Work In Progress

(continued from previous post dated 19th Jan '05)
The ice had begun to melt....I was no longer feeling like an alien in the zone I had drifted into....Tentative steps to overcome the threshold had been taken, it was time to explore further. Excitement seemed in the air!

kband -So it's my turn to have a hearty laugh now, perhaps the :) virus is catching. So i've
given you the impression that I'm some kind of a Casablanca on the net, prowling around for easy prey ! Wonder, who's the poor soul - the enigmatic divas perched atop their ivory towers or this self-styled "techie" searching for similar wavelengths on his K-Band receiver(faint signals being received of late). You are pretty sharp, the way you have tried to deduce my name. So the divine name suggested by me which was loaded with the sagacity of my advanced years did not catch your fancy. It even had resemblance to your popular CM. Do you think that I would be so naive to adopt a simple give-away as id so that your fiance could lodge a complaint against me for bothering his sweet bride-to-be ! Or perhaps I am. Honestly, it all stems from my orthodox upbringing at Narendrapur. After that when I attended St Xaviers' everyday I used to get smitten by all those damsels with the come-hither looks. But never I could muster enough strength in my weak-knees to express my feelings.It continues. The veneer of privacy that the net has to offer helps in
getting rid of your inhibitions, believe me. So will you allow me that shield ? I'm happy that you have decided to give friendship a chance, perhaps inspired by the Musharraf-Vajpayee overtures. Yes, you can get up, close and personal as much as you like(pun intended). As long as there is a quid-pro-quo clause factored in the agreement. But here's the statutory warning - what you see may not be what you get. Rest is upto you. Gotta go now, getting late for an Indo-Polish seminar.


lea -Mr. Bandopadhyay, Wish you a very good morning ! So whats ur K-band receiver saying, has it picked up any new signals today ? (Just kidding). I just hope,
I wasnt the one hinted at when u spoke of "enigmatic divas perched atop their ivory towers" because that doesnt sound so good. Hmmm, so the self styled techie, was off to an Indo-Polish seminar ???? Would it be breaking our code of conduct (assuming we agree to give ourselves the comfort of anonymity and the "shield" you talked about) if I ask you the nature of your job ? Oh, has it got something to do with economics ??? Again apologise for my stupid sense of guessing things wrong ;-)) I have no hassles about your name, hope you will excuse me referring you as Mr.Bandopadhyay. Do let me know which name you would be comfortable with..........whats in a name anyway ? Did you by any chance study in Narendrapur
Ramkrishna Mission ? Since you mentined narendrapur, I couldnt think of any other school, courtesy the rank holders in madhyamik and HS. And I have been to St Xavier's once when I appeared for the IIT entrance (and which I miserably failed). its a wonderful college, with its lovely bldg. One thing, please do not think that I am trying to draw out information from you. If you do think so let me know. I have been pretty straight in my conversation, and you too have reciprocated in a similar manner, and I hope this stays the way it is. I was a student of St. Thomas Girls School,
did my graduation from Delhi, and MBA from Hyderabad. Been to a lot of different places in India and abroad. Had the opportunity to meet diff kinds of people from diff cultures. What about you ? Last but not the least, I am not a fan of politics, I like vajpayee more for his poetry than for his efforts at peace. You write well, with
dashes of humour all over (something my writing lacks completely), and thats one reason why I write back. Chalo then, bye........Hope u didnt doze off in the seminar, let me know how that went.


(to be continued)

Getting lucky

(continued from previous)
My first feeble attempts at e-camraderie met with disastrous results - it was akin to an extra-terrestrial extending a grotesquehand at the dainty maiden.........yet, the cyber world seemed like a wonderful place, how exactly was life there?

kband - Now I see u r really something. Or upto something. Perhaps it wud hv been much simpler to just ignore n carry on with ur mission. I hv a totally different outlook towards life with which I like to win as many converts whoever they may b. ne way, thanks a lot 4 ur consistent no-nonsense replies which I appreciate. All the best..


lea - I apologise for any offense that I might have caused. May be you could just cool down a bit and write something about yourself, like what you do, what kind of work you do etc etc. And please it would make life easier for me if you provide me with your name- "kband" sounds too techy. As for me I am an MBA, working currently in Calcutta. Engaged to a wonderful person, planning to get married next year. What about you ?


kband - So it worked. the sentimental trick. i've seen more often than not, it does work, e.g. as a young sales engineer we used to cry to some difficult customer - plz saar, give us the payment or i'll lose my job - it did wonders to our business fortunes when all else failed (what they don't teach u at Harvard). so y should u feel sorry, u've been true to yr feelings. on the contrary i may hv duped u, i may be the 50yr old guy seeking some form of high on the net!!! so i'd like to maintain my anonymity and if name is what u want then u can address me as BUDDHA :) it cud apply to me in more ways than one. u seem to be a nice person, i wish to continue my attempt to win u over as my friend, Manzoor Hai?


lea - Hahahahaha ! That was innovative, very innovative, not that I hadn't suspected any foul play, but even then I must give you a 100% for all the cribbing and crying you did. So, do you do this with all those poor souls around ? Sorry, if that was a personal question. So Mr.Bandopadhyay.........I somehow feel you are K.Bandopadhyay, apologise for my misconceptions, thank you for your persistence, and
all the more for saying that you would continue to win over my
friendship, coz thats a real nice compliment to me. I repeat, I do
not have any faith in friendships created in the virtual world, but
I'd like to give this a chance.


(to be continued)

Hoffer's Law

The law states that when people are free to do what they want, they usually imitate one another.

Finally, I've allowed myself the luxury of such a freedom. The inspiration from those I fervently wished to imitate, was too overwhelming to keep under control. As transmission begins, there would be the inevitable fuzziness, crackles, sputter.....till the appropriate frequency is reached and hopefully a melody emanates someday.

Over the next few episodes, I intend to play for you a potpourri of recorded transcripts of my online exchanges with those I became close (still am!) on the net. Apart from saving me the arduous task of making original postings at regular intervals, they may serve as curtain-raisers for the main act which they embody. The reproduction carries minimal editing to retain their distinct flavour (please excuse a tinge of the vernacular from time to time). The names of characters have been encrypted or altered to camouflage identitites, otherwise its an all-too-real-ity show...stark...candid...but mercifully, no parental guidance is required!

It all began in early May, 2003. A random response in a friendship site evoked an initial spate of mails with 'LEA' :

kband - hi.....need an emotional anchor who can double up as a friend.........

lea - sorry, i'm not here for emotional attachments of any kind....

kband - u misunderstood me. i just want to be yr friend - honestly. for u i shall shed all my emotional baggage. care to take me along now ???

lea - If you are ready to shed all ur emotional baagage (?) just for someone who you dont even know.................well..........Sorry, I am not at all interested


(to be continued)