Dhaka

Finally in Dhaka....

Riding from the Korunamoyee bus terminal in Calcutta yesterday, I was still not sure of reaching Dhaka. I dont know why but there was a fear in my mind of what was about to happen, I was a tad nervous as well.

As the bus lumbered along, slowly making its way out of Calcutta, I started to realise that I was perhaps actually getting to Dhaka and was filled with anticipation and joy. Once the bus stopped for breakfast and reached the Indian customs and immigration post at around 10. It was a 84 km ride from Calcutta.

As I left the bus to go complete the immigration procedures, I was swarmped by a horde of agents all offering to change Indian currency for Bangladeshi takas or offering to speed up my path through immigration. I declined and made it to the long line at the counter.

As I had dreaded, my Nepali passport brought with it a more stringent checking and asking o questions as to why I was going to Bangladesh, what was my profession and where I studied and all of that. Thankfully , it all got over soon and it was time for me to clear my baggage through customs.

I was apprehensive because I had around 20 US dollars that I had bought from a money changer and I did not want it to be caught without any proper recipt on my part. So reluctanlty I paid a guy hundred takas to get me through customs. However again upon seeing my Nepali passport, the customs people asked me to open my bags and checked one of them. Thankfully, the bag in which I had the dollars were not checked.

So glad that half the process was over, I went back to the bus which crossed over to the Bangladeshi side. Here, it was customs first and immigration later.And to my dismay, there seemed to be no agents to see me through customs for a price. so with a bit of fear in my mind, I went for the checking.

At first, there seemed to be no cause for my worry.There was a cursory check through my baggage and I was relieved. However the relief was really short lived. Another man, this time a military guy started going through my baggage. And he opened the baggage where I had the dollars. o be specific he took out the book where I had kept the dollars; Avtar Singh's "Indian Contract Act 1872".

As I watched with dread and fear, somehow he managed to not find my dollars despite being right there. As he gave my baggage back, I mut have given him a really big thank you because he looked back at me and smiled warmly too. I was so so relieved. After that the Bangladeshi immigration part was not so difficult and finally I was sure that I was going to Dhaka after all.

After that journey had some other good moments as well. I had proper rice and dal after about a week and the food felt so really good. Then the bus was transported along the Buri ganga river on a ferry. It was my first experience on a ferry, in fact on a boat so it felt really great. especially with the sun setting in the background and the breeze in my face, it all felt too good to be true.

Finally I arrived in Dhaka at around 7 30 in the evening. Looking around I realised that I had travelled on a train, bus and a ferry to reach here and finally I had arrived. It took a while for the feeling to sink in, and when it did, it was such a happy and joyous feeling.

Now looking forward to the next few days in Dhaka and possibly elsewhere too...

Travelling On...

Travelling alone and enjoying along the way...that has been one of my dreams from early on and right now my holidays asre promising to be just the same...

Travelling alone from Bangalore to Calcutta on a train was much easier than I had thought. Fortunately, my bogie was full of young students returning home for the holidas and I did not get the time to be bored. And when they turned quiet, i still had the time to finish the 3rd book in the aragon series " Brisingr".

Coming into Calcutta on the 20th in Howrah station I looked at the Howrah Bridge which I had seen and admired many times before in movies but never had the chance to be this close.It felt grand and awe inspiring and just like the perfect entry point into Calcutta.

Now into the 3rd day of my Calcutta stay and to be frank I have not seen as much as I would have wanted to, partly due to making arrangements to go to Dhaka and partly out of lethargy. Also just cant seem to find any of my Calcutta classmates from law school. However still got the time to look at NUJS and meet people from law school who had come there for the debate. A lot similiar like our own law school with even a corp bank right next to them, the grounds were a lot smaller and the buildings much higher...Not bad really..

Anyway, my journey is yet far from over. Waiting to get to Dhaka next...

Lets see what happens then

Holidays

All the patience that one builds up seems to desert one as the goal comes nearer, desperation iand anticipation are never more visible than when you are not so far from your destination but still have some time to go, in this case the holidays...the usual counting back the days makes way for the frenzied counting of the hours with the exams being almost non existent from the mind and all that remains is the anticipation of going home; to Delhi, Chennai, Varanasi or in my case to Kathmandu..

No matter which boarding school and hostel, the anticipation at going home is always there..you cant just wait to reach there. But more often than not after some days you tend to miss those familiar hostel people, those friendly faces you say hi to, those random people who come to your room at all times of the day and the ease to find a conversation on any topic anytime you want.

I know what lies in store for me this holiday...an experience with myself to test my own limits and confidence in my abilities. I want to travel during these holidays and finally the plans are quite falling into shape like the final pieces of a puzzle... and even if things go awry and stray, I am sure there will always be something new, some new experiences to see and learn and some new stories to write about..

Ahh hope everything turns out just the way it is supposed to be...

Change??

" What If you could go back and change something in your life? Would you do it?" I asked Sahil, my roommate at 1 30 in the morning. As usual my plan to sleep early had failed and all I could do was get these different thoughts in my head to pass my precious time. Well, different opinions always help and hence the question to Sahil.

"Not really, but yeah maybe a thing or two, something here and there, " was what he replied. I must say I was not surprised with his response but dismayed at his thought not being of much help to me. I was perhaps hoping he would say that he wanted to change a lot of things and then I could engage him in further conversation on this topic. But his reply left me no such option and I let him study in peace.

Perhaps, my response would be, " Yes, I would like to change a lot of things." And why not? Would it not be great if I could change those small things which made such a difference later on, if I could rectify those mistakes and turn out to be a better me in a better place with better things and thoughts.

Well, it seems great to fantasize about this, but again I wonder if this feeling is a quest for perfectness that cannot be obtained? Is this feeling of change not subject to mood swings and situations? The things that I would like to change based on today could well be the reason to smile tomorrow. Or the things that I change could lead to other unexpected things, things that I might not really be comfortable with.

I really dont know and still dont have the answer. But I feel that situations no matter how hard or tough, have in them scope for hope and the circumstances that could be used to change these situations and turn them around.

So, would I still want to change things of the past? Perhaps yes, but I must say I am more than content with what I have at the present and believe I have hope too of being able to cope and produce things that are better.

Hoping for a wonderful year ahead!!!