This was long overdue girls. An ode to our friendship and our maiden holiday together.
Vishika, Preeti, Nita, Simmi, Renuka and Aparna.
We are a group of 7 friends, call ourselves saptarishis, 7 stars.
2 of them moved to Kolkata at the end of 2018 as their husbands were posted out.
Aparna’s husband took charge as SP Baruipur.
And colonel Renuka and her husband colonel Sameer too were in army headquarters in Kolkata.
We all were missing each other, as it has been 4 months since we departed.
Aparna invited us to take us on a tour of Sunderbans. Renuka too insisted we spend a night with her in Kolkata at fort William and then the 7 of us go to Sunderbans together.
We wanted to spend time together on valentine’s day, but as 14th Feb was midweek we couldn’t afford to take leave and go on a trip.
One among the 5 of us had a daughter preparing for class 10, so Simmi had to stay back in Siliguri for her daughter.
The 4 of us packed our bags and 3 babies and set on a voyage to Sunderbans via Kolkata.
We reached Kolkata around 8 pm on 15th February, col. Sameer received us at the airport (Renuka's husband) and drove us to his house.
The 5 of us set the house on fire. The guest rooms booked in fort William were waiting for us, but we refused to leave home, so Sameer had to leave making the space comfortable for us.
We fed the babies rocked them to sleep and then had long chat till 3 am.
This was the next day of Pulwama attack, Renuka's leave was cancelled so she had to drop out of the vacation to Sunderbans. we decided to cancel the trip and stay back in Kolkata with Renuka, but Aparna has already sent a vehicle for us to go visit her and then head to Sunderbans.
Unwillingly we decided to leave but, on a condition, that none of us will sleep that night. It was 3 am, ALAM the driver who was sent by Aparna to pick us from Renuka's place started calling to locate the address. Renuka guided him.
It was 4 am by the time Alam reached, we had coffee and Renuka packed sandwiches for us to have on the way.
So, Sameer and Renuka bid goodbye to us on a condition that we will spend the night with them on our return journey too.
We promised and hit the road with droopy eyes.
I usually sit in either of the 2 front seats.
If I am not behind the wheel, irrespective of who the driver is I always prefer to ride shotgun.
For courtesy sake, I ask the accompanying men and women their seat preference, if given a choice I would never abandon the front seats.
On that day too I and Alam were in the front seat.
In the next row were nita, Preeti and Preeti's son Nirvan in the third row was Vishika with her 2 little munchkins.
We started the journey towards baruipur, Alam was quite all along, just the occasional small answers to our questions on traffic, RTA’s and citizen discipline on the road.
I have this habit of interrogating drivers as they are the right people to explain geopolitical dynamics, with elections around the corner, I thought he will have some juicy stuff to share but He kept his tongue tied, made no-lose comments, criticised none.
Alam was a lean muscular man in his late fifties, he had a thick dark mane, was wearing a khaki shirt, regular brown trousers and sports shoes. The uncoated thick glasses in a black sheath frame could partially distract one from the early onset of wrinkles on his cheeks and forehead, they made him look older than his age. The muscular hands exposing the veins on the forearm and the lean erect posture were indicative of the hundreds of hours he put behind the wheel. During his career span of 3 decades, he drove around officers, criminals, memsahibs, arms and ammunition all around the state.
We reached Aparna’s place in the next 2 hours. While on the road enjoyed the sandwiches grilled by team Renuka, but all along it was the invisible Mukesh giving us company. Suhana Safar Aur Yeh Mausam haseen, Humein darr hai hum kho na jaaye kahin , Suhana Safar...
It was our first all-girls trip and it brought us closer than ever before. We took A small break at Aparna’s place, fed the kids and started our journey towards Sunderbans immediately. We were missing simmi and Renuka all along. Out of the 7, only 5 of us could make it to that beautiful boat ride in tranquil waters of Sundarbans.
30minutes into the journey we found fresh fruit stalls lining up the roads in the small villages leading to Sundarbans.
On enquiry, Alam told us that they were fresh local produce. We stopped to snack on the fruit. Alam took a special interest in picking up the best fruits, got them cut into same size pieces, seasoned with local spices. He handed us one portion each and hopped on to the driver’s seat.
I offered him a portion of guava from my share, he took the piece and said thank you. I realized later that offering him fruit was the inception point of the Naughty ideas and thoughts in the minds of my girlfriends watching us from behind.
Both sides of the road were lined up with drum stick trees. When we asked about why only drum stick trees here…. He got into a chatty mode.
If you want to pull a Bengali into the conversation, talk to them about the following 4 things food, music, literature and politics. One of the topics will click with everyone. Food and politics clicked with Alam. He explained about local flora and fauna, answered every question patiently. He narrated 8 recipes with the combination of fish, potatoes and drumsticks. I started making notes mentally of every word he spoke. When we were chatting, for me, only the Car, the road, Alam and the music existed.
The girls started taunting in English, one said “is this love per sq. feet? “, the other said “wish you belated happy valentines’ day”, the third said this holiday will be the most memorable one only and only for one person … they went on and on only in English assuming he will not understand.
I replied saying stop burning girls, you will all rot in hell one day for not accepting fellow woman’s happiness.
I will not exchange this seat with anyone of you even for a million bucks. They set the discussion on fire and we laughed like crazy all in Alam's presence.
He dropped us at the pickup point and left immediately. We all got down from the car, Aparna’s army was ready to escort us to the private launch. We took snacks, water, nariyal pain etc tugged in the kids and walked towards the banks of the delta of Ganges. One by one we got in and started settling down, that’s when I noticed a smiling man in a t-shirt waving at us, I asked Aparna who is that man waving at us? she said our driver Alam. He looked young and interested in that t-shirt. We waved back to him.
Aparna ensured that we get the best hospitality in our 8 hours launch ride. Served us breakfast and multi-course lunch, we had vodka with us which we mixed in coconut water and drank on sly. Those 8 hours will remain frozen on my soul forever. The sunset, the water, the greenery at both the horizontal ends, the homecoming villagers mostly tribal with a mobile phone in every hand, fellow tourists in various launches, the occasional spotting of animals, the awesome food and most important the company of people who mattered the most to me. We had so much fun sometimes chatting, sometimes just sitting silently; other times clicking pictures, taking turns in babysitting, eating, drinking, watching sunset….
We decided not to spend the night on the island as we had small kids with us who may need medical attention in case of an emergency, so we decided to turn back and head towards Kolkata. Aparna got the bookings cancelled.
Alam was waiting for us on the banks of the delta back in his khaki shirt. We disembarked the boat and headed towards the car. It was going to be a long journey back home. We were lagging in sleep by one night, totally exhausted by now but the company of each other kept us going.
On the way back there was a big candlelight march taken out by one political party in the honour of Pulwama martyrs.
There was another group which came in from the opposite direction leading to an altercation and then riots, right in front of our eyes. Aparna came to the rescue she called the local police station and ensured that we were removed from that spot as fast as possible.
While stay put on the road I decided to get down and go see what the fight was about and who the miscreants were? I carried my phone to record the clashes if it may help police nab the culprits. Unwanted heroics I must say.
As soon as I got down Alam starting shouting don’t go, it is not safe, why are you going…. I didn't care to listen …. when our loved ones are not with us, we become adventurous, if I had my daughter travelling with me, my first worry would have been to reach her to a safe location, here I was independent and free to explore the option of seeing a riot live.
I recorded the fight and came back to the car, Alam was angry now for leaving the car without his permission putting myself at risk. The girls started again in English “see how concerned he is about your wellbeing “, “you and only you surely mean something to him” “he felt hurt after you disembarked the car without his permission” … they went on making naughty comments. We all laughed like crazy sitting amidst a riot, posing a danger to our lives.
We all planned to abandon the car walk backwards to reach the nearest police station and take rescue in it for time being or maybe a night long too. Vishika was readily positioned with her Baby Bjorn in place. Preeti held nirvan tight and we all were in the position to jump off the car and run at a moment’s notice.
But Alam assured us that he will not allow any harm to come our way. He took his lathi got down from the van and started guarding the car against all the 4 sides. His favourite catchphrase was dandha maarke, Thanda koredega, he hurled this at everyone within a meter’s distance from the car.
Meanwhile, a large police battalion arrived, thanks to Aparna she was relaying the information live from the spot to her husband. After an hour of lathi charge tear gas etc the mob dispersed slowly, and our car was escorted out safely from the scene. Alam displayed pride in rescuing us and I praised him to the sky for the same. The girls, as usual, were ranting from behind. we ensured that all our dialogue was only and only in English so that he (Alam) will not get any inkling of how we were twisting the storyline.
We dropped Aparna at baruipur and headed towards Kolkata to a resort at 9 pm. It was another 2-hour drive. Now Alam was on a different high so he was little rash and heroic on the road which wasn’t making the kids seated in the last row very comfortable. He would slow down only when we requested him to. He drove us through one-way lanes, breaking traffic signals. On the way, he ordered someone to get a parcel of fresh fruits packed for us from a nearby village.
As we were nearing the end of the road trip with Alam, the girls started making fun of us even more. Like how he was doing everything to impress me etc. even I joined them in making fun of alma’s heroism behind the wheel.
At 11.30 pm we reached the resort, we all got down from the car, the housekeeping staff collected our bags and left. It was time to bid goodbye to Alam. each one of us took turns in thanking him.
I was the last one to speak to him.
I said thank you very much Mr.Alam, you will be remembered forever from here on.
He extended his hand out for a shake. Holding my hand, he said. Madam, I graduated with English political science and economics from a reputed college in Kolkata. I was the topper in English during that year. I understood every word of your discussion today, I know I am not fortunate enough to be the “date: to anyone of you, but believe me, this ride will stay with me too till my death.
Did I say with the expression of pleasant surprise "hey Alam a graduate and a driver?"
He said I had 12 siblings, I lost my father at a very young age, it was my responsibility to run the family, so I picked up the first job which came my way without waiting.
Maybe I would have become an English teacher at the most or maybe a proofreader in some publication for getting a distinction in English. That’s all good English can do for us, so let us not take pride in speaking great English. It is just another language, a mode of communication, not even our own, but a borrowed one.
I draw more salary, more perks, and more powerful connections than my contemporary who picked up the job as a school teacher.
……… just because I am a driver doesn’t mean I cannot speak English.
At that moment I saw a Shahrukh khan in him saying “do not underestimate the power of a common man “
We were dumbstruck and at the same time ashamed too of our behaviour, nevertheless, we overcame it in a moment and praised and thanked him once again.
Back in the resort at the dinner, we lamented for not taking his ph. number.
Our Sundarbans holiday will be the most memorable one forever, what say, girls?
All thanks to Alam that he made our maiden holiday the best holiday.
I had to record this for all of us and leave a copy of it here. 2 decades down the lane when we go on a holiday again, we will open this and read then….
Vishika, Preeti, Nita, Simmi, Renuka and Aparna.
We are a group of 7 friends, call ourselves saptarishis, 7 stars.
2 of them moved to Kolkata at the end of 2018 as their husbands were posted out.
Aparna’s husband took charge as SP Baruipur.
And colonel Renuka and her husband colonel Sameer too were in army headquarters in Kolkata.
We all were missing each other, as it has been 4 months since we departed.
Aparna invited us to take us on a tour of Sunderbans. Renuka too insisted we spend a night with her in Kolkata at fort William and then the 7 of us go to Sunderbans together.
We wanted to spend time together on valentine’s day, but as 14th Feb was midweek we couldn’t afford to take leave and go on a trip.
One among the 5 of us had a daughter preparing for class 10, so Simmi had to stay back in Siliguri for her daughter.
The 4 of us packed our bags and 3 babies and set on a voyage to Sunderbans via Kolkata.
We reached Kolkata around 8 pm on 15th February, col. Sameer received us at the airport (Renuka's husband) and drove us to his house.
The 5 of us set the house on fire. The guest rooms booked in fort William were waiting for us, but we refused to leave home, so Sameer had to leave making the space comfortable for us.
We fed the babies rocked them to sleep and then had long chat till 3 am.
This was the next day of Pulwama attack, Renuka's leave was cancelled so she had to drop out of the vacation to Sunderbans. we decided to cancel the trip and stay back in Kolkata with Renuka, but Aparna has already sent a vehicle for us to go visit her and then head to Sunderbans.
Unwillingly we decided to leave but, on a condition, that none of us will sleep that night. It was 3 am, ALAM the driver who was sent by Aparna to pick us from Renuka's place started calling to locate the address. Renuka guided him.
It was 4 am by the time Alam reached, we had coffee and Renuka packed sandwiches for us to have on the way.
So, Sameer and Renuka bid goodbye to us on a condition that we will spend the night with them on our return journey too.
We promised and hit the road with droopy eyes.
I usually sit in either of the 2 front seats.
If I am not behind the wheel, irrespective of who the driver is I always prefer to ride shotgun.
For courtesy sake, I ask the accompanying men and women their seat preference, if given a choice I would never abandon the front seats.
On that day too I and Alam were in the front seat.
In the next row were nita, Preeti and Preeti's son Nirvan in the third row was Vishika with her 2 little munchkins.
We started the journey towards baruipur, Alam was quite all along, just the occasional small answers to our questions on traffic, RTA’s and citizen discipline on the road.
I have this habit of interrogating drivers as they are the right people to explain geopolitical dynamics, with elections around the corner, I thought he will have some juicy stuff to share but He kept his tongue tied, made no-lose comments, criticised none.
Alam was a lean muscular man in his late fifties, he had a thick dark mane, was wearing a khaki shirt, regular brown trousers and sports shoes. The uncoated thick glasses in a black sheath frame could partially distract one from the early onset of wrinkles on his cheeks and forehead, they made him look older than his age. The muscular hands exposing the veins on the forearm and the lean erect posture were indicative of the hundreds of hours he put behind the wheel. During his career span of 3 decades, he drove around officers, criminals, memsahibs, arms and ammunition all around the state.
We reached Aparna’s place in the next 2 hours. While on the road enjoyed the sandwiches grilled by team Renuka, but all along it was the invisible Mukesh giving us company. Suhana Safar Aur Yeh Mausam haseen, Humein darr hai hum kho na jaaye kahin , Suhana Safar...
It was our first all-girls trip and it brought us closer than ever before. We took A small break at Aparna’s place, fed the kids and started our journey towards Sunderbans immediately. We were missing simmi and Renuka all along. Out of the 7, only 5 of us could make it to that beautiful boat ride in tranquil waters of Sundarbans.
30minutes into the journey we found fresh fruit stalls lining up the roads in the small villages leading to Sundarbans.
On enquiry, Alam told us that they were fresh local produce. We stopped to snack on the fruit. Alam took a special interest in picking up the best fruits, got them cut into same size pieces, seasoned with local spices. He handed us one portion each and hopped on to the driver’s seat.
I offered him a portion of guava from my share, he took the piece and said thank you. I realized later that offering him fruit was the inception point of the Naughty ideas and thoughts in the minds of my girlfriends watching us from behind.
Both sides of the road were lined up with drum stick trees. When we asked about why only drum stick trees here…. He got into a chatty mode.
If you want to pull a Bengali into the conversation, talk to them about the following 4 things food, music, literature and politics. One of the topics will click with everyone. Food and politics clicked with Alam. He explained about local flora and fauna, answered every question patiently. He narrated 8 recipes with the combination of fish, potatoes and drumsticks. I started making notes mentally of every word he spoke. When we were chatting, for me, only the Car, the road, Alam and the music existed.
The girls started taunting in English, one said “is this love per sq. feet? “, the other said “wish you belated happy valentines’ day”, the third said this holiday will be the most memorable one only and only for one person … they went on and on only in English assuming he will not understand.
I replied saying stop burning girls, you will all rot in hell one day for not accepting fellow woman’s happiness.
I will not exchange this seat with anyone of you even for a million bucks. They set the discussion on fire and we laughed like crazy all in Alam's presence.
He dropped us at the pickup point and left immediately. We all got down from the car, Aparna’s army was ready to escort us to the private launch. We took snacks, water, nariyal pain etc tugged in the kids and walked towards the banks of the delta of Ganges. One by one we got in and started settling down, that’s when I noticed a smiling man in a t-shirt waving at us, I asked Aparna who is that man waving at us? she said our driver Alam. He looked young and interested in that t-shirt. We waved back to him.
Aparna ensured that we get the best hospitality in our 8 hours launch ride. Served us breakfast and multi-course lunch, we had vodka with us which we mixed in coconut water and drank on sly. Those 8 hours will remain frozen on my soul forever. The sunset, the water, the greenery at both the horizontal ends, the homecoming villagers mostly tribal with a mobile phone in every hand, fellow tourists in various launches, the occasional spotting of animals, the awesome food and most important the company of people who mattered the most to me. We had so much fun sometimes chatting, sometimes just sitting silently; other times clicking pictures, taking turns in babysitting, eating, drinking, watching sunset….
We decided not to spend the night on the island as we had small kids with us who may need medical attention in case of an emergency, so we decided to turn back and head towards Kolkata. Aparna got the bookings cancelled.
Alam was waiting for us on the banks of the delta back in his khaki shirt. We disembarked the boat and headed towards the car. It was going to be a long journey back home. We were lagging in sleep by one night, totally exhausted by now but the company of each other kept us going.
On the way back there was a big candlelight march taken out by one political party in the honour of Pulwama martyrs.
There was another group which came in from the opposite direction leading to an altercation and then riots, right in front of our eyes. Aparna came to the rescue she called the local police station and ensured that we were removed from that spot as fast as possible.
While stay put on the road I decided to get down and go see what the fight was about and who the miscreants were? I carried my phone to record the clashes if it may help police nab the culprits. Unwanted heroics I must say.
As soon as I got down Alam starting shouting don’t go, it is not safe, why are you going…. I didn't care to listen …. when our loved ones are not with us, we become adventurous, if I had my daughter travelling with me, my first worry would have been to reach her to a safe location, here I was independent and free to explore the option of seeing a riot live.
I recorded the fight and came back to the car, Alam was angry now for leaving the car without his permission putting myself at risk. The girls started again in English “see how concerned he is about your wellbeing “, “you and only you surely mean something to him” “he felt hurt after you disembarked the car without his permission” … they went on making naughty comments. We all laughed like crazy sitting amidst a riot, posing a danger to our lives.
We all planned to abandon the car walk backwards to reach the nearest police station and take rescue in it for time being or maybe a night long too. Vishika was readily positioned with her Baby Bjorn in place. Preeti held nirvan tight and we all were in the position to jump off the car and run at a moment’s notice.
But Alam assured us that he will not allow any harm to come our way. He took his lathi got down from the van and started guarding the car against all the 4 sides. His favourite catchphrase was dandha maarke, Thanda koredega, he hurled this at everyone within a meter’s distance from the car.
Meanwhile, a large police battalion arrived, thanks to Aparna she was relaying the information live from the spot to her husband. After an hour of lathi charge tear gas etc the mob dispersed slowly, and our car was escorted out safely from the scene. Alam displayed pride in rescuing us and I praised him to the sky for the same. The girls, as usual, were ranting from behind. we ensured that all our dialogue was only and only in English so that he (Alam) will not get any inkling of how we were twisting the storyline.
We dropped Aparna at baruipur and headed towards Kolkata to a resort at 9 pm. It was another 2-hour drive. Now Alam was on a different high so he was little rash and heroic on the road which wasn’t making the kids seated in the last row very comfortable. He would slow down only when we requested him to. He drove us through one-way lanes, breaking traffic signals. On the way, he ordered someone to get a parcel of fresh fruits packed for us from a nearby village.
As we were nearing the end of the road trip with Alam, the girls started making fun of us even more. Like how he was doing everything to impress me etc. even I joined them in making fun of alma’s heroism behind the wheel.
At 11.30 pm we reached the resort, we all got down from the car, the housekeeping staff collected our bags and left. It was time to bid goodbye to Alam. each one of us took turns in thanking him.
I was the last one to speak to him.
I said thank you very much Mr.Alam, you will be remembered forever from here on.
He extended his hand out for a shake. Holding my hand, he said. Madam, I graduated with English political science and economics from a reputed college in Kolkata. I was the topper in English during that year. I understood every word of your discussion today, I know I am not fortunate enough to be the “date: to anyone of you, but believe me, this ride will stay with me too till my death.
Did I say with the expression of pleasant surprise "hey Alam a graduate and a driver?"
He said I had 12 siblings, I lost my father at a very young age, it was my responsibility to run the family, so I picked up the first job which came my way without waiting.
Maybe I would have become an English teacher at the most or maybe a proofreader in some publication for getting a distinction in English. That’s all good English can do for us, so let us not take pride in speaking great English. It is just another language, a mode of communication, not even our own, but a borrowed one.
I draw more salary, more perks, and more powerful connections than my contemporary who picked up the job as a school teacher.
……… just because I am a driver doesn’t mean I cannot speak English.
At that moment I saw a Shahrukh khan in him saying “do not underestimate the power of a common man “
We were dumbstruck and at the same time ashamed too of our behaviour, nevertheless, we overcame it in a moment and praised and thanked him once again.
Back in the resort at the dinner, we lamented for not taking his ph. number.
Our Sundarbans holiday will be the most memorable one forever, what say, girls?
All thanks to Alam that he made our maiden holiday the best holiday.
I had to record this for all of us and leave a copy of it here. 2 decades down the lane when we go on a holiday again, we will open this and read then….
No comments:
Post a Comment