university life was not too happening in a nutshell from the perspective of relationships or camarederie...I had recoiled into a cocoon after all that melodrama and usually spent my off periods in the historic central library where the librarian used to unpack a red and yellow tiffin box and tear the rotis with an air of humility everyday around 1.30.Though I was not a ''book worm'' so to say,yet I drolled upon Dostoeivsky,Hardy and Indo-english fiction to a large extent.I initially basked in the glory of being a part of such an august institute which had a glorious past....i loitered in the corridors crossing the isle between the English and Mass Communication departments on the third floor.College Square lay just opposite to the university...most of the days,I lazily watched the crowd walking past the college street pavement in combo with the ting -tong of the tram cars... I remember gorging on the syrupy 'jibhe gojas' and hot phulkopi shingaras served with two dollops of tomato sauce at the untidy canteen.My awe and admiration for the lecturers of English literature suffered a grave setback when i had to endure some third grade bizarre lectures of otherwise''scholastic'' names like Dipendu Chakraborty and Tapati Gupta whom we lovingly called Ophelia....In my two years of stay at the university i hardly remember her utter anything original or striking about either Hamlet or Ophelia,except reframing the sentences which were already there in Ramji Laal's study guide books! Krishna Sen was the only exception who seemed to have mastered literature with an unbelievable panache....I could almost visualise the subterranean depths of the protagonist's psyche as she lectured on Conrad's Heart of Darkness......
.......Somehow by word of mouth some professors learnt about my musical acumen and was summoned in the staff room one day...after about 25 years Rabindra Jayanti would be celebrated in our department..it was now that i came to know some guys of my class,Shiladitya,Sohini,Tanmoy,Amreeta Jhulan.....Shiladitya,proud of his baritone was too theatrical and kept boasting about his associations with Kaushik Sen,the theatre activist.Tanmoy seemed to be a good guy,not meddling with someone's affairs while Sohini was a diligent singer who effortlessly sang Bhanusingha Padabali songs....Jhulan however was my discovery! she was someone who would attract your attention amidst a huge crowd!her gait,her dress sense,her voice,her english captivated me(well,you must be thinking about my orientation.....frankly speaking,i had a crush on her..rest is how you interpret)She used to interact with me often during our rehersals at Shiladitya's place or Sunita's....thats how our friendship started...and touchwood she pays me a visit everytime she comes to India from the US where she is settled with her hubby Amitabha and two angels.
.......Somehow by word of mouth some professors learnt about my musical acumen and was summoned in the staff room one day...after about 25 years Rabindra Jayanti would be celebrated in our department..it was now that i came to know some guys of my class,Shiladitya,Sohini,Tanmoy,Amreeta Jhulan.....Shiladitya,proud of his baritone was too theatrical and kept boasting about his associations with Kaushik Sen,the theatre activist.Tanmoy seemed to be a good guy,not meddling with someone's affairs while Sohini was a diligent singer who effortlessly sang Bhanusingha Padabali songs....Jhulan however was my discovery! she was someone who would attract your attention amidst a huge crowd!her gait,her dress sense,her voice,her english captivated me(well,you must be thinking about my orientation.....frankly speaking,i had a crush on her..rest is how you interpret)She used to interact with me often during our rehersals at Shiladitya's place or Sunita's....thats how our friendship started...and touchwood she pays me a visit everytime she comes to India from the US where she is settled with her hubby Amitabha and two angels.
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