AUTUMN IN MY HEART - A JOURNEY THROUGH BREAKUPS,LUST AND THEN...BLOSSOMS

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

YOUTUBE TRAILER OF AUTUMN IN MY HEART

Friday, December 23, 2011

THE ARRANGE MARRIAGE CIRCUS

It all started with a Quarrel.

For the last few months, Duttas of Dakhineshwar were

under huge tension. It prevailed over their home and even

spread toxically over nearby regions.

Even the Chatterjees, Biswas, Kumar, Gangulys who

stayed in the same colony were in much tension.

The Duttas in the same colony (even some far away

Duttas too) were exceptionally worried. They even tried to

extend their helping hand but Ayantika’s angry expression

always dampened their spirits.

Thanks to a sudden fit of anger, a few glasses were

broken, the red-faced bunny lost his ears and the tense state

of affairs continued.

It was about Marriage. The god damn thing which every

girl hates (at least in front of others) and parents immensely

love.

‘Sono Mouli, Tomake ebar oi chele tar songe dekha kortei

hobe....R kotidin ei bhabe cholbe’

(See Mouli, you have to meet this guy...how long will

it go like this)

Sitala Debi, Ayantika’s mother, was shouting at her.

According to her it was the most suitable alliance and she

had been talking to them since six months and now it was

April already.

'I have told you a million times that I don’t want to get

married right now. Dad, please make mom understand.’

Tears rolled down her cheeks.

Soumendra Narayan Dutta, Ayantika’s dad, was the

umpire of the fighting match and was doing his duty quite

efficiently and gracefully.

‘Please don’t cry Mouli, you don’t have to marry now.

Just meet the guy once, no harm.’

‘Mira Masi called up, that guy has sent you an e-mail,

go check it and reply,’ Sitala Debi snarled. The fight ended

(at least for that day).

Ayantika just didn’t want to marry. Not at the moment.

Not until she landed a job with a decent government bank.

She didn’t have much in her hand though. At the doorstep of

the twenty first century, the marriage of a daughter remains

the prime concern and an extremely vital occupation of every

middle class Bengali family.

Marriages are made in heaven and arranged marriages are

made in Bharat Matrimonial or The Sunday Ananda Bazaar,

that’s what they claim .At times the relatives play an important

role bringing in their very distant relatives claiming to know

them very well even when the last telephonic conversation

between them happened two years back! Power packed ads bride

needed for the only son of Highly qualified Chartered

Accountant,also knows scuba diving or looking for MBA, IIT,

CFA, for only sister, very fair, very beautiful.' At times it is

slightly confusing whom is the ad for ?Is it for the Chartered

Accountant father (who from the bottom of his heart really

wants to remarry and throw out the wife, a 1960’s model),

or his son or his daughter!

The father of the bride really has a hectic job finding

a decent groom but then it’s a question of her whole life.

So the drilling starts. The mother of the bride also does

her part... No,No...This guy won’t suit you at all. His uncle’s

daughter eloped with a local hooligan. The expectations make

it tougher to find a suitable match. He is just 5’3...So dark,

how can he manage with this meagre salary?

The bride or the girl at times adds her own requirements

and specifications-Dad, I want a tall guy, size does matter.

Please Ma, I want to marry an engineer. The list gets bigger

and bigger.

The Father of the groom is a bit disappointed as his son

couldn’t find a suitable girl by himself by the age of thirty.

Useless Fellow, can’t find a girl after so many years. The mother

of the groom has started crying for she has already lost her

son to some imaginary girl who plays black magic on him,

thanks to Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi (A popular

television soap). She can’t sleep at night.But then she has

to get her son married. Mukherjee Da’s wife was saying the

other day, 'How long will you keep Nakul unmarried? Marry

him off or else he will start doing all nonsense.'

So the search begins - Groom wanted for extremely fair,

extremely beautiful, extremely calm and quiet girl, MA,

Diploma in dancing (only at night clubs!), Also knows

stitching (couldn’t even stitch the first button of her shirt,

Always open!).... At times the father and brother play a big

role in the ad...Father retired; very well known professor of

very well known college(bucks! Flowing!)....Brother IIT,IIM

blah blah (More bucks! Flowing!)

The groom always had some secret criteria which now

comes forth. She must be very fair like Priyanka whom he

proposed to eleven times with no luck, Should have a very

good figure (Hmm.. Like Payal, the Delhi chick who had

twenty boyfriends in just three years ), should be very homely

( and also shake her hips with me at Night clubs )....And so

the search goes on...and on.....

----- From the novel ‘AUTUMN IN MT HEART’

Saturday, December 17, 2011

CAN LOVE HAPPEN TWICE?

Everyone has a past and so did Deb.

‘Please Priyanka, Please don’t hang up the phone. Listen

to me. You know how tough it is to make a call to US.I have

been trying to call you for last three days. Please, listen to

me! I will make everyone happy. Please! Don’t break the

relationship. I will try to make uncle accept us. Please give

me a chance.’ Deb tried hard to control his tears.

‘Deb, it’s over now. The sooner you accept it, the better.

And please don’t harass my dad with your pestering phone

calls.’ Priyanka said from the other end. Her voice was cold

and devoid of any emotions.

‘How can you say that, Sona? We have had a relationship

for the last ten years. How can you break it in a day?’

‘It’s over Deb. I have someone else in my life. Aditya is

my Project Manager and we are going to get married soon.

It’s a waste of time discussing all those crap, sentimental

old things. I am done with you.’ Deb felt his temperature

rising. His heart was pounding loudly. Also, the phone bill

was rising. He tried to give it a last try. How can she leave

me, Oh God! Please, God, Please bring her back to me.

‘Who is this mother-fucker Aditya? Don’t tell me that just

three months in US, and you have forgotten our love.’

Priyanka was working with one of the top IT MNCs

in Kolkata and had gone to Dallas, US for her first onsite

engagement. ‘Aditya can give me all the luxuries of life. Plus,

he is my project manager, so no one can stop my promotion.

You are a loser, Deb.’

‘Oh, I am a loser now! And what about that time when I

spent an entire week beside your hospital bed when you got

jaundice. It was I, who took your dad to hospital when he

broke his leg? I did all the shopping for your whole family

for a month. And now you are saying I am a loser.’

‘Oh! So you did all that to get something in return. Tell

me what you want? I will ask my dad to pay you.’

Deb held his breath for a minute. It pained to let

Priyanka go away from his life. But he could make out that

it was all over. All these ten years, those beautiful nights

chatting over the phone and hugging and kissing. Those

rainy days, movie halls, market places, botanical garden– he

could feel her presence everywhere. The warmth of her

breath, the softness of her touch. How could it be all over?

‘Please Sona, Please.Come back to me…’ Deb could feel

the tears slowly running down his cheeks.

‘I can’t I have already accepted Aditya’s marriage

proposal.’

‘You bloody bitch. One day you will repent it. Go to

Hell !’.

Deb threw the phone away. It beeped a while before

going into total silence. He ravaged his cupboard to get

his cigarettes. He got hold of one and sucked it hard till

it reached its end. Deb looked at the burned out cigarette

stub. He felt just like it. Used, abused, sucked, burned and

thrown away.

As each day passed by, Deb felt the pain making a

formidable hole in his heart. The crowded Kolkata streets

felt empty as he struggled to reach his office in the morning.

Sitting at one distant corner of a window in the lazy tram,

Deb gazed blankly at the roads where they had walked hand

in hand. It made him feel that his world was completely

devoid of any happiness.

As time passed by, the emptiness in Deb’s heart

transformed into an uncanny purposelessness. He tried

to spend more and more time in office. But the pain had

grasped him thoroughly, clenching him in its tight clasp. He

was neither able to concentrate on any of the work assigned,

nor did he feel the need from inside.

Slowly, Deb slipped away from the mainstream. He

rejected phone calls from his nearest and dearest friends,

roamed aimlessly on the streets of Kolkata. At times, he spent

hours sitting by the side of the Ganges. As slowly the defeated

Sun drowned in the shining waters, Deb looked vacantly

at the happy couples flocking on the riverbank sharing a

melting ice cream. Suddenly old memories flashed in front

of his eyes making him weaker and smeared him in pain.

The food he loved most had lost its flavour, the streets

had lost their charm, friends had lost their warmth and what

mattered more, life had lost its meaning.

It went on like this for a couple of months. Deb’s

quality of work degraded to the last level leading to daily

skirmishes with his manager. At last, he felt compelled to

resign and started looking for another job. Things were at

their worst. After a month of futile search, Deb still remained

unemployed. By that time, he had lost all the zeal to struggle

for his existence.

Mitali, Deb’s mother could easily understand her son’s

condition. She tried to contact Priyanka. It didn’t help much.

By that time, Priyanka had already changed her US mobile

number. She tried hard to contact Priyanka’s parents only

to surrender helplessly to their threats of a police case for

harrasment.

It was raining heavily that night. As Deb stood there

lonely in the verandah, he could see the gushing waters

overflowing the city drains. The lightening remained frequent

with flashes of light zapping the nearby jasmine tree in their

garden. It was just then that Deb decided to live no more!

As Deb looked at his parent’s smiling photo one last

time, with a shining razor in the hand, a deep-rooted pain

clenched his heart. He felt like crying but perhaps the tears

had dried up in his eyes. The room was scattered with torn

letters and photos of happy times. Outside, the thunder

could be heard frequently. It was as if someone up in the

heavens was protesting against his next action.

He felt reckless one last time. Deb looked at his glass

window with droplets of rain clinging to it. Priyanka’s face

flashed for the last time with the lightning. Her sweet smile

beamed in front of his face. How much he liked that smile!

How he was mad about her! And then it was all over. The

razor shined the last unforgiving minute in his raised up right

hand, till it came down slashing. It was all over. A puddle of

blood formed on the white carpet as Deb lay there, his soul

still fighting to unite with his creator.

Everyone has a past and so did Deb.

-------- From the novel ‘AUTUMN IN MY HEART’

Sunday, December 11, 2011

A UNIQUE BOOK CONTEST WHICH TAKES YOU & YOUR LOVED ONE TO THE HIMALAYAN VALLEY FOR FREE !!!!

VACATION IN MIND?

Answer 2 simple questions based on the novel –AUTUMN IN MY HEART and complete the SLOGAN to win a trip to the Himalayan Valley with your family.

QUESTIONS:

1) Where Deb did went for a vacation?

2) Who all accompanied Deb to the above place?

Complete the below sentence in 10 words:

I would love to visit Te Aroha because.........

RULES:

1) Like the page of the novel in Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Autumn-in-My-Heart/251288681550080

2) Email the answers to Saptarshi.basu1981@gmail.com with the subject : UNIQUE CONTEST –AUTUMN IN MY HEART

THE PRIZE!!!

1) 10 LUCK WINNERS WILL RECEIVE AN AUTHOR-SIGNED COPY OF THE NOVEL

2) 2 night-3 day stay AT TE-AROHA in a Deluxe Room for two persons.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner – ABOSULUTELY FREEEEE !!!!- FOR THE GRAND WINNER

NOTE :

1) NO MEMBERS OF THE AUTHOR FAMILY OR FROM TE-AROHA CAN PARTICIPATE IN THE CONTEST

2) The stay can be availed any time between 1^st March to 31^st July, 2012

3) DUE TO THE GREAT RESPONSE, THE CONTEST HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO END FEBRUARY, 2012

ABOUT TE AROHA :

A colonial-style summer house converted into a boutique luxury hotel, Te Aroha is located amidst the scenic surroundings of Mukteshwar in Uttrakhand. Owned by an eminent lawyer-writer, the hotel is a harmonious blend of traditional architecture and contemporary comforts. Huge decks and terraces, antique furniture, massive glass windows with breathtaking views of the Himalayan peaks and the high ceilinged lobby replete with carefully selected furniture can transport you through time to the bygone elegance of the colonial era. For more details, please visit www.tearoha.in

FB PAGE : www.facebook.com/tearohadhanachuli