The feedback & review system plays an important part in any business.

When you take an Uber ride you are always be prompted for rating & review. Personally, I generally don’t give reviews. Late last year when I went to Bangalore, I used Uber and Ola services a lot. Almost every day 2 to 3 times I availed their service. Twice the Ola Driver kept me waiting and I made sure that I not only gave a negative rating but I wrote a bad review as well about the unprofessional attitude. I didn’t do the same for my other rides which were OK. 

One day while coming back from Rajaji Nagar, the Uber driver was very friendly and was very accommodative too. I was extremely pleased with his service because most of the time these drivers tended to drop me at the main road and tried to avoid going inside the lane where my in-laws’ house is. Not in this case though, because he went happily inside the by lanes without any prompting. It was quite late at night and I was really happy with his service. I made sure that I not only gave a 5-star rating but wrote a raving review as well. 

Later on, I realized that it’s a kind of human psychology. We criticise quickly but we don’t appreciate it immediately. We have all the right to criticise if we are not served well but then where does our adrenaline vanish when we have to appreciate good service.

How do you react?

Do you write reviews (positive or negative)?

Do you give positive and negative reviews with the same zest? Or do you follow some different methods?

I was an introvert throughout my life. It was always difficult for me to start any conversation with unknown people.

A person who could hardly talk with unknown people meant that his career in sales was completely out of bounds. On my first solo call during my first job more than 20 years back, I was outright rejected (I couldn’t even convince the receptionist to allow me to meet the concerned person).

I started getting frightened about cold calls. Rejection after rejection gutted me.

Then I decided to talk to my boss & told him about my problem. Over the next few days, he spent the whole day with me making cold calls & I shadowed him. After a month my ineptness vanished. I learned how to not only convince the receptionists to meet the concerned person but also successfully close deals.
My roles might have changed now but inside I still remain the same person who weaves magic when talking to customers.

Over the years I have understood that I love solving customer’s problems. When the intention is to solve problems, resistance vanishes automatically. For me, my boss helped me in removing inhibitions about cold calls & how to successfully navigate resistance.

How did you get over your inner demons?

From 1st June 2020, I started writing regularly on LinkedIn. I write on varied topics but the bottomline is story telling in a format where it has undertones of culture, ethics, values etc.
After writing on LinkedIn, I started sharing those posts on FaceBook too.
Recently I started posting them on Twitter as well.
One thing that struck me recently was that I am putting up my own creation on platforms which I don’t own. Nobody knows what’s gonna happen in the future. I can lose all the content that I have written so passionately.
This made me decide to upload all my Social Media posts one by one on my blog.
This not only makes my content safe, it also ensures that the original creator of these posts are validated against any plagiarism in the future.
Having said that, please keep checking my blog to check out my stories as they come up one by one.
If you like them, please comment. If you dislike them still comment. If any story resonates with you do comment. Lets build a wonderful community where we discuss our lives in an open format.
Let’s make this world a happy place.
Stay Safe Everyone! God Bless!

The last night of any tour is generally quite emotionally exhausting. It was no different for us (Asif-Mukesh-Sourav: In short AMS) as well during our last night at Kalimpong. As the IPL final came to an end, we prepared to hit the bed. The next day though was not supposed to be an exhaustive day since we would be breaking at Siliguri. In hindsight, it was a wrong decision because it would have been better if we took a break at Malda instead because that would have meant we would have covered 200 KMs of our return journey. More so because we really didn’t have any work in Siliguri other than lazing around.

It was 30th May and we got up around 8 AM and took our time to get ready. Had a couple of cups of tea before going for Breakfast. The breakfast spread at Sinclairs is a real food lover’s delight. We took our jolly good time to finish our breakfast and then got ready to check out.

We started from Kalimpong around 10.30 AM and we expected to reach Siliguri by 12.30 PM. This time of course we had our booking at Sinclairs Siliguri since it was close to the highway. Once again it was the same reason as before that we wanted to hit the Highway on our return journey as quickly as possible. 

My love-hate relationship with Google Maps continued and once again we were navigated to the back of the hotel at Siliguri. Thankfully we realised the problem quickly and turned around and reached the hotel without much ado.

Sinclairs Siliguri was a much smaller hotel than the one in Kalimpong. We of course didn’t mind much because it was just an overnight stay. We just needed a clean room and that’s all that mattered to take some rest so that we can hit the road the next day fully fresh.

The restaurant was also pretty small compared to Kalimpong and we had our lunch there and then took a small walk around the area. After that, we just lazed around in the room chit-chatting among ourselves. In between, we decided that we will leave by 3 AM the next day so that we can cover a big part of our return journey without the need for navigating traffic congestions. Also our experience at Farakka and Malda while coming made us believe that it would be better to take the route via Dhantola – Bhagalpur – Dumka towards Kolkata. So we felt that if we start early it would be better for us.

We spoke to the banquet manager to arrange for some sandwiches, boiled eggs, and bananas which we could carry with us in the morning. I must appreciate the hotel authorities to arrange it and keep it for us all packed when we were ready to leave at 3 AM.

It was pitch dark when we started at 3.30 AM. With Google Maps in tow, I felt like the best navigator in the world. We got into NH 31 immediately and the roads were very good and we made great progress driving through Kishanganj and Dhantola. As the day broke, we took a break at a fuel station to refill the car. We also had some tea and the sandwiches that the hotel had packed for us.

We felt good thinking that we took a great decision of not taking the Farakka route when we entered the Bhagalpur alternate bypass. We took a turn which took us inside Bhagalpur city. We faced terrific traffic congestion inside the city area and by the time we navigated ourselves to SH 25 we were quite exhausted. Anyways, SH 25 connected us to SH 19. As we entered SH 19 we found the road to be very smooth. Google Maps showed that it’s about a 35-40 KM stretch leading us towards Dumka. We felt we had made good progress but suddenly the road became dusty and before we knew it we were facing a horrible stretch of road. It’s difficult to explain how bad the road was but what I can say is that the road was literally filled with craters. The car was moving like a boat, sometimes the left side was inside a crater and sometimes the right side. A couple of craters were so big it felt like we were in some “Off-Road” rallying competition where the craters have been specifically built to understand the strength of the cars and the associated drivers. Once in a while, I felt we will be head over heels. The notion got particularly stronger after I saw a truck in a similar condition on the road.

We thanked our stars when the bad road ended after a 2-hour journey. A 30 KM stretch (and supposedly a State Highway) took us 2 hours and one can imagine how bad the road must have been. 

We sighed a breath of relief when we hit the good roads which meant we were on the outskirts of Jharkhand. We took a small break at Dumka at a nondescript dhaba. Unfortunately, they didn’t have any food and so we just drank a bottle of Pepsi and decided to drive through and take the next break at Shaktigarh.

The roads from there on were very good as we crossed Massanjore Dam, Suri, then Bolpur and Burdwan to hit NH2. 

Around 4.30 PM we reached Shaktigarh and parked the car near our favorite “Mama Bhagne Langcha” shop. We had a plate of puri-sabzi along with samosa to quest our hunger. We didn’t forget to take packets of Saktigarh’s famous langcha for our respective families.

NH2 is always a smooth drive and we were able to reach our respective homes before 6.30 PM.

Thus ended our memorable journey to Kalimpong which included a total driving time of close to 36 Hours. We passed through 2 states which included Bihar and Jharkhand. Quite a lot of memories and a lot of experiences in road travel.

Going out on a long drive and taking a holiday is far out of our thoughts during this period of Covid-19. I hope things change over the next few months and we go back to normalcy which would mean another road trip to another hill station.

Till then take care, everyone and God Bless!

Hills always attract me. As a child I had been to Puri (Beach), Betla National Park (Forest) and Darjeeling (Hills). Somehow the hills always felt better. Probably the climate in the hills and the atmosphere makes me yearn for a hill station trip every year.

Every year from 2013, whenever we (Asif, Mukesh & myself: shortened AMS) planned a trip, I always suggested Hill Stations. We had been to Darjeeling and Gangtok previously so this time we opted for a different place, Kalimpong. Kalimpong though is a hill station, its mainly a place to relax because there is not much activity per se.

Anyways, the previous day’s hectic travel meant that we couldn’t wake up before 9 AM. Good thing was that our hotel was very near to Savok Road so we knew we didn’t need to navigate the traffic congestion inside Siliguri. We got ready by 10 AM and checked out of Saluja Residency (our overnight halting point at Siliguri). There was a nearby fuel station where we got our car refueled and we were now ready for our onward journey towards Kalimpong. 

Our navigating friend, Google Maps predicted a 100 minute drive but me and Google Maps always have a love-hate relationship. I love it because it navigates its way even when mobile internet is not available but hate it because it always ends the journey at some odd location. As we reached Kalimpong, it kept navigating the roads and then it declared that our destination is at the right. The problem was that on our right what we found was a steep hill and nothing else. Where did the hotel vanish? I wondered. There were no major landmarks to help us as well. The road was deserted and finally we found a couple of young guys walking along the way whom we asked to guide us to Hotel Sinclairs Retreat. They were kind enough to inform us about the route, which we understood will come after a couple of more turns up the hill.

This time we were able to reach the place without any more hassle and as we entered the property it delighted us. Sinclairs Kalimpong was situated in such a nice location that one could forget all the worries in life and stay for a few days in absolute tranquility.

We checked in around 1 PM and after keeping our luggage decided to take a walk around the area. The Resort is on a 5 acre property filled with greenery and has all the amenities that you can think of. With the majestic himalayas surrounding the place, it’s an ideal place for anyone who wants to spend a few days away from pollution.

We were hungry by now so decided to go to the restaurant. Me being a pure non-vegetarian by choice, Sinclairs had a lot of options to choose from. After finishing our lunch we decided to take some rest before Mukesh and Asif decided to go for a swim. I meanwhile took a quick afternoon nap. Our room had a nice balcony which was a great place to chill out and that’s where we spent till the sunset, chatting over a few cups of tea.

In the evening, we decided to go to the lounge. The indoor play arena was already filled with other guests so we took a place away from the din and Mukesh ordered some chilled beer as me and Asif (the teetotalers) accompanied him over Pepsi. We had some tasty snacks as well. I must admit the food at Sinclairs was very good. 

We spent the rest of the evening at the lounge just enjoying the atmosphere. We took dinner a bit early and went back to our rooms. Our nights do not end so quickly and we continued chit chatting till 1 AM before calling it a day. We of course planned a trip to Lava & Rishap the next day.

Next day we got up nice and early and were welcomed to a massive breakfast spread at the restaurant. We ate to our heart’s content and then asked the travel desk to arrange a driver for Lava & Rishap. We left around 10 AM and we first went to Lava. These are places which are relatively less inhabited. The roads were very bad and we patted ourselves for deciding not to drive ourselves.

The natural beauty of course was very good. The temperature was cool and it was cloudy with a steady breeze blowing across. After taking a small break at Lava we decided to go upto the Rishap crossing. The Rishop crossing had a very mystic feeling to it. We halted near a small tea shop and took a walk around for an hour or so just having a feel of the tranquility around us.

We had a plate of maggi along with tea and then started our journey downhill towards Kalimpong. During my childhood I had heard that the bakery items of Kalimpong were very different so wanted to taste it first hand now that we were here. The car took us near the main shopping area of Kalimpong and we walked around the place before stopping near a biggish bakery. The cakes and the cream rolls were very attractive indeed and tasted nice as well.

It was late afternoon by then and we decided to go back to our hotel. It was the IPL final day and the rest of the evening was dedicated to the same. As the match started, it started raining cats and dogs at Kalimpong. I thought such rains in the daytime would have looked great from the hotel. It was a great final by the way. RCB showed another way of losing a match from a winning position. The ever reliance on 3 top batters cost them the IPL.

Our stay at Kalimpong was coming to an end. The next day after breakfast we will be checking out.

So what happened next? How was the Return journey? My next blog will unravel the rest of our Kalimpong Trip.

Over the last few years, 3 of us, myself, Asif & Mukesh (In Short AMS: Asif, Mukesh, Sourav) had made a habit of going on a short holiday during the summer. During the summer of 2016, we planned to go on a short trip to Kalimpong.

Those days we had a Tata Aria and this was our second long trip on that vehicle. Our first trip with Aria was to Dooars in 2015. More on our Dooars trip later. Let’s focus on Kalimpong!

Kalimpong is a hill station situated above 4000 feet from the sea level and is more than 600 kms away from Kolkata. This distance might feel like one can easily cover in a day but roads are not that good and hence it’s not really possible to cover that distance in a day.

Google Maps has made navigation very easy and these days one can confidently go to a new place without much trouble with Google Maps in tow.

It was 27th May 2016 and we started sharp at 6 AM. We wanted to ensure that we cover the maximum distance early since we knew the hazards of NH 34. We took NH 2 and reached Gopalpur within an hour and a half where we took our first break at the Azad Hind Dhaba. This place is a personal favourite of mine. The Alu Parathas and the masala omelette that they prepare are out of the world. Not to forget the tea of course.

After having a sumptuous breakfast we were ready to hit the road once again. We reached Burdwan and took a turn which connected us to SH7. The tyre pressure felt a bit low and so we took a break when we found a small shop where we could check the tyres. We had been pretty smart enough to carry a flask this time on our trip and had filled it to the brim with some tea from Azad Hind Dhaba. It was a good energy booster. Not that we needed tea to boost ourselves. It was just an excuse to have some awesome tea.

SH7 was a recently laid down road with very less traffic and we made quick progress towards our destination. At that stage, we were feeling like we would be able to reach Siliguri by evening itself. Siliguri was our overnight stopover. Very soon we reached NH34.

As we took the turn and entered NH34, Asif found the red light blinking on the dashboard which basically gave the signal of some problem with the engine performance. Asif immediately got the car parked at a convenient point and we 3 got down to analyse the situation. Asif was of the opinion that we should not take any risk and we should head back home (Tata Aria had some problems since it was an old vehicle and the service of Tata Motors had never been top class). I didn’t understand how going back 200 KMs would help if we have a real problem with the engine because we would get stuck anyway. Mukesh, who is our resident car expert decided to take a long walk to freshen up his thoughts on what should be done as I lit a cigarette. It was an indiscreet bus stop and Asif sat there and kept murmuring all the “what ifs” hearing which I felt like the trip was already canceled.

Mukesh came back after a lonely walk and we decided to call up our service engineer in Kolkata to get some guidance. He said that maybe some particle has jammed the fuel injector. Mukesh got behind the driver’s wheel and we decided to stop over near Malda and show the car at a Tata Service centre. I came up with a crude idea that if any particle has jammed the fuel injector then how about we refuel the car to the brim and see if the situation changes. The idea was quickly rejected by both of them but finally, it was decided to give a shot.

So we pulled up at the nearest fuelling station at Jangipur. We got the car filled to the brim while the pump attendant excitedly informed us that the owner of the Fuel Pump, Zakir Hussain was now a minister in the newly elected West Bengal Council of Ministers. We were hardly excited about the news because we were too concerned with the car at that moment. Our trips through Siliguri had always been fraught with various troubling experiences and the current problem was keeping us on our toes.

But lo behold as Mukesh started the car, there was no further signal on the dashboard and we were all set to continue our forward journey. We didn’t know what changed but we were happy that we could now drive towards Siliguri without thinking much about the car’s performance. The only problem was that we lost a lot of time. We decided to skip lunch to make up some of the lost time. Google Maps showed that we will face big traffic congestion at Farakka and Malda.

And that’s exactly what happened. As we approached the Farakka bridge it was a complete standstill. Farakka Bridge is basically a barrage over the river Ganga and is more than 2 KMs long. A few minutes crossover took us close to an hour and we lost significant time when we reached Kaliachowk, another famous bottleneck area. It was 2016 and the flyover over Kaliachowk was not yet built. 

It was almost 5 PM by the time we left the crowded areas and the sun was all ready to set on the west when we entered a 55 KM long stretch off the main highway. This road was very smooth and looked to have been built quite recently. It took us right through many villages and by the time we reached NH 31 it was past 7.30 PM.

The long drive had tired us quite a lot. The travel time was more than 13 hours already and remember we didn’t have lunch. We found a tea shop just on the outskirts of Islampur and decided to take a break. As the car came to a halt, we stretched ourselves and discussed the journey thus far. The traffic congestion on the way had really put us off but then it was a known risk so we had to take it on our chin. Next time, we decided we will start another 2-3 hours early and try to at least cross these traffic-congested areas earlier in the day when the traffic could be lighter.

After having 2 cups of tea and some biscuits to satisfy our stomachs, we re-started our journey towards Siliguri.

The drive through Islampur and up to Siliguri was very smooth. The only problem was that we were not so comfortable driving at night on a highway but there is always the first time. The horrible experience in the daytime made this part of our journey feel like a breeze.

We entered Siliguri around 10 PM and then navigated our way to our hotel, Saluja Residency which took us another 15-20 minutes. Because it was quite late in the night, we didn’t face much traffic congestion in Siliguri though we had spent a bit of time to get the exact location of our hotel. We had purposefully selected a hotel that was just near Savok Road so that the next morning we didn’t need to navigate too much and lose time in Siliguri traffic.

The hotel was a small one perfect for an overnight stay and the best part was that it had a good place to park the car. 

We checked in to our rooms and ordered some food immediately. We were absolutely famished. 

After having a real heavy dinner filled with Kebabs and other chicken dishes we called it a day and promised ourselves to start as early as possible tomorrow so that we could check-in at Kalimpong before 12 noon.

So what happened next? How was our Kalimpong stay? What did we do there? How was the return journey? Wait for my next blog to unravel the same.

Till then Stay Safe and a Happy Weekend!

Few of the old movies that I really like are “Kashmir Ki Kali” and “Jab Jab Phool Khile”. Not seen those movies in decades but I distinctly remember that I loved them because of the sceneries of Kashmir and the houseboats. There have been many movies of the 60’s and 70’s which have been extensively shot in Kashmir but somehow these 2 movies have remained with me.

The Dal Lake & the houseboats always intrigued me. I never had a chance to visit Kashmir and frankly never thought will go there as well. Always thought that Kashmir will forever remain with me in my dreams.

Then something strange happened a couple of years back, out of nowhere, Subho and Asif made a plan for Kashmir. I had some personal issues and I was not ready to join in. But Subho as he is, with the backing of Asif’s brain, got me emotionally involved and finally I agreed to the tour. A longish holiday is always better for the winter since the work pressure is less so Asif planned the trip from 29th December to 5th January.

We reached Srinagar in the afternoon of 29th December. We had already booked a car and it was a Travera driven by a very friendly gentleman by the name of Fayaz. Over the next few days he would be our prime Vahan Chalak. Anyways we reached our hotel by 2 PM which was adjacent to the majestic Dal Lake. It was very cold and we could see some portions of the lake having a blanket of thin ice on it. We went inside the hotel to find that there was loadshedding. Not a good start I thought.

It was a small hotel with a few rooms and we were the only guests. We were welcomed with a cup of Kawa (a traditional Kashmiri hot beverage – many call it the Kashmiri Tea).

We got our caps and gloves out from our bags and thought about what to do next. The hotel boy suggested that we enjoy the rest of the afternoon on a Dal Lake trip and said that by the time we return, the current will be back. His suggestion sounded good and we asked him to arrange a Shikara (a Kashmiri traditional boat) for our Dal Lake Trip.

Shafi, the hotel boy called up one of his friends who had a Shikara and asked us to negotiate the price directly with him. He said that the Shikara will be here in 30 minutes.

With not much to do, we just roamed around the place and just tried to soak in the environment. It was about 3.30 PM but it was so cold that it was better to go inside but the enjoyment of being in Kashmir – the childhood dream coming true just didn’t let us go inside. We spent the next half an hour talking to the hotel staff to understand how many tourists come during winters and how the overall business of travel and tourism was.

Right on time, the Shikara arrived. As I stepped on it, I felt like the Shikara realised that I am too heavy for its comfort and the unsteadiness of the boat made me feel awkward as well. Anyways, nothing untoward happened because me and water are not very good friends. I generally do not travel in a boat even when we have gone to lakes in Udaipur or Munnar but Dal Lake was not something to be missed. The beauty of Kashmir can’t be fulfilled without the sojourn of the Dal Lake in Shikara.

Me and Asif sat on one side and Subho sat opposite to us as the Shikara rolled on. It was freezing cold as we entered the main Dal Lake area. The biting cold was quickly forgotten though when we saw the scene of hills towering in front of us as we rowed through the waters. The serene atmosphere just felt out of this world and to be frank it felt much better than the movies. Only thing that kept bothering us was the cold. Even with caps and gloves and 2 layers of woollen clothes we were shivering. I was thinking what’s gonna happen at night if we are shivering like this in the late afternoon.

Anyways, understanding our discomfort, the man who was rowing the Shikara asked if we would like to have some tea. I said, “I would prefer normal milk tea but I guess we will have to go to the shore for the same”?

He smiled and rowed on. Very soon I saw a Shikara coming in parallel to us. I didn’t give much importance but was surprised to hear the person in Shikara asking us if we needed tea.

Then we realised that it’s a tea seller on the Shikara. Never heard of this before that they sell tea on a shikara and I felt quite adventurous thinking of having tea right in the middle of the Dal Lake. As we moved on, the other shikara also moved along with us and started making tea. We ordered 3 big cups of tea. By the time we could finish our tea another Shikara came along and this time we heard that it’s a Kebab seller. Our excitement knew no bounds. In that biting cold weather having some hot Kebabs made very good sense and we asked the person to make 3 sheeks. After we had our first set we reordered. The weather was such that by the time we were starting to eat, the Kebabs were going cold.

Later as we moved further we met a few more shikaras selling traditional Kashmiri items like Saffron and other artifacts.

Then we moved towards an area called Meena Bazar. It was a traditional market selling carpets and woollen clothes but the surprising fact was that it was on HouseBoats and thats why its also called Floating Market. We thought of coming back later to this place for shopping since we were in Kashmir for more than a week and didn’t want to start spending right away on our very first day.

In the meanwhile we could see the sun setting at a distance. The reflection of the setting sun on the Dal Lake is captured forever in our hearts. I am not sure if I will visit that place again but that scene on our very first day in Kashmir will remain with me forever.

It was getting colder and we asked our Shikara man to drop us off. This time he dropped us a little away from the hotel because we wanted to walk a bit, soaking in the environment and get some heat on our legs by walking.

We got down, thanked him and paid. Thereafter we took a small walk towards our hotel when we saw a small restaurant making hot parathas. It was very cold and there was a group of people standing near the heater. We also joined in and asked the owner of the restaurant to make some parathas for us along with Butter Chicken. We had the parathas to our heart’s content. The hot parathas felt heavenly in that cold weather.

As we finished our food and walked towards our hotel, we kept discussing our experience today. I couldn’t thank Asif & Subho enough for pestering me to come to Kashmir because otherwise I would have missed a grand opportunity. I was still very skeptical though on how I will survive the night because the cold was too much for anyone’s comfort.

I did survive as you can imagine otherwise how I would have been writing the experience today?

That summarises our first day in Srinagar and our out of the world experience in riding a Shikara on the Dal Lake. A childhood dream got ticked off the list. Dreams do come true!

Air Travel amidst Covid-19 pandemic has become quite a hassle for everyone. As the situation currently stands, other than emergency, travelling should be stuck off the calendar till the world officially comes out of this Pandemic.

My friend Subho who works in Mumbai had come to meet his family in Kolkata just a couple of days before the nationwide lockdown got implemented in late March this year and had been stuck here ever since.

With the lock down getting lifted partially from June, he finally made his journey back to Mumbai a few days back.

A day before the journey he received a message from the airlines informing him that he needs to be at the airport 3 hours before departure. As he reached the airport he could realise that things were quite different now.

No rushing at the gate was allowed. Everyone had to maintain safe distance. This I think is good and I hope it remains perpetually in India. It’s pretty awkward when people don’t keep a distance while standing in a queue. Hopefully things have changed for the better now.

Before coming near the entrance gate a person was checking the temperature and only if you are not running a temperature then only you are allowed to move towards the gate. As you approach the gate, one needs to keep the ticket and the ID card on an elevated device and the security person will check the same in his monitor. This seems to be a new addition to the system so that there is no contact with the passenger & security personnel to maintain social distancing. Another good addition to the system I think. Also the bags get sanitised at the gate as per the standard protocols.

One important feature that has become standard now across all airports is that the traveller needs to web check in. No check-in is allowed at the airport. No baggage X-Rays as well. The airline counters now sport a fiber wall to maintain safety. Once the luggage is left at the counter, no counterfoil is provided to the passenger instead a SMS comes to the registered mobile number mentioning the Checked-in baggage receipt number. Another new addition using technology which I think is a very good move. At Least Covid-19 is making us go paperless as much as possible.

After this comes the security check. No physical check is being done now. It’s being done electronically. This is also a welcome addition because this takes the human error out of the equation.

The airport inside is no longer the same. One issue is that passengers are less so such big airports look very deserted. Most of the shops are not functioning yet. Subho was quick to notice that the Smoking Zone was closed. Quite wittily that was the first thing he informed me after entering the airport.

The sitting areas are demarcated with every alternate seat crossed out and no one is being allowed to sit there to maintain social distancing.

The flight that Subho took had only 8 passengers on board. I am at pain to understand how long these airline companies will run with so low demand. Anyways, what he saw with other relatively populated flights was that no passenger was allowed to stand in the bus. Once the seats were full the buses were leaving and the next set of passengers were being taken by another bus. This is great I thought but will this continue after the world gets rid of Covid-19? I doubt that but it’s a welcome change because 75-80 passengers on those busses used to make the place quite suffocating.

Anyways, the airline company handed out masks, face shields and a small bottle of sanitizer for all passengers. Inside the flight all crew members were wearing PPEs (must be a real pain wearing these in a flight and in long distance flights it must be even bad). Subho also noticed that no food was being served inside the flight. He always avoids food inside the flights and he wasn’t sure if this no food policy was because of too few passengers or was it because of Covid-19.

At the Mumbai airport he was a little taken aback when he saw that no social distancing was followed in the conveyor belt area. There were no security around as well and people were back hostling and crowding without maintaining safe distance.

Subho quite smartly took his own time and waited for the crowd to disperse before going and taking his luggage. As he booked the cab and started moving towards the exit gate, his temperature was checked and a home quarantine mark was stamped on his hand. Quite funnily though the stamp ink was of very low quality and in 2 minutes he was able to remove the ink from his hand.

So that’s how a flight journey would be in the near future till Coronavirus stays with us. Quite clearly travelling in flights would be very tedious going forward and not at all comfortable. I do not foresee people taking flights now other than emergencies. This industry is in for a lot more pain in the short and medium term.

Visualising the whole process from outside, I think the Airport and Airline authorities are doing a stellar job in providing the services amidst such a turmoil. I just hope the general public follows the rule because it’s a question of human health and hence it’s important as dutiful citizens that we follow all the rules.

Till we meet again – Stay Safe & Good Health!

It was 4th January 2019: Myself, Subho and Asif were in Srinagar.

Today we decided to go to the Shankaracharya temple. There were no other places to visit that day other than some indiscreet shopping, so the Travera was not called for. We decided to take an auto. As we stepped outside the hotel the snow started to fall.

We had faced snowfall at Sonmarg a couple of day’s back but Srinagar had been relatively dry. We were excited not only about the snowfall but also about our experience of riding an auto during a snowfall.

Sankaracharya temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and it’s about 1000 feet above the Valley floor.

It was all good till we reached the base of the Sankaracharya hill. After taking the gate pass from the military who were guarding the entry point, the fun began. Remember we had to now go up 300 meters of a hill in an auto and that too under snowfall. Already the roads were almost filled with snow and as the auto moved up we could feel that the driver was fighting against gravity at all the turns. We were contemplating getting out and walking up but the driver was confident and as per the Kashmiriyat tradition they won’t allow their guests to suffer. So slowly he drived on. At the second last turn the vehicle almost lost grip and was about to be off the road. But thankfully he was able to control it and we safely reached the gate of the temple.

The next challenge was in front of me. 243 stairs stared at me and I had to walk up. As if 243 stairs were not enough, the snow fall got heavy which made the situation even more difficult. I decided to go slow and took a few seconds rest after every 20-25 stairs and finally reached the top, puffing & panting after 20 minutes.

More challenge was staring at me. The snow had by now engulfed the entire place. From the top, Srinagar looked awesome under a blanket of snow. There were another 12-15 stairs that I had to take to reach the main sanctum area of the temple. And this time I will have to navigate the stairs in bare feet. The stone staircases were very slippery after the snowfall and the temperature was below zero degree. There was a small courtyard, where me and Subho left our shoes and walked up the stairs. It was freezing cold. By the time I entered the temple my feet had gone numb. We performed our pooja and again took the steps carefully because it was even more risky while coming down.

My legs were numb. There was a small fireplace at the courtyard and we got our hands and feet warmed for the next 10 minutes. After getting warmed up, we started our journey downwards.

The snowing had stopped by then but the steps were very slippery. We were very careful while coming down and thankfully we were back on the road in 10 minutes.

The Auto driver was waiting to take us back and we got in. As we got in the driver said that the road is very slippery so we have to be very careful. Subho said, “what will we do, by being careful, you are driving so you need to be careful”. Anyways, I must admit he was very careful while driving us and no untoward incident happened.

As we came back to the plains we were discussing our flight tomorrow. With the snow still falling we were thinking if the flights would take off or not.

The driver got talkative as we moved towards a nearby tea shop. He had understood that we are from Bengal and blurted out some Bengali sentences. We thought that he had picked up the skill from the tourists because after all, we Bengalis are habitual travellers. But guess what, I was wrong. He told us that he was a photographer a few years back and when a tourist family came from Bengal he fell in love with a girl in that family and they later married. I said, “Wow, that means you are Bengali Jamai – just like Amitabh Bachchan – lets call you Srinagar ka AB”. We laughed to our heart’s content while having tea and cookies.

My wife called up asking me to get some wool for stitching sweaters for the kids. Now, this was a tough ask because I didn’t know much about wool and from where to buy it. Thank fully our “Srinagar ka AB” offered to help and took us to a shop in a local market area. From there I was able to place a video call to my wife to select the wool which she needed.

It was almost 5 PM and we asked our driver to take us back to the hotel. As we entered the hotel, I kept thinking if the snow doesn’t subside what’s gonna happen tomorrow?

So what happened the next day? Keep the patience as I come back with the next edition of my Kashmir Memoirs!

Stay Safe everyone! God Bless!

My mother used to be always in tension when my father was late from work. Those days communication was a challenge. I am talking of my childhood days of the 80’s. It’s a different matter that the “tension” was a mental problem which continued till my Father breathed last.

Anyways, it was past 9 PM that day and my father was not yet home. I expected my mother to be tense. She had this habit of standing at the doorstep if my Father was late – but that day there was no visible tension. She served me dinner and when I asked where Dad was, she answered that he was at the club and that he would be late. You have your dinner and go to sleep, she said. What was my father doing at the club at 9 PM I didn’t understand.

Anyways, I finished my dinner and went to sleep. I didn’t know when I fell asleep but I was awakened suddenly with a bursting of crackers. I didn’t realise if I was in Dreamland because it was neither Mahalaya nor Diwali. Anyways, I could realise that my Father was back and having dinner. I went back to sleep thinking I will ask him about these crackers the next day.

It was a Sunday next day and I woke up late. Surprise! Surprise, I woke up to see a wooden bat lying just beside me. Once again I thought maybe I am dreaming! I had been asking for a wooden bat for the last few months – those days if you had a bat yourself then your chance of getting to bat early was high hence the need for a wooden bat – and to see that in reality was like a dream come true.

So here I was bat in hand and off I walked into the living room where my parents were having their morning tea. I was about to ask my parents when the doorbell rang. My father went to open the door and in came 2 of my father’s closest friends. They handed over a packet to my mother and told her, “Boudi, today mutton curry and rice for lunch”. More confusion for me. If it was today I could have rechristened myself as Confusion.com – too many things were happening which was getting me surprised.

Anyways, as everyone settled down, I asked what’s going on? Then my Father told me that India won the Cricket World Cup yesterday beating the mighty West Indies.

Though I understood cricket but as a 7 year old my understanding about Cricket was “Test Cricket” because I used to see my Father listening to the radio commentary for 5 long days. So I didn’t connect what the World Cup meant. As a child, “Test” means exam so winning a “Test” means passing the exam or winning but then what is the World Cup?, I thought. Then I was explained that “Test” Cricket was one format of the game and the World Cup was played in a different format (Those days it was played across 60 Overs each side).

So that’s my only personal memory of India winning the Cricket World Cup for the first time on 25th June 1983. It is a good memory no doubt, I got my first wooden bat and for that, along with thanking my father I also thank Kapil and his Devils who did the unthinkable of beating the West Indies to lift the cup.

A year later one of my uncles gave me a book titled, “Idols” written by Sunil Gavaskar. There I read a lot about the World Cup with Sunny describing not only Kapil Dev’s magnificent 175 Not Out but also the catch taken by him to dismiss Viv Richards. I became a die hard fan of cricket after reading that book.

Few years later before the 1987 Reliance World Cup, we got our first TV at home and for the very first time I was able to watch the highlights of the 1983 World Cup Final. Even today when I watch that match it gives me goosebumps. Scoring a paltry 183 and then defending that score aplomb against the world’s best side was truly like David slaying the Goliath.

The 1983 World Cup team had Sunil Gavaskar as the most experienced team member but his record in Limited Overs Cricket was not good. But what defined the team was the plethora of allrounders. Just imagine that a player of Kirmani’s standard used to bat at 8 or 9 in the lineup. Many of the batsmen like Mohinder Amarnath, Kirti Azad, Yashpal Sharma not only batted in the top order but used to bowl as well. Infact Mohinder Amarnath was the Man of the Match in the final for the 3 wickets he took.

In the previous 2 editions of the World Cups in 1975 & 1979, India cumulatively won only 1 match and that also against East Africa so when the 1983 World Cup began one can imagine why nobody gave India a chance.

But, Kapil and his team went against all odds and changed the perception not only of the cricketing world but also the cricket watching people in India. This team brought renewed hope to India in general because it showed that if you put your heart and soul into something then magic happens. And 1983 was the magical turn that Indian cricket needed.

Today India has won multiple world tournaments and are sitting atop the Test Cricket ladder but the dream of many Indian budding cricketers were formed on that night of 1983!

Thank You Kapil and your team for giving us a moment which will be remembered forever. As India celebrates the 37th Anniversary of our first World Cup win, a big Thank You to Kapil Dev and the team for making people believe that one can create his own destiny.

So what do you fondly remember about India’s 1983 World Cup win?

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