The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

While shifting through channels last night, saw the last portion of a movie that had the theme of a nazi concentration camp during the WW II. As usual, the theme excited me and the last few mins of the film that I could catch on makes me frustrated as I could feel that it is a good one, but could neither make head nor tails. This morning, again while surfing for news, the movie came again and thankfully I missed only a few mins of the opening scene. I settled down to relax and enjoy the film. It is wonderfully made and by the time it is over, i still sat stuck in my sofa, reflecting…it was so powerful.

It is about life, as seen through the innocent eyes of an 8 year old boy…the only twist being that the boy is the son of a nazi officer commanding a concentration camp, who thought the camp to be just a “farm” where jews work and he befriended a kid his age when they met across the fence…. the ending was the most shaky part…when bruno the german kid put on a “Striped Pajama” that his friend schmuel brought, so that bruno can get inside the camp and search for schmuel’s dad….as luck would have it…they were rounded up, along with others and gassed in one of the chambers…just like thousands of other jews that were exterminated as part of Hitler’s Final Solution…

Janmasthami 2010

 

Janmasthami has always been a special festival. The religion, culture and upbringing has a lot to do with the life and times of Lord Krishna. And having lived outside for so long now, memories of childhood always come to the fore while celebrating such festivals…

 

Thought of going to the temple early, as the weather was quite pleasant and cool, the kids took a longish time to get ready. Almost 11am when we set off. As usual, parking and traffic around the temple has always been a problem, but luckily someone just took off as I was searching for a suitable space to park, thus leaving me an ideal parking place, just near the main gate! When we entered the main hall, was surprised to see that this time around, they have put up special barricades and pathways to better manage the flow of the long lines of devotees. I asked my wife and the kids to be in the line while I went ahead in the open space to click some photographs….

 

What strikes me the most, each time, is the beautiful flowers that is used to bedeck the gods…it is so colourful, serene and so full of life.

 

My prayers and best wishes to everyone on this auspicious occasion.

Windows 7 and ms office 2010

Have treated myself to an upgradation of systems and new softwares…just trying out the works…

Windows 7 seems a bit bulky at first …but the layout and the overall feel, after getting used to is quite good. Some new features have been added, which frankly i don’t really use..but the one thing that i like is that the new photo viewer supports images in RAW format. Considering that I do some tinkering with my nikon digital slr, it is a welcome change. But surprised to find that certain features that you get so used to and considered almost an essential part like the movie maker, photogallery and calender is not included as standard package, although it may be downloaded free as part of windows live essentials…

MS Office, on the other hand has a whole lot of exciting features…the social connector, new animations in powerpoint, ribbon interface and backstage viewer are some of the features that I find quite interesting. for the rest, well, I’ll discover as I keep using.

Contemplating…

At home in Imphal….and one of the things that i thought and planned was to resolve some outstanding personal issues. But conditions are such that I’m neither able to do anything, nor discuss it with anyone….feel suffocating and tied up…but  I still haven’t given up hope…and wish that things may take a turn for the better..sooner rather than later…

 

Diwali 2009

Celebrating Diwali after a long long time at home in Imphal. Had apprehensions earlier on how the celebrations and reactions of the general public would be because of the deteriorating law and order problem and the recent happenings which had affected public consciousness. However was totally surprised when the celebrations turned out to be a totally grand one with people coming out and celebrating in full glory…there were lights, sounds, merry-making everywhere. How I wish it could always be like this – beautiful, peaceful, vibrant alive and in complete, wanton harmony…

In the evening, had a small puja first…

had a difficult time getting the sweets for the puja. lost touch with my hometown to know where the best things are available…but, then hometown is hometown…after a few recce, zeroed it in MG road, near the old blue moon restaurant. It was quite good. Also bought some fresh flowers and garlands which the emas were selling on the roadside…

We then light up the whole house with candles in traditional style…

after the puja, we all went out for a ride to see the city bedecked in lights …it was just wonderful …

to complete the festive mood, many people have a heavy meal …and no meal is complete without fishes…surprised to find that there is a lively fish market coming up at kangjabi leirak machin….

and while my wife was buying the fishes, i rushed to the old familiar place where we used to have kelichanna…and yes it was still there…

was quite late by the time we reach back home…but the excitement of the day and sweet memories of the past was too heady a mix which made the night a long one….

Lost innocence…?

Life is indeed strange and wonderful..in both ways..The cut-throat competition, the fast paced way in which the world is racing like a mad dog race..with deadlines to meet, people to be pleased, kids to be raised, family to be looked after, career to be nurtured..one has very little, in fact no time for emotions. Things can, however, turn a new leaf and a new chapter in one’s life… a new assignment, a surprise gift, a long break…or perhaps a long lost friend…

It was a pleasant surprise when I came across a long lost friend, after a long period of some 20-22 years…We were childhood friends and

For the love of a child…

Most of my friends have by now got married, started a family and doing relatively well. A few are still unmarried…initially out of choice due to pursuits of studies, career etc, but later on simply because it has become harder to find a suitable partner!! However, the sad and worrying part is that an increasing number of young couple are having difficulties bearing a child. Even among my close friends, there are at least three of them who are facing these problems. Initially as it is not a nice thing to be discussed and also because of work and other related commitments, the issue was not discussed..but after some of them have tried their best, consulted doctors and experts, taken medicines/treatments and have not been successful..it has come out of the closet now and it is really sad to see the pain and desperation in their eyes…

One of them had been undergoing several treatments, most of them exorbitantly expensive ones, for a long time now, mostly at facilities in the northeast-both in our native Manipur as well as in other areas like Guwahati, Shillong etc. However, without any success. On the other hand, another friend of mine is a brilliant doctor working in doctor and he did his post graduation in the All India Institute of Health and Family Welfare, the premier institute relating to

Birthday

Its my birthday today and i’m stuck at Ferozepur, not able to return to Chandigarh because of some pending official engagements. Perhaps the first time in a long long time that I’ve not been able to spend time with family on such an occasion.

Not that I celebrate my birthdays…have always been the quiet type, right from childhood days. Except for wishes and congratulatory cards from some very select close friends, have never celebrated it in a big way. But at the same time, have always been with family…..not to be this time around…

 

Cooling Off

The heat is becoming unbearable each passing day, and with the summer holidays of the kids already on, I thought we may as well hit the hills..So, we set off for Manali. As we didn’t have much time to plan, all our forest rest houses have been booked by the time I made my enquiries. Even most of the hotels have also been fully booked. After much effort, one of the guys managed to find a cottage and conveyed the news. The last time I visited Manali was some 11 years ago and so I was a little apprehensive as to what the journey would be like, especially the condition of the roads. Fortunately, the roads are very good and in fact repair and expansion was going on in many places. In fact the first part of the journey, right from Kharar to Ghanauli was a tiresome one even though it covered the “plains” area of the journey, because of the many diversions, repairs,dusts,blockades…etc all due to the expansion/widening works going on.Guess it would be a great ride after about a year when the works are completed. Anyway, the rest of the journey was a smooth one, at least as far as the roads are concerned.

But in Sundernagar area…there was a huge traffic jam which lasted for nearly 3 hours..it was frustrating as the road was, very narrow…you can’t turn back nor was there another route…thankfully, the  jam cleared by around 2pm and we rushed ahead..hoping to reach before darkness sets in.  We stopped for a break and grabbed a bite in the outskirts of Mandi, by which time it had started drizzling and strong gusts of wind were blowing…

We drove on without stopping as it was getting late till we reach Manali by about 8.30 pm. Just on the outskirts of Manali on the main highway is a toll barrier, unlike most- a green toll tax. Himachal is one of the most advanced states in India in terms of implementation of Environmental related issues.

We reached our cottage after some effort, and I was wondering what the kids would say..they are used to the comforts of home or our own rest-houses, but this time because of the sudden plan and the heavy tourist season all our rest houses have already been booked..we had to stay at the cottage. When we entered-the kids loved it!! It is just like a mini home, all made of wood…the ground floor having a drawing-dining area and the kitchen while the winding staircase leads to two immaculate bedrooms with ample spaces and independent terraces to boot…the cottage having located just below the hillock of the Hidimba temple, the view was sublime and serene…

Because of the younger kid, we took our domestic help along and so we had a “home-cooked” food before we retire after a long, hard journey.

The next day was a hectic one as

The Surname?

In response to my post, ” Silver Lining” a commentator observed,

” Dear Tamo Basanta, it will be more meaningful if you give examples of our role models as persons who are not the likes of Agatha Sangma or Sachin Pilot or Jyotiraditya Scindia… who had ready made ladders made by their fathers. Anyway, it’s great to see Agatha Sangma as the youngest minister in the midst of the likes of SM Krishna. Greater to hear that she wants to be the voice of the neglected North East India. To me PA Sangma’s story of how he grew up in a small tribal village of Garo Hills is more interesting than that Agatha Sangma”

Yes, we love and empathize with underdogs, the rags to riches stories, people who fought against odds to come out successful..this is because most of us are underprivileged in more ways than one and when we see successful people who had similar problems like us, we tend to identify ourselves with those persons and our dreams and aspirations to be successful like them seem more achievable..

However, we cannot deny