All Hail Queen Rowling! :D

31st July: The day THE woman was born; the woman who was destined to give a whole new definition to Literature and Imagination.

The day THE character was created; the character who would eventually find his way into the heart of every child and adult alike.

Thank you, Harry, for gifting us the most extraordinarily normal childhood. We grew up with you. We were there when you found the Sorcerer's stone, when you unveiled the Chamber of Secrets, when you rescued the Prisoner, when you were chosen by the Goblet, when you fought alongside the Order, when you learnt from the Half-Blood Prince, and when you mastered the Deathly Hallows. We were there, and we'll always be there; right behind you, always and forever. :')

And, now for the person who created it all:
Happy Birthday, JOANNE KATHLEEN ROWLING. <3

Yes, the caps lock was intentional, cause no amount of adjectives or bombastic words can convey the amount of love, respect and admiration I have for her. She's someone whom I've been worshipping since I was a kid; someone who taught me that anybody can do wonders, all you need to have is a mind that thinks differently. So, here's something I want to say:
I hope you know that I'll forever be indebted to you for giving me the best years of my life.
I hope you know that you're one of the most amazing women this world will ever see.
And lastly, I hope you know that I still read Harry Potter, irrespective of how good or bad my day is, and that's something I'll continue to do for the rest of my life.
Thank you, for shaping my childhood in the most awesome way possible. :')
You'll remain special, ALWAYS. :')

I could go on and on raving about how much J.K.R's priceless creation has affected my life, but even a whole lifetime won't be enough to describe what I owe to HER and the Harry Potter series. So, I'll leave by quoting one of the best things Rowling has ever said:

"I want to be remembered as someone who did the best she could with the talent she had."


You sure did, Queen Rowling. You sure did. :)
We all love you. <3

So, till next time, Keep calm, cause we're the Harry Potter Generation. :D


- Creative Insanity. 

Nostalgic Blissfulness

My living room’s scenario, almost four hours ago:

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone on WB.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part-I on HBO.

And, there I was, as confused as ever, and spoilt for choices. 

How amazingly ironic can a day get? But, nevertheless. I chose Deathly Hallows this time (obviously switching to WB during the looong breaks :D).

No matter how many ever times I watch Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part-I, smiling when Harry and Hermione do their cute little dance together, crying as they visit the graves of Harry’s parents, and weeping like a kid while watching Dobby die: these things will always remain inevitable. :’)

Only a true Harry Potter fan can empathise with me in this case. *sigh*

Anyway, that wasn’t the only thing that made me nostalgic today.

I accompanied my mum to her dental appointment this evening, and after a wait of one and a half hours, we finally got out of that claustrophobic chamber ( I have an aversion towards clinics). You might expect a person with dental problems to go straight home after meeting her doctor, but it’s me and my mum we’re talking about, so, some uniqueness had to be there. So, we headed straight to the phuchka (golgappa/pani puri) wala! :D. We both have always been devoted lovers of 'the' phuchka’s of Calcutta (like mother,like daughter. :D), and eating it with my mum brings back fond memories of my summer vacations. That was nostalgia number one.

A childhood friend of mine called me today, and, even though we talk over the phone a million times during a week, today was a bit different. We’d once dedicated this little letter to each other (well, calling it 'little' would be a total lie, since it went on for more than fifteen pages), wherein we’d listed down everything that we adore in our friendship, starting from the day we met, till the last time we saw each other; so, we were just discussing how beautiful the journey has been. Ten years of rock-solid friendship, and the love and warmth is just the same. That was nostalgia number two.

And the last and most important one was of course, watching the very first, and second last Harry Potter movie, side-by-side. :’)

Yes, it was a normal Saturday. But, it was a wonderfully nostalgic one as well, for me. I smiled. I cried. I'm happy. I'm satisfied. :)

Adios for now,

*disapparates*

-Creative Insanity.

A Little Something Left Behind

Sitting by the window, sipping her ever-favourite black tea, Shaina breathed in the serene view outside. The raindrops always had a euphoric effect on her; they made her go on a memory ride, always. As Tum Se Hi breezed out from the radio, her heartbeat stopped for a second, every cell in her body curling up to its lyrics. The song had an immortal relationship with her life ever since its birth. Keeping her tea cup aside, she walked towards her cupboard, and apprehensively took out the little red diary that had been her secret sharer since time immemorial.

Smiling like a hopeless teenager lost in love, she turned to the diary entry of 6th June, 2008; the day she thought she’d found the guy she wanted to spend her whole life with; what she didn’t know was that anything vile was always out there, waiting to cast its evil eye on anything good.

She didn’t even need to read what she’d written, cause every second of that day was as clearly embedded in her head as crystal: How he’d pulled her away from the crowd to dance with her alone in the rain, how chills ran down her spine everytime he looked at her, making her feel like the only girl in the world. Taking his hand in hers and promising her a life of undying love, he’d pulled her close, with their lips locked in delirious oblivion, as their wet, entangled bodies became one in the hysteria of first love.

There are certain memories which are so vividly ingrained in our hearts, that everytime you think about them, you can almost feel it all being replayed before your eyes.  For Shaina, he wasn’t just a memory. He was an undetachable part of her soul, a part that made her feel hollow and complete, by turns. True that he’d made her world come crashing down the day he walked out of her life. So what if he’d given her sleepless nights and sloppy pillows? He’d also left behind a vast ocean of bittersweet memories, something she would treasure till her last breath. The way they fought over every trivial thing: whether Da Vinci Code was better than Angels and Demons, whether Imran Khan was cute or gay, why girls were so cryptic and why guys were so obsessed with their hair. There were things they agreed on as well, like, how Jab We Met should officially be declared a classic, that black is the hottest colour ever, and that Michael Jackson is a living legend. But the thing that she would miss the most was how he'd been her best friend and lover, both at the same time.

How could she erase him out of her life when he’d given her so much to remember? How could she forget the person who taught her what it felt like to live for someone, and be loved in return? It wasn’t possible. Not for her. Not in this lifetime atleast. She knew that she would somehow learn to survive with a broken heart, that was one truth. But another truth was that no matter what happened, in one corner of her heart, a residue of his love would always exist, and she couldn’t burn that away. She didn’t want to; as it would continue to remind her of how strong she’d been, when she could easily break down.

Drawing out from her train of thoughts, she wiped away the baby tears that rolled down her cheeks, and smiled weakly. Taking away her stone-cold cuppa, she kept humming the lyrics of Tum Se Hi all day long.

“Main kahiin bhi jaata hoon, tum se hi mil jaata hoon, tumse hi..
Shor mein khamoshi hain, thodi si behoshi hain, tum se hi..”

- Sayantani Sarkar.

(P.S- This piece is completely a figment of my imagination, and the first short story that I've posted. So, posting or sharing it elsewhere without my permission will not be acceptable.)
 

Why Weep Behind the Veil?

I’m a girl who belongs to one of the so-called ‘modern’ cities of India. Yes, Calcutta was once hailed as the safest city for women.  But the picture is slowly changing. With the number of car rape cases, or rather, ‘just rape’ cases increasing by the day, this city, like almost every other city of India, isn’t safe anymore.

The clock strives eight, and parents forbid their daughters from stepping out of the house. A girl dresses up in tees and shorts, and is admonished to go change into something more shrouded and ‘respectable’. I ask, how can clothes determine the amount of respect a girl deserves? Especially in a country where men walk around semi-naked? I’m not prodding girls to dress up in mini skirts all the time. That would make me the victim of every parent’s curse. All I’m trying to say is, when a girl dresses up in shorts or tank tops or three-quarters, she does so because..that’s what she wants to wear, not because she means to “provoke” anyone. If a girl hangs out with her friends at a bar, or chats with men, it’s cause she is social and friendly, not because she wants to be driven to bed. Men don’t necessarily need to rape a girl to prove their dominance; they can make her feel threatened and disgusted just by groping her or ogling at her. Cause everytime a man crosses his limits, it’s the soul of a girl he destroys, let aside her body.

With each passing day, the numbers of rape and molestation cases are proliferating. The Guwahati Molestation Case, the Indore case of a man piercing his wife’s genitals and locking them! SICK! Every cell of my body cringes with revolt whenever I think of the fact that I’m residing in such a country where men walk around with a bloated chest even after committing every heinous crime known to the mortal world. Such incidents prove that India is growing into a jungle of uncontrollable, savage men! Men who think of women as porcelain dolls, with whom they can do whatever they want, and whenever they want, without the fear of ever being caught. Why? Cause maybe the country is getting used to reading about such things in a newspaper? Or maybe because girls feel they were born to tolerate such inhuman, sinful behaviour?

We watch Satyamev Jayate and click our tongues at the backwardness and narrow-mindedness of the people of India. But do we make an effort to improve the scenario? We witness brawls taking place on the roadside. But do we take the initiative to stop them?  If media can expose every trivial thing happening on the planet, why not report against hooligans roaming around with dirt ingrained in their heads?

If a girl is taught the right manners, values and the proper social codes and ethics, so are boys.

If girls can maintain their boundaries, why can’t men?
Why is the girl the one who’s always asked to make the sacrifice? Why can’t men, for once, understand the dilemma and feelings of the womankind?
Why should a woman drape herself in a veil? Cause the society will otherwise think its she who aids in arising a man’s sexual nerves? Bullshit!

A country doesn’t become developed through sky-high buildings and air-conditioned malls, it becomes so when the view point of its citizens becomes broad. You don’t need to be a feminist to respect females and fight for their rights. All you need to be is human; to remember the background you come from, to keep in mind that your family too, has female figures. Everytime a girl is abused or molested, it’s the nation that takes a step back. You don’t sabotage a body, you mentally impair the entire female fraternity.

Girls, you’re the most wonderful and delicate creation of God. He crafted you to bring peace and joy on Earth, not to teach you to suffer from the silence of trepidation. Whenever a man or any other human being tries to demolish your standard and reputation, stand up against them, raise your voice and fight for your dignity. Do NOT remain silent. Cause the more you bear it, the stronger they become. Show the world that you are the reincarnation of the goddess of strength and courage, and nobody has the privilege to ruin your life.

Not all men are cruel. It’s a certain section of men that projects the image of barbarousness. We need neither animals nor saints, all we need are humans; civilized and refined, who know how to treat women, who understand their worth. The day the ‘josh mein hosh khona’ concept dies, and the ‘pardey ke peeche rehna’ notion is demolished, that very day we all can proudly say, that yes, we have created a beautiful world. 

Think over what I said. Even if for just a second. Lets try making a difference, even if it's just one letter at a time.

Adios,

Sayantani Sarkar.

Through the Foggy Window

“Behta hai mann kahi, kaha jaante nahi

Koi rok le yahi..”

Doesn't rain have this impeccable and unique quality to make you nostalgic?

For me, every raindrop is like revisiting some of the most memorable days of my life.

School trip with best friends.

Dancing with naked feet.

The joy of first love.

Walking teary-eyed and losing myself somewhere in the crowd.

*sigh*

I remember, as a kid I used to be completely besotted by the dark, cloudy sky and incessant rains. I remember the countless number of times my mum had to run behind me to stop me from getting completely drenched in the rain. Well, not much has changed.  Except that mum doesn’t run behind me anymore. She knows it’s useless, cause the obsession has survived till date. Just that the vogue of enjoying the rain has changed a wee bit. Now it’s more about lying on the couch and reading a novel, or sipping warm tea and listening to age-old love songs.

Have you ever thought of the little things we miss out on due to the ever-occupied schedule of our daily life?

Do we still open the rusty cupboard and take a look at the diary we used to keep at the age of seven? Check, you might find your first ever love letter hidden in it.

Do we care to sit beside our mom, and listen to her humming her favourite song? Try it, you might as well have forgotten it was she who taught you your childhood songs.

Do we reminisce about the days we spent sitting on the rooftop of our school and laughing our heart out with our friends? Call them up, maybe they miss you just as much.

People say life is too short. But it’s never too late to remember that there’s enough time to get back what we want. So, stop running, and start living.

“Bhaage re mann kahi, aage re mann chala

Jaane kidhar jaanu na..”

Happy Monsoon, you all.

Love, 

Sayantani Sarkar.

Celebrations and Realisations

We leave our homes. We desert our parents. We hurt our friends. We shatter hearts. We don't regret any of it all. Why? Cause we feel they're all permanent and will stay in our lives no matter what. But that, my friends, is not true. Sadly.
My recent trip to Chennai made me realise quite a few things:
1. A daughter can NOT function without her mother. Rather, without both her mom and dad.
2. Some people enter your life late, but when they do, they're meant to stay forever.
3. Calcutta isn't that bad a city.
4. It's high time I keep my indolence aside and start being pragmatic about certain things. Certain things.
5. Me and my best friend are absolutely, incorrigibly crazy people. (Well, I've known that from the past few years actually. xD)
Every journey has its pros and cons. The only reason I went to Chennai is cause of my friend's unparalleled convincing powers. And yes, because I love that female a bit too much. And as expected, meeting my bestie after two years was a trip down the memory lane. We chatted the night away reliving the school days, and giggled at the most weird things possible. Its amazing how some things never change. I'm blessed in this case, thank God. :)
But, in the process of staying away from home, and, most importantly  from my mom, it dawned on me that life is not going to be a walk in the park forever. We have a tendency to take almost everything for granted, no matter how crucial or trivial it is, and I'm no different. Not even for once do we wonder how life is going to be if all the love, peace or blessings are taken away; and once that actually happens, it gets too late to regret.
With the final year of college ringing my door bell and graduation day not very far away, all I can do is be strong and get ready. To face life. Alone. At times; with the satisfaction that my loved ones will always be behind me (See, I'm that dependent). But, that's my faith, as I know they won't let me down.
So guys and girls and whoever is out there, take out some time from your ultra busy lives, stop for a minute and think: whether you're going in the right direction, who all need an entry ticket to your heart or who should be shown the exit sign, are your self-centred decisions hurting someone, are your relations of yesterday still as strong today...? Think. You might get the answers. Cause life will get better only if you give it a chance.

Adios,
Sayantani Sarkar.

Blissful Oblivion

Disclaimer : Written on a rainy night, and in a nostalgic mood. So, if you're looking for philosophical and cryptic stuff, read Wordsworth. Now, here you go:



I remember the nights, when
With midnight noodles and stone cold tea,
You let the conversation flowing
Like the hourglass had stood still.

 I should have realised it
When you guided me through the dark lane,
Took my hand and held me close
And sheltered me in the shivery rain.

The prophecy of an infrangible unity
Helped our destinies collide,
It was the wish of every wishing star
That kept us bound through every rough tide.


I wonder how I missed
The pain behind that weak smile,
Never realised the love you hid
Deep inside those enticing eyes.


You were my best friend, my punching bag
My companion and pillar of strength,
Together we promised to change the world
By creating a world for ourselves.

The moments come crashing down
Through the days I cruise and crawl,
With hope in my heart, I hold my breath
Waiting for you to catch my fall.

- Sayantani Sarkar.