Embracing the delight of cartoon shows

I’m still a die hard fan of cartoons, the list includes Tom & Jerry, Shinchan, Doraemon, Kitretsu, Perman and so on…This is a kind of hobby I like to ride with enormous joy. On Sunday morning repeat telecast of Shinchan and Doraemon are aired. So my weekly off day is spent watching the shows for more than 1 hour. Even my childhood days were spent joyously watching a bunch of cartoons. It included Meena, Mickey Mouse and Friends, Duck Tales, Jungle book, Dennis the Menace, Pingu, Alice in Wonderland, Bible ki kahaniyan, He-Man.... there must be more names I’m unable to recall. I cherished them all but Meena, conceived and produced by UNICEF, had a special place. Even now I often switch to Doordarshan in anticipation to see if they are telecasting the show.

Now-a-days, quite a no of channels are there who telecast cartoons 24 hrs. Previously the situation was not so. One had to wait patiently till the hands of clock perched on the perfect time and then it was rush hour. Destination - the beloved TV.

When I was a kid my father used to bring me video cassettes of cartoons mostly Looney Tunes. It was a motivation tool shown to me the same way as ‘carrots’ are dangled in front of employees. My parents tried so hard to motivate me to eat relatively faster because I used to take 1 hour to chew my food. But there is one difference. Employees get ‘carrot’ after good performance. I used to get my ‘carrot’ while performing the art of never-ending eating. :)

Sometimes I ponder over my liking for cartoons. Why do I like them so much? Is it the caricatures, vibrant colors that amuse me or I like that all beings are immortal here in this world or there is always a happy ending or feel spellbound to see weird gadgets solving all seemingly mundane yet complicated problems in Nobita’s life? My analysis failed to suggest any answer. Once I read in an article, children who watch cartoons regularly are unable to relate to reality. May be as an adult I want to cast my eyes off the real world for a while and take pleasure in the ephemeral delight of another world. As long as I’m rooted to reality, I guess a little dose of indulgence is acceptable. :)

    Meena Video Clip

Bascule Bridge at Khidderpore dock: the other side of the story

Engineers definitely have better theory to explain the functioning of a Bascule bridge so I will just try to explain what it is like in few words. A Bascule bridge over a canal or river has a dual role – it acts as a bridge and as a road. Most of the time it allows the road traffic to cross and when water vessels need to pass, this bridge moves vertically allowing smooth passage for the giant or mini vessels.

The bascule bridge across an inlet of River Hooghly at Khidderpore port is a notable landmark. Despite the semi-rustic look of that area no one can deny the enthralling beauty of this particular place. A zephyr will always sweep across the face while crossing the bridge.
It is a wonder for people who come to areas near Garden Reach once in a while. But it is a dreaded wonder for those who need to cross this bridge everyday to reach their school, college, workplace etc. It does not have any consideration for the puny human beings. It can rise at any time mostly at the rush hours forcing the traffic to come at halt. Sometimes it behaves like an imp who can read the human mind & accordingly play its cards. Often I’ve seen, when I’m in utmost hurry, the bridge goes up! It rises like Triton among the minnows and obviously to take the reins for the next half an hour or more. But there is another underlying horror. History has records when this bridge did not resume its horizontal position due to mechanical disturbance. And then it’s another story.

If there was a device to measure mass fluctuation in emotions, one could have seen the ups and downs of frustration quotient, slang quotient, human bonding quotient – all surfacing when this giant wakes from sleep. Buses, trucks, jumbo containers, lorries, cars, autos, bikes, cycles all stand on both the sides of the bridge following a zigzag pattern. If a photograph is taken from helicopter, they will definitely look like randomly disposed off garbage cans of various sizes. The moment the red light blinks (indicating the rising time of the bridge), all the transports try to speed up to reach the nearest spot at the juncture of the bridge so that they can avoid the elbowing of other vehicles as soon as the light turns green. Series of slangs are bestowed upon the bridge, the vessels and the port mostly by drivers and commuters. Most of the passengers will allow their head to peek out of the rickety windows of the buses to catch a quick glance of the episode. Street hawkers gather around with their treat mostly consisting of diced coconut & lozenges.
Strangers start communicating in such way as if they have known each other for long. When one says,” hai bhagoban”, the person sitting or standing beside will definitely add,” issko abhi uthna tha..” A mother will utter in loud voice to her son sitting at a distant seat,” Beta! Dekho bridge uth raha hai..” And the son who has already seen it will again peep out of the window to please his ma.
Once a passenger excitedly shouted,” bridge doob raha hai!”..(Meaning the bridge is resuming its horizontal position). Everyone in the bus started laughing and another humorously added, “aare bhai, bridge doob gaya toh edhar ka passenger edhar aur udhar ka passenger udhar hi rahe jayenge..”

The incessant babbling starts fading as soon as the vehicles roar in high spirits. People sigh in relief that it is end for today. What about tomorrow? As a school going kid, due to my sympathetic Aunties, I could avoid punishment for reaching late to school…but the finger punching machines put up in offices are not considerate enough. Everyday when I head towards the port area, I try to sense the impending terror….It is a routine now.

The two photos were taken on my mobile.

Missed call

Everyone possessing a mobile phone, at some point in their lifetime, must have received or are still receiving “missed call” messages flashing on their mobile screen. In response to these guest calls, I decide my course of action. Sometimes I revert back after weighing my balance or when I’m in an extravagant mood or after sensing urgency or to show courtesy and at other times I simply prefer to wait for another call from these missed calls.
I got my first cell in 2003. At that time giving missed call was a craze as call rates and sms-es were not so cheap. It was a way of showing friends that at this particular point of time (whether at 2 in the morning or during 2 minutes break while preparing for exam), I’m remembering you. If one did not answer back with another missed call, it used to annoy the call expectant a lot. Silly ego problems, foolish quarrels encompassing these missed calls were not uncommon.
The custom has not become extinct but its meaning has metamorphosed from a finer aspect to a rather practical and straight forward one. Now when I get a missed call (when I’m holding my cell and witnessing an ephemeral incident of call coming and vanishing with my own eyes. I will write later why I’m explaining this), it conveys a sweet message “I do not have balance, call me!”
The meaning of the phrase “missed call” is quite misleading. I guess it was programmed to specify calls which are not received by the recipient. But in regular usage, the meaning has changed to indicate those calls which are basically one or two rings and are not supposedly actual calls.
One real life e.g. will illustrate this confusion. I was unable to receive one call from a job applicant. His number with name flashed on my cell. Knowing the urgency I called him back. I started the conversation, “Yes Mr X…..I saw one missed call from your no..”
Mr X, “Madam, I did not give missed call. I called you.”
I said, “Yes, I understand you called me. My cell showed one missed call from your no.”
Mr X, “But I called you” (in desperation).
I said, “Yes, you called but I (putting more emphasis) missed to receive it.”
Now he understood. Many times I have faced this with my friends. If we pause to think it is funny actually. Any mobile phone programmer reading this? Can you please change the phrase “missed call”? Because we people love the misrepresented version and surely will continue using it..