Wise Ani

Remeber Ani? My cute little nephew!!
Let me show you, how wise he is getting day by day !!

A few days ago,my father went to Ani's house. Now,my father is getting thinner day by day. Ani asked him that why he was getting so thin? My father made a sad face and said,"Why don't you give me some useful tips to gain weight, ani?".
Ani enthusiastically started giving tips,"Start consuming crude oil-it will really help you. And yes, just become lazy. Stop doing any work ; don't move your body at all !!! Simply lie down and watch TV. Very soon you will get the result. "


Ani once asked his uncle,"Does Dodo dada study too much? Does auntie make him study for long hours during exams?" His uncle said,"Yes". Ani then gave his uncle wise counsel. He said, " Just stop Dodo dada from studying so much-otherwise he will go to exam hall and faint; he won't be able to sit for the exams at all. So what'll be the use of so much study?"

One day, ani's family members were discussing a sad death. Ani made the following comments," Why are you fretting over this death? This is the law of nature. Every leaf,every flower,every fruit will cease to exist one day - that's only natural. We don't grieve the loss of leaves or flowers. We accept them as unalterable facts. Then why are you grieving now?? "
Imagine these words coming from a 5 year old.


Ani was 3 years old then. He was told by his parents that he was now the elder brother to the new born baby they had gone to see. Ani refused to accept this fact. He reasoned,"Look, 1 comes before 2,3 comes after 2. 1 is smaller than 2 and 3 is greater 2. So,one who comes before is smaller than the one who comes later. Hence,I am the smaller one,because I have come first!!!"


Ani,one day,sadly inspected his father's bulky books (management and SAP books) and lamented," How am I ever going to read this sort of books? It takes me 1 month to finish reading just a single page from my book! "

To Sir and Madam,With Love.......

It's Teacher's day today-a time to fondly remember our teachers.....those teachers,who have held our hands firmly,when we were tottering kids,those teachers who became our friends when we were budding youngsters,those teachers who have untiringly devoted their lives in building the foundation of the new generation........
I would like to remember some of my teachers today; unfortunately I am not in touch with them now,but I want to tell them,that I miss them awefully,as much as I miss my old friends,or may be even more...

Before I talk about Madam Sujata, let me ask you,that have you ever confronted a situation in your life,where,you have heard many things about a person,but when you come to know that person personally,you find out that he or she has an entirely different personality..you start wondering that is this the person I heard about !!! Such was the case with Madam Sujata.
Madam Sujata was our Bengali teacher...I first time got her as my teacher,when I was in class 8.
I have heard a lot about her before. I have heard that she was a very stern and severe teacher, it was unimaginable to go and approach her, she got angry easily etc...stuffs like that!! So,naturally,when she first came to take class,the whole class was in awe of her.
But,how wrong can people be!! Let me tell you,not only she was my favourite teacher,but she became a friendly figure to the entire class...students used to go to her and confide their personal problems to her. She was so friendly,so warm,not to mention,what an excellent teacher she was.
We interacted with her so freely - honestly,before that, I have never had the idea that you can be so frank with your teachers.
Speaking personally,I was a dear to her. She loved me with almost motherly affection. I remember, running to her,whenever I faced even the smallest of the problems!! I have lost my earrings...go to ma'am sujata...I have cut my legs..go to ma'am sujata..seniors are teasing me...go to ma'am sujata.
Many years have passed,but still,I fondly remember,how she used to help me..how she used to solve my minutest problems..............
She had known my nature in a very short time..how,I still wonder. She knew that I was a very shy and introvert girl,and I shrank from taking duties that needed me to interact with people.
So,she made the monitor of my class. I was angry with her at first for that,but later I have realised how good it was for me. It was her continuous prodding,that made me start writing for school journals. She made me participate in school debate, elocution etc. I gradually realised, that ,I had a few qualities which I never thought I had..thanks to her.
I still remember how once she came down to me and asked me why I was crying..I had just stopped crying before that, so I think she could tell that I was crying, from my face,glazed with tears and my red eyes. I flatly refused to tell her the reason. (I was crying for fairing poorly in maths class test,and I was not going to tell her that !! ). But,somehow she coaxed the reason out of me and,then,started reasoning with me. I was calmed after much persuasion and,then she dropped me to my home. How can I ever forget those little acts of extreme thoughtfulness !!
How happy she was,when I topped from my school..she had told me previously,"You must be studying very hard and you have to do a good result..I am really hopeful about you..and dont let my hopes get shattered". I have not achieved much in my life,but at least I am happy that I did not let her down .
Let me just cite a small event to show how close she was to her students. A senior student of our school had died suddenly, and when madam went to his house, his friends were telling her that ma'am you have been such a good friend to us throughout the school life..and today your presence here itself is like a great consolation for us!
Yes,she had been a great friend to us -- our entire batch...I dont know about other people, who spoke differently about her,but for us, she was our friend, philosopher ,and guide...
I miss you badly Madam Sujata.....I miss you..............


Now,I want to say a few words about K.K. Sir-I went to him for English tuition. I.C.S.E English is not very easy to handle,but thanks to sir,he made it really smooth. Sir was a man of few words, but those few words were always affectionate- I can't remember him raising his voice on any occasion. An interesting thing was that he was equally good in Bengali. Many of my co-students often asked him to help them write their bengali essays !!
K.K. sir was a person who preffered to remain engrossed in his little world - the world consisting of books. He was a professor of a college and I have rarely come across any person with such an aweful knowledge of english literature.
He was a great teacher and though he was, to us, more a teacher than a friend, yet, he was a company so soothing,yet so encouraging and so reassuring.
I still miss this devoted scholar .

I can't tell you much about Sudhir sir as I have taken tuition from him only for one month.
But this one month was sufficient to reveal the wonderful side of his nature. I have never met another teacher who dealt with his students with so much patience. And,he was a teacher in ideal sense. Taking money from his students was a sheer no-no for him. In fact,he taught many students without taking any fee..how many teachers like that can be found in today's out and out professional world? I had a really difficult time in making him accept my tuition fee.
When I had to leave that place,I sadly wondered that why did not I meet him earlier?
I went to his place the day before I left Agartala; in midway through our conversation,I just casually mentioned that my favourite subject was biology,and lo!! he gifted me a brand new biology book. I was too embarrassed to accept it,but he simply forced me to take it. I still have that book and I am going to keep it forever.
You can understand,what kind of man Sudhir Sir was,to have made a permanent place in the heart of a student who has known him only for a month.

As kids see it

I have a little nephew-just 6 years old....He is so cute and so funny. He sometimes speaks like a wise old man,as if he has delved into the sharp insights of human mind. You simply can't stop laughing at him at those times and it seems to me that he too enjoys it. And yet again, most of the times he is his real little self.


A few days ago,he came from school,in an ecstatic mood. He has got 8 out of 10 in class test and got a "good" from his teacher. He was almost jumping with joy,when he came to my aunt,and told her,"just see!! just see! The boy who used to get 0,1,2 in tests,has today recieved 8!! Just see that!!"
Really a baby,isn't he?

One day,when Ani (his name is Anindya..so from that Ani) came to my house, he happened to notice a mini television on a shelf. He asked me,"why is this television so small? Why it is not like a normal one? "
Before I could answer,he himself had got it. With an enlightened face,he said,"I know why!! It's for the kids coming to your house. Such a TV is suitable for little kids only!!"
Lo!!!!!

Ani is very observant,and a keen listener as well. He will listen to each and every word you are discussing in front of him, and then will pass his wise comments. You can understand how it feels like to hear his kiddish comments on serious issues.
It so happened that,a boy in the neighborhood of my mama's (maternal uncle) house had committed suicide. One day, my aunts and others were discussing this sad incident, and were saying that the condition of the deceased boy's parents was only slightly redeemed by the fact that they had another kid...How shattering and totally unbearable would it have been for them, had the deceased boy been their only child...They would have found it meaningless to survive then.
Ani heard all these conversations and then like a wise old man,he nodded and said,"Yes,absolutely true. That's exactly why an aeroplane has got two propellers..If one goes wrong,another is still there"
Now,what a comparison to make!!!


I think,Ani loves to give queer answers to anything said to him, just to amuse others.
A few examples :
My aunt one day,told ani,"Your father is always so busy!! Today he is going to Delhi,tomorrow to Bangalore,next day to Mumbai...He his always on the move..No time to sit and relax with family members!"
Ani's prompt reply : "Earth is also moving continuously,So dad is earth !!!"

Ani and his family once went to Haridwar. There they were staying in Bharat Sevashram. Now,ani had noticed that all people address the hermits as "Maharaj".
One day,ani needed to call one maharaj,but the problem was that,he had forgotten the word "maharaj". So instead,he called him,"O rajkumar, Rajkumar!!Can you hear me?"
"Maharaj" replaced with "Rajkumar" !!!

My visit to Andaman

A trip to Andaman

If you ask me what my favourite hobby is, it is reading. But if you ask me about the thing or idea that fascinates me to no end, it’s travelling. Here, I am going to talk about my trip to Andaman Islands. I consider myself really fortunate that I had the opportunity to visit this wonderful place before Tsunami had wreaked havoc here.

Andaman is the abode of numerous pristine beaches, virgin forests teeming with wildlife and some of the most ancient tribes of the world. The place supposedly derives its name from an event of Ramayana. It is said that when Hanuman leaped across the ocean to reach Lanka, on his way he placed his feet on these islands. So, it came to be known as "Honduman" which was later changed to Andaman.

Port BlairI visited Andaman with my family in the summers of 2004. When we landed on Port Blair (capital of Andaman and Nicobar Islands), the first thing that we noticed was its unpleasant weather. The climate of Andaman is characterized by sweltering heat coupled with frequent outbursts of rain. This climate had rendered the islands uninhabitable for a long time. Nevertheless, we forgot all about the weather when we reached our hotel. From my room I could get a wonderful view of the sea as well as of a little island. I could not ask for more!!The hotel manager told us to leave our luggage and go to our room. He assured us that the people there were so honest that they wouldn’t even touch our luggage if we left it unattended for hours. Now, that was a really nice thing to learn about the people of this place. I immediately went to my room and leaned over the balcony to give my eyes the much awaited treat - the mesmerizing sight of the brilliant blue ocean.

Ross Island (Rani Laxmibai Island)
Englanders made Andaman a place to deport convicts to. These prisoners were made to build the residences of British officers on Ross island- There were also churches, bakeries, graveyard etc. During 2nd World War, Japanese bombs ruined the island. So, Ross Island was now the home of the ruins of an erstwhile British colony. 
One fine morning, we went to phoenix bay (a jetty) and boarded a steamer which would take us to the island. It was a beautiful experience to see the steamer gliding across the blue water that was dazzling brilliantly in the bright sunlight. And so enjoyable were the sudden appearances made by those cute dolphins!! 
Ross Island greeted us with the remnants of past. It was now the home of peacocks and cheetal deer. It felt wonderful exploring the ruins, now and then spotting a deer (they were eager enough to come and have some bits of food from our hand) and getting thrilled by hearing the shrill sounds of peacocks.
We had a wonderful time there and finally it was time to bid Ross Island good bye.

Chiriya Tapu
Next day we went to Chiriya Tapu. It's also known as Birds Island as this place is frequented by a large number of migratory birds. 
We had hired a car to go to Chiriya Tapu. The route was through narrow, winding hilly paths, bordered on both sides by dense jungles. Chiriya Tapu is a rather lonely spot, save a guest house located on the top of a hillock.
The dense mangroves surrounding the beach presented quite an enthralling view.
The beach was fairly rocky. It was quite tough for me to wade through the waters near the beach, with the surface underneath being comprised of sharp edged rocks and corals.
The sunset was breathtakingly beautiful. Streaks of myriad colours, reflected from the setting sun, adorned the sky-and then, gradually the glowing red ball disappeared into the depths of the blue ocean.
We took leave of the birds and left the Birds Island.
The sunset was breathtakingly beautiful. Streaks of myriad colours, reflected from the setting sun, adorned the sky-and then, gradually the glowing red ball disappeared into the depths of the blue ocean.
We took leave of the birds and left the Birds Island.

Cellular Jail

Andaman is a place steeped in history. It’s a history of unimaginable atrocities of the so-called civilized race that ruled our nation for over 200 years. It sends a chill down our spine when we enter Cellular Jail, the tall, grim structure bearing mute witness to the persecution of our freedom fighters.  The prison was specially meant to confine the exiled political prisoners. Cellular Jail is the place where Veer Savarkar was imprisoned for a long time; it’s the place where Ullashkar Dutt was tortured to madness. We attended the “Light and Sound” show which narrated the black history of Cellular Jail. Then, a guide showed us the prison cells and the museum. One is bound to get surprised or rather nauseated by the ingenuity showed by the British in devising the torturing instruments or in designing the prison cells in an inhuman way. I left the Cellular Jail with a heavy heart that nevertheless, was bursting with pride.

I also visited a number of other places like Havelock, Jolly Buoy, Radhanagar etc and each of them filled me with unique and enriching experiences. When I left Andaman, it was with the lone regret that I could not see the ‘Jarwas’, the tribe that is well on its way toward extinction now. Then, all of a sudden, Tsunami struck on 26^th December, 2004. The coasts of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands were devastated by a 10 m (33 ft) high tsunami. I was deeply saddened, but, at the same time I realized that though Andaman now bore the signs of Tsunami, my love and fascination for this place would remain undiminished forever.