Mandrake @ 75

I generally try to keep myself abreast of such events, especially if it is the 75th anniversary of an iconic comic character. Though many ezines reported the event, this time I somehow missed it completely!

Mandrake the magician, the inscrutable sorcerer never fails to charm me even at this age. My first acquaintance with this pencil-thin mustached and impeccably dressed superhero was through the Sunday supplement pages of Anandabazar Parika. In fact, if I am not mistaken, most of the bongs were introduced to the world of Xanadu through ABP's sunday supplementary (though much before ABP, in the 70s and till late-80s, Indrajaal Comics published Mandrake comics in almost all major Indian vernaculars, apart from English. A lot of people still possess several issues hardbound in patterned cardboard covers with rexine ears.) Later on, in 2002, when the Sunday strips were discontinued (which of course irritated all the comic aficionados), the king of hypnotism found its place on the daily editions of ABP. Most of our friends, including me, suffered from a huge infatuation for Narda--the only reason why we, at times, built enmity with the illusionist. Another aspect of Mandrake that also amazed us was his unruffled hair even after the hardest of the hullaballoo with the villains.

Couple of years back, while penning a feature for Anandamela on the history of comics, I had a talk with Mr. P C Sorcer. Instinctively I quizzed him on Mandrake. The great magician seemed not very pleased with his fictional counterpart. He objected to the rationality of Mandrake's hypnotic way of dealing with the baddies. "Lee Falk aberrated in defining hypnotism. However, if I consider Mandrake as a work of fantasy or fiction I would keep Bantul the Great way ahead of Mandrake.", he opined.

Image copyright King Features Syndicate.

Customer Service: The SBI Way!!

'Customer service' has earned a new meaning in the era of privatisation. While the corporate conglomerates are competing fiercely to outwit each other in their 'customer friendliness', our very own State Bank of India employees are trying to set their own examples!

This morning I called up 63, NSC Bose Road branch of the SBI to inquire about the availability of the primary teachers' recruitment examination form. The gentleman (?), who picked up the phone, was apt in his reply, "You've to come to the branch to obtain the information." He hung up the phone denying me to react. I wondered for a few seconds why be abnegated me of a simple information and then mustered up courage to call the Tollygunge Circular Road branch of the bank. This time my luck didn't betray!

Whither One-day Cricket?

Cricket is fast turning out to be a game which is never devoid of controversy. After WADA, it is now the fate of the one-day cricket which is creating all the ruckus. ECB's decision to scrap the 50-over format of the game from their domestic calendar has drawn a lot of debates in the cricketing fraternity. With the advent of T-20s, the 50-over matches are losing their relevance, that's what the ECB officials feel. And hence the decision of phase out. It's not long past when even one-day internationals were invented. Even at that time, the shorter versions of the game were more entertaining than their 5-day counterparts. But, that did not kill Test matches! Rather, the art of playing Tests changed drastically, which I would say, made Test matches more interesting and watchable. Similarly, why can't we consider T-20s as just another format of the game? It's quite infantile to say that all the three versions of the game can't exist alongside. I hope ICC wouldn't fall prey to ECB's insistence.

The Curious Case of Kolkata Metro

"Dada, sotti sotti Garia bazar obdi Metro cholche?" (Is the Metro service indeed available till Garia Bazar, Dada?)
"Han didi. Jan na dekhe asun. Debo naki ekta Kabi Nazrul?" (Of course didi. Take a ride. Shall I give you a ticket to Kabi Nazrul?)

I overheard this conversation while purchasing tickets in Dum Dum Metro station last Sunday. I was in a hurry and hence did not wait to see whether the didi took the joyride like most of her fellow Kolkatans. It was my first ride in the underground railway since the inception of the extended service. Though I got down at Tollygunge, the half-hour long journey was full of amusing incidents. While leaving the counter, I heard the next man in line asking for 'one Netaji and two Surjyo Sen'. Two youngsters standing beside me were busy in arguing whether the new 'Netaji' is the abbreviated version of the 'Netaji Bhawan' or not. Their confusion soon subsided when they discovered both the 'Netajis' in the station chart. People were cramming to get nearer to the station charts. Most of them seemed confused and were trying to figure out where to get down if his or her destination is Naktala or Bansdroni. Is 'Gitanjali' the destination or 'Kabi Nazrul' would be the intended one? Who dreamt that our Railway Minister's adoration for freedom fighters would turn out to be so painful?

An Open Letter to Mr. Suvaprasanna

Dear Mr. Suvaprasanna,

Many congratulations to you and your associates on being appointed the chairman of the Passenger Convenience Committee of Indian Railways. Sir, I am not aware how often the nominated members travel in train, but I do quite often. In fact, I am among those hapless passengers who had no option but to travel almost daily in passenger trains to make my both ends meet. I also do not know whether the purview of your work would stretch beyond the mail and express trains. However, as a frequent passenger, I have a few requests to make to your committee.

Firstly, I'd request you to try boarding any of the trains of Sealdah section in any weekday, preferably during office time. Even if you are able to board, I am pretty sure, the daily passengers won't let you seat, even if there are empty seats available, as they are reserved for their feel-good buddies who will get on from the subsequent stations. Neither would you be allowed to stand comfortably, as this would disturb their daily chores of playing cards. Let some time pass and you would find some of them taking out cigarettes and bidis from their pockets and utilising them apathetically as if they are travelling in their private jets! The news of ban on smoking in public places has not yet reached them!

I know that your team have been instructed to look after some of the other major aspects of a passenger's life (such as toilets, sitting arrangement in stations, passenger safety etc.), so there is no point in harping on these issues. Try mixing with people and you'd understand there's lot to be done.

I earnestly hope you and your team would be able to bring 'change' in passenger amenities this time as well.

Regards,
An over-optimistic passenger

Saga of the Shiulis

Over the last couple of weeks my morning starts with patches of white with occasional orange dapples within in front of my rented house. The colour combination of Shiuli ((Night-flowering Jasmine) is synonymous with Durga Puja and marks the onset of Sarat—a non-present entity in English calendar. The fragrance also brings back so many sweet memories of childhood.

Our erstwhile house, situated at a suburban township, had a huge Shiuli tree in its courtyard. The tree was so high that some portions of it reached the rooftop of our three-storeyed house. The bloom time was accompanied by an early rise. I had to collect as many flowers as I could before other boys and girls from the locality could jump into action. However, no one was allowed to go to the rooftop. It was only me who had the exclusive privilege of collecting flowers from there. Had I missed the morning bell by any chance, my only solace laid over there. But that somewhat was dull. Collecting flowers, with so many people ready to give you competition, used to provide me a tremendous sense of achievement.

There is no dearth of youngsters in my neighbourhood. But, none has the time to pluck flowers!

Spectacular

Let me introduce you to a small change to my otherwise mundane appearance.

Yesterday onward I have been aided by an optical instrument consisting of a frame that holds a pair of lenses for correcting defective vision (also called spectacles) in my daily chores.