He tried to save me from all sorts of trouble

Last year, this time, Ma was in the hospital, suffering from a bleeding ulcer and acute anemia.. I was at home with Baba who we thought was oblivious, not understanding 70 % of what was happening around him or with him.. But, how he surprised me when he started eating up his food in just 5 mins when on other days with Ma trying to feed him he often used to take more than 1.5 hours for each of his 3 meals! To be precise, Ma was admitted on the morning of 18th Dec and Baba started helping me and cooperating with me from that day lunchtime.. Both the nurse and I were astonished when he ate up his lunch in just a few minutes! And that continued for the next 7 days! I remember that night when I had no one to help me and I requested the delivery boy from the pharmacy to come upstairs with me and help me with turning Baba on his side.. The moment I arrived before Baba with the boy and told him what the boy would help with, he himself turned on his side, something that he had not done since his accident and surgeries! The boy was not needed to do anything more than just touching him lightly! When Baba saw Ma return home on Dec 24th, he changed drastically and refused to take his dinner, almost making me cry smile emoticon.. I guess he was unhappy why Ma was not feeding him when she was already back home.

My dear Baba, my heart rains whenever I think of those 7 days and how you helped me! Baba, who never wanted me to be in any kind of trouble, tried his best to lessen my problems during those days! Baba, who loved me more than anyone ever did, anyone ever would! heart emoticon

My heart bleeds today as I complete 6 months of Baba leaving this mortal world, not because he has left, but because he had suffered so much during those 14 months! Could not do anything to lessen his pain! Hope you are in a painless and peaceful world now, Baba! Miss you more than ever

Dec 25, 2013

Thanks Nandikar for a wonderful Christmas.. Just back from Academy of Fine Arts after two back-to-back Nandikar grandeurs, Madhabi at 3 pm and Naachni at 6-30 pm.. No words for Swatilekha Sengupta for the direction of the multi-layered Madhabi, Rudraprasad Sengupta for his enanctment of Jajati, Debshankar Haldar for Galab in Madhabi and Pandab in Naachni, Swatilekha Sengupta for her enactment of Kusum Naachni.. praise praise and only PRAISE for SOhini Sengupta for two completely different avatars in Madhabi as Madhabi, and Bijolibala in Naachni.. I wonder how she changes her voice completely for two back-to-back plays, alters her volume, her personality, everything .. watched RS and Swatilekha for the first time on stage, watched Sohini and Debshankar for first time on stage.. what beautiful songs and stotras in Madhabi, lovely dancing, amazing ran-pa dancing in Naachni, wonderful folk songs with smell of maanbhum.. Magnificent, Majestic and Magical productions.. will never forget Sohini's last scene of Naachni..and the ambience that was created.. gave goosebumps..her restrained voice in Madhabi was also sending a cold shiver down the spine.. RS said he would turn 78 soon, I wonder how he danced along his character in Naachni, it needed so much animation! His humility exuded when he concluded this year's Nandikar Theatre Festival ..
Who would say Rudraprasad would turn 78 in a few months.. his body language, animated acting, playful dancing and powerful stepping in Naachni was unbelievable!

It was the last evening of my life before I came to know what having a bedridden patient at home meant.. life somewhat changed to different degrees from the next day..

I remember being on my own this Christmas evening and enjoying it to the fullest... Baba-Ma were out for a wedding invitation and returned home after I did.. I had taken home Biriyani for my dinner and asked Baba to bring a bottle of Sprite for me, which he did..

Christmas Eve 2013.. Before everything became topsy turvy

Just back from a brilliantly lit dazzling Park Street.. the decorations are mostly tasteful and lovable.. specly loved the huge Christmas Tree outside Allen Park, the smaller ones at the gate and the HUGE SANTA inside.. Thanks to Robi O Nobin, Soumitra Roy, and Irene Sarkar for a wonderful Christmas Eve..an open-air musical evening with the first chill to be felt.. the power, range and rustic nature of Soumitra-da's voice is unique and dear Irene, love you as always..it was your program the drew me to Park Street on X-Mas Eve after quite some time..the only sourness of the evening is an absent-minded boo boo made by me.. and oh! how I repent not taking the camera today again with me.. this year's Park Street decorations and that of Allen Park are special.. I never knew before today that the Dept of Tourism of WB GOVT has been arranging a Kolkata Christmas Festival since last year..this year it got inaugurated on Dec 20th.. Park Street is throbbing with red caps, reindeer horns and festive spirit..

A bed

A bed is much more than a bed to children.. came across beautiful rhymes by Sylvia Plath accompanied by lovely illustrations by Quentin Blake .. the sketches and the rhymes remind me of our childhood days Ranabir Ray,Supratik Majumdar when we used to imagine that the bed was the train on which we three adventurous hunters were traveling and fighting villains who always ended up "killing" Pikludada who would ask me to shut his eyelids just as he had seen in films..tongue emoticon .. Children always imagine the bed to be their kingdom, I guess .. at least that is what I have fathomed from my experiences with Boju, Betu, Kuhu, and Tiplu.

http://www.brainpickings.org/…/the-bed-book-sylvia-plath-q…/

The poetry of days and nights

Had the fortune of catching this movie on television last week.. A unique and curious film.. Why I call it "curious" can be explained only when you watch it... Never knew until today that it had got two National Awards.. the lean, petite, young Madhabi Mukherjee with her superlative acting talents mesmerize in this film, just as she does in Baaishe Shrabon and Charulata (but to much greater depths here) .. She deserved and won the National Award for Best Actress for her performance here and the film had won the National Film Award for Second Best Feature Film ..After reading the archives I know why "Mastermoshai" looked so familiar.. He was none other than Kanu Banerjee of Pather Pachali (Harihar) fame.. Anjana Bhowmik (named Ananda) and Basanta Chowdhury also keep haunting.. Thanks to the movie channel for gifting me a film I never knew existed..

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dibratrir_Kabya

Load Shedding

When genes meet good filmmaking, a touching movie like "Load Shedding" gets made! Meghla Dasgupta, daughter of Bidipta Chakraborty, niece ofSudiptaa Chakraborty, and granddaughter of Biplabketan Chakraborty acted as if she has been acting since ages.. such composure and confidence is rarely seen in a first appearance... Riddhi is as natural as ever, he acted too well when Tiklu lost his eyesight.. Nitpicking if I must, I would rather prefer the non-shaved look of a school boy and he seemed to be too big to be learning tenses tongue emoticon but maybe that was shown to portray his weak base.. The songs are beautiful.. both beautifully written and sung.. The girl who played Tiklu's little sister is an amazing actress as well! Having watched Pendulum, I guessSoukarya Ghosal has a soft spot for blindness.. All in all, it is a beautiful movie that brought back memories of our loadshedding days and the romance associated with our teenage .. and the story was so touching that it kept me awake for a while when I was trying to fall asleep. heart emoticon A big Thumbs Up to Soukarya Ghosal, Bidipta Chakraborty, and the entire brilliant team!♥
Koishorer prothom prem e poRa ba prothom premik-er chhnoya aar load shedding abicchedyo.. aaro aaro anek kichhu, ei muhurte sab theke beshi mone porchhe Baba aar Mago-r sathe kaaTano samayer kotha.. load shedding na holey toh sabaai khub byasto!

Another chance to re-live the load-shedding evenings that meant storytelling, Antakshari, Memory Game, precious time with Baba, and later on mellow thoughts of teenage years..

Dutta Vs Dutta

I have never thought much of Anjan Dutt-the film director.. hence, today I started watching Dutt V/S Dutt with very low expectations.. the moment the movie ended, the spontaneous reaction that sprung out of me was "Lovely!".. I am no one to remark whether it is one of the best autobiographical movies in Bangla or whether it is one of the best films I have ever watched on a father-son relationship.. however, the manner in which the Naxalbari movement-period, the 70-s, that old Calcutta, the north Calcutta ambience have been created deserve nothing but tons of accolades... Each character has been portrayed excellently, a special mention must go to Anjan Dutt himself, who plays his father here, the young boy named Ranodeep (playing Anjan here) who wins hearts with his natural performance, Srijit Mukherji, Shankar Chakraborty and Kaushik Sen. What a lovely actor Srijit is! I have never seen a performance where he seems to be "acting". The others like DIpankar Dutta, Manasi SInha, and Rita Koiral also do perfect justice to the roles.. No matter how much I write about the movie, I will not be able to express how though-provoking, intriguing, and enjoyable I found it.. It will remain with me as the best ever Anjan Dutt film I have watched.. What an environment and background to grow up in.. such stories and sub-plots plugged in every corner of life.. Nothing can make such good fiction as life itself! The moment when my heart skipped a beat was when Rano tried to catch his unwell father's gaze and interest, while announcing the news of Mrinal Sen selecting him for a movie, in the same manner as my brother and I do with our dad. I will remember Anjan Dutt-the director for this one film alone. I hope many will agree. Looking forward to see many wonderful performances from Ranodeep Bose in future, and from Neel as well! Feeling so happy for Senior Dutt getting to know that he was able to do what he wanted as a child.. his leaving St. Paul's did not matter.. He found his film in this city, the city of joy ..

BhaiPhonta 2015

A very strange BhaiphnoTa Day.. I guess, as we will grow older and older, we will lose people closely associated with each of our festivals and hence the festivals will lose color and glitter.. and we will have to decipher new meanings of festivals and functions..

I am glad that I was a witness to and integral part of Baba's last BhaiphnoTa.. memories that would remain etched in my mind.. my oblivious Baba, quiet, but realizing everything.. loving the fish fry and biriyani made by his dear sister.. and eating every bit of those .. all those meticulous arrangements made by my Pisi's amazing daughter-in-law.. a day that I will never ever forget.. I can feed you Biriyani for hours Baba, no matter, how slowly you chew and swallow.. I just need to get the chance again..

Puja with Baba Everywhere

So.. Finally, I step out of home on the very last day of Durga Puja 2015 around 12-15 pm.. long after even Dashami had gotten over.. Although, my agenda was to pay a visit to Hindustan Mart for buying ABhushan's essentials, I found myself dragged to Singhi Park and then to the evergreen EkDalia..

As a child, I learnt that pandal-hopping began from Ekdalia Evergreen.. that is where Baba took us to on Saptami morning, each year, without fail.. The first stop would always be EKdalia Evergreen..

Last year, on the day of Panchami, I went to my bank at Ekdalia and paid a visit to the pandal.. Looking at the idol, I realized that in my 38 years I, for the first time, was visiting Ekdalia without Baba (even if I visited the puja with friends, there had to be one visit to ekdalia with Baba).. I had a strange ache in my heart as Baba was in no state to visit pandals at that time.. Nothing could ever stop him from visiting a few Pujas like Ekdalia.. In 2010, when Ma had her angina attack and had to be hospitalized on ShoshThi, my ever-positive, ever-enthusiastic Baba made it a point to visit Ekdalia with us on our way back from Belle Vue..

Today, as I entered the Ekdalia pandal and looked at Ma Durga, I felt a certain numbness.. I remembered that last year I had prayed for Baba's recovery so that we could return with him this year.. The Goddess did not answer my prayers, as usual, and I, after giving Her a cold shoulder for the most of the Puja, finally gave in and visited Her today without Baba anywhere in this world..

Hindustan Mart was closed and it turned out to be a long walk around gariahat and golpark, some pandal-hopping, some clicking of photographs, and some shopping.. nursing the void, battling the void, and then realizing what Jethu wrote to me the other day.. I have Baba and Baba has me.. we are never to be separated..

It was the First Time I tied a Rakhi on Baba's Wrist - It was the Last Time, too

Last Rakhi, I tied a Rakhi on Baba's wrist for the first time in my life. Well, that happens to be the last time too.

I tried to make it an all-encompassing Rakhi, last year, tying the sacred thread on my mother's and Jethu's wrists and on Baba's nurse's wrist, besides doing the customary Rakhi-tying on my brothers' wrists. It was kind of a get-together at SCG that day, Jethu making his special fried eggs for breakfast. By the time, the day got over, almost everybody had untied their Rakhi from their wrist. It was either inconvenient, or tight, or loose, or whatever. The only person who kept wearing the Rakhi till late evening was Baba. I told my mother, "See, he is the only person who is still wearing it. See, how good he is!". Overhearing that, Baba's nurse said, "We all have work to do. That is why we have opened it. He is just restricted to his bed with nothing to do on his own. Moreover, he cannot open it until we open it for him". True statements. Harsh ones. Painful ones. Ignoring her, I lingered on with my initial feeling. He is wearing it because I tied it on his wrist. Because, he is the one who never wants to hurt me. I am thankful, I tied that Rakhi, last year. Because, this year, on this day of Rakhi, when Baba is no more, the only memory that I love to cling to is the fact that everybody opened their Rakhis, but my Baba kept wearing it. He was different from everybody, always. He loved me more than anybody, always.

My Rakhi could not protect him from death. My Rakhi could not protect him from pain and illness. But, I can still see him lying on his hospital bed, with my red Rakhi tied on his right wrist. May he be safe, wherever he is.

This is the second Rakhi in my life when there was no Rakshabandhan for me. The first time was the year after we lost Thamma, and the second time is now when we have lost Baba. It were Baba and Thamma who ensured that a pair of Rakhis were bought every year. Rakhi was never a sexist ritual or festival for my brother and me. I tied one on his wrist, and he tied one on mine. We went to the market with Baba and chose our own Rakhis. Later on, my mother turned my Rakhi into my hairband. This continued till the time when my brother grew up too much to feel embarrassed to get a rakhi for me tongue emoticon! (I remember tying a Rakhi on Joyadidi's wrist in 1986. Do you remember it Joya Roydidi? It was just a few days after we had celebrated our house's birthday on Aug 8. Thankfully, we still have the pictures clicked by Jethu!)

Rakhi was also never a restricted-within-family thing for me. I used to tie Rakhis on my close friends' and colleagues' wrists always. However, last year, was the first time when I genuinely tried to follow Tagore's idea of Rakhi by including Baba's nurse in my list. It seems to be just yesterday. But, it is not. One year has gone by. Actually, more than a calendar year has gone by. And, Baba has left us, forever. My Rakhi could not keep him tied to me. Just as I have never been able to keep anybody tied to me forever.

Shankarda

A place I just loved.. would love to go back, again.. ♥

Located 15 kilometers away from Jamshedpur, in Potka of Jharkhand, Shankarda is a beautiful place. "The Weekend" resort here is owned and run by two ex-servicemen Mr Ashit Bhowmik and Mr Barun Kr Barikdar (one ex-airforce and another ex-navy), people who have never had any experience with the hospitality industry. As a result of which, the staff they have hired have no hotel management degree. The entire resort is manned with Santalis and Adivasis from the adjoining areas. They hardly understand what you say, but they give the most innocent of grins. They are humble and honest people who touch your hearts with their cordial nature. The hotel owner takes trouble to charge your camera, when there is no point in the resort where the plug goes in. Courtesy his effort, I was able to click all of the Bhalopahar pics and most of the Dimna pics. The down-to-earth staff made huge pots of mud for the saplings my Mom chose to bring with her. The owner based in Kolkata calls up to apologize for the electricity problems. I wish they retain this rustic innocent touch if and when I go back.

Bhalo Pahar

Acres of barren dry land that have stayed untouched for hundreds of years, have been turned into a manmade forest with the planting of lakhs of trees by Kamal Chakraborty. He has started a school for the local children (mostly Santals and Adivasis), health centers, nursing traininings, provision of daily nutrition, offering them opportunities of getting exposed to the outer world in every way.. the principal object being worship and preservation of trees and nature, the motto of Bhalo PahaR is "Jai Brikkhanath" (Hail Tree God)!.

Aatmiyoswajon - The True Relations

Aatmyioswajon - A beautiful play that Ma and I watched yesterday.. Ma has not gone anywhere over the last 14 months except to hospitals, doctor visits, funeral of her dearest sister, or that shraddh ceremony.. Her life revolves around Baba's nurses, his diet, his Ryle's tube feeding, his catheter.. her pleasures these days are a few words from Baba or Baba orally having a little bit to eat..

My friend Sujoy Prasad Chatterjee has been staging this play over the last year or so, maybe just after the period when Baba fell sick.. So we did not have the fortune of watching this play.. together..

This time, when I heard that Aatmiyoswajon was about to be staged at the Academy of Fine Arts, I had an urge of watching it and taking Ma with me.. She needs to live.. We all need to live.. so that we can look after Baba untiringly.. so that we can handle the depressing situations without getting frustrated..

I am thankful that I chose to go.. Firstly because, it is a touching play that moves us from the very core.. Wonderful performances from Dolly Basu, Saumya Sengupta, and Sujoy.. overall a lovable production..

It is about those people who are not our blood-relations.. not our sons, or brothers, not our daughters or sisters.. It is about those people who care for us and love us despite not being genetically connected to us.. The driver who comes on a day when the city is standstill due to storm and rain that stops the son from visiting the mother.. The driver who brings hot jalebis for "Madam" on a day like that.. the driver who empathizes with "Madam" more than his son can imagine to do.. The way the Madam, outwardly very strict, teaches the driver to read, with affection..The way the driver pats Madam's head softly when she gets her first attack of dementia.. The way the driver does not forget to bring Bijoya-r Mishti to Madam when she is in asylum, while the son is busy in doing the important job of clearing the bills..

More than once, my throat ached as I was reminded again and again of what Sejomasi's caregivers in the old-age home told us after her death.. She had asked for laau-chingri and some other kind of fish.. and they had kindly brought that for her from their home.. they, the Aatmiyoswajon, the real ones, when we the fake blood-related ones were busy with our own lives, some tired after taking care of her for three weeks, and some doing our duty by just buying her bread and milk.. I, myself, know the value of Aatmiyoswajon because I, fortunately have a few, some who love me despite never having a blood or legal relation and some who .. well ...

We could not meet you Sujoy last evening, as it was quite late and Ma had to return far off.. She asked me to convey her love.. Bear Hugs to you.. and very very special and warm regards to Dolly Basu and Saumya Sengupta.. I will never be able to imagine that "Laalu" and his "Madam" are fictional.. they entered my heart, forever.. their expressions and appearances etched in my soul.. It will be incomplete if I do not mention the sound designer who created such apt sounds of the car being driven, and the other sounds needed for the ambiance. 

— at Academy of Fine Arts.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1611045839113035&set=a.1416575611893393.1073741827.100006229027823&type=1&theater

Just A Date

Just a Date

August 6, 2014

Overcast Sky.

August Morning.

Constant Breeze,

with a downpour-

Flight to board

to meet his kin.

August 6, 2011.

Reached.

Met.

Smiles galore.

Relief.

Blessings for a knot to be tied.

Dreams to come true. Finally.

An yellow Envelope.

The address of my lawyer.

The address of his lawyer.

Sheets of typed paper.

I hold them.

August 6, 2014.

I get to see the papers. 

The knot is untied.

Torn, so to say.

I read those words.

Those words.

They will sink in, someday.

Someday. Finally. 

Aparajita Tumi - June 10, 2015

AN intriguing movie that I had the fortune of at last watching yesterday!! Loved the actors (somehow only Prosenjit Chatterjee was a misfit) and actresses! Such ease, elegance, and elan with which they ruled the scenes.. I had no idea that it was directed by ANiruddha Roychoudhury, but then I began to sense it, having watched Antaheen just an hour back.. After almost a day and almost no sleep, I am unable to get over the movie.. These two new actresses are so so good! and Indranil Sengupta again! Just when I was cherishing the beautiful songs of Antaheen and feeling thankful for Shantanu Moitra and Anindya and Chandril, I was again treated by this deluge of lyrical music that Aparajita Tumi offers through this trio and through singers like Rupankar!

My family had watched this movie in Jan 2012 in the theater, celebrating my parents' anniv, when I was not here.. Last night, I watched it alone, with nobody around, till 2-40 am.. It was as if a whole circle became complete! Thanks Zee Bangla Cinema!

Antaheen Apekkha - Endless Wait

He has not touched his movie player and his DVD-VCD cabinet for more than 13 months now! Baba, an avid movie-watcher, would at times drive us crazy by not being able to control the surround-sound volume levels and by watching Yes, Prime Minister or Titli (although my favorite, but you cannot watch it on a Monday and again on a Friday, can you? :P) again and again!
In the topsy-turvy of the last one year, the home theater had also got disconnected somehow and never has the situation allowed me to relax enough to touch the home movie corner.
Last night, when I had no work and the TV failed to offer anything interesting, I opened the DVD cabinet. Yeah, it required a bit of dusting, most of which still remains to be done. The remote had slipped and fallen somewhere and I had to spend 20 minutes just finding it! The categories in which Baba kept his movies- Satyajit Ray shelf, Rituparno shelf, and so on, had gotten jumbled up.. I tried to put things into their respective places. Then I chose Antaheen and Khela.
Antaheen is a movie that Baba loves! I have seen him watching the movie many a time, always getting emotional in the end. I have never watched the entire film at one go -- only caught bits and pieces while Baba watched! Yesterday, I thought of watching Antaheen, almost in a quest to understand why my father loved it so much!
From the earlier glimpses, I had the idea that Aparna Sen and Kalyan Ray play an estranged couple who still care for each other deeply. I was a different "I" then. I am a different "I" now. The way I understood each little nuance of their estrangement and love, yesterday, was like never before. I know what it is to be like that, now. To be not-together, but, .. a million things that still keep you together! Beautiful acting by Radhika Apte and Rahul Bose, Kalyan Ray and Aparna Sen, Saswati Guhathakurta and Sharmila Tagore, and Meeta VashishTh, make this movie so brilliant! And the pain that engulfs the heart at the end is so addictive! Shantanu Moitra , Anindya, Chandril make the songs a pleasure and a salute to the cinematographer too. As the movie ended, I remembered Baba saying " O bujhte pere gechhilo thik sedin i" referring to Vrinda recognizing Aveek to be the Boy in the Box, "kintu o bujhlo por e" referring to Aveek understanding it only after Vrinda's death!

Yes, Baba, you were right. I missed you while watching the movie last night, as the surround sound vibrated the windows and I remembered how we used to get angry with you. Thank You Baba, for gifting us a huge Movie Collection, and a vast Music CD library! I still hope you will get well, and we will again watch movies together, just as I told you today! I am waiting to watch Sonar Kella with you, again!

Open Tee Bioscope - বন্ধু চল্‌ !

আমাদের যাদের সত্তরের শেষের দিকে জন্ম তাদের বেশ কয়েকটা দশক জুড়ে ছোটবেলা, এবং তারপর কিশোরবেলা।। ৮০-র পুরোটা, আর ৯০-র মাঝামাঝি অব্দি, তার একটা কারণ আমরা ছোট ছিলাম বেশ অনেকদিন, এখনকার মতো খুব তাড়াতাড়ি বড়ো হয়ে উঠিনি! সেই অনেকগুলো দশক জুড়ে আমাদের সেই ছোটবেলাটার এবং আরও অনেকের বেশ কয়েকটা ছেলেবেলা জুড়ে Opentee Bioscope ... হ্যাঁ, গণেশ যখন দুধ খেলেন, বা সূর্যগ্রহণ যখন হীরের আংটি তৈরি করল, তখন আমরা বড় হয়ে গেছি, কিন্তু যারা তখন ছোট তাদেরও ছোটবেলা আষ্টেপৃষ্ঠে জড়িয়ে ধরে Opentee Bioscope.. নাঃ, উত্তর কলকাতায় বড় হইনি, কিন্তু দক্ষিণের যে পাড়ায় বড় হয়েছি সেখানে ঝাঁচক্‌চকে আত্মকেন্দ্রিক ফ্ল্যাটবাড়ী কালচার ছিলনা।। পাশে একটা বস্তি আর পার্টি অফিস থাকার দরুণ নিত্য দেওয়াল-লিখন, পার্টির মিছিল, মাইক, নানান উদ্ভট উৎসব লেগে থাকত, আরও লেগে থাকত অনেক কিছু যা আজ অনেকদিন পর ছবিতে দেখে মনে পড়ল, দেওয়ালে ঘুঁটে দেওয়া - এখন বস্তিরও ঘরে ঘরে গ্যাস, তাই দেওয়ালে সারসার ঘুঁটের দৃশ্য আর দেখিনা, দেখিনা বহুরূপী, বুড়ির চুল, শুনিনা জিভছোলার আওয়াজ। আমাদের একটা পাড়া ছিল। পাড়ার বন্ধু ছিল, নিত্য খেলা ছিল, বাল্যপ্রেম ছিল, লুকিয়ে চিঠি ছিল, ভাব ছিল, রাগ ছিল -- ছোটবেলার আর বড় হয়ে ওঠার সাথে অঙ্গাঙ্গী ভাবে জড়িয়ে ছিল পাড়ার সেই বন্ধুরা যাদের সাথে বিকেলের খেলা, জন্মদিনের সন্ধে, দোল, রবীন্দ্রজয়ন্তী, নাটক, বড় হওয়ার মানে বোঝা, ঠিক যেমন জড়িয়ে ছিল টিভি এন্টেনা, তাতে ছেঁড়া ঘুড়ি, ভাড়া করা সাইকেল, আবুলিশ। অনেক কিছু মনে পড়ায়, অনেক কিছু ফিরিয়ে দেয়, অনেক কিছু ফিরে দেখায় Opentee Bioscope ..যার সাথে প্রথম চুরমুর খাওয়া, যার কাছ থেকে বড়দের গোপন তথ্যগুলি সংগ্রহ মনে পড়ায় জীবনের সেই পর্‍যায়ে সেই বন্ধুর কথা।। নির্দেশক অনিদ্য চট্টোপাধ্যায়ের প্রতি কৃতজ্ঞতায় মন ভরে ওঠে। ঋদ্ধি সেন গোটা ছবি জুড়ে থাকতে থাকতে মন জুড়ে জায়গা করে নেয়। এই ছবিতে তিন অভিনেতার তিন পুত্রের অভিনয় মন কেড়ে নেয়, কৌশিকের পুত্র ঋদ্ধি (কহানীর পল্টু), শিলাজিতের পুত্র ধী, এবং শান্তিলালের ছেলে ঋতব্রত (কহানীর running hot water) আগামী বছরগুলিতে বাংলা ছবির পর্দায় যে বারংবার দৃশ্যমান হবে, তা নিয়ে কোনও সংশয় থাকে না। বিশেষ করে ঋদ্ধি (সাউথ পয়েন্টের ক্লাস ১১-র ছাত্র) বারবার মনে পড়ান যে তার অস্থি-মজ্জায় অভিনয়।

এই ছবি ভর্তি কোলাজ, ছোটবেলার টুকরো টুকরো ছবি জুড়ে জুড়ে বানানো। গানের কথায়-সুরে সেই সময়কারই মায়াবী ছোঁয়া। মনোগ্রাহী কাহিনী এবং টানটান ঘটনা পরম্পরা একমুহূর্ত ক্লান্ত করেনা। সুদীপ্তা চক্রবর্তী, রজতাভ দত্ত, কৌশিক সেন চমৎকার। একটি কিশোরের মায়ের ভূমিকায় সুদীপ্তার স্বাচ্ছন্দ্য মুগ্ধ করে। খুঁত আছে, কিন্তু এই ছবির খুঁত ধরতে মন চায়না। কত খুঁত নিয়েই তো ছোটবেলা!

এই ছবিটা যেমন মন ভালো করে, তেমনই, মন খারাপ ... খালি ঐদিনগুলোর কথা মনে পড়ে ।। সেই মুখগুলো, সেই আমিটা, সেই আমরা সব-আ-ই ! ব্যাকগ্রাউন্ড থেকে ভেসে আসা সেই আমাদের দূরদর্শনের "মিলে সুর মেরা তুমহারা...", সেই ক্যাডবেরির বিজ্ঞাপনের নাচ, সেই ... আরও ক-ত কী!

অনিন্দ্যর প্রথম ছবি বুধবার বিকেলেও (৪-৩০ র শো) প্রায় হাউসফুল -- ছোটবেলার টান যে বড় অমোঘ, তা আরও একবার দেখাচ্ছে Opentee Bioscope! (যাদের নিয়ে একসাথে এই ছবিটা দেখতে পেলে বড় ভালো লাগত সেই পুপা, তিতলী, বাপুজী, ছোটবুড়ো, পিকলুদাদা, পিয়াল, জয়, কোয়েল, সোনু...  তাদের সবার কথা মনে করে...)