NCERT books and nostalgia

I came across a news some days back that students of many classes, especially those in classes X and XII of CBSE schools were experiencing difficulties as many textbooks were not available in Kolkata markets though the new session has already begun from the first week of April in most of the schools. This news made me realize that nothing has changed from the time when I was a student. I became somewhat nostalgic while flipping through the pages of memory. I still vividly remember how excited I used to be on the day when results were scheduled to be declared as that meant to be in the possession of the book-list and pestering my parents to get me my new books at the earliest. The bookstall that sold books of NCERT and CBSE, close to my home, was Boipotro. It had a famous (and more notorious) cousin those days (perhaps even today, too) called Eureka. However, we preferred Boipotro, not only because the kakus (yes, that’s how we called those manning the store) were very well behaved, but also because they charged fair prices. Eureka, on the other hand, often pasted stickers over the printed prices, forcing people to pay more (people had to buy the books as this was mostly done for books that were scarce in the market). A few other things that I hated about this book stall was that it forced us to buy some guide books along with the text, not to mention some binded books (original copies were like paperbacks) for which we had to shell an extra amount. It so happened that when I was in class X, some books were not available in the market. However, thanks to my father’s contacts in Delhi, I was able to get the books right from the capital and my studies didn’t get hampered. This act of getting capital-copies of my textbooks was a feature even when I was in class XI. I thought that all those plights of students were over but the news made me realize that history repeats itself, only to the agony of students this time……

Some interesting sites that I stumbled upon

Some useful insight about a few in-things of the blogosphere: http://www.website-design-network.com/video.php

A map showing some old Empires (period-wise) finally ending in the formation of independent nations: http://www.mapsofwar.com/images/EMPIRE17.swf

Some historical audio files: http://www.freeinfosociety.com/site.php?postnum=460&phpMyAdmin=af0f6b4465fe3f904426eaeb3dc0e3fa

Feel free to post your comments about the aforesaid, irrespective of whether they are brickbats or garlands.

Bengal braces for another Bandh

Tomorrow (21 April), Kolkata would again come to a standstill owing to the 12 hour Bandh called by Mamata Banerjee, the Trinamool Supremo against rising prices of the daily commodities. I saw a poster yesterday saying "Feley rekhe bhater haanri, chortey chaina motor gaari" (loosely translated as:I don't want to ride a car when I can't have enough to eat). The agenda is a burning issue today as the past few months have seen a steep rise in day-to-day commodities so much that it's an uphill task to manage your budgets, what with the government's inefficiency to do anything meaningful to curb the rising prices. However, how crippling the state for 12 hours would be a solution to this problem is beyond my understanding. Sadly, the political leaders don't consider our plight when they mask their dubious intentions behind a politically correct subject like the present rising price index. So, the common man has nothing to do but to suffer.

Another night of the Knights

In Match-4 of the DLF Indian Premier League, V.V.S Laxman, captain of the Hyderabad Deccan Chargers, won the toss and elected to bat. On the Eden track, the team set a rather low total by the standards of T20, a mere 110 in18.4 overs. However, the experts of the game were almost unanimous that this was going to be an uphill task for the Kolkata Knight Riders and that the formidable score of 110 was indeed a competitive total on this track. When the Kolkata Knight Riders took the field to chase the total, a lot depended on the last match's hero, McCullum, but he departed quickly followed by Ponting and Wriddhiman Saha. The stands of spectators went quiet and the opponents were tightening the noose. Sourav did try to stay there but he too was dismissed for 14 after being hit twice by the ball, once on the chest and later on his fingers. Hafeez brought some relief with his big hits (a six and a four) when even singles seemed like a welcome thing. Nevertheless, it was the efforts of David Hussey (38 runs in 43 balls, which included one 4 and three 6s) that finally saw the hosts home. All this happened not before a slight drama when the lights went out with 3.2 overs to go (the Kolkata Knight Riders needed 22 runs from 20 balls at this stage). Had the lights not come back, application of the Duckworth Lewis method would mean a tie that would have been followed then by a bowlout. Thankfully, nothing like that happened and the home team won, not before giving us, the supporters, a few big scares, though.

I sat glued to the television throughout this game as I'm going to miss the next few ones, as they would be played on weekdays. Hope that the Knights would continue with their winning streak until the next holiday (18th May) when I can again make good use of the time watching them bat.

Few words that are so profound

I came across these lines which are so meaningful that I just can't help but share it with my blog readers. So, here it goes:

"Have you ever been in love? Horrible isn't it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and mess you up. You build up all these defenses, you build up a whole suit of armor, so that nothing can hurt you. Then one stupid person, no different from any other stupid person, wanders into your stupid life...You give them a piece of you. They didn't ask for it. They did something dumb one day, like smile at you, and then your life isn't your own anymore. Love takes hostages. It gets inside you. It eats you out and leaves you crying in the darkness, so simple a phrase like 'maybe we should be just friends' turns into a glass splinter working its way into your heart. It hurts. Not just in the imagination. Not just in the mind. It's a soul-hurt, a real gets-inside-you-and-rips-you-apart pain. I hate love". - Neil Gaiman

Ticket info for IPL

I would love to go to the Eden Gardens on 18th or 25th May (both being holidays) to watch at least one match of the IPL (Indian Premier League) and to cheer the Kolkata Knight Riders but am too lazy to run around for the tickets (yeah, online booking is available too, I know, but I never had any faith on online transactions, you see). So, let's see if some angelic intervention happens or not. :)

Well Done Kolkata Knight Riders

Though I missed most of the action of the first match of IPL (Indian Premier League), I returned from office just in time to savor the magnificent batting of McCullum en route to his not out 158 (in 73 balls, with ten 4s and thirteen 6s). In the second half, the bowlers of the Kolkata Knight Riders team tightened their grip on the match and gave Bangalore Royal Challengers absolutely no chance. So, it was a thumping win for Dada's team by a massive 140 runs in the first match of IPL.

Three cheers for Dada (aka Sourav Ganguly)....Hip Hip Hurray!!!