Existence

insanity in vanity - bliss fleeing down the drain

can a shell be of use when there is no snail?

foliage in folly - Pomona fighting with the rain

can a seed sprout when the soil loves to assail?

Care-less

feelings do not change much, only faces do

falsity hides beneath what belief finds true...

concerns ever intruding,

cornered to the core...

affection stays afflict,

alone breathes adore...

possibilities keep changing, only a pauper fails to see

he lives life living, as lifeless living can be...

they love life loving, as lifeless loving can be

they live life loving, as lovelesss living can be

Waste of a Gift

unwillinglly as useless as the blunt edge of knives

stuck in the Venn of mutually exclusive yet overlapping lives...

merriment pose deceiving, the dwelling a stagnant burrow

loneliness a vixen, moments survive hoping for tomorrow...

none has the leisure to listen to own shrives

the organic cave mists deserted as dying the emotion thrives...

aims unbound -- ambitions swelled -- pride rests on a rusty arrow

souls lost, values dead, body makes the bone live devoid of its marrow...

Death of A Coin, Euthanasia awaits the rest?

Once beloved by all, our Chavanni dies young at the age of 23 and gets to rest in the banks of money river before reaching salvation as Indians relieve them from their piggy-banks to claim their worth. It's like the same feeling, when comes the news of a distant near one passing away, he becomes all the more dearer, perhaps, whom we haven't had even bothered to call in the past 5 years.

The nickel testimony of Indian numismatics, which came riding on the back of a rhinoceros and sometimes had a steel armour, got shelved forever joining its preceding aluminium brethren - the 10 and 20 paisa. And, what caused its death - rising metal prices. "It is posthumous fame for the humble char anna. The 25 paise coin may not have been worth much in the market till last week, but since it was laid to rest by the government, it has become an overnight hero." read a reputed English daily on July 2.

The "heroic" death probably relates to its youthful valour, when it really meant something in the market and when it was worthy enough to buy so many different kinds of happiness - be it sweets and toffees or be it a couple of bus fares. The quarter of complete or 'sholo aana', as a bengali connotation goes, is dead. Let it rest in peace, wherever it be - in the mints waiting for re-birth or in the treasured chests of coin collectors.

All said and done about the latest Indian metal currency being of no use anymore, coupla questions creep up in an inquisitive mind. What is the future of the remaining coins in circulation in the Indian minds and markets. If the reason for chavanni's demise was a nasty bite of the inflation bug and rising coin metal prices, shouldn't be the bigger and bountiful 1, 2, 5 and 10 rupee coins scared? Indeed, they might lose their "strength" anytime soon.

Taking into consideration the current market scenario, do we stand at a point in time, when we can talk good things about the existence and circulation of the still-standing lower denomination of coins?

Lately, most of the nation's corporate houses have started believing in "rounding off" cash transactions, thus, not paying any heed at all to the usage of the lowest-valued 50 paisa coin. Be it a telephone or a credit card bill payment, when can you last recall you've been charged with a decimal change and been able to pay the same. Perhaps, never in the recent past.

I'm also sure you have been greeted many a number of times with a smiling face of the stationary shopkeeper in your neighbourhood and coupla tofees instead of the single digit change you were expecting in return after a purchase. From the bus conductors to auto rickshaw drivers, from the local fruit sellers to the departmental store cashiers - nobody ever seem to have the change. Synopsis - you either plan your purchase accordingly or be ready to be gifted with some unnecessary happiness at the cost of a penny or two.

Citing a personal experience here. Due to convenience in location, i regularly frequent an outlet of a grocery store chain called the Namdhari's Fresh, apparently India's first EUREP-GAP certified company. Every time i visit the store and buy some stuff, the cashier makes it a point to persuade me to add a chocolate to my bill to round it off as he "never has the change" and personal observation suggests he does the same to mie fellow buyers. Hence quite obviously, sometime or the other the chocolates and the toffees taste much more bitter than their dark counterparts.

All the more glaring is the fact, that most of the time it's five rupees and not just one or two rupees. So, isn't it high time that we start realizing that this is the latest marketing strategy for these vendors to augment their confectionary sales margins and to add a sweet little hint of bliss to their rollicking businesses? Imagine, every customer visiting these stores, each hopelessly spending couple a penny more only leads to adding thousands more to the profit-box of the seller. I can still understand the devilish grin behind the smiling face of a small-time shopkeeper doing the same. But, isn't there any way out for these big chains to solve the daily issue. Or, they really do not want the 'change'? "No Change" is good for them.

There are much more things about metallic money -- way beyond just the chapter in economics books talking about the pros and cons of using them and in how many ways paper currency is superior. Nothing feels happier than the chinks of coins in our childhood piggy-banks. A subtle bliss of contented savings, much more than how much it counts...

Is this the 'End of Wait' for a New Dawn in Bengal

i belong to a generation, which started with walkman but moved on to discman, and then i-pods.

i belong to a generation, which might not remember when exactly Charles Babbage invented the concept of analytical engine, but have known the transition from P1 to P5 and duo-core chipsets with the updated versions of 'Need for Speed's.

i belong to a generation, which spent its early days listening to our moms' humming a Rabindrasangeet or a Najrulgiti at its earthy best but didn't quite hesitate to greet Dire Straits or Metallica at the teenage.

i belong to a generation, which grew up with an undeniable question in our minds that why do our state politicos need to be clad in abnormally white dhuti-panjabi, while the lesser mortals calling the state home, have long back done away with them, except for a few traditional festivities.

i belong to a generation, which was perennially inculcated with the idea of growing up to be an engineer or a doctor, and hence, fruitfully utilizing the major chunk of our middle-class parents' hard-earned money spent on education and cautiously, consciously laying the gold-plated foundation stones of our careers, starting from the first standard to ably stand on our own feet someday.

i belong to a generation, which was never encouraged to take up politics as a profession, even taking up humanities was humiliating, thus making a poet - a cleric and a painter - a lawyer -- and still, some had the courage to revolt within their personal little boundaries

i belong to a generation, which grew up with the idea that nothing remains for us in our own state as we grow up and by any means, quite necessarily, we'll have to crack one of the nation-wide entrance tests to complete studies in some other province and then to earn a job in some other.

But despite all these grumbles in mind and fumbles in heart, i belong to a generation, which earnestly wished, someday a tempest will come and sweep away all the presiding stagnation, rusty values and graveyard fundamentals in our own lands... we sincerely believed, someday our state will tear the shackles binding it for almost three decades and greet a new rising sun... we eagerly desired, someday our state will stand up again with newer horizons to discover, newer scopes to decipher, newer challenges to dismantle, newer opportunities to prove our worth...

Many promises have sunk, many possibilities have died.

But now it looks like the time has come. We've waited. And, we'll wait a few more.

Still, i belong to the generation, which wants to come home... who want to stay close to their mothers and stay as a part of a large family called home... who want to stay closer to the roots in their own lands... who want to work amongst own people, cry with them -- rejoice with them -- live lives with them...

Death of a Ten-year-old Chapter

The epitome of terror, the man who once newly defined terrorism in the wake of a new millennium, apparently is resting beneath the sea. Osama bin Laden is dead and "quickly buried at sea". Perhaps, the man who was the primal reason behind the untimely loss of nearly three thousands lives has reserved a berth of immortality with his conduits and cannot certainly die. History will perhaps remember him, as it does the Attila, or Hitler. But, dilly dallying on a few perspectives, a few questions creep up on an inquisitive human's mind. Is Osama literally dead ?The fugitive, who "achieved near-mythic status for his ability to elude capture under three U.S. presidents" was brought down by a US Navy’s SEAL Team as they carried out a helicopter assault on the fortified compound in Pakistan, cautiously built to protect him. Reports suggesting that Osama was shot in the head, hence killed instantly. Despite the fact that how big the news is to the Americas and to the world, why was the despised buried 'quickly' and why the infamous was not photographed enough to bear testimony to his demise. Apparently, the United States decided to dispose off the body in the sea to prevent the grave site becoming a shrine. Muslim scholars, however, are saying that the sea-burial has breached sharia law and a few of them have also warned that it might provoke calls for revenge attacks against U.S. targets. The only photograph of dead Osama, which has been released by British news websites is a fake. The image purporting to show Osama's corpse is a composite of two separate images. Plus, the gory image doesn't show any indications of a heat-shot.
According to U.S. security officials, "it was a kill operation", then why some of the raiders are saying - had a white-flag been waived, Osama would have captured alive. Quite obviously, to be sentenced to death only at a later date.
When it comes to make it certain that the long awaited homicide of Osama, was true to the utmost degree of perfection and only Osama Bin Laden had been killed and not a look-alike or someone else, apparently, a woman - reported to be one of Osama's wife is said to have identified the corpse. Now question arises, who would be foolish enough not to identify a body claiming to be her husband's if chance creeps such that it's the only way to save her man. An already dead man cannot be killed again, right? Wouldn't she try to ensure that her man, whoever or whatever he might be, is never chased again for life?
Is it just a diplomatic move from the U.S. government? Is it just to uplift the sentiments in favor of Obama administration amidst the economic woes? The dollar and stocks did rise, while oil and gold fell, taking into consideration that Osama's death reduced global security risks. Even if we take it for granted that Osama is actually dead. His 'brain' is supposedly not. Ayman al-Zawahri lives, and is likely to succeed Osama and hold the sails for al Quaeda's somewhat tormented ship.The Egyptian-born surgeon, who earlier stated Barack Obama was no different from his predecessor George W. Bush, has already been saying, "I want to direct the attention of our Muslim brothers in Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, and the rest of the Muslim countries, that if the Americans and the NATO forces enter Libya then their neighbours in Egypt and Tunisia and Algeria and the rest of the Muslim countries should rise up and fight both the mercenaries of Gaddafi and the rest of NATO."He feels confronting the enemies of Islam and waging a jihad against them require a Muslim authority, established on Muslim territory that raises the banner of jihad and rallies Muslims around it, which he wrote in a 2001 essay, Knights Under The Prophet's Banner."The way in which he was killed, by a military commando, shows this will have important consequences for the future," said Roland Jacquard, head of the International Terrorism Observatory in Paris. "It will be a call for Jihad, he will remain a very real-life martyr for the rest of the organisation," Jacquard told RTL radio. Islamic militants, who prayed the news of Osama's death to be false, vowed revenge in comments on online forums. "Oh God, please make this news not true... God curse you Obama," said one message on an Arabic language forum. "Oh Americans... it is still legal for us to cut your necks." A jihadist internet community read revenge would be taken for the death of "the Sheikh of Islam."As Obama and his nation rejoices the triumph and as the Islamist extremists count on their nerves, Time will wait to see what it means the killing of a man who killed many. Does the blood rushing in the human veins across the world sheds or continues to run, does the soil gets to turn red or stay embracing the green, does the sky romances only clouds or the villainous smoke takes over ? Along with Osama and all the devil's advocates, let terror and cries rest in peace, even if beneath the sea of solitudes.

Aphrodite

i had her signature on me

mie ruptured skin, the coarse paper

d crimson ink being mie blood...

she was no devil within

perhaps, was just a carnivore of the night

or, may be the might of a dark harlequin passion

spelled a cannibalistic witch in her

the scent she wore was painfully ecstatic,

her cascade reeked an enchanting cold hint...

but still,

she managed to burn me every single moment

release a stubborn phoenix in me --

again and again just to get reborn

though everytime with a weakening vigour...

that night the stars saw her be mie Chaos

the meteors feared she be mie Ilithyia...

what lasted a moment long

demanded to get greeted as ages...

with an unnecessary but everlasting false notion

of me being stronger to the beldame,

or should i say mie temptress pacifier,

slumber kissed goodbye as i rested

not inside her arms but inside her...

mie dreams told me that night

i won, i could make her cry,

i could make her shiver with pain...

but only to taste a willingly sweet defeat

losing all mieself forever from me

just to promise mie sorceress an infinite slavery...