February, 2006: as the winter had just begun to bid farewell to Darjeeling and back in my village schools had just started to resume, far across in the west part of the country (Pune) I was all set for my first ever visit to England.I was quite nervous as it was the first time I was flying in an aeroplane and also first time to any country overseas. It is usual for a person like me who grew up in one of the remotest places in India to feel a little perturbed when such opportunities knock at the door. My birth place is quite far from so called civilization. For many, the presence of silent mountains and hills overlooking endless stretch of tea bushes, the absence of skyrocketing buildings, the lack of ever honking vehicles speeding at life threatening 70 plus kms/ hr along the smooth and wide roads certainly signify remoteness.
When I was a kid, one of our teachers would often teach us in geography class that plains are like table. It was very difficult for me to visualise a place looking like a table! When my father took me with him for the first time to Siliguri, the nearest town looking like a table I was elated.
It is also not unusual for people like me living in a Tea Estate of Darjeeling to have not seen a city except for those lucky few whose parents served in the military forces. My family had less people serving in the army than others in the village. So, I am not sure if my great grand father did ever saw a city in his life; to the best of my knowledge even my grand father, who is in the eve of his life now, has still not seen one. Even for my parents there was a time when Kolkata was quite a distant place.
Well, I had not visited Kolkata till I was a young lad of 18 years. Thanks to my high school teacher who gave me an opportunity to be a part of an educational excursion team to Kolkata. So happy I was during my first ever Kolkata visit by bus that I was awake with alarming concentration throughout the journey lest I would miss a thing. We sang, we danced. Perhaps in a fit of excitement we had unknowlingly disturbed other travellers for whom the trip was just another visit to Kolkata.I still remember that moment as vividly as one from yesterday. How happy I was posing for the photos standing against the backdrop of tall buildings, Hoogly River and Victoria memorial. I ate/ drank (I don’t know which verb I should use for this foodstuff) “poochka” for the first time.
Slowly as I grew younger and certainly older, I came to town (Darjeeling) from village, stayed their for studies, then moved to Siliguri (the same table like place of my childhood vision). By this time, already so many first times had come to pass in my life. First time I went to school, first time I gave exams, first time I rode bicycle, first time travelled alone, first time I stayed away from my parents, first time I dated a girl, first time I saw a table like place, first time saw a city, a river and without notice I had already become independent if not experienced. Then I moved to Pune, first time out of the state. Then last month I came to France and its been already so many FIRST TIMEs for me and certainly more to come.
When I was a kid, one of our teachers would often teach us in geography class that plains are like table. It was very difficult for me to visualise a place looking like a table! When my father took me with him for the first time to Siliguri, the nearest town looking like a table I was elated.
It is also not unusual for people like me living in a Tea Estate of Darjeeling to have not seen a city except for those lucky few whose parents served in the military forces. My family had less people serving in the army than others in the village. So, I am not sure if my great grand father did ever saw a city in his life; to the best of my knowledge even my grand father, who is in the eve of his life now, has still not seen one. Even for my parents there was a time when Kolkata was quite a distant place.
Well, I had not visited Kolkata till I was a young lad of 18 years. Thanks to my high school teacher who gave me an opportunity to be a part of an educational excursion team to Kolkata. So happy I was during my first ever Kolkata visit by bus that I was awake with alarming concentration throughout the journey lest I would miss a thing. We sang, we danced. Perhaps in a fit of excitement we had unknowlingly disturbed other travellers for whom the trip was just another visit to Kolkata.I still remember that moment as vividly as one from yesterday. How happy I was posing for the photos standing against the backdrop of tall buildings, Hoogly River and Victoria memorial. I ate/ drank (I don’t know which verb I should use for this foodstuff) “poochka” for the first time.
Slowly as I grew younger and certainly older, I came to town (Darjeeling) from village, stayed their for studies, then moved to Siliguri (the same table like place of my childhood vision). By this time, already so many first times had come to pass in my life. First time I went to school, first time I gave exams, first time I rode bicycle, first time travelled alone, first time I stayed away from my parents, first time I dated a girl, first time I saw a table like place, first time saw a city, a river and without notice I had already become independent if not experienced. Then I moved to Pune, first time out of the state. Then last month I came to France and its been already so many FIRST TIMEs for me and certainly more to come.
Perhaps, every moment in a life has something of a FIRST TIME…for those who set on a voyage without any punctuation,without looking back, without giving up in times of trials…just believing in a dream, a dream to live a life to the fullest….
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