Its been 2 years...

After 2 years in a cold, wet country (for the better part of the year), I was sceptical of myself in dealing with the Calcutta heat and humidity as the plane cruised above the Deccan plateau. A few more hours and it would be an end to an excruciatingly long journey not so much in terms of the flight hours but it was the wait for a connecting flight that made me age and tire at a rate I thought could never exist. But that’s different. I was humming “Country Roads” almost all the way from London to Calcutta. Yes, I was excited. But I was also worried about the heat. I was never a fan of heat and humidity, which I why I loved my years in Pune and Sikkim. The weather accompanied with great company compensated for anything that I might have missed out on for not living in a Calcutta or Mumbai. The weather in London was simply perfect for my taste.

                                      

At Calcutta airport, after having gone through customs I stepped out and for a moment felt I had stepped into a sauna. Out came the hand towel, and for a moment I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the crowd. I remembered noisy, but my ears had forgotten how noisy. The drive back from the airport was nice and quick. At which point I realized not much had noticeably changed in birthtown. Calcutta greeted me with mild weather and rains for the next couple of days. And then it showed its true colours and the temperature went straight to the 30s and I was left gasping for breath. But there were things to be done, friends & relatives to meet. I soldiered on through it all with a trusted hand towel. Reminded me of the “Hitchhiker’s Guide to Galaxy”. Hehe…

A couple of days and then the ‘lazy’ city transformed into a throbbing and pulsating living thing which would dance, sing and pray for Goddess Durga. Unbelievable but true. The average man in the city turns into a bundle of energy as they traverse the length and breadth of the city to have a look at as many as possible of the 3000+ idols in place across the city. There of course are a few major ones, which will always find a place on the ardent pandal-hopper’s list. And then there were folks like me, who knew the city when it was Calcutta and not ‘Kolkata’, of the times when pandals were crowded but not so much that it would sap the energy out of you, of times when even weather seemed to cool down to allow the revelers respite from the heat and even treat them with a cool breeze. Such folks, laze about at home, visit a few handful of the nearby pandals and generally go about their pandal hopping on the telly. And of course a personal deterrent was the weather.

Despite that, I went about a fair bit and did dig into what I saw. A little bit of the street food (which is honestly to die for), a little bit of the lighting, the glamour, the glitz, the unshakeable enthusiasm of people from all backgrounds. Before I knew it I was in the groove, I could go on and on. Till I returned home! It was on one such trip that I took a walk through a section on North Calcutta, while giving a visiting friend a short tour of the ancient bylanes of Baghbazar, Shyambazar, Shovabazar (including the palace) and Kumartuli. I had always wanted to do that, yet it took me all these years to finally manage it. Kumartuli in particular where the artisans give shape to the deities and are then transported across the world. Situated almost on the banks of river Ganges, the sculpture area is a narrow street. A walk through allows one to peek into the various stages of idol construction. 

Idols at Kumartuli

 Meanwhile, certain things did hit me straight in the eye, primary being the cost of living. It seems it has sky rocketed. Maybe it was always increasing at the same pace, but being part of the system I adapted as things progressed. A gap of 2 years certainly does have a jarring effect on the senses and sort of made me withdraw into a shell. I end up questioning the validity of the pricing strategies used. My mind questions, why certain products which used to be cheaper in India are no longer so, and the ones which are apparently cheaper are not worth the money. I’ve been told its all about the inflation. I do not understand that well enough. All that I know is I’m left wondering why should I be paying more for something which has not improved in the 2 years I have been away. Funny bit is I see more people spending in Calcutta. Is it the plastic money or is it for real? I don’t know, but I wonder. I was also left wondering as to why the authorities are keen on laying new tube line without taking care of the other infrastructures which need urgent repair. They said Bengal was improving. I agree. I see developments which are wonderful, but I also see things which required attention but didn’t get what it deserved. Some have been tended to but it resembles hogwash, some have been well taken care of. In a single stroke, Calcutta has progressed yet managed to stay where it was. It is so contradictory.

Mumbai Under Siege!!

Last evening I was very much in a frame of a mind to put a post and did get one ready till a news flash caught my eye. It was about a blast and attack at the Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, India... that was 1700 hrs GMT. The happened at roughly 1600 hrs GMT. Nearly 24 hrs has elapsed the siege is still on.

Having laid siege to the Taj Hotel a famous landmark of Mumbai, the attacks have also engulfed popular hotels like Oberoi and Trident, the famous Leopold cafe, a residential building at Nariman Point, a hospital and a several other locations in the suburbs. In the midst of all this, several innocent lives were lost. Brave officers too have died as they fought the terrorists and tried to save the innocent trapped in this mayhem. Notable among them are Hemant Karkare, ATS Chief; Vijay Salsakar, encounter specialist, Mumbai Police; Ashok Kamte, DCP, Zone 1, Mumbai Police. Salutes to these braves and many others who are fighting it out against the rogues.

Refer to the map for an overview of the places attacked since last night. (Courtesy NDTV)

According to reports it seems the terrorists came in by sea on a ship which after offloading is off towards Karachi, Pakistan and is being currently chased by Indian Navy. With over 100 people dead and several still trapped inside various establishments, the Army and NSG are mounting a door to door combing operation to evacuate trapped people and encounter the terrorists.

This is a dark day indeed, with the attacks lasting for more than 24 hrs the immense planning undertaken by the terrorists can only be guessed. Such a prolonged attack has not been seen before in the history of terrorism and goes to show the level of preparation that the terrorist organisations undertake theses days!!

In the end a silent prayer to the soul of the departed innocents and braves!!

Read more on different blogs here: Blogadda

A Slice of History

There are times when you visit a place you really get the feeling that if presented with a time travel machine, you would like to travel to back to an era at the same location and see how things were back then. On a recent trip to Mahabalipuram or Mammallapuram I had a similar thought. Standing on top of it's hillocks, and exploring its "known" secrets I couldn't help but think "what if".

Mahabalipuram hosts excellent specimens of early Pallava art around 680-720 AD. The Pallavas were the then rulers of the land and used Mahabalipuram as a port city. The sculptures consists of Monolithic carvings, Reliefs, Excavated carvings. The most notable of them all are the five rathas (chariots), said to be carved out of a single stone. The rathas are dedicated to the Pandavas and their wife Draupadi. The different styles of chariots allows one to understand the designs that the sculptures back then used. The excavated caves/mandapas (ones built into the stone) are present about a kilometre away. The temple of Govardhandhari and Ramanuja Mandapa shows the showcases craftsmanship and perhaps engineering expertise that people of that age exhibited. The Ganesh chariot, made square and carved of a single rock (monolithic carving) does leave you in awe as you would look closely at the details carved on it. The Bhima ratha is of a similar style. The other notable temple is the Shore temple. Being next to the sea, has caused a lot of it's details to be eroded with time, but the architectural splendour of the temple would still catch you breath. Dedicated to Lord Shiva, it has Shiva in a reclining pose within one of its temple chambers.

Pallava Dynasty: A powerful dynasty in south India which ruled for more than 500 years with its capital at Kanchipuram. Read more at Pallava, Pallava Dynasty

Pandavas and Draupadi: Mythology has it that the Pandavas were borne to Kunti and Madri, wives of king Pandu, by gods due to a boon received by Kunti from sage Durvasa. Read more at Pandavas.

Mahabalipuram is connected by road to Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu and is 52 kms away. One can hire a car or take a bus from the city. The entire trip to Mahabalipuram would last a maximum of 2-3 hrs. Do ensure you have a guide with you when you visit the town, as without it the importance of the sculptures would never be evident to you. Sadly enough the ASI has done little on that account, with hardly any plaques around describing the importance of the structure.

Gotta be 18!!

Well, now all of you in tune with the latest news would have come across this debate that's going on regarding bringing down the marriageable age for boys from 21 to 18. Now, this actualy brings me to one of my questions. No answers found till date to be honest, but then I still have that question. Ready for it??

An Indian is deemed to be an adult at the age of 18 means, you can vote, you can drive, you can enter the pubs. Does it mean anything else to youngsters?? People who are about to step out of their teens and are not really worldly wise being given the license to marry?? Marriage is not a joke. It takes a lot for an individual to make a relationship click. And marriage is the most important one you'd have had since you started walking (parents happened when you were born, right?? :)) So now, does one really think that at 18, one is mature enough to marry another person and then settle down to a life with him/her?? Someone who hasn't had an iota of idea of being an adult is being allowed to marry, why?? Law Commission has put forth this recommendation... wonder why not the other way around?? I mean given the way girls do get packed off in India, I personally am of the opinion that the marriagable age for girls should be 21 or above. Likewise for guys. That way, one might ensure that the girl does get to complete graduation and opens her up to the world outside and helps her mature as an adult. And the guys too would get the time to grow up.

Now, another recommendation by the Law Commission is to raise the age for consentual sex for girls to 16 from 15 (I wonder what it is for boys??). My question is the does the general psychology of a 16 year old allows him/her to handle the emotional aspect of a sexual intercourse?? I doubt!! And given the nature of sex-education in India, I personally don't approve of this. but then, what to do for the curious teenage mind?? There are enough material out there to tell them about the basics of the show and chances are they'd be interested in trying it out. So, if we raise the age bar too much, loads would be breaking the law, if we make it too low we might encounter teens making out quite often. May be 16 balances it out, but then sexual awareness should also be spread and in a BIG way at that, then and only then one can ensure that the teens are at least responsible when engaging in the act.

I hope my rambling was sensible enough. Check out IBN Live :
Sex at 16, marry at 18: Big Indian adulthood debate

Do let me know, what you think!!! Be honest and frank....

Kolkata Burning!!!

I'm not sure whether you have read about this or not, but I think it was high timne people started to look into it... at least know about it. Read this snippet from IBN-LIVE.

Nandigram Fire Spreads to Kolkata

Do let me know what you think after reading it. More will follow...........

Daakiya aaya!!! (The postman's here!!!)

For those who have been fed to quite a diet of Hindi programmes based in an era gone by... or may be languishing in some remote corner of the country... this cry of a child would be quite familiar.

There was a time when e-mails and telephones were not part and parcel of our daily existence. It was during those times (read: a few thousand yrs) that the hand written letter was what carried the words from one person to another over distant lands. There have been other modes of communication but more of that later. So this snail mail was what people used to look forward to when they had someone close staying far away from them. It was during times like these, that children used to look forward to the postman. Because that meant a letter, a smile on someone's face.... The range of emotions that a postman or may be one can say a snail mail could cause has oft been chronicled but I suppose it's full import can only be experienced. So, I was saying, this snail mail business was so important at one time. I mean, like we grew up with snail mail. I still remember exchanging letter every month with my first cousin Rima for nearly four years on the trot, till we passed out of school. After that....

After that it was the e-mail and phone calls!! That's the beautiful truth for everyone. Or is it really beautiful. Though we've learnt to accept those e-mails in lieu of the hand-written letter, does it really convey the same message? Can someone tell me why do people still their love letters and send them via mail of hand over personally, rather than an e-mail or phone call??

The reason is simple. "Elementary, my dear Watson", is how Holmes would have said. The import and feelings conveyed by the hand-written letter is way too personal. It somehow allows one to peek into the heart of the person who wrote you that letter.

Sadly enough, the snail mail is losing importance. I mean, I don't remember the last time I received one, except for the greetings cards and stuff like that... I'm talking of letters!! I don't remember the last time I sent one.

So what do you say?? Wanna write a letter.... may be to the person you go back to everyday!!

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The post was in reponse to David Mcmahon's post on snail mail.

Trivia: Here is a link to the history of Indian Postal Service

Blogging in my sleep!!

Not really!! I'm st8ill awake but ready to plop down the moment I get a chance. Anywyz, it's 3:00 am now, and if you are wondering how come I'm online and blogging... let me enlighten you... I'm at work!! YUP!!! At work.... life of an IT professional!! Grrrr......

Anywyz, here I am, I really dunno what to write about if you ask me, just typing what ever is fleeting across my mind.... I dunno if it's making any sense. Now Thanks to this wonderful work timing of mine (5:30 pm - 3:30 am), Saturday night was a complete washout.... Sunday would be spent sleeping away.. and whoosh.... Monday is here!! Now how great is that??

And to top it all there is a Bloggers Lunch tomorrow... oops today afternoon at Mumbai, which I wanted to attend... but have to give it a miss... cause either I attend it and stay without sleep.... or sleep and conveniently forget about it.. coz it's not possibel for me to take it on while I'm still in Pune. Life can get so boring a times....

Anywyz, just to cheer myself up.. I'll post few pics of Kolkata, I caught the last ime I went to Kolkata... And one of my workplace at Pune early in a winter morning.... take a look!!

Kolkata Tram

Kolkata City Centre

My workplace, early morning!!

Dhanteras!!

Well.... as a passing thought I thought I'd tell people about some of the stuff being done in India on account of Diwali day after tomorrow. So here goes the first day - Dhanteras....

Dhanteras

Dhanteras marks the first day of five-days-long Diwali Festival. Dhanteras Festival, also known as Dhantrayodashi or Dhanwantari Triodasi, falls on the auspicious thirteenth lunar day of Krishna Paksha in the Hindu month of Kartik (October/November). In the word Dhanteras, "Dhan" stands for wealth. On Dhanteras Goddess Laxmi is worshiped to provide prosperity and well being. Hence Dhan Teras holds a lot more significance for the business community.

Dhanteras Legends

A very interesting story about Dhanteras Festival says that once the sixteen year old son of King Hima. was doomed to die by a snake-bite on the fourth day of his marriage as per his horoscope. On that particular fourth day of his marriage his young wife did not allow him to sleep. She laid all the ornaments and lots of gold and silver coins in a big heap at the entrance of her husband's boudoir and lighted innumerable lamps all over the place. And she went on telling stories and singing songs.

When Yama, the god of Death arrived there in the guise of a Serpent his eyes got blinded by that dazzle of those brilliant lights and he could not enter the Prince's chamber. So he climbed on top of the heap of the ornaments and coins and sat there whole night listening to the melodious songs. In the morning he quietly went away. Thus the young wife saved her husband from the clutches of death. Since then this day of Dhanteras came to be known as the day of "Yamadeepdaan" and lamps are kept burning throughout the night in reverential adoration to Yam, the god of Death.

According to another popular legend, when the gods and demons churned the ocean for Amrit or nectar, Dhanavantri (the physician of the gods and an incarnation of Vishnu) emerged carrying a jar of the elixir on the day of Dhanteras.

Dhanteras Preparations

To mark the auspicious day, houses and business premises are renovated and decorated. Entrances are made colorful with lovely traditional motifs of Rangoli designs to welcome the Goddess of Wealth and Prosperity. To indicate her long-awaited arrival, small footprints are drawn with rice flour and vermilion powder all over the houses. Lamps are kept burning all through the nights.

Dhanteras Traditions

On Dhanteras Hindus consider it auspicious to purchase gold or silver articles or at least one or two new utensils. It is believed that new “Dhan” or some form of precious metal is a sign of good luck. "Laxmi-Puja" is performed in the evenings when tiny Diyas of clay are lighted to drive away the shadows of evil spirits. "Bhajans"-devotional songs- in praise of Goddess Laxmi are also sung.

Dhanteras Celebrations

Dhanteras is celebrated with gusto and enthusiasm. "Lakshmi-Puja" is performed in the evenings when tiny diyas of clay are lighted to drive away the shadows of evil spirits. Bhajans ir devotional songs- in praise of Goddess Laxmi are sung and "Naivedya" of traditional sweets is offered to the Goddess. There is a peculiar custom in Maharashtra to lightly pound dry coriander seeds with jaggery and offer as Naivedya. In villages cattle are adorned and worshiped by farmers as they form the main source of their income. In south cows are offered special veneration as they are supposed to be the incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi and therefore they are adorned and worshiped on this day.

The festival of Dhanteras is also known by the names of Dhantrayodashi and Dhanvantari Trayodashi (Dhanwantari Trayodashi). It is the festival that marks the beginning of the diwali celebrations and therefore it is considered the first day of five days long festivities of diwali. The term 'dhanteras' consists of two factors 'dhan', which literally means wealth and 'teras', which means thirteenth. Here thirteenth is meant to indicate the day 'Trayodashi', on which dhanteras falls. Dhanvantari Trayodashi (Dhanwantari Trayodashi) is celebrated on the thirteenth lunar day of Krishna Paksha, of the Hindu month of Kartik, that is two days before diwali.

I hope I have been able to guide you a little into the world of Diwali - "The Festival of Lights".

Asche bochhor abar hobe (It'll happen again next year!!)

In case you did not get it, this a line spoken out loud by jsut about every other Bengali breathing now (infants and toddlers excluded!!). Wondering why?? You see starting th 17th of October this year Bengalis the world over celebrated Durga Puja. Five days of worshipping the goddess and loads of celebration. The flavor of puja remains the same everywhere it is celebrated. And the hub of it all is Kolkata. For the third year in a row I spent the puja away from Kolkata. This year it was in Pune. Now, there are many die hard bongs who would claim that puja in Pune cannot match up to Kolkata. I agree but partially. The decoration and glamour is missing. But what is in plenty is the attitude that one sees.

The idol at Khadki Kalibari, Pune (2006)

Sample this: it 2:00 am, different team of youngsters gather at prominent puja location. Guitars, Pepsi, smokes and water in tow..... the plan is to rock the place. How? Well... simple... sing!! Oh yes!! Singing on till it was 5:00 am. And trudging back, for one has to turn up again early the next day. Sleep is meant for daytime, if you cannot find anything to do..... but then, for youngsters this is the perfgect time to do anything with full permission. At no other time of the year can you flirt with such ease with any girl you fancy. It seems that all the beautiful ladies start coming out of the wood work..... and that's when we guys realise why they say Bengali girls are the most beautiful.

It is during the same time period that Navratri is celebrated, culminating on the 4th day of the Puja. The navratri brings in 9 days of dance, music and Devi worship. The tenth day is Dussera, the day it is believe that Lord Ram defeated the evil Ravan to claim his lady Sita. It is also the last to Durga Puja, the day being noted as Vijaya Dashami. It is marked with the immersion of the Goddess idol in the river and later the burning of an huge effigy of Ravan.

And now it's all over....... People should be tired after all the dance, the pandal-hopping (going around to catch a glipmse of all the idols in town), gourmet pleasures. But then, who has ever been tired after having a good time??

Not me!! How about you??

The moments that one lives through during these few days remain forever etched in the mind. And it is to relive these moments again... the call of "Aschhe bochhor abar hobe exists!!"

On this note, "Shubho Bijoya" and "Happy Dussera" to everyone!! :)

Taj Mahal!!

Please Vote for Taj Mahal with the given Link!! The path to follow:

1. Click on the below link “www…”
2. Click on the Taj Mahal Photo.
3. Click on “Vote Online” Link (Orange Color).
4. Click on “Register & Vote” Link (Orange Color).
5. Give your valid E-mail Address & Choose your list of 7 wonders (Check Boxes) which u think should be. (Don’t forget to click on the Taj Mahal).
6. Click on “Click to Submit” Link (Orange Color).

Now on your E-mail Address a mail will come from webmaster@n7w.com & in the mail one link will be given. Just Click it. Then enter only your name & date of birth & then Press Submit!! Now your Vote will be counted.

You have just voted your list of 7 Wonders including Taj Mahal.

You can vote number of times by giving you valid different E-mail addresses. Only the place where you put the Date of Birth, just put some different DOB every time you vote. Only E-mail ID shall be valid & 1 E-mail ID shall be used once so that u can Vote successfully as only after the mail comes your ID, Your Vote will be counted.

Please Note that 6th July 2007 is the last date to vote as New 7 Wonders of the World will be announced on 7th July 2007.



Selection of New Seven Wonders is in final stages and TAJ is behind every other in vote counts according to News Papers.

Your Vote is required to place TAJ on List of 7 wonders after 2200 years.

The official voting site
http://www.new7wonders.com/index.php

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To wilderness and back!!

The Beginning!!

As the year 2006 drew to a close, certain wanderlust struck souls decided to ring in the new year in a different manner. Not the regular party hopping neither sitting back at home and whiling the time away...... nopes this was not what these people had in mind. They wanted a getaway........ somewhere far from the crowd, the hustle-bustle of the everyday life, somewhere amidst the nature. And thus, the plan to go to Diveagar was hatched. A beach side village on the Konkan coast, this place was almost a perfect picture of what we had in mind. However, fate willed otherwise. No accommodation, and thus again we started scouting around for a place which would offer exactly what we had in mind. And then Malshej Ghat happened. A beautiful but lonely spot amidst the western ghats, this place is roughly 170 km away from Pune, and 70 km from Kalyan. A small village on NH 222 in the Thane district, this place had a charm of its own but that was what we found out much later. Spirits were high as we gathered people around us. And soon enough we had a team of 6. Me, Kuntal, Ipshita, Soumi, Soumen and Arunava. And the journey was to start on 29th December, 2006 - 9:00 p.m. And then the wait for the designated day started....................

What with life moving along in its familiar wheel of daily chores, before long it was 29th morning as me and Kuntal stepped out to buy wood and coal to make a bonfire for us at Malshej. Oh, I forgot!! Our reservations were made at the MTDC resort out there. One cottage, 6 people.....6 nutters!! And so we bought the supplies....... But, all was not meant to be fine, as Ipsy reported in sick. Still we decided to go ahead and went about our daily activities that a professional life demands.

The DropOut!!

29/12/2006, 9:00 pm - Me and Kuntal were waiting for the hired car to turn up at our office. It duly turned up at 10..... We loaded the Tavera, with beer and wood apart from our luggage, and moved ahead towards Soumi's place, where she and Arunava would be waiting for us a pre-decided landmark. Meanwhile, Soumen got stuck at some client meeting in his office at Magarpatta city. What a blow!! This set back out calculations by quite a few hours. Still, we had to hang around. To utilise it fully, the four of us had dinner, turned up at my place for our first drink of the trip (soumi the exception here!!). soon enough it was midnight. Soumen was in meeting for over an hour now. At this juncture, we hatched a devious plan to get Soumen out. And started for his office. But, fate had a different surprise for us in store.Soumen was not to be found at his office. We ended up bothering more than a few people across the various floors of his office. No meeting, no Soumen. Unable to figure out the situation clearly, we had to make a move now. We couldn't even reach him. Dejected at the turn of events we started on our way to Malshej Ghat at 2:00 a.m.

The BIG blow!!

As the cool breeze hit our face, we started getting into our groove. The night felt cold, but good!! We were finally on our way. The journey had begun. As we stared out into the night, watching the world sleep caught in the wrap of its self-created cocoon, where a myriad of emotions and thoughts swim along each other, we slowly eased into the warmth of the rug and the comfort of the music played in the Tavera. Everything was perfect. We prepared ourselves for Malshej still a few hours away. Till.................. till things went wrong!! It was near Rajguru nagar that the car broke drown, inexplicable but yes it broke down............. With it our joyous bearing was clouded by the uncertainty that such situations bring along with them. What shall we do now??

The way out..... and finally Malshej........

Kuntal took the initiative to look for some alternative mode of transport. After much looking around, he managed to hire a Maruti van at 3:30 in the morning!! And so we packed ourselves in the van and we continued our journey, with only the woods still left the Tavera. Malshej Ghat.......... here we come!! As we drove through the night, me and soumi managed to grab more than just a few winks of sleep. With break of dawn, we drove into Malshej, and finally at MTDC resort at 6:00 a.m. The scene was too beautiful............ And so our date with nature began!!A walk around and after catching some sleep, we whiled away the afternoon in our cottage with some music and loads of adda!! Come evening we stepped out, get a feel of the locality or whatever was in existence there. Imagine this place was cut off from the world, save for the lone phone booth some 2 km away. We strolled and then ran a little to the settlements there, and managed to gather some woods and kerosene to light up a fire in the night.

30/12/2006, 11:00 pm - The attempts to light up the fire started. After much effort and time consumption, we managed a fire. And what a fire it was. Simply great. Its embers lasted till teh early hours of the morning. Sitting by the fire, we chatted away to glory, sometimes the talk being serious, sometimes all in good fun. Laced with snacks and music...... and then the silence of the night, it was a night well spent as we finally retired in the wee hours of the morning....... the remnant of the fire still warm enough!!As the sun rose above our heads, our stay at Malshej too drew to a close. Our broken down Tavera nowhere in sight we decided to board the state transport bus to "Aalefata" from where we would get buses for Pune. And so our journey back home started, which oddly enough wasn't really eventful as was the journey to Malshej. But it remains a trip worth remembering, sights worth recalling and moments worth talking about!!

At the end of the day, I recall the lines from the great poem "Ithaca" where Constantine says:

"Ithaca has given you the beautiful voyage, without her you would have never set out on the road, She has nothing more to give you. And if you find her poor, Ithaca has not deceived you. Wise as you have become, with so much experience, you must already have understood what Ithaca means."

Note: The photographs are courtesy Kuntal Saha.