trying hard to hide her surprised state from me, she said, I cant believe it

You have changed so much! I will tell you the truth, you are just looking awesome!


16/46

I was stunned again. Thank you, I said.

There is yet another theory that came into play. As soon as a verbal conversation starts off in this

fashion, you have to carry it on as even if you do not want so, your heart will suddenly turn naughty and wil

prevent you from quitting. My heart was naughtier that day and it had no intentions of quitting the

conversation. Instead, it took me to a dream land. Well, I was ready to talk to her more when the anchors

announced my name. The relief was that before my performance, they wanted to announce the results of the

Power House.

I was so engrossed in talking to her that I had completely forgotten about my performance. As soon as

I heard my name being announced, I came back to reality and started searching for Sam because I had to keepmy cell with him before going on to the stage.

9

God is also naughty. He could have listened to Sam but not like this. Every time, Sam had stayed with

me but today, he was nowhere to be found. I went on searching for him but it was of no use. Then I realized

that the situation was not being controlled by me. It was not in my hand. There was only one person now in

front of me whom I could give my cell as others were busy with their own work (mainly chatting and

criticizing). She was happy because she got selected in the first round of the Power House.

I couldnt help and asked her out, Will you please do me a favour?

Sure, she said.

Please keep my cell with you for a while. As soon as my performance is over, I will take it.

Okay you can keep it with me, she said. Its not an issue. All the best! People were saying your song

will not be a hit. I dont think so. It will be a great success. These words were like an additional boost and

had never expected this from her but there is indeed no such rule that unexpected things will not happen. In

this case, I really felt great that it happened.

Thank you so much, I said.

As I looked into her eyes, someone inside me whispered that I can rely upon her. I kept my cell with

her as my heart suggested me and within seconds, as soon as my name was announced, I walked into the

stage. The crowd greeted me with a huge applaud and my performance started off well with an introduction

about the song.

I will not boast about myself a lot but the fact is that, the ears of the crowd feasted over my tunes andclapped all through the performance but the biggest success was that I was the only participant who made the

audience sing along with me. I left the stage with the audience requesting me to sing again and shouting out

their hearts but I was unable to keep their request as it was pre-decided that no performance could be

repeated as we had to save time.

Above all, I knew I had won the challenge. I knew I had mesmerized the crowd with a Bengali song.

knew people loved and enjoyed the performance. As I came back stage, all started hugging me and patting

me. A few of the first-years clicked my photo.

Plenty of the students said that I was looking great amidst the laser and blue and red lights and the

smoke. It was great to be hugged by the teachers and Deba just uttered two words, You rock! I became

more famous, this time as a singer and a complete performer.I saw someone peeping at me from behind the curtains and it was none other but the great Sam with

a broad smile across his face. He ran to me saying, See I told you your song will be a hit! We hugged one

another as being management students, like we know how to distribute work; we know how to share its fruits

It was great and I forgot that I was actually angry on this boy because I had been searching for him throughout

and there was no hint of him before my performance. This is what friendship is. It has no place for fights. The

biggest strength of a true friendship is the ability of its participants to forget. Yes, we have to forget as it is an

art that increases the internal bond but the most surprising thing was that Sam did not forget his duties.

He asked me, Where did you keep your cell?

I had completely forgotten about it but had never expected him to ask this question yet he did. God,

as I have said He is very naughty, had more surprises in store for me. As soon as he asked the question, there


17/46

was a tap on my back. I turned around to receive yet another shock of my life. That girl was standing there. I

never expected this. She said, Wow, what a performance it was!

Somehow I forced a smile and replied, Thank you so much.

You forgot something, she said.

I started fumbling as I never wanted her to return my cell in front of Sam as I was aware of his

reactions but then, she did exactly what I didnt want her to do. Protruding her palms with my cell on its top

she said, Hey! Your phone.

Oh God! What was this happening? As soon as Sam saw it, his eyes widened and he started coughing

and he felt it was better to leave than to stand as a spectator and witness the blossom of romance.As soon as he left, I felt better and thanking her, took my cell but then something happened yet again

Our fingers touched and we looked into each others eyes. Words failed to erupt and silence took the lead

role. Yes, silence speaks more than words. We kept on looking for a few seconds and the bond had developed

From inside, there rose an internal desire to talk. I wanted to speak. Someone from inside me kept on

shouting Tintin speak or you will miss this opportunity.

May be, she had similar reactions and she started the conversation again . What is your name? she

asked.

As I said, she also told her name. She was not Komal Chautala but Namy.

Nice name, I said as she kept on gazing at me as a result of which I started feeling a bit

uncomfortable.

The conversation proceeded well. We discussed about our class, our aim in life, our family and many

other topics. Time was passing on well. We were standing at the back stage and people were working around

us but it seemed we had enveloped ourselves into a world of our own. I did not want to come out of it. Her

eyes, as she kept on staring at me, were like two dazzling black pearls. The most surprising thing was that

nobody disturbed us.

As she told me about herself, I felt her words spinning a cocoon around me and I was slowly getting

lost amidst its cozy surrounding. She kept on saying and I kept on listening. We had no track of the

programme. Then the winners of the Power House were announced. She did not win but she was so sporting

that she completely ignored it and continued talking with me.

She kept on saying, I cant believe you are the same person who insulted me last day. How have you

changed so much? At first, whenever she asked me this question, I smiled but this time she expected ananswer. Thus, I explained, See, I am not that person you saw last day. It was not me. This is what I am

originally but I have a tendency of hiding my original form amidst my jokes and comments. I tend to be like a

dormant volcano who still remembers that he has to explode. I told you my family does not support my

education except my mom and dad. So I have a lot to do, you know. I liked you a lot as your life has a lot of

similarities with me. Students have always felt that that I have suffered from a girl-phobia and there was

another group of girls who thought that I am a gay as I am always with Sam and I do not speak to girls.

Listening to my words with attention, I never knew or understood what conclusions she was drawing

out from them but as soon as I mentioned the word gay, all her attention di sappeared and a broad smile

replaced it which ultimately turned into laughter and she laughed as if she hadnt laughed for ages. Then, she

cracked an unexpected joke, Wow! You are really sexy enough to attract both sexes and started laughingagain. I started liking her because she smiled at me and meant it.

I said to myself, God, this is the girl I want. This is the madness I want. I am insane and she is crazy

too.

We kept on laughing and how dazzling was her beauty that my eyes buffeted over it but then, it was

time for her to perform and she had to get ready. Please watch my programme, she said. We will talk again

after the performance. I wished her an all the best and she was off.

10

Her performance, as it started off, was better than the rehearsals. This time there was no blunder

from her side but then her partner, another girl from her batch, committed similar mistakes. Theories went


18/46

wrong again. Who says, People learn from their mistakes? May be people learn from their fault s but her

associate was an exception to the rule. The crowd did not tell anything because it is a fact that Rabindra

Sangeet will only attract a selected group of listeners which our auditorium lacked as most of the students did

not understand Bengali but I personally liked Namys style of singing.

When she came back stage, she displayed her careless attitude once again. Nobody commented over

her performance and she also did not want to know. I spoke the truth, See, I liked your style of singing but I

think you could have selected someone with whom you would have been more comfortable. Your partner was

not at all good.

I expected a thank-you from her but instead she replied, This is the reason why you are the only boyin the college whom I liked.

I couldnt derive any reason from her reply and seeing me puzzled, she asked again, Whats wrong

with you?

I cant understand what you said - the reason behind me being the only boy you liked.

Oh! Thats because you are straight forward and I like people like you who speak out their heart

whenever they want and in whichever way they want, she replied.

Suddenly, God wanted to be naughtier and hunger became his weapon.

I am hungry, she said. Can we go and have some food?

This was another question I was really afraid of because one of the most idiotic medical practitioners

after my recovery from the terrible, yet boring jaundice, had completely forbidden me from eating junk. I told

her the reason behind avoiding junk food and requested her to go and have her food. She did not want to go

alone but then, I made up a story.

Dear, please go and have your food because I have to go for some last minute work because the

band performance will start off, I said.We will sit and watch the band performance together after that.

Actually, my intention was to meet Sam. As she left, she held my finger and I felt a pull. There was

again a splurge of adrenaline as she looked back and smiled and was gone. I took a few more seconds to uncoi

and then slowly walked towards the end of the auditorium only to find that everyone was standing there and

having food.

Once again, people started congratulating me and Sam came out from amidst them with a food

packet and gave it to me. So sister becomes wife? he asked.

I kept quiet as he kept on smiling. Sam knew that I will not eat the food but he felt that not taking thefood packet would lead to the increase of profit of the institute. We had paid so much to the institute for the

course and he considered this as an additional advantage of utilizing the money spent. He was so over flown

with the concepts that prevails within the institute that he completely forgot the fact that we had all paid fifty

bucks for this packet. Well, nothing gets wasted. I took the sweet from the packet and as I handed it to Sam,

there were other mouths waiting there to satisfy themselves. Hardly a few minutes passed and my fifty bucks

had been utilized.

We entered the auditorium again. It was lit and we could see the guest band members standing on

stage and setting up their instruments. Again, as I turned back, Sam was gone. What was this happening? God,

it seemed to me, had never been so mischievous before.

Suddenly, Sayantani, a second year student from BHM, came running to me. I felt as if somethingserious had happened and indeed, something serious did happen. May be it was not so serious for others, but

for me it was really important.

You know, that girl in black with whom you were talking is madly in search of you . She came to me

and asked me to call you. She is there at the front row, Sayantani said without a pause.

Okay, I said and after walking a few steps slowly to show Sayantani that I was least interested, I

sprinted towards the front corner where there were only two seats. There she was standing looking here and

there. As soon as she saw me, she exploded in joy, Come, I have kept a sit for you. Where have you been so

long? I was waiting for you.

Sorry, I said slowly and sat down beside her. The auditorium became dark. The music started off

with the introduction of the band. The band performed slow, soft English tracks which purified the


19/46

atmosphere and once again, romance flourished. Slowly, I kept my palm on hers and she looked at me straight

into my eyes. The band started playing a soft, romantic number and it was great. We couldnt move. Nothing

was going into my ears. Really, I felt the entire thing so heavenly that it seemed I wouldnt regret if someone

came and said that it is due to this flourishing of love that I have missed such a wonderful band performance.

All of a sudden someone poked in my ribs from the side. As I turned, I saw my classmates standing

there. I turned back and a few of them were sitting behind us too. Everyone had a smile on their faces. There

was Tathagata, Prat, Sam and Avijit who were standing. Behind me, on the seats were Tina, Santu, Tanaya and

a few others. It took me only seconds to understand that it was Sam who had spread the news.

It seemed as if all wanted to witness the love bloom out of its bud. She understood and kept on askingme whether these people were my classmates. What will they tell you tomorrow? she asked.

I turned philosophical with my answer and said, I think we must not do things which we have to hide

from others. I dont care what they think.

My answer satisfied her and as the programme came to an end, we got up to leave. Reaching the stair

case, we stood there and I knew it would be really difficult to part because though we havent proposed each

other, we could see love in each others eyes. On the stair case, as we stood, she asked, Dont you have

anything more to say me?

I never expected this question but as it had been asked, I had to give the young damsel another

satisfying answer. Oh yes! I forgot to take your mobile number, I said.

Wow! Nice way to avoidyour duty, she said and dictated her number. I gave her mine too. It was

late. Most of the people were leaving. It was time to go home. We wished each other a good bye. The man

who always says goodbye is waiting for something to happen. We had to move on inspite of the intense desire

of both the hearts to stay back.

11

Anyone can be passionate,

but it takes real lovers to be silly.

Rose Franken

As I was coming home that day, I received an SMS stating:

Heyfriend, thanx for ur

support & company. Missu. Meet u soon. Gd nite. Tk

care. Reply. Waiting for it.

I replied to it:

Dear I am missing u 2. Yes

Will meet soon. Thanx for

making my evening so spcl.

Gd nite. Sweet drmz. Tk cre :)

I couldnt sleep that night. I kept on cherishing the mo ments of my success and several thoughts also

evolved within the confinements of my grey matter. I turned nocturnal to converse with my heart who

desperately wanted to speak to me too. See, above all you guys need to be very good friends of oneanother, it said.

I felt the words true. Yes, my heart preached the perfect words. Friendship is the origin of every

relation. It is irrespective of caste, religion and sexual discriminations. It is a faith. It is a bond or an attachment

of hearts. I said to myself, First, let us be friends. Like Sam and me as we are friends, Namy should also be

my friend. Before we love each other, we must come closer to each others hearts. We must understand one

another. We must feel for each other. We should walk and work together. We must support one another in

times of need. We must share the success too.

The preaching of my heart made me realise certain truths. The night seemed to be so long. I wished it

was longer. I wanted to converse with my heart more. I wanted to run back to Namy though I knew it was


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impossible. I understood why my intellectual friends said that love is so refined it turns more addictive than

liquor.

Several saints and philosophers had tried to find the meaning of love throughout their lives and just

before their soul departed, they surrendered that their whole life had been spent fruitless in search of its true

meaning and here it was Tintin, a silent warrior, combating with his heart to derive what love meant.

I remembered those hostel days when one day, in class, one of our teachers told the entire class,

There is a difference between life and love. Life is a journey with a destiny but love is not. It is a journey

without a destination. We just have to move on and on by an endless road. No one knows where it leads.

We were too young then to understand the true meaning of these words but that day, I understoodwhat he had meant. It was highly nostalgic to journey back to those fun days where we had learnt a lot of

realities. I remembered those teachers who taught us so many facts and the extreme nostalgia made my

lachrymal glands ooze. Tears trickled down my eyes. I said to myself, Oh Namy! It is you who made me go

back to those days where learning was a fun, where we were taught to create and above all, where we were

taught to love. Each day had new experiences in store for us. Moreover, it was there that we learnt that it is

easier to destroy than to create and that all the credit is given to the creators and the destroyers are

criticized.

As the tears rolled on and on, somewhere inside me, was blossoming the seeds of an intense delight.

wanted to sob more and amidst all these, I never realized when the first rays of dawn penetrated through the

window panes and fell on my eyes. I could not wait to go back to college.

The entire night, I had been sleepless and my eyes had turned scarlet but nothing mattered to me

anymore. I looked at the watch. It was seven in the morning. I started studying for some time after getting

fresh as I felt that the best way to forget things is to involve the brain in doing some work and I had no other

work but to study.

At nine, I got ready and left for college. On my way, I called her up but then she did not pick up the

call. I kept on calling but then there was no reply. I became afraid. I reached the institute only to hear that all

classes have been called off for that day. I thought it was better to go to Soros room where he stayed as a

paying guest. Soro was actually from Siliguri (a place in the North Eastern region of India) and was my class

mate. He had come from there to study in our institute. After Sam, he was also a good friend of mine

Whenever there were no classes, Soros room turned out to be our favourite hang -out zone. We chatted and

enjoyed. There were three other boys Dev, Mil and Raj.As I went to their room, I got another shock of my life. I found Soro brushing his teeth on the tap

across the road. He was wearing a vest and a torn trouser. As soon as he saw me, he greeted me with joy and

said that something terrible had occurred last night. He asked me to go up to the room and see what had

happened.

I followed Soro upto his room. He opened the lock and as I was about to step in, I paused. Oh God

What is this? There was water all around. The three musketeers - Dev, Mil and Raj were fast asleep and above

all, all around the room there was a pungent smell of strong alcohol. I peeped into the toilet and what I saw

there was again something I had not expected. The sink had been shattered to pieces. I just stood there and to

me, it seemed that there had been an earthquake a few minutes ago.

Soro smiled and said, Want to listen what had happened? Then, without waiting for my answer, hestarted narrating the story. He said, Last night, after your performance, we came out of the hall and it was my

birthday too. We were so engrossed into your song that all of us wanted to enjoy. We started walking and

from a wine shop, we purchased the drinks. We drank on the road and Mil and Raj were completely out of

senses. We started singing your song on the road as we walked back home. A few of the drinks were left and

Dev and I had it after we returned. Mil went to the toilet and broke the sink and the tap. The water over-

flowed. Now, there is no water in the tank. These guys are still snoozing. God knows, when they will wake up?

I am waiting for the landlord to come down and shout. Why did you sing like that?

I had only one answer to give him after listening to such a wonderful narration. I told him, United we

stand, divided we fall. This was a sort of life I led with my friends b efore though we never compromised with

our studies but Namy modified it. All of a sudden I remembered I had to call my sweet, little darling.


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12

Life is something that happens

when you can't get to sleep.

Fran Lebowitz

I called her up again and this time she disconnected the line. I was about to feel bad when she called

up. I responded immediately to her call. After wishing each other a good morning, she started off by saying,

Why have you come to college? You did not know that there is no class today? Well, I was calling you last

night to convey the message but your cell was switched off. You should have enjoyed a lovely sleep at home.To this I said, Dear, I couldnt sleep the entire night and you took me to a dream land where I talked

to my heart, recollected my old hostel days and searched for philosophical answers in order to find the true

meaning of love.

Same over here, she said. What do you think; I wake up so late in the morning? I could not sleep

the entire night too and since today is a holiday, I thought of sleeping some more. Then I saw your missed calls

on the display and called you back.

Both of us laughed a lot after this and then she spoke again, You know, we must be acquainted with

one another.

Yes, it was true that we had to know about one another. We had to be on familiar terms with each others

strengths and weaknesses. We had to learn about our families. We had to locate similarities and allow our

thoughts to match too. So, I thought of telling her about me first and once I finished she also told me about

herself. I will not hide the conversation from the readers but lets tell it in a different way. Rather than

describing our telephonic conversation, I think it will be wiser to tell the readers about what we learnt about

one another from the chat.

Tintins life, family, friends et cetera

As said earlier, I told Namy the same words that I was born into an orthodox Bengali family where

quitting engineering and medical studies and landing up studying a professional course like undergraduate

business administration was treated as a curse. None other except my mom and dad could accept my studies

and thus, all the other members of my family started criticizing me but I possessed ears which failed to receive

those sound waves and thus it had no effect on me. I know only my parents mom and dad and no one else

because they are the only persons who have supported me all throughout my life. Whatever I am doing is onlyfor them. Dad trusts me a lot. He relies on me. He works very hard for me. He wants me to do well and above

all, grow upto a good human being. Under all circumstances, I can never betray him and I have to make him

proud.

I joke, I comment but behind all these, the original Tintin remains hidden in a subdued world of

Banalata Sen where he dreams, he feels, he cries and he turns e motional and starts playing with his own

sentiment and sometimes creates verses, songs and sings too. It is this boy who also listens to the timeless

tunes of Tagore and keeps on weeping all alone. Next moment, he listens to the legend, Johnny Cash that

transforms his heart into a revolutionist. When I admire the wonders of a sunset or the beauty of the moon,

my soul expands in the worship of the creator.

I told her about my education and even discussed about my hostel days where I learnt to be differentfrom others. I told her about my dreams of studying abroad and becoming a successful researcher or a brilliant

professor. I told her about my position in class. I told her about the competitions I face due to certain students

of my class. They are so foolish that they fail to understand that I do not study a lot. I just study regularly. I told

her about how my teachers like me and about Sam being the only elephant dancing to my weird ideas. I told

her about my motto in life, Nothing is Impossible.

This is Tintin who lives on this earth for a cause as he has to do something. God has sent everyone for

a cause and it is highly idiotic to waste the precious gift of God life. Moreover, I think that there is really a

credit in creating because it is easier to destroy and above all the greatest strength of mine is that

understand the values of time, a true friendship and love. I am also happy as I am able to study a course which

I really love from the core of my heart.


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Namys life, family, friends et cetera

After listening to me, Namy said that her life has a lot of similarities with mine. She was born into a

family which was similarly orthodox and they never wanted her to study media. As she came from a business

background, her dad desperately wanted her to study business management and take up the family business

in future but her little heart wanted something else. She had to fight with her dad, rebel against his intense

desire and ultimately, winning the battle, she had landed up in our institute to study her hearts desire.

Her original house is in Ranaghat (a town in West Bengal) but in order to study, she stays all alone in

Salt Lake at Kolkata. Her mom seldom visits her. She dreams of becoming a journalist but the truth is that her

life lacked love. She was desperately in search of it. There had been plenty of ups and downs in her life. Therewas one particular person who had given her false hopes, wooed her and then when time came, had ditched

her and this resulted into an excruciating pain which the little heart could not tolerate any more. This really

had a dreadful effect on her health and for the last two years, she had turned into a schizophrenic and had to

undergo severe treatments that had terrific side effects. Moreover, her creativity had been lost. She forgot to

smile and tragedy clouded her heart.

Somehow, before joining college, she wanted to give up her past and look ahead and she terribly

wanted support to come out of that hell that had cloaked her all along the last two years. She wanted her life

to be harmonious, peaceful and pleasant. She only had her mom on her side but she was also busy with the

business. She was walking all alone along the road of life and she wanted someone to walk by her. Above all,

she also dreamt of being a true human being.

13

Conclusions drawn by Namy

After listening to the entire conversation, Namy concluded, You are really great. Your ideologies are

so different from others. You are so ambitious yet so kind, happy and respectful. You are so creative. You are

just awesome. I like you a lot.

She liked my voice and that she had always waited for a friend like me and it was great and that she

could not wait to see me again. Moreover, all her desires had matched. She found every want of hers in me.

She had always dreamt of a person who will be creative, who will be a bit mad and imaginative but will always

speak out his heart.

Besides this, she also added, Your eyes are really great. Your appearance, attitude, the way you walktalk and those naughty, amorous glances of yours are really addictive. I guess how beautiful your parents look

that you got such expressive eyes and a brilliant figure.

After this, she directly started comparing the similarities of our lives. Yes, we both have suffered a lot

There have been real ups and downs. We both were looking ahead for the future with lots of hopes and

expectations but we were walking unaccompanied along the road of life. We must now walk together, stand

beside one another both in times of sadness and delight.

Conclusions drawn by Tintin

Now, when she had concluded, she also expected to listen to my deductions and I did not make her

wait any longer. As soon as she was over, I started off. You are good too and I also like you a lot. Dear, you

are so pretty and stylish and well, I do not understand how it was possible for that devilish character to torturea delicate heart. Does that person has a heart of his own or is it only crammed up with rocks?

She listened to me with complete attention as I continued, Do not worry. Now I am there. No one

can harm you. You are so talented that you just need someone to love and support you and everything will be

fine. The world has disturbed you so long and now it is your turn to show them. I mean like me, now you have

to explode so as to prove your worth amidst a mass of worthless fools. We have been fighting alone but now

since the fight will continue, let us unite and fight. Let us show these people what we can do and dominate

them entirely.

I was flowing with emotions and I knew these words of mine had emerged from the heart and am

true. I knew these words had an additional effect on her. She wanted to fight again properly. She did not want

to see the battle as long lost any more but someone from within her whispered that after getting tortured for


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so long, now it was her turn to take revenge. Amidst all these, I deciphered that she had a very revengeful and

diplomatic attitude and then I realized that it was not her fault but the conditions that she had been

throughout had converted her into such a being. I thought it was better not to tell her all these as it was my

first telephonic conversation with her and kept silent regarding these issues. Like I said, Tintin understands the

value of time, I knew this much that it was better to wait for the appropriate time to arrive and then I would

tell her about this and struggle hard to mend it. I felt that it had become my task to modify this childish and

appealing damsel.

Outcome of the conclusions drawn

The outcome of all these conclusions was something which I could not even think of a few days backbut again it happened as it had to happen. We became the best friends of one another. Friendship is

something which has no confinements. Best friends never feel that they are couples, they have no parameters

of love and they are true to one another. Moreover, the purity of love is maintained through it and there is no

place for lust.

We decided to walk along with one another and share every moment too. In times of pain, we

decided to cry together and during moments of joy, we agreed to smile together and share the success too.

We decided to move forward though we were aware of the obstacles ahead. This was only because we felt

that love is the greatest weapon on earth that had capabilities of conquering every obstruction.

She said, I am very happy that you are planning to go abroad. I promise you the year you go, I wil

follow you the next year. I will certainly work hard for that. No matter what troubles arise, I will overcome

those. Please go and settle abroad and take me out of this hell.

Initially, these words of hers hurt me a lot as I possessed an intense liking fo

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Let the Flower Bloom