Happy Diwali

So what were you expecting , another starical post :-),
Well On Diwali no , Sethi sahib is really happy today , he is going back home , so everything is happy , joyous and fun.
Sethi Sahib wishes all you guys a very happy and prosperous diwali.
Have a blast and keep smiling.

Cheers to life !
Puneet

TMC's loveletter!

It’s been long that I have posted something, but the fact is, I was constantly searching for the right incidents from the life of Seth sahib’s eventful past that would suit the flavor of this site.

And finally I did manage to get one. This is about a Bong friend that was once a very close part of Seth sahib’s life. As the rule has been, we will not name him but use an acronym for him instead. So let’s refer to him as TMC.

Well one more reason for choosing the “Amaar sonar bangla” guy because Durga Puja is in full swing and so this one goes to all the bongs out there.

Now TMC is very typical Bangla babu moshai . Thin body, thick specs, trying to look more intellectual than he actual is and interested in every damm thing in this world except for the ones on which he has to concentrate. And as with majority of bongs there, he believes in talking a lot, working a little and always taking a stand which by default will be always against the world’s opinion. And like all typical bangla babu moshai’s in Delhi he is studying in JNU specializing in economics. He has just joined the semester but the Bengali blood in him has already made him believe that if there is any Indian (oops Bengali) out here who can take on from Amartya Sen, then it is him. I love his Bengali Optimism and the sheer passion pouring out of every inch of his thin X-rayed frame and thick oil gelled hairs.

But this is not a story about his ideas, his believes but instead, what I am penning down next is a love story. Love story which shows what all men can do to woo their first love love story which shows the intensity of man’s emotions , love story to show how the entire world chips in when you know that’s the love at first sight ……….

It happened around 7 years back, I was in JNU campus to meet TMC. TMC as usual was standing near the Panwallah opposite the JNU main gate and indulging in what he cherishes the most, emptying packs of Navy Cut cigarettes one after another and commenting about what’s going wrong with India and its leadership, India and its cricket team, India and its business community and anything else that you can associate with India. I loved his banter because I knew if in any debate I had spoken against any topic all my points were courtesy TMC.

But suddenly TMC stops smoking and chatting. When these two things stop simultaneously in his life, rest be assured that there is something wrong going around in his world. And I knew what it was; I looked straight and found out the object of his undivided attention. As it happens in lives of all Hindi movies inspired guys it turned out be a girl and to be more precise a typical college girl.

I tried to bring him back to his anti India world but of no avail and I concluded this is one of those serious cases of incurable diseases where the cure lies only in the hands of God Almighty and mortals like us can only provide moral support and daily prayers for the patients.

TMC disclosed he was in love, a concept that was totally incomprehensible to Sethi sahib’s mental frame but since TMC meant business we decided to discuss it over a cup of tea in the canteen. And as we ordered tea we saw the JNU’s union guys coming towards us.

Dressed in long and disheveled, colored Khadi kurtas , and equally long and disheveled beards complete with long jute made jholas (bag) they lived their union image very seriously.

After greeting with folded hands and squeezing us with breath stopping hugs, they inquire if everything was all well. I always wonder how these guys would always be present at the precise moment when a student’s life is going through some major crisis. But since they were India’s political future , I guess it was their job to know about each and every crisis going on in their territory.

TMC told them about this girl with whom he was bitten with love at firs sight bug and as it always happens the girl was totally ignorant or pretending to be ignorant about the whole issue and was not giving any chance to TMC to say his heart pleas apart from occasional Hi’s , byes and side glances. The longest piece of conversation TMC had with her was the two page answer that he dictated to her on some complex micro economic theory.

Anything that is taken up by politicians (budding politicians in this case) becomes the issue of national importance. The case is even worse if you have attended a boozing session with the union guys because then you become part of their brotherhood and entire Union’s strength will always stand by you ,whether you want it or not, in every crisis of your life. As luck would have it both TMC and me were present at one such session (If my family is reading it ---guys trust me I was their but I have never touch alcohol till date).

So everyone was called in, TMC and his friends, Me and my friends, Union members from JNU and DUSU and everyone who wished to be a part of this next love legend in making. Even the canteen’s owner came to the meeting and sponsored the tea and snacks for everyone. After long discussions, it was unanimously decided that a letter would be sent to the girl prophesying everything TMC felt for her.

Union guys took out the official University’s letter pad and students from Arts faculty were asked to come up with best of English phrases. But TMC politely refused their help, accepted just the pad and poured down all his feelings on that JNU’s official letter head.

Well for the first time in history, a love letter would have started with University’s logo on the top and reference number on the top right. The letter was sealed and somebody sprayed his latest deo to make it smell good. (It was an all boys world so no perfumes to sprayJ)

As it’s always a momentous occasion in a boys life when he proposes a woman for the first time, it was decided to begin the event by going to the temple close by and ask for God’s blessings too. The entire troupe Me, TMC, union guys, our friends some 20 -30 guys went to the Kali baari nearby. The Pandit there thought that some wedding Baraat has come there seeing the number of cars, bikes and jeeps in the temple complex. Union guys explained him the situation and he took the letter in his hands and placed it in the thaali for Aarti and did a round of Aarti and Pooja with the letter. He applied tilak and painted swastika on the envelope and distributed Prasad to everyone. Since it was durga puja going on we also roped in the Dhaki , the drum beater and what a party it was everyone dancing on the Dhol , the letter being rotated with the Aarti plate in the temple complex so that every one could bless it and everyone stuffing his mouth with sweets sent by Canteen owner.

The next issue was as to how the letter was to be delivered to the girl and we required some professional help for it. And who else could help us other than the Postman who use to deliver all the letters to the University campus. We all reached the University’s post office and called out for our beloved kaka. Kaka is about to retire and in his last forty years of his service as a postman he has delivered umpteen numbers of letters to all most everyone passing out from the university. But we now see very less of him as Kaka himself says that emails have almost drastically cut down his working hours. Kaka was very happy to see and hear about this all important event. He took the deo scented, swastika marked enveloped in his old but experienced hands and advised that TMC should himself deliver this letter to the girl. But since he admired the respect of us coming to him for his experienced advise , he reciprocated by taking out the read seal from his bag and sealed the letter with official Government of India Seal, Ashoka emblem shining brightly now on the flap of the envelope.

The work was done , The God was with us ( Swastika symbol) , The Government was with us ( The Ashoka emblem) and even the Goons( Union guys with their official letter head) were with us , so when GOD , government and goons are on one side no power on earth can stop the ultimate to happen.

Girl’s classmates have already informed us of her location in the campus and we all decided to immediately go the Books shop at Ber sarai where the girl was coming to get some Xeroxes done.

We reached the place just in time; we all stood near the footpath as TMC moved forward with letter in his hand. Everyone was waiting for that ultimate moment to arrive when TMC would hand over the letter and proposed to that girl and everyone would then jump in some chorus Hindi move number with Girl saying yes to the guy. We Indians do take Hindi movies seriously sometimes.

TMC reached near the girl, we could see his lips moving from the other side of the earth as he gave that blessed letter to the girl. And suddenly the only words we could hear from the lady’s mouth right up to the other side of the road were “TMC grow up”, she mercilessly threw the letter on the pavement and moved away without even opening it up. The three words from her had suddenly changed the entire scene. TMC picked up the letter and quietly moved towards his hostel room, I picked up my scooter and headed back home, union guys were seen reversing their jeeps and canteen owner was back to his stall. No body said a word to anyone and silently everyone got back to his back.

For next one week TMC was not seen in the campus, Union has closed its office for two days as a mark of expressing deep sorrow but the fact that the union office always remain closed except for election time is altogether a different story. Canteen wala also showed his sympathy by removing Today’s Special Item for next few days.

After one week life was usual, TMC was back smoking and Chatting his Anti India views, Canteen resumed its today Special Item , Union guys roamed and hugged freely in the campus. It was discovered that the girl was looking for some top notch economist as her future mate and like all well educated and practical women of today ‘s jet set age she finds it better to be practical than be a romantic in life.

Situation Now

Union guy is standing for the municipality election in Delhi, Canteen Owner has opened a small South Indian restaurant now, Postman Kaka has retired and went back to his village and TMC is now working as a economist in WTO, Geneva and since then has proposed and flirted with many women. He is about to get married now, the Girl is studying at JNU and he tells me she too is very cool and practical about life. But he still keeps that letter with him, still sealed and mildly scented and when he boozes in the night he confesses that he can never experience those same emotions for anyone after that .Neither could we TMC. A lady may get a top notch WTO economist but you never know he might have that secret letter in his drawer which was never meant for her because the one that was meant actually for her might have been thrown on some pavement nearby.