मेरा दोस्त.....

कुछ ही दूरी पर रहता है मेरा दोस्त
इस महान शहर में जिसका नहीं कोई अन्त
फिर भी दिन धल जाता है, सप्ताह भाग चलता है
पता चलने से पहले ही साल बीत जाता है|

ऄेार मैं मेरे पुराने दोस्त का चेहरा देख ही नहीं पाता
क्योंकि ये जीवन का तेज, भयानक दौड, व्यस्तता|
वह जानता है, मैं आज भी उसे पसन्द करता हूँ उतना ही
जितना करता था मैं जब बजाता था उसका घर की घटीं |

ऄेार वह बजाती मेरी, लेकिन तब हम छोटे थे
मगर अब हम है व्यस्त ऄेार थके हुए
थक गए है एक मूर्ख खेल खेलते खेलते
थक गए अपना नाम कमाने की कोशिश करते करते |

कहता हूँ, '' मैं कल ही जिमि से भेंट करूँगा
दिखाने के लिये की मैं अब भी उसे नहीं भूला"|
लेकिन कल आता है ऄेार चला जाता है कल
ऄेार हम दोनों के बीच दूरी बढ़ती है हर पल|

दूरी है मीलों की, हो कर भी इतनी पास
आपका टेलिग्राम सर, जिमि चल बसा आज
ऄेार अंत में वही हमें मिलता हैं , लायक है हम उसीका
कुछ ही दूर में एक दोस्त, जो गायब हो गया
--------------------------------------------------------------
Translated from original English poem written by Anders Lim

এজন বন্ধু... a friend

Something is seriously wrong..

I have interviewed many people from many states and have developed this impression that something is seriously wrong with our education system. Most of the candidates I interviewed could not answer simple fundamental questions.

The other day, a candidate who is a mechanical engineer could not even define the term “WORK” or “Mechanical Equivalent of heat” .

The next day’s experience was even shocking. 

A candidate came to face the interview. His academic records are excellent: 90% in High school (State Board), 86% in Higher Secondary (CBSE) and 80% in BTech.. I felt happy to get such a brilliant young man as a teacher for my students.

I started with the question: 

“How or why does a body float in water or in any liquid?” 

He replied, “Because of buoyancy force.” 

“On what factor does the buoyancy depend?” I asked…He could not answer. 

I asked back, “Why does a needle sink in water but the ship float?”  

And to that his answer was, “The needle has lesser density as compared to the ship.”

I asked, “What is the density of steel/iron, approximately?”

About 1.4 kg/cubic meter, he replied

“And density of mercury?”, I got curious to know his answer.

“1.2 kg/cubic meter” was his reply

“And the density of water?” I asked not losing my cool.

“1000 kg/cubic meter”, he replied correctly for the first time.

So, according to this brilliant mechanical engineer, water is 1000 times heavier than steel.

I could not decide whether to cry or laugh... 

A win win situation?

Read this story somewhere and found it very interesting…

A devout old lady was asked by her young grand son,

“Grandma, you believe in Jesus Christ. Are you sure that he is going to save you? What if his promises turn out to be false?”

The old lady smiled and replied,

“I believe whatever Jesus says.

As far as your question is concerned, I see it this way:

If what Jesus has promised becomes true, I am going to be the gainer, since I have trusted in Him and I’ll be saved. And even if his promises turn out to be false, I have nothing to lose since I am leading a good life following Him and I’ll have no regrets.

But, my son, if what Jesus says is true, what will happen to you if you do not trust Him now?”

A very interesting logic indeed….. I have no idea what the young man did.

A strong lady...

She is a  house maid ,  a middle-aged woman. She talks very little, comes on time, cooks my meals and leaves silently. 

She is a widow, her husband died four years ago. She has only a young adopted son. She is educated and can read, write and speak English. Her husband was a rich man and she has lots of property but after her husband’s death some other people are enjoying the benefits of that property and she had been fighting it out in the court of law.

The other day, I overheard her speaking to some one over phone, most probably the person against whom she had had the legal fight. I understood from the conversation that she had won the case and things were to be settled officially in front of some government authority the next day. I was amazed at the way she spoke over phone. 

She was saying something like this:

“I’ll come alone, only my lawyer will be with me. 

I just know two things, you give me back my papers, and I’ll pay you the money then and there…. 

Don’t worry, I am an educated woman. You write in English or Hindi, I’ll follow… 

I have won the case, and now you have no other options

And don’t shout like that.. I can also shout.. etc.. etc..”

I just kept wondering, how education can give confidence to people irrespective of their gender.. Also, how circumstances can make a strong man even out of an Indian lady....

Forgive and forget...

Two words we come across very frequently. Both these words demand some conscious action.

It is said "To err is human." Human beings will err, someone will hurt us , knowingly or unknowingly, intentionally or unintentionally. Even our near and dear ones do that sometime.

We forgive our dear ones for such mistakes in most cases.

We are taught by religious books to forgive others. Forgiving means not holding grudge against the erring person. But, the real struggle starts when the question of forgetting the incident arises.

It is easy to say that we have forgiven so and so for his /her wrongdoings against us but it is difficult to forget the incident totally.

Sometimes, we remember the incident and take pride in the fact that in spite of the wrongdoing, we had forgiven a particular person.. so we are great..It pampers our ego.

That is why, true forgiveness demands forgetting of the whole episode.

Convinced after a long time..

My friend Dhanalakshmi Ayer belongs to South India but did her schooling in Guwahati, Assam, my home city. We are batch mates in the sense that we appeared in our High School Leaving Certificate examination in the same year. Some of her school friends became my class mates in Cotton College, Guwahati and we became good friends. After the Pre-University examination in 1978, we went in different directions, some became doctors, some engineers, some professors and many went abroad.

My contact with most of them were restored , only a few years ago, through a yahoo group created exclusively for us, the 1976 batch mates in Cotton College. Old memories were relieved, we became virtual school children again and new friendships were also established.

This is how I and Dhanalakshmi Ayar came to know each other through internet. It was about 5 years ago and the contacts were alive through yahoo and face book.

Only recently, I along with my wife and son visited Chennai and went to meet my friend at her residence at Adyer. We came face to face for the first time. It was a short visit and after a satisfying meeting and breakfast, we left for Assam.

The other day, my wife called me excitedly to inform that Dhanalakshmi Ayer had called her from Chennai and they had a very long chat…

“Internet friendship and face book is not that bad...” she commented.

ঈশ্বৰৰ নিজৰ দেশত অসম...

God's Own Country কেৰালাৰ বন্ধু এজনে এবাৰ কৈছিল যে কেৰেলাৰ বনুৱা, চাকৰ-বাকৰ আদি হেনো সকলো অসমৰ৷ কথাষাৰ শুনি ভাল লাগিছিল নে বেয়া লাগিছিল আজিও বুজি পোৱা নাই৷ কিন্তু অলপতে হোৱা অভিজ্ঞতা এটা উল্লেখ নকৰি নোৱাৰো৷ 

বিশেষ কাৰণত সপৰিয়ালে কেৰালালৈ গৈছিলো৷ পায়ানুৰ বুলি সৰু ঠাই এখনত তিনিদিন কটাই ৰেলেৰে চেন্নাইলৈ আহিবলগীয়া আছিল৷ পায়ানুৰ সৰু স্টেচন, মাত্ৰ দুমিনিট ৰেলখন ৰয়৷ আমাৰ বয়-বস্তু অনেক৷ ইমান কম সময়ৰ ভিতৰত ৰেলত উঠিব পাৰিম নি নোৱাৰিম তাকে চিন্তা কৰি আছিলো৷ 

ৰেলৰ বাবে অপেক্ষা কৰি থাকোঁতে ডেকা এজনলৈ চকু গ'ল৷ দেখাত অসমীয়াযেন লাগিল৷ মোৰ ল'ৰাজনে কথা পাতিব ধৰিলে৷ অসমৰ ডেকা, শিৱসাগৰৰ ওচৰত ঘৰ, মিলিটাৰী কাম কৰে, পায়ানুৰতে থাকে, ছুটীত ঘৰলৈ আহিছে৷ ভাল লাগিল৷

যথা সময়ত ৰেলখন আহিল৷ মই ডাঙৰ বেগ এটা লৈ প্ৰথমে জাপ মাৰি উঠিলো৷ মোৰ ল'ৰাজনে কিবা কোৱাৰ আগতেই শিৱসাগৰৰ ডেকাজনে এটা এটাকৈ বেগ-চুটকেচবোৰ উঠাই দিলে৷ নিমিষতে কাম সমাধা হ'ল আৰু আমি বহি পৰিলো৷ ডেকাজনৰো চীট আমাৰ লগতে পৰিল৷ ভাল লাগিল৷ অসমীয়াতে কথা পাতি চেন্নাই অভিমুখে যাত্ৰা আৰম্ভ কৰিলো৷ 

কিছুসময় পাছত ডেকা এজনে পানীৰ বটল আদি বেচিবলৈ আহিল৷ আমি নিজৰ মাজত আলোচনা কৰি কিবা-কিবি কিনিলো৷ কিমান টকা হ'ল বুলি হিন্দীতে সুধিলো কিন্তু আমাক আচৰিত কৰি ডেকাজনে অসমীয়াতে উত্তৰ দিলে৷ চিপাঝাৰৰ ল'ৰা৷ ৰেলতে কাম কৰি আছে৷ ল'ৰাজনে ক'লে, আৰু অসমীয়া ডেকা আহি আছে আপোনালোকৰ ওচৰলৈ, খোৱা বস্তু বেচিবলৈ৷ আমি বাটচাই ৰ'লো৷ কিছুসময় পাছত ডেকা এজন আহিল, খোৱা-বস্তুৰ সম্ভাৰ এখন লৈ৷ এইবাৰ আমি অসমীয়াতেই কথা আৰম্ভ কৰিলো৷ ডেকাজনেও অসমীয়াৰে উত্তৰ দিলে৷ 

সন্ধিয়া, নিশাৰ আহাৰৰ বাবে অৰ্ডাৰ নিবলৈ আন এজন ডেকা আহিল৷ তেওঁ পোনচাটেই আমাক অসমীয়াতে সুধিলে, ৰাতি কি খাম বুলি৷ এনেহেন লাগিল যেন আমি কেৰালাত নহয়, অসমতহে আছো৷

লগত বহি থকা শিৱসাগৰৰ ডেকাজনলৈ চাই ক'লো, 

" অসমৰ মানুহেৰে কেৰালা ভৰি আছে দেখোন, ভাল লাগি গ'ল৷"

"লাজ হে লাগে, গোটেই চাকৰ-বাকৰবোৰহে অসমীয়া৷ আনকি বংগ-উৰিষ্যাৰ পৰা অহা বনুৱাবোৰকো ইয়াত অসমীয়া বুলিহে কয়", ডেকাজনে মিচিকিয়া হাঁহি এটা মাৰি ক'লে৷

তথাপি মোৰ মনটো ভাল লাগিল৷ 

এটা দীঘল যাত্ৰা এটা খোজেৰেইটো আৰম্ভ হয়!!