Kolkata; August 20, 2009: The day started off with a 'bang' (no, it wasnt good... my head was banging, thanks to the bad old headache problem!) There were loads of assignments to be completed, and I was not feeling well. The body parts seemed to have given up, I was feeling drowsy, coughing out loud...
Maa was quite scared, "Swine Flu holo naki re???", she went on with her curiosity, thanks to the great Indian curiosity...
However, It went on well... A hot cup of coffee was enough to bring me back to life.
I started penning down some reportorial assignments, then tried calling up my princess charming, but as usual princess had decided to shut down her cell phone. So, texting was the only option to fall back on.
Anyways, amidst coughing and sneezing, and the suspicion of being affected by the 'swine' flu, day went ahead...
Cut to 14:00Hrs (IST)
Venue: Rabindra Sadan Metro Station
Her phone was ringing. It was the third time I tried calling her, but all efforts went in vein... Every time the call would end with a lady voice saying, "subscriber cant be contacted"
Bloody Hell!!! Why wasn't she taking my call??
Suddenly someone called me from the back. I looked back, saw the three musketiers standing in a row, with a smile. As if they had done a great job by not taking my call.
Well, after chatting for some time the two ''laugh birds" disappeared, and I was now joined by the princess.
My sixth sense sparked me off. I was finally able to get hold of the Princess, how can I let this opportunity go?
The diary came out from my bag, the dictaphone went in to work. Now, I was ready to face the Princess.
Journo: So, finally you have finally appeared in Rabindra Sadan. Why did it take so long?
Princess: (In straight cut Bengali) Ha go, cholei elam... Ganga pare ja jam na go... Aamader rajyer gari gulo shob two stroke, tai cholche na, tai hete elam ... Tai deri holo. Jakge, Rabi da (read, Tagore) r namey station e eshe boddo bhalo lagche!!!
Journo : (wondering what did that mean?) Dont you stay in the palace? Then why do you need a public transport? Hell with Two stroke...
Princess: Arey dhur, public transport e asbo keno? Aamader gari gulo to shob auto, shob i dhowa chhara two stroke marka. Ki aar kora jabe!
Journo: Cant you even afford a car ?
Princess: Na go, ei maa mati manusher jugey shob hobe saman. Aamra ekhon khete khawa public. Maa mati manush, aamra aar gaari tey chhorbona, ekhon aamra sudhu train e chapbo. Aaj Duranto, kal Uranto, porshu Ghumonto... Koto train!
Journo:Et tu princess?
Princess: Na go mairi bolchi, concept ta total fultu... Train er koto subidha, Howrah theke chepe bosbo Dighay giye namte hobena. Tamraliptay jabo, Kandari hoye asbo...
Journo: Good, got you. So, where are you heading next?
Princess: Ei ebar Metroy uthbo, soja Garia... Abara phirti train e Esplanade, sekhan theke chakra rail e, tarpor bari phirbo two strokey. Etuku two stroke chaptei hobe, noile Dada ra aamari stroke kore debe. Jakge, ekhon kati, tata!!!
What was it? An interview? An hallucination or the real reflection of a common man's life? The Princess made me go back to a decade earlier. The catch line of a te;lecom company said, "Its for everyone, maharaja or praja"... Now, after a decade, its so true...
(Next episode: The Dada and the Journo)
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