14th May 2010, - 30th Baisakh as per bengali calendar - Amabashya - the darkest night as they say. And I got the same tinge in my life. I am like the central character of a novel written by another famous Bengali -who was born in the month of Baisakh co-incidentally - "Amol" the boy in his famous novel "dak hor kora", who desired to have different careers at different point in time in his life when he liked them. I kind of feel like him. My desires do change with time, and after a year long desire and a week long wait, I was stuck up tonight till 9 pm in a culturally retrograde office, and was hunting for some life saving light, but I forgot it's the start of a day when even the moon turns dark. And when I typed in the textbox my roll number, the same old phrase popped up once again on screen in front of my eyes, "SORRY! You are not selected" and I could see the death of my dreams and could do nothing. For about a year I bore this dream to be an artist, and I wanted to do something new, something other than the boring stuff I do in this hectic job in a so called MNC, I wanted to pursue New Media Design in one of the finest Design college in the world - NID Ahmedabad. But even though I can't study design, I did study economics which say that there's more want than how much you can get - there's always an unsurmountable gap between demand and supply.
I didn't want much actually, I just wanted to step into someone else's shoes, at least this is what the question was in that form that I filled up once when I was desparately trying to get into a design / advertising job, in a company called CONTAD. Yes, as they asked this question "if you could step into someone else's shoes for a day, who would it be and why?", my answer was the same as I have put it below:
Satyajit Ray. Just like millions of Bengalis in the world, I am fan of his works starting from movies, literature, art and what not. His movies were like mirrors to real life. He also paid heed to the precious literature we already have in our native land, not borrowing or plagiarizing stories from others’ creations, the way they do these days in films. His movies can also be classified in groups fulfilling different purpose – starting from expression of human life, changing values in city life, detective stories, and literary geniuses. I was not a movie buff. Especially I never had any liking for Bengali movies till I watched movies directed by him. His well written stories are famous for introducing themes relating to science fiction, travels to far away places, extra sensory perceptions, and even tender feelings – all that can make the youth deeply dipped into them. Once I read his accounts of his childhood namely “Jokhon Chhoto Chhilam” (meaning, when I was young). And inspired by it, I started to fill up my diary with my own childhood memories. I admire him also for making a character alive for timeless period, Feluda, the vernacular version of Sherlock Holmes. He was master of creativity, as he revived Sandesh, a magazine for children. I am currently the editor for Kolkata Toastmasters’ Club’s quarterly newsletter. And I have tried my best to revive it in terms of its design and looks. I like calligraphy. And he was one of the very few creative persons who have got two font or type faces registered in their names. As a cover designer, he did splendid things that attract me a lot. Whenever I visit Nandan, the famous multiplex in Kolkata, I love to see the logo, designed by him, that shines on top of the front building. I am also fond of effective communication which he was a master of. He was effective in all the modes he used to communicate to the mass. Though he is more famous as Oscar Committee recognized him for life-time achievement in cinema, I love to imagine him as one of those prodigies like Leonardo da Vinci, who can never be classified as any particular type of artist. They are embodiment of humans with limitless creativity. He is, in other words, my creative guru, and it would be really great if I can step into his shoes for a day! But I don’t hold any degree in fine arts, I am not a good painter, I don’t have that much professional experience expected in a creative artist, but deep in my heart, I bear this dream of being an artist of his height. I know, innovative way of doing things doesn’t allow you to copy others. But, there’s nothing wrong in stealing inspiration from others’ life.
I wrote all those stuff and dreamt a dat dream may be, and now am landed on to the hard crust of harsh reality. And I see nothing else, except for this blinding darkness here.
On second thought, the Amabashya night is translated into english as "The New Moon", or the day when the moon starts getting better, and bigger (only figuratively, the Astronomer will tell you that the size doesnt change, only the illuminated area visible to us is changed, or a Physicist might use his law of conservation of mass to confront me here). The omen tells me to start afresh, and strive for it, and I tell myself, dreams are dreams only till they come true. And the best way to conclude is to end with the parting words of the last person I was chatting with, "come on there are no failure. These are just small speedbreakers in ur life which indicates to make a back gear and move ahead without looking back"
I didn't want much actually, I just wanted to step into someone else's shoes, at least this is what the question was in that form that I filled up once when I was desparately trying to get into a design / advertising job, in a company called CONTAD. Yes, as they asked this question "if you could step into someone else's shoes for a day, who would it be and why?", my answer was the same as I have put it below:
Satyajit Ray. Just like millions of Bengalis in the world, I am fan of his works starting from movies, literature, art and what not. His movies were like mirrors to real life. He also paid heed to the precious literature we already have in our native land, not borrowing or plagiarizing stories from others’ creations, the way they do these days in films. His movies can also be classified in groups fulfilling different purpose – starting from expression of human life, changing values in city life, detective stories, and literary geniuses. I was not a movie buff. Especially I never had any liking for Bengali movies till I watched movies directed by him. His well written stories are famous for introducing themes relating to science fiction, travels to far away places, extra sensory perceptions, and even tender feelings – all that can make the youth deeply dipped into them. Once I read his accounts of his childhood namely “Jokhon Chhoto Chhilam” (meaning, when I was young). And inspired by it, I started to fill up my diary with my own childhood memories. I admire him also for making a character alive for timeless period, Feluda, the vernacular version of Sherlock Holmes. He was master of creativity, as he revived Sandesh, a magazine for children. I am currently the editor for Kolkata Toastmasters’ Club’s quarterly newsletter. And I have tried my best to revive it in terms of its design and looks. I like calligraphy. And he was one of the very few creative persons who have got two font or type faces registered in their names. As a cover designer, he did splendid things that attract me a lot. Whenever I visit Nandan, the famous multiplex in Kolkata, I love to see the logo, designed by him, that shines on top of the front building. I am also fond of effective communication which he was a master of. He was effective in all the modes he used to communicate to the mass. Though he is more famous as Oscar Committee recognized him for life-time achievement in cinema, I love to imagine him as one of those prodigies like Leonardo da Vinci, who can never be classified as any particular type of artist. They are embodiment of humans with limitless creativity. He is, in other words, my creative guru, and it would be really great if I can step into his shoes for a day! But I don’t hold any degree in fine arts, I am not a good painter, I don’t have that much professional experience expected in a creative artist, but deep in my heart, I bear this dream of being an artist of his height. I know, innovative way of doing things doesn’t allow you to copy others. But, there’s nothing wrong in stealing inspiration from others’ life.
I wrote all those stuff and dreamt a dat dream may be, and now am landed on to the hard crust of harsh reality. And I see nothing else, except for this blinding darkness here.
On second thought, the Amabashya night is translated into english as "The New Moon", or the day when the moon starts getting better, and bigger (only figuratively, the Astronomer will tell you that the size doesnt change, only the illuminated area visible to us is changed, or a Physicist might use his law of conservation of mass to confront me here). The omen tells me to start afresh, and strive for it, and I tell myself, dreams are dreams only till they come true. And the best way to conclude is to end with the parting words of the last person I was chatting with, "come on there are no failure. These are just small speedbreakers in ur life which indicates to make a back gear and move ahead without looking back"
