Is anything left for Sourav Ganguly to achieve?

For any professional such as a corporate executive, mid-level junior executive, doctor, media planner, journalist, techie, teacher, consultant reaching the age of 36 doesn’t mean the end of a career, rather start of a harrowing journey during this cut throat job scenario. But a sportsman can, and certainly can with ease, particularly if it is Sourav Ganguly.

The sudden announcement of retirement by Sourav Ganguly during the Test series against Australia would be an emotional blow to the numerous Sourav or Dada fans spread all over the world. But Sourav or Maharaj as popularly known among Bengalis has shown that how a sportsman should live a life, truly King-size.

Through the entire career spanning 16 years Sourav has gathered many feathers in his cap that include scoring 6888 runs in 109 Tests including 15 magnificent tons, scoring 11363 runs in 311 ODIs with 22 centuries at an outstanding average of 41.02, captaining India in 147 ODIs and 49 tests. He also made India proud by leading the Indian national team to the maximum number of 21 victories ever achieved by any Indian captain with a win percentage of over 40.

It is now a fact that Ganguly won’t be donning the national jersey for India, but several generations in future will still be watching in the TV screen - Ganguly taking his shirt off celebrating his team’s extraordinary win in the Natwest Series Final in 2002. Sourav became demi God in the heart of millions of Indian when he lead the Indian cricket team to 2003 World Cup finals and bravely challenged the might of Australians.

Having seen the pinnacle of success as a cricketer and with earnings like Solomon’s wealth what will be his post retirement plan?

Kolkata is unfavourable for studying mass communication

For aspiring journalists who dream of working in reputed newspaper houses and T.V channels or for copywriters/media planers/visualisers in big advertising agencies getting admission in a good media school or college is a first step to success. Apart from the newspaper houses and T.V channels there are also public relation agencies and event management companies that are part of the large media industry. With the healthy rise in Indian economy supported by the growing awareness about media among the mass of the society there has been a substantial rise in the media industry particularly in the news sector all across India.

Leaving aside rest of India if just Kolkata is considered as a case study then it will be fascinating to see at the number of regional 24 hours news channel, newspaper (monthly, fortnightly, weekly) that has entered the media market in the past 4 years. This rapid development has simultaneously increased the demand for educated and skilled professionals in the field. The skilled professionals mainly come from the media schools and colleges such as Calcutta University, Jadavpur University, St. Xavier’s College, Bhavan's Asutosh College of Communication and Management, Netaji Subhas University and several others based in Kolkata.

The glitz and glamour of media is so alluring that every year huge number of students try to get admission into the reputed colleges of Kolkata that offer M.A. or P.G. Diploma in Mass Communication and Journalism to add a new dimension to their career. But very few students do a basic reality check of these institutions before taking admission. After the end of higher secondary or ISC exam most of the students are mainly focussed on getting admission into a reputed college to add value in their resume in future.

In such mad rush the students actually overlook that mass communication is not that usual kind of subject that can be acquired just by taking notes inside a class. There is an immense need for practical classes in order to grasp the subject as well the market properly. But very few mass communication institutions in Kolkata leaving aside only St. Xavier’s College have the practice of practical classes that is essential to this subject. A student who has not done field work or internship while studying mass comm. is not practically fit for the industry that what is believed by the experts in the industry.

The P.G. Diploma in mass communication course in Jadavpur University is an instance that attracts nearly 3,000 applications every year out of which only 145 get through after admission test and a viva. Recognitions such as 'University with Potential for Excellence' by University Grants Commission (UGC), 'Five Star' status by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), First Indian University to earn SYLFF (Ryoichi Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship Fund) status from the Nippon Foundation, Japan are the only reasons behind the rush among the studenst to get into J.U. mass comm. department.

Students realise the futility of the course when classes commence after puja vacation (november). There are only two to three full time professors and the rest are media professionals acting as guest lecturer. Most of the guest lecturers during the course remain busy with their respective job so they don’t find enough time and urge to visit the classes in J.U. As a result most of the time the classes are declared free. Rest of the time the classes mainly concentrate on theory and notes. Before the exam the same professors provide the students with pre-drafted notes that the students distribute among themselves and fetch the pass mark. Some students who do a little library work manage to get a first class. Very few media companies come for campus recruitment. Even the officials in the department are reluctant to invite potential recruiters. Compared to all these the department has kept the course fee to 15,000 at par with the course fee of P.G. Diploma in mass communication of Indian Institute of Mass Communication.

So students do some reality check before you want to study mass communication in Kolkata. Best of Luck...

State Bank of India's (SBI) faulty ATM's

State Bank of India (SBI) one of India’s largest private banks has around 450 ATM’s alone in its West Bengal circle. The bank with repute for excellent customer service and trouble-free banking system has opened these numbers of ATMs vigorously as part of their expansion drive. SBI has the largest number of ATMs in Kolkata compared to the other nationalised and private banks operating in the city. These ATMs can be found in almost every nook and corner of the metropolitan city. You name a popular joint or street in the city of Kolkata and definitely you will locate a Green-Blue trademark SBI ATM staring at you.

There is no doubt that the SBI ATM card holders are the luckiest one in the city when it comes to getting money during odd hours of the day and urgent circumstances. ATM or Automated Teller Machine is also popularly known as ALL TIME MONEY by the customers. But as they saying go – money is alluring, it is 100% true in case of SBI ATMs. During odd hours of the day and during urgent requirement, when you need some money instantly, you will find a SBI ATM within your reach but to you money will be still like an illusion. Either the ATM will be completely out of order or after lots of hard work and putting all the information correctly you will be informed that money cannot be dispensed at the moment. You will feel like smashing the ATM with any hard object available at that moment.

Realising how agonising the moment can be for a customer most of the SBI ATMs have very powerful air conditioners (ACs) to keep cool the angry customer. Now the only thing a customer can do is to step out of the ATM and start looking for another SBI ATM with an anticipation will he be getting money.

If so many SBI ATMs stand idle, just to prove the might of SBI to other banks, then it will be of no use to its customers. What is the use of keeping so many ATMs at every turn in the city if it is not properly maintained by the SBI authority? They can rather reduce the number of ATMs and concentrate more on better customer service, which is more important for a customer.

Kolkata metro rail staff shock passengers

Once the pride of Kolkata, Kolkata Metro Railway is running into huge loss is a news that often comes in local newspapers and TV channels. At the end of each financial year the metro rail authority comes out with this startling fact, which is hard to believe watching each train plying from Tollygunge to DumDum station packed house every time.

But this is for sure that the metro rail staffs have earned a very bad reputation among the Kolkatans due to their reluctant, callous, raucous and unapologetic attitude. Unfortunately they have forgotten (deliberately) that they are not earning bad name for themselves but for the metro organization as a whole. The metro railway staffs treat the passengers as herds of animal who board the train on a daily basis. They don’t even show the slightest courtesy while listening to the passengers query when brought in front of them. Instead they are always demonstrating a damn care attitude towards the passengers.

When any passenger takes a question to a metro staff, they start playing with the passenger by sending him from one person to another. Till the person is tired and gets irritated and vacates the place without receiving his answer this sort of game continues. Even if the staffs don’t have a proper answer to the question they won’t let that person know, instead they will continue to harass the passenger who may be hurrying to office, school, hospital or home. Interestingly, when the passenger leaves cursing these staffs, the staffs undeterred about the incident laughs at the passenger’s plight.

The automatic entry/exit machines installed at every metro station have become faulty due to extensive use. As a result, these machines often malfunction during peek hours creating a chaotic situation among the passengers. These machines either show faulty ticket counts or simply damage the ticket with its sharp edges. Sometimes the tickets also get stuck in these machines. During office hours when every minutes count for an office going person this type of negligence is intolerable and amusing when the metro rail itself talks so much about punctuality.

When any passenger caught in this situation asks for the staffs help then his ordeal increases for worse. The passenger is first send to the station master’s office (SMO) where the station master asks the passenger innumerable question only to prove that it was the passengers fault. Then the station master takes out a pencil/pen and starts pressing it over the retrieved/crushed ticket to make it straight. Astonishingly this is a unique technique the metro staff of all the stations has acquired to treat a damaged ticket. Then the station master takes out a heavy, peculiar looking portable machine and inserts the ticket in its flap to see if the ticket is okay. Even this machine is so outdated that he is unable to take a proper reading at one go. So he carries on this process for at least an infinite time till he is satisfied with the result.

Now if any passenger during this long process doesn’t bear all this patiently and asks the respective station master to make it fast. Then he will be abused by the station master and soon all other staff will gather around to abuse the passenger leaving behind their official work. They will unitedly fight the case till the passenger succumbs to the pressure and leaves the place or board a train only to find that he is alone, defeated, terribly late and verbally abused.

The moral of the story according to the malevolent metro rail staff is “don’t mess with the metro staff they are perfect and united for their own cause”.

Hope someday a member of the Kolkata metro railway will read this post and put a justified comment on it to prove it wrong.

Large Kali Idols of Naihati

Zade black in colour, naked, fiery red eyes, blood smeared all over body, long dark hair, tongue licking out, awe-inspiring eyes, wearing skulls of slain demons. This is the familiar face of Goddess Kali who is prayed all over India for strength and power. Goddess Kali symbolises the end of evil and the start of good. When Kali Puja is celebrated in Bengal it outsets Diwali or Deepavali the festival of lights in other parts of India.

Ma Kali has a special significance in Bengal and particularly in Kolkata due to the presence of the famous Kalighat Temple, which is located in Kalighat, South Kolkata on the banks of River Ganga. Around 25,000 big and small Kali Pujas take place in the city of Kolkata alone every year. Although such a large number of Kali Pujas take place in the city of Kolkata, still this puja does not attract that attention from pandal hoppers who throng all pandals during Durga Puja.

But if someone wants to take the real kick of Kali Puja then should head towards Naihati. Naihati is a very important industrial town and an important railway junction station on the Indian Railways network, in the district of North 24 Parganas, West Bengal, India. It is very easy to reach Naihati as it takes only one hour by train from the Sealdah station by train. Then just by taking an auto or rickshaw one can enjoy the charm and revelry that surrounds Kali Puja in Naihati.

The unique thing about Kali Puja in Naihati is its large idols, some measuring around 32 feet. It has also been recorded that the Deul Para Adhibashi Brinda Puja committee of Naihati once made a Kali idol of hoping 31 feet. It was the tallest Kali idols of the country, as well as of Asia that was ever made in Naihati. In 1965 an idol was made of a recorded height of 31 feet. But the civic authority reduced it to 29 feet from 1968.

The whole town gears up for the mood during this time with light and people thronging the magnificent pandals. The pandals are huge to fit the large idols measuring on an average of 25 feet. Truly speaking the Kali idols are not that artistic to look at, but definitely inspire imagination because of its sheer magnitude. Interestingly some idols are so big that four average size person sits on the bulging belly of sleeping Siva and play cards. The Puja committees like Amra Kajan, New Star, No 7 Adhibashi Brinda, United Club and Dishari Club cannot be given a miss at any cost. Amusing it may be, but the fact is these idols are made adjacent to the water bodies like ponds and small lakes in the locality. The reason behind this is that the idols are so huge it is practically impossible to carry them to the River Ganga for immersion. Instead the puja organisers call the fire department, who come and wash the large idols with their hose pipe, spraying water from the adjacent water body.

Nawab Wajid Ali Shah is an unknown person in today’s Metiabruz

Metiabruz of today would have been an unknown place if Nawab Wajid Ali Shah wasn’t exiled here. Metiabruz at present in Garden Reach, once used to be an isolated piece of land adjacent to the Hoogly River. It was mainly used by the traders of East India Company as their relaxation spot between their trade ventures by sea route. Wild dogs and fox in large numbers inhabited the place at that time. Humans mostly include the robbers who were known as thangare (those who robbed innocent people after killing them by beating with large bamboo sticks).

It was only after 1856, when Nawab Wajid Ali Shah the then Nawab of Oudh, Lucknow was exiled in Metiabruz by the British Government, this place transformed dramatically. Just like the other contemporary Nawabs, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah was also a very sophisticated person fond of traditional poetry, music, singing, dance and painting. His daily chore in Kaisarbagh Baradari, Oudh was filled with extravagance, pomp and show. The nawab with heavy heart bore the pain of parting from his royal haveli in Kaisarbagh.

But a true nawab at heart, for him it was impossible to stay away even one day from dance and music. So he brought along with him Hindustani classical musicians and baijis (court dancers) to Metiabruz. It should be mentioned here that the name Metiabruz meant fort made from mud (in Urdu matia mean mud and bruz mean fort). Soon his royal house in Metiabruz started to bustle with activity, Awadhi language, art, music, dance, singing, poetry, smell of atar (fragrance made from flowers) and opulent style of living. He invited the best singers and dancers from other parts of India to Metiabruz to entertain his guests that also include the East India Company officials who banished him from Oudh.

With an intention to create a similar Lucknow in Metiabruz where his people would live happily along with him he went ahead to create a zoo in Metiabruz, the first of its kind in Eastern India. This zoo spread across acres of land had different species of animals besides expensive and exotic birds brought from various parts of India, Thailand, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, England etc. With the passage of time this vast area of zoo has been totally engulfed by the Hoogly River.

His another major contribution to today’s Metiabruz is the introduction of Hindustani darjees or tailors. At that period of time there were very few tailors in Bengal who had the artistic skill and concept to match the talent of these Hindustani darjees from Lucknow. Gradually, these darjees became so famous in Bengal that they started getting orders from Bengali zamindars, babus and even British officers. As time passed on holding the hands of these skilful darjees, Metiabruj became one of the prominent centres of fashionable garment making in Eastern India. Now around 56% of the total youth in Metabruz is into the business of garment manufacturing. Bulk shipment of garment produced from Metiabruz is now sent to neighboring countries like Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka every month.

Nawab Wajid Ali Shah’s love for kite and pigeons also made a contribution to Metiabruz’s economy. His love for large and unique kite was immense. So he encouraged innovative kite makers in his time. Following this tradition, at present kite making is a profitable business here, in which large number of youth is involved. Interestingly, kite is now exported to various parts of the world from Metibruz now.

Historically also Metiabruz got its due importance holding the hands of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah when the legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray created Shatranj Ke Khilari (The Chess Players) in 1977.

But unfortunately, the manner in which the charm and splendour of the old Metiabruz has melted, in a similar manner the people of Metiabruz has also easily forgot the name of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah. All that remains of the 31 years that the nawab had spent at Metiabruz is a sprawling Imambara and a private mosque (the Shah Masjid) that he built ten years after arriving here.

Save the park, conserve energy at one go

Today when pollution is taking a serious toll on our health, parks and playgrounds are increasingly looked upon as the lungs of a locality in Kolkata. Everyday, inch by inch of our city is being encroached by the real estate mafias commonly called the promoters. Nowadays it is hard to see the clear blue skies from the tall buildings that has mushroomed every in nook and corner of the city. It is also hard to inhale fresh air from any given locality as large amount of trees are felled for construction purpose.

But, unfortunately even the parks and playgrounds that are looked upon as small land of bliss are also attracting the attention of local hooligans, miscreants and gundas for their unethical and illegal works. These parks and playgrounds generally attract young and old, men and women, mostly during the early hours of morning and evening. These people visit such places either for playing, meeting each other or for physical exercise. But these places become deserted soon after darkness fall and this gives the notorious elements the chance to carry out their illegal works.

Now to safeguard these parks and playgrounds and also to protect the locality from any possible threat from such elements, the local authorities and the KMC has jointly come up with a plan to illuminate these parks and playgrounds during night.

This is undoubtedly a very good initiative from the civic authorities, and in fact this step has encouraged the local people to venture out in the parks and playgrounds even after dark. But in this process the authorities has overlooked that they also have the responsibility of conserving energy. Normally, to illuminate such big parks there is need of big mercury or halogen lights that consume huge amount of electrical energy. Now there are some authorities who would prefer to use more such powerful lights than needed just to beautify the place extraordinarily. Thus in this process they fail to remember the fact that lots of energy is going into waste.

If they had used these lights with little sense then they could have saved lot of energy and in turn could have addressed the larger issue of power shortage in Kolkata. Other than just planting huge halogen lights in the parks whimsically, the civic authorities can consider such lights that save energy and at the same time produce sufficient light enough to illuminate a park or a playground. They can also make use of solar power lights, which are not only environmental friendly but are also effective in illumination.

Ustiwalas: The vanishing profession in Kolkata

With the passage of time everything that we see around us vanishes in the darkness of past. We love to stay in present and dream of a sweet future. Past haunts us, so we prefer to run away from it, ignoring the fact that lot is lost in the process.

Kolkata, or the colonial Calcutta has come a long way from the time it was bought by Job Charnock from the then Zamindars of Bengal and has now transformed into one of the fascinating cities in the world. Once a remote village, then Calcutta slowly became the capital of India holding the hands of British Empire. The Britishers changed it into one of the most important centres of medical, education, cultural and financial hub in India. Every day large number of people from different sections of the society entered Calcutta through the Calcutta Port. It started bustling with lots of activities. Traders from other parts of India and the rest of the World visited Calcutta to explore a new market. Gradually, the city started expanding manifold. New buildings, offices, schools, universities, medical institution and recreational centres were created to keep up with the growing demand.

New professions were also created to keep the city administration run successfully. One such profession was the Kerani babu or Clerk in modern day who were assigned to keep records and look into the accounts of the administration. This is one profession that has survived till now escaping the wrath of time victoriously. The British has left India long ago but the Kerani babus are still dominating the Government offices such Writers Building, New Secretariat and several other key govt. departments.

But there is one profession, which is almost standing on the verge of extinction. They are the Ustiwalas. This is one unique profession about which very few had any idea. At present there are very few Ustiwalas to be found in the whole city. Basically they earn their living by carrying water. They had derived their unique name from the usti or a hand made leather bag that is made from the skin of goat or cow. The leak proof bag look like a long neck pitcher. The bag has a leather handle for carrying on shoulder. The Ustiwalas fill their usti from any street side source of water, preferably hand pump. They then tie the mouth of the usti and carry the water to their customer. These Ustiwalas earn very little, around forty to fifty rupees a day and finds it hard to survive with their family.

But in the colonial Calcutta, these Ustiwalas had a different role to play. They were not appointed to carry drinking water as their usti was made from animal skin. Instead they used to carry water from the Ganga and nearby ponds to clean the roads early in the morning. Large numbers of Ustiwalas were appointed for this job. Generally these people are Muslims who belong from the same family and had a separate community of their own. They mainly lived in the then old Chitpur and in the adjacent localities.

The Ustiwalas should not be mistaken with the typical Bharis (mainly Odiya) of today who carry fresh drinking water from tube well and supply it to household. Nowadays these Ustiwalas can be found in limited areas of Kolkata fighting everyday to feed their family.

In near future there will be an attempt to post an interview along with a relevant picture of an Ustiwala who work in the Mirza Galib Street of Kolkata. Readers will get to know about their lifestyle, their inclination towards their profession and their trembling future from their own mouth.

The writer came to know about this particular profession from a book on old Kolkata written by Srijato who presently works with Anandabazar Patrika, ABP Pvt. Ltd.

Unplanned Durga immerson

After five days of joyous festivity, Goddess Uma or Durga returns to her abode in heaven leaving behind her paternal home on earth. Durga’s coming home ushers in the grand festival of Durga Puja in Bengal and also in other parts of India. Also known as Sharadiya Utsav, this festival starts from Saptami with a holy ritual called Bodhon and ends with Bijoya Dasami when the idol of Ma Durga along with the other idols of her son (Ganesh and Kartik) and daughters (Saraswati and Lakkhi) are immersed in the holy river Ganga as part of the age old Vedic ritual and custom.

Ten to twelve years back there was no issue with the immersion of the clay idol in the river Ganga. But in the recent past, with the voice of the environmentalist gaining ground there has been a huge cry about the pollution of Ganga due to such practice. The environmentalist in this case has a strong reason, which is also scientifically proven. The fact is there are many hazardous chemicals present in the paints that are used in the clay models to enhance their beauty and lustre. These chemicals are very strong and reactive to water. When the clay models are immersed in the water within few minutes the chemicals start mixing with the water and pollute the water.

Ganga being the oldest and one of the most perennial rivers in India has a special significance. Ganga water is daily used by millions of Indians in different ways. Ganga also support large amount of aquatic life. Therefore the pollutions of this river make all these life vulnerable to various kind of disease that can also prove fatal. After lots of debate and argument, the KMC finally stepped in to take few measures to prevent such crisis. According to Fayaz Ahemed Khan, Counselor, Kolkata Municipal Corporation, KMC has arranged for cages on both sides of these ghats. They also have volunteers who will approach those coming for immersion of idols not to throw flowers or other articles or belongings of idols in the water of Ganga.

These measures are showing some results but lot is yet to be done. The KMC and the Durga puja organisers need to sit and chalk out a comprehensive plan how to solve the problem. Most of the responsibility lies with the puja organisers as they need to be more careful with their job. Often the idol makers complain that they are ready to use eco-friendly colours to paint the idols, but that increases the cost of the idol to a great extent, which even the big puja organisers are not ready to pay. This is an unfortunate and callous behaviour on part of the organisers who spend lakhs of rupees on pandal decoration, lighting and cultural program, but is not ready to pay the extra money to save Ganga. KMC on its part also have to be more stringent with their laws and penalties.

Even then this problem will persist. As not all Durga idols are immersed in Ganga and in the Babu, Princep, Bichali ghat etc., instead they are immersed in the several big ponds and lakes to be found across Kolkata and its surrounding suburbs. Many puja organisers reluctantly immerse the idols in such water bodies, which also run the risk of water pollution due to the same hazardous chemicals. Amazingly no one talks about this. It is true that the importance of Ganga in comparison to these small water bodies is immense, but at the same time that fact that these water bodies are also used by many people for bathing, washing clothes, cleaning utensils and even drinking (especially by the section below poverty level) also cannot be ignored.

KMC and the puja organisers also take some pain to think about this issue. This may not concern mass section of the society but definitely the human beings who live and breathe around us.

South City mall attracting visitors and traffic jam

On 16th Jan. 2008 Eastern India got its largest shopping mall, the South City Mall. This one million sq. ft. swanky mall is located on Prince Anwar Shah Road, just opposite Jodhpur Park. Situated in one of the prime and posh locations of south Kolkata, it was obvious that right from the first day it will be successful in attracting huge number of enthusiasts that include genuine shoppers, food lovers, window shoppers, couples and school and college bunking students. The ambience and centrally air conditioning system inside the mall is perfectly equipped to provide comfort to its visitors. But the road opposite the mall is not at all equipped or sufficient to take the heavy traffic jam, which is an immediate outcome of the mall. The Prince Anwar Shah Road that starts from the Prince Anwar Shah masjid and continues till the Jadavpur Police station was wide enough to handle normal traffic situation even in the busiest hours of the day. But the coming of the South City mall has posed a serious problem to the traffic condition on this road. During the peak hours of the day the road remains block for long time causing ample sound and air pollution in the area. The snarls and black smoke resulting out of the vehicles caught in the jam makes the environment like a war zone. Especially during the weekends, holidays and before any festive season the situation gets worse. Amazingly at this time one can witness a mad rush among the visitors to enter the mall. Large number of visitors throngs the mall like any other popular tourist spot in Kolkata. So many visitors also attract vendors, balloonwala, jhalmuriwala, phuchkawala, ice creamwala, panwala etc. near the mall. As a result everything comes to a halt opposite the mall. Even the traffic surgent who tries hard to manage the situation, fails miserably most of the time. One can often see school children looking anxiously out of their school bus and family members of serious patients sitting tensed inside an ambulance while caught in the jam. This particular road serve as a major connector with EM Bypass, Ruby General Hospital, Jadavpur University, South City College, Dhakuria, Golpark and Gariahat.

There is no doubt that the creators of this fabulous mall have been successful to draw large number of visitor everyday, but at the same time they have created lots of pain for this area. At the same time the traffic authority of Kolkata also needs to be blamed for their callous planning. However, till now it seems that everyone is happy with this mall, so not a single article or news can be witnessed regarding this issue in the local newspapers and T.V. channels.

But this happiness will only stay for a short time.