InDepth

Last few days have been hectic. Travels, work and duties - they were with me. So, in essence I was not bored, but I could not find time to pen down some thoughts to share with you all. What has happened with me in the past few days? Well, as stated, some travels, I was at the shores of the Baltic Ocean and spent a lot of time to drink the beautiful moist air, to listen to the near-silent waves of the sea and to hum a few lines. Visiting the seashores of southern Scandinavia brings several emotional highpoints - The Baltic Ocean is blue and obedient. It is relatively calm, almost like a river. But a sea cannot be a river. A river meets a sea, and not the other way around. So, the sea is hierarchically higher placed. Therefore, Baltic sometimes shows its higher status - it soars and disturbs its own serenity. This interplay of emotions of a sea is wonderful. The neat and clean surroundings of the Ocean is exemplary. Any beach you visit in Sweden, like, Malmö, Lomma, Simrishamn - there is...

It is a fact that I have too much to talk to and too few to talk to. These two diametrically opposite themes run at the same time through me. The solution? Well, I start writing. Today's topic - getting a new car. My first car after getting a driver's licence in Sweden was Volkswagen Golf. It was a standard one and my uncle had commented, after getting to look at it for the first time - ah this is the so called "State Car" of England. I drove this brand for a rather long time, until 2019. The funny part was - little did I know that one day I would be working for the same Volkswagen company. The Golf was a hint from a dear friend who had already used it, and it turned out to be a good proposition.  My problem is - I am not someone who loves long drives. For me, it is all about moving from point 1 to point 2 - nothing fancy and frenzy about it. Any car can do it, and anyhow this is cool. After all, traveling in public transport takes longer time and takes away the subli...

Today was an odd day. I got late to wake up again. I had dreams too, that of having a pain on my knee. But nothing too scary. I think it sometimes can be due to overwork or over-reading. Today let me focus on my habit of reading. I try to meditate through reading. I like all kinds of books, suspense thriller, fact-based, investigative journalism, or the odd short story collection. When I read I am deep into it. However, when I am done I still a bit in trance - thinking of the content. Finally I get a bit restless - can I be good enough to write something worthwhile one day? These days one such book is making me restless. It is Malgudi Days written by R K Narayan. I have not yet gone deep into his childhood and upbringing, but reading the short stories I can get a feel of the person behind the author. This is actually also a tip for someone wanting to read or starting to read the works of an acclaimed author. Actually his or her works reflect the personality behind the creative talent. ...

Today I have promised to write about the World Championship of Football. So, I would quickly wrap up the otherwise simple day and switch over to the "Beautiful Game". Today morning was ordinary - I woke up late, as late as 8:30 AM! In total, I lost 3 hours of productivity. The early riser that I am I had a rather slow start due to the early delay and the slowness. One good thing of Bayern and Germany is - we love our food here. I had bought a full corn sliced bread from the local supermarket, Aldi, the other day. To my surprise, I found it tasty and healthy. Healthy I can imagine but tasty? That too the corn variety? A bit unthinkable, but it was rather good. Once food was done, I took myself to the Danube river. The river was calm and serene today, it was not the usual tom-boy kind temperament. By the way, a small tip to people going to the part of the river just opposite to the Stadttheater, the parking rules are as simple as that. You just drive in, park the car within the...

When my mother was with me in Sweden between 2020 and 2021, we did two things almost everyday - talking about life, and spending time together while doing long afternoon walks. Mom used to say - look, you people in Europe can accomplish many things during the day and the reason for that is the favourable weather and access to a car that you own. I cannot comment much on the weather nowadays! After she had left me in 2023, the world has seen more wars, and more extreme weather conditions. However, on the other front, which is the aspect of owning a vehicle, I can agree fully. Today proves the point somewhat. I do not even know how many tasks I managed to accomplish today, only thanks to the hired Volkswagen car I got here at Ingolstadt.  Ok but lets switch back a bit to the early morning. In the new house which I have rented since a few months, I am blessed to wake up with chirping of birds and a smiling greenery covering the entire periphery of the house. After a nice early breakfa...

[Continued from part 1] "Morning shows the day!" - we know of this saying. Often in travels I have seen this statement come true. There is a certain charm that a fresh, new day brings and when I am out of house, I feel this much more. Sometimes the freshness stays on, sometimes I need to make an effort to keep it that way. Nevertheless, a tune for the entire day is set by how the sun wakes up, or the rain drizzles or the snow-cover paints its colour or the strong wind blows through the soul. The next morning started meeting my nephew. My father would say - the younger generation is per default more knowledgeable, more reflective and more skilful than you are. I have believed in his statement. This is one of the reasons I feel at ease with my juniors. In this case I was in the company of an intellectual, erudite mind who had travelled far in life to come to continue his inquest in one of the most prestigious research firms in Austria. The breakfast was a schooling session for ...

What is essential in life is to be happy. With all aspects taken care of – money, status, friends, fame, to name a few – life still needs that one thing, and that is happiness. The famous author R.K.Narayan, in his renowned story collection “ Malgudi Days ” mentioned time and again the importance of this aspect; the simple fact – that happiness is a choice, and we must consciously want to make that choice at every stage of life. One of the choices I make to get myself instantly happy is to travel. Not far and wide, but close-by. It is rather important for me to be on my budget, stay on my terms and to be on my own mercy to enjoy a travel. As the famous Frank Sinatra once sang, “ I travelled each and every highway/And more, much more than this/I did it my way ”, you must find your own way that suits you. Perhaps, someone wants to indeed go the far. That is perfectly fine. I came to know of a couple in Europe who had spent most of their romantic life motorbiking through large parts...

The pandemic was teaching us new things every day. Economic crisis was seen before, job losses were not that rare in the Western World. Even massive population getting sick due to an unknown wave of infection was recorded before in human history. I think the corona pandemic taught mankind a very cruel lesson which was by and large new – how to live alone! My first trip to Germany went smooth, I had got an apartment to share. I received a lot of help from my new company and my manager – many things which could have gone wrong were falling in its place. The only thing that was bothering me – and I am sure many of us – was the continuously growing mistrust in social life and the increasing seclusion and loneliness. Aloneness is very different from loneliness – the former one you choose on your own will, and it can be fulfilling and needed at times. But loneliness is pathetic, it is bitter, and it is a curse. We are humans and not animals. We have developed trust for thousands of years. ...

Early morning, breakfast completed and we were ready in no time! Destination? The beautiful coastline of Denmark, a bit of Helsingør, and if time permits, a bit of Copenhagen. The best part of a day-long outing is its planning. A lot of fun in the act of planning even though it is often hard to stick to the plan itself! Nevertheless, one needs to pack in as much fun in a single day as possible. So, planning is important! We needed to get to one end of our destination-spot right on time; there was no margin for error. We had to eat in between stopovers; we needed to take a bit of rest from time to time. We needed to feel happy all along; we did not want to get exhausted at the end of it all. The first stop was Klampenborg, a nice little suburb north of Copenhagen, Denmark. Piercing through the motorway from Sweden to the capital of Denmark is always a great experience. The roadway, the insignificant hillocks on the two sides, the half-open and half-closed Öresund bridge – ev...

“You bring autumns and puffs. It brings songs and laughs - In all petals, in all buds - To be seen in yellow and in muds. I open my heart and feel for that air, I am hollow, but I am not a solitaire. I want to inhale All that is not stale. I want to see For I am free! The music in the air is pious, Your touch in it is gracious. It fills up my inner soul, It fills up my outer soul.” This is a spontaneously written poem after I take a long walk through a beautiful park by the name Beijer’s Park, close to where I live. It is an autumn day. Yellow is “the” color that rules nowadays. The park is the green heart of Kirseberg, a small suburb of Malmö, the city in Sweden where I live. Malmö, also known as the City of Parks, needed one for its eastern part. In the year 1885, the family of the Beijers set up an extensive plantation ground under their own supervision. By the turn of the 1900, the private park changed hand. The Malmö City Council became...

Before we reached the venue, we did not know much about them; how they organize a festival, or how they decorate the idols, or how they bring in a family-like feel, or how they greet all the devotees. So it was a classic case of ‘no expectations’, really! As each unexpected thing brings, this one too did – yes, it brought lots of surprises, and I assure you, they were all fascinating ones. A young boy and family of two were present to greet us, hold our hands and let us in. The smiles on their faces were very pure, almost pristine. For us, it felt like we had come out of our homes in Malmö, and we were just entering into a new home in Copenhagen, where the Bengali Cultural Association, who were hosting Durga Puja (the most important and the most awaited festival of the Bengalis, notwithstanding the part of the world they are living in) in the heart of the Danish capital, were welcoming us to the very center of a celebration, which by all means, they wanted to celebrate with all – y...

Coming from Kolkata (India), which is also called the cultural capital of India, I have been to the Indian Coffee House many times. I still remember that first time. It was from the college, during those confused college days. A few of us – some well-directed, some misguided, some smart, some foolish, some ambitious, some aimless – took their brains to brainstorm inside one of the most cherished places in the heart of Kolkata. The experience was an outstanding one. From one end flew poems, someone caught and turned one of them into a film. One was shouting with a terribly choked voice, he was arguing with the others regarding who the best Indian cricketer is. A couple were just relaxing, probably they were meeting for the first time. The old lot were discussing politics. There was a round-table conference of teachers; one with a muffler, one without, one with a cigarette, one without. There was one with a side-bag, one without and then there was one with a sandal, one with a sh...