The Green Revolution

For too long in my culinary career (i.e. since I had started cooking after coming to USA), have I restricted my vegetarian cooking to the following few recipes:

• Kopi'r dalla (Cauliflower curry)
• Rajma (Kidney bean curry)
• Masoor Daal (Lentils)
• Mug Daal (Lentils)
• Kopi diye Mug Daal (Lentils with Cauliflower)

These were good for when I used to eat my own cooking only once or twice a week (i.e. when when we were doing cooking turns in my friend's group). And these are good when I cook occasionally and the (dear) wife is doing most of the cooking (and Boy, she does cook well!). 

But now that I was alone during my wife's trip alone, I realized I could not eat just the same dishes and survive. So I finally made some dishes I had wanted to learn for a while -- simple green veggies cooked in the Bong style. The wife makes them very well, but I needed to learn them myself (found the recipes online).

Anyway these are the three green veggie dishes I made today:

1. Green beans Bengali style
   http://www.food.com/recipe/bengali-style-green-beans-481906
   
2. Bhindi (okra) Bengali style
   http://easy2cookrecipes.blogspot.com/2011/04/okra-stir-fry-bengali-style.html
   
3. Broccoli Bengali style
   http://www.tadkafry.com/bengali-recipes/broccoli-with-garlic-fennel-and-mustard-seeds-bengali-subzi-recipe/

All three were very easy to make, and I made all of them within two hours (while watching 'Shatranj ke Khiladi' on DVD). They all should go fantastically with daal and rice.

Ghorar Dim

Dear Blog

I am writing this in Bengali because I want to. Sorry to people not understanding Bengali. 

['Ghorar Dim' means 'Horses Eggs'.]

Accha bhaabte paaro? Ekta restaurant-e shudhu dim pawa jaaya... aar shetaai khub popular ekta restaurant? Maane India-te rastaar dhaare tumi nischoy oi stall gulo dekhecho je gulo-te omelette, egg-maggi ityaadi pawa jeto. Je rokom amra kharagpur-e Anil Da'r dokaan-e khetaam.

Kintu eikhaane, ei MAARKIN JUKTORASHTRE-y, shetaakei era 'Diner' bole chalaay. Aaj raatrei ami je bhojon kore elaam, ekta besh upmarket dim bhojon / bhokkhon-er dokaan-e khelam.

Ki khelam? Accha shono - ekta double dim-er poach - opor aar neech du dik-i bhaaja - so 'runny' eggs byapaar-taa nei. Ekhane etaake bole 'over-hard' Taa hole bujhtei paarcho 'over-soft', 'over-medium' jodi keu bole, taa hole ki bojhaabe. Amaar moto bhyabachaka hote hobe naa.

Accha dim-er sathe chilo aalu bhaaja. Paatla kore kaata aalu, halka kore bhaja. Etaa-ke ekhane bole 'hash brown'.

Aar chilo duto bacon-er strip. Naa hoy eta bongodesh-e tumi naa-o dekhe thaakte paaro.

Accha ei shob gulo'r pore aar ekta jinish chilo. Pancakes. Etaar-o kono exact bharotiyo juri neii. 

Kintu jaai hok, pancakes to mishti jinish. Actual khabar taa ta hole ki daraalo? Dim aar alu bhaja. Eta khete tumi restaurant-e jaabe, kokhono bhabte paarcho? Maane kono chance aache? Nei, ami jaani. Kintu ei desh-taai e rokom. Alaada. 

To ekhane surprised hoyo naa, jodi kauke shey restaurant-e ki khelo jigesh korle, shey bole: "dim-er poach aar aalu bhaja".

Jaai boli, puro byapaar-ta kintu bhalo kore serve korey. Aar pancakes gulo ghyama banaay maairi ekhaane. Sheta pore aar-o bistrito bornon kore likhbo aar ek din.

Cholo bhalo theko.

Kriti

What's up Blog!

Hey Blog

How you doin'?

Well as you know I am now in SFO - spending a 3 month period of my life here. Well I did tell you a bit about all that in my last post to you, but this time - wanted to share some statistics with you. 

The following one, I looked up on Sept. 11 this year.

• About 3000 people died in the September 11 attacks on World Trade Center, New York ^
• About 40,000 people live in Blacksburg, USA (that's where Virginia Tech is located) ^
• About 230,000 people died in the Haiti earthquake, early 2010 ^

[Imagine 70 WTC towers collapsing simultaneously within 2 minutes. Or 6 towns like Blacksburg wiped out. That was the Haiti earthquake.]

OK, next one is not so grim. It is related to my love for Botanical Gardens. Loved it as a kid. Still love it. Found this one out after my visit to Golden Gate Park, SFO.

• About 250 acres: Area of Botanical Gardens, Kolkata ^
• About 1000 acres: Area of Golden Gate Park, San Francisco ^
  
  
• About 5 million: Population of Kolkata ^
• About 1 million: Population of San Francisco ^

[That means Kolkata has 5 times more people but it's biggest recreational area is 4 times smaller.]

Am curious to know if this post will reach you properly. Am sending it to you via email.

Take care. 

Kriti

Chapter 2

A lot of things going on recently. I traveled to Chicago to attend a truly international conference. Then came to California to do an internship. Experiencing new places, new people, new foods, new experiences. Office. Commute to office. California. Chicago. Long distance relationship. So many changes - so many things to write about. For a start, here some of my recent reflections/ observations/ experiences:

• Walking at night on the roads of USA, you see many cars passing by but no people.
  
• California food is good. Very good. Also Mexicans make curry very much like our mutton curry and rice pudding very much like our payesh.
  
• Some people (read 'I') unwind by talking/being with their loved ones. Not having them nearby can be tough. Different time zones can make this even more difficult. 
• Writing comes naturally in these times.
  
• In the real world (as compared to grad school), money is a big motivator. Commute-time to work is equally important.
  
• The engine of a BMW is very powerful.
  
• Driving a stick-shift is slightly more work but more fun.
  
• Some people do not like being given directions by the GPS.
  
• In Chicago, I had to search for places where I liked the food. In California, I have not yet found a place where I did not like the food.
  
• A Mexican burrito can be very different from the one we eat at Moe's.
  
• You might meet most of the first authors on the Reference list of your publication by going to an international conference.
  
• Blue Moon beer tastes good.
  
• It is great fun to sing along with someone playing the guitar to 'Hotel California' - even if you are reading the lyrics off the internet.
  
• If you get lost in USA but have a laptop, check available Wireless connections. You might get an unsecured Wireless connection.
  
• One night, in Chicago - I took a ferry ride on Lake Michigan to get a good view of the city lights. After a while, I realized that I was more attracted by a view directly opposite the city lights - the sight of the lake at night, and the dark wavy waters spreading out into a dark horizon.
  
• You got to stay at the beach if you want to enjoy the ocean. A few hours just does not cut.
  
• It is difficult to take good photographs on a rocking boat at night.
  
• Chicago (and lot of central USA) is flat. Really flat.
  
• Some people are not scared of looking down from the 110th floor of a building.
  
• Yesterday, I walked for 45 minutes along busy roads but did not get within 20ft of another individual (except for those who were in cars whizzing by).
  [Point made earlier but felt like noting it again.]
  
• The Macbook has a clamshell mode. Fortunately.
  
• TV has its attractions - after watching something on a large TV screen, difficult to go back to a small laptop screen.
• Some good TV shows  I found - Bourdain, Man vs. Food.

More later. 

Oye! Get in line.

The time is 1:50pm. 10 more minutes till school is out. As a school prefect, I have to excuse myself from class for dispersal duty.

Let me explain what dispersal duty is. When the school bell rings at 2, everyone is bound to make a mad rush to exit the school premises. This can be dangerous - so the dispersal must be done in an orderly fashion. Junior classes 6 and 7 leave first, then class 8 and so on. Dispersal duty prefects man important locations along the dispersal path - from corridors to stairways to exit door - and make sure the dispersal is carried out on in a disciplined fashion.

At almost all points, two lines come down the stairs, one from the left wing and one from the right. The prefects are usually at the middle of the two lines. To make sure that the lines remain separate and that there is not a mad scramble down the staircase - is the primary challenges.

I am in Class 8. I invariably am posted at one of the important locations. First the rush of Classes 6 and 7 come in. They come like a wave of foamy bubbles. With my height, I tower over most of them - and I easily pack these kids into proper lines. They try to escape but it is easy to push then back - seniority helps.

Then come my batchmates. They know me and even if I want to act tough - they will not let me. Some of them are pure villain - they want to piss me off intentionally. Some hoist the sentimentality flag - "Kriti, let me go yaar. You know how important it is that I get the first seat in the schoolbus". Some do not care whichever way - 5 minutes here and there do not matter.

By this time, the human wave is swelling. The height and average weight of the 'dispersees' has increased. I am pushed around. But I come back to my position and keep pushing people back into their lines. On my watch, not many people can break rules - it is an unpopular job but someone has got to do it.

And then come the seniors - classes 9 and 10. Some understand the need for maintaining lines (kudos to these compassionate souls). But for most, it is ridiculous that they have to obey orders from a Junior. They wear full trousers and Class 8 students have to wear shorts. The distinction is too much. The human wave knows no barrier now - the prefect is tossed and turned around. Seniors usually warn of extreme retaliation later on if we do not give in to them now. Some of the Class 8 prefects give in and just let the stampede pass. But many like me are stubborn. We resurface to face the challenge. It is a lost cause but nevertheless we do not give up.

After a few minutes of this frenzy, the wave subsides. What remains is just a trickle of lingerers - those who do not care when they get out of school. Then there are some who do not care whether they get out of school at all. We force these people out, and make sure the classrooms are empty.

The whole exercise works up quite an appetite. I wish my fellow prefects goodbye, and head back home for lunch.

----- o -------

A few days back, I suddenly happened to remember this. If I painted the picture right, you will realize that this daily routine was quite an ordeal. But 15 years later, it is now just another wonderful memory from my school-days.

A Hill Station called Blacksburg

I never thought I would fall in love with the mountains.

When I was a kid, my family would make a trip about once a year. The first such trip was to Digha - a sea-beach. The trip was short - 2 days - but I was enraptured by the sea. There was something about the sea that immediately got me hooked. Moreover I was the only kid in the group - and I could get away from the elders and feel free when I was in the sea.

But we used to go to hills very often. I did not enjoy going to hills. Oh yes - it was beautiful and all that. But we would end up sitting in the car all day traveling - stay at a place with a beautiful view for a night - and then travel again next day to another beautiful sight. There were brief occasions when I could actually wander around in the mountains - never too far from the watchful eyes of accompanying parent or relative - but still I enjoyed those brief moments. The accompanying elder would take the well trodded trail while I would head into little more adventurous terrain. Alas! These moments were too short and far apart - and all in all, I did not enjoy the mountains as much as I enjoyed the sea.

And then three years ago, I came to Virginia. More precisely - Blacksburg, Virginia. Bang in the middle of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Mountains everywhere. East - West - North - South - mountains on all sides. But for most of my first one and a half years here, these mountains remained out of reach - my travels were limited to the campus, grocery store etc. Trips out of Blacksburg were mostly taken by Interstate 81. And when on these Interstates, I never got the true feel of the mountains. These roads do not wind around mountains like true mountain roads do - they just bulldoze through them.

But these mountains kept calling out to me. I remember that while taking breaks from work, I used to enjoy a particularly good view of the mountains from one end of my office building in Torgersen Hall. Over the year, I saw the hills changing color - the Greens of Summer and Spring, to the Reds and Oranges of Autumns, to the Greys of Winter - I kept on staring at the wonderful mountains. Alas - from afar!

And then things started changing. I bought a bike. Started going out into the countryside. I started exploring trails. Soon after, I got a car. Now the world opened up rapidly. Random drives led me to the most wonderful of places. One particularly memorable day was when I spotted a trailhead while driving - and ended up exploring that trail by foot for around two hours.

I realized I was hooked. I now had full access to the mountains. What I had experienced as a child was not the proper way to enjoy the beauty of the mountains. To enjoy mountains one does not (I believe) need to go to a famous point and see a beautiful sight. Rather one should get lost in the vast expanses of the mountains - and then he will begin to truly feel their true beauty.

True Love

The pic below was drawn by a cousin sister of mine when she was in her 3rd grade. What really amazed me was the sensitive quote which was scribbled on it.

The transcription of the quote is below the pic.

~~~~~~~~~

A girl once asked a boy,
"Do you think I'm pretty?"
"No" replied the boy.
"Don't you want me?"
"No"
"Do you like me?"
"No.

I don't think you're pretty,

I think you're beautiful.

I don't want you,

I need you.

I don't like you,

I love you."

 

~true love~

A Sardar, A 'Yogi' and some Witty Comments

The English weather might have been mild. But the emotions running amok in the mind of one particular member of the Indian cricketing team were far from that.

That person was unhappy over a tiff with the Captain of the team. Being the senior most member of the team, he felt he should have been treated better. In retaliation, he decided to take an extreme stand. He deserted his team and took the first flight back to India [Link]. A shameful exit from international cricket, most people thought. But luckily, the man got another chance to play for his country. And though his last stint consisted of a few good innings, when he finally retired 3 years later, it was not as if the cricketing community was in tears over his exit. A promising career had come to a damp end.

But the man had more to say. Literally, a lot more to say.

After retiring from active cricket, this man became a commentator for international cricket. There he created a niche of his own - with humorous and witty comments blended with knowledgable inputs about the game. While cricketing pundits were aplenty, these comments were unusual in the cricketing world. And soon this commentators quips became famous in India and the world.

The shamed cricketer's footwork was impeccable this time and no one was going to dislodge his wicket for a while.

The man - none other than Navjot Singh Sidhu. His comments - now collectively known as Sidhuisms. Some examples below [from this link]:

1. Statistics are like bikinis… what they reveal is suggestive, what they hide is essential!
2. In the orchard of opportunity, you cant wait for the fruit to drop.
3. Good intentions die unless utilized.

Personally, I find Sidhu's comeback story quite fabulous and inspiring. However, recently I read about a certain Yogi Berra, a famous baseball player and manager, and found out about his penchant for witty comments [Link]. His quotes are famous as Yogi-isms. I wondered whether this was a coincidence. Or was Sidhu just copying from Yogi's quotes. This suspicion jaded my respect for Sidhu a bit. But reflecting on the matter a few days later, and by actually comparing quotes of these two witty people, I now think that Sidhu is not plagiarizing. His ingenuity must be applauded.

To round up the article, here are some of Yogi Berra's famous quotes which are certainly worth sharing [Source: Wikiquotes].

1. It ain't over till it's over.
2. When you come to a fork in the road, take it.
3. Always go to other people's funerals, otherwise they won't go to yours.
4. Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded.

Image credits:

MANPREET ROMANA/AFP/Getty Images [Link]

Something, Anything.

And in the Mumbai blasts,
Did any of your kin die?
Or any for whom you would shed a tear?
Would you have to skip a meal?
Or suffer damage to property?
Or have effect on monthly wages?

Then why do you say
You are affected?

You feel angry?
Sad?
Anxious?
Threatened?
You could have been there, right?
So something must be done, you say.

You are right,
Something must be done -
But what?

You say - something. Anything.
Quick action.
Strong steps.
Ban the ***,
Hang the ***,
Raid the ***,
Kill the ***.

But then.
Hundreds die
Of floods
In Bihar every year
Or in Orissa of heat
Or in Delhi of cold
And on the day of such news
You calmly sip your morning-tea
And fold the paper
And call up your son.

What then?
Isn't it ironic
That when those people
Feel threatened
And insecure;
And some rebel outfit
Or insurgent group
Promises them security,
And they follow blindly,
You call them poor illiterates.

Come to think of it,
They too are just doing something.
Something, anything.

- Kriti Sen Sharma
Image credits: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/11/mumbai_under_attack.html
----------------------------------------------------
(Poem 1 of 2 written as a reaction to Mumbai terrror attack, November 2008. Read other poem here.)

Was asked by friend, Deepu George, to write in my reactions to the terror attack. He planned to read out such inputs on his radio show (aired on WUVT). These two poems were written as a result of Deepu's request. However, after writing the poems I felt that many people might take offense at my emotions about the attacks. Eight months later, I feel these poems can now be released.

Firstly, Switch off the TV

Those who have lost someone of their kin, or someone close to heart, or those who have suffered loss of property in the recent tragedy in Mumbai, might find the following piece offensive. The millions of other people are requested to read on.
***

First of all,
Switch off the TV.
Don't look at the papers.

Instead
Go watch a movie
Gossip about stingy relatives
Gorge on glorious food
Or shop till you drop.

Then you will realize
You have not been affected.

And then
Before you go to sleep
Think -
Can you do something
To prevent another Mumbai
And if the answer is yes,
Get up and start working on it.

Otherwise go to sleep
And remember -
Every scared and threatened mind
Is another victory in the terrorist's tally.

- Kriti Sen Sharma
(Unaffected.
But till when?)
----------------------------------------------------
Image credits: http://www.flickr.com/photos/soumik/3062552427/

(Poem 2 of 2 written as a reaction to Mumbai terrror attack, November 2008. Read other poem here.)

Was asked by friend, Deepu George, to write in my reactions to the terror attack. He planned to read out such inputs on his radio show (aired on WUVT). These two poems were written as a result of Deepu's request. However, after writing the poems I felt that many people might take offense at my emotions about the attacks. Eight months later, I feel these poems can now be released.

Getting Things Off My Chest

Someone once noted that there is a clearly proven statistical risk in driving a car. It seems car accidents have killed more people in history than did all the killing World War II. Despite that, driving remains a pleasurable activity. On certain days I cannot but agree more and more with this. When the wind brushes through your hair, and you whiz past houses, people, trees, forests, lakes and hills, it truly is an out of the world feeling. And on top of this, if the radio churns out a song which is just right for the moment, well that really makes your day.

And that was the exact feeling I had the other day. Which brings me to the main reason for this blog post. I just have to recommend this song to everyone. Hopefully not too many have heard before and would enjoy it. (Caveat: A bit guy-friendly perhaps.)


Here's the song: "Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy" by 'Big and Rich'

***

And while I am on the topic of recommendations, there are a few other recommendations I would like to get off my chest.

'Spreading the light', 'My good deed for the day'... call it what you want, good things should be shared with everyone. So here goes my list (of recommendations):

The Movie: "I Want Candy"
(Rated R for sexual content and language. British comedy.)


The Other Movie: "Remember the Titans"
(Awesome Awesome Awesome movie. For the whole family. I do not know why no one had told me about this earlier. This movie is just too good.)


The Cartoon: Series on "Economic Meltdown" by David Horsey
http://www.seattlepi.com/horsey/popupV2.asp?subID=4287&page=11&gtitle=Economic+Meltdown&pubdate=

The Powerpoint Presentation: "Impact of Social Media in Our Lives"
(Amazing presentation! Huge number of slides. But believe me... It flies away in a jiffy. Also you get to know many interesting facts about Facebook)

What the F**K is Social Media: One Year Later

View more documents from Marta Kagan.

A Field Switch

So in the field of my research, I begin work on a new field.

I stay within the broad realm of 'Biomedical Imaging and Image Processing' but my topic of research shifts from the field of 'Imaging for Virology' to 'Computed Tomography (CT)'. As I begin on this path, a vast plethora of information comes up. There is information of various types - historical, business-related and technical. Historical information includes: when the CT was invented (1937), when major advances were made (1960-s by Hounsfield in EMI labs, the same company which owned the Beatles label!), and so on. Business-related info deals with leading CT scanner manufacturers (Toshiba, Marconi...), costs of various technologies etc. The technical angle translates into the literature survey, or papers I would have to read (YES.. it's pretending-to-read-the-paper-but-actually-sleeping time).

And while treading my first few steps on this path (the de facto first step was reading the Wikipedia entry), I came across a nice video (embedded below) about a group of researchers giving ideas for improving CT technology. I loved the presentation style. So I watched other videos by this group (on different techonologies) - I especially liked these two: On controlling a helicopter by neural control, On inexpensive Virtual Reality.


PS: One query for the writing gurus out there.... Is the usage of de facto in my post correct? Or would you suggest something different?

Is This India's SSN?

SSN is all sacrosanct in USA. Now, India is setting up an agency to provide Unique ID (UID) numbers to all citizens.

Now considering that one of the aims of this is to provide citizens access to services like Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (for people below poverty line), I wonder whether this is a move towards the social security structure of USA. My understanding of social security in US, and I might be technically wrong, is that the government promises to give employment, medical care, housing to all its citizens; and in this way, UID sounds similar.

One good thing about the implementations in India: Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani has been made head of the agency for implementing UID.

PS: Junta in US, did you know that SSN is not mandatory. People can opt out if they want to. Read more about this at the Wikipedia entry on SSN.

Why is Safari Sticking to (new) Windows?

So what with the release of Safari 4, I decided to finally shift from Firefox to Safari on my Mac. On my PC, I use Google Chrome. And I dare say that Safari does not come close to Chrome in terms of the beauty of the user interface. But Chrome has not yet launched for Mac, so Safari it is for now.

Since yesterday, I was annoyed to see that in Safari, links opened up in new windows instead of new tabs. According to me this is pure sacrilege. So I Googled "safari open link in new tab" and got the solution at the bottom of a forum thread. Here it is for easier reference

1. Open terminal. Cut paste the following line:

defaults write com.apple.Safari TargetedClicksCreateTabs -bool true

2. Restart Safari. And voila. You are done.

E=mc... WHAT!!!

This reporter at ITN news has found a way to travel at the speed of light. According to him, flight speed sensors in the doomed Air-France flight became defective and this might have caused two things - ONE, the plane stalled and went straight down, or TWO, the plane approached the speed of light and the plane disintegrated at that high speed.

Did he say speed of light? I think I can hear Einstein turning in his grave.

Watch this video from around the 1:10 mark.

Well, that's what you call a silly mistake. That reporter must be getting a good leg-pulling from his friends today.

Finally my sympathy lies with the victims. And what a shame for technology that days have gone by and all bodies or the filght's black box have not yet been found.

Ai Chin Can Tok

Recently, I thought I should start to learn the Chinese language.

And so I Googled the keywords - "learn Chinese". Google suggested "learn Chinese in 5 minutes" and I found out the language is not so difficult after all. I am pasting the tutorial below. All you need is to speak out the tutorial loud.

Image credits: http://www.funnyjunk.com/funny_pictures/3865/Learn+Chinese+in+5+Minutes/

...which led me to this awesome awesome website which collects all these funny images. Which led me to spend zillions of mouse clicks browsing one image after another. Bad Bad PC.

Grooveshark

Since Seeqpod seems to be down, I tried out Grooveshark. This is the link.

And here's a sample playlist of Yanni created on Grooveshark.

A Classic F.R.I.E.N.D.S. Scene

Ross and Rachel have had their first kiss. Rachel relates the story of their kiss to her lady-friends the next day. Ross does the same, only this time, he is talking with his guy-friends. The contrast in perspectives is hillarious.

See the first few minutes of this video - and enjoy!!!
(PS: Unfortunately embedding of this video was not allowed)

Drifting

Car enthusiasts would love this...

"Drifting" - this is a particular style of driving in which the driver purposefully makes the car skid while making a turn. The trick is to maintain control over the car even while doing the skid/drift.

YouTube has been promoting this over the last few days. See the following video to see how drifting is done in the nation where drifting was born - Japan (skip the first 1 minute 30 seconds, and be ready for a visual treat thereafter).


Or this explanatory pic (click to expand). Image credits: http://minizcanada.com/tech/driving.php

Baa Baa Black Ship

The 2nd episode in my 3 part series on faux-pas in conversation.
(Episode 1)

At age 14 or 15

One of my first "hanging around" groups comprised a set of people much elder to me - 2 aunts, 1 uncle, 1 sister, 1 brother-in-law, my mom and my dad. Now had there been another kid of my age, I would probably have played carrom with that kid in another room. But there wasn't and so I became a regular member of their "adda" or discussion. Many a times, I contributed to their conversation and got the happy feeling that I was as old and as mature as them ¹. And then, sometimes, there were times like this one which put me where I belonged i.e. in the correct age bracket.

I was sitting next to my Mesho (maternal uncle) that day. Now Mesho was a tall man who spoke less. But when he spoke, everyone listened. The expression used to regularly describe him, a typically Bengali expression, was "Onaar khoob personality aache." which I think translates into "He has a very intimidating personality". Now, if being like one of the elders was cool, being like Mesho denoted a Nordic level of coolness. Addressing a sentence to him usually required careful consideration and thought, but my Mom presented me with such an opportunity that day, that I pounced upon it with eager glee.

The topic of discussion had veered to the subject of ships, and my Mom committed the typically Bengali error of pronouncing 'ship' as 'sheep'. My first language English education was aroused; here was an opportunity to gain some brownie points in front of the insurmountable Mesho, a pucca pundit of the British language. He undoubtably would be glad to know that I took so much care of restraining the 'e'-s in 'ship', and so I said, "Dekho Mesho, Maa'r ki baaje pronouncitation. Ship ke sheep bolche! (Just look at my Mom's poor pronounciation. She's calling a 'ship' as 'sheep'.)"

I finished my sentence and was eagerly awaiting a pat on my back for my diligence, or a commiserating sentence about the sad state of English pronunciation in Bengal. But my Mesho's face remained expressionless. I became a bit anxious. Finally, he spoke, "Pronunciation-er banaan bolo to. (Spell pronunciation.)"

I gulped. Had I goofed up somewhere? But he was asking me a sitter... I was too good at spelling to make a mistake at this one, and so I said, "P-R-O-N-O-U-N-C-I-A-T-I-O-N."

"Confident?" he asked.

I thought to myself, that's how I pronounce it when I say it, and that's the easiest way to work out spellings, so I must be correct, "Haan. Confident. (Yes. Confident.)"

Mesho smiled now, a smile which I realized was not for the reason I was hoping for, and said, "Kaal English teacher ke jigesh kore niyo. Spelling taa bhool, uccharon-taao taai bhool... Ota 'pro-NOUN-ciation' noy... ota actually 'pro-NUN-ciation'. Nijer Maa'r uccharon theek koraar aage nijer taa theek koro. (Ask your English teacher tomorrow. You spelt it incorrectly and hence your pronunciation is also incorrect. It's 'pro-NUN-ciation', not 'pro-NOUN-ciation. Son, before you correct your Mom's pronounciation, correct your own first.)"

I could find myself wanting to melt away as he spoke, but an embarrassed exit is all I managed that day.
----
¹ At age 14, kids long to grow older and be free from the shackles and rules enforced by their parents. By age 26, they learn better.

... 3rd episode coming up.
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PS: I had been itching to put up this PJ that I came up with the other day. I would have included it here anyway. But now that I used the word 'intimidating', I get legal privilege to put up its' 'dictionary' meaning here (For those uninitiated to PJ-dom, this is no way connected with actual meaning intended in above piece.):

Intimidating:
Pronounciation: intimi-dating

The process of asking a girl out for dinner and threatening her with dire consequences if she refuses.