Twenty years without you

 

The French experience: la Coupe du Monde

Legendary soccer star, Pelé, breathed his last on Thursday 29^th December 2022. Regarded as the greatest soccer player of all times, the Brazilian was instrumental in winning three World Cups for his country, the most ever by any player. Acknowledged as the player to have the highest number of goals ever scored, Pelé set the benchmark for future soccer players to pursue. When another soccer stalwart, the legendary Maradona of Argentina who led his country to win the World Cup in 1986, passed away in 2020, Pelé had remarked as a tribute, “I hope we will play together in Heaven”.

Among the contemporary players of today’s times, undoubtedly Lionel Messi of Argentina and Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal feature in the top of people’s minds. They are often compared to Pele and Maradona. Their magic was conspicuous in the recently concluded FIFA World Cup 2022.

I had the privilege of experiencing the 2022 World Cup fervour in France. The build up to the finals of la Coupe du Monde was ecstatic. People were in the streets, celebrating with mirth, after France defeated England 2 – 1 in the quarter finals on 10^th Dec 2022. Les brasseries, the local pubs, and restaurants, were beaming with an elated crowd making merry.

The town that I live in, Grenoble, in south-eastern France, is quite cosmopolitan, and it was not a pleasantly memorable evening for the Britons living here. France and Britain have been historic rivals and an undercurrent of perennial competition underscores every sports faceoff even today. France’s victory over England to march into the semi-finals was an icing on the cake for the French revellers.

The semi-final on 14^th December 2022 was yet another unique faceoff as France beat Morocco 2 – 0 to storm into the finals despite having only 39% possession of the ball throughout the match. The adrenaline was visibly high in the French streets as the two countries historically share a bittersweet relationship. Morocco was once a French colony, and people of Moroccan origin form a substantial part (18% of the total immigrant population) of the French population today. It was not easy for the Moroccan supporters to swallow the bitter pill of defeat, more so in the streets of France where the French were the most boisterously and conspicuously celebrating their victory with reverberating slogans of allez les bleus.

A scene from a street in Grenoble, France, captured by the author, after the France-Morocco semi final

The Moroccan impulse was already high after they sent the legendary Cristiano Ronaldo and his powerful team Portugal packing by defeating them 1 – 0 in the quarterfinal on the same day that France had sent the Britons home. The Moroccans had great expectations of the semi-finals, but the defeat miserably punctured their inflated enthusiasm. There were incidents of violence from various areas of France. I witnessed first-hand some roughness in the streets myself. While I was immersed in the ambience of fireworks and slogans, I found a street dustbin hurled towards the crowd that I was part of, barely sparing me of an injury as it rolled past me by an inch.  The ambience reminded me of a usual atmosphere during any high voltage cricket face off back home in India. I was as if experiencing an Indian victory in a cricket world cup semi-final match against Pakistan, while strolling the streets of France after they defeated Morocco.

Then came the breath-taking la finale on Sunday the 18^th of December 2022. The match was supposed to begin at 4 pm local time in France. My family and I had to break through a sea of soccer enthusiasts thronging centre ville in anticipation of the much-awaited historic faceoff between Lionel Messi’s Argentina and Mbappé’s les Blues, as we scurried home to be on time for the match. We rather preferred to enjoy the FIFA World Cup 2022 final from our living room than being out in the streets flooded with adrenaline. The experience after the semi-final had drained us of our erstwhile eagerness to be soaked in first-hand la coupe du monde public revelry. The passion of patriotism was so high that we felt safer at home that evening.

What unfolded was history for the world and a dilemma in our home. Our heart was with Lionel Messi and the legacy of Diego Maradona. Childhood memories of when the TV was a brand-new gadget in Assamese homes and the legend of Maradona was in the making in Indian living rooms, played in my mind. Yet the head eluded the heart and supported France as we are in France and with the French – our cheeks painted in the blue-white-red French stripes – and we cheered from our windows despite the freezing French winter creeping into our living room – to be in unison with the crowd in the streets below! Our hearts swayed naturally as Argentina scored 2 – 0 and we screamed in joy, yet we found ourselves cheering boisterously when France equalized it 2 – 2 thereafter. Our dilemma reached its peak when the game culminated in 3 – 3 after the extra time and a penalty was announced to break the tie. Our emotions went out equally with Messi and Mbappé.

When the tie was finally broken in favour of Argentina, the streets below fell silent, the fireworks disappeared. Glasses shattered, and we heard it vividly and saw the rubbles next morning. It was symbolic of the French pride that was shattered by the formidable Argentines. An entire nation’s hopes of retaining la coupe had been shattered. Consequently, we had mixed feelings. On one hand, we rejoiced Argentina’s victory and Messi’s pinnacle, yet we empathized deeply with the nation that hosts us and our fellow French mates in France. Both the feelings were equally organic.

All in all, this will remain one of the most memorable world cup experiences for me, just as it will for the rest of the world, but a bit more uniquely for an Indian living in France.

(Published in the Assam Tribune on 8th January 20223: https://epaper.assamtribune.com/clip-preview/57961NMpsI7TKnFZfJsJagKCxBJx3PsgU81MZ9498173)

Lillibet

 My humble tribute to Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth II 

LILLIBET

Of royal blood but not heir apparent
And the crown was not hers to be;
Daughter of the King’s younger brother,
Lillibet was a child of destiny.

The King’s abdication for the sake of love
Paved her way to ascend the throne;
And quicker than she ever imagined,
Her dear “Papa”, the chance King, too was gone.

The young Regina was thus installed
Who galvanized ancient monarchy;
Ensuring that both stayed relevant
In the modern age of democracy.

Over seven decades she ruled her land
And served the realms of Commonwealth;
Governments would come and go albeit
Her Majesty remained a revered constant.

Her life of close to a century
Was by far no bed of rose(s);
Yet nonchalance towards adversity
Remaining her chosen pose.

Every thorn that came her way would yield
She made her resilience matter;
Just like the diamonds in her crown
The Queen never lost her glitter.

Prayers of her loving subjects were heard
Long lived the Queen Elizabeth;
A larger than life fairy-tale, was it not
The destiny of Lillibet?

Bedanta Choudhury

Published on 16th Sep 2022 courtesy the Assam Tribune (https://epaper.assamtribune.com/clip-preview/579610u9VND3vvpBtcIm6DNoccnTCsKgt0xMZ4792419)

From resilience to optimism

If only 2021 armoured us with one weapon, it was the reinforcement of our triumphant spirit and it is with this promise of triumph that we must embrace 2022. Cataloguing my article courtesy: the Assam Tribune dated 07-Jan-2022

 

Science and Spirituality: Does the Universe exist?

This is that time of the year when science and spirituality are celebrated hand in hand in our country. In February, India celebrated the National Science Day, and in March, it celebrated the Maha Shivratri.

India observes the 28^th of February every year as National Science Day in honour of the famous Indian physicist Sir C V Raman. It was on this day in 1928 that the phenomenon known as “the Raman Effect” was discovered by Sir C V Raman. The Raman effect is not only leveraged effectively in Raman spectroscopy commonly used in chemistry, but also explains various visual phenomena including why the sea is blue. It postulates changes in the wavelength of light when a light beam is deflected by molecules, and that a fraction of the incident light emerges in directions other than that of the incident beam. The water molecules in the sea scatter white sunlight into wavelengths that fall in the blue regime of the visible spectrum, and therefore the sea appears blue. The theme of the National Science Day observed on 28^th February 2019 was “Science for the People and the People for Science”, and rightfully so as science is the greatest tool devised by mankind to interpret the universe and to understand its behavior.

Amritsar: The Lake of nectar or a city of massacres

I was in Amritsar on the fateful Dussehra day when more than 60 people were massacred in a bizarre train accident. Tragedy struck Amritsar on Friday the 19^th of October 2018, when a speeding train ran over scores of Dussehra revelers standing on the railway track after having been induced away from a burning effigy of Ravana during the Dussehra celebrations at dusk near the Joda Phatak. Men, women and children had spilled over to the tracks, and no one saw or heard the speeding train in the glow of Ravana’s flames and the din of celebratory fireworks.

The Lore of Age

If you have been a storytelling parent, you may feel this way:

My poem published in the Assam Tribune on 7th Sep 2018.

Cosmic Homage

A tribute to my mother in the form of a poem published in the Assam Tribune on 31st Aug 2018.

Stateless

The National Register of Citizens (NRC) draft for Assam was recently released. While the state endeavors to ascertain sons of the soil, a handful of humans stare at the prospect of being rendered stateless. While my patriotic heart is elated at the draft list being out, my humane soul sheds a tear on the possibility of the innocent being shoved into turmoil. I describe this in my poem " Stateless" published on 10th August 2018, courtesy the Assam Tribune. The government has assured that no citizen of India will have to leave the country, and people whose names have been missing in the released draft list shall be given adequate opportunities to get their concerns addressed.

The Winner takes it all

(My article on how encouragement of the right behavior by leadership boosts that behavior in the ecosystem)

Published in the Assam Tribune dated 27th July 2018 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently tweeted that he was deeply moved when he saw Hima Das reach out for the Indian tricolour immediately after finishing first in the 400m final race in the IAAF World Under-20 Athletics Championships in Finland. Later, the Prime Minister, while addressing a public rally in his parliamentary constituency Varanasi, also showered praise upon the young girl from Dhing, a nondescript village in Assam’s Nagaon district, for her determination and patriotism. Hima Das has also been assured of government funding for her preparation for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, under the government's Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS). The Chief Minister of Assam, Sarbananda Sonowal too announced a reward of Rs. 50 lakh for her, and personally visited Hima's home in Dhing to congratulate her parents, Junali and Ranjit Das. The Chief Minister praised Hima's historic success and thanked her for bringing glory to the state.

The Valley of Wonder

This poem of mine was inspired by the beauty of the foothills of the Himalayas as witnessed from Mussourie, India.

Published in the Assam Tribune, 22nd June 2018.

Yours Technologically

Dear readers,

I am launching a dedicated page for my technological blogs - "Yours Technologically"

https://yours-technologically.blogspot.com/

This will allow me to continue using the "Footprints on the sands of time" to catalog my thoughts on life, philosophy and nature.

Thank you for your support and encouragement.

Regards
Bedanta

Crossroads

Published on 28th Apr, courtesy the Assam Tribune

Aping the caveman

 

Health is primarily a product of our lifestyle – what we eat and drink, how we work, how we rest, and what thoughts and feelings we entertain. The caveman was closer to nature, and hence his lifestyle was arguably more in sync with nature. In order to stay healthy, we can emulate the lifestyle of our ancestors. The caveman would wake up at sunrise, and move out of his cave early, in pursuit of food, and in order to be ahead in the race for food. He would not have been a nighttime hunter, because of average eyesight, and more powerful nocturnal predators on the prowl. He would, probably, return to his cave before darkness set in, and retire soon into night’s slumber. On the other hand, in the modern world, thanks to advancements in science and technology, the hours after sunset are available for human activity, thereby procrastinating bedtime, and consequently, the time to rise in the morning! Modern man would definitely do better by adopting the caveman norm – early to bed and early to rise – what humans were designed for.

Published in the Assam Tribune, Horizon, 21st Apr 2017

Where daffodils bloom

I had the privilege of experiencing the enchanting Lake District in the United Kingdom, in the heart of which nestles the famous Dove Cottage, in which William Wordsworth wrote some of the greatest poetry in the English language, during the eight years that he lived there. Cuddled between a rocky hill popularly known as the Old Lady at the Piano, and the Grasmere Lake, this little nook is a splendid retreat. Wordsworth, who lived in Grasmere village for fourteen years, had described it as "the loveliest spot that man hath ever found" As a connoisseur of poetry myself, I felt enchanted as I walked around the house and the neighborhood. It is a sight that cannot be described in words, one that naturally inspires creativity, romance and poetry. The low hanging clouds that kissed the hill, the pleasant breeze that blew from across the lake, the sight of flowers, and call of birds, created a magical ambience. Today, the neighborhood also houses other buildings, which in Wordsworth’s time did not exist, and I realized what a pristine view William Wordsworth would have had from his window – as if witnessing a live painting of the lake, the hill and the grasslands.

Published in the Assam Tribune, Sunday Reading, 12th Feb 2017

Poetry digest

Following are some of my recent poems published in the Assam Tribune, Horizon supplement:

Publications digest

Following are three of my articles published in the Assam Tribune, Sunday Reading editions in the last months:

---

A unique event held in the heart of India's capital,

that sent out a strong message of universal brotherhood. To read the article, click below:

Wedded to a mission, 03 April, 2016

---

A rare exhibition of a precious legacy in the British Museum, London.

To read the article, click below:

Silk Route, 27 Nov, 2016

---

The unprecedented convergence of different generations and sections of society on a unified platform is throwing up questions about social networking etiquette. To read the article, click below:

Facebook etiquette, 08 Jan, 2017

Back to the basics

(A revelation of the fundamentals of life and living during my tryst with surgery and hospitalization)

Ambitions of life normally pivot around achieving success in academics and career, becoming rich and famous, travelling, writing, attaining spiritual bliss and other such stuff. These are the “big rocks” of life, which when successfully addressed, give one a sense of expansion and growth. Ambitions vary from person to person, and are based on ones values and outlook towards life. I too have my share of such worldly ambitions, and I have been extra passionate about them until recently when I had to undergo a surgery. The view of the world was quite different from the operation table and the hospital bed. They brought me back to the basics, and obliged me to recalibrate my world vision, in juxtaposition to the lofty dreams spun in the comfort of home, and within the board rooms of corporate world.

Erroneous process of NRC update

By Prabin Choudhury
The following is my father's letter to the Supreme Court of India protesting against the discrimination towards the indigenous people of Assam owing to the erroneous process adopted for preparation/updating of the so-called National Citizens Register (NRC) in Assam as a proposed step towards identifying illegal immigrants.