Brahmaputra - Incredible River in Incredible India

A video that I made from pics that I took with my Nikon D40.

India's largest river Brahmaputra which flows through my native city Guwahati is the subject of my romance!! :-)

Romancing life!!

As I was going through some of my childhood pics I remembered one incident that took place perhaps 13-14 years back... It was a windy winter afternoon and most of the neighborhood kids were busy making kites for the late afternoon showdown in the vast barren paddy fields in the other side of the locality across the forest. Suddenly a crazy brainwave struck my younger self then... why not make the biggest kite among all of the peer group... what I lacked in skill in making kites was more than made up by reams of colored paper, thin bamboo sticks and dollops of glue made from rice and starch!! 

After various attempts at making a contraption that vaguely resembled an apology of a kite I finally succeeded and hold aloft my green colored kite that was atleast 1.5ft on all sides with a 1 meter long tail to add to the effect. I left it to dry in the Sun for sometime so that the glue sticks fast and then I could go to the battle ground where other warriors would display their stuffs and try hard to rule the skies with their confetti colored colorful kites.

Just then my cousin came home... he was a known semi-pro at kite flying and I offered him to have a first go at flying my kite. His eyes goggled out of the sockets when he saw the big kite... had it not been for the windy conditions it would have needed an engine to fly that heavy monster!!

After much coaxing and emotional blackmail he told that he will give it a shot. He told me to get the strings ready and then off we went with the green monster... after 10-15 mins across the forest and taking the short cut through the lake we entered the vast vast paddy fields where the yellowish cut stems of the harvested crops hinted at the imminent community feast and also that my birthday was not far off either!!

The wind almost pulled my woolen cap off as I ran backwards holding the kite as my cousin got ready to pull the strings (literally!!). The half-cut paddy stems made whitish scratch marks on my knees and below... but it was no way going to dampen my flying spirits. The cerulean sky was like a giant polka dot skirt... being dotted with tiny colorful kites of all hues and shapes and sizes and feverishly excited kids shouting and egging on their respective flight commanders. 

My cousin struggled initially to launch the kite but as the wind grew stronger it was propelled into the orbit with much further ado... but since the other kites were the usual variety being light and small they became increasingly difficult to control and maneuver and most of the players tried to pull down their kites to save them from being torn apart. But my 'green-eyed monster' with the long pinkish tail was gaining height and was the monarch of all it surveyed. My cousin was shouting that the kite was so un-worthy that only an insane gust of wind could have lifted it up... I gave a sheepish grin and admired my creation flying majestically!! Just then my cousin gave me an offer that I couldn't refuse... he handed me the strings and told me to control the kite for sometime. O God I was so happy... it felt like I was flying along with the kite... in the open open sky!!

Just like any Bollywood potboiler there was a twist in the tale... a monster appeared... with fangs of fury and violence in its mind... the eagle zeroed down on my kite and in a cruel twist of fate it cut the string and off went my kite in a random tangent... and then the entire world passed into a blurred existence as I dropped my the string-box and ran after the kite... as fast as my small legs would carry me. My cousin took a while to get a grip on what's was happening amidst the cries of the other kids who kept on shouting that the big kite was cut off by the big bad bird. I ran past the silent stream, the forest and entered into our lane and then across the street to the other locality... and at the same time keeping an eye on the 'lost' kite being swept away by unfriendly winds. I could vaguely make out that my cousin was also running behind me... his concern was entirely on recovering me from my madness and not the kite... bt nevertheless he was there. I crossed the busy road and then into the narrow lane that leads to another barren field that closely resembled the paddy field where we were flying our kites. I looked around but somehow I lost track of the kite and it was nowhere to be seen... still wondering what might have happened to my dear kite. Dejected and drenched in a cold sweat I turned back to return home and could see my cousin huffing and puffing and swearing at me at my madness. But I was oblivious to his admonishments and my eyes were just searching for any signs of the kite. As we turned back to take the long walk home we could hear a group of kids shouting lustily and when we went near we could see a large green kite hanging from one of the branches of the tall tree. It was still trying to fly... more of a symbolic gesture but how I wanted my kite back. My cousin told all the kids that it was my kite and the entire story... they reluctantly agreed to buy the story and my cousin climbed the tree and got back the kite... 'my' kite!!

That night I kept on looking back at the kite and then fell asleep smiling. That was the last time the 'gentle giant' ever flew in the skies but the memory lingers on. I was the 'kite runner' for a day and I got my kite back... even an ill mannered eagle couldn't take away from me what was mine… ‘my kite’!!

Ol' Man River silently keeps flowin'

Brahmaputra, Guwahati, Assam, India

It was already twilight when I reached the Sukreshwar Ghat of the Brahmaputra river that flows through the heart of Guwahati. One could see the 4km long Saraighat bridge which connects the North and South Guwahati and Umananda Island (world’s smallest river island)… and dotted along the scenery were numerous small boats carrying dark shadows… resembling people… but faceless, nameless and with a sense of purpose that was perfectly alien to me.

The silent waves of the mighty river were such a sharp contrast to the fury it unleashes in Assam during Monsoon… but I can’t imagine Assam without the Luit criss crossing through the heart of Assam… it has inspired romance, poetry, nationalism, courage and prosperity and is one of the most potent symbols of the Asomiya identity.

I adjusted my new DSLR camera to a distant boat which was swaying in the gentle waves like a paper-boat and just then a few birds flew over the river with such mighty grace that I remained transfixed at them long after they disappeared into the distant sky… everyone returns to their home, to their roots... sooner or later… and we are all blessed to have something called Home. What is a human being without history, without roots we won’t know from where we are coming from and where we are going… this sense of earthiness overwhelmed me and I made a huge effort to detach myself from those thoughts for the moment and concentrate on clicking the fotos.

After clicking fotos to my heart’s content I went to the park on the banks of the Brahmaputra and sat down for a while… in introspection… about our lives in the Big city… my longing to come back to my home-city… I always felt that I belonged there. 

And in the stillness of the night in my room… I slept off.. still thinking of the man rowing the small boat and disappearing into the fog...

Down memory lane...

It happened to me some 4 years back while I was in my engineering days. I boarded a city bus and since there were no vacant seats I had to stand in the back side of the bus… to make matter worse the Guwahati buses have roof which are on the shorter side and being of a lanky kind (~6ft) I was finding it difficult to stand straight… After some time luckily I got a seat and was hoping there won't be much traffic enroute. Just then a young guy (~20-21 years) sitting next to me asked whether I was the same guy who won the Telegraph Open Quiz Show Regional finals which was conducted by Derek O'Brien's team a few weeks back. I was pleasantly surprised… and replied that I was the same person! It's a small world for sure…

Excerpts from The Telegraph newspaper:

Quizzing is sometimes like the 100-metre dash in the Olympics? It's all about speed and photo-finish. Three young men, calling themselves MI3, crossed the finish line a fraction of a second ahead in the tie-breaker to emerge winners in the Guwahati leg of TOPS on September 4. Jagat Jyoti Saikia, Manas and Biswajit, however, will not be able to make it to the Calcutta finals due to exams. Taking their place will be Vedanta, Pranami Tamuli and Hrishikesh Mali-- Class XI students of team Mensa, who came in second after losing the tie-breaker, despite tying with MI3 with 105 points after eight rounds..

After continuous quizzing from Class 4-5 onwards… and traversing the entire Quizzing life cycle… I can look back at some very sweet, satisfying moments… those calls from a gal who became a 'fan' after we went to her college n won a state level inter-college Quiz… to the more than 1.25 lakh rupees that I've won so far as prize money… to the hundred odd certificates and the newspaper clippings of our wins… to meeting stalwarts like Derek, Giri, Harsha… to the Pub Quizzes in Guwahati… and the quizzes that we used to organize in our backyard while in school where we used to save our pocket-money to buy prizes like fancy pens, posters and chocolates… to the over flowing cabinets at home full of golden silver medals n trophies n shields… to be taken in a procession with the winning trophy in a small locality after winning a Quiz organized in the memory of a young lad… being given so much respect by the departed guy's parents as if I have helped in his soul's eternal peace. And I still remember how a young lad cried after losing another Quiz to my team... those days we were quite invincible as far as quizzing was concerned!! It has been many years since this wonderful journey began... Old quizzers like old soldiers die hard… they just fade away into the sands of time… hope I can stay in the limelight a bit longer!!

Down memory lane

In the Circle of life… the present soon becomes the past and reality takes the shape of memories… some gets faded over time and some remains… like some stray lines etched forever in stones!! 

I was trying to rekindle the earliest recollection of my childhood… those halcyon days with my parents n brothers… and I could visualize flickering images of my neighborhood childhood school while I was in Upper KG (perhaps)… where my mom used to bring delectable lunch during the lunch breaks.

I also remember going to a magic show where the magician plucked imaginary coins just by pinching our bellies and how I dreamt of becoming a magician one day!! My maternal grandpa used to scare us by telling us stories about the ‘Red Eyed’ monster that was always lurking in the darkness near the olive tree in our backyard.

I still recall how my parents would illuminate our entire lane with more than 200 diyas during Diwali… and how my Dad would maneuver our 1947model Willy’s Jeep in the dark highways… zigzagging through the majestic tea-gardens on our way back after visiting our relatives during the festival time. My memory of those times comprise of a mélange of such charming images… which are permanently engraved in some deepest corner of my heart… and whenever I would look back at my life… taking a break from the din and bustle of the City life… I am sure those memories will always bring a smile to my face… and my heart would always leap up with immense joy!!