Written 2nd May 2005
This is one thing writers are very used to. You sit down with the aim
of writing something with a blank piece of paper before you (or
nowadays, a blank Wordpad screen). And then, for hours on end, you
cannot decide what the starting line should be. You think up various
options in your mind. As they come to your mind, you reject some
immediately. And you like one or two options but cannot decide which
one is better. This tussle goes on for quite some time and hence the
name, "Blank Page Syndrome".
The stage of my life in which I presently am, presents to me a
strikingly similar situation. In a week or so, the coursework at IIT is
going to end. ----- then job after 2 months---- like blank page ----- last
few months, busy with project & studies ---- now that no more ---- so
many options in these 2 months ----- career building ------ holiday with friends & family
---- hang out with friends in cal ---- urge to do sth productive ------
going home early ------- phew! eager to choose & write the 1st line....
****
19th June 2005
The 2-month vacation mentioned in the above scribble is now going on.
Half of it is over. And phew! The first line has been written.
The vacation started with my project guide asking me to stay back and
write a paper. Paper! - such glory, such hoo-haa'ness. How could I say
no. Thus the first line of my two-month long blank-page was literally
'written'.
The paper-writing episode continued for a good two weeks with a home
trip sprinkled in between. The writing had to be temporarily suspended
as the home front was threatening me with dire consequences if I did
not return within the month of May. My parents were convinced that
their son, who was showing no inclination of coming home, was up to some
dushtumi. If only they knew what a good boy their son was being at that
time!!
Anyway, circumstances were such that I found myself in Kolkata during
the last week of May. I had officially left Kgp. At least my parents
thought so. But some work was left for the project and that was a
good-enough excuse to come back again. However I could not breathe a
bit of this to my parents, because, as you well might understand, one's
life is precious to oneself.
A trip to Bangalore to visit my school friends who were completing
college there, had been long due. Also due was a relaxing getaway with
my parents. Punching these two, we decided to go to Bangalore for a ten
day trip.
This was my fourth visit to Bangalore. People found two things about our
trip difficult to digest. One - that we were not going anywhere apart
from Bangalore. For most Bengalis going so far South and not doing the
typical Ooty-kodaikanal-Mysore-etc-etc '2 nights-3 days' package is
sacrilege. And two, Bangalore being the preferred city of
employment that it is, that I was going there for relaxation instead of looking for
better job prospects.
The weather of Bangalore was just too good for scorched Calcutta’s like
us. We did not go to too many places. Our hotel, Pai Vihar, where we
had stayed earlier too, was just too good. Nevertheless, thanks to
Nilay and Soumallya and also Bhomesh and Fonta, we got to see quite a
few places - IISc Bangalore, Soumallya's college, Forum Mall, Bhomesh's
office. Finally we topped this with a trip to Tirupati and returned home
refreshed and blessed to face the onslaught in Kolkata.
There's one more month to go before I join my job. A string of
nemontonno's (invitations) has come up. I am struggling with all
earnest, in the departments of travel and gastronomical affairs, to do
justice to these invitations. Being of the opinion that such social
do-s prevent more enjoyable ways of whiling away time, I compare them
with similar social do-s that popped up ever so often in Kgp.
