Yaadein

Bihar - The state boasts of being my roots.I even I boast of the fact.After all Biharis rule :). From the current Laloo state of mind to the local food haunt,Bihar rules. Not sure how to frame my own Bihar state of mind.This is like an ABCD trying to say something about India.My grandparents come from the humble backgrounds of Barauni and a non-descriptive village of Koilakh.They finally settled out in a village 5km from Madhubani ,called Pilakhwaad.My father received his education in Madhubani and finally did engineering in MIT.This MIT stands for muzzafarpur institute of technology.I am sure that place is more or less like Sultanpur. Anyways , after he completed his graduation,we settled in Nagpur for 5 years(MSEB ruled then ).Hence the Nagpur connection. Finally,papa joined NTPC and hence ended most of my connections that could have been possible through the stories of Bihar. Any ways, I have been to Bihar 3-4 times in my life. The state of Bihar pictures the state of India.The day ...

I don't know what conspiracy in the world made me go to a non descriptive kind of place called Sultanpur and spend a good 3.5 years of my life there. Maybe its destiny.. It all started after 9/11 attacks had hit Amrika.That weekend ,I had my counselling in Lucknow.I was not sure till last moment as to what I was going to take.Papa ,with all his experience had provided me all the guidance he could.But in the end it was my decision and I have little regret that I took admission in Kamla Nehru Institute of Technology in Sultanpur.Most people do regret their decisions at some point of time.But I somehow don't go in that list. Well the D-Day for my batch was 8th October,2001. Most of the junta came on 7th October and then reality started. The city and college lack infrastructure to this date.Our batch had a strength of 240.But only the lucky 100 were to get the hostels.Somehow,my branch mates were among taap rankers and we got the rooms. Hey !! I am describing my college life here.....

Television is one of the most effective ways of our journey into places ,free of cost.Doordarshan and Zee used to show some places of interest in their programs.But they were just meant to going to places.How you reach ,go around and the end. They lacked the enthusiasm associated with going places. Discovery Channel brought all this encapsulated with loads of information that made you ask for more.The years of 1999 and 2000 were the beginning of a big journey on the small box.TeleSerials that remain in my mind to date:- * Lonely Planet and host Ian Wright - This cool dude was just fabulous.I still did not get what makes people moving places like he and other hosts did.Travelling on Trucks in Nepal ,Bikes in Africa.Its like been there ,done that. * Medical Detectives-Crazy serial that brings the nuisances and theories to each crime. * Discover India - Nothing much to say.It describes India more rationally than many other serials do.

I am still calling it Calcutta ,because the British legacy is more important for the city than the current transformations happening there. Let me list down the places , i still remember 15 years after i visited the place for 2 weeks : 1) Chowringee -- Chowk and ghanta ghar..(Quite common with legacy cities) 2) Esplanade Metro railway station 3) Park Street 4) Kalighat 5) Howrah..its calcutta only...i don't think ..that Calcutta as a railway station is as popular as Howrah 6) Birla Planetorium - Class 5th folks do like planets..No doubt 7)Victoria Palace 8) Metro and Tram-- Even these are places of interest, if you were living in India in the 80s and 90s. 9) Indian Museum - 2hrs tak ghoomta raha still did not visited it properly. 10) Botanical Garden and Zoo -- Only place in the list , where didn't went. Well we went to Calcutta for one among papa's several trips outside the tinsel town of Shaktinagar. All the above places of interest were and are unique with Calcutta. Desp...